{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_46947/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_46947","id":"gutenberg_46947","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46947","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian saints"],"text":"THE\n Lives of the Saints\n\n REV. S. BARING-GOULD\n\n _SIXTEEN VOLUMES_\n\n VOLUME THE FIRST\n\n\n\n\n [Illustration: SILVER-GILT MONSTRANCE,\n In the Treasury of the Cathedral, Aix-la-Chapelle.]\n\n\n\n\n THE\n Lives of the Saints\n\n\n BY THE\n REV. S. BARING-GOULD, M.A.\n\n\n New 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\n _ILLUSTRATED BY OVER 400 ENGRAVINGS_\n\n\n VOLUME THE FIRST\n\n January\n\n\n LONDON\n JOHN C. NIMMO\n 14 KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND\n MDCCCXCVII\n\n\n\n\n _Printed by_ BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.\n _At the Ballantyne Press_\n\n\n\n\nAUTHOR'S PREFACE\nTO FIRST EDITION\n(1872)\n\n\nThe Lives of the Saints, which I have begun, is an undertaking, of\nwhose difficulty few can have any idea. Let it be remembered, that\nthere were Saints in every century, for eighteen hundred years; that\ntheir Acts are interwoven with the profane history of their times,\nand that the history, not of one nation only, but of almost every\nnation under the sun; that the records of these lives are sometimes\nfragmentary, sometimes mere hints to be culled out of secular history;\nthat authentic records have sometimes suffered interpolation, and that\nsome records are forgeries; that the profane history with which the\nlives of the Saints is mixed up is often dark and hard to be read; and\nthen some idea may be formed of the difficulty of this undertaking.\n\nAfter having had to free the Acts of a martyr from a late accretion of\nfable, and to decide whether the passion took place under--say Decius\nor Diocletian, Claudius the Elder, or Claudius the younger,--the writer\nof a hagiology is hurried into Byzantine politics, and has to collect\nthe thread of a saintly confessor's life from the tangle of political\nand ecclesiastical intrigue, in that chaotic period when emperors\nrose and fell, and patriarchs succeeded each other with bewildering\nrapidity. And thence he is, by a step, landed in the romance world of\nIrish hagiology, where the footing is as insecure as on the dark bogs\nof the Emerald Isle. Thence he strides into the midst of the wreck\nof Charlemagne's empire, to gather among the splinters of history a\nfew poor mean notices of those holy ones living then, whose names\nhave survived, but whose acts are all but lost. And then the scene\nchanges, and he treads the cool cloister of a mediaeval abbey, to glean\nmaterials for a memoir of some peaceful recluse, which may reflect\nthe crystalline purity of the life without being wholly colourless of\nincident.\n\nAnd then, maybe, he has to stand in the glare of the great\nconflagration of the sixteenth century, and mark some pure soul passing\nunscathed through the fire, like the lamp in Abraham's vision.\n\nThat one man can do justice to this task is not to be expected. When\nBellarmine heard of the undertaking of Rosweydus, he asked \"What is\nthis man's age? does he expect to live two hundred years?\" But for the\nwork of the Bollandists, it would have been an impossibility for me to\nundertake this task. But even with this great storehouse open, the work\nto be got through is enormous. Bollandus began January with two folios\nin double columns, close print, of 1200 pages each. As he and his\ncoadjutors proceeded, fresh materials came in, and February occupies\nthree volumes. May swelled into seven folios, September into eight,\nand October into ten. It was begun in 1643, and the fifty-seventh\nvolume appeared in 1861.\n\nThe labour of reading, digesting, and selecting from this library is\nenormous. With so much material it is hard to decide what to omit, but\nsuch a decision must be made, for the two volumes of January have to\nbe crushed into one, not a tenth of the size of one of Bollandus, and\nthe ten volumes for October must suffer compression to an hundredth\ndegree, so as to occupy the same dimensions. I had two courses open to\nme. One to give a brief outline, bare of incident, of the life of every\nSaint; the other to diminish the number of lives, and present them to\nthe reader in greater fulness, and with some colour. I have adopted\nthis latter course, but I have omitted no Saint of great historical\ninterest. I have been compelled to put aside a great number of lesser\nknown saintly religious, whose eventless lives flowed uniformly in\nprayer, vigil, and mortification.\n\nIn writing the lives of the Saints, I have used my discretion, also,\nin relating only those miracles which are most remarkable, either\nfor being fairly well authenticated, or for their intrinsic beauty\nor quaintness, or because they are often represented in art, and are\ntherefore of interest to the archaeologist. That errors in judgment,\nand historical inaccuracies, have crept into this volume, and may find\ntheir way into those that succeed, is, I fear, inevitable. All I can\npromise is, that I have used my best endeavours to be accurate, having\nhad recourse to all such modern critical works as have been accessible\nto me, for the determining of dates, and the estimation of authorities.\n\nBelieving that in some three thousand and six hundred memoirs of\nmen, many of whose lives closely resembled each other, it would be\nimpossible for me to avoid a monotony of style which would become as\ntedious to the reader as vexatious to myself, I have occasionally\nadmitted the lives of certain Saints by other writers, thereby giving a\nlittle freshness to the book, where there could not fail otherwise to\nhave been aridity; but I have, I believe, in no case, inserted a life\nby another pen, without verifying the authorities.\n\nAt the head of every article the authority for the life is stated,\nto which the reader is referred for fuller details. The editions of\nthese authorities are not given, as it would have greatly extended\nthe notices, and such information can readily be obtained from that\ninvaluable guide to the historian of the Middle Ages, Potthast:\n_Bibliotheca Historica Medii Aevi_, Berlin, 1862; the second part of\nwhich is devoted to the Saints.\n\nI have no wish that my work should be regarded as intended to supplant\nthat of Alban Butler. My line is somewhat different from his. He\nconfined his attention to the historical outlines of the saintly lives,\nand he rarely filled them in with anecdote. Yet it is the little\ndetails of a man's life that give it character, and impress themselves\non the memory. People forget the age and parentage of S. Gertrude, but\nthey remember the mouse running up her staff.\n\nA priest of the Anglican Church, I have undertaken to write a book\nwhich I hope and trust will be welcome to Roman and Anglican Catholics,\nalike. It would have been unseemly to have carried prejudice,\nimpertinent to have obtruded sectarianism, into a work like this. I\nhave been called to tread holy ground, and kneel in the midst of the\ngreat company of the blessed; and the only fitting attitude of the\nmind for such a place, and such society, is reverence. In reading the\nmiracles recorded of the Saints, of which the number is infinite, the\nproper spirit to observe is, not doubt, but discrimination. Because\nmuch is certainly apocryphal in these accounts, we must not therefore\nreject what may be true. The present age, in its vehement naturalism,\nplaces itself, as it were, outside of the circle of spiritual\nphenomena, and is as likely to deny the supernatural agency in a\nmarvel, as a mediaeval was liable to attribute a natural phenomenon to\nspiritual causes. In such cases we must consider the evidence and its\nworth or worthlessness. It may be that, in God's dealings with men, at\na time when natural means of cure were unattainable, the supernatural\nshould abound, but that when the science of medicine became perfected,\nand the natural was rendered available to all, the supernatural should,\nto some extent, at least, be withdrawn.\n\nOf the Martyrologies referred to, it may be as well to mention the\ndates of the most important. That of Ado is of the ninth century,\nBede's of the eighth;[1] there are several bearing the name of S.\nJerome, which differ from one another, they are forms of the ancient\nRoman Martyrology. The Martyrology of Notker (D. 912), of Rabanus\nMaurus (D. 856), of Usuardus (875), of Wandalbert (circ. 881). The\ngeneral catalogue of the Saints by Ferrarius was published in 1625,\nthe Martyrology of Maurolycus was composed in 1450, and published\n1568. The modern Roman Martyrology is based on that of Usuardus. It\nis impossible, in the limited space available for a preface, to say\nall that is necessary on the various Kalendars, and Martyrologies,\nthat exist, also on the mode in which some of the Saints have received\napotheosis. Comparatively few Saints have received formal canonization\nat Rome; popular veneration was regarded as sufficient in the mediaeval\nperiod, before order and system were introduced; thus there are many\nobscure Saints, famous in their own localities, and perhaps entered in\nthe kalendar of the diocese, whose claims to their title have never\nbeen authoritatively inquired into, and decided upon. There is also\ngreat confusion in the monastic kalendars in appropriating titles\nto those commemorated; here a holy one is called \"the Venerable,\"\nthere \"the Blessed,\" and in another \"Saint.\" With regard also to the\nestimation of authorities, the notes of genuineness of the Acts of\nthe martyrs, the tests whereby apocryphal lives and interpolations\nmay be detected, I should have been glad to have been able to make\nobservations. But this is a matter which there is not space to enter\nupon here.\n\nThe author cannot dismiss the work without expressing a hope that it\nmay be found to meet a want which he believes has long been felt; for\nEnglish literature is sadly deficient in the department of hagiology.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] This only exists in an interpolated condition.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nTO THE\n\nLIVES OF THE SAINTS\n\n\nTHE MARTYROLOGIES\n\nA martyrology means, properly, a list of witnesses. The martyrologies\nare catalogues in which are to be found the names of the Saints, with\nthe days and places of their deaths, and generally with the distinctive\ncharacter of their sanctity, and with an historic summary of their\nlives. The name is incorrect if we use the word \"martyr\" in its\nrestricted sense as a witness unto death. \"Hagiology\" would be more\nsuitable, as a martyrology includes the names of many Saints who were\nnot martyrs. But the term \"Martyrology\" was given to this catalogue at\nan early age, when it was customary to commemorate only those who were\nproperly martyrs, having suffered death in testimony to their faith; but\nit is not unsuitable if we regard as martyrs all those who by their\nlives have testified to the truth, as indeed we are justified in doing.\n\nIn the primitive Church it was customary for the Holy Eucharist to be\ncelebrated on the anniversary of the death of a martyr--if possible, on\nhis tomb. Where in one diocese there were several martyrs, as, for\ninstance, in that of Caesarea, there were many days in the year on which\nthese commemorations were made, and the Church--say that of\nCaesarea--drew up a calendar with the days marked on which these\nfestivals occurred.\n\nIn his \"Church History,\" Eusebius quotes a letter from the Church of\nSmyrna, in which, after giving an account of the martyrdom of their\nbishop, S. Polycarp, the disciple of S. John the Divine, the Smyrnians\nobserve: \"Our subtle enemy, the devil, did his utmost that we should not\ntake away the body, as many of us anxiously wished. It was suggested\nthat we should desert our crucified Master, and begin to worship\nPolycarp. Fools! who knew not that we can never desert Christ, who died\nfor the salvation of all men, nor worship any other. Him we adore as the\nSon of God; but we show respect to the martyrs, as His disciples and\nfollowers. The centurion, therefore, caused the body to be burned; we\nthen gathered his bones, more precious than pearls, and more tried than\ngold, and buried them. In this place, God willing, we will meet, and\ncelebrate with joy and gladness the birthday of this martyr, as well in\nmemory of those who have been crowned before, as by his example to\nprepare and strengthen others for the combat.\"[2]\n\nS. Polycarp suffered in the year 166; he had been ordained Bishop of\nSmyrna by S. John in 96. This passage is extremely interesting, for it\nshows us, in the age following that of the apostles, the Church already\nkeeping the festivals of martyrs, and, as we may conclude from the words\nof the letter, over the tombs of the martyrs. In this the Church was\nfollowing the pattern shown to S. John in vision; for he heard the cry\nof the souls of the martyrs reposing under the altar in heaven. Guided,\ndoubtless, by this, the Church erected altars over the bodies of saints.\nAmong the early Christian writers there are two, S. Paulinus of Nola,\nand Prudentius, whose testimony is of intrinsic value, not only from its\nbeing curiously interesting, but because it is so full and unequivocal\nas to the fact of the tombs of the martyrs being used as altars.[3] In\none of his letters to Severus, S. Paulinus encloses some verses of his\nown composition, which were to be inscribed over the altar under which\nwas deposited the body of S. Clavus, of whom the venerable prelate says:\n\n \"Sancta sub aeternis altaribus ossa quiescunt.\"[4]\n\nBefore describing the basilica of Nola, the Saint proceeds to give a\nsketch of another but a smaller church, which he had just erected in the\ntown of Fondi. After furnishing some details about this latter edifice,\nhe says, \"The sacred ashes--some of the blessed relics of the apostles\nand martyrs--shall consecrate this little basilica also in the name of\nChrist, the Saint of saints, the Martyr of martyrs, and the Lord of\nlords.\"[5] For this church two inscriptions were composed by Paulinus:\none, to accompany the painting with which he had adorned the apse; the\nother, to announce that portions of the relics of the Apostle S. Andrew,\nof the Evangelist S. Luke, and of S. Nazarius, and other martyrs, were\ndeposited under the altar. His verses may be thus rendered:\n\n \"In royal shrines, with purple marble graced,\n Their bones are under lighted altars placed.\n A holy band enshrined in one small chest,\n Full mighty names within its tiny breast.\"\n\nPrudentius visited not only the more celebrated churches in Spain built\nover the bodies of the martyrs, he being a Spaniard by birth, but he\nalso visited those of Italy and Rome on a journey made in 405. During\nhis residence in the capital of Christianity, the poet frequented the\ncatacombs; and he has bequeathed to us a valuable record of what he\nthere saw. In his hymn in honour of S. Hippolytus, he tells us that he\nvisited the sepulchral chapel in which were deposited the remains of the\nmartyr; and, after having described the entrance into the cemetery, and\nthe frescoes that adorned it, he adds:\n\n \"In gloomy cave the martyr's corpse is placed,\n And there to God with sacred altars graced,\n To give the sacrament the board is spread,\n And zealous guard the holy martyr's bed.\n The bones are resting in this hallowed tomb,\n To wait th' eternal Judge's gracious boon;\n And there with holy food are nourished those\n Who call on Christ where tawny Tiber flows.\"[6]\n\nIn his other hymns, Prudentius bears the most unequivocal testimony to\nthe practice, even then a long time in use, of depositing the relics of\nthe Saints immediately under the altar. It is unnecessary to quote more.\nThe assertions of ancient writers on this point have been several times\nverified. The bodies of the martyrs have been discovered under the high\naltars of the churches dedicated to God in their memory. The body of S.\nMartina, together with those of two other martyrs, SS. Concordens and\nEpiphanius, were found in 1624 under the high altar of the ancient\nchurch near the Roman Forum, which bears the name of the Saint. The body\nof S. Agnes, and that of another virgin martyr, were also ascertained to\nbe under the high altar of her church, denominated Fuori delle Mura.\nThese, however, had all been removed from the Catacombs into Rome,\nwithin the walls.\n\nNow this fact being established, as well as that of the annual\ncommemoration of the Saint reposing in the church, it follows that it\nbecame necessary for a Church to draw up calendars marking those days in\nthe year which were consecrated to the memory of martyrs whose relics\nwere preserved in it; for instance, in the Church of Fondi, which\ncontained relics of S. Andrew, S. Luke, S. Nazarius, and others, the\nHoly Eucharist would be celebrated over the relics on the day of S.\nAndrew, on that of S. Luke, on that of S. Nazarius, and so on; and it\nwould be necessary for the Church to have a calendar of the days thus\nset apart.\n\nIn the first centuries of the Church, not only the Saints whose bodies\nreposed in the church, but also the dead of the congregation were\ncommemorated.\n\nWhen a Roman Consul was elected, on entering on his office he\ndistributed among his friends certain presents, called diptychs. These\ndiptychs were folding tablets of ivory or boxwood, sometimes of silver,\nconnected together by hinges, so that they could be shut or opened like\na book. The exterior surface was richly carved, and generally bore a\nportrait of the Consul who gave them away. Upon the inner surface was\nwritten an epistle which accompanied the present, or a panegyric on\nhimself. They were reminders to friends, given much as a Christmas card\nis now sent. The diptych speedily came into use in the Church. As the\nConsul on his elevation sent one to his friends to remind them of his\nexaltation, so, on a death in the congregation, a diptych was sent to\nthe priest as a reminder of the dead who desired the prayers of the\nfaithful. At first, no doubt, there was a pack of these little\nmemorials, each bearing the name of the person who desired to be\nremembered at the altar. But, for convenience, one double tablet was\nafter a while employed instead of a number, and all the names of those\nwho were to be commemorated were written in this book. From the ancient\nliturgies we gather that it was the office of the deacon to rehearse\naloud, to the people and the priest, this catalogue registered in the\npublic diptychs. In the \"Ecclesiastical Hierarchy,\" attributed to S.\nDionysius the Areopagite, but really of a later date, the end of the\nfifth century, the author says of the ceremonies of the Eucharist, that\nafter the kiss of peace, \"When all have reciprocally saluted one\nanother, there is made the mystic recitation of the sacred tablets.\"[7]\nIn the Liturgy of S. Mark we have this, \"The deacon reads the diptychs\n(or catalogue) of the dead. The priest then bowing down prays: To the\nsouls of all these, O Sovereign Lord our God, grant repose in Thy holy\ntabernacle, in Thy kingdom, bestowing on them the good things promised\nand prepared by Thee,\" etc.\n\nIt is obvious that after a while the number of names continually\nswelling would become too great to be recited at once. It became\nnecessary, therefore, to take some names on one day, others on another.\nAnd this originated the Necrologium, or catalogue of the dead. The\ncustom of reading the diptychs has ceased to be observed in the Roman\nLiturgy, though we find it indicated there by the \"Oratio supra\nDiptycha.\" At present, when the celebrating priest arrives at that part\nof the Canon called the \"Memento,\" he secretly commemorates those for\nwhose souls he more particularly wishes to pray.\n\nBut, in addition to the diptychs of those for whom the priest and\ncongregation were desired to pray, there was the catalogue of the\nMartyrs and Saints for whom the Church thanked God. For instance, in the\nmodern Roman Mass, in the Canon we have this commemoration: \"Joining in\ncommunion with, and reverencing, in the first place, the memory of the\nglorious and ever-virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ;\nas also of Thy blessed apostles and martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew,\nJames, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and\nThaddaeus; Linus, Cletus, Clement, Xystus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Laurence,\nChrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and of all Thy Saints,\"\netc. This is obviously a mere fragment of a commemoration of the Blessed\nVirgin, of the apostles, and then of the special Roman martyrs. The\ncatalogue of the Saints to be remembered was long; there were hundreds\nof martyrs at Rome alone, and their names were written down on sacred\ndiptychs especially appropriated to this purpose. Such an inscription\nwas equivalent to the present ceremony of canonization. The term\ncanonization itself tells the history of the process. It is derived from\nthat part of the Mass called the Canon, in which occurs that memorial\nalready quoted. On the day when the Pope, after a scrutinizing\nexamination into the sanctity of a servant of God, formally inscribes\nhim among the Saints, he adds his name at the end of those already\nenumerated in the Canon, after \"Cosmas and Damian,\" and immediately\nreads Mass, adding this name at this place. Formerly every bishop could\nand did canonize--that is, add the name of any local Saint or martyr\nworthy of commemoration in his diocese.\n\nWhen the list became long, it was found impracticable to commemorate all\n_nominatim_ at once, and the Saints were named on their special days.\nThus, out of one set of diptychs grew the Necrologium, and out of the\nother the Martyrology.\n\nThe Church took pains to collect and commit to writing the acts of the\nmartyrs. This is not to be wondered at; for the martyrs are the heroes\nof Christianity, and as the world has her historians to record the\nachievements of the warriors who have gained renown in conflict for\npower, so the Church had her officers to record the victories that her\nsons won over the world and Satan. The Saints are the elect children of\nthe spouse of Christ, the precious fruit of her body; they are her crown\nof glory. And when these dear children quit her to reap their eternal\nreward, the mother retains precious memorials of them, and holds up\ntheir example to her other children to encourage them to follow their\nglorious traces.\n\nThe first to institute an order of scribes to take down the acts of the\nmartyrs was S. Clement, the disciple of S. Peter, as we are told by Pope\nS. Damasus, in the \"Liber Pontificale.\"[8] According to this tradition,\nS. Clement appointed seven notaries, men of approved character and\nlearning, to collect in the city of Rome, each in his own region of the\ncity, the acts of the martyrs who suffered in it. To add to the\nguarantee of good faith, Pope S. Fabian[9] placed these seven notaries\nunder the control of the seven subdeacons, who with the seven deacons\nwere placed over the fourteen cardinal regions of the city of Rome.\nMoreover, the Roman Pontiffs obtained the acts of martyrs who had\nsuffered in other churches. These acts were the _proc\u00e8s verbal_ of their\ntrial, with the names of the judges under whom they were sentenced, and\nan account of the death endured. The acts of S. Philip of Heraclea, SS.\nHilary and Tatian, and SS. Peter, Paul, Andrew, and Dionysia, are\nexamples of such acts. Other acts were those written by eye-witnesses,\nsometimes friends of the martyrs; those of the martyrs, SS. Perpetua,\nFelicitas, and their companions are instances. The first part of these\nwas written by S. Perpetua herself, and reaches to the eve of her\nmartyrdom; then another confessor in the same prison took the pen and\nadded to the eve of his death, and the whole was concluded by an\neye-witness of their passion. Other acts again were written by those\nwho, if not eye-witnesses, were able, from being contemporaries and on\nthe spot, to gather reliable information; such are the narratives of the\nmartyrs of Palestine by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea. Unfortunately,\ncomparatively few of the acts of the martyrs have come down to us in\ntheir genuine freshness; and the Church of Rome, which set the example\nin appointing notaries to record the facts, has been most careless about\npreserving these records unadulterated; so that even the acts of some of\nher own bishops and martyrs, S. Alexander, and S. Marcellinus, and S.\nCallixtus, are romances devoid of all stamp of truth.\n\nTertullian[10] says that on the natal days, that is, on the days of\nmartyrdom of the Saints who have suffered for Christ, \"We keep an annual\ncommemoration.\" It is easy to see how this usage necessitated the\ndrawing up of lists in which were inscribed not only the names of the\nmartyrs, and the place of their decease, but also a few words relative\nto their conflict, so that the people might associate their names with\ntheir victories, and the names might not become, in time, to them empty\nsounds. S. Cyprian was absent from Carthage when the persecution was\nraging there, but he wrote to his clergy, \"Note the days of their death,\nthat we may celebrate their commemorations along with the memorials of\nthe martyrs.\"[11] S. Augustine says,[12] \"The Christian people celebrate\nthe memory of the martyrs with religious solemnity, both to excite to\nimitation, and that they may become fellows in their merits and be\nassisted by their prayers.\"\n\nAdrian I. quotes the 13th Canon of the African Church and the 47th of\nthe third Carthaginian Council, in a letter to Charlemagne, in which he\nsays, \"The Sacred Canons approved of the passions of the Holy Martyrs\nbeing read in Church when their anniversary days were being celebrated.\"\n\nThe names of the martyrs to be commemorated were announced on the eve.\nBy degrees other names besides those of martyrs were introduced into the\nMartyrologies, as those of faithful servants of God whose lives were\ndeserving of imitation, but who had not suffered to the death in\ntestimony to the truth. Thus we have confessors, or those who endured\nhardships for Christ, doctors, or teachers of the Church, virgins,\nwidows, bishops and abbots, and even penitents.\n\nThe Martyrologies may be divided into two series, the ancient and the\nmodern. We need only concern ourselves with the Ancient Martyrologies.\n\nThe first to draw up a tolerably full Martyrology was Eusebius the\nhistorian, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, and he did this at the\nrequest of the Emperor Constantine. In this Martyrology he noted all the\nmartyrs of whom he had received an authentic account on the days of\ntheir suffering, with the names of the judges who sentenced them, the\nplaces where they suffered, and the nature of their sufferings. Eusebius\nwrote about A.D. 320, but there were collections of the sort already\nextant, as we may learn from the words of S. Cyprian already quoted, who\nin his instructions to his clergy ordered them to compile what was\npractically a Martyrology of the Carthaginian Church.\n\nWe have not got the Greek Martyrology of Eusebius, but we have the Latin\nversion made by S. Jerome. Bede says of this, \"Jerome was not the\nauthor, but the translator of this book; Eusebius is said to have been\nthe author.\"\n\nBut even this Latin version has not come down to us in its original\nform. There are numerous copies, purporting to be the Martyrology of S.\nJerome, still extant, but hardly two of them agree. The copies have been\namplified. The occasion of S. Jerome making his translation was as\nfollows. At the Council of Milan, held in 390, the presiding Bishop,\nGregory of Cordova, read out daily on the eve, as usual, the lists of\nmartyrs whose anniversary was to be celebrated on the morrow. As a good\nnumber of those present knew nothing of the martyrs thus commemorated,\nthey wrote by the hands of Chromatius, Bishop of Aquileja, and\nHeliodorus, Bishop of Altino, to S. Jerome, then at Bethlehem, to\nrequest him to draw up for their use a Martyrology out of the\ncollection made by Eusebius of Caesarea.\n\nTo this S. Jerome answered by letter, stating that he had got the\npassions of the martyrs written by Eusebius, and that he would gladly\nexecute what was asked of him. With this letter he sent the Martyrology,\nwith the name of a martyr to every day in the year except the first of\nJanuary.[13] Unfortunately, as already said, we have not got a copy of\nthe Martyrology unamended and unenlarged.\n\nNext in importance to the Martyrology of Jerome comes the \"Martyrologium\nRomanum Parvum,\" mentioned by S. Gregory the Great, who sent a copy of\nit to the Bishop of Aquileja. Ado, Bishop of Vienne, saw this; it was\nlent him for a few days, and he made a transcript with his own hand, as\nhe tells us in the preface to his own Martyrology, and it served him as\nthe basis for his work.\n\nBaronius was unable to discover a copy, though he made inquiry for it,\nin the libraries of Italy; but it was discovered by Rosweydus, the\nlearned Bollandist, and published by him in 1613.\n\nS. Gregory the Great, in his 29th Epistle, says, \"We have the names of\nnearly all the martyrs with their passions set down on their several\ndays, collected into one volume, and we celebrate the Mass daily in\ntheir honour.\"\n\nCassiodorus, in his \"Institution of Divine Lessons,\" says, \"Read\nconstantly the passions of the martyrs, which among other places you\nwill find in the letter of S. Jerome to Chromatius and Heliodorus; they\nflourished over the whole earth, and provoked to imitation; you will be\nled thereby to the heavenly kingdom.\"\n\nNext in importance to the Martyrology of Jerome and the little Roman\nMartyrology, comes that of the Venerable Bede. In the catalogue of his\nown works that he drew up, he says, \"I wrote a Martyrology of the natal\ndays of the holy martyrs, in which I took care to set down all I could\nfind, not only on their several days, but I also gave the sort of\nconflict they underwent, and under what judge they conquered the world.\"\n\nIf we compare this Martyrology with the Acts of the Martyrs, we see at\nonce that Bede took his account from them verbatim, merely condensing\nthe narrative.\n\nThe Martyrology of Bede was written about 720; Drepanius Florus, a\npriest of Lyons, who died 860, added to it considerably, and most of the\ncopies of Bede's Martyrology that we have are those enlarged by Florus.\n\nThe next martyrologist was Usuardus, monk of Saint-Germain-des-Pr\u00e9s, who\ndied in 876. He wrote his Martyrology at the request of Charles the\nBald, who was dissatisfied with the Martyrologies of Jerome and of Bede\nbecause they were too short in their narratives, and also because\nseveral days in the calendar were left blank. This account, which\nUsuardus gives in his preface, does not tally with the words of the\nepistle attributed to S. Jerome that precedes his Martyrology; and leads\nto the suspicion that this portion of the epistle, at least, is not\ngenuine. Usuardus certainly used the Hieronyman Martyrology as the basis\nof his work, and this has caused his work to be designated the larger\nHieronyman Martyrology. This work of Usuardus was so full, that it\ndisplaced the earlier Martyrologies in a great many churches. The best\nedition of the Martyrology of Usuardus is that of Solerius, Antwerp,\n1714-1717.\n\nUsuardus was followed by Wandelbert, monk of Prum, who died in 870.\nWandelbert followed the Martyrologies of SS. Jerome and Bede, as\namplified by Florus, and wrote the notices of the martyrs in hexameter\nLatin verses. This monument of patience is composed of about 360\nmetrical pieces, of which each contains the life of the Saint\ncommemorated on the day. To these, which form the bulk of the work, are\nprefixed others of less importance, prefaces, dedicatory epistles to\nLothair, preliminary discourses on the importance of the Martyrology, on\nthe knowledge of times and seasons, months and days, etc. Although\nWandelbert wrote for the most part in hexameters, he abandoned them\noccasionally for lyric metres, which he managed with less facility.\nD'Ach\u00e9ry published this Martyrology in his \"Spicilegium,\" but the\nedition is a bad one.\n\nThe next martyrologist is Ado, Bishop of Vienne, who has been already\nmentioned in connection with the \"Martyrologium Parvum.\" Ado was born\nabout the year 800, and died in 875. In his preface, Ado says: \"For this\nwork of noting on their proper days the nativities of the Saints, which\nare generally found confusedly in calendars, I have made use of a\nvenerable and very ancient Martyrology, at Aquileja, sent to a certain\nholy bishop by the Roman Pontiff, and this was lent me, when at Ravenna,\nfor a few days by a certain religious brother. This I diligently copied,\nand thought to place it at the head of my work. I have, however,\ninserted the passions of the Saints somewhat longer in this Martyrology,\nfor the use of the infirm brothers, and those less able to get at books,\nthat they may be able to read out of a little book a compendium to the\npraise of God and the memory of the martyrs, instead of overhauling a\nhost of big volumes with much labour.\" The best edition of Ado's\nMartyrology is that by Geo. Rhodigini, published at Rome, 1740.\n\nThere have been many later Martyrologies, but these are of far inferior\nimportance, and need not be here enumerated. In the East, the Greeks had\nanciently their collections. That of Eusebius probably formed the basis\nof later Menologies. In the Horology are contained calendars of the\nSaints for every day with prayers; this portion of the Horology is\ncalled the Menology.\n\nThe Menology is divided into months, and contains the lives of the\nSaints, in abridgment, for each day, or the simple commemoration of\nthose whose acts are extant. The Menology of the Greeks is, therefore,\nmuch the same as the Latin Martyrology, and there are almost as many\nMenologies as there are Martyrologies. The principal is that of the\nEmperor Basil II. (d. 1025), published by Ughelli in his \"Italia Sacra.\"\nThe larger Menologies are entitled \"Synaxaria,\" because they were read\nin the churches on days of assembly. These lives are very long, and the\nMenology contains the substance in a condensed form.\n\nThe modern Roman Martyrology was drawn up by order of Pope Gregory\nXIII., who appointed for the purpose eight commissaries, amongst whom\nwas Baronius. It leaves much to be desired, as it bristles with\ninaccuracies. A fresh edition was issued with some corrections by\nBenedict XIV. It demands a careful revision. Many of its inaccuracies\nhave been pointed out in the course of this work.\n\nIt is impossible to dismiss the subject of Martyrologies without a word\non the \"Acta Sanctorum\" of the Bollandists. This magnificent collection\nof Lives of the Saints is arranged on the principle of the Synaxarium,\nor Martyrology--that is to say, the Saints are not given in their\nchronological order, but as they appear in the calendar.\n\nHeribert Resweidus, of Utrecht, was a learned Jesuit father, born in\n1563, who died 1629. In 1607 he published the \"Fasti sanctorum quorum\nvitae manuscriptae in Belgio,\" a book containing the plan of a vast work\non the lives of all the Saints, which he desired to undertake. In 1613\nhe published \"Notes on the old Roman Martyrology,\" which he was the\nfirst to discover. In 1615 he brought out the \"Lives of the Hermits,\"\nand in 1619 another work on the \"Eremites of Palestine and Egypt.\" In\n1626 he published the \"Lives of the Virgin Saints.\" He died before the\ngreat work for which he had collected, and to which he had devoted his\ntime and thoughts, was begun. But the project was not allowed to drop.\nIt was taken up by John Bollandus, another Jesuit; with him were\nassociated two other fathers of the same order, Henschenius and\nPapebrock, and in 1643 appeared the January volumes, two in number. In\n1648 the three volumes of the February Saints issued from the press.\nBollandus died in 1665, and the March volumes, three in number, edited\nby Henschenius and Papebrock, appeared in 1668. As the work proceeded,\nmaterial came in in abundance, and the work grew under their hands. May\nwas represented by seven volumes; so also June, July, and August. The\ncompilation is not yet complete. At present, this huge work consists of\nabout sixty folio volumes, which bring the student down to within three\ndays of the end of the month of October; but a large store of material\nis being utilized in order to complete that month forthwith, and further\nstores have been accumulated towards the Lives of the Saints for\nNovember and December, about 4000 of such biographies being still to be\nactually written. Moreover, the earlier volumes are very incomplete, and\nat least the months of January to April need rewriting.\n\nThe principle on which the Bollandists have worked is an excellent one.\nThey have not themselves written the lives of the Saints, but they\npublish every scrap of record, and all the ancient acts and lives of the\nSaints that are extant. The work is a storehouse of historical\nmaterials. To these materials the editors prefix an introductory essay\non the value and genuineness of the material, and on the chronology of\nthe Saint's life. They have done their work conscientiously and well.\nOnly occasionally have they omitted acts or portions of lives which\nthey have regarded as mythical or unedifying. These omissions are to be\nregretted, as they would have been instructive.\n\nAnother valuable repository of the lives of Saints is Mabillon's\n\"Collection of the Acts of the Saints of the Order of S. Benedict,\" in\nnine volumes, published 1668-1701. The arrangement in this collection is\nby centuries. Theodoric Ruinart, in 1689, published the Acts of the\nMartyrs, but not a complete series; he selected only those which he\nregarded as genuine.\n\nWith regard to England there is a Martyrology of Christ Church,\nCanterbury, written in the thirteenth century, and now in the British\nMuseum (Arundell MSS., No. 68); also a Martyrology written between 1220\nand 1224, from the south-west of England; this also is in the British\nMuseum (MSS. Reg. 2, A. xiii.). A Saxon Martyrology, incomplete, is\namong the Harleian MSS. (2785) in the same museum. It dates from the\nfourteenth century. There is a transcript among the Sloane MSS. (4938),\nof a Martyrology of North English origin, but this also is incomplete.\nThere are others, later, of less value. The most interesting is \"The\nMartiloge in Englysshe, after the use of the chirche of Salisbury,\"\nprinted by Wynkyn de Worde in 1526, reissued by the \"Henry Bradshaw\nSociety\" in 1893. To these Martyrologies must be added the \"Legenda\" of\nJohn of Tynemouth, A.D. 1350; that of Capgrave, A.D. 1450, his \"Nova\nLegenda,\" printed in 1516; Whitford's \"Martyrology,\" 1526; Wilson's\n\"Martyrologue,\" 1st edition, 1608, 2nd edition, 1640; and Bishop\nChalloner's \"Memorial of Ancient British Piety,\" 1761. Recently the\nRev. Richard Stanton, Priest of the Oratory, London, has issued an\ninvaluable \"Martyrology of England and Wales,\" 1887.\n\nScottish Kalendars have been reprinted and commented on, and brief lives\nof the Saints given by the late Bishop Forbes of Brechin, in \"Kalendars\nof Scottish Saints,\" Edinburgh, 1872.\n\nUnhappily little is known of the Welsh and Cornish and some local\nEnglish Saints, but it is my purpose to add such information as can be\ngathered concerning them.\n\n S. BARING-GOULD.\n\n _January 1897._\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[2] Euseb., \"Hist. Eccl.,\" lib. iv., cap. xv.\n\n[3] S. Paulinus was born A.D. 353, and elected Bishop of Nola\nA.D. 409. Prudentius was born A.D. 348.\n\n[4] Ep. xii., ad Severum, \"His holy bones 'neath lasting altars rest.\"\n\n[5] Ep. xii., ad Severum.\n\n[6] Hymn xi.\n\n[7] \"Eccl. Hierarch.,\" cap. iii.\n\n[8] S. Damasus was born A.D. 304, and died A.D. 384.\n\n[9] He died A.D. 250; see Ep. i.\n\n[10] Born A.D. 160, died A.D. 245.\n\n[11] Ep. xxxvii.\n\n[12] Lib. xx., contra Faustum, cap. xxi.\n\n[13] The copies of these letters prefixed to the Martyrology\nvary greatly, and their authenticity has been questioned; but the\ncircumstance is probably true.\n\n[Illustration: Decoration]\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n A\n\n PAGE\n\n S. Adalhardt 34\n \" Adelelm 461\n \" Adrian 128\n \" Aelred 176\n \" Agatho 137\n \" Agnes 317\n \" Aidan 467\n \" Aldegund 460\n \" Aldric 96\n \" Alexander Acoemetus 228\n SS. Anastasius and comp. 334\n B. Angela of Foligni 63\n S. Anteros 38\n \" Anthony 249\n \" Apollinaris Synclet 70\n \" Apollo 372\n \" Arcadius 162\n SS. Archelaa and others 278\n S. Artemas 370\n \" Asclas 346\n \" Athanasius 38\n \" Atticus 100\n \" Audifax 285\n \" Augurius 312\n\n\n B\n\n S. Babylus 361\n \" Baldwin 112\n \" Balthazar 148\n \" Barsas of Edessa 460\n \" Bassian of Lodi 286\n \" Bathild 394\n \" Benedict Biscop 167\n \" Bertilia 51\n SS. Blaithmac and comp. 289\n S. Brithwald 131\n\n\n C\n\n S. Cadoc 363\n \" Caesaria 167\n \" Canute Lavard 97\n \" Cedd 91\n \" Ceolwulf 236\n \" Charlemagne 437\n \" Christiana 146\n Circumcision, The 1\n S. Clement of Ancyra 347\n \" Concord 3\n Conversion of S. Paul 370\n S. Cyriacus 163\n \" Cyril, Alexandria 418\n \" Cyrinus 44\n SS. Cyrus, John, and others 465\n\n\n D\n\n S. Dafrosa 57\n \" Datius 210\n \" Deicolus 280\n \" Devota 399\n \" Domitian 136\n\n\n E\n\n S. Egwin 160\n SS. Elvan and Mydwyn 5\n Epiphany, The 82\n S. Erminold 86\n \" Eulogius 312\n \" Euthymius 305\n \" Eutropius 163\n\n\n F\n\n S. Fabian 299\n \" Fechin 310\n \" Felix 199\n \" Fillan 127\n \" Francis of Sales 443\n \" Frodobert 112\n \" Fructuosus 312\n \" Fulgentius 10\n \" Fursey 243\n\n\n G\n\n S. Gaudentius 334\n \" Genoveva 46\n \" Genulph 247\n \" Gerlach 81\n \" Germanicus 284\n \" Gildas 440\n \" Gonsalvo 142\n \" Gordius 42\n B. Gotfried 194\n S. Gregory of Langres 58\n \" Gudula 115\n\n\n H\n\n S. Habakkuk 285\n \" Henry 245\n SS. Hermylus and Stratonicus 179\n S. Hilary 182\n \" Honoratus 240\n \" Hyacintha 462\n \" Hyginus 149\n\n\n I\n\n S. Isidore 228\n\n\n J\n\n S. James (Tarantaise) 242\n \" James the Penitent 433\n \" John the Almsgiver 348\n \" John the Calybite 233\n \" John Chrysostom 400\n \" John of Therouanne 415\n \" Julian of Le Mans 398\n SS. Julian and comp. 121\n S. Justina 133\n SS. Juventine and Maximus 371\n\n\n K\n\n S. Kentigern 187\n\n\n L\n\n S. Launomar 287\n \" Laurence Justiniani 119\n \" Leobard 278\n \" Lucian of Antioch 88\n \" Lucian of Beauvais 99\n \" Lupus of Ch\u00e2lons 413\n\n\n M\n\n S. Macarius, Alexandria 28\n \" Macarius, Egypt 221\n \" Macedonius 362\n \" Macra 85\n \" Macrina 202\n \" Marcella 466\n \" Marcellus 238\n \" Marcian 134\n \" Marciana 120\n \" Mares 374\n SS. Maris and others 285\n S. Martha 285\n SS. Martyrs at Lichfield 28\n \" Martyrs in the Thebaid 65\n S. Maurus 234\n \" Maximus 371\n \" Meinrad 321\n \" Melanius 85\n \" Melas 239\n \" Melor 44\n \" Mildgytha 273\n \" Mochua or Cronan 20\n \" Mochua or Cuan 19\n \" Mosentius 163\n\n\n N\n\n S. Nicanor 133\n\n\n O\n\n S. Odilo 20\n B. Ordorico 211\n S. Oringa 146\n\n\n P\n\n S. Palaemon 149\n \" Palladius 417\n \" Patiens 100\n \" Patroclus 315\n \" Paul 215\n \" Paula 384\n SS. Paul and comp. 277\n S. Paulinus 436\n \" Pega 118\n \" Peter Balsam 39\n \" Peter Nolasco 470\n \" Peter of Canterbury 86\n \" Peter of Sebaste 125\n \" Peter's Chair 275\n \" Pharaildis 60\n \" Polycarp 378\n \" Poppo 375\n \" Praejectus 375\n \" Primus 44\n \" Prisca 276\n \" Priscilla 238\n\n\n R\n\n S. Raymund 357\n \" Rigobert 61\n \" Rumon 57\n\n\n S\n\n S. Sabine 273\n SS. Sabinian and Sabina 439\n S. Salvius 160\n SS. Satyrus and others 163\n S. Sebastian 300\n \" Serapion 470\n \" Sethrida 138\n \" Severinus 101\n \" Silvester 36\n \" Simeon Stylites 72\n \" Simeon the Old 383\n SS. Speusippus and others 246\n S. Sulpicius Severus 442\n S. Susanna 278\n \" Syncletica 67\n\n\n T\n\n S. Telemachus 7\n \" Telesphorus 65\n \" Thecla 278\n SS. Thecla and Justina 133\n S. Theodoric 414\n \" Theodosius 151\n SS. Theodulus & comp. 202\n \" Theognis & comp. 44\n S. Theoritgitha 397\n SS. Thyrsus and comp. 416\n \" Tigris and Eutropius 163\n S. Timothy 359\n \" Titus 53\n \" Tyllo 94\n\n\n U\n\n S. Ulphia 468\n\n\n V\n\n S. Valentine 90\n \" Valerius of Tr\u00e8ves 439\n \" Valerius (Saragossa) 417\n \" Veronica of Milan 196\n \" Vincent 331\n \" Vitalis 156\n\n\n W\n\n B. Walter of Bierbeeke 341\n S. William (Bourges) 139\n \" Wulsin 118\n \" Wulstan 290\n\n\n X\n\n SS. Xenophon and Mary 389\n \" XXXVIII Monks, in Ionia 175\n\n\n Z\n\n SS. Zosimus and Athanasius 38\n\n[Illustration: Decoration]\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n SILVER-GILT MONSTRANCE _Frontispiece_\n _In the Treasury of the Cathedral, Aix-la-Chapelle._\n\n THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST _to face p._ 1\n _From the grand Vienna edition of the\n \"Missale Romanum.\"_\n\n OBLATION OF AN INFANT TO A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY _on p._ 37\n\n S. Genoveva _to face p._ 48\n _From \"Caract\u00e9ristiques des Saints dans l'Art\n populaire \u00e9num\u00e9r\u00e9es et expliqu\u00e9es,\" par le_\n P. CH. CAHIER, _de la Compagnie de Jesus.\n 4to. Paris, 1867._\n\n S. SIMEON STYLITES \" 72\n _From_ HONE'S \"_Everyday Book._\"\n\n THE EPIPHANY \" 82\n _From the Vienna Missal._\n\n WORSHIPPERS AT THE SHRINE OF A SAINT _on p._ 87\n\n SEAL OF THE CITY OF BRUSSELS \" 98\n\n S. GENOVEVA \" 132\n\n S. EGWIN, BP. OF WORCESTER _to face p._ 160\n _After_ CAHIER.\n\n S. AELRED, AB. OF RIEVAUX _to face p._ 176\n _From a Design by_ A. WELBY PUGIN.\n\n S. ODILO _on p._ 178\n\n S. HILARY BAPTIZING S. MARTIN OF TOURS _to face p._ 184\n _From a Window, dated 1528, in the Church of\n S. Florentin, Yonne._\n\n THE THREE CHILDREN IN THE FIERY FURNACE 184\n _From the Catacombs._\n\n SEAL OF ROBERT WISHART, BP. OF GLASGOW, 1272-1316 _on p._ 198\n\n HERMIT SAINTS--S. ANTHONY \" 214\n\n HERMIT SAINT _to face p._ 216\n _From a Drawing by_ A. WELBY PUGIN.\n\n S. CEOLWULF (?) _on p._ 237\n\n S. HONOR\u00c9 _to face p._ 240\n _After_ CAHIER.\n\n S. ANTHONY TORTURED BY DEMONS \" 252\n _From the Design by_ MARTIN SCHONGUER.\n\n THE CHAIR OF S. PETER IN THE VATICAN _on p._ 274\n\n S. PETER'S COMMISSION, \"FEED MY FLOCK\" _to face p._ 274\n\n THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION \" 274\n\n BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION _on p._ 283\n _From a Painting in the Catacombs._\n\n S. WULSTAN, BP. OF WORCESTER _to face p._ 296\n _From a Design by_ A. WELBY PUGIN.\n\n SS. FABIAN AND SEBASTIAN _on p._ 298\n\n S. SEBASTIAN _to face p._ 304\n _From a Drawing by_ LUCAS SCHRAUDOLF.\n\n THE PEACOCK AS A CHRISTIAN EMBLEM _on p._ 311\n\n S. AGNES _to face p._ 316\n _From the Vienna Missal._\n\n THE VIRGIN APPEARING TO S. ILDEPHONSUS \" 356\n _After a Painting by_ MURILLO _in the Museum\n at Madrid._\n\n S. TIMOTHY \" 360\n _From a Window of the Eleventh Century at\n Neuweiler._\n\n S. PAUL _on p._ 369\n _After a Bronze in Christian Museum in\n the Vatican._\n\n THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL _to face p._ 370\n _After the Cartoon by_ RAPHAEL.\n\n ALPHA AND OMEGA; THE FIRST AND THE LAST _on p._ 377\n\n SS. PAULA, PRISCA, AND PAUL _to face p._ 384\n\n S. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA \" 424\n _After the Picture by_ DOMINICHINO (_or_ DOMINIQUIN)\n _in the Church of Grotta Ferrata, Rome._\n\n S. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA \" 432\n _After_ CAHIER.\n\n CHARLEMAGNE AND S. LOUIS \" 436\n _After a Picture in the Palais de Justice, Paris._\n\n BAPTISM OF VANQUISHED SAXONS BY COMMAND\n OF CHARLEMAGNE _on p._ 438\n _From a Miniature of the 15th Century in the\n Burgundy Library at Brussels._\n\n S. FRANCIS OF SALES _to face p._ 448\n\n S. ALDEGUND \" 460\n _After_ CAHIER.\n\n VIRGIN IN CRESCENT _on p._ 464\n _After_ ALBERT D\u00dcRER.\n\n S. MARCELLA _to face p._ 466\n _After an Engraving of the Seventeenth Century._\n\n S. ULPHIA \" 468\n _From_ CAHIER.\n\n S. PETER NOLASCO \" 470\n _From_ CAHIER.\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\n [Illustration: THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST.\n From the grand Vienna Edition of the \"Missale Romanum.\"\n Jan. 1.]\n\n\n\n\nLIVES OF THE SAINTS\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 1.\n\nThe Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ.\n\n S. GASPAR, _one of the Magi_.\n S. CONCORD, _P. M., at Spoleto, in Umbria, circ._ A.D. 175.\n SS. ELVAN, _B., and_ MYDWYN, _in England, circ._ A.D. 198.\n S. MARTINA, _V. M., at Rome_, A.D. 235.\n S. PARACODIUS, _B. of Vienne_, A.D. 239.\n S. SEVERUS, _M., at Ravenna_, A.D. 304.\n S. TELEMACHUS, _M., at Rome_, A.D. 404.\n S. FULGENTIUS, _B. C. of Ruspe, in N. Africa_, A.D. 533.\n S. MOCHUA, or CUAN, _Ab. in Ireland, 6th cent._\n S. MOCHUA, or CRONAN, _Ab. of Balla, in Ireland, 7th cent._\n S. EUGENDUS, _Ab. of Condate, in the Jura_, A.D. 581.\n S. FANCHEA, or FAIN, _V. Abss., of Rosairthir, in Ireland, 6th cent._\n S. CLARE, _Ab. of Vienne, circ._ A.D. 660.\n S. WILLIAM, _Ab. S. Benignus, at Dijon_, A.D. 1031.\n S. Odilo, _Ab. Cluny_, A.D. 1049.\n\n\nTHE CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD.\n\nThis festival is celebrated by the Church in order to commemorate the\nobedience of our Lord in fulfilling all righteousness, which is one\nbranch of the meritorious cause of our redemption, and by that means\nabrogating the severe injunctions of the Mosaic law, and placing us\nunder the grace of the Gospel.\n\nGod gave to Abraham the command to circumcise all male children on the\neighth day after birth, and this rite was to be the seal of covenant\nwith Him, a token that, through shedding of the blood of One to come,\nremission of the original sin inherited from Adam could alone be\nobtained. It was also to point out that the Jews were cut off, and\nseparate, from the other nations. By circumcision, a Jew belonged to the\ncovenant, was consecrated to the service of God, and undertook to\nbelieve the truths revealed by Him to His elect people, and to hold the\ncommandments to which He required obedience. Thus, this outward sign\nadmitted him to true worship of God, true knowledge of God, and true\nobedience to God's moral law. Circumcision looked forward to Christ,\nwho, by His blood, remits sin. Consequently, as a rite pointing to Him\nwho was to come, it is abolished, and its place is taken by baptism,\nwhich also is a sign of covenant with God, admitting to true worship,\ntrue knowledge, and true obedience. But baptism is more than a covenant,\nand therefore more than was circumcision. It is a Sacrament; that is, a\nchannel of grace. By baptism, supernatural power, or grace, is given to\nthe child, whereby it obtains that which by nature it could not have.\nCircumcision admitted to covenant, but conferred no grace. Baptism\nadmits to covenant, and confers grace. By circumcision, a child was made\na member of God's own peculiar people. By baptism, the same is done; but\nGod's own people is now not one nation, but the whole Catholic Church.\nChrist underwent circumcision, not because He had inherited the sin of\nAdam, but because He came to fulfil all righteousness, to accomplish the\nlaw, and for the letter to give the spirit.\n\nIt was, probably, the extravagances committed among the heathen at the\nkalends of January, upon which this day fell, that hindered the Church\nfor some ages from proposing it as an universal set festival. The\nwritings of the Fathers are full of invectives against the idolatrous\nprofanations of this day, which concluded the riotous feasts in honour\nof Saturn, and was dedicated to Janus and Strena, or Strenua, a goddess\nsupposed to preside over those presents which were sent to, and received\nfrom, one another on the first day of the year, and which were called\nafter her, strenae; a name which is still preserved in the _\u00e9trennes_, or\ngifts, which it is customary in France to make on New Year's Day.\n\nBut, when the danger of the heathen abuses was removed, by the\nestablishment of Christianity in the Roman empire, this festival began\nto be observed; and the mystery of our Blessed Lord's Circumcision is\nexplained in several ancient homilies of the fifth century. It was,\nhowever, spoken of in earlier times as the Octave of the Nativity, and\nthe earliest mention of it as the Circumcision is towards the end of the\neleventh century, shortly before the time of S. Bernard, who also has a\nsermon upon it. In the Ambrosian Missal, used at Milan, the services of\nthe day contain special cautions against idolatry. In a Gallican\nLectionary, which is supposed to be as old as the seventh century, are\nspecial lessons \"In Circumcisione Domini.\" Ivo, of Chartres, in 1090,\nspeaks of the observance of this day in the French Church. The Greek\nChurch also has a special commemoration of the Circumcision.\n\n\nS. CONCORD, P. M.\n\n(ABOUT 175.)\n\n [S. Concord is mentioned in all the Latin Martyrologies. His\n festival is celebrated at Bispal, in the diocese of Gerona, in\n Spain, where his body is said to be preserved, on the 2nd Jan. His\n translation is commemorated on the 4th July. The following is an\n abridgment of his genuine Acts.]\n\nIn the reign of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus, there raged a violent\npersecution in the city of Rome. At that time there dwelt in Rome a\nsub-deacon, named Concordius, whose father was priest of S. Pastor's,\nCordianus by name. Concord was brought up by his father in the fear of\nGod, and in the study of Holy Scripture, and he was consecrated\nsub-deacon by S. Pius, Bishop of Rome. Concord and his father fasted and\nprayed, and served the Lord instantly in the person of His poor. When\nthe persecution waxed sore, said Concord to his father, \"My lord, send\nme away, I pray thee, to S. Eutyches, that I may dwell with him a few\ndays, until this tyranny be overpast.\" His father answered, \"My son, it\nis better to stay here that we may be crowned.\" But Concord said, \"Let\nme go, that I may be crowned where Christ shall bid me be crowned.\" Then\nhis father sent him away, and Eutyches received him with great joy. With\nhim Concord dwelt for a season, fervent in prayer. And many sick came to\nthem, and were healed in the name of Jesus Christ.\n\nThen, hearing the fame of them, Torquatus, governor of Umbria, residing\nat Spoleto, sent and had Concord brought before him. To him he said,\n\"What is thy name?\" He answered, \"I am a Christian.\" Then, said the\nGovernor, \"I asked concerning thee, and not about thy Christ.\" S.\nConcord replied, \"I have said that I am a Christian, and Christ I\nconfess.\" The Governor ordered: \"Sacrifice to the immortal gods, and I\nwill be to thee a father, and will obtain for thee favour at the hands\nof the Emperor, and he will exalt thee to be priest of the gods.\" S.\nConcord said, \"Harken unto me, and sacrifice to the Lord Jesus Christ,\nand thou shalt escape eternal misery.\" Then the governor ordered him to\nbe beaten with clubs, and to be cast into prison.\n\nThen, at night, there came to him the blessed Eutyches, with S.\nAnthymius, the bishop; for Anthymius was a friend of the governor; and\nhe obtained permission of Torquatus to take Concord home with him for a\nfew days. And during these days he ordained him priest, and they watched\ntogether in prayer.\n\nAnd after a time, the governor sent and brought him before him once more\nand said to him, \"What hast thou decided on for thy salvation?\" Then\nConcord said, \"Christ is my salvation, to whom daily I offer the\nsacrifice of praise.\" Then he was condemned to be hung upon the little\nhorse; and, with a glad countenance, he cried, \"Glory be to Thee, Lord\nJesus Christ!\"\n\nAfter this torment he was cast into prison, with irons on his hands and\nneck. And blessed Concord began to sing praise to God in his dungeon,\nand he said, \"Glory be to God on high, and in earth peace to men of good\nwill.\" Then, that same night, the angel of the Lord stood by him, and\nsaid, \"Fear not to play the man, I shall be with thee.\"\n\nAnd when three days had passed, the governor sent two of his officers,\nat night, to him with a small image of Jupiter. And they said, \"Hear\nwhat the governor has ordered; sacrifice to Jupiter or lose thy head.\"\nThen the blessed Concord spat in the face of the idol, and said, \"Glory\nbe to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ.\" Then one of the officers smote off his\nhead in the prison. Afterwards, two clerks and certain religious men\ncarried away his body, and buried it not far from the city of Spoleto,\nwhere many waters flow forth.\n\n\nSS. ELVAN AND MYDWYN.\n\n(ABOUT 198.)\n\n [Mentioned in English Martyrologies, and by Ferrarius in his\n General Catalogue of the Saints. The evidence for these Saints is\n purely traditional; the first written record of them was by Gildas,\n A.D. 560, but his account is lost. It is referred to by Matthew of\n Westminster.]\n\nSaint Elvan of Avalon, or Glastonbury, was brought up in that school\nerroneously said to have been founded by S. Joseph of Arimathea. He\nvehemently preached the truth before Lucius, a British king, and was\nmightily assisted by S. Mydwyn of Wales (Meduinus), a man of great\nlearning. Lucius despatched Elvan and Mydwyn to Rome, on an embassy to\nPope Eleutherius, in 179, who consecrated Elvan bishop, and appointed\nMydwyn teacher. He gave them, as companions, two Roman clerks, Faganus\nand Deruvianus; or, according to some, Fugatius and Damianus. They\nreturned with these to King Lucius, who was obedient to the word of God,\nand received baptism along with many of his princes and nobles. Elvan\nbecame the second archbishop of London. He and Mydwyn were buried at\nAvalon. S. Patrick is said to have found there an ancient account of the\nacts of the Apostles, and of Fugatius and Damianus, written by the hand\nof S. Mydwyn. Matthew of Westminster gives the following account of the\nconversion of Lucius, under the year 185:--\"About the same time, Lucius,\nking of the Britons, directed letters to Eleutherius, entreating him\nthat he would make him a Christian. And the blessed pontiff, having\nascertained the devotion of the king, sent to him some religious\nteachers; namely, Faganus and Deruvianus, to convert the king to Christ,\nand wash him in the holy font. And when that had been done, then the\ndifferent nations ran to baptism, following the example of the king, so\nthat in a short time there were no infidels found in the island.\"\n\nThere is a considerable amount of exaggeration in this account of\nMatthew of Westminster, which must not be passed over. Lucius is known\nin the Welsh triads by the name of Lleurwg, or Lleufer Mawr, which means\n\"The great Luminary,\" and this has been Latinized into Lucius, from\n_Lux_, light. He was king of a portion of South Wales only. The Welsh\nauthorities make no mention of the alleged mission to Rome, though, that\nsuch a mission should have been sent, is extremely probable. Some\naccounts say that Medwy and Elfan were Britons, and that Dyfan and\nFfagan (Deruvianus and Faganus) were Roman priests. But both these names\nare British, consequently we may conjecture that they were of British\norigin, but resided then at Rome.\n\nFour churches near Llandaf bore the names of Lleurwg (Lucius), Dyfan,\nFfagan, and Medwy, which confirms the belief in the existence of these\nSaints, and indicates the scene of their labours. Matthew of Westminster\nadds:--\"A.D. 185. The blessed priests, Faganus and Deruvianus, returned\nto Rome, and easily prevailed on the most blessed Pope that all that\nthey had done should be confirmed. And when it had been, then the\nbefore-mentioned teachers returned to Britain, with a great many more,\nby whose teaching the nation of the Britons was soon founded in the\nfaith of Christ, and became eminent as a Christian people. And their\nnames and actions are found in the book that Gildas the historian wrote,\nconcerning the victory of Aurelius Ambrosius.\"\n\nGeoffrey, of Monmouth, who, unsupported, is thoroughly untrustworthy,\nmentions the same circumstance, on the authority of the treatise of\nGildas, now lost. The embassy to Rome shall be spoken of at length,\nunder the title of S. Lucius, December 11th. See also Nennius, \u00a7 22;\nBede's Eccles. Hist. i. 4; and the Liber Landavensis, p. 65.\n\n\nS. TELEMACHUS, H. M.\n\n(ABOUT 404.)\n\nThe following account of the martrydom of S. Telemachus is given by\nTheodoret, in his Ecclesiastical History, book v., chap. 26:--\"Honorius,\nwho had received the empire of Europe, abolished the ancient exhibitions\nof gladiators in Rome on the following occasion:--A certain man, named\nTelemachus, who had embraced a monastic life, came from the East to\nRome at a time when these cruel spectacles were being exhibited. After\ngazing upon the combat from the amphitheatre, he descended into the\narena, and tried to separate the gladiators. The bloodthirsty\nspectators, possessed by the devil, who delights in the shedding of\nblood, were irritated at the interruption of their savage sports, and\nstoned him who had occasioned the cessation. On being apprised of this\ncircumstance, the admirable Emperor numbered him with the victorious\nmartyrs, and abolished these iniquitous spectacles.\"\n\nFor centuries the wholesale murders of the gladiatorial shows had lasted\nthrough the Roman empire. Human beings, in the prime of youth and\nhealth, captives or slaves, condemned malefactors, and even free-born\nmen, who hired themselves out to death, had been trained to destroy each\nother in the amphitheatre for the amusement, not merely of the Roman\nmob, but of the Roman ladies. Thousands, sometimes in a single day, had\nbeen\n\n \"Butchered to make a Roman holiday.\"\n\nThe training of gladiators had become a science. By their weapons, and\ntheir armour, and their modes of fighting, they had been distinguished\ninto regular classes, of which the antiquaries count up full eighteen:\nAndabatae, who wore helmets, without any opening for the eyes, so that\nthey were obliged to fight blindfold, and thus excited the mirth of the\nspectators; Hoplomachi, who fought in a complete suit of armour;\nMirmillones, who had the image of a fish upon their helmets, and fought\nin armour, with a short sword, matched usually against the Retiarii, who\nfought without armour, and whose weapons were a casting-net and a\ntrident. These, and other species of fighters, were drilled and fed in\n\"families\" by lanistae, or regular trainers, who let them out to persons\nwishing to exhibit a show. Women, even high-born ladies, had been\nseized in former times with the madness of fighting, and, as shameless\nas cruel, had gone down into the arena, to delight with their own wounds\nand their own gore, the eyes of the Roman people.\n\nAnd these things were done, and done too often under the auspices of the\ngods, and at their most sacred festivals. So deliberate and organized a\nsystem of wholesale butchery has never perhaps existed on this earth\nbefore or since, not even in the worship of those Mexican gods, whose\nidols Cortez and his soldiers found fed with human hearts, and the walls\nof their temples crusted with human gore. Gradually the spirit of the\nGospel had been triumphing over this abomination. Ever since the time of\nTertullian, in the second century, Christian preachers and writers had\nlifted up their voice in the name of humanity. Towards the end of the\nthird century, the Emperors themselves had so far yielded to the voice\nof reason, as to forbid, by edicts, the gladiatorial fights. But the\npublic opinion of the mob, in most of the great cities, had been too\nstrong both for Saints and for Emperors. S. Augustine himself tells us\nof the horrible joy which he, in his youth, had seen come over the vast\nring of flushed faces at these horrid sights. The weak Emperor Honorius\nbethought himself of celebrating once more the heathen festival of the\nSecular Games, and formally to allow therein an exhibition of\ngladiators. But, in the midst of that show, sprang down into the arena\nof the Colosseum of Rome, this monk Telemachus, some said from Nitria,\nsome from Phrygia, and with his own hands parted the combatants, in the\nname of Christ and God. The mob, baulked for a moment of their pleasure,\nsprang on him, and stoned him to death. But the crime was followed by a\nsudden revulsion of feeling. By an edict of the Emperor, the\ngladiatorial sports were forbidden for ever; and the Colosseum,\nthenceforth useless, crumbled slowly away into that vast ruin which\nremains unto this day, purified, as men well said, from the blood of\ntens of thousands, by the blood of this true and noble martyr.[14]\n\n\nS. FULGENTIUS, B. C.\n\n(A.D. 533.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology and nearly all the Latin Martyrologies. His life\n was written by one of his disciples, and addressed to his\n successor, Felicianus. Many of his writings are extant.]\n\nFulgentius belonged to an honourable senatorial family of Carthage,\nwhich had, however, lost its position with the invasion of the Vandals\ninto Northern Africa. His father, Claudius, who had been unjustly\ndeprived of his house in Carthage, to give it to the Arian priest,\nretired to an estate belonging to him at Telepte, a city of the province\nof Byzacene. And here, about thirty years after the barbarians had\ndismembered Africa from the Roman empire, in the year 468, was born\nFulgentius. Shortly after this his father died, and the education of the\nchild devolved wholly on his mother, Mariana. It has been often observed\nthat great men have had great mothers. Mariana was a woman of singular\nintelligence and piety. She carefully taught her son to speak Greek with\nease and good accent, and made him learn by heart Homer, Menander, and\nother famous poets of antiquity. At the same time, she did not neglect\nhis religious education, and the youth grew up obedient and modest. She\nearly committed to him the government of the house, and servants, and\nestate; and his prudence in these matters made his reputation early, and\nhe was appointed procurator of the province.\n\nBut it was not long before he grew weary of the world; and the love of\nGod drew him on into other paths. He found great delight in religious\nreading, and gave more time to prayer. He was in the habit of\nfrequenting monasteries, and he much wondered to see in the monks no\nsigns of weariness, though they were deprived of all the relaxations and\npleasures which the world provides. Then, under the excuse that his\nlabours of office required that he should take occasional repose, he\nretired at intervals from business, and devoted himself to prayer and\nmeditation, and reduced the abundance of food with which he was served.\nAt length, moved by a sermon of S. Augustine on the thirty-sixth Psalm,\nhe resolved on embracing the religious life.\n\nThere was at that time a certain bishop, Faustus by name, who had been\ndriven, together with other orthodox bishops, from their sees, by\nHuneric, the Arian king. Faustus had erected a monastery in Byzacene. To\nhim Fulgentius betook himself, and asked to be admitted into the\nmonastery. But the Bishop repelled him saying, \"Why, my son, dost thou\nseek to deceive the servants of God? Then wilt thou be a monk when thou\nhast learned to despise luxurious food and sumptuous array. Live as a\nlayman less delicately, and then I shall believe in thy vocation.\" But\nthe young man caught the hand of him who urged him to depart, and,\nkissing it said, \"He who gave the desire is mighty to enable me to\nfulfil it. Suffer me to tread in thy footsteps, my father!\" Then, with\nmuch hesitation, Faustus suffered the youth to remain, saying, \"Perhaps\nmy fears are unfounded. Thou must be proved some days.\"\n\nThe news that Fulgentius had become a monk spread far and wide. His\nmother, in transports of grief, ran to the monastery, crying out,\n\"Faustus! restore to me my son, and to the people their governor. The\nChurch always protects widows; why then dost thou rob me, a desolate\nwidow, of my child?\" Faustus in vain endeavoured to calm her. She\ndesired to see her son, but he refused to give permission. Fulgentius,\nfrom within, could hear his mother's cries. This was to him a severe\ntemptation, for he loved her dearly.\n\nShortly after, he made over his estate to his mother, to be\ndiscretionally disposed of, by her, in favour of his brother Claudius,\nwhen he should arrive at a proper age. He practised severe mortification\nof his appetite, totally abstaining from oil and everything savoury, and\nhis fasting produced a severe illness, from which, however, he\nrecovered, and his constitution adapted itself to his life of\nabstinence.\n\nPersecution again breaking out, Faustus was obliged to leave his\nmonastery, and Fulgentius, at his advice, took refuge in another, which\nwas governed by the Abbot Felix, who had been his friend in the world,\nand who became now his brother in religion. Felix rejoiced to see his\nfriend once more, and he insisted on exalting him to be abbot along with\nhimself. Fulgentius long refused, but in vain; and the monks were ruled\nby these two abbots living in holy charity, Felix attending to the\ndiscipline and the bodily necessities of the brethren, Fulgentius\ninstructing them in the divine love. Thus they divided the authority\nbetween them for six years, and no contradictions took place between\nthem; each being always ready to comply with the will of the other.\n\nIn the year 499, the country being ravaged by the Numidians, the two\nabbots were obliged to fly to Sicca Veneria, a city of the proconsular\nprovince of Africa. Here they were seized by orders of an Arian priest,\nand commanded to be scourged. Felix, seeing the executioners seize first\non Fulgentius, exclaimed, \"Spare my brother, who is not sufficiently\nstrong to endure your blows, lest he die under them, and strike me\ninstead.\" Felix having been scourged, Fulgentius was next beaten. His\npupil says, \"Blessed Fulgentius, a man of delicate body, and of noble\nbirth, was scarce able to endure the pain of the repeated blows, and, as\nhe afterwards told us, hoping to soothe the violence of the priest, or\ndistract it awhile, that he might recover himself a little, he cried\nout, 'I will say something if I am permitted.'\" The priest ordered the\nblows to cease, expecting to hear a recantation. But Fulgentius, with\nmuch eloquence, began a narration of his travels; and after the priest\nhad listened awhile, finding this was all he was about to hear, he\ncommanded the executioners to continue their beating of Fulgentius.\nAfter that, the two abbots, naked and bruised, were driven away. Before\nbeing brought before the Arian priest, Felix had thrown away a few coins\nhe possessed; and his captors, not observing this, after they were\nreleased, he and Fulgentius returned to the spot and recovered them all\nagain. The Arian bishop, whose relations were acquainted with the family\nof Fulgentius, was much annoyed at this proceeding of the priest, and\nseverely reprimanded him. He also urged Fulgentius to bring an action\nagainst him, but the confessor declined, partly because a Christian\nshould never seek revenge, partly also because he was unwilling to plead\nbefore a bishop who denied the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.\nFulgentius, resolving to visit the deserts of Egypt, renowned for the\nsanctity of the solitaries who dwelt there, went on board a ship for\nAlexandria, but the vessel touching at Sicily, S. Eulalius, abbot at\nSyracuse, diverted him from his intention, assuring him that \"a\nperfidious dissension had severed this country from the communion of S.\nPeter. All these monks, whose marvellous abstinence is noised abroad,\nhave not got with you the Sacrament of the Altar in common;\" meaning\nthat Egypt was full of heretics. Fulgentius visited Rome in the latter\npart of the year 500, during the entry of Theodoric. \"Oh,\" said he, \"how\nbeautiful must the heavenly Jerusalem be, if earthly Rome be so\nglorious.\" A short time after, Fulgentius returned home, and built\nhimself a cell on the sea-shore, where he spent his time in prayer,\nreading and writing, and in making mats and umbrellas of palm leaves.\n\nAt this time the Vandal heretic, King Thrasimund, having forbidden the\nconsecration of Catholic bishops, many sees were destitute of pastors,\nand the faithful were reduced to great distress. Faustus, the bishop,\nhad ordained Fulgentius priest, on his return to Byzacene, and now, many\nplaces demanded him as their bishop. Fulgentius, fearing this\nresponsibility, hid himself; but in a time of such trial and difficulty\nthe Lord had need of him, and He called him to shepherd His flock in a\nmarvellous manner. There was a city named Ruspe, then destitute of a\nbishop, for an influential deacon therein, named Felix, whose brother\nwas a friend of the procurator, desired the office for himself. But the\npeople, disapproving his ambition, made choice unanimously of\nFulgentius, of whom they knew only by report; and upon the primate\nVictor, bishop of Carthage, giving his consent that the neighbouring\nbishops should consecrate him, several people of Ruspe betook themselves\nto the cell of Fulgentius, and by force compelled him to consent to be\nordained. Thus, he might say, in the words of the prophet, \"A people\nwhom I have not known shall serve me.\"\n\nThe deacon, Felix, taking advantage of the illegality of the proceeding,\ndetermined to oppose the entrance of S. Fulgentius by force, and\noccupied the road by which he presumed the bishop would enter Ruspe. By\nsome means the people went out to meet him another way, and brought him\ninto the Cathedral, where he was installed, whilst the deacon, Felix,\nwas still awaiting his arrival in the road. Then he celebrated the\nDivine Mysteries, with great solemnity, and communicated all the\npeople. And when Felix, the deacon, heard this, he was abashed, and\nrefrained from further opposition. Fulgentius received him with great\nsweetness and charity, and afterwards ordained him priest.\n\nAs bishop, S. Fulgentius lived like a monk; he fed on the coarsest food,\nand dressed himself in the plainest garb, not wearing the orarium, which\nit was customary for bishops to put upon them. He would not wear a cloak\n(_casula_) of gay colour, but one very plain, and beneath it a blackish,\nor milk-coloured habit (_pallium_), girded about him. Whatever might be\nthe weather, in the monastery he wore this habit alone, and when he\nslept, he never loosed his girdle. \"In the tunic in which he slept, in\nthat did he sacrifice; he may be said, in time of sacrifice, to have\nchanged his heart rather than his habit.\"[15]\n\nHis great love for a recluse life induced him to build a monastery near\nhis house at Ruspe, which he designed to place under the direction of\nhis old friend, the Abbot Felix. But before the building could be\ncompleted, King Thrasimund ordered the banishment of the Catholic\nbishops to Sardinia. Accordingly, S. Fulgentius and other prelates,\nsixty in all, were carried into exile, and during their banishment they\nwere provided yearly with provisions and money by the liberality of\nSymmachus, Bishop of Rome. A letter of this Pope to them is still\nextant, in which he encourages them, and comforts them. S. Fulgentius,\nduring his retirement, composed several treatises for the confirmation\nof the faith of the orthodox in Africa. King Thrasimund, desirous of\nseeing him, sent for him, and appointed him lodgings in Carthage. The\nking drew up a set of ten objections to the Catholic faith, and required\nFulgentius to answer them. The Saint immediately complied with his\nrequest, and his answer had such effect, that the king, when he sent him\nnew objections, ordered that the answers should be read to himself\nalone. He then addressed to Thrasimund a confutation of Arianism, which\nwe have under the title of \"Three Books to King Thrasimund.\" The prince\nwas pleased with the work, and granted him permission to reside at\nCarthage; till, upon repeated complaints from the Arian bishops, of the\nsuccess of his preaching, which threatened, they said, the total\nconversion of the city to the faith in the Consubstantial, he was sent\nback to Sardinia, in 520. He was sent on board one stormy night, that he\nmight be taken away without the knowledge of the people, but the wind\nbeing contrary, the vessel was driven into port again in the morning,\nand the news having spread that the bishop was about to be taken from\nthem, the people crowded to say farewell, and he was enabled to go to a\nchurch, celebrate, and communicate all the faithful. Being ready to go\non board when the wind shifted, he said to a Catholic, whom he saw\nweeping, \"Grieve not, I shall shortly return, and the true faith of\nChrist will flourish again in this realm, with full liberty to profess\nit; but divulge not this secret to any.\"\n\nThe event confirmed the truth of the prediction. Thrasimund died in 523,\nand was succeeded by Hilderic, who gave orders for the restoration of\nthe orthodox bishops to their sees, and that liberty of worship should\nbe accorded to the Catholics.\n\nThe ship which brought back the bishops to Carthage was received with\ngreat demonstrations of joy. The pupil of the bishop, and eye-witness of\nthe scene, thus describes it:--\"Such was the devotion of the\nCarthaginian citizens, desiring to see the blessed Fulgentius again,\nthat all the people ardently looked for him whom they had seen wrestle\nso manfully before them. The multitude, which stood upon the shore, was\nsilent in expectation as the other bishops disembarked before him,\nseeking with eyes and thoughts only him whom they had familiarly known,\nand eagerly expecting him from the ship. And when his face appeared,\nthere broke forth a huge clamour, all striving who should first salute\nhim, who should first bow his head to him giving the benediction, who\nshould deserve to touch the tips of his fingers as he walked, who might\neven catch a glimpse of him, standing afar off. From every tongue\nresounded the praise of God. Then the people, going before and following\nafter the procession of the blessed confessors, moved to the Church of\nS. Agileus. But there was such a throng of people, especially around\nFulgentius, whom they especially honoured, that a ring had to be formed\nabout him by the holy precaution of the Christians, to allow him to\nadvance upon his way. Moreover, the Lord, desiring to prove the charity\nof the faithful, marvellously poured upon them, as they moved, a heavy\nshower of rain. But the heavy down-pour deterred none of them, but\nseemed to be the abundant benediction of heaven descending on them, and\nit so increased their faith, that they spread their cloaks above blessed\nFulgentius, and composed of their great love a new sort of tabernacle\nover him. And the evening approaching, the company of prelates presented\nthemselves before Boniface, the bishop (of Carthage) of pious memory,\nand all together praised and glorified God. Then the blessed Fulgentius\ntraversed the streets of Carthage, visiting his friends and blessing\nthem; he rejoiced with them that did rejoice, and wept with them that\ndid weep; and so, having satisfied all their wishes, he bade farewell to\nhis brethren, and went forth out of Carthage, finding on all the roads\npeople coming to meet him in the way with lanterns, and candles, and\nboughs of trees, and great joy, giving praises to the ineffable God, who\nhad wondrously made the blessed Fulgentius well pleasing in the sight of\nall men. He was received in all the churches as if he were their bishop,\nand thus the people throughout Byzacene rejoiced as one man over his\nreturn.\"\n\nArrived at Ruspe, S. Fulgentius diligently laboured to correct what was\nevil, and restore what was fallen down, and strengthen what was feeble\nin his diocese. The persecution had lasted seventy years, so that many\nabuses had crept in, and the faith of many was feeble, and ignorance\nprevailed. He carried out his reformation with such gentleness, that he\nwon, sooner or later, the hearts of the most vicious.\n\nIn a council, held at Junque, in 524, a certain bishop, named\nQuodvultdeus, disputed the precedency with the Bishop of Ruspe, who made\nno reply, but took the first place accorded him by the council. However,\nS. Fulgentius publicly desired, at the convention of another council,\nthat he might be allowed to yield the precedence to Quodvultdeus.\n\nAbout a year before his death, the bishop retired from all business, to\nprepare his soul for its exit, to a little island named Circinia. The\nnecessities of his flock recalled him, however, to Ruspe for a little\nwhile.\n\nHe bore the violent pains of his last illness with great resignation,\npraying incessantly, \"Lord grant me patience now, and afterwards\npardon.\" He called his clergy about him, and asked them to forgive him\nif he had shewn too great severity at any time, or had offended them in\nany way, and then, committing his soul into the hand of God as a\nmerciful Creator, he fell asleep in the evening of January 1ST, A.D.\n533, in his sixty-fifth year.\n\nRelics, at Bourges, in France, where May 16 is observed as the feast of\nhis translation, in the year 714.\n\n\nS. MOCHUA, OR CUAN.\n\n(ABOUT 6TH CENT.)\n\n [Commemorated in the ancient Irish Martyrologies on the 11th April;\n probably as being the day of his translation. But he died on Jan.\n 1st. The life of S. Mochua, in the Bollandists, is legendary, and\n is full of the wildest fable.]\n\nSAINT MOCHUA was the son of a certain Cronan, of noble race, and spent\nhis youth in fighting. At the age of thirty, he laid aside his arms, and\nburnt a house, with all its contents, which had been given to him by his\nuncle, saying that a servant of Christ should take nothing from sinners.\nThen he settled at a spot called Teach Mochua. He is said to have healed\nS. Finnan, or Munnu, of leprosy, and when S. Finnan was about to return\nhome, and his horse broke its leg, S. Mochua summoned a stag out of the\nforest to come and draw the vehicle, in place of the horse.\n\nIn his time, the first stone church was erected in Ireland by S. Kieran,\nand during the building of the church, there fell no rain to impede the\nmasons, for the clouds were stayed by the prayers of S. Mochua. He is\nsaid to have founded thirty churches. To assist in drawing wood from the\nforest to build these churches, Mochua called to his aid twelve stags,\nwhich served as patiently and obediently as oxen. And when his virtues\ndrew to him many people and much praise, the old man fled from place to\nplace, for he considered that the glory of this world would turn his\nheart from the glory of the world to come. And when very aged, he\nescaped with his oratory bell into a wild and mountainous part, and\nthere the clapper fell to the ground, at a place called Dagrinnis. He\nwas troubled in spirit, so bleak and lonely did the place appear; but an\nangel announced to him that there he was to build a cell, and there to\ndie; and in this spot he spent thirty years, and wrought many miracles,\nand died in the ninety-ninth year of his age.\n\nIt is difficult to clear the lives of many of the Irish Saints from the\nfable wherewith lively imaginations have invested them, in their oral\ntransmission through many hundreds of years.\n\n\nS. MOCHUA, OR CRONAN, OF BALLA\n\n(7TH CENT.)\n\n [The day of his death is unknown. He is here mentioned because of\n the similarity of his name to that of S. Mochua, of Teach Mochua.\n His life is legendary.]\n\nSaint Mochua, or Cronan, was the third son of Began, a man of good\nfamily. As a child, he was despised by his parents, and sent to keep\nsheep. But S. Congal, passing by his father's house, called the boy to\nfollow him, and made him a monk. S. Mochua founded the monastery of\nBalla in Connaught. He departed to the Lord in the fifty-sixth year of\nhis age.\n\n\nS. ODILO, AB. CLUNY.\n\n(A.D. 1049.)\n\n [Roman and Benedictine Martyrologies. Two lives of S. Odilo are\n extant, one written by Jotsald, a monk, who had lived under his\n rule, and who wrote it for Stephen, the nephew of the Saint. The\n other, a very inferior life, by S. Peter Damian. Both are printed\n in the Bollandists, but the first is from an imperfect MS. It was\n printed entire by Mabillon, Acta SS. O. S. B.]\n\nOdilo belonged to the family of Mercoeur, one of the most illustrious of\nAuvergne. Jotsald says:--\"In the beginning of the account of his virtues\nI must relate what happened to him as a boy. And lest it be thought\nincredible, I mention that I heard it from those to whom he was wont to\nnarrate the circumstance. When he was quite a little boy in his\nfather's house, before he was sent to school, he was destitute of almost\nall power in his limbs, so that he could not walk or move himself\nwithout help. It happened that one day his father's family were moving\nto another place, and a nurse was given charge of him to carry him. On\nher way, she put the little boy down with her bundles before the door of\na church, dedicated to the Mother of God, as she and the rest were\nobliged to go into some adjacent houses to procure food. As they were\nsome while absent, the boy finding himself left alone, impelled by\ndivine inspirations, began to try to get to the door and enter the\nChurch of the Mother of God. By some means, crawling on hands and knees,\nhe reached it, and entered the church, and went to the altar, and caught\nthe altar vestment with his hands; then, with all his power, stretching\nhis hands on high, he tried to rise, but was unable to do so, his joints\nhaving been so long ill-united. Nevertheless, divine power conquered,\nstrengthening and repairing the feeble limbs of the boy. Thus, by the\nintervention of the Mother of God, he rose, and stood upon his feet\nwhole, and ran here and there about the altar. The servants returning to\nfetch their bundles, and not finding the child, were much surprised, and\nlooked in all directions, and not seeing him, became greatly alarmed.\nHowever, by chance, entering the church, they saw him rambling and\nrunning about it; then they recognised the power of God, and joyously\ntook the boy in their arms, and went to their destination, and gave him,\ncompletely whole, to his parents, with great gladness.\"\n\nAs a child, he showed singular simplicity, modesty, and piety. \"Thus\npassed his childish years, and as the strength of youth began to succeed\nto boyhood, he silently meditated how to desert the flesh-pots of Egypt,\nand to strive to enter the Land of Promise, through the trials of the\nworld. O good Jesu! how sweet is Thy call! how sweet the inspiration of\nThy Spirit, which as soon as Thou strikest on the heart, turns the fire\nof the Babylonish furnace into love of the celestial country. So! as\nsoon as thou strikest the heart of the youth, thou changest it.\" Whilst\nhe was thus meditating, S. Majolus passed through Auvergne, and Odilo\ncame to him; then the old man, looking on the graceful form and comely\nface of the youth, and by the instinct of the Saints seeing into his\nsoul, he loved him greatly; also the youthful Odilo felt a great\naffection for the aged monk. And when they spoke to one another, Odilo\nopened his heart to Majolus, and the venerable man encouraged the youth\nto persevere in his good intentions.\n\nShortly after, Odilo left his home, \"as Abraham of old went forth out of\nUr of the Chaldees, and sought admittance into the abbey of Cluny, as\ninto the Promised Land. O good Jesu! how pleasant it was to see this\nsheep shorn of its worldly fleece, again ascend as from the baptismal\nfont! Then, wearing our habit, you might have seen our sheep amongst the\nothers of His flock, first in work, last in place, seeking the pastures\nof eternal verdure; attending to the lamps, sweeping the floors, and\ndoing other common offices. But the pearl could not remain long\nconcealed. After four years, S. Majolus, after many hard labours borne\nfor Christ, went out of the darkness of Egypt, entered Jerusalem, and\nwas placed in eternal peace by Christ. As death approached, he chose\nOdilo to be his successor, and to him and to the Lord, he committed his\nflock.\" But S. Odilo shrank from the position for which his youth, as he\nconsidered, disqualified him; however, he was elected by the whole\ncommunity, and was therefore unable to refuse the office wherewith he\nwas invested by the vote of the brethren, and the desire of the late\nabbot.\n\nHis disciple, Jotsald, gives a very beautiful picture of his master. He\ndescribes him as being of middle stature, with a face beaming with\ngrace, and full of authority; very emaciated and pale; his eyes bright\nand piercing, and often shedding tears of compunction. Every motion of\nhis body was grave and dignified; his voice was manly, and modulated to\nthe greatest sweetness, his speech straightforward and without\naffectation or artificiality.\n\nHis disciple says that he would recite psalms as he lay on his bed, and\nfalling asleep, his lips would still continue the familiar words, so\nthat the brethren applied to him the words of the bride, \"I sleep but my\nheart waketh,\" _Ego dormio et cor meum vigilat_. He read diligently, and\nnothing gave him greater delight than study. His consideration for\nothers was very marked. \"He was burdensome to none, to none importunate,\ndesirous of no honour, he sought not to get what belonged to others, nor\nto keep what was his own.\" His charity was most abundant; often the\nbrethren feared that it exceeded what was reasonable, but they found\nthat though he gave largely, he did not waste the revenues of the\nmonastery. Once, in time of famine, he was riding along a road, when he\nlit on the naked bodies of two poor boys who had died of hunger. Odilo\nburst into tears, and descending from his horse, drew off his woollen\nunder garment and wrapping the bodies in it, carefully buried them. In\nthis famine he sold the costly vessels of the Sanctuary, and despoiled\nthe Church of its gold and silver ornaments, that he might feed the\nstarving people. Amongst the objects thus parted with was the crown of\ngold presented to the abbey by Henry, King of the Romans. He accompanied\nthis Prince in his journey to Rome, when he was crowned emperor, in\n1014. This was his second journey thither; he made a third in 1017, and\na fourth in 1022. Out of devotion to S. Benedict, he paid a visit to\nMonte Cassino, where he kissed the feet of all the monks, at his own\nrequest, which was granted him with great reluctance.\n\n\"The convocation of the brethren was regularly held by him till he was\nat the point of death. O how joyous he was in the midst of them, as\nstanding in the midst of the choir, and looking to right and left he saw\nthe ring of young plantings, and remembered the verse of David's song,\n'Thy children shall be as the olive branches round about thy table.'\n_Filii tui sicut novellae olivarum, in circuitu mensae tuae._ And the more\nthe number of brothers increased, the more he exhibited his joy of heart\nby signs. And when some seemed distressed thereat, he was wont to say,\n'Grieve not that the flock has become great, my brothers, He who has\ncalled us in, He governs, and will provide.'\"\n\nFulbert, Bishop of Chartres, called him the archangel of monks; and the\nname, says his disciple, became him well. S. Odilo, out of his great\ncompassion for the souls of the dead expiating the penalty of their sins\nin purgatory, instituted the commemoration of All Souls for the morrow\nof All Saints, in the Cluniac order, which was afterwards adopted by the\nwhole Catholic Church in the West. Many incidents of his travels, and\nmiracles that he wrought, are related by his pupil. As he was riding\nover the Jura mountains, in snowy weather, the horse carrying his\nluggage fell, and was precipitated into the valley, and all the baggage\nwas scattered in the snow-drifts. With much trouble, the horse and much\nof the baggage were recovered, but a valuable Sacramentary, inscribed\nwith gilt letters, and some glass vessels, with embossed work, were\nlost. That evening, Odilo and his monks arrived at a cell, under the\njurisdiction of S. Eugendus, and being much troubled at his loss, as\nmuch rain fell in the night, S. Odilo sent some of the brethren early\nnext morning to search for the lost treasures. But the snow-drifts were\nso deep that they could not find them, and he was obliged to leave\nwithout them. However, as the spring came round, a certain priest, named\nErmendran, was walking in the glen, and he found the book uninjured,\nand the glass goblets unbroken. He brought them to the cell, and on the\nreturn of Odilo to the Jura, he received his lost treasures intact.\n\nAnother story of a glass vessel comes on good authority. The\ncircumstances were related by Albert, Bishop of Como, in these words,\n\"Once our Abbot and Superior came to the court of the Emperor Henry, and\nwhilst there, it happened one day that at table a goblet of glass, of\nAlexandrine workmanship, very precious, with coloured enamel on it, was\nplaced before him. He called me and Landulf, afterwards Bishop of Turin,\nto him, and bade us take this glass to Odilo. We accordingly, as the\nEmperor had bidden, took it, and going to the abbot, offered it to him,\non the part of the Emperor, humbly bowing. He received it with great\nhumility, and told us to return after a while for the goblet again.\nThen, when we had gone away, the monks, filled with natural curiosity to\nsee and handle a new sort of thing, passed the vessel from hand to hand,\nand as they were examining it, it slipped through their fingers to the\nground, and was broken. When the gentle man of God was told this, he was\nnot a little grieved, and said, 'My brothers, you have not done well,\nfor by your negligence, the young clerks who have the custody of these\nthings will, maybe, lose the favour of the Emperor, through your fault.\nNow, that those who are innocent may not suffer for your carelessness,\nlet us all go to church and ask God's mercy about this matter.'\nTherefore, they all ran together into the church, and sang psalms and\nprayed, lest some harm should befall us--Albert and Landulf, each of\nthem earnestly supplicating God for us. When the prayer was over, the\nholy man ordered the broken goblet to be brought to him. He looked at\nit, and felt it, and could find no crack or breakage in it. Wherefore,\nhe exclaimed indignantly, 'What are you about, brothers? You must be\nblind to say that the glass is broken, when there is not a sign of\ninjury done to it.' The brethren, considering it, were amazed at the\nmiracle, and did not dare to speak. Then, after a while, I and my\ncompanion came back for the vessel, and we asked it of him who was\ncarrying it. He called me apart, and returned it to me, bidding me tell\nthe Emperor to regard it as a great treasure. And when I asked his\nmeaning, he told me all that had happened.\"\n\nS. Odilo seems to have been fond of art, for he rebuilt the monasteries\nof his order, and made them very beautiful, and the churches he adorned\nwith all the costly things he could procure. The marble pillars for\nCluny were brought, by his orders, in rafts down the Durance, into the\nRhone, and he was wont to say of Cluny, that he found it of wood and\nleft it of marble. He erected over the altar of S. Peter, in the church,\na ciborium, whose columns were covered with silver, inlaid with nigello\nwork.\n\nWhen he felt that his death approached, he made a circuit of all the\nmonasteries under his sway, that he might leave them in thorough\ndiscipline, and give them his last admonitions. On this journey he\nreached Souvigny, a priory in Bourbonnais, where he celebrated the Vigil\nof the Nativity, and preached to the people, although at the time\nsuffering great pain. After that, he announced to the brethren in\nchapter, that he was drawing nigh to his end, and he besought their\nprayers. As he was too weak to go to the great Church of S. Peter, which\nwas attended by the monks, he kept the festival of the Nativity with a\nfew brethren, whom he detained, to be with him in the Chapel of S. Mary;\njoyously he praecented the psalms and antiphons, and gave the\nbenedictions, and performed all the ceremonies of that glad festival,\nforgetful of his bodily infirmities, knowing that soon he was to see God\nface to face, in the land of the living, and no more in a glass darkly.\nMost earnest was he, lest death should come and find him unprepared.\nThroughout the Octave, he was carried in the arms of the monks to\nchurch, where he assisted at the choir offices, night and day, and at\nthe celebration of the mass, refreshing himself at the sacred mysteries,\nand looking forward to the feast of the Circumcision, when his friend\nWilliam, abbot of Dijon, had fallen asleep, on which day, he foretold,\nhe also should enter into his rest.\n\nOn that day, carried by his brethren, he was laid before the altar of\nthe Virgin Mother, and the monks sang vespers. Now and then their voices\nfailed, through over much sorrow, and then he recited the words of the\npsalms they in their trouble had omitted. As night crept in at the\nwindows, he grew weaker and fainter. Then the brothers laid sack-cloth\nand ashes under him, and as he was lifted in the arms of one, brother\nBernard, he asked, reviving a little, where he was. The brother\nanswered, \"On sack-cloth and ashes.\" Then he sighed forth, \"God be\nthanked!\" and he asked that the little children, and the whole body of\nthe brethren, might be assembled. And when all were gathered around him,\nhe directed his eyes to the Cross, and his lips moved in prayer, and he\ndied thus in prayer, gazing on the sign of his salvation.\n\nHis body was laid in the nave of the Church of Souvigny, near that of S.\nMajolus.\n\nHe is often represented saying mass, with purgatory open beside the\naltar, and those suffering extending their hands to him, in allusion to\nhis having instituted the commemoration of All Souls.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[14] The Hermits, by Rev. C. Kingsley, p. 153, 154.\n\n[15] This passage has been quoted by some to show that at this\nperiod special vestments were not in general use for the Eucharist, as\nan argument against their present use. But it by no means appears from\nthe passage quoted that Fulgentius did not wear Eucharistic vestments.\nIt simply says that he wore at Mass the habit he lived and slept in.\nThis is what monks and friars do now; they put the vestment over the\nhabit.\n\n\n\n\nJANUARY 2.\n\nThe Octave of S. Stephen, the First Martyr.\n\n SS. FRONTASIUS, AND COMPANIONS, _MM. in Gaul_.\n SS. MARTYRS, _at Lichfield, circ._ A.D. 304.\n S. ISIDORE, _B.C., in Egypt, 4th cent._\n S. MACARIUS, OF ALEXANDRIA, _Ab._, A.D. 394.\n S. ASPASIUS, C., _at Melun, France_, A.D. 550.\n S. MAXIMUS, _Ab. M., in France_, A.D. 614.\n S. ADALHARDT, _Ab. of Corbie_, A.D. 826.\n S. SILVESTER, _Monk of Trani, in S. Italy_, A.D. 1185.\n\n\nTHE HOLY MARTYRS OF LICHFIELD.\n\n(A.D. 304.)\n\n[Anglican Martyrologies.]\n\nLichfield derives its name from Lyke-field, the field of dead bodies,\nbecause it is traditionally said, that in the persecution of Diocletian,\nmany Christians suffered there for the faith. The arms of Lichfield are\na plain strewn with corpses. Nothing certain is known of this event,\nwhich is probably altogether apocryphal.\n\n\nS. MACARIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, AB.\n\n(A.D. 394.)\n\n [There were two Macarii. Both are commemorated together by the\n Greeks, on Jan. 19th; but the Latins commemorate S. Macarius of\n Alexandria, on Jan. 2nd; and S. Macarius the Egyptian, on Jan.\n 15th. The history of this S. Macarius is perfectly authentic,\n having been written by S. Palladius (B. 368,) in the year 421; the\n writer knew S. Macarius personally, having been nine years in \"the\n cells,\" of which S. Macarius was priest. Three of these years\n Macarius and Palladius lived together; so that, as the author says,\n he had every opportunity of judging of his manner of life and\n actions.]\n\nSaint Macarius the younger was born in Alexandria, of poor parents, and\nfollowed the trade of confectioner. Desirous of serving God with his\nwhole heart, he forsook the world in the flower of his age, and spent\nupwards of sixty years in the deserts, in the exercise of fervent\npenance and prayer. He first retired into the Thebaid, or Upper Egypt,\nabout the year 335; then, aiming at greater disengagement, he descended\nto Lower Egypt, in or about the year 373. Here there were three deserts\nalmost adjoining each other; that of Sc\u00e9t\u00e9; that of the Cells, so called\nbecause of the multitude of cells wherewith its rocks were honey-combed;\nand a third, which reached the western bank of the Nile, called the\nNitrian desert. S. Macarius had a cell in each of these deserts. When he\nwas in Nitria he gave advice to those who sought him. But his chief\nresidence was in the desert of the Cells. There each hermit lived\nseparate, assembling only on Saturday and Sunday, in the church, to\ncelebrate the divine mysteries, and to partake of the Holy Communion.\nAll the brothers were employed at some handicraft, generally they\nplatted baskets or mats. All in the burning desert was still; in their\ncells the hermits worked, and prayed, and cooked their scanty victuals,\ntill the red ball of the sun went down behind the sandy plain to the\nwest; then from all that region rose a hum of voices, the rise and fall\nof song, as the evening psalms and hymns were being chanted by that\ngreat multitude of solitaries in dens and caves of the earth.\n\nPalladius has recorded an instance of the great self-denial observed by\nthese hermits. A present was made to S. Macarius of a bunch of grapes,\nnewly gathered. The holy man carried it to a neighbouring solitary who\nwas sick; he sent it to another, and each wishing that some dear brother\nshould enjoy the fruit rather than himself, passed it on to another; and\nthus the bunch of grapes made the circuit of the cells, and was brought\nback to Macarius.\n\nThe severity of life practised by these hermits was great. For seven\nyears together S. Macarius lived on raw herbs and pulse, and for the\nthree following years contented himself with four or five ounces of\nbread a day. His watchings were not less surprising. He told Palladius\nthat it had been his great desire to fix his mind on God alone for five\ndays and nights continuously. And when he supposed he was in the proper\nmood, he closed his cell, and stood up, and said, \"Now thou hast angels\nand archangels, and all the heavenly host in company with thee. Be in\nheaven, and forget earthly things.\" And so he continued for two nights\nand days, wrapped in heavenly contemplations, but then his hut seemed to\nflame about him, even the mat on which he stood, and his mind was\ndiverted to earth. \"But it was as well,\" said he; \"for I might have\nfallen into pride.\"\n\nThe reputation of the monastery of Tabenna, under S. Pachomius, drew him\nto it in disguise. S. Pachomius told him he seemed too far advanced in\nyears to begin to practise the austerities undergone by himself and his\nmonks; nevertheless, on his earnest entreaty, he admitted him. Then Lent\ndrew on, and the aged Macarius saw the monks fasting, some two whole\ndays, others five, some standing all night, and sitting at their work\nduring the day. Then he, having soaked some palm leaves, as material for\nhis work, went apart into a corner, and till Easter came, he neither ate\nnor drank, nor sat down, nor bowed his knee, nor lay down, and sustained\nlife on a few raw cabbage leaves which he ate on Sundays; and when he\nwent forth for any need he returned silently to his work, and occupied\nhis hands in platting, and his heart in prayer. But when the others saw\nthis, they were astonished, and remonstrated with S. Pachomius, saying,\n\"Why hast thou brought this fleshless man here to confound us with his\nausterities. Send him away, or we will desert this place.\" Then the\nabbot went to Macarius, and asked him who he was, and when he told his\nname, Pachomius was glad, and cried, \"Many years have I desired to see\nthee. I thank thee that thou hast humbled my sons; but now, go thy way,\nsufficiently hast thou edified us; go, and pray for us.\" Macarius, on\none occasion, to subdue his flesh, filled two great baskets with sand,\nand laying them on his shoulders, walked over the hot desert, bowed\nbeneath them. A friend meeting him, offered to ease him of his burden,\nbut \"No,\" said the old hermit, \"I have to torment my tormentor;\" meaning\nhis body.\n\nOne day, a gnat stung him in his cell, and he killed it. Then, ashamed\nthat he had allowed himself to be irritated by the petty insect, and to\nhave lost an opportunity of enduring mortification with equanimity, he\nwent to the marshes of Sc\u00e9t\u00e9, and stayed there six months, suffering\ngreatly from the stings of the insects. When he returned, he was so\ndisfigured by their bites, that he was only recognized by his voice.\n\nThe terrible severity with which these Egyptian hermits punished\nthemselves is perhaps startling, but it was something needed at a time\nwhen the civilized world was sunk in luxury, profligacy, and\nindifference. That was a time which called for a startling and vivid\ncontrast to lead minds into self-inspection. \"Private profligacy among\nall ranks was such as cannot be described in any modern pages. The\nclergy of the cities, though not of profligate lives, and for the most\npart unmarried, were able to make no stand against the general\ncorruption of the age, because--at least if we are to trust such writers\nas Jerome and Chrysostom--they were giving themselves up to ambition and\navarice, intrigue and party spirit. No wonder if, in such a state of\nthings, the minds of men were stirred by a passion akin to despair. It\nwould have ended often, but for Christianity, in such an actual despair\nas that which had led, in past ages, more than one noble Roman to slay\nhimself, when he lost all hope for the Republic. Christianity taught\nthose who despaired of society, of the world--in one word, of the Roman\nempire, and all that it had done for men--to hope at last for a Kingdom\nof God after death. It taught those, who, had they been heathens and\nbrave enough, would have slain themselves to escape out of a world which\nwas no place for honest men, that the body must be kept alive, at least,\nfor the sake of the immortal soul, doomed, according to its works, to\nendless bliss or endless torment. But that the world--such, at least, as\nthey saw it then--was doomed, Scripture and their own reason taught\nthem. They did not merely believe, but see, in the misery and confusion,\nthe desolation, and degradation around them, that all that was in the\nworld, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of\nlife, was not of the Father, but of the world; that the world was\npassing away, and the lust thereof, and that only he who did the will of\nGod could abide for ever. They did not merely believe, but saw, that the\nwrath of God was revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of\nmen; and that the world in general was treasuring up to themselves\nwrath, tribulation, and anguish, against a day of wrath and revelation\nof the righteous judgment of God, who would render to every man\naccording to his works. That they were correct in their judgment of the\nworld about them, contemporary history proves abundantly. That they were\ncorrect, likewise, in believing that some fearful judgment was about to\nfall on man, is proved by the fact that it did fall; that the first half\nof the fifth century saw, not only the sack of Rome, but the conquest\nand desolation of the greater part of the civilized world, amid\nbloodshed, misery, and misrule, which seemed to turn Europe into a\nchaos, which would have turned it into a chaos, had there not been a\nfew men left who still felt it possible and necessary to believe in God,\nand to work righteousness. Under these terrible forebodings, men began\nto flee from a doomed world, and try to be alone with God, if by any\nmeans they might save each man his own soul in that dread day.\"[16]\n\nS. Macarius, of Alexandria, and his namesake, the Egyptian, lived much\ntogether. They were both exiled in 375, at the instigation of the Arian\npatriarch of Alexandria, who dreaded their influence over the people,\nand zeal for the orthodox faith. They crossed the Nile together in a\nferryboat, when they encountered two military tribunes, accompanied by a\ngreat array of horses, with decorated bridles, of equipages, soldiers,\nand pages covered with ornaments. The officers looked long at the two\nmonks in their old dresses, humbly seated in a corner of the bark. They\nmight well look at them, for in that bark two worlds stood face to face;\nold Rome, degraded by the emperors, and the new Christian republic, of\nwhich the monks were the precursors. As they approached the shore, one\nof the tribunes said to the cenobites, \"You are happy, for you despise\nthe world.\" \"It is true,\" answered the Alexandrine, \"we despise the\nworld, and the world despises you. You have spoken more truly than you\nintended; we are happy in fact, and happy in name, for we are called\nMacarius, which means in Greek happy.\"\n\nThe tribune made no answer, but, returning to his house, renounced all\nhis wealth and rank, and went to seek happiness in solitude.\n\nIn art, S. Macarius is represented with wallets of sand on his\nshoulders; sometimes with a hyaena and its young, because the story is\ntold that one day a hyaena brought her young one and laid it at the feet\nof the hermit. He looked at the animal, and saw that it was blind,\ntherefore he pitied the poor whelp, and prayed to God; then he touched\nthe eyes of the young hyaena, and it saw plain. Next day, the mother\nbrought a sheepskin and laid it at his feet, and this the hermit wore\ncontinually afterwards, till he gave it to S. Melania.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[16] Kingsley, The Hermits, p. 4, 6.\n\n\nS. ADALHARDT, OR ADELARD, AB. C.\n\n(A.D. 826.)\n\n [Named in many later Western Martyrologies, but not enrolled in the\n Roman Kalendar. He is variously called Adelhard, Adalarch, Alard,\n and Adelhardt. His life was written by S. Paschasius Radbertus, his\n disciple, and this was epitomized by S. Gerard, of Sauve-Majeur, in\n the 11th century. Paschasius says that the reason of his writing\n the life, was \"to recall him whom almost the whole world regards as\n holy and admirable; whom we have seen, and whose love we enjoyed.\"]\n\nAdalhardt was of royal race, having been the son of Bernhardt, son of\nCharles Martel, the brother of King Pepin; so that Adalhardt was\ncousin-german to Charlemagne, by whom he was called to court in his\nyouth, and created Count of the Palace. But when the king put away his\nwife, the daughter of Desiderius, King of Italy, to marry another,\nAdalhardt left the court, disgusted with its lawlessness and vice, and\nbecame a monk at Corbie, at the age of twenty, in the year 773. He was\nmade gardener, and, as his historian says, \"With Mary he sought Jesus in\nthe garden.\" At Corbie, he was so frequently visited by his relations,\nhis friends, and acquaintances, that he had not sufficient solitude for\nthe labour of turning his soul from earth to heaven; therefore he left\nCorbie and betook himself to Monte Cassino; but by order of the Emperor\nCharles, he was brought back again to Corbie, where he was shortly after\nelected abbot. He was compelled at last, by Charlemagne, to quit the\nmonastery, and take upon him the charge of prime minister to his son\nPepin, to whom he had intrusted the government of Italy.\n\nOn the death of Charlemagne, Louis the Pious succeeded to the throne,\nand dismissed all the old ministers and officers of his father. Bernard,\nson of Pepin, the elder brother of Louis, who was dead, having asserted\nhis right to the throne, King Louis suspected the abbot of Corbie of\nhaving been privy to this attempt, and he exiled him to the island of\nHeri, or Herimoutier, and his brothers and sisters were sent into\nmonasteries. His brother Walla was forced to become a monk at Corbie;\nBernharius was sent to Lerins; his sister Gundrada was given to the\ncharge of S. Radegund, at Poictiers, and only Theodradra was left\nunmolested at Soissons.\n\nAdalhardt spent seven years in banishment at Herimoutier, and then the\nking, having recognized his error, recalled him, to the great grief of\nthe monks of Heri, to whom his meekness and charity had made him dear,\nand to the joy of those of Corbie, to whom he returned. He was not,\nhowever, allowed to remain at peace in his abbey at the head of his\nmonks, but was recalled to court, where the king, whose disposition was\nmuch changed, followed his advice in all his undertakings, and Adalhardt\nwas of great use to him, in suggesting improvement in the laws. At\nlength, in 823, he obtained leave to return to Corbie, which he governed\ntill his death. He had an admirable memory, so that he never forgot the\nface, or name, or disposition of one of his monks; and he was careful to\nspeak with each of them once a week.\n\nDuring the banishment of the Saint, another Adalhardt, who governed the\nmonastery by his appointment, began the foundation of another Corbie, in\nthe diocese of Paderborn, in Westphalia, that it might be a nursery of\nmissionaries for the conversion of the northern nations. S. Adalhardt\noften journeyed from one Corbie to the other, that he might provide for\nthe welfare, and look to the discipline of both houses. Finding himself\nattacked with fever, and knowing that he should not recover, he used\nevery effort to reach the mother house before Christmas. This he\nachieved, and there he calmly prepared for his passage, communicating\ndaily. Hearing of his sickness, Hildemann, Bishop of Beauvais, who had\nbeen a monk under him, hurried to his side, and administered to him the\nSacrament of extreme unction, and scarcely left him. One day, however,\nthe bishop left the room for a moment, and, on his return, saw the sick\nman in great transport. The Abbot exclaimed, \"Hither speedily, Bishop, I\nurge you, and kiss the feet of Jesus, my Lord, for He is at my side.\"\nThen the Bishop of Beauvais trembled with awe, and stood still, not\nknowing what to say or do. But Adalhardt said no more. On the Octave of\nthe Nativity, he called together the brethren, and having received the\nBody and Blood of Christ, he said to the assembled monks, \"O my sons,\nthe fruit of my old age in the Lord! I have finished the number of my\ndays, and to-day I shall depart, and go the way of all flesh, and appear\nin the presence of my Redeemer. I have finished the course of my\nstruggle, and what reward I shall receive, I know not. But help me, I\npray, that I in you, and you in me, may rejoice in the Lord.\" Thus\nsaying, he surrendered his pure soul to Him who made it. He was buried\nat the foot of the chancel steps in the Church of S. Peter, at Corbie;\nbut in the year 1040 the body was taken up and enshrined.\n\n\nS. SILVESTER, OF TRANI, MONK.\n\n(A.D. 1185.)\n\n [S. Silvester, monk of Trani, near Barletta, in South Italy, is\n held there in great reverence, and commemorated on the 2nd Jan. and\n 2nd May.]\n\nSaint Silvester, of whom nothing authentic is known, is traditionally\nsaid to have been a monk of the order of S. Basil, in the convent of S.\nMichael, at Bari. Various miracles are attributed to him, as his having\ngone one winter day to Catania and back on foot. He is also said to have\nentered a baker's furnace to scrape the living embers together for him,\nwhen he had lost his shovel, and to have come forth unhurt.\n\n [Illustration: Oblation of an Infant to a Religious Community. After\n a Miniature in the Burgundy Library at Brussels.]\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 3.\n\nThe Octave of S. John, the Evangelist.\n\n S. ANTEROS, _Pope and M., at Rome_, A.D. 236.\n S. FLORENTIUS, _B.M., at Vienne, in France, circ._ A.D. 258.\n SS. ZOSIMUS AND ATHANASIUS, _MM., in Cilicia, circ._ A.D. 290.\n S. PETER BALSAM, _M., at Aulane in Palestine_, A.D. 291.\n S. GORDIUS, _M., at Caesarea, circ._ A.D. 320.\n SS. THEOGNIS, PRIMUS, AND CYRINUS, _MM., circ._ A.D. 320.\n S. MELOR, _M., in Cornwall, circ._ A.D. 411.\n S. GENOVEVA, _V., at Paris_, A.D. 512.\n S. BERTILIA, _V., at Marolles_, A.D. 687.\n\n\nS. ANTEROS, P. M.\n\n(A.D. 236.)\n\n [Commemorated in the Roman Martyrology, and in that attributed to\n Bede, that of Usuardus, &c.]\n\nSaint Anteros succeeded S. Pontianus as Bishop of Rome in 235. He\ninstituted the office of notaries in the Church, to take down the\nsayings and sufferings of the martyrs, so that faithful records of their\nacts might be preserved. He died, June 18th, A.D. 236.\n\n\nSS. ZOSIMUS AND ATHANASIUS, MM.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 290.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea. The Greeks keep their\n commemoration, however, on Jan. 4th. The authority for the\n following account is the Greek Menaea.]\n\nThese martyrs suffered under Diocletian, in Cilicia. S. Zosimus was a\nhermit. His ears were burnt off with red hot irons, afterwards he was\nplunged into a vessel of molten lead, and was then dismissed. He\nreturned to his desert, converted and baptized Athanasius, and died in\nhis cell.\n\n\nS. PETER BALSAM, M.\n\n(A.D. 291.)\n\n [Commemorated in most Latin Martyrologies, and in the Greek Menaea\n on the 12th Jan. He is mentioned as Peter the Ascetic, by Eusebius;\n his genuine Acts are given in Ruinart.]\n\nEusebius, in his account of the martyrs of Palestine, appended to the\n8th book of his Ecclesiastical History, says:--\"On the eleventh of the\nmonth Audynoeus, _i.e._, on the third of the ides of January (11th Jan.),\nin the same city of Caesarea, Peter the Ascetic, also called Absolom,\nfrom the village of Anea, on the borders of Eleutheropolis, like the\npurest gold, with a good resolution, gave proof of his faith in the\nChrist of God. Disregarding both the judge and those around him, that\nbesought him in many ways to have compassion on himself, and to spare\nhis youth and blooming years, he preferred his hope in the Supreme God\nof all, and even to life itself.\"\n\nThe name of this Saint seems to have been Peter Absolom; the latter\nappellation has been corrupted into Apselm, Anselm, and Balsam. The acts\nof his martrydom are authentic. They are as follows:--\n\nAt that time Peter, called Balsam, was captured at Aulane, in the time\nof persecution. He came from the borders of Eleutheropolis, and was\nbrought before the governor, Severus, who said to him, \"What is your\nname?\" Peter answered, \"I am called by my paternal name of Balsam, but\nin baptism I received my spiritual name of Peter.\" The Governor, \"To\nwhat family do you belong?\" Peter, \"I am a Christian.\" The Governor,\n\"What office do you bear?\" Peter, \"What office can be more honourable\nthan to live a Christian?\" The Governor, \"Have you any parents?\" Peter,\n\"I have none.\" The Governor, \"There you lie, for I have heard that you\nhave.\" Peter, \"In the Gospel I am commanded to renounce all things when\nI come to confess Christ.\" The Governor, \"Do you know the imperial\nedicts?\" Peter, \"I know the laws of God, the Sovereign true and\neverlasting.\" The Governor, \"It is commanded by the most clement\nemperors that all Christians shall either sacrifice, or be executed in\nvarious ways.\" Peter, \"And this is the command of the everlasting King.\nIf thou sacrifice to any demon, and not to God alone, thou shalt be\nplucked out of the Book of the Living. Judge thou which I shall obey.\"\nThe Governor, \"Come, listen to me, sacrifice and obey the law.\" Peter,\n\"I will not sacrifice to gods made by men's hands of wood and stone.\"\nAnd he poured forth a vehement invective against idolatry. The governor\nordered him to the rack, and when he was slung to it, he said, \"Well,\nPeter, what say you to this? How do you like your swing?\" Peter said,\n\"Bring the iron hooks; I have already told thee that I will not\nsacrifice to devils, but to God alone, for whom I suffer.\" The governor\nordered him to be tortured. And when the stress of torment was very\ngreat, the martyr uttered no cry of pain, but sang, \"One thing have I\ndesired of the Lord, which I will require: even that I may dwell in the\nhouse of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the fair beauty of\nthe Lord, and to visit His temple. What reward shall I give unto the\nLord for all the benefits that He hath done unto me? I will take the cup\nof salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord.\" As he thus spake, the\ngovernor ordered other executioners to come to the work, being much\nexasperated. And the crowd standing by, when they saw much blood run\nover the pavement, lamented, and urged him, saying, \"O man,\ncompassionate thyself, and sacrifice, that thou mayest escape these\ndreadful pains.\" But the holy man of God answered them, \"These pains are\nnothing, and give me no suffering; but were I to deny the name of my\nGod, I know that I should fall into greater torments, which would last\neternally.\" The Governor said, \"You had better sacrifice, or you will\nrepent it.\" \"No,\" answered Peter; \"I will not sacrifice, and I shall not\nrepent it.\" The Governor said, \"Well, then I shall pronounce sentence.\"\n\"That,\" said Peter, \"is what I most ardently desire.\"\n\nThen the governor gave sentence in these words, \"I command Peter,\ncontinuously despising the commands of the unconquered emperors, to\nsuffer the death of the cross.\"\n\nThus, the venerable athlete of Christ, fulfilling his agony, was found\nworthy to participate in the Passion of his Lord. And he suffered at\nAulane, on the third of the nones of January (Jan. 3rd,) under Maximian,\nthe emperor.\n\nThis account is somewhat abbreviated from the Acts. There is some little\ndiscrepancy between it and that of Eusebius. The ecclesiastical\nhistorian says he was executed at Caesarea; the Acts say at Aulane; but\nas this was an insignificant village in the district over which the\ngovernor of Caesarea held jurisdiction, the discrepancy is only apparent.\nEusebius says he suffered on the third of the ides; the Acts, that he\nsuffered on the third of the nones. It is probable that Eusebius is\nright, for the Greeks observe the martyrdom of S. Peter Balsam on the\n12th Jan., and in the Martyrology, attributed to S. Jerome, the passion\nof this Saint is given as occurring on the third of the ides, 11th Jan.\n\n\nS. GORDIUS M.\n\n(ABOUT 320.)\n\n [Commemorated by the Roman Martyrology and the Greek Menaea on the\n same day. The account of his passion is given by S. Basil the Great\n in a panegyric at Caesarea, on the anniversary of his martyrdom,\n which he says was then recent. This account, given on the scene of\n his suffering, within the memory of man, so that some of those who\n heard the discourse of S. Basil, had seen the conflict of the\n martyr, is unquestionably trustworthy.]\n\nSaint Gordius was a native of Caesarea, in Cappadocia, and was a\ncenturion in the army. When Galerius issued his edicts against the\nChurch in the East (303,) Gordius laid aside his office, and retired\ninto the desert, where he lived in fasting and prayer amongst the wild\nbeasts. In the desert he spent many years, but his zeal for Christ gave\nhim no rest. The churches in Caesarea had been destroyed, the clergy\nscattered, and many Christians had conformed, rather than lose their\nlives. It was a heathen city once more, and such salt as had remained\nhad lost its savour. The spirit of the Lord stirred in the soul of\nGordius, and urged him to return to his native city, and there play the\nman for Christ, where so many had fallen away from the faith. \"One day\nthat the amphitheatre was crowded to see horse and chariot races in\nhonour of Mars, the god of war, when the benches were thronged, and Jew\nand Gentile, and many a Christian also,\" says S. Basil, \"was present at\nthe spectacle, and all the slaves were free to see the sight, and the\nboys had been given holiday from school for the same purpose, suddenly,\nin the race-course, appeared a man in rags, with long beard and matted\nlocks; his face and arms burned with exposure to the sun, and shrivelled\nwith long fasting; and he cried aloud, \"I am found of them who sought me\nnot, and to them who asked not after me, have I manifested myself\nopenly.\"\n\nEvery eye was directed upon this wild-looking man, and when it was\ndiscovered who he was, there rose a shout from Gentile and Christian;\nthe latter cried because they rejoiced to see the faithful centurion in\nthe midst of them again; the former, because they hated the truth, and\nwere wrath at the disturbance of the sports.\n\n\"Then,\" continues S. Basil, \"the clamour and tumult became more, and\nfilled the whole amphitheatre; horses, chariots, and drivers were\nforgotten. In vain did the rush of wheels fill the air; none had eyes\nfor anything but Gordius; none had ears to hear anything but the words\nof Gordius. The roar of the theatre, like a wind rushing through the\nair, drowned the noise of the racing horses. When the crier had made\nsilence, and all the pipes and trumpets, and other musical instruments\nwere hushed, Gordius was led before the seat of the governor, who was\npresent, and was asked, blandly, who he was and whence he came. Then he\nrelated, in order, what was his country, and family, and the rank he had\nheld, and why he had thrown up his office and fled away. 'I am\nreturned,' said he, 'to shew openly that I care naught for your edicts,\nbut that I place my hope and confidence in Jesus Christ alone.'\" The\ngovernor, being exceedingly exasperated at the interruption in the\nsports, and the open defiance cast in his face by a deserter, before the\nwhole city, ordered him at once to be tortured. \"Then,\" S. Basil\nproceeds to relate in his graphic style, \"the whole crowd poured from\nthe theatre towards the place of judgment, and all those who had\nremained behind in the city ran to see the sight. The city was deserted.\nLike a great river, the inhabitants rolled to the place of martyrdom;\nmothers of families, noble and ignoble, pushed there; houses were left\nunprotected, shops were deserted by the customers, and in the\nmarket-place goods lay here and there neglected. Servants threw up\ntheir occupations, and ran off to see the spectacle, and all the rabble\nwas there to see this man. Maidens forgot their bashfulness and shame of\nappearing before men, and sick people and old men crawled without the\nwalls, that they, too, might share the sight.\" The relations of Gordius,\nin vain, urged him to yield and apologise for his defiance of the state\nreligion; signing himself with the cross, he cheerfully underwent the\ntorments of leaded scourges, of the little horse, fire, and knife, and\nwas finally beheaded.\n\n\nSS. THEOGNIS, PRIMUS, AND CYRINUS, MM.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 320.)\n\n [The Martyrologies of S. Jerome, Bede, Usuardus, &c. Commemorated\n in the Roman Martyrology on this day; in the Greek Menaea on the 2nd\n Jan. Theognis, especially, is famous throughout East and West. The\n account in the Menaea and Menology is probably trustworthy. The Acts\n published by the Bollandists are of doubtful authority.]\n\nTheognis was the son of the Bishop of Cyzicus, in Hellespont. In the\npersecution of Licinius, he and his companions suffered at Cyzicus,\nbeing first scourged, and then cast into the sea.\n\n\nS. MELOR, M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 411.)\n\n [English Martyrologies on this day, though he died on Oct. 1st, on\n which day he is mentioned in Usuardus. His life in Capgrave is of\n no historical value--a composition of the 11th cent. \"incertum\"\n even to William of Malmesbury.]\n\nWhen first Christianity penetrated Britain, a great number of Saints\nexisted, especially in Wales and Cornwall. At this time there was a\nduke, or prince, of Cornwall, named Melian, whose brother, Rivold,\nrevolted against him, and put him to death. Melian left a son, Melor,\nand the usurper only spared his life at the intercession of the bishops\nand clergy. He, however, cut off his right hand and left foot, and sent\nhim into one of the Cornish monasteries to be brought up.\n\nThe legend goes on to relate that the boy was provided with a silver\nhand and a brazen foot, and that one day, when he was aged fourteen, he\nand the abbot were nutting together in a wood, when the abbot saw the\nboy use his silver hand to clasp the boughs and pick the nuts, just as\nthough it were of flesh and blood. Also, that one day he threw a stone,\nwhich sank into the earth, and from the spot gushed forth a fountain of\npure water.\n\nRivold, fearing lest the boy should depose him, bribed his guardian,\nCerialtan, to murder him. This Cerialtan performed. He cut off the head\nof Melor, and carried it to the duke; but angels with lights stood\naround the body and guarded it.\n\nOn his way to the duke, Cerialtan was parched with thirst, and\nexclaimed, \"Wretched man that I am! I am dying for a drop of water.\"\nThen the head of the murdered boy said, \"Cerialtan, strike the ground\nwith thy rod, and a fountain will spring up.\" He did so, and quenched\nhis thirst at the miraculous well, and pursued his way. When Rivold saw\nthe head, he touched it, and instantly sickened, and died three days\nafter. The head was then taken back to the body, and was buried with it.\nBut the relics were afterwards taken to Amesbury, in Wiltshire.\n\nIt must be remembered, in reading the legends of the British and Irish\nSaints of the first period, that we have nothing like contemporary\nhistories of their lives, and that these legends were committed to\nwriting many hundreds of years after their death, so that the original\nfacts became surrounded with an accretion of fable so dense that it is\nimpossible to distinguish truth from falsehood in the legends as they\nhave reached us.\n\n\nS. GENOVEVA, V.\n\n(A.D. 512.)\n\n [S. Genoveva is mentioned in almost all the Latin Martyrologies.\n Her life was written by an anonymous learned man, in the reign of\n Childebert, about eighteen years after her death. Three ancient\n lives exist, but whether one of these is that then composed, it is\n impossible to say.]\n\nThe blessed Genoveva was born at Nanterre, near Mont Valerien, on the\noutskirts of Paris. Her father's name was Severus; that of her mother\nwas Gerontia. When S. Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, was on his way to\nBritain, to oppose the heresy of Pelagius, with his companion, S. Lupus,\nthey passed through Nanterre. The people went out to meet him, and\nreceive the benedictions; men, and women, and children in companies.\nAmongst the children, S. Germanus observed Genoveva, and bade her be\nbrought before him. The venerable bishop kissed the child, and asked her\nname. The surrounding people told him, and the parents coming up, S.\nGermanus said to them, \"Is this little girl your child?\" They answered\nin the affirmative. \"Then,\" said the bishop, \"happy are ye in having so\nblessed a child. She will be great before God; and, moved by her\nexample, many will decline from evil and incline to that which is good,\nand will obtain remission of their sins, and the reward of life from\nChrist the Lord.\"\n\nAnd then, after a pause, he said to Genoveva, \"My daughter, Genoveva!\"\nShe answered, \"Thy little maiden listens.\" Then he said, \"Do not fear to\ntell me whether it be not thy desire to dedicate thy body, clean and\nuntouched, to Christ, as His bride?\" She said, \"Blessed be thou, father,\nfor thou hast spoken my desire. I pray God earnestly that He will grant\nit me.\"\n\n\"Have confidence, my daughter,\" said S. Germain; \"be of good courage,\nand what thou believest in thy heart, and confessest with thy lips,\nperform in work. God will add to thy comeliness virtue and fortitude.\"\n\nThen they went to the church, and sang Nones and Vespers, and throughout\nthe office the bishop held his hand on the little maiden's head. And\nthat evening, after supper had been eaten, and they had sung a hymn, S.\nGermain bade Severus retire with his daughter, but bring her to him very\nearly in the morning again. So when the day broke, Severus came back\nbringing the child, and the old bishop smiled, and said, \"Hail, my\ndaughter Genoveva. Dost thou recall the promise thou didst make\nyesterday, about keeping thy body in integrity?\" She answered, \"I\nremember what I promised to thee, my father, and to God, that with His\nhelp I would preserve the chastity of my mind, and the integrity of my\nbody, unto the end.\"\n\nThen S. Germain picked up from the ground a little brass coin with the\nsign of the cross on it, which he had observed lying there whilst he was\nspeaking, and gave it her, saying, \"Bore a hole in this, and wear it\nround thy neck in remembrance of me, and let not any other metal\nornament, gold or silver, or pearls, adorn thy neck or fingers.\" Then he\nbade her farewell, commending her to the care of her father, and pursued\nhis journey.\n\nIt has been supposed by some that the command of S. Germain not to wear\ngold, &c., indicates that she was of wealthy parents, and they are\ndisposed to doubt the common tradition of the place, and the ancient\nBreviary, which says that she kept sheep for her father on the slopes of\nValerien at Nanterre. But there need be no difficulty upon this point,\nfor the sons and daughters of men of some position, at that period, were\nthus employed, and there was not supposed to be anything demeaning in\nthe office. Thus, S. Cuthbert, though of noble race, kept sheep on the\nNorthumbrian moors.\n\nAt the age of fifteen she was presented to the Bishop of Paris, to be\nconsecrated to the religious life. With her were two other virgins, and\nthough she was the youngest of the three, the bishop, moved by some\ninterior inspiration, placed her first, saying that heaven had already\nsanctified her.\n\nOn the death of her parents, she moved to Paris, where she was remarked\nfor her sanctity and miraculous powers. When S. Germain was on his way\nto Britain again, he passed through Paris, and asked after Genoveva,\nwhen certain envious persons tried to poison his mind against her; but\nhe, despising their slanders, greeted her with great kindness openly, so\nas to testify before all the people how highly he honoured her, as he\nhad done before at Nanterre.\n\nThe influence exerted by this holy woman must have been very great, for\nshe persuaded the Parisians to remain in the city, instead of flying\ninto the country, when the hosts of Attila, King of the Huns, threatened\nit. Then Genoveva assembled the pious matrons, and with them fasted, and\nprayed, asking God incessantly, with many tears, to avert the scourge\nof the Huns from the city.\n\n [Illustration: S. GENOVEVA, Patroness of the City of Paris.\n From Cahier.\n Jan. 3.]\n\nA tumult, however, arose; many people saying that she was a false\nprophet, and that she would bring ruin on the citizens by dissuading\nthem from escaping with their goods to places of greater security. The\nmob, headlong and cruel--as a Parisian mob has ever been--came upon her\nto stone her, or drown her in the Seine, and they would have carried\ntheir ferocious purpose into execution, had not her ancient friend and\nfather in God, S. Germain, stood by her in her extremity. He was then\ndying at Auxerre, and his thoughts turned to the little girl he had\nconsecrated to God in bygone years, in the humble church of Nanterre.\nThen, he bade the archdeacon take to her the _Eulogae_, or blessed\nbread,[17] in token of love and regard.\n\nThe archdeacon arrived when the feeble woman was in greatest peril.\nHe had heard the prophecy of S. Germain of old; and, running among\nthe people, he exhibited the Eulogies sent by the holy bishop, and\ntold them how highly he had venerated her virtues; so he appeased the\nmultitude and dispersed them.\n\nThe saying of the Apostle was fulfilled, \"All men have not faith; but\nthe Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil;\"\nfor by the prayers of S. Genoveva the city was preserved, and the army\nof Alaric came not near it.\n\nS. Genoveva lived on a little barley bread, and a few beans stewed in\noil; but after she was aged fifty, at the command of the bishop, she\nate also fish, and drank milk. Feeling a great reverence for S. Denis,\nshe desired greatly to build a church in his honour, and she, one day,\nurged some priests to undertake the work. But they hesitated, saying\nthat they were not able to do so; one reason being that there was no\nmeans of burning lime. Then S. Genoveva said, \"Go, and cross the city\nbridge, and tell me what you hear.\" The priests left her, and as they\npassed over the bridge, they heard two swineherds in conversation. One\nsaid to the other, \"Whilst I was following one of my pigs the other\nday, it led me into the forest to a large limekiln.\"\n\n\"That is no marvel,\" answered the other, \"for I found a sapling in the\nforest uprooted by the wind, and under its roots was an old kiln.\"\nOn hearing this, the priests returned and told Genoveva what the\nswineherds had said, and she rejoiced, and set the Priest Genes over\nthe work; and all the citizens, at the instigation of S. Genoveva,\nassisted; and she encouraged the workmen, till the church of S. Denis\nwas built and roofed in. This incident is not a little curious, as it\nexhibits the fall and prostration of the arts at this period, when,\napparently, the science of building was forgotten, and old Roman\nlimekilns had to be used, because the Gauls, owing to the incursions of\nbarbarians and civil war, had lost the art of building them.\n\nChilderic, though a heathen, had a great respect for Genoveva, and was\nunable to refuse her, when she requested him, to spare the lives of his\nprisoners. On one occasion, when he was about to execute, outside the\ncity, a large number of captives made in war, he ordered the gates to\nbe closed behind him, lest Genoveva should follow, and obtain pardon\nfor them. But when the saintly woman heard that the blood of so many\nmen was about to flow, in a paroxysm of compassion, she hurried through\nthe streets, and reaching the gates, put her hand to them, and though\nlocked and barred, they unclosed at the touch of charity, and she\npursued the king; and, falling down before him, would not be comforted\ntill she had obtained pardon for all those whom he had ordered to be\nexecuted. After Paris was blockaded by the Franks, the neighbourhood\nsuffered greatly from famine, as the harvests had been destroyed and\nthe country laid waste. Genoveva, seeing that many died of want,\nconducted vessels to Arcis, and procuring sufficient supplies, returned\nwith them to Paris.\n\nEvery Saturday night, Genoveva was wont to watch in prayer, that the\nLord coming in the Holy Eucharist of His day, might find his servant\nwatching. It fell out that one stormy night, as the Sabbath drew\ntowards Sunday morn, and the cock had crowed, she left her home to\nbetake herself to the church of S. Denis, with the virgins who were her\nfellows, and the lantern that was carried before her was extinguished\nby a puff of wind; then the maidens were frightened at the pitch\ndarkness, the howling of the storm, and the rain, and the road was\nso muddy that, without a light, they could not pick their way. Then\nGenoveva took the lantern in her hand, and the candle lighted of itself\nwithin; and holding it, she entered the church.\n\nShe performed several pilgrimages to the shrine of S. Martin, at Tours,\nin company with those holy women who lived with her, and imitated her\nvirtues. She died at the age of eighty-nine, probably in the year 512;\nbut the date is not to be ascertained with certainty.\n\nPatroness of Paris.\n\nRelics, in the church of S. Etienne du Mont, at Paris.\n\nIn art, S. Genoveva is represented, (1), with a devil blowing out her\ncandle, and an angel rekindling it. Sometimes, in old sculpture, the\ndevil is provided with a pair of bellows; or, (2), she is restoring\nsight to her mother with the water of the well of Nanterre; or, (3),\nguarding her father's sheep; or, (4), with the keys of Paris at her\ngirdle, as patroness of the city; or, (5), holding bread in her lap;\nor, (6), with the well of Nanterre at her side.\n\n\nS. BERTILIA, V.\n\n(A.D. 687.)\n\n [Belgian and Gallo-Belgian Martyrologies. The life is from a MS.\n at Marolles, of uncertain date, but apparently authentic.]\n\nSaint Bertilia was born of noble parents. From an early age her heart\nturned to the service of God alone, and she delighted in attending the\noffices of religion. A youth of noble blood, named Guthland, sought\nher hand in marriage, for she was very beautiful, gentle in speech,\nand modest in manner. But Bertilia refused him, desiring to retire\ninto a solitary place; however, when her parents urged her vehemently,\nshe gave a reluctant consent to their wishes, and was married.\nNevertheless, at her desire, the young husband and she lived together\nin all chastity, as brother and sister, serving the poor, and given\nto hospitality. On the death of her husband, she divided his goods\nwith the Church, and built a great church at Marolles, with a little\ncell adjoining it for her habitation. One night, after long protracted\nprayer in the church, she returned to her cell, where she was seized\nwith excruciating pains; nevertheless, she knelt down and prayed with\nfervour, and prepared her soul for its departure. After having received\nthe last Sacraments, she fell asleep in Christ, and was buried in the\nchurch she had built at Marolles. She was taken up and enshrined by\nGerard II., Bishop of Cambray, on September 14th, 1081; and translated\nto another shrine on the 8th October, 1221.\n\nPatroness of Marolles, in the diocese of Cambray.\n\nRelics at Marolles.\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[17] The custom of blessing bread and distributing it amongst the\nfaithful, prevails still in the French Church, as may be seen at any\nfestival in a church of importance. The blessed bread is not to be\nconfounded with the Holy Eucharist. It is taken about the church in\nbaskets, and is a sort of sweet-cake. This is a relic of the ancient\nLove Feasts or Agapae.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 4.\n\nOctave of the Holy Innocents.\n\n S. TITUS, _B. and Ap. of Crete, circ_. A.D. 105.\n SS. AQUILINUS, GEMINUS, EUGENIUS, AND OTHERS, _Martyrs in Africa_.\n S. DAFROSA, _W. C., at Rome_, A.D. 361.\n S. RUMON, _B. C., at Tavistock, in Devonshire_.\n S. GREGORY, _B. of Langres, in France, circ_. A.D. 541.\n S. PHARAILDIS, _V., in Brabant, about_ A.D. 745.\n S. RIGOBERT, _B. of Rheims_, A.D. 749.\n S. LIBENTIUS, _Abp. of Bremen_, A.D. 1013.\n B. ANGELA, _of Foligni, in Umbria_, A.D. 1309.\n\n\nS. TITUS, B.\n\n(ABOUT 105.)\n\n [S. Titus is commemorated on this day in the Roman, and all the\n Latin Martyrologies. But the Greeks observe the feast of S. Titus\n on August 25th. Much of his history can be gathered from the first\n and second epistles of S. Paul to the Corinthians, and from his\n epistle to S. Titus; also from the Greek Menologium, and his life,\n written by Zenas, the lawyer, in the Menaea; and that by Peter de\n Natalibus, compiled from Greek sources.]\n\nSaint Titus was born of Gentile parents, being descended from the\nancient royal family of Crete.[18] He was a favourite companion of S.\nPaul, who calls him his son in Christ. His virtue gained him the\nparticular esteem of this Apostle; for we find him employed as secretary\nand interpreter by S. Paul; and the Apostle styles him his brother.[19]\nOn one occasion, when much depressed, he was consoled by the presence of\nTitus: \"God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by\nthe coming of Titus;\"[20] and he testified, on another occasion, that he\nfound no rest in his spirit, because at Troas he had not met Titus.[21]\n\nIn the year 51, Titus accompanied S. Paul to the Council that was held\nat Jerusalem, on the subject of the Mosaic rites. Though the Apostle had\nconsented to the circumcision of Timothy, in order to render his\nministry more acceptable among the Jews, he would not allow the same in\nthe case of Titus, apprehensive of giving thereby a sanction to the\nfaction which held to the necessity of combining the rites of the Law\nwith the Sacraments of the Gospel.\n\nTowards the close of the year 56, S. Paul sent Titus from Ephesus to\nCorinth, with full commission to remedy several subjects of scandal, and\nto allay the dissensions in that Church. He was there received with\ngreat respect, and was satisfied with the penance and submission of the\noffenders; but could not be prevailed upon to accept from them any\npresent, not even so much as his own maintenance. His love for that\nChurch was very great, and at the request of the Corinthians, he\ninterceded with S. Paul for the pardon of the incestuous man whom he had\nexcommunicated. He was sent the same year by the Apostle, a second time,\nto Corinth, to bring the alms of that Church to Jerusalem, for the\nrelief of the necessity of the poor Christians there. All these\nparticulars we learn from S. Paul's two epistles to the Corinthians.\n\nS. Paul, after his first imprisonment, returning from Rome into the\nEast, made some stay in the island of Crete, of which Rustilius, the\ngovernor, was married to the sister of S. Titus. He consecrated his\nbeloved disciple, Titus, to be bishop of that island, and left him there\nto finish the work he had begun.[22] \"We may form a judgment,\" says S.\nChrysostom, \"from the importance of the charge, how great was the esteem\nof S. Paul for his disciple.\"[23] But the Apostle, on his return into\nEurope the year after, finding the loss of such a companion too\nmaterial, ordered him to meet him at Nicopolis, in Epirus, where he\nintended to pass the winter, as soon as Artemas or Tychicus, whom the\nApostle was about to send to him, to take the place of the bishop during\nhis absence, should arrive.[24] And when he came, he bade him assist\nZenas, the lawyer, and Apollos on their journey.[25] From this Zenas we\nhave certain incidents of the life of S. Titus, which have been\npreserved in a fragmentary condition in the Greek Menaea.\n\nZenas relates the conversion of S. Titus thus:--Titus, living in the\nisland of Crete, was learned in Greek literature, having been studious\nin youth. But the dreams of the poets and philosophers did not satisfy\nthe inward craving of his soul after truth. One day, when twenty years\nold, he heard a voice say to him, \"Titus, depart hence and save thy\nsoul, for the learning of the Greeks will not profit thee unto\nsalvation.\" Wondering in himself what this could mean, he was bidden by\nthe same voice to take up a Hebrew volume that he had long disregarded,\nand open it. And the book was the Prophet Isaiah, and the place of the\nScriptures that his eye rested on was this, \"Keep silence before me, O\nislands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near;\nthen let them speak,\"[26] and what follows.\n\nHe seems to have read on much of that chapter, with its promise to the\nisles, and to have applied to himself the words, \"Thou whom I have taken\nfrom the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof,\nand said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not\ncast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for\nI am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will\nuphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.... When the poor\nand needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for\nthirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake\nthem.\"[27] These were words very different from those of the poets of\nGreece, and gave an idea of God quite other from that formed by Homer,\nin whose writings he had found delight; so Titus left his Greek studies\nand his native island, and sought Jerusalem, the chief city of that\npeople of whom the prophet spake such great things. And when he was\nthere he saw Jesus, and heard Him teach. Perhaps he was one of those\nGreeks whom S. Andrew brought to Christ.[28] He believed, and was of the\nnumber of the first disciples. He remained at Jerusalem after the\nascension and the descent of the Holy Ghost. After he joined S. Paul, he\naccompanied him in most of his journeys. In 65, S. Paul sent him to\npreach the Word of God in Dalmatia, after he had visited him in\nNicopolis;[29] but he probably was there for no great length of time,\nthough the Dalmatians honour him as their Apostle.\n\nPeter de Natalibus relates that when death approached, he saw angels\ncoming from heaven in a glorious train to fetch his soul, and that his\nface lit up with joy at their approach, and shone with supernatural\nsplendour. He committed his people to God in long and earnest prayer,\nand then yielded up his spirit in peace to Christ his Saviour.\n\nThe body of S. Titus was kept, with great veneration, in the Cathedral\nof Gortyna; but that city having been ruined by the Saracens, in 823,\nthe metropolitan see was transferred to Candia, seventeen miles from the\nancient Gortyna; there the head of S. Titus was preserved, till it was\ncarried off by the Venetians, and is now among the sacred treasures of\nS. Mark's, at Venice.\n\nPatron of Candia, or Crete.\n\n\nS. DAFROSA, W. C.\n\n(A.D. 361.)\n\n [Mentioned in Roman Martyrology, and in those of Bede, Ado, Notker,\n Maurolycus, &c. All known of her is contained in the\n Martyrologies.]\n\nThis Saint was the wife of S. Flavian, a martyr. She was one of the\nfew who suffered in the reign of Julian, the Apostate; having been\nsentenced by Apronianus, praefect of the city, in Rome, along with her\ndaughters, Demetria and Bibiana. S. Flavian, her husband, was crowned\non the 22nd December; and she followed him shortly. She was sent to\nthe house of a certain Faustus, who desired to have her in marriage;\nbut she refused to become his wife, and converted him to the faith. He\nwas baptized by S. John the priest, who is commemorated on June 23rd.\nFaustus was executed, and his body cast to the dogs; but Dafrosa saved\nit, and buried it secretly at night. Then, in a dream, her husband\nFlavian appeared to her, and called her to follow him. And at the\nexpiration of five days, whilst engaged in prayer, she migrated to her\nheavenly country.\n\n\nS. RUMON, B. C.\n\n [Does not occur in the Roman Martyrology.]\n\nWilliam of Malmesbury informs us that the history of S. Rumon's life was\ndestroyed by the wars, which devastated England. He was a bishop; but of\nwhat see we do not know. Many of the early Saints of the Church in\nCornwall, Wales, and Ireland, received episcopal consecration, without\njurisdiction. His body was preserved at Tavistock, in Devonshire, where\nOrdulf, Earl of Devonshire, built a church under his invocation, before\nthe year 960.\n\n\nS. GREGORY OF LANGRES, B.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 541.)\n\n [Roman and Gallican Martyrologies. The life of S. Gregory of\n Langres was written by S. Gregory of Tours, who died 591.]\n\n\nSaint Gregory, one of the principal senators of Autun, in France, was\nappointed count of the city, and for many years administered justice\nwith the utmost prudence and uprightness. His wife, Armentaria, was also\nof senatorial rank; by her he had several children, of whom Tetricus was\nnumbered among the Saints.\n\nAfter the death of his wife, having been elected by the clergy and\ncitizens of Langres to be their bishop, he was consecrated by the\nmetropolitan. As bishop, his life was edifying. He was a model of\nhumility, and sought, above all things, to conceal his acts of\nself-denial, and long communings with God. He ate barley bread, but that\nthis might not be observed, he had wheat cakes piled on the table above\nhis brown barley cakes, so that he could draw from the dish those for\nhis own eating, whilst the others ate white bread, and supposed him to\nbe doing the same. In like manner, at table he used a dull glass goblet,\nso that it might not be noticed that he drank water, whereas, the others\nwere supplied with wine. At night, he was wont to rise from his bed,\nwhen everybody else was asleep, and steal, on tip-toe, to the baptistery\nof the church, where he passed several hours in prayer and singing\npsalms. This was long unobserved; but one night a deacon was awake, and\nsaw the bishop rise. Wondering at his proceeding, when S. Gregory had\nleft the dormitory, he rose also, and stole softly after him, and saw\nhim enter the baptistery, the gate opening to him of its own accord. For\nsome time there was silence; and then the bishop's voice was heard\nchanting, and immediately many voices took up the psalm, and the singing\ncontinued for three hours. \"I, for my part,\" says S. Gregory, of Tours,\n\"think that the Saints, of whom the relics were there preserved,\nrevealed themselves to the blessed man, and sang praises to God in\ncompany with him.\"\n\nOne day, as he was walking to Langres, he was struck with fever, and he\ndied shortly after; \"and his blessed countenance was so glorified after\nhis departure, that it looked like a blushing rose, whilst the rest of\nhis body was shining like a white lily, so that it seemed then to have a\nforetaste of its future resurrection beauty.\" He was buried at Dijon,\nwhich was then in the diocese of Langres, and his son, Tetricus,\nsucceeded him in the see of Langres.\n\nThere is much uncertainty about the date of his death. In some\nMartyrologies he is said to have died in 535; Galesinius says in 524.\nBut he was present at the Council of Clermont, in 535, and signed the\ndecrees of the third Council of Orleans by his deputy, Evantius, the\npriest, in 538; but did not appear at, or send a deputy to, the fourth\nCouncil of Orleans, in 541. It is, therefore, probable that the see was\nthen vacant by his death.\n\nIn art, S. Gregory appears before a church door, which an angel opens to\nhim; or with chains, because it is said that as his body was being taken\nto burial, the bier was set down before a prison, and the chains fell\noff the prisoners, and they were freed at the same moment.\n\n\nS. PHARAILDIS, V.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 745.)\n\n [Belgian and German Martyrologies. Authorities for her life:--A MS.\n life from the monastery of Mont Gerard, published by the\n Bollandists, and by Molanus on the Belgian Saints. Besides, we have\n mention of her in the lives of her mother and sisters.]\n\nSaint Pharaildis was the daughter of Theodoric, duke of Lorraine, and\nhis wife, S. Amalberga. The family was one of Saints. The brother of S.\nPharaildis, on the mother's side, was S. Emenbert, Bishop of Cambray,\nand her sisters were S. Rainelda and S. Gudula. She was born at Ghent,\nand after her baptism, was taken by her aunt, S. Gertrude, to be by her\nbrought up. She was married, but lived with her husband as though\nsingle. For thirty years she rose every night at cock-crow, and sought\nthe church of the nearest monastery to hear prime, and matins, and\nlauds. She died at the age of ninety, and was buried in the church of S.\nBavo, in Ghent, A.D. 745, but afterwards was carried to Nivelles by the\nreligious of Ghent, fleeing the incursions of the Normans. A portion of\nthe relics was left at Nivelles, but the major part was brought back to\nGhent, and enshrined in the new church of S. Pharaildis, which was\ndestroyed by the Calvinists in 1566. The relics, however, were saved. On\nthe 17th Dec., 1608, the chapter of S. Pharaildis, in Ghent, gave some\nportion to a little chapel at Steenockerzeel.\n\nIn Flemish, S. Pharaildis is called Veerle, or Verelde.\n\nIn art, S. Pharaildis appears as a patroness of Ghent, with a goose in\nher arms, or at her feet, Gans being the Flemish for a goose; in base\nLatin, Ganta or Gansa; and the Latin name of Ghent, in the Middle Ages,\nbeing Gantum. She is also represented with loaves of bread; for,\naccording to a legend, a woman having begged bread of her sister for\nher child, the sister said, \"I have none to give to you; there's no\nbread in the house.\" And when the poor woman urged her, she exclaimed,\n\"May S. Pharaildis change the bread into stones if there be any here.\"\nWhereupon, some loaves she had by her were petrified.\n\n\nS. RIGOBERT, ABP. OF RHEIMS.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 749.)\n\n [Roman, Benedictine, and Gallican Martyrologies. Authority:--A life\n of the 9th cent.]\n\nSaint Rigobert, a Benedictine monk, was ordained archbishop of Rheims in\nthe year 696. He consecrated Dagobert II., Chilperic II., and Theoderic\nII., kings of the Franks. In his diocese he laboured to restore\ndiscipline and sanctity of life. When Charles Martel and Ragenfried were\nfighting for the mastery, the former came with his troops before Rheims,\nand demanded to be admitted. The bishop refused to open the gates,\n\"Because,\" said he, \"I know not whether you or Ragenfried will be given\nthe kingdom.\" Charles Martel went away in a fury, and vowed, if he\ngained the day, he would make the cautious archbishop suffer for it.\nWhen Charles Martel had subdued his rival, he returned to Rheims, and\ndrove S. Rigobert into exile, and gave the revenues of the see to\nlaymen, creatures of the court. Whilst at Rheims, S. Rigobert had lived\nover the city gate, and kept the keys of the town. The window of his\nchamber looked towards the Basilica of S. Remigius, and at it he was\nwont to pray, like Daniel, with his face turned to Jerusalem. That he\nmight easily, and at will, descend into the church of S. Peter, which\nwas situated near the gateway, S. Rigobert had a hole knocked in a\nturret of the church, so that by a ladder he could descend into the\nchurch to prayer, and return by it to a little oratory, dedicated to S.\nMichael, which he had built on the city wall. But this oratory did not\nstand very long, for King Louis gave the monastery of S. Peter to his\ndaughter Alpaida; and her husband, Begus, having knocked his head\nagainst the lintel of the door when entering the little chapel--he being\na very tall man--ordered it to be pulled down, pretending that it cut\noff the light from the windows of the church. \"Humility,\" says the\nchronicler dryly, \"never knocks its head against any thing.\"\n\nS. Rigobert, when in exile, retired to Gascony, but was recalled by\nPepin, and returned to Rheims; but finding that, contrary to canon law,\nMilo, an abbot, had been appointed to the see, he went away to\nGernicour, a village at no great distance. At Gernicour, he lived in\npoverty, in great humility and prayer; sometimes he visited Rheims, that\nhe might celebrate on the altar of S. Mary, which had been conceded to\nhim by Milo. One day he was at Cormicy, and visited the church of S.\nCyriac, to pray for his poor diocese, a prey to ravening wolves; and his\nprayer being ended, he conversed with Wibert, comptroller of Rheims, who\ninvited him to dine with him, as the table was ready. But S. Rigobert\nanswered, \"I may not eat, as I have to celebrate mass this morning in\nthe church of S. Peter, at Gernicour.\" Whilst he was speaking, a poor\nwidow brought the deputy-governor a goose. \"Here,\" said Wibert, \"as you\nwill not dine with me, take this goose home with you, and cook it for\nyour own dinner.\" Then S. Rigobert gave it to his little serving boy to\ncarry before him; and he went on his way saying his office; when the\ngoose flew out of the boy's hands, and was gone. The boy was much\ngrieved, and was on the point of crying. The bishop, seeing the sad face\nof the child, interrupted his psalm to console him, and to tell him\nthat the loss of this world's goods should not draw forth tears, but\nthat the heart should trust in God, who gives all things bountifully.\nThen the bishop resumed his psalms, now reciting them to himself, and\nthen breaking forth into song. Presently the goose came fluttering down\nbefore the feet of the old man, so the boy put it under his arm again,\nand brought it safely to Gernicour. But it was not cooked for dinner.\nIndeed, the bishop would not allow it to be killed, and the goose became\nso tame, that it followed him about, and would even accompany him on his\nwalks to Rheims, and wait there for him when he said mass at the altar\nof S. Mary.\n\nRelics, in the church of S. Denis, at Rheims, and in the chapel of S.\nRigobert, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, at Paris.\n\nIn art, he is represented with a goose.\n\n\nB. ANGELA. OF FOLIGNI.\n\n(A.D. 1309.)\n\n [B. Angela was beatified by Pope Innocent XII. in 1693. Her life\n and revelations were written by her confessor, Arnald, friar of the\n order of S. Francis, in her lifetime, and the revelations were\n submitted to her for correction.]\n\nThe Blessed Angela, of Foligni, belonged to a rich and honourable family\nin Umbria. She was married, and had children. Upon the death of her\nmother, husband, and children, her heart turned in an agony of love to\nGod alone, and appeared filled to overflowing with that divine charity\nof which an earthly affection is but a reflection. She was frequent in\nprayer, and made a discreet use of the Sacrament of penance. \"Once she\nconfessed her sins to me,\" says Friar Arnald, \"preserving the most\nperfect knowledge of her sins, and was filled with so much contrition\nand tears, from the beginning of her confession to the end, and with so\ngreat humility, that I wept in my heart, believing most surely, that if\nthe whole world was deceived, God would not permit her, who was full of\nso much truth and integrity, to be deceived. The following night she was\nsick, well nigh to death, and next morning she drew herself, with great\neffort, to the Franciscan Church, and I was then saying mass, and I\ncommunicated her, and I know that she never communicated without God\ngiving her some great favour, and that a new one continually. But so\ngreat were the consolations and illuminations which she received in her\nsoul, that frequently they seemed to overflow into her body. Thus, when\nshe was standing with me, and her soul was lifted up, her face and body\nwere transformed, through joy, at the divine words of address, and\ndevotion, and delight at the consolations, that her eyes shone as\ncandles, and her face flushed like a rose, and became radiant and\nangelical, as was beyond nature.\"\n\nThe inner life and meditations of the Blessed Angela were written down\nfrom her lips, and were read over to her by the confessor. They are full\nof instruction and beauty, and are of considerable length. She died on\nthe 4th January, 1309.\n\nHer body reposes in a shrine in the Franciscan Church at Foligni.\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[18] Peter de Nat.\n\n[19] 2 Cor. xii. 16.\n\n[20] 2 Cor. vii. 6.\n\n[21] 2 Cor. xi. 13.\n\n[22] Zenas and Peter de Nat. The latter does not say that S.\nPaul visited Crete, but that he sent Titus there. S. Paul says, \"I left\nthee in Crete,\" Tit. i. 4, showing that he did visit that island with\nTitus.\n\n[23] Homil. i. in Tit.\n\n[24] Tit. iii. 12.\n\n[25] Tit. iv. 13.\n\n[26] Isa. xli. 1.\n\n[27] Isa. xli. 9, 10, 17.\n\n[28] John xii. 21.\n\n[29] 2 Tim. iv. 10.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 5.\n\nThe Vigil of the Epiphany.\n\n S. TELESPHORUS, _P. M._, A.D. 139.\n THE HOLY MARTYRS IN THE THEBAID, A.D. 302.\n S. SYNCLETICA, _V., in Egypt, 4th cent._\n S. APOLLINARIS SYNCLETICA, _V., 5th cent._\n S. SIMEON STYLITES, _H._, A.D. 460.\n S. EMILIANA, _V., 6th cent._\n S. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, _K. of England_, A.D. 1066.\n S. GERLACH, _H., near Maestrecht_, A.D. 1170.\n\n\nS. TELESPHORUS, POPE, M.\n\n(A.D. 139.)\n\n [Mentioned originally in the Carmelite Breviary. This Pope was\n inserted in the Roman Breviary by Clement VIII. He is commemorated\n by the Greeks on Feb. 22.]\n\nSaint Telesphorus was by birth a Greek, and was the seventh Bishop of\nRome. Towards the end of the year 128, he succeeded S. Sixtus I., and\nsat eleven years on the throne of S. Peter, and saw the havoc which the\npersecution of Hadrian wrought in the Church. \"He ended his life by an\nillustrious martyrdom,\" says Eusebius.[30]\n\n\nTHE MARTYRS IN THE THEBAID.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 302.)\n\n\"One cannot but admire,\" says Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History\n(lib. viii., c. 8, 9), \"those who suffered in Egypt, their native land,\nwhere thousands, both men, and women, and children, despising the\npresent life for the sake of our Saviour's doctrine, submitted to death\nin various shapes. Some, after being tortured with scrapings and the\nrack, and the most dreadful scourgings, and other innumerable agonies,\nwhich one might shudder to hear, were finally committed to the flames;\nsome plunged and drowned in the sea, others voluntarily offering their\nheads to the executioners; others dying in the midst of their torments,\nsome wasted away by famine, and others again fixed to the cross. Some,\nindeed, were executed as malefactors usually were; others, more cruelly,\nwere nailed head downwards, and kept alive, until they were destroyed by\nstarving, on the cross itself. But it would exceed all power of detail\nto give an idea of the sufferings and tortures which the martyrs of\nThebais endured. These, instead of hooks, had their bodies scraped with\npotsherds, and were mangled in this way until they died. Women, tied by\none foot, and then raised on high in the air by certain machines, with\ntheir naked bodies wholly uncovered, presented this most foul, cruel,\nand inhuman spectacle to all beholders; others again perished, bound to\ntrees and branches. For, drawing the stoutest of the branches together\nby machines for this purpose, and binding the limbs of the martyrs to\neach of these, they then let loose the boughs to resume their natural\nposition, designing thus to produce a violent action, to tear asunder\nthe limbs of those whom they thus treated. But all these things were\ndoing not only for a few days, or for some time, but for a series of\nwhole years. At one time, ten or more; at another, more than twenty; at\nanother time, not less than thirty, and even sixty; and again, at\nanother time, a hundred men, with their wives and little children, were\nslain in one day, whilst they were condemned to various and varied\npunishments. We ourselves, when on the spot, saw many crowded together\nin one day, some suffering decapitation, some the torments of flames; so\nthat the murderous weapon was completely blunted, and having lost its\nedge, broke to pieces; and the executioners themselves, wearied with\nslaughter, were obliged to relieve one another. Then, also, we were\nwitnesses to the most admirable ardour of mind, and the truly divine\nenergy and alacrity of those that believed in the Christ of God. For, as\nsoon as the sentence was pronounced against the first, others rushed\nforward from other parts to the tribunal before the judge, confessing\nthey were Christians, most indifferent to the dreadful and many kinds of\ntortures that awaited them, but declaring themselves fully, and in the\nmost undaunted manner, on the religion which acknowledges only one\nSupreme God. They received, indeed, the final sentence of death with\ngladness and exultation, so far as even to sing and send up hymns of\npraise and thanksgiving, until they breathed their last.\"\n\nThe names of these blessed ones, whose bones are strewn over the deserts\nof Egypt, are unknown to us; but they are written in the Book of Life.\nAt the day of the general Resurrection they will rise and stand, on\ntheir feet, a great army.\n\n\nS. SYNCLETICA, V.\n\n(4TH CENT.)\n\n [S. Syncletica is commemorated by the Westerns on the 5th Jan., and\n by the Easterns on the 4th Jan. Her life, written shortly after her\n death, has been attributed to S. Athanasius, but on insufficient\n grounds.]\n\nAt a time when luxury was carried to extremities, and the body was\npampered, and the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride\nof life, were the objects for which men and women lived, here and there\nthe spirit of man throbbed with higher aspirations, and yearned to\nbreak away from the gilded round of wealthy frivolity, to live a truer\nlife and breathe a purer air. Society was rotten to its core; decency\nwas not observed in conversation; modesty was forgotten in dress, and\nall that could gratify the flesh, and excite passion, was studied as an\nart. In the midst of this hot, sickly atmosphere of evil, pure souls,\nlike that of Syncletica, stifled. The modest mind of a young girl shrank\ninto itself, like a delicate flower that closes at the rude touch, and\ndied to the world. If she were a heathen, she bent her head, and\nsickened and faded. If she were a Christian, she found in the shadow of\nthe Church, a fresh spot where she might bloom, fanned by the breezes of\nParadise.\n\nSyncletica was born at Alexandria, of wealthy parents, of Macedonian\nextraction, who had settled there. Being very beautiful and\nwell-dowered, she was sought in marriage by many suitors; but declined\nall offers, for her girlish heart had awakened to a love truer and\ndeeper than any human affection; the best of her love she gave to God,\nand she desired to be His, and His alone. On the death of her parents\nshe devoted her attention to her blind sister; and together, they served\nGod in prayer and almsgiving. In token of renunciation of the world, and\nto deliver herself from troublesome pursuit by fortune-hunters, she cut\noff her hair, and disposed of her estates, but she sought to avoid\nnotice in all that she did, and to conceal her good deeds and\nself-sacrifices. Nevertheless, she became known, and young maidens and\nwomen resorted to her for advice, and to study her example. She was\nreluctant to be forced thus into a position which she dreaded;\nnevertheless, unable to refuse the girls and young women that assistance\nthey so much needed, she gave them much instruction, which has been\npreserved to us in the record we have of her life, and her words abound\nin practical common sense. \"Listen to me,\" she said to the maidens; \"we\nall know how we can be saved, but we fail through our own carelessness.\nThe first thing to be done, is to keep the commandment, 'Thou shalt love\nthe Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself; for\nin this consists all perfection.' These are few words, but there is\nplenty of matter in them. Then beware of retrogression. The corn in the\nGospel brought forth; some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, and some\nthirty-fold. Beware lest, beginning at sixty, we fall back to thirty.\nLet those who are virgins take care of their eyes, and their tongue, and\ntheir ears, and keep them in modesty, not looking about them boldly, nor\ntalking flippantly, nor listening to certain things that may be said.\nObedience is better than asceticism, for asceticism may puff up, but\nobedience brings one down. There is an asceticism which is of the devil.\nHow are we to distinguish right asceticism from that which is wrong? By\nits moderation. Have you begun fasting? Don't make pretexts to wriggle\nout of it on the score of health, for the lady who does not fast is just\nas much subject to maladies as she who does.\"\n\nS. Syncletica died at the age of eighty, of cancer on the mouth, and\nconsumption in the lungs, from which she suffered with great patience\nfor three years. The cancer made horrible ravages in her face, and\nbecame so distressingly offensive, that to ward off infection from those\nwho nursed her, she allowed it to be treated with the mixture which is\nused for embalming corpses.\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\n\nS. APOLLINARIS SYNCLETICA, V.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 5TH CENT.)\n\n [Commemorated in the Latin Martyrologies on this day, but by the\n Greeks on Jan. 4th. Her life, written by one who lived at the same\n time, is given by Metaphrastes. This life represents her as\n daughter of Anthemius, the Emperor. Metaphrastes concludes, but\n wrongly, that she was daughter of Anthemius, who was appointed\n Emperor of the West by Leo I. But it appears more probable that she\n was the daughter of Anthemius, consular prefect of the city, who\n acted as regent after the death of Arcadius, during the minority of\n Theodosius the younger. This Anthemius was grandfather of the\n Emperor Anthemius. It is quite possible that the regent may have\n received imperial honours. The narrative in one place, speaking of\n the expedition of Apollinaris to the Holy Land, says, \"A few days\n after, when we had found companions, we went on to the Holy City.\n And when, at a certain place, we turned aside, on account of our\n burdens, and the slaves and serving maids who were with us, we\n rested awhile.\" This is the only allusion to himself made by the\n writer, and it is so casual, that it is difficult not to regard it\n as an evidence of the authenticity of the piece. The story is,\n however, so much like a romance, and is open to so many critical\n objections, that it is difficult to accept it exactly as it is.]\n\nSaint Apollinaris, called from her high rank Syncletica, was the\ndaughter of Anthemius. She had a sister of a different spirit from\nherself. The parents of Apollinaris desired to unite her in marriage, at\nan early age, to some wealthy noble, but she manifested such a fixed\nresolution to remain single, that they yielded to her wish. In her heart\nshe desired to retire completely from the world; having heard of the\nwondrous lives of the recluses in Egypt, she longed greatly to see and\nimitate them. Her parents having consented to her making a pilgrimage to\nJerusalem, she visited the holy places, and in Jerusalem she liberated\nall the slaves who had been sent to bear her company, and dismissed them\nwith liberal gifts, retaining in her service only an eunuch and an old\nman to prepare her tent. In Jerusalem, she bribed an aged woman to\nprocure for her, secretly, the habit of a recluse, and this she kept by\nher for a proper moment. On her way back she visited the tomb of S.\nMeria, on the Egyptian coast; and after prayer retired to her sleeping\ntent, when she assumed the monastic habit, and cast aside her worldly\ndress, with all its ornaments. Then, in the night, when the two men were\nasleep without, she stole from her tent, and fled into the desert, and\ntook refuge in a morass. Next morning the servants were filled with\nconsternation, and sought her everywhere in vain. Then they appeared\nbefore the governor of the city Lemna (?) where they were; and he\nassisted in the search, but all was in vain; so the governor sent a\nletter to the parents of Apollinaris, with her clothes and baggage,\nnarrating the circumstances. Anthemius and his wife wept when they heard\nof the loss of their daughter, but consoled themselves with the belief\nthat she had entered some community of religious women.\n\nHowever, S. Apollinaris made her way into the desert of Sc\u00e9t\u00e9, where\nlived S. Macarius of Alexandria, at the head of a large monastery of\nrecluses in cells and caves. Apollinaris, having cut off her hair, and\nbeing much tanned by exposure to the sun, and wasted with hunger in the\nmarsh, where she had lived on a few dates, passed as a man, and was\nsupposed, from being beardless, to be an eunuch. She spent many years\nthere under the name of Dorotheus. Now it fell out that her sister,\nbeing grievously tormented with a devil, Anthemius bethought himself on\nsending her to Macarius to be healed, for the fame of his miracles had\nspread far and wide. But when the young girl was brought to Macarius,\nthe aged abbot, moved by some interior impulse, conducted her to\nDorotheus, and bade him heal the possessed by prayer. Then S.\nApollinaris earnestly, and with many tears, besought Macarius not to\ntempt her thus, for God had not given to her the gift of performing\nmiracles. Nevertheless he persisted; then the possessed woman was shut\ninto the cell of Dorotheus for several days, that he might, by prayer\nand fasting, cast the demon forth. And when, after a while, the virgin\nseemed to be healed, she was restored to the attendants, who conducted\nher to her parents with great joy.\n\nSome months after, the maiden suffered from an attack of dropsy, and the\nparents, in shame and grief, supposing her to be pregnant, questioned\nher closely thereabout. But she could not account for her size, and when\nthey pressed her more vehemently, moved by the evil spirit, she declared\nthat Dorotheus, the hermit, had seduced her. On hearing this, Anthemius\nsent to Sc\u00e9t\u00e9, that Dorotheus should be brought before him. The holy\ncongregation was filled with horror and dismay on hearing the charge,\nand they went with one accord and cried to God to put away from them so\ngrievous a reproach. Then said Dorotheus, \"Be of good courage, my\nbrethren, the Lord will reveal my innocence.\" And when she was brought\nbefore Anthemius, she said, \"I am your daughter, Apollinaris.\" Then they\nfell on her neck and wept, and she prayed to God, and kissed her sister,\nand the Lord heard her cry, and healed the damsel of her disease. And\nafter having tarried with them a few days, she returned to the desert\nonce more.\n\n\nS. SIMEON STYLITES, H.\n\n(A.D. 460.)\n\n [Commemorated on this day in the Latin Martyrologies, but on Sept.\n 1st by the Greeks. There were three of this name; the second, who\n lived at a later date, is commemorated by the Greeks on May 24th;\n and the third, whom they designate Priest and Archimandrite, on\n July 26th. These two later Saints copied the great Simeon Stylites,\n of world-wide renown. The life of this famous hermit was written by\n a disciple of his, named Anthony, who was with him when he died;\n and also by Theodoret, who knew him well in life. Also, by Evagrius\n in his Ecclesiastical History.]\n\n [Illustration: S. SIMEON STYLITES. From Hone's \"Every Day Book.\"\n Jan. 5.]\n\n\"Simeon,\" says Theodoret, \"was born in the village of Gesa, between\nAntioch and Cilicia, and as a boy kept his father's sheep. One day,\nforced by heavy snow to leave them in the fold, he went with his\nparents to the church, and there heard the Gospel read, which blesses\nthose who mourn and weep; which calls those enviable who have a pure\nheart. And when he asked a bystander what he would gain who kept the\nBeatitudes, the man propounded to him the life of self-sacrifice.\nThis,\" Theodoret adds, \"he heard from the Saint's own tongue.\"\n\nForthwith, Simeon going out of the church, went to a neighbouring\nmonastery, governed by one Timothy; and falling down before the gate,\nhe lay five days, neither eating nor drinking. And on the fifth day,\nthe abbot, coming out, asked him, \"Whence art thou, my son? What\nparents hast thou, that thou art so afflicted? Or, what is thy name,\nlest perchance thou hast done wrong? or, perchance, thou art a slave,\nand fleest from thy master?\" Then the lad answered with tears, \"No,\nmaster! I long to be a servant of God, and to save my soul. Suffer me\nto enter the monastery, and send me not away.\"\n\nThen the abbot, taking him by the hand, introduced him into the house,\nsaying to the brethren, \"My sons, behold I deliver you this brother;\nteach him the rules.\" He was in the convent about four months, serving\nall without complaint, and in that time he learned the whole Psalter\nby heart. But the food which he took with his brethren, he gave away\nsecretly to the poor, reserving for himself only food for one day in\nthe seven. But one day, having gone to the well to draw water, he took\nthe rope from the bucket and wound it round his body, from the loins to\nthe neck, and wore it till his flesh was cut into by the rope. One day,\nsome of the brethren found him giving his food to the poor; and when\nthey returned, they complained to the abbot, saying, \"We cannot abstain\nlike him; he fasts from Lord's day to Lord's day, and gives away his\nfood.\" Then the abbot rebuked him, and Simeon answered not. And the\nabbot being angry, bade strip him, and found the rope round him, sunk\ninto the flesh, and with great trouble it was uncoiled, and the skin\ncame off with it; then the monks took care of him and healed him. When\nhe was healed, he went out of the monastery and entered a deserted\ntank, where there was no water; no man knowing. After a few days, he\nwas found, and the abbot descended into the tank. Then the blessed\nSimeon, seeing him, began to entreat, saying, \"I beg you, servants of\nGod, let me alone one hour, that I may render up my spirit; for yet a\nlittle while, and it will fail. But my soul is very weary, because I\nhave angered the Lord.\"\n\nBut the abbot said to him, \"Come, servant of God, that we may take thee\nto the monastery.\" But when he would not, they brought him by force,\nand he stayed in the community about one year. \"After this,\" says\nTheodoret, \"he came to the Telanassus, under the peak of the mountain,\non which he lived till his death, and having found a little house,\nhe remained in it shut up for three years. But, eager to advance in\nvirtue, he tried to persuade Blasus, who was archpriest of the villages\naround, to leave nothing within by him, for forty days and nights, but\nto close up the door with clay. The priest warned him that to die by\none's own act is no virtue, but is a great crime.\" \"Put by me then,\nfather,\" he said, \"ten loaves, and a cruse of water, and if I find my\nbody needs sustenance, I will partake of them.\" Then Blasus did so, and\nat the end of the days Blasus removed the clay, and going in, found the\nbread and water untouched, and Simeon lying, unable to speak or move.\nGetting a sponge, he moistened and opened his lips, and then gave him\nthe Holy Eucharist; and strengthened by this immortal Food, he chewed,\nlittle by little, lettuces and succory, and such like.\n\nWhen he had passed three years in that little house, he took possession\nof the peak, which has since been so famous; and when he had commanded\na wall to be made round him, and procured an iron chain, he fastened\none end of it to a great stone, and the other to his right foot, so\nthat he could not, if he wished, have left those bounds. But when\nMeletius, Bishop of Antioch, saw him, he told him that if he had the\nwill to remain, the iron profited nothing. Then, having sent for a\nsmith, he bade him strike off the chain.\n\nThe fame of the wondrous austerities of this man wrought upon the\nwild Arab tribes, and effected what no missionaries had been able, as\nyet, to perform. No doubt the fearful severities exercised by Simeon,\non himself, are startling and even shocking. But the Spirit of God\nbreathes where He wills, and thou canst not tell whence He cometh and\nwhither He goeth. What but the divine Spirit could have caught that\nyoung boy's soul away from keeping sheep, and looking forward to the\nenjoyment of youth, and precipitated it into this course, so contrary\nto flesh and blood? Theodoret says, that as kings change the impression\non their coins, sometimes stamping them with the image of lions,\nsometimes of stars, sometimes of angels, so the divine Monarch produces\ndifferent marks of sanctity at different periods, and at each period\nHe calls forth these virtues, or characters, He needs for a particular\nwork. So was it now; on the wild sons of the desert, no missionaries\nhad made an impression; their rough hearts had given no echo to the\nsound of the Gospel. Something of startling novelty was needed to\ncatch their attention, and strike their imagination, and drag them\nviolently to the cross. These wild men came from their deserts to see\nthe weird, haggard man in his den. He fled from them as they crowded\nupon him, not into the wastes of sand, but up a pillar; first up one\nsix cubits, then one twelve cubits, and finally, one of thirty-six. The\nsons of Ishmael poured to the foot of the pillar, \"like a river along\nthe roads, and formed an ocean of men about it.\" \"And,\" says Theodoret,\n\"myriads of Ishmaelites, who had been enslaved in the darkness of\nimpiety, were illuminated by that station on the column. For this\nmost shining light, set as it were on a candlestick, sent forth all\naround its beams, like the sun, and one might see Iberi, Persians, and\nArmenians coming and receiving divine baptism. But the Ishmaelites\n(Arabs,) coming by tribes, 200 and 300 at a time, and sometimes even\n1,000, denied with shouts the error of their ancestors; and breaking\nin pieces the images they had worshipped, and renouncing the orgies\nof Venus, they received the divine Sacraments, and accepted laws from\nthat holy tongue. And this I have seen with my own eyes, and have\nheard them renouncing the impiety of their fathers, and assenting to\nEvangelic doctrine.\" Here was the result. Little did the boy know, as\nhe lay before the monastery door five days without eating, to what God\nhad called him; for what work he was predestined, when he coiled the\nrope about his body. The Spirit had breathed, and he had followed the\nimpulse, and now he wrought what the tongue of a prophet could not have\naffected. And it was worth the pain of that rope torn from his bleeding\nbody; it was recompense for those long fastings.\n\n \"Three winters, that my soul might grow to Thee,\n I lived up there on yonder mountain side;\n My right leg chain'd into the crag, I lay\n Pent in a roofless close of ragged stones;\n Inswathed sometimes in wandering mist, and twice\n Black'd with Thy branding thunder, and sometimes\n Sucking the damps for drink, and eating not.\"\n\nIt was worth all this, if souls could be added to the Lord, as they\nwere, by hundreds and thousands. God's ways are not as our ways. The God\nwho needed these souls, called up the soul of Simeon to do the work, and\nSimeon obeyed, and traversed perhaps the most awful path man has yet\ntrod.\n\nIt is not for us to condemn a mode of life which there is no need for\nmen to follow now. It was needed then, and he is rightly numbered with\nthe Saints, who submitted his will to that of God, to make of him an\ninstrument for His purpose in the way that He saw best.\n\n\"There came from Arabena a certain good man,\" says Theodoret, \"who, when\nhe had come to that mountain peak, 'Tell me,' he cried, 'by the very\nTruth, art thou a man, or of incorporeal nature?' But when all there\nwere displeased with the question, the Saint bade them all be silent,\nand bade them set a ladder to the column, and bade the man come up; and\nfirst look at his hands, and then feel inside his cloak of skins, and\nsee not only his feet, but also a severe ulcer in them. But when he saw\nthat he was a man, and the size of that sore, and learnt from him how he\ntook nourishment, he came down and told me all.\"\n\n\"On festivals, from the setting of the sun till its appearance again, he\nstood all night with his hands uplifted to heaven, neither soothed with\nsleep, nor conquered by fatigue. But in toils so great, and so great\nmagnitude of deeds, and multitude of miracles, his self-esteem is as\nmoderate as if he were in dignity the least of men. Besides his modesty,\nhe is easy of access of speech, and gracious, and answers every man who\nspeaks to him. And from the bounteous God he has received the gift of\nteaching, and he makes exhortations to the people twice every day. He\nmay be seen also acting as a judge, giving just decisions. This, and the\nlike, is done after the ninth hour. For all night, and through the day\nto the ninth hour, he prays perpetually. After that he sets forth\ndivine teaching to those who are present, and then, having heard each\nman's petition, having performed some cures, he settles disputes. About\nsunset, he begins the rest of his converse with God. But though he is\nemployed in this way, he does not give up the care of the churches,\nsometimes fighting against the impiety of the Greeks, sometimes checking\nthe audacity of the Jews, sometimes putting to flight the heretics, and\nsometimes sending messages to the emperor; sometimes stirring up rulers\nto zeal for God, and sometimes exhorting the pastors of the churches to\nbestow more care on their flocks.\"\n\nTo make trial of his humility, an order was sent him, in the name of the\nneighbouring bishops and abbots, to quit his pillar, and new manner of\nlife. The Saint, ready to obey the summons, was about to step down; when\nthe messenger, seeing his willingness to obey, said he was empowered to\nauthorize him to follow his vocation.\n\nOnce, his mother hearing of his fame, came to see him, but was not\nallowed to enter the enclosure around the pillar. But when Simeon heard\nhis mother's voice, he said to her, \"Bear up, my mother, a little while,\nand we shall see each other, if God will.\" But she began to weep and\nrebuke him, saying, \"Son, why hast thou done this? In return for the\nbody I bore thee, thou has filled me with grief. For the milk with which\nI nourished thee, thou hast given me tears. For the kiss with which I\nkissed thee, thou hast given me an aching heart.\" \"She made us all\nweep,\" says Anthony, who writes this incident. Simeon, on his pillar,\nwas also deeply agitated, and, covering his face with his hands, he wept\nbitterly, and cried to her, \"Lady mother, be still a little while, and\nwe shall see each other in eternal rest.\" The poor mother, with harrowed\nheart, hung about the place for three days, crying to her son, and wrung\nwith grief to see his terrible penance. Then Simeon, grieving for her,\nprayed to God to give her rest, and at the end of those three days she\nfell asleep in Christ. Then the people took up her body and brought it\nwhere Simeon might see it. And he, weeping, said, \"The Lord receive thee\nin joy, mother! because thou hast endured tribulation for me, and borne\nme, and nursed and nourished me with labour.\" Then he prayed, \"Lord God\nof virtues, who sittest above the Cherubim, and searchest the\nfoundations of the abyss, who knewest Adam before he was; who hast\npromised the riches of the kingdom of heaven to those who love Thee; who\ndidst speak to Moses out of the burning bush; who blessedst Abraham our\nfather; who bringest to Paradise the souls of the just, and sinkest the\nsouls of the ungodly in perdition; who didst humble the lions before\nDaniel, and mitigate for the Three Children the strong fire of the\nChaldees; who didst nourish Elijah by the ravens which brought him food,\nreceive her soul in peace, and put her in the place of the holy Fathers,\nfor Thine is the power, for ever and ever.\"\n\nA robber, Jonathan by name, fled to S. Simeon, and embraced the column,\nweeping bitterly, and confessing his sins, and saying that he desired to\nrepent. Then the Saint cried, \"Of such is the kingdom of heaven. But\nbeware that thou fall not again.\" Then came the officials from Antioch,\ndemanding the poor wretch, that he might be cast to wild beasts in the\namphitheatre. But Simeon answered, \"My sons, I brought him not hither,\nbut One greater than I. I cannot give him up, for I fear Him who sent\nthe man to me.\"\n\nThen the sergeants, struck with fear, went away. And Jonathan lay for\nseven days embracing the column, and then asked leave to depart. The\nSaint asked him if he was going to return to sin. \"No, my lord!\"\nanswered the robber; \"but my time is fulfilled.\" And straightway he gave\nup the ghost; and when the sergeants came from Antioch, again insisting\nthat he should be given up to suffer for his crimes, Simeon replied,\npointing to the body, \"He who brought the poor sinner here, has come\nwith His angels, and has pardoned this man Himself.\"\n\nAnthony, his disciple, thus relates the death of the old hermit. \"After\na few years, it befell one day, that he bowed himself in prayer, and\nremained so three days, Friday, the Sabbath, and the Lord's day. Then I\nwas terrified, and went up to him on the pillar, and stood before his\nface, and said, 'Master, arise! bless us, for the people have been\nwaiting three days and nights for a blessing from thee.' But he answered\nme not, so I said to him again, 'Wherefore dost thou grieve me, my lord!\nI beseech thee, put out thy hand to me.' And seeing that he did not\nanswer, I thought to tell no one; for I feared to touch him, and\nstanding about half-an-hour, I bent down, and put my ear to listen; and\nthere was no breathing. And so I understood that he rested in the Lord;\nand turning faint, I wept most bitterly; and bending down, I kissed his\neyes; and I cried, 'Master, remember me in thy holy rest.' And lifting\nup his garments, I fell at his feet, and kissed them, and holding his\nhands, I laid them on my eyes, saying, 'Bless me, I beseech thee, my\nlord!'\"\n\nThe body was taken to Antioch, and there buried with great pomp.\n\n\nS. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, K.\n\n [S. Edward is commemorated on this day in the Roman Martyrology, by\n order of Innocent IV. On this day, he is mentioned in the old\n English Martyrologies as well, but the festival of his Translation,\n Oct. 13th, is that which is chiefly observed in his honour, and to\n that day we shall refer our readers for his life.]\n\n\nS. GERLACH, H.\n\n(ABOUT 1170.)\n\n [Mentioned in the Cologne, German, and Gallo-Belgic Martyrologies.\n Two lives of this Saint exist, one written during the life of those\n who remembered him, and were able to describe his personal\n appearance; the other written by Wilhelm Cripius, son of the\n Chancellor of Gueldres, by command of the bishop, Henry Cuyck, of\n Roermund.]\n\nSaint Gerlach sprang from a noble family, in the neighbourhood of\nMaestricht. He was a knight, and lived a somewhat disorderly life; but\none day, as he was about to engage in a tournament, the news reached\nhim of the sudden death of his wife, whom he loved passionately.\nCasting aside lance and shield, he hastened to his castle, and in\ngrief over her loss, formed the resolution of renouncing the world. He\nvisited Rome, and confessed the sins of his life to Pope Eugenius III.,\nwho bade him, as a penance, go to Jerusalem, and for seven years nurse\nthe sick in its hospitals. He obeyed, and on his return to Rome, at the\nexpiration of seven years, found Adrian IV. on the throne. Adrian bade\nhim live a retired life. Accordingly, Gerlach returned to his estates,\nand distributed all his possessions among the poor, reserving for\nhimself only sufficient for his support. He then took up his abode in\na hollow oak; but some envious persons having complained to the Bishop\nof Liege that he offered idolatrous worship to the tree, the bishop\nordered it to be cut down; but afterwards, recognizing the virtue of\nthe penitent knight, he became his protector. He wore sack-cloth next\nhis skin, and over that a battered suit of mail. He spent his nights\nin prayer, in the church of S. Servais, Maestricht.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[30] Hist., lib. iv. c. 10.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 6.\n\nThe Epiphany.\n\n S. MELCHIOR, _one of the Magi_.\n S. MACRA, _V. M., near Rheims, circ._ A.D. 303.\n S. MELANIUS, _B. of Rennes_, A.D. 580.\n S. PETER, _Ab. of Canterbury_, A.D. 608.\n S. ERMINOLD, _Ab. of Prufening, and M._, A.D. 1121.\n THE VEN. GERTRUDE VAN OOSTEN, _V., at Delft_, A.D. 1358.\n S. JOHN RIBEIRA, _Patr. of Antioch, and Abp. of Valencia, in Spain_,\n A.D. 1611.\n\n\nTHE EPIPHANY.\n\nThe principal design of the Church in celebrating this feast is, that\nher members may show gratitude to God for manifesting the Gospel to the\nGentile world, and vouchsafing to it the same privileges as to the Jews,\nwho had hitherto been His chosen and peculiar people; the first instance\nof this divine favour was the Manifestation of Christ to the Wise Men of\nthe East. But, in all, there are three great manifestations of our\nSaviour commemorated on this day; all of which, S. Chrysostom says,\nhappened on the same day, though not in the same year. The first of\nthese was His manifestation by a star, which conducted the Magi to come\nand worship Him. The second Manifestation was that of the Blessed\nTrinity, at His Baptism. The third was the Manifestation of the Divinity\nof Christ, at Cana, by miraculously changing water into wine.\n\n [Illustration: THE EPIPHANY.\n From the Vienna Missal.\n Jan. 6.]\n\nBut the principal event which is this day celebrated, is the\nManifestation of our Lord to the Wise Men of the East. These, who are\ncalled Magi in Greek, were doubtless men of high rank. Tradition holds\nthem to have been princes or kings; and they are given the names of\nGaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. They are said to have been baptized by\nthe Apostle Thomas, and to have preached the Gospel in Persia. Their\nbodies were brought by the first Christian emperors from the East to\nConstantinople, whence they were conveyed to Milan. But the Emperor\nFrederick I. carried them off to Cologne, in 1162, where they still\nremain.\n\nMany very curious traditions, of no authority, have attached to these\nthree holy men. They were said to have been Shem, Ham, and Japhet, who\nhad fallen asleep in a cave, and to have woke only at the Nativity\nof Christ, when they came to adore Him; and then to have returned to\ntheir cave and died. A much more trustworthy tradition is to the effect\nthat each wise man belonged to a different stock; that one was of the\nseed of Shem, another of the family of Japhet, and that the third,\nrepresented in art as black, belonged to the descendants of Ham. The\nthree names Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, are not found in any\nwriters earlier than the twelfth century. Before Pope S. Leo the Great\nspoke of them as three, the number was sometimes supposed to have been\nas many as twelve. Barhebraeus says, \"Magi came from the East. Some\naffirm that three princes came with a thousand men; but James, the\nbishop (of Edessa,) said that there were twelve princes, who, having\nleft seven thousand soldiers at the Euphrates, came on with a thousand\nmen to Jerusalem.\"\n\nSome authors have suggested that the seeming star, which appeared to\nthe Magi in the East, might be that glorious Light which shone upon\nthe shepherds of Bethlehem, when the angel came to impart to them the\ntidings of our Saviour's birth, which, at a distance, might appear like\na star. According to an ancient commentary on S. Matthew, this star, on\nits first appearance to the wise men, had the form of a radiant child,\nbearing a sceptre or cross; and in some early Italian frescoes it is\nthus depicted:--\n\n \"In a trice a star shone forth\n Oh! so brightly shining!\n Nearer, nearer yet it came,\n Still towards earth inclining;\n And 'twas shaped--O! wondrous sight!\n Like a child with visage bright,\n Holding sign of kindly might,\n With a Cross combining.\"\n\nIt is to be expected that the Epiphany, containing in itself, as has\nbeen observed, three distinct festivals, would be known by a variety of\ndistinct names. In the Mozarabic ritual it is called the \"Apparition of\nthe Lord;\" in Germany it is the \"Three-Kings' Day.\"\n\nThe Greeks keep the Nativity and the Manifestation to the Wise Men on\nthe same day, the 25th December, and keep the 6th January as the\nfestival of the Baptism of our Lord.\n\nThe first historical notice of the Epiphany is found in S. Clement of\nAlexandria, A.D. 200; in the time of S. Chrysostom, A.D. 400, it is\nmentioned as an ancient and principal festival of the Asiatic Church.\nThe earliest distinct trace of it in the West is found in Gaul, in the\nmiddle of the fourth century. Ammianus Marcellinus (xxi. 2), relates of\nJulian the Apostate, that in A.D. 361, he celebrated in the Christian\nChurch at Paris, the feast of the Epiphany in January, shortly before he\npublicly renounced the Christian religion. The title of Day of Lights\nwas given to this festival as commemorating the earthly manifestation of\nthe Light of the World, and also because it was the supposed day of the\nBaptism of our Lord, to which rite the term \"illumination\" was\nespecially given. Hence it became, and in the Greek Church it is still,\none of the three solemn times of baptism.\n\nGreek Hymn.--O Christ, the True Light, which lighteth every man that\ncometh into the world, let the Light of Thy Countenance shine upon us,\nthat thereby we may behold the unapproachable Light, and guide Thou our\nsteps to fulfil Thy Commandments.\n\n\nS. MACRA, V. M.\n\n(ABOUT 303.)\n\n [Mentioned in the Roman and German Martyrologies. The account of\n her martyrdom is from the Martyrologies, and from her Acts,\n published by the Bollandists.]\n\nDuring the savage persecutions of Diocletian and Maximian, emperors,\none Rictiovarus was governor at Soissons, in Gaul, who laboured to put\ndown Christianity. The virgin Macra was treated by him with inhuman\nbarbarity; she was exposed to fire, her breasts were cut off, and she\nwas rolled on potsherds and coals; then, spreading out her hands, she\nprayed, \"O Lord Jesu Christ, who madest me triumph over the chains in\nmy dungeon, and madest the fire to which I was exposed as sweet as dew,\nI pray Thee, receive my soul, for now is the time come for Thee to set\nmy spirit free!\" So saying, she entered into her rest.\n\nShe is regarded as the patroness of Fimes, near Rheims.\n\nIn art, she is represented with her breasts on a book which she carries.\n\n\nS. MELANIUS, B. OF RENNES.\n\n(A.D. 580.)\n\n [Commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on this day. His life was\n written by a contemporary, according to Ducange.]\n\nS. Melanius was born at Plas, in the neighbourhood of Vannes, in\nBrittany, and became a monk when grown to man's estate. Upon the death\nof S. Amandus, Bishop of Rennes, he was compelled by the clergy and\npeople to fill that see. He accepted the election of himself with great\nreluctance. He is related to have performed many miracles, and to have\nextirpated the last remnants of heathenism in his diocese. He died on a\njourney through his diocese, at La Vilaine. His body was placed in a\nboat, which, says the legend, returned to Rennes against the stream,\nwithout oars or sail.\n\n\nS. PETER, AB. OF CANTERBURY.\n\n(A.D. 608.)\n\n [Named in the English Martyrologies. Authority for his life, Bede.\n Hist. Eccl., i. 33.]\n\nBede says of this Saint, that he was a disciple of S. Gregory the Great,\nand first abbot of the monastery of S. Peter, at Canterbury, which was\nin later years called S. Augustine's monastery. Going to France in 608,\nhe was drowned near the harbour of Ambleteuse, near Boulogne. The\npeasants of the place buried the body without much regard, not knowing\nat first whose it was, but by night a light appeared above it; and,\nperceiving that the drowned man was a Saint, his body was exhumed, and\nconveyed to Boulogne.\n\n\nS. ERMINOLD, AB. OF PRUFENING, AND M.\n\n(A.D. 1121.)\n\n [Mentioned in the German Martyrologies. His life was written by a\n monk of Prufening, about the year 1290.]\n\nS. Erminold sprang from one of the first families in Swabia, and was\ngiven in early life to William, abbot of Hirschau, to be educated. A\nbetter tutor could not have been found for him, for William was one of\nthe most learned and pious men of the age. The youthful Erminold made\nrapid progress in his studies, and he grew up in favour with God and\nman. When his pupilage was ended, he took the vows of monastic life upon\nhim. In 1110, he was appointed by the Emperor Henry V., to the abbey of\nLorch, on the Rhine; but hearing that this had been given him at the\nrequest of his brother, as a return for something his brother had done\nfor the Emperor, Erminold threw up the office, so as not to incur the\nleast suspicion of simony, and returned to Hirschau. But the Bishop of\nBamberg, having founded an abbey at Prufening, near Ratisbon, he was\ninvited to colonize it, and be its first father. He accordingly betook\nhimself thither, with a few brethren. Having incurred the hostility of\nsome of his monks, by insisting on strict discipline, one, named Aaron,\nstruck him with a knife and mortally wounded him. He died, forgiving his\nmurderer.\n\n [Illustration: Worshippers at the Shrine of a Saint.]\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 7.\n\n S. LUCIAN, _P. M., at Antioch, circ._ A.D. 312.\n S. NICETAS, _B. C., circ._ A.D. 402.\n S. VALENTINE, _B. of Passau, circ._ A.D. 440.\n S. CEDD, _B. of London_, A.D. 664.\n S. TYLLO, _Monk in Gaul, circ._ 700.\n B. WITTEKIND, _Duke of Westphalia_, A.D. 800.\n S. RAINOLD, _Monk and M., of Dortmund, in Westphalia._\n S. ALDRIC, _B. of Le Mans, in France, circ._ A.D. 855.\n S. CANUTE, _Duke of Schleswig_, A.D. 1133.\n\n\nS. LUCIAN, P. M., OF ANTIOCH.\n\n(ABOUT 312.)\n\n [Commemorated on this day by the Latins, on the 15th October by the\n Greeks. This S. Lucian is not to be confused with S. Lucian of\n Beauvais, commemorated on Jan. 8th. He is spoken of by S. Jerome\n and Theodoret. S. Chrysostom has a homily on S. Lucian. Information\n concerning him is also obtained from the Greek Menaea, and from the\n Acts of his martyrdom in Metaphrastes.]\n\nSaint Lucian was born at Samosata, in Syria; his parents were\nChristians, and sought above all things to educate their son in the fear\nof God. Both died and left him an orphan at the age of twelve, and the\nboy, in his desolation, distributed his goods to the poor, and took\nrefuge with Macarius at Edessa, who taught out of Holy Scripture the\nthings concerning eternal life. Arrived at man's estate, he was ordained\npriest, and opened a school at Antioch, and diligently laboured at\nprocuring a correct version of the Holy Scriptures, by comparing\ntogether the different Hebrew copies. His version of the sacred writings\nwas used by S. Jerome, and proved of much assistance to him in his work\nof writing the Vulgate.\n\nWhen Maximian persecuted the Church, S. Lucian concealed himself, but\nwas betrayed by a Sabellian priest into the hands of the persecutors; he\nwas taken to Nicomedia, and brought before Maximian. On his way he was\nthe means of recovering forty Christian soldiers, who had lapsed. In\nNicomedia he was subjected to torture. His feet were placed in the\nstocks, which were distended, so as to dislocate his legs. His hands\nwere fastened to a beam, which was above his head, and he was laid on\nsharp potsherds, so that his back was lacerated and pierced. After this,\nhe was allowed to lie on his cell floor, unable to rise, on account of\nhis legs being out of joint, and was starved to death. He lingered\nfourteen days. And when the feast of the Manifestation drew nigh, he\ndesired greatly to receive the Holy Eucharist. \"When the fatal day had\narrived, which was looked forward to, some of the disciples desired to\nreceive from their master his last celebration of the divine mystery.\nBut it seemed doubtful how they might bring a table into the prison, and\nhow they might conceal it from the eyes of the impious. But when many of\nthe disciples were assembled, and others were arriving, he said: 'This\nbreast of mine shall be the table, and I reckon it will not be less\nesteemed of God than one of inanimate material; and ye shall be a holy\ntemple, standing round about me.' And thus it was accomplished, for\nbecause the saintly man was at the end of his life, the guards were\nnegligent, and so God, as I think, to honour his martyr, removed all\nimpediments to that being done which was proposed. For when all stood in\nclose ring round the martyr, so that one standing by the other shut him\ncompletely from view, he ordered the symbols of the divine Sacrifice to\nbe placed on his breast. After that he raised his eyes to heaven, and\nuttered the accustomed prayers. Then, when he had uttered many sacred\nprayers, and had done all the requisite acts in the sacred rite, he and\nthe rest communicated, and he sent to those who were absent, as he\nhimself shows in his last Epistle to them. Next day some officers came\nfrom the Emperor to see if he were still alive. And as he saw them\nstanding about him, he said thrice, 'I am a Christian,' and so saying,\nhe died.\"\n\nThe body was then thrown into the sea, to the great grief of his\ndisciples, who desired to bury it. But fifteen days after it was\nrecovered. A legend says that a dolphin brought it ashore; be that as it\nmay, it was found and was buried.\n\nIn art, S. Lucian is sometimes represented with a chalice and Host, in\nallusion to his offering the holy Sacrifice in prison; sometimes with a\ndolphin at his side.\n\n\nS. VALENTINE, B. OF PASSAU.\n\n(ABOUT 440.)\n\n [Some German Martyrologies, and the Roman, commemorate S.\n Maximilian, M., and S. Valentine, B.C., on Oct. 29. But S.\n Valentine is commemorated alone on this day at Passau.]\n\nValentine was sent by the Pope to preach the Gospel in the Passau. He\nfound that his work was without fruit, and returned to Rome to implore\nthe Holy Father to send him elsewhere. But the Pope consecrated him\nbishop, and sent him back to Passau, to preach in season and out of\nseason, whether it produced fruit or not. The Bishop renewed his\nefforts, but the Pagans and Arians combined to drive him out of the\ncity. Thereupon he went among the Rhaetian Alps, and his teaching\nproduced abundant fruit among the mountaineers. At length he resolved to\nserve God, and purify his own soul, in a life of retirement. He\ntherefore built a little chapel and monastery at Mais, in Tyrol, and\nthere he died.\n\nRelics, at Passau.\n\n\nS. CEDD, B. OF LONDON.\n\n(A.D. 664.)\n\n [English Martyrologies. His life is given by Bede, in his\n Ecclesiastical History, lib. 3, caps. 21, 22, 23.]\n\nPeada, son of Penda, King of Mercia, being appointed by his father King\nof the Midland English, by which name Bede distinguished the inhabitants\nof Leicestershire, and part of Lincolnshire and Derbyshire, from the\nrest of the Mercians; the young king visited Oswy, King of Northumbria,\nat Atwell, or Walton, was baptized along with several of his nobles, by\nBishop Finan, and was provided by Oswy with two priests to instruct his\npeople in Christianity. One of these was S. Cedd, who had been trained\nin the monastery of Lindisfarne. \"When these two,\" says Bede,\n\"travelling to all parts of that country, had gathered a numerous church\nto the Lord, it happened that Cedd returned home, and came to the church\nof Lindisfarne to confer with Bishop Finan; who, finding how successful\nhe had been in the work of the Gospel, made him Bishop of the Church of\nthe East Saxons, calling to him two other bishops, to assist at the\nordination. Cedd, having received the episcopal dignity, returned to his\nprovince, and pursuing the work he had begun, with more ample authority,\nbuilt churches in several places, ordaining priests and deacons to\nassist him in the work of faith, and the ministry of baptizing,\nespecially in the city which, in the language of the Saxons, is called\nIthancester,[31] as also in that named Tilabury (Tilbury); the first of\nwhich places is on the bank of the Pante, the other on the bank of the\nThames; where, gathering a flock of servants of Christ, he taught them\nto observe the discipline of regular life, as far as those rude people\nwere then capable.\n\n\"Whilst the doctrine of everlasting life was thus, for a considerable\ntime, making progress, to the joy of the King and of all the people, it\nhappened that the King, at the instigation of the enemy of all good men,\nwas murdered by his own kindred. The same man of God, whilst he was\nbishop among the East Saxons, was wont also to visit, at intervals, his\nown country, Northumberland, to make exhortations. Ethelwald, the son of\nKing Oswald, who reigned over the Deiri, finding him a holy, wise, and\ngood man, desired him to accept some land to build a monastery, to which\nthe King himself might frequently resort, to offer his prayers and hear\nthe word, and be buried in it when he died; for he believed that he\nshould receive much benefit by the prayers of those who were to serve\nGod in that place. The King had before with him a brother of the same\nbishop, called Celin, a man no less devoted to God; who, being a priest,\nwas wont to administer to him the word and the Sacraments, by whose\nmeans he chiefly came to know and love the bishop.\n\n\"That prelate, therefore, complying with the King's desires, chose\nhimself a place to build a monastery among craggy and distant mountains,\nwhich looked more like lurking places for robbers, and retreats for wild\nbeasts, than habitations for men. The man of God, desiring first to\ncleanse the place for the monastery from former crimes, by prayer and\nfasting, that it might become acceptable to our Lord, and so to lay the\nfoundations, requested the King to give him leave to reside there all\nthe approaching Lent, to pray. All which time, except Sundays, he fasted\ntill the evening, according to custom, and then took no other sustenance\nthan a little bread, one egg, and a little milk mixed with water. This,\nhe said, was the custom of those of whom he had learnt the rule of\nregular discipline; first, to consecrate to our Lord, by prayer and\nfasting, the places which they had newly received for building a\nmonastery or a church. When there were ten days of Lent still remaining,\nthere came a messenger to call him to the King; and he, that the\nreligious work might not be intermitted, on account of the King's\naffairs, entreated his priest, Cynebil, who was also his own brother, to\ncomplete that which had been so piously begun. Cynebil readily complied,\nand when the time of fasting and prayer was over, he there built the\nmonastery, which is now called Lestingan,[32] and established therein\nthe religious customs of Lindisfarne.\"\n\nAt this time, owing to the influence of S. Wilfrid, who had been\nestablished at Ripon by Alchfrid, son of King Oswy, a great split was\nforming in the Church, which made itself felt even in the Royal family.\nAll the missionaries of the north had been brought up in Iona, or\nLindisfarne, and followed the Keltic ritual; Wilfrid, ordained by a\nFrench bishop, introduced Roman ways. Oswy had been baptized and\neducated by Keltic monks, and followed the usages of the Mother Church\nof Iona; but his wife, Eanfleda, had learned in exile Roman ways, and\nshe brought with her to the court of Oswy a Canterbury priest--Romanus\nby name, and Roman in heart--who guided her religious exercises. Two\nEaster feasts were thus celebrated every year in the same house; and as\nthe Saxon kings had transferred to the chief festivals of the Christian\nyear, and especially to the Queen of Feasts, the meeting of assemblies,\nand the occasion which those assemblies gave them of displaying all\ntheir pomp, it is easy to understand how painful it must have been for\nOswy to sit, with his earls and thanes, at the great feast of Easter, at\nthe end of a wearisome Lent, and to see the Queen, with her maids of\nhonour and her servants, persisting in fasting and penance, it being\nwith her still only Palm Sunday.[33] To settle this difference, and\nprevent a rupture, the King convoked a parliament at Whitby, in 664. In\nthis parliament Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Cedd, Bishop of the East\nSaxons, who had at this time re-established the episcopal see of London,\nand S. Hilda, the great abbess of Whitby, upheld the Keltic rite. On the\nother side were S. Wilfrid, the young Prince Alchfrid, and James, the\ndeacon of York. In this parliament, it was decided that the Roman usages\nshould be adopted, and Cedd renounced the customs of Lindisfarne, in\nwhich he had been educated, and returned to his diocese of London to\nspread the Roman usages there.\n\n\"Cedd,\" says Bede, \"for many years had charge of his bishopric and of\nthe monastery of Lastingham, over which he had placed superiors. It\nhappened that he came there at the time that a plague was raging, and he\nfell sick and died. He was first buried in the open air, but in process\nof time, a church of stone was built in the monastery, in honour of the\nMother of God, and his body was interred in the same, on the right hand\nof the altar.\"\n\nThe Bishop left the monastery to be governed after him by his brother\nChad, who was afterwards made bishop. For the four brothers, Cedd, and\nCynebil, Celin, and Ceadda (Chad)--which is a rare thing to be met\nwith--were all celebrated priests of our Lord, and two of them also came\nto be bishops.\n\n\nS. TYLLO, H.\n\n(ABOUT 700.)\n\n [Cologne, German, and Belgian Martyrologies. The name is sometimes\n Tyllo, Thillo, or Hillo; in Belgium, Theaulon or Tilman. Authority:\n A life published in the Bollandists, which agrees with scattered\n notices of him in various writers.]\n\nS. Tillo, the Patron of Iseghem, in Belgium, was a son of Saxon parents,\nbut was stolen, when young, from his home, and sold as a slave in Gaul.\nS. Eligius, who redeemed many slaves, bought the lad, and being struck\nwith his beauty and intelligence, sent him to the monastery of Solignac,\nto be educated by S. Remacle, then abbot of Solignac. After his\neducation was complete, he was returned to S. Eligius, who was a\ngoldsmith, patronized by King Dagobert and the nobles of the court. With\nhim Tillo learned the trade of a goldsmith, and made many vessels and\nornaments of gold and silver, encrusted with gems, for the King. Whilst\nhe worked, he had the Holy Scriptures open before him, and as he chased\nthe silver and gold he studied the Word of God. He kept ever in his\nheart the maxim, \"Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye\neven so to them,\" and all his work was done to the best of his ability,\nand executed with punctuality. Thus, he found favour with Eligius, and\nwith all the customers of his master. When Eligius left his shop, and\nbecame a bishop, he called to the clerical office and to the religious\nlife, his apprentice whom he had bought in the market many years before.\nTillo, as priest and monk, showed a pattern of holiness, and was made\nabbot of Solignac, near Limoges. But ruling three hundred monks and\nattending to the worldly affairs of a great monastery, and more than\nthat, the multitude of visitors, made the life one for which the\ngoldsmith's apprentice, trained to work in silence, and think and read,\nfelt himself unfitted; so one night he fled away and was lost. He\npenetrated the woods and mountains of Auvergne, seeking out a suitable\nspot for a hermitage, and one day he lit upon a quiet place, hid away\namong the rocky mountains, into which he could only just crawl on hands\nand knees. Having got in, he found a pleasant glade, surrounded with\ntrees, having streams watering it from the mountain side, and there were\nplenty of apple trees, from which he concluded it had been previously a\nhermitage. Here he lived for some time, praying and reading, and tilling\nthe soil. By degrees, it was rumoured that a holy hermit lived in that\nglade, and the people of the neighbourhood came to see him, and he\ncalled himself Brother Paul. And to all who visited him this was the\nrule of life he gave, \"Believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus\nChrist his Son, also in the Holy Ghost, three persons, but one God. Keep\nyour mind from vain cogitations and your body pure from all uncleanness;\navoid self-conceit, and be instant in prayer.\"\n\nAnd when there was ever more and more of a concourse, and many desired\nto put themselves under his direction, he went forth, and sought out a\nsuitable spot, and found it at Bayac, where he founded a monastery.\nThere he remained some while, till a longing came over him to revisit\nSolignac, and he fled away when all his monks were asleep, as he had\nfled previously from Solignac. And when he reached Solignac, he was\nreceived with great joy. Then he asked the abbot Gundebert to build him\na little cell outside the monastery, in which he might reside with one\nor two of the brethren who sought a stricter life. His wish was granted,\nand in this cell he spent the rest of his days.\n\nHe is regarded with special veneration at Iseghem, in Flanders, because\nhe visited that place in company with S. Eligius, and there remained\nsome time teaching the people.\n\nIn art, he is represented with a chalice in one hand and an abbatial\nstaff in the other.\n\n\nS. ALDRIC, B. OF MANS.\n\n(A.D. 855.)\n\n [Gallican Martyrology. Ancient Life in Baluze: Miscel. iii.]\n\nS. Aldric was born about the year 800. When aged fourteen his father\nsent him to the court of Louis the Pious. One day, as he was praying in\nchurch at Aix-la-Chapelle, he felt called by God to leave a life in the\nworld, and dedicate himself to the service of the altar. With difficulty\nhe persuaded the King to let him depart, and he was sent to the Bishop\nof Metz. There he remained some years, received the tonsure, and was\nordained priest.\n\nLouis the Pious, hearing of the wisdom and sanctity of Aldric, appointed\nhim to be his chaplain and confessor. Aldric was afterwards elected\nBishop of Mans, and was consecrated on the 22nd December, 832. When\nraised to the episcopal throne, he kept a stricter guard over himself,\nand treated his body with great rigour, but to others he was gentle and\nlenient. All his income was spent in works of mercy. He redeemed\ncaptives, relieved the poor, built churches, and founded monasteries. In\nthe civil wars which divided the French monarchy, his fidelity to his\nprince and to Charles the Bald, his successor, involved him in trouble,\nand he was expelled for about a twelvemonth from his see. On his return,\nhe laboured more indefatigably than ever to perfect the discipline of\nhis diocese, for which purpose he collected the canons of Councils and\ndecrees of the Popes into what he called a Capitulary. Some fragments\nhave reached us of the regulations which he made for the celebration of\ndivine service; in which he orders ten wax candles, and ninety lamps, to\nbe lighted in his Cathedral on all great festivals.\n\n\nS. CANUTE LAVARD, M.\n\n(A.D. 1133.)\n\n [Schleswig and Scandinavian Breviaries. Life in Knytlinga Saga,\n Saxo Grammaticus, Schleswig Breviary, &c.]\n\nCanute Lavard was second son of Eric the Good, King of Denmark. His\nelder brother, Nicolas, became King of Denmark, though he was\nillegitimate, as Canute was very young. Nicolas had a son named Magnus,\nwho was also brought up with Canute. Canute purchased the duchy of\nSchleswig, and occupied himself with clearing the seas and islands of\nDenmark of the pirates who infested them. On one occasion, a pirate whom\nhe had captured, and condemned with others to be hung, cried out that he\nwas of royal blood, and was related to Canute. \"Then,\" said the duke,\n\"you shall hang at the topmast head above the others.\"\n\nHenry, King of the Sclaves, being dead, Canute succeeded him. The\npopularity of this prince, owing to his gentleness, virtue, and piety,\nstirred up the envy of Magnus, who feared lest he should put in a claim\nto the throne of Denmark, to which indeed he had a right prior to Magnus\nand his father. In order to make sure of the succession, Magnus decoyed\nhis unsuspicious kinsman into a wood, surrounded him with armed men, and\nkilled him.\n\n [Illustration: Seal of the City of Brussels. S. Gudule, p. 115.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[31] On the Blackwater; there is no city there now, but numerous traces\nof an ancient settlement, and an old chapel marks the site, in the\nparish of Bradwell.\n\n[32] Lastingham, near Pickering, in Yorkshire.\n\n[33] Bede iii. 25.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 8.\n\n S. LUCIAN, _B. M._, AND COMPANIONS, _at Beauvais_.\n S. PATIENS, _B. of Metz, circ._ A.D. 152.\n S. ATTICUS, _Patr. of Constantinople_, A.D. 425.\n S. SEVERINUS, _P. and Apostle of Austria_, A.D. 482.\n S. SEVERINUS, _B. C., in Italy, 6th cent._\n B. BALDWIN, _Archdeacon of Laon, M., 6th cent._\n S. FRODOBERT, _Ab., at Troyes, 7th cent._\n S. GUDULA, _V., at Brussels, circ._ A.D. 712.\n S. PEGA, _V., in England, circ._ A.D. 718.\n S. ERARD, _Bishop in Bavaria, 8th cent._\n S. GARIBALD, _B. of Ratisbon, circ._ A.D. 1252.\n S. WULSIN, _B. of Sherbourn_, A.D. 983.\n S. LAURENCE JUSTINIANI, _Patr. of Venice_, A.D. 1455.\n\n\nS. LUCIAN, B. M. AT BEAUVAIS.\n\n [Roman, Gallican, and Anglican Martyrologies; Bede, Ado, Notker,\n and others. His date uncertain. As little is known of this S.\n Lucian, it is probable that the so-called Reformers retained his\n name in the Anglican Calendar by mistake, confusing him with the S.\n Lucian of Antioch, Jan. 7th, a much better known Saint.]\n\nThere is much uncertainty about this martyr. Some writers maintain that\nhe was a disciple of S. Peter. Others say that he was sent into Gaul by\nS. Clement, Bishop of Rome, at the end of the first century, and\nsuffered death under the reign of Domitian. It is certain, however, that\nhe came into Gaul to preach the faith to the pagan inhabitants, and that\nhe finished his labours at Beauvais, by the death of a martyr. There is\ngood reason to believe that he was of noble Roman blood, and that he\naccompanied S. Denys of Paris, or S. Quentin of Amiens, on his mission,\nabout the year 245. S. Lucian was accompanied by his friends, Maximian\nand Julian. They suffered in different places, and on different days;\nbut they were laid by faithful disciples in one tomb, and are\ncommemorated together. S. Lucian is called in some calendars a priest;\nbut in an ancient one of the ninth century, he is styled a bishop, and\nsuch has been the constant tradition at Beauvais.\n\nIn art, he is represented holding his head in his hands.\n\n\nS. PATIENS, B.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 152.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology; Martyrologies of Cologne, of Rabanus, Notker,\n &c. His life is traditional.]\n\nS. Patiens is said to have been a disciple of S. John the Evangelist,\nand to have been sent by him into Gaul. He settled at Metz, where he\nbecame the fourth Bishop.\n\n\nS. ATTICUS, PATR. OF CONSTANTINOPLE.\n\n(A.D. 425.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, that of Usuardus and the German Martyrologies.\n Authorities for his life, very numerous: Socrates, Sozomen,\n Synesius, Palladius, Photius, Nicephorus, Zonaras, &c.]\n\nAtticus, a man of gentle spirit and conciliatory manners, succeeded S.\nChrysostom in the see of Constantinople. He, at first, refused to admit\nthe name of his predecessor into the diptychs; but was afterwards moved\nto yield, in accordance with the Latin Church, which refused communion\nwith the see of Constantinople till the righteousness of the cause of\nthe great Chrysostom had been acknowledged. Atticus was engaged in\ncorrespondence on this subject with S. Cyril of Alexandria, who\nvehemently resented the admission of the name of Chrysostom, till he\nalso yielded at the instance of Isidore of Pelusium.\n\n\nS. SEVERINUS, P. AP. OF NORICUM.\n\n(A.D. 482.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology and those of Germany. The life of S. Severinus\n was written by his disciple, Eugippius, in the year 511, as he\n states in a letter to Paschatius, the deacon. The following life is\n extracted from Mr. Kingsley's \"Hermits,\"[34] with certain necessary\n modifications. What has been once well done, the author is\n unwilling to do again, and do in an inferior manner.]\n\nIn the middle of the fifth century the province of Noricum (Austria, as\nwe should now call it), was the very highway of invading barbarians, the\ncentre of the human Maelstrom, in which Huns, Allemanni, Rugii, and a\ndozen wild tribes more, wrestled up and down, and round the starving and\nbeleaguered towns of what had once been a happy and fertile province,\neach tribe striving to trample the other under foot, and to march\nsouthward, over their corpses, to plunder what was still left of the\nalready plundered wealth of Italy and Rome. The difference of race, of\ntongue, and of manners, between the conquered and their conquerors, was\nmade more painful by difference in creed. The conquering Germans and\nHuns were either Arians or heathens. The conquered race (though probably\nof very mixed blood), who called themselves Romans, because they spoke\nLatin, and lived under the Roman law, were orthodox Catholics; and the\nmiseries of religious persecution were too often added to the usual\nmiseries of invasion.\n\nIt was about the year 455-60. Attila, the great King of the Huns, who\ncalled himself--and who was--\"the Scourge of God\" was just dead. His\nempire had broken up. The whole centre of Europe was in a state of\nanarchy and war; and the hapless Romans along the Danube were in the\nlast extremity of terror, not knowing by what fresh invader their crops\nwould be swept off up to the very gates of the walled towers, which were\ntheir only defence; when there appeared among them, coming out of the\nEast, a man of God.\n\nWho he was he would not tell. His speech showed him to be an African\nRoman--a fellow-countryman of S. Augustine--probably from the\nneighbourhood of Carthage. He had certainly at one time gone to some\ndesert in the East, zealous to learn \"the more perfect life.\" Severinus,\nhe said, was his name; a name which indicated high rank, as did the\nmanners and the scholarship of him who bore it. But more than his name\nhe would not tell. \"If you take me for a runaway slave,\" he said,\nsmiling, \"get ready money to redeem me with when my master demands me\nback.\" For he believed that they would have need of him; that God had\nsent him into that land that he might be of use to its wretched people.\nAnd certainly he could have come into the neighbourhood of Vienna, at\nthat moment, for no other purpose than to do good, unless he came to\ndeal in slaves.\n\nHe settled first at a town, called by his biographer Casturis; and,\nlodging with the warden of the church, lived quietly the hermit life.\nMeanwhile the German tribes were prowling round the town; and Severinus,\ngoing one day into the church, began to warn the priests and clergy, and\nall the people, that a destruction was coming on them which they could\nonly avert by prayer, and fasting, and the works of mercy. They laughed\nhim to scorn, confiding in their lofty Roman walls, which the\ninvaders--wild horsemen, who had no military engines--were unable either\nto scale or batter down. Severinus left the town at once, prophesying,\nit was said, the very day and hour of its fall. He went on to the next\ntown, which was then closely garrisoned by a barbarian force, and\nrepeated his warning there: but while the people were listening to him,\nthere came an old man to the gate, and told them how Casturis had been\nalready sacked, as the man of God had foretold; and going into the\nchurch, threw himself at the feet of S. Severinus, and said that he had\nbeen saved by his merits from being destroyed with his fellow-townsmen.\n\nThen the dwellers in the town hearkened to the man of God, and gave\nthemselves up to fasting, and almsgiving, and prayer for three whole\ndays.\n\nAnd on the third day, when the solemnity of the evening sacrifice was\nfulfilled, a sudden earthquake happened, and the barbarians, seized with\npanic fear, and probably hating and dreading--like all those wild\ntribes--confinement between four stone walls, instead of the free open\nlife of the tent and the stockade, forced the Romans to open their gates\nto them, rushed out into the night, and, in their madness, slew each\nother.\n\nIn those days a famine fell upon the people of Vienna; and they, as\ntheir sole remedy, thought good to send for the man of God from the\nneighbouring town. He went, and preached to them, too, repentance and\nalmsgiving. The rich, it seems, had hidden up their stores of corn, and\nleft the poor to starve. At least S. Severinus discovered (by divine\nrevelation, it was supposed), that a widow named Procula had done as\nmuch. He called her out into the midst of the people, and asked her why\nshe, a noble woman and free-born, had made herself a slave to avarice,\nwhich is idolatry. If she would not give her corn to Christ's poor, let\nher throw it into the Danube to feed the fish, for any gain from it she\nwould not have. Procula was abashed, and served out her hoards thereupon\nwillingly to the poor; and a little while afterwards, to the\nastonishment of all, vessels came down the Danube laden with every kind\nof merchandize. They had been frozen up for many days near Passau, in\nthe thick ice of the river Enns: but the prayers of God's servant had\nopened the ice-gates, and let them down the stream before the usual\ntime.\n\nThen the wild German horsemen swept around the walls, and carried off\nhuman beings and cattle, as many as they could find. Severinus, like\nsome old Hebrew prophet, did not shrink from advising hard blows, where\nhard blows could avail. Mamertinus, the tribune, or officer in command,\ntold him that he had so few soldiers, and those so ill-armed, that he\ndare not face the enemy. Severinus answered that they should get weapons\nfrom the barbarians themselves; the Lord would fight for them, and they\nshould hold their peace: only if they took any captives they should\nbring them safe to him. At the second milestone from the city they came\nupon the plunderers, who fled at once, leaving their arms behind. Thus\nwas the prophecy of the man of God fulfilled. The Romans brought the\ncaptives back to him unharmed. He loosed their bonds, gave them food and\ndrink, and let them go. But they were to tell their comrades that, if\never they came near that spot again, celestial vengeance would fall on\nthem, for the God of the Christians fought from heaven in his servants\ncause.\n\nSo the barbarians trembled, and went away. And the fear of S. Severinus\nfell on all the Goths, heretic Arians though they were; and on the\nRugii, who held the north bank of the Danube in those evil days. S.\nSeverinus, meanwhile, went out of Vienna, and built himself a cell at a\nplace called \"At the Vineyards.\" But some benevolent impulse--divine\nrevelation his biographer calls it--prompted him to return, and build\nhimself a cell on a hill close to Vienna, round which other cells soon\ngrew up, tenanted by his disciples. \"There,\" says his biographer, \"he\nlonged to escape the crowds of men who were wont to come to him, and\ncling closer to God in continual prayer: but the more he longed to dwell\nin solitude, the more often he was warned by revelations not to deny his\npresence to the afflicted people.\" He fasted continually; he went\nbarefoot even in the midst of winter, which was so severe, the story\ncontinues, in those days around Vienna, that waggons crossed the Danube\non the solid ice: and yet, instead of being puffed-up by his own\nvirtues, he set an example of humility to all, and bade them with tears\nto pray for him, that the Saviour's gifts to him might not heap\ncondemnation on his head.\n\nOver the wild Rugii S. Severinus seems to have acquired unbounded\ninfluence. Their king, Flaccitheus, used to pour out his sorrows to him,\nand tell him how the princes of the Goths would surely slay him; for\nwhen he had asked leave of him to pass on into Italy, he would not let\nhim go. But S. Severinus prophesied to him that the Goths would do him\nno harm. Only one warning he must take: \"Let it not grieve him to ask\npeace even for the least of men.\"\n\nThe friendship which had thus begun between the barbarian king and the\ncultivated Saint was carried on by his son Feva: but his \"deadly and\nnoxious wife,\" Gisa, who appears to have been a fierce Arian, always,\nsays his biographer, kept him back from clemency. One story of Gisa's\nmisdeeds is so characteristic both of the manners of the time and of the\nstyle in which the original biography is written, that I shall take\nleave to insert it at length.\n\n\"The King Feletheus (who is also Feva), the son of the afore-mentioned\nFlaccitheus, following his father's devotion, began, at the commencement\nof his reign, often to visit the holy man. His deadly and noxious wife,\nnamed Gisa, always kept him back from the remedies of clemency. For she,\namong the other plague-spots of her iniquity, even tried to have certain\nCatholics re-baptized: but when her husband did not consent, on account\nof his reverence for S. Severinus, she gave up immediately her\nsacrilegious intention, burdening the Romans, nevertheless, with hard\nconditions, and commanding some of them to be exiled to the Danube. For\nwhen one day, she, having come to the village next to Vienna, had\nordered some of them to be sent over the Danube, and condemned to the\nmost menial offices of slavery, the man of God sent to her, and begged\nthat they might be let go. But she, blazing up in a flame of fury,\nordered the harshest of answers to be returned. 'I pray thee,' she said,\n'servant of God, hiding there within thy cell, allow us to settle what\nwe choose about our own slaves.' But the man of God hearing this, 'I\ntrust,' he said, 'in my Lord Jesus Christ, that she will be forced by\nnecessity to fulfil that which in her wicked will she has despised.' And\nforthwith a swift rebuke followed, and brought low the soul of the\narrogant woman. For she had confined in close custody certain barbarian\ngoldsmiths, that they might make regal ornaments. To them the son of the\naforesaid king, Frederick by name, still a little boy, had gone in, in\nchildish levity, on the very day on which the queen had despised the\nservant of God. The goldsmiths put a sword to the child's breast,\nsaying, that if any one attempted to enter, without giving them an oath\nthat they should be protected, he should die; and that they would slay\nthe king's child first, and themselves afterwards, seeing that they had\nno hope of life left, being worn out with long prison. When she heard\nthat, the cruel and impious queen, rending her garments for grief, cried\nout, 'O servant of God, Severinus, are the injuries which I did thee\nthus avenged? Hast thou obtained, by the earnest prayer thou hast poured\nout, this punishment for my contempt, that thou shouldst avenge it on my\nown flesh and blood?' Then, running up and down with manifold contrition\nand miserable lamentation, she confessed that for the act of contempt\nwhich she had committed against the servant of God she was struck by the\nvengeance of the present blow; and forthwith she sent knights to ask\nfor forgiveness, and sent across the river the Romans, his prayers for\nwhom she had despised. The goldsmiths, having received immediately a\npromise of safety, and giving up the child, were in like manner let go.\n\n\"The most reverend Severinus, when he heard this, gave boundless thanks\nto the Creator, who sometimes puts off the prayers of suppliants for\nthis end, that as faith, hope, and charity grow, while lesser things are\nsought, He may concede greater things. Lastly, this did the mercy of the\nOmnipotent Saviour work, that while it brought to slavery a woman free,\nbut cruel over much, she was forced to restore to liberty those who were\nenslaved. This having been marvellously gained, the queen hastened with\nher husband to the servant of God, and showed him her son, who, she\nconfessed, had been freed from the verge of death by his prayers, and\npromised that she would never go against his commands.\"\n\nTo this period of Severinus' life belongs the famous story of his\ninterview with Odoacer, the first barbarian king of Italy, and brother\nof the great Onulf or Wolf, who was the founder of the family of the\nGuelphs, Counts of Altorf, and the direct ancestors of Victoria, Queen\nof England. Their father was Aedecon, secretary at one time of Attila,\nand chief of the little tribe of Turklings, who, though German, had\nclung faithfully to Attila's sons, and came to ruin at the great battle\nof Netad, when the empire of the Huns broke up at once and for ever.\nThen Odoacer and his brother started over the Alps to seek their\nfortunes in Italy, and take service, after the fashion of young German\nadventurers, with the Romans; and they came to S. Severinus' cell, and\nwent in, heathens as they probably were, to ask a blessing of the holy\nman; and Odoacer had to stoop and to stand stooping, so huge he was. The\nSaint saw that he was no common lad, and said, \"Go to Italy, clothed\nthough thou be in ragged sheepskins: thou shalt soon give greater gifts\nto thy friends.\" So Odoacer went up into Italy, deposed the last of the\nCaesars, a paltry boy, Romulus Augustulus by name, and found himself, to\nhis own astonishment, and that of all the world, the first German king\nof Italy; and, when he was at the height of his power, he remembered the\nprophecy of Severinus, and sent to him, offering him any boon he chose\nto ask. But all that the Saint asked was, that he should forgive some\nRomans whom he had banished. S. Severinus meanwhile foresaw that\nOdoacer's kingdom would not last, as he seems to have foreseen many\nthings. For when certain German knights were boasting before him of the\npower and glory of Odoacer, he said that it would last some thirteen, or\nat most fourteen years; and the prophecy (so all men said in those days)\ncame exactly true.\n\nThere is no need to follow the details of S. Severinus's labours through\nsome five-and-twenty years of perpetual self-sacrifice--and, as far as\nthis world was concerned, perpetual disaster. Eugippius's chapters are\nlittle save a catalogue of towns sacked one after the other, from Passau\nto Vienna, till the miserable survivors of the war seemed to have\nconcentrated themselves under S. Severinus's guardianship in the latter\ncity. We find, too, tales of famine, of locust-swarms, of little\nvictories over the barbarians, which do not arrest wholesale defeat: but\nwe find, through all, S. Severinus labouring like a true man of God,\nconciliating the invading chiefs, redeeming captives, procuring for the\ncities which were still standing supplies of clothes for the fugitives,\npersuading the husbandmen, seemingly through large districts, to give\neven in time of dearth a tithe of their produce to the poor;--a tale of\nnoble work indeed.\n\nEugippius relates many wonders in his life of S. Severinus. The reader\nfinds how the man who had secretly celebrated a heathen sacrifice was\ndiscovered by S. Severinus, because, while the tapers of the rest of the\ncongregation were lighted miraculously from heaven, his taper alone\nwould not light. He records how the Danube dared not rise above the mark\nof the cross which S. Severinus had cut upon the posts of a timber\nchapel; how a poor man, going out to drive the locusts off his little\npatch of corn instead of staying in the church all day to pray, found\nthe next morning that his crop alone had been eaten, while all the\nfields around remained untouched. Also he records the well-known story,\nwhich has a certain awfulness about it, how S. Severinus watched all\nnight by the bier of the dead priest Silvinus, and ere the morning\ndawned bade him, in the name of God, speak to his brethren; and how the\ndead man opened his eyes, and Severinus asked him whether he wished to\nreturn to life, and he answered complainingly, \"Keep me no longer here;\nnor cheat me of that perpetual rest which I had already found,\" and so,\nclosing his eyes once more, was still for ever.\n\nAt last the noble life wore itself out. For two years Severinus had\nforetold that his end was near; and foretold, too, that the people for\nwhom he had spent himself should go forth in safety, as Israel out of\nEgypt, and find a refuge in some other Roman province, leaving behind\nthem so utter a solitude, that the barbarians, in their search for the\nhidden treasures of the civilization which they had exterminated, should\ndig up the very graves of the dead. Only, when the Lord willed to\ndeliver them, they must carry away his bones with them, as the children\nof Israel carried the bones of Joseph.\n\nThen Severinus sent for Feva, the Rugian king and Gisa, his cruel wife;\nand when he had warned them how they must render an account to God for\nthe people committed to their charge, he stretched his hand out to the\nbosom of the king. \"Gisa,\" he asked, \"dost thou love most the soul\nwithin that breast, or gold and silver?\" She answered that she loved her\nhusband above all. \"Cease then,\" he said, \"to oppress the innocent: lest\ntheir affliction be the ruin of your power.\"\n\nSeverinus' presage was strangely fulfilled. Feva had handed over the\ncity of Vienna to his brother Frederick--\"poor and impious,\" says\nEugippius. Severinus, who knew him well, sent for him, and warned him\nthat he himself was going to the Lord; and that if, after his death,\nFrederick dared touch aught of the substance of the poor and the\ncaptive, the wrath of God would fall on him. In vain the barbarian\npretended indignant innocence; Severinus sent him away with fresh\nwarnings.\n\n\"Then on the nones of January he was smitten slightly with a pain in the\nside. And when that had continued for three days, at midnight he bade\nthe brethren come to him.\" He renewed his talk about the coming\nemigration, and entreated again that his bones might not be left behind;\nand having bidden all in turn come near and kiss him, and having\nreceived the most Holy Sacrament, he forbade them to weep for him, and\ncommanded them to sing a psalm. They hesitated, weeping. He himself gave\nout the psalm, \"Praise the Lord in His saints, and let all that hath\nbreath praise the Lord;\" and so went to rest in the Lord.\n\nNo sooner was he dead than Frederick seized on the garments kept in the\nmonastery for the use of the poor, and even commanded his men to carry\noff the vessels of the altar. Then followed a scene characteristic of\nthe time. The steward sent to do the deed shrank from the crime of\nsacrilege. A knight, Anicianus by name, went in his stead, and took the\nvessels of the altar. But his conscience was too strong for him.\nTrembling and delirium fell on him, and he fled away to a lonely island,\nand became a hermit there. Frederick, impenitent, swept away all in the\nmonastery, leaving nought but the bare walls, \"which he could not carry\nover the Danube.\" But on him, too, vengeance fell. Within a month he was\nslain by his own nephew. Then Odoacer attacked the Rugii, and carried\noff Feva and Gisa captive to Rome. And then the long-promised emigration\ncame. Odoacer, whether from mere policy (for he was trying to establish\na half-Roman kingdom in Italy,) or for love of S. Severinus himself,\nsent his brother Onulf to fetch away into Italy the miserable remnant of\nthe Danubian provincials, to be distributed among the wasted and\nunpeopled farms of Italy. And with them went forth the corpse of S.\nSeverinus, undecayed, though he had been six years dead, and giving\nforth exceeding fragrance, though (says Eugippius) no embalmer's hand\nhad touched it. In a coffin, which had been long prepared for it, it was\nlaid on a waggon, and went over the Alps into Italy, working (according\nto Eugippius) the usual miracles on the way, till it found a\nresting-place near Naples, in that very villa of Lucullus at Misenum, to\nwhich Odoacer had sent the last Emperor of Rome to dream his ignoble\nlife away in helpless luxury.\n\nSo ends this tragic story. Of its truth there can be no doubt. M. Ozanam\nhas well said of that death-bed scene between the saint and the\nbarbarian king and queen--\"The history of invasions has many a pathetic\nscene: but I know none more instructive than the dying agony of that old\nRoman expiring between two barbarians, and less touched with the ruin of\nthe empire, than with the peril of their souls.\"[35] But even more\ninstructive, and more tragic also, is the strange coincidence that the\nwonder-working corpse of the starved and bare-footed hermit should rest\nbeside the last Emperor of Rome. It is the symbol of a new era. The\nkings of this world have been judged and cast out. The empire of the\nflesh is to perish, and the empire of the spirit to conquer thenceforth\nfor evermore.\n\nRelics, in the church of S. Severino at Naples.\n\nPatron (but not sole Patron) of Austria, Vienna, Bavaria.\n\n\nB. BALDWIN, M. OF LAON.\n\n(6TH CENT.)\n\n [German and Gallican Martyrologies. Life by an unknown author.]\n\nThe Blessed Baldwin, archdeacon of Laon, in the reign of Dagobert, was\nthe son of Basus, a nobleman, and Salaberga, who is numbered among the\nSaints. His sister's name was Astruda, who is also reckoned a Saint.\nBaldwin having incurred the enmity of certain evil men, was by them\ntreacherously murdered. The details are not known.\n\n\nS. FRODOBERT, AB. OF TROYES.\n\n(7TH CENT.)\n\n [Gallican and German Martyrologies. S. Frodobert died on Jan. 1st,\n but his body was translated on Jan. 8th, and on that day,\n accordingly, his festival is observed at Troyes, and by the\n Benedictine Order. His life was written by his disciple, Lupellus,\n and used in the compilation of a later life, by a monk of Moutier\n la Celle, near Troyes, about 872.]\n\nS. Frodobert, the son of parents of the middle class, from the earliest\nage was inspired with the love of God, and a wondrous gentleness and\nchild-like simplicity. He is said, as a little boy, to have healed his\nmother of blindness, as, in a paroxysm of love and compassion for her\naffliction, he kissed her darkened eyes, and signed them with the cross.\nAt an early age he entered the abbey of Luxeuil, where his singleness of\nsoul and guilelessness exposed him to become the butt of the more\nfrivolous monks. During the time that he was there, a certain Teudolin,\nabbot of S. Seguanus, was staying at Luxeuil for the purpose of study,\nand Frodobert was much with him, being ordered to attend on the wants of\nthe visitor, and obey him implicitly. This Teudolin diversified his\nlabours with playing practical jokes on his gentle assistant; but\nFrodobert never resented any jest. One day the abbot Teudolin sent\nFrodobert to another monk, who was also fond of practising jokes on\nFrodobert, for a pair of compasses, saying that he wanted them for\nwriting. The lay brother took the message without in the least knowing\nwhat compasses were. The monk, suspecting that the abbot had sent\nFrodobert on a fool's errand, put a pair of stones off a hand-mill round\nhis neck, and told him to take them to Teudolin. Frodobert obeyed, but\nwas scarcely able to stagger along the cloister under the weight. On his\nway, the abbot of Luxeuil, his own superior, met him, and amazed to see\nthe poor brother bowed to earth under this burden, bade him throw down\nthe mill-stones, and tell him whither he was taking them. Frodobert\nobeyed, and said that the abbot Teudolin had sent him for them, as he\nwanted them for literary purposes. The superior burst into tears,\ngrieved that the good, simple-minded lay brother should have been thus\nimposed upon, and hastening to the visitor, and then to the monk who had\nput the \"compasses\" about Frodobert's neck, he administered to them such\na sharp rebuke, that from that day forward no more practical jokes were\nplayed upon him.\n\nAs years passed, his virtue became more generally known, and the Bishop\nof Troyes summoned him to be in attendance on himself. The humble monk\nin vain entreated to be allowed to return to his monastery; the bishop\nretained him about his person in his palace.\n\nAs he was unable to return to the quiet of his cloister, Frodobert\nwithdrew as much as possible from the world in which he moved, into the\ncalm of his own heart, and practised great abstinence in the midst of\nthe abundance wherewith the bishop's table was supplied. Living outside\nhis cloister, he kept its rules, and in Lent he never ate anything till\nafter sunset. Those who were less strict in their living, sneered at his\nself-denial, and told the bishop that Frodobert kept a supply of\nvictuals in his bedroom, and ate privily. To prove him, the prelate gave\nhim a chamber in the church tower, and burst in upon him at all\nunseasonable moments, but was never able to detect the slightest proof\nof the charge being well founded. He, therefore, regretted his mistrust,\nand restored the monk to his room in the palace.\n\nFrodobert was given at last, by Clovis II., some marshy land near\nTroyes, and on this he built a monastery, which he called La Celle,\nwhich was soon filled with numerous monks, and became famous for the\nlearned men it educated. Here S. Frodobert spent many years. He passed\nhis declining years in building a church to S. Peter, and when the\nchurch was completed, his strength failed, and he knew that he had not\nmany days to live. His great desire was to see it consecrated on the\nfeast of the Nativity, and he sent two of his monks to the bishop to\nbeseech him to dedicate his new church that day. But the duties of\nChristmas, in his Cathedral, rendered it impossible for the prelate to\ngrant this request. Frodobert received the refusal with many tears, but\nlifting his eyes and hands to heaven, he prayed, and God prolonged his\ndays, so that he survived to see his church consecrated on the Octave of\nthe Nativity, Jan. 1st; and when the ceremony was over, he resigned his\nsoul into the hands of God. The body was translated, some years after,\non the 8th January. The weather had been wet, and the marshes were under\nwater, so that the abbot and monks were in trouble, because their house\nwas surrounded with the flood, and it would be difficult for the bishop\nand clergy of Troyes to attend the ceremony of the translation. \"Grant,\"\nsaid the abbot, \"that the blessed Frodobert may obtain for us a sharp\nfrost, or we shall have no one here tomorrow.\" This was said on the eve\nof the projected translation. That night, so hard a frost set in, that\nby morning the whole surface of the water was frozen like a stone, and\nthe bishop, clergy, and faithful of Troyes, came to the monastery over\nthe ice.\n\n\nS. GUDULA, V.\n\n(ABOUT 712.)\n\n [Gallo-Belgian and Cologne Martyrologies. Two lives of S. Gudula\n exist, besides notices of her in the lives of other members of the\n family of saints to which she belonged. One life, by a certain\n Hubert, was compiled after 1047, the other is anonymous, given by\n Surius. That of Hubert is an amplification of an older life,\n written in simple and rude style. He did not apparently add\n anything to the history, except the account of the various\n translations of her relics, up to his time; but he re-wrote the\n life in more pedantic and florid style.]\n\nThe date of the birth of this holy virgin is uncertain. During the reign\nof King Dagobert, or of his son Sigebert, there lived in Brabant a count\nnamed Witgere. His wife Amalberga, who is said to have been the sister\nof Pepin of Landen, presented him with many children; Rainilda,\nPharaildis, and Emebert, who occupied the episcopal throne of Cambrai,\nand was afterwards elevated to the ranks of the blessed. Amalberga was\nagain pregnant, and an angel announced to her, in a dream, that the\nchild that should be born to her, would be a model of sanctity. A few\ndays after, S. Gudula was born, and her relative, S. Gertrude, was her\nsponsor, and took charge of her education.\n\nWhen Gudula was still a child, she longed to fly the world. She and her\nsister Rainilda betook themselves to Lobbes, and asked to be admitted\ninto the monastery. But as women were not permitted to invade its\nprecincts, their request was denied. After waiting three days at the\ngates, Gudula turned away sorrowful, but her sister Rainilda, more\npersevering, remained undeterred by repeated refusals, till, overcoming\nby her persistency, she was allowed to live under the rule of the\nmonastery. Gudula returned to her parents; but living at home, she lived\na recluse. In those wild times of civil war and general violence, it is\nnot surprising to see gentle spirits flutter like doves to the convent\ngates, as to an ark of refuge, from the storms raging without, which\nthey were so powerless to withstand.\n\nAbout two miles from her parents' castle was a little village named\nMoorsel, where was an oratory dedicated to the Saviour; thither went S.\nGudula every morning at cock-crow. And now follows an incident similar\nto that related of S. Genoveva. One wild night, the Prince of the Power\nof the air extinguished the light which the servant girl carried before\nthe Saint; and she, in profound darkness, on a barren heath, knew not\nhow to find the path. Gudula knelt down and prayed to God, and the light\nrekindled in her lantern, so that she went on her way rejoicing.\n\nAt early mass, one frosty morning, the priest, as he turned towards the\npeople, noticed Gudula wrapped in devotion, and her feet were exposed\nfrom beneath her gown; he saw with dismay that there were no soles to\nher shoes, so that though she appeared to be well shod, she in reality\nwalked barefoot. The good priest, pained to think that her tender feet\nshould be chilled by the icy stones of the pavement, as soon as he had\nunvested, took his warm mittens, and put them under the feet of the\nyoung countess; but she rejected them, much distressed that her act of\npenance had been discovered. On leaving the church, she met a poor\nwoman, with her crippled dumb son on her back. The boy was bowed double,\nand was so deformed that he could not feed himself. The Saint looked at\nthe poor mother and then at the unfortunate child, and actuated by a\nmovement of compassion, she took the cripple into her arms, and besought\nGod to pity him. Instantly the stiff joints became supple, and the back\nwas straightened, and the child, feeling himself whole, cried out: \"See,\nmother! see!\" Gudula, abashed at the miracle, implored the poor woman to\nkeep what had taken place a secret; but she, full of gratitude,\npublished it abroad. When S. Gudula died, all the people followed her\nbody to the grave. She was buried on the 8th January, 712, according to\nthe general opinion, in a tomb before the door of the oratory of the\nvillage of Hamme, near Releghem. On the morrow, a poplar that stood at\nthe foot of her grave was seen, in spite of the season, to have burst\ninto green leaf.[36]\n\nThe body was afterwards transported to Nivelles, Mons, and Maubeuge,\nthrough fear of the Normans; and then was laid in the oratory of\nMoorsel, which she had loved so well in life. When Charlemagne came to\nMoorsel, he built there a monastery, richly endowed; but the convent\ndisappeared in the times of anarchy which followed the death of the\nfounder, and the body was finally taken from the robber baron who had\nappropriated to himself the lands of Moorsel, and brought to Brussels;\nwhere, since 1047, a magnificent church has eternalized the memory of\nthe daughter of Witgere. The site of the chapel at Hamme is now a kiln.\n\nGudula; _French_, Gudule; _Flemish_, Goole.\n\nRelics, at the church of SS. Michel et Gudule, Brussels.\n\nPatroness of Brussels.\n\nIn art, represented with a lantern, and an angel kindling it.\n\n\nS. PEGA, V.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 718.)\n\n [English Martyrologies. Authorities: Felix of Croyland, Florence of\n Worcester, Ordericus Vitalis, lib. iv. c. 17.]\n\nS. Pega was the sister of S. Guthlac of Croyland, and though of the\nroyal blood of the Mercian kings, forsook the world and led a retired\nlife in the country, where now stands Peakirk, in Northamptonshire.\n\"There Pega, S. Guthlac's sister, was for a long time a servant of the\nLord. After her brother's death, she used all her endeavours to wear out\nher life for the love of Christ, by still severer austerities. She,\ntherefore, undertook a pilgrimage to Rome, to pray at the threshold of\nthe holy Apostles, for herself and her kinsfolk, and she there\ntriumphantly departed, on the sixth of the ides (8th) of January.\"\n\nS. Pega, called in Northamptonshire S. Pee, is not to be confounded with\nS. Bega, or S. Bees, who is commemorated on September 8th.\n\n\nS. WULSIN, B. OF SHERBOURN.\n\n(A.D. 983.)\n\n [Benedictine Martyrology. In English Martyrologies S. Wulsin was\n commemorated on Sept. 27th. Mentioned by Matthew of Westminster.\n His life is given by Capgrave.]\n\nMatthew of Westminster says (De gestis Pontif. Anglorum, lib.\n2):--\"Dunstan, the archbishop, when he was Bishop of London, made him\n(Wulsin), abbot of Westminster, a place where formerly Mellitus had\nraised a church to S. Peter, and here he formed a monastery of twelve\nmonks. Having discharged his office prudently and with sanctity, he was\nmade Bishop of Sherbourn. Then he at once instituted monks in the\nepiscopal seat, and dismissed the secular clerks, lest he should seem to\nsleep when so many bishops of the time were patrons of diligence. His\nsanctity, if manifest in life, was more so in death. For when he was\nnigh the gates of death, the eyes of his understanding being opened, he\nexclaimed singing, 'I see the heavens opened, and Jesus standing at the\nright hand of God!' Which song he uttered without faltering, and\nsinging, he died.\"\n\n\nS. LAURENCE JUSTINIANI, PATR. OF VENICE.\n\n(A.D. 1455.)\n\nS. Laurence Justiniani died on Jan. 8th. He was beatified by Clement\nVII., in the year 1524, and was canonized in 1698 by Alexander VIII. The\n5th Sept., the day of his consecration as bishop, is generally observed\nin his honour, instead of Jan. 8th, and to that day we refer our readers\nfor his life.\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[34] \"The Hermits,\" by the Rev. C. Kingsley. Macmillan, 1869, pp. 224,\n239.\n\n[35] La Civilisation Chretienne chez les Francs. Paris, 1861, p. 41.\n\n[36] So related in one of the lives. The other exaggerates the\nincident, and says that in the night a poplar tree sprang up.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 9.\n\n S. MARCIANA, _V. M., in Africa_, _circ._ A.D. 300.\n SS. JULIAN, BASILISSA, CELSUS, AND COMPANIONS, MM, _in Egypt,\n circ._ A.D. 310.\n S. PETER, _B. of Sebaste, circ._ A.D. 387.\n S. MARCELLINUS, _B. of Ancona, circ._ A.D. 566.\n S. FILLAN, _Ab., in Scotland, 8th cent._\n S. ADRIAN, _Ab., at Canterbury_, A.D. 709.\n S. BRITHWALD, _Abp. of Canterbury_, A.D. 731.\n\n\nS. MARCIANA, V. M.\n\n(ABOUT 300.)\n\n [Roman, Spanish, German, and other Martyrologies. There is some\n difficulty as to whether the African S. Marciana and the Saint of\n the same name, honoured at Toledo, are to be distinguished; but\n probably they are the same. Some hagiographers have supposed that\n there were two, because at Toledo, S. Marciana is commemorated on\n July 12th, but that is in all probability the day of her\n translation. The Acts of the African Saint and the Toledan hymn to\n S. Marciana, as well as the account of her in the Mozarabic\n Breviary, relate the same incidents. None of these are of any great\n authority.]\n\nSaint Marciana was a native of Rusuccus, in Mauritania. When at\nCaesarea, in Mauritania, she was brought before the governor on the\ncharge of having overthrown a marble statuette of Diana, which stood\nabove a drinking fountain in the public street.\n\nFor this outrage on the established religion, she was scourged, and\nthen delivered over to the lust of the gladiators, but was miraculously\ndelivered, for God was as careful to protect the modesty of his\nservant, as was she to proclaim the honour of His name.\n\nShe was exposed in the amphitheatre to a lion, which, however, spared\nher; but a bull gored her with its horns, and a leopard despatched her.\n\nPatroness of Tortosa, in Spain.\n\n\nSS. JULIAN, BASILISSA, CELSUS, AND COMPANIONS, MM.\n\n(ABOUT 310.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea. Authority:--The Acts of these\n martyrs. They are referred to by S. Eulogius, the martyr, who\n flourished about A.D. 850. They have been inserted by Metaphrastes\n in his collection of the lives of the Saints, in Greek. S. Aldhelm\n of Sherbourne, wrote a panegyric on these Saints, in Anglo-Saxon,\n in 700; and S. Venantius Fortunatus wrote a hymn in honour of them\n in 620. The Acts purport to have been written by an eye-witness of\n the martyrdom, for he says:--\"We write the Acts of the Saints from\n what we saw with our eyes, wherefore we hope to receive some little\n share in future blessedness.\" The writer survived to the time of\n Constantine the Great, for he speaks of churches erected to the\n memory of these martyrs. Nevertheless, the Acts cannot be regarded\n as genuine. They are nothing but a religious romance, possibly\n founded on fact. Such religious romances were common in the 5th\n cent., written to supply Christians with wholesome reading in place\n of the sensual fictions of Heliodorus, Achilles, Tatius, &c. As\n there are no less than thirty-six Julians in the Roman Martyrology,\n and of these seven are commemorated in January, there is great\n liability to confusion. S. Julian seems to have suffered on the 6th\n January; but on account of the concurrence of the Epiphany, his\n memorial was transferred to different days in different dioceses,\n and this again has proved an element of confusion.]\n\nS. Julian was born at Antino\u00eb, in Egypt, of noble parents. The love of\nGod, and God alone, filled his heart from earliest childhood. At the age\nof eighteen his parents required him to marry. This troubled him much,\nfor he had read the saying of S. Paul, \"He that is unmarried careth for\nthe things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: but he\nthat is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may\nplease his wife.\" 1 Cor. vii. 32, 33. He besought his parents to allow\nhim to defer giving them a final answer till he had well considered\ntheir proposal during seven days. He now fasted, and watched, and\nprayed, revealing to God the desire of his heart, to keep his body in\nvirginity, and his soul devoted to God alone. At the end of the seven\ndays he saw Christ in a vision, who said to him, \"Fear not, Julian, to\ntake thee a wife, and to fulfil the desire of thy parents. As virgins ye\nshall serve me, and I shall not be separated from you, and as virgins\nshall ye enter into my kingdom.\" Then Julian was filled with great joy,\nand he considered whom he should choose. Now there was one maiden,\nBasilissa by name, who was well-known to his parents, and with whom he\nhad been acquainted from childhood, and whom he loved for her whiteness\nof soul. Therefore he told his father that he consented to marry\nBasilissa. And she, on her side, was glad to be the wife of Julian, but\nher timid soul shrank from the cares and responsibilities of marriage,\nfor she was as yet young and fresh to the world.\n\nThe marriage took place with all the boisterous merriment and display,\nusual then as now; and evening approaching, the young bride was led by\nthe maidens, who were her fellows, to the nuptial chamber. Now when\nJulian entered, there came an odour in the apartment, as of lilies and\nroses, though the season was mid-winter, and an awe fell on their young\nhearts. And they put their hands together, and promised to serve God\ntogether in purity and fervour, with singleness of heart all their days.\nThen they were aware of One present in the room, and kneeling down, they\nfell prostrate, and besought Him to accomplish the good work He had\nbegun in them. And when they looked up, the chamber was full of light,\nand they saw Jesus and Mary, and an innumerable company of virgin\nSaints. Then the Lord said, \"Thou hast conquered, O Julian, thou hast\nconquered!\" And the Blessed Virgin said, \"Blessed art thou, Basilissa,\nwho hast thus sought with single heart the glory that is eternal.\"\n\nThen said Jesus, \"My soldiers, who have overcome the wiles of the old\nserpent, rise and behold what is prepared for you!\" Thereupon came two\nclothed in white robes, and girded about the loins with golden zones,\nhaving crowns of flowers in their hands, and they raised them from the\nground and showed them an open book seven times brighter than silver,\ninscribed with golden letters, and round about it stood four elders,\nhaving vials in their hands of pure gold, from which ascended diverse\nodours. And one, answering, said, \"In these four vials your perfection\nis contained. For out of these daily ascends an odour of sweet fragrance\nbefore the Lord. Therefore, blessed are ye, because ye have rejected the\nunsatisfying pleasures of this world to strive after those which are\neternal, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered\ninto the heart of man to conceive.\"\n\nThen Julian looked, and beheld his name, and the name of his wife,\nBasilissa, written in the book. And the elder said, \"In that book are\nwritten the chaste and the sober, the truthful and the merciful, the\nhumble and gentle, those whose love is unfeigned, bearing adversities,\npatient in tribulation, and those who, for the love of Jesus Christ,\nhave given up father and mother, and wife and children, and lands,\nfor his sake, lest they should impede the progress of their souls to\nperfection, and they who have not hesitated to shed their blood for his\nname, in the number of whom you also have merited to be written.\"\n\nThen the vision passed. But Julian and Basilissa spent the night in\nprayer, and singing joyful praises to the Lord.\n\nAnd when his parents were dead, Julian divided his house and made\nit into a hospital, and all his substance he spent in relieving the\nnecessities of the sick and suffering. He ruled over the portion\ndevoted to the men, and Basilissa, his wife, at the head of a number of\ndevout virgins, governed the women's department.\n\nMany men placed themselves under the guidance of S. Julian, and\nassisted him in his works of charity, and laboured for the advancement\nof God's glory, and the salvation of their own souls. It is from the\ncircumstance of S. Julian having been the first to establish a hospital\nfor the sick, that he has been called by distinction Julian the\nHospitaller.\n\nAfter many years, Basilissa died in peace; her husband Julian survived\nher. In the persecution of Diocletian he was seized and subjected to\ncruel tortures. The governor, Marcian, ordered him to be dragged,\nladen with chains, and covered with wounds, about the city. As the\nmartyr passed the school where Celsus, the son of the governor, was\nbeing instructed, the boys turned out into the street to see the\nsoldier of Christ go by. Then suddenly the lad exclaimed, \"I see angels\naccompanying, and extending a glorious crown to him. I believe, I\nbelieve in the God of the Christians!\" And throwing away his books,\nhe fell at the feet of Julian, and kissed his wounds. When the father\nheard this, he was filled with ungovernable fury, and believed that the\nSaint had bewitched the boy; he ordered them both to be cast into the\nlowest dungeon, a loathsome place, where the corrupting carcases of\nmalefactors lay, devoured by maggots. But God filled this hideous pit\nwith light, and transformed the stench into fragrant odours, so that\nthe soldiers who kept the prison were filled with wonder, and believed.\nThat same night, a priest, Antony, who lived with seven little boys,\norphans committed to his care by their parents, summoned by God, came\nwith these seven children to the prison. An angel went before them,\nand at his touch the gates flew open. Then Antony, the priest, baptized\nCelsus and the believing soldiers.\n\nOn the morrow the governor, supposing that the night in the pit had\ncured his son, sent him to his mother, and the boy, having related to\nher in order all he had seen and heard, she believed with her whole\nheart, and was baptized by the priest.\n\nThe governor, Marcian, ordered all these converts to death. The\nsoldiers were executed with the sword, the seven boys were cast into\nthe fire, the rest were tortured to death.\n\nRelics, at Morigny, near Etampes, and in the church of S. Basilissa, at\nParis.\n\nPatron of hospitals.\n\nIn art, S. Julian and S. Basilissa are represented holding the same\nlily stalk, or looking on the Book of Life wherein their names are\nwritten.\n\n\nS. PETER, B. OF SEBASTE.\n\n(ABOUT 387.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea. The life of S. Peter occurs in\n that of his sister, S. Macrina, written by his brother, S. Gregory\n of Nyssa. He is also spoken of by Socrates, Theodoret, and\n Philostorgius.]\n\nThe family of which S. Peter was descended was very ancient and\nillustrious, as we are informed by S. Gregory Nazianzen. It has become\nfamous for its saints, for three brothers were at the same time\neminently holy bishops, S. Basil, S. Gregory of Nyssa, and S. Peter of\nSebaste; and their elder sister, S. Macrina, was the spiritual mother of\nmany saints. Their father and mother, S. Basil the elder, and S. Emilia,\nwere banished for their faith in the reign of Galerius Maximian, and\nfled into the deserts of Pontus; they are commemorated in the Roman\nmartyrology on May 30th. The grandmother of S. Peter was S. Macrina the\nelder, who had been instructed in the way of salvation by S. Gregory the\nWonder-worker. S. Peter of Sebaste, was the youngest of ten children; he\nlost his father whilst still an infant, and was therefore brought up by\nhis mother and sister. When the aged Emilia was dying, she drew her two\nchildren--the only two who were present--to her, and taking their hands,\nshe looked up to heaven, and having prayed God to protect, govern, and\nsanctify her absent children, she said, \"To Thee, O Lord, I dedicate the\nfirst-fruits; and the tenth of my womb. This, my first-born, Macrina, I\ngive thee as my first-fruits; and this, my tenth child, Peter, I give\nthee as my tithe. They are thine by law, and thine they are by my free\ngift. Hallow, I pray thee, this my first-born daughter, and this my\ntenth child, and son.\" And thus blessing them, she expired, says S.\nGregory Nyssen. S. Emilia had founded two monasteries, one for men, the\nother for women; the former she put under the direction of her son\nBasil, the latter under that of her daughter Macrina. Peter, whose\nthoughts where wholly bent on cultivating the seeds of piety sown in his\nheart, retired into the house governed by his brother, situated on the\nbank of the river Iris; and when S. Basil was obliged to quit that post\nin 362, he left the abbacy in the hands of S. Peter, who discharged this\noffice for several years with great prudence and virtue. Soon after S.\nBasil was made Bishop of Caesarea, in Cappadocia, in 370, he promoted his\nbrother Peter to the priesthood. His brother, S. Basil, died on Jan.\n1st, A.D. 379, and Eustathius, Bishop of Sebaste, an Arian and a furious\npersecutor of S. Basil, died soon after. S. Peter was consecrated in his\nroom, in 380, to root out the Arian heresy in that diocese, where it had\ntaken deep hold. In 381, he attended the general council held at\nConstantinople, and joined in the condemnation of the Macedonian heresy.\nHis death happened in summer, about the year 387, and his brother, S.\nGregory of Nyssa, mentions that his memory was honoured at Sebaste by an\nanniversary solemnity. \"Peter,\" says Nicephorus (lib. ii. c. 44), \"who\nsprang from the same parents as Basil, was not so well-read in profane\nliterature as his brother, but he was not his inferior in the splendour\nof his virtue.\"\n\n\nS. FILLAN, AB.\n\n(8TH CENT.)\n\n [Scottish and Irish Martyrologies. Life in the Aberdeen Breviary.]\n\nS. Fillan, whose name is famous in ancient Scottish and Irish Calendars,\nwas the son of Feriach, a noble, and his saintly wife Kentigerna,\ndaughter of Cualann, king of Leinster. His father ordered him to be\nthrown into the lake, near his castle, and drowned, when he was shown to\nhim, for he was somewhat unshapely. But, by the ministry of the angels,\nat the prayer of his mother, he floated ashore. S. Fillan was given by\nBishop Ibar to the abbot Munna, to be educated. As he wrote at night in\nhis cell, he held up his left hand, and it shone so brilliantly that he\nwas able to write with the right hand by the light shed by the left\nhand.\n\nWhen the abbot Munna died (A.D. 635), S. Fillan was elected to succeed\nhim as head of the monastery of Kilmund in Argyleshire. After some\nyears, he resigned his charge, and retired to his uncle Congan, brother\nto his mother, in a place called Siracht, a mountainous part of\nGlendarshy, in Fifeshire, where, with the assistance of seven others, he\nbuilt a church. He was buried at Straphilline, and his relics were long\npreserved there with honour. The Scottish historians attribute to his\nintercession a memorable victory obtained by King Robert Bruce, in 1314,\nover the English at Bannockburn. His pastoral staff and bell still\nexist.\n\n\nS. ADRIAN, AB. OF CANTERBURY.\n\n(A.D. 709.)\n\n [Anglican and some of the German Martyrologies. Life in Bede,\n Eccles. Hist., lib. iv., c. 1, 2; lib. v. c. 20.]\n\n\"Deusdedit,\" says the Venerable Bede, \"the sixth Bishop of the church of\nCanterbury, died on the 14th July, 665. The see then became vacant for\nsome considerable time, until the priest Wighard, a man skilled in\necclesiastical discipline, of the English race, was sent to Rome by King\nEgbert (of Kent), and Oswy, King of the Northumbrians, with a request\nthat he might be ordained Bishop of the Church of England; sending at\nthe same time presents to the Apostolic Pope, and many vessels of gold\nand silver. Arriving at Rome, where Vitalian presided at that time over\nthe Apostolic see, and having made known to the aforesaid Pope the\noccasion of his journey, he was not long after snatched away, with\nalmost all his companions that went with him, by a pestilence which\nhappened at that time.\n\n\"But the Apostolic Pope, having consulted about that affair, made\ndiligent inquiry for some one to send to the Archbishop of the English\nChurches. There was then in the Niridian monastery, which is not far\nfrom the city of Naples, an abbot called Adrian, by nation an African,\nwell versed in holy writ, experienced in monastic and ecclesiastical\ndiscipline, and excellently skilled in both Greek and Latin. The Pope,\nsending for him, commanded him to accept the bishopric, and repair to\nBritain; he answered that he was unworthy of so great a dignity, but\nsaid he would name another, whose learning and age were fitter for the\necclesiastical office. And having proposed to the Pope a certain monk,\nbelonging to a neighbouring monastery of virgins, whose name was Andrew,\nhe was by all that knew him, judged worthy of a bishopric; but bodily\ninfirmity prevented his being advanced to the episcopal office. Then\nagain Adrian was pressed to accept the bishopric, but he desired a\nrespite for a time, to see whether he could find another fit to be\nordained bishop.\n\n\"There was at that time, in Rome, a monk called Theodore, well-known to\nAdrian, born at Tarsus, in Cilicia, a man well instructed in worldly and\ndivine literature, as also in Greek and Latin; of known probity of life,\nand venerable for age, being sixty-six years old. Adrian offered him to\nthe Pope to be ordained bishop, and prevailed; but upon these\nconditions, that he should conduct him into Britain, because he had\nalready travelled through France twice upon several occasions, and was,\ntherefore, better acquainted with the way, and was, moreover,\nsufficiently provided with men of his own; as also that, being his\nfellow labourer in doctrine, he might take special care that Theodore\nshould not, according to the custom of the Greeks, introduce anything\ncontrary to the true faith into the Church where he presided. Theodore,\nbeing ordained sub-deacon, waited four months for his hair to grow, that\nit might be shorn into the shape of a crown; for he had before the\ntonsure of S. Paul[37] the Apostle, after the manner of the Easterns. He\nwas ordained by Pope Vitalian, in the year of the Lord 668, on Sunday,\nthe 26th of March, and on the 27th of May was sent with Adrian into\nBritain.\n\n\"They proceeded by sea to Marseilles, and thence by land to Arles, and\nhaving delivered to John, Archbishop of that city, Pope Vitalian's\nletters of recommendation, were by him detained, till Ebroin, the king's\nmayor of the palace, sent them a pass to go where they pleased. Having\nreceived the same, Theodore repaired to Agilbert, Bishop of Paris, and\nwas by him kindly received, and long entertained. But Adrian went first\nto Emme, and then to Faro, Bishops of Sens and Meaux, and lived with\nthem a considerable time; for the hard winter had obliged them to rest\nwherever they could. King Egbert, being informed by messengers, that the\nbishop they had asked of the Roman prelate was in the kingdom of France,\nsent thither his praefect, Redford, to conduct him; who, being arrived\nthere, with Ebroin's leave, conveyed him to the port of Quentavic (S.\nQuentin); where, being indisposed, he made some stay, and as soon as he\nbegan to recover, sailed over into Britain. But Ebroin detained Adrian,\nsuspecting that he went on some message from the Emperor to the kings of\nBritain, to the prejudice of the kingdom, of which he at that time took\nespecial care; however, when he found that he really had no such\ncommission, he discharged him, and permitted him to follow Theodore.\n\n\"As soon as he came, he received from him the monastery of S. Peter the\nApostle, where the Archbishops of Canterbury are usually buried; for at\nhis departure, the Apostolic Lord had ordered that Theodore should\nprovide for him in his diocese, and give him a suitable place to live in\nwith his followers.\n\n\"Theodore arrived in his church the second year after his consecration,\non Sunday, May 27th. Soon after, he visited all the island, wherever the\ntribes of the Angles inhabited; and everywhere attended and assisted by\nAdrian, he taught the right rule of life, and the canonical custom of\ncelebrating Easter. This was the first Archbishop whom all the English\nChurch obeyed. And forasmuch as both of them were well read in both\nsacred and secular literature, they gathered a crowd of disciples, and\nthere flowed from them daily rivers of knowledge to water the hearts of\ntheir hearers; and, together with the books of Holy Writ, they also\ntaught them the arts of ecclesiastical poetry, astronomy, and\narithmetic. A testimony of which is, that there are still living at this\nday some of their scholars, who are as well versed in the Greek and\nLatin tongues as in their own, in which they were born. Nor were there\never happier times since the English came into Britain; for their kings,\nbeing brave men and good Christians, were a terror to all barbarous\nnations, and the minds of all men were bent upon the joys of the\nheavenly kingdom of which they had just heard; and all who desired to be\ninstructed in sacred reading had masters at hand to teach them.\"\n\nS. Adrian died A.D. 709, after having spent thirty-nine years in\nBritain. His tomb was famous for miracles wrought at it.\n\n\nS. BRITHWALD, ABP. OF CANTERBURY.\n\n(A.D. 731.)\n\n [Bede, lib. v., c. 8, 23. William of Malmesbury: De Gest.\n Pontificum Anglorum; Roger of Hoveden; Matthew of Westminster, &c.\n He is called also Bretwald and Berthwald.]\n\nBede says that after the death of S. Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury,\nin 690, \"Berthwald succeeded, being abbot of the monastery of Reculver,\nwhich lies on the north side of the mouth of the river Inlade. He was a\nman learned in the Scriptures, and well instructed in ecclesiastical and\nmonastic discipline, yet not to be compared with his predecessor. He was\nchosen Bishop in the year of our Lord's Incarnation, 692, on the first\nday of July, Withred and Suebhard being kings of Kent; he was\nconsecrated the next year, on Sunday, the 29th June, by Godwin,\nMetropolitan Bishop of France, and was enthroned on Sunday, April 31st.\"\n\n\"In the year of our Lord's Incarnation, 731, Archbishop Berthwald died\nof old age, on the 9th of January, having held his see thirty-seven\nyears six months and fourteen days.\"\n\n [Illustration: S. Genoveva, Jan. 3, p. 46.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[37] This tonsure consisted in shaving the whole head.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 10.\n\n S. NICANOR, _M._, A.D. 76.\n SS. THECLA, _V., and_ JUSTINA, _Confessors in Sicily, 3rd cent._\n S. MARCIAN, _P. C., at Constantinople, circ._ A.D. 476.\n S. DOMITIAN, _B. C., in Armenia, circ._ A.D. 600.\n S. AGATHO, _Pope of Rome_, A.D. 682.\n S. SETHRIDA, _V., Abbess of Brie, in France, 7th cent._\n S. WILLIAM, _Ab. and Abp. of Bourges_, A.D. 1209.\n S. GONSALVO, _P. C., Portugal_, A.D. 1259.\n B. CHRISTIANA, or ORINGA, _V., in Etruria_, A.D. 1310.\n\n\nS. NICANOR, M.\n\n(A.D. 76.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Commemorated by the Greeks on July 28th and\n December 28th.]\n\nSaint Nicanor, one of the first seven deacons appointed by the Apostles,\nwas a native of Cyprus, to which he returned, that he might preach the\nGospel on the dispersion of the Apostles. He was variously tortured and\nthen executed, in the reign of Vespasian, but where is not known.\n\n\nSS. THECLA, V., AND JUSTINA.\n\n(3RD CENT.)\n\n [Authority for the lives of these Saints: the lections in the\n proper offices for this day in the church of Lentini, in Sicily.]\n\nS. Thecla was a noble virgin of Lentini, and daughter of S. Isidore. She\nburied the bodies of the martyrs with loving reverence. For three years\nshe suffered from paralysis, and could not leave her bed, but was healed\nby the prayers of SS. Alphius, Philadelphus, and Cyrinus. When they\nwere in prison for the faith, she visited them and ministered to their\nnecessities, and when they had been slain and cast into a well, she\nextracted the bodies and buried them. Tertullus, the governor, hearing\nof this, sent for her, but his sudden death saved her from injury.\nDuring the persecution, she concealed Agatho, Bishop of Lipari, in one\nof her farms; and when the persecution was over, she and her friend\nJustina spent their fortunes in works of mercy.\n\n\nS. MARCIAN, P.\n\n(ABOUT 476.)\n\n [Honoured in the Greek Menaea and Roman Martyrology on the same day.\n His life, by an anonymous writer, is given by Simeon Metaphrastes.]\n\nS. Marcian was born at Constantinople; he belonged to a noble Roman\nfamily, related to that of the Emperor Theodosius. From his childhood he\nserved God in watching, fasting, and prayer. His great compassion for\nthe necessities of the poor made it impossible for him to refuse relief,\nwhen he had anything to give away.\n\nIn the reign of the Emperor Marcian, Anatolius, the Archbishop, ordained\nhim priest. His love for the poor manifested itself, not merely in\nabundant almsgiving, but also in his making their instruction in the\ntruth his favourite pursuit. The severity of his morals was made a\nhandle by those who feared the example of his virtue, as a tacit rebuke\nof their sloth and avarice, to fasten on him a suspicion of Novatianism;\nbut his meekness and silence triumphed over this, and other slanders.\n\nThe patriarch Gennadius conferred on him the dignity of treasurer of the\nchurch of Constantinople. S. Marcian built, or repaired, in a stately\nmanner a great number of churches. The following incident is related of\nthe dedication of the church of S. Anastasia, for which he had obtained\na site, and which he had built in spite of numerous impediments. On the\nday that the church was to be consecrated, he was on his way to attend\nthe ceremony, when he was accosted in the street by a very poor man,\nwhose rags scarce held together, and who implored him, for the love of\nGod, to give him an alms. S. Marcian felt in his bosom, but found he had\nno money there. The pauper would take no refusal, and the compassionate\nheart of the treasurer was melted at the aspect of his tatters and\nemaciation. Quickly he slipped off the tunic he wore under his\nsacerdotal vestments, handed it to the beggar, and then hurried on to\nthe new church, drawing his alb and chasuble about him, to conceal the\ndeficiency of a nether garment. The church was crowded, the Emperor Leo\nand the Empress, the senate, and almost the whole city were present.\nMarcian was bidden celebrate the Holy Sacrifice before all, in the new\nchurch he had built. So, full of shame, he began, hoping that the folds\nof his chasuble would conceal the absence of a tunic. But all saw him as\nthough clothed beneath his sacerdotal vestments with a garment as of\npure gold, which flashed as he moved. The patriarch Gennadius was\noffended, and rebuked him when the liturgy was over, for having worn a\nprivate garment, more splendid than his ecclesiastical vesture, and\nworthy only of an emperor. Marcian fell at his feet, and denied that he\nhad worn any such raiment. Then Gennadius, wroth at his having spoken\nfalsely, as he thought, for he supposed his eyes could not have been\ndeceived, caught him by the vesture, and drew it aside, and behold!\nMarcian was bare of all other garments save his sacerdotal apparel.\n\nS. Marcian built also the church of S. Irene, another of S. Isidore,\nand a baptistery of magnificent appearance, surrounded with five\nporches, like that at Jerusalem. \"But this one,\" says the chronicler,\n\"was greater than that by the sheep market, for here greater miracles\nwere wrought than there. To that, an angel descended on one day in the\nyear, and healed but one at a time; at this, whenever a servant of the\nLord ministers, Christ himself is present. The healing, moreover, is not\nbut once a year, but daily, and not of bodies only, but of souls as\nwell.\"\n\nS. Marcian's great compassion extended to women of bad character, and\ndespising the slander and gossip which he might occasion, by visiting\nthem in their houses, setting only before his eyes the blessedness of\nplucking these brands from the burning, he often sought them out in\nhaunts of crime; and if they had taken up evil courses through poverty\nonly, he found for them honest occupations, and by his exhortations and\ntears, and his overflowing charity, he convinced and persuaded many of\nthese unhappy women, so that they came openly and did penance, and some\nhe sent on pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and some went into solitude, and\nrecompensed for the past by self-mortification in the desert.\n\n\nS. DOMITIAN, B. C.\n\n(ABOUT 600.)\n\n [Greek Menaea and Roman Martyrology. His life in the Menaea, and\n fuller by Theophylact Simocatta. He is mentioned also by Evagrius,\n his contemporary. A letter to him from S. Gregory the Pope, is\n extant, praising his learning, prudence and zeal.]\n\nS. Domitian was the son of pious parents, Theodore and Eudoxia by name.\nHe was an intimate friend, if not, as Evagrius says, \"a kinsman of the\nEmperor Maurice.\" He was married for a few years, but his wife dying, he\ndevoted himself to the services of the Church, and was consecrated\nBishop of Melitene, in Armenia, at the age of thirty.\n\nOn the murder of Hormisdas, the Persian King, his son Chosro\u00ebs II.,\nsucceeded him (592), but the General Varam having revolted against him,\nand being deserted by many of his soldiers, Chosro\u00ebs fled with his wife,\nand two newly-born children, to Circesium. Thence he sent an embassy to\nthe Emperor Maurice, desiring peace; for at that time war was being\nwaged between the Persians and the Roman emperors. At the persuasion of\nS. Domitian, Maurice admitted his suit, and treated Chosro\u00ebs as his\nguest, instead of as an exile, welcomed him with royal gifts, and placed\nthe whole of his body-guards, and the entire Roman army, at his\ndisposal. Moreover, by way of still greater distinction, he sent\nDomitian, Bishop of Melitene, to attend him. The Roman army defeated\nVaram, and Chosro\u00ebs was reinstated on the throne of Persia.\n\nDomitian was liberally recompensed for his share in this transaction,\nbut he kept nothing for himself. Every gift made him, he offered to the\nChurch, or to the poor; restoring churches, and supporting hospitals. He\ndied at Constantinople, whither he had been summoned by the Emperor.\n\n\nS. AGATHO, POPE.\n\n(ABOUT 682.)\n\n [His life by Anastasius, the librarian. Commemorated by the Greeks\n on Feb. 21st.]\n\nAgatho, a Sicilian by birth, was remarkable for his charity and\ngentleness. Having been several years treasurer of the Church of Rome,\nhe succeeded Domnus in the Pontificate, in 679. He was represented by\nthree legates in the sixth general council, the third of Constantinople,\nin 680, against the Monothelite heresy, which he confuted in a learned\nletter to the Emperor Constantine Pogonatus, appealing to the constant\ntradition of the Apostolic Church of Rome, \"acknowledged,\" says he, \"by\nthe whole Catholic Church to be the mother and mistress of all the\nchurches, and to derive her superior authority from S. Peter, the Prince\nof the Apostles, to whom Christ committed his whole flock, with a\npromise that his faith should never fail.\"\n\nOn the 25th day of February, the Council decided against Macarius,\nauthor of the Monothelite heresy, and solemnly was the episcopal stole\n(orarium) removed from his shoulders, and from those of Basil, Bishop of\nCrete, who followed his opinion, and their thrones were cast out of the\ncouncil hall, in token that they were removed from their office, and\nejected from the communion of the Church. This Pope restored S. Wilfrid\nto the see of York, from which he had been ejected by the Bishops and\nKing of Northumbria, with the consent of S. Theodore, Archbishop of\nCanterbury.\n\n\nS. SETHRIDA, V., ABSS.\n\n(7TH CENT.)\n\n [Anglican Martyrologies, Saussaye. Authority:--Bede, Eccles. Hist.,\n lib. iii. c. 8.]\n\nBede says that Sethrida was a daughter of the wife of Anna, King of the\nEast Angles, and that she served God in the monastery of Brie, \"for at\nthat time, but few monasteries being built in the country of the Angles,\nmany were wont, for the sake of the monastic conversation, to repair to\nthe monasteries of the Franks or Gauls; and they also sent their\ndaughters there to be instructed, and delivered to their heavenly\nbridegroom, especially in the monasteries of Brie, Chelles, and\nAndelys.\"\n\n\nS. WILLIAM, AB. AND ABP. OF BOURGES.\n\n(A.D. 1209.)\n\n [Gallican Martyrologies. His life, written by a contemporary, was\n published, with the style altered and shortened, by Surius; the\n same is re-published by the Bollandists, together with a second\n life, written by another contemporary, from a MS. at Antwerp.\n Another life by a Canon of Bourges, date uncertain, was published\n by Labbe, Bibl. nova II., p. 379, 386.]\n\nOn the death of Henry de Sully, Archbishop of Bourges, the clergy of\nthat church, unable to agree upon a successor, requested Eudo, Bishop of\nParis, to nominate. For this purpose, the bishop came to Beauvais, but\nfound it no easy matter to decide, without causing an eruption of party\nfeeling. In his desire to choose a good man, and one who would commend\nhimself to all, in consultation with two friends, he resolved on\ncommitting the matter to God. Accordingly, all the most advisable names\nwere written on slips of parchment, and were sealed, and then deposited\nbeneath the corporal on the altar. The Bishop celebrated very early,\nwith great devotion, and earnestly besought God to indicate him whom he\nhad chosen. When mass was over, he put his hand beneath the corporal,\nand drew forth one of the billets. He broke the seal in the presence of\nhis two friends, and saw that the name of William, abbot of Challis, was\nwritten on the parchment.\n\nNo one else was privy to this appeal. As he left the church, the clergy\nwhom he had convened to elect cried out \"that they desired William of\nChallis as their bishop,\" and on him the majority of votes fell. Then\nthe bishopric was offered to William, but he recoiled from accepting it,\nwith the greatest dismay, for he was a man of retiring habits and of\nsingular humility. However, on an order coming to him from the superior\nof the society, the abbot of Citeaux, and also from the papal legate,\nhe was unable to refuse; and he was consecrated in the year 1200. After\nthe ceremony was over, he laid aside the vestments in which he had\nreceived his ordination, and which were of little value, in a press,\ntill his dying day.\n\nIn his new dignity he omitted nothing of the severity of his cloister\nlife, disciplining himself more strictly than before, because his\nbusiness was calculated to distract his thoughts, and his high position\nwas dangerous to humility.\n\nHe was gentle and loving to penitent sinners; and towards the\nincorrigible he was stern, but he refused to have recourse to the civil\npower against them; he had a horror of shedding blood, so that he looked\nwith the utmost repugnance upon the violence and warlike customs of his\ntime. When the crusade against the Albigenses was resolved upon, William\nof Beauvais resolved on accompanying the expedition. Perhaps his\nearnestness would move the heretics to repentance, and his horror of\nbloodshed might serve as a check upon the crusaders. The Albigensian\nheresy, which was a revival of Paulicianism, ate as a canker into the\nChurch of France. It was not even a form of Christianity, but was a\nheathen philosophical sect which had adopted a few Christian tenets.\n\nThe history of the sect was as follows:--Manes, a Persian heathen,\nflourished in the middle of the third century, dying about 277, the\nfounder of a new religion, after having been, like Simon Magus, a\ntemporary and nominal convert to the Gospel. He was not an inventor of\nhis religion, but merely a blender of the earlier Gnostic heresies with\nthe Persian doctrines of Zoroaster, added to a somewhat larger element\nof Christianity than the Gnostics had chosen to accept. The Paulicians\nwere a sect which took shape about 660, out of Manichaeism, or the\nreligion of Manes. They were cruelly persecuted by the Byzantine\nEmperors, during two whole centuries, and spread to the West by\ndegrees; one stream emigrated to Bohemia, where it became the parent of\nHussitism; the other to the south of France, where it was called\nAlbigensianism.\n\nThe fundamental dogma of this new Manichaeism was a dualism of good and\nevil principles or gods, equally matched. The evil was the origin of the\nvisible creation, the world and men's bodies; the good God was the\ncreator of the invisible world and men's souls. The opposition of matter\nand spirit constituted the basis of their moral systems. These systems\nwere diverse; some, regarding everything natural as evil, abstained from\nmeat, from marriage, and from all employments; whilst others, regarding\nthe soul as so distinct from the body as to be incapable of being soiled\nby any of its actions, gave themselves up to the grossest\nlicentiousness.\n\nThe moral condition of Provence, where Albigensianism held sway, was\nlike Sodom and Gomorrah, as may be seen by the poetry of the\ntroubadours; so that God's wrath could not but fall on a land so\npolluted. The licentiousness which this creed encouraged, helped to make\nit spread, and the Christianity of the whole of the south of France was\nimperilled. At the head of these heretics, the Count of Toulouse invaded\nthe lands of the King of Aragon, devastated them, robbed the churches,\nburnt the monasteries, and ill-treated the clergy, \"and slaughtered the\nChristians of either sex, and every age, without mercy,\" says Matthew\nParis. \"But this being at length made known, their heretical aggression\nwas put down by the faithful Christians, who, at the command of Pope\nGregory, had come as crusaders from various parts of the West, for the\ndefence of the Christian faith.\"\n\nWilliam of Beauvais was not, however, destined to play a part in that\nsanguinary war. He was called to his rest in January, 1209. Drawing\nnear his end, he received first extreme unction, and then, as the\nBlessed Sacrament was brought to him, he struggled up in his bed, and\nfalling on his knees, with many tears, and hands outspread in the shape\nof a cross, he adored the presence of his Saviour. The night following,\nhe began as usual to recite the Office of Nocturns, but was unable to\npronounce more than the first two words, and sign himself with the\ncross. Then he was laid, at his desire, on ashes, and the vestments in\nwhich he had been consecrated bishop were produced, that he might be\nlaid dressed in them in his grave. His body was buried in the Cathedral\nof Bourges, but was burnt, and the ashes scattered to the winds, by the\nCalvinists, on the occasion of their plundering the Cathedral in 1562.\n\nPatron of Bourges, and of the ancient University of Paris.\n\nIn art, he is represented holding a monstrance, or in adoration before\none, to represent his great devotion towards the Blessed Sacrament. He\nis also represented with tears on his cheeks, for he is said to have\nwept whenever he was told of some scandal of his diocese, or wrong done\nto the poor. It may be noted, as a coincidence, that his festival was\nthe day of Archbishop William Laud's martyrdom in 1644.\n\n\nS. GONSALVO, P. C.\n\n(ABOUT 1259.)\n\n [His life was compiled in Portuguese, by Didacus de Rosario, of the\n order of Friar Preachers, from scattered notices and confused\n accounts.]\n\nS. Gonsalvus or Gonsalvo, was born of noble parents, at the little\nvillage of Vizzella, in the diocese of Braga, in Portugal. Many little\nincidents are related of his childhood, as how, when an infant at the\nfont, he stretched out his little hands to the crucifix; how his nurse\nwas wont to take him with her to church, and watch his little eyes fixed\nintently upon the figure of Christ crucified, on the rood screen; how,\nwhen nothing else would still his cries, the child was taken to church,\nand there was content looking at the statues and pictures of the Saints.\n\nWhen he grew to man's estate, he was ordained priest, and was appointed\nrector of the church of S. Payo, near his father's estates. Here he\nlived as a father to the poor, and was regular in the fulfilment of his\nduties as parish priest. After a while the desire came upon him to visit\nthe Holy Land, and he left his nephew, a priest, who had been trained in\nhis house, and in whose principles he had confidence, to take charge of\nthe parish during his absence. He then started on his pilgrimage, and\nwas absent for fourteen years. In the meantime, his nephew, relieved of\nthe constraint of his uncle's presence, abandoned himself to the\nindulgence of his ruling passion, a love of field sports. He filled the\nparsonage house with dogs and hawks, and spent his time in hunting and\nrevelry. The poor were forgotten, and the church was neglected. At\nlength, Gonsalvo not returning, the nephew asked the Bishop to institute\nhim to the living, pretending that he had received authentic information\nof the death of his uncle.\n\nOne day Gonsalvo, ragged, sunburnt, with grizzled locks and foot-sore,\nreturned to his parsonage; but the dogs, at the sight of a mendicant,\nbegan to bark furiously, and when he attempted to pass them, bit him and\ntore his rags, so that he was compelled to retire. The parish priest\nhearing the noise, looked from his window, and seeing a poor man in\ntatters defending himself against the dogs, sent a servant to call them\noff, and tell the poor man that the owner of the house objected to\nbeggars.\n\nGonsalvo, filled with indignation against his nephew for the manner in\nwhich he had betrayed his trust, rushed into the house, passed the dogs\nwhich the servant restrained, and appeared in the door of the dining\napartment, as the nephew was seating himself to an abundant and\nsumptuous meal.\n\nThen the old pilgrim's wrath flamed forth, and he cried, \"Was it for\nthis that thy uncle left his parish and committed the care of souls into\nthy hands? A wolf now guards the sheep and devours them!\"\n\nThe nephew, exasperated at the words of reproach, and angry at the\nintrusion, caught up a stick, and running upon the old man, drove him\nwith many blows from the house, refusing to listen to him, and believe\nhim, when he declared his name.\n\nThen Gonsalvo, full of grief, retired to a wild spot near Amarante,\nwhere was an old shed, beside the river Tamego. Amarante was once a\nsmall town; at this time it had fallen into complete ruin, and was\ndeserted. Here Gonsalvo erected a little oratory in honour of the\nBlessed Virgin, and laboured to instruct the peasantry of the\nneighbourhood in Christian doctrine, and to stir up in their hearts the\nlove of God. But he was not satisfied that he was serving his Master in\nthe way which He willed. He therefore prayed most earnestly to be guided\naright, and to have the will of God made clear to him. After long\nfasting, one day, as he lay prostrate in supplication before the altar,\nOur Lady appeared to him and said, \"Rise, Gonsalvo, and enter that\nreligious order in which thou shalt hear the Angelic Salutation open and\nclose the offices of prayer.\"\n\nThen Gonsalvo took his staff and wandered from city to city, and from\nmonastery to monastery, listening to the choir offices, but ever being\ndisappointed, for they closed with _Benedicamus Domino_, and not with\nthe _Ave Maria_. And when he came to Vinerana, where were four religious\nhouses, whereof one was Dominican, and another Franciscan, by chance he\nsought shelter in the former. Then when the bells began to chime for\nvespers, he went to the church, and heard the friars begin their office\nwith _Ave Maria_. With beating heart he waited for the conclusion of\nvespers, and heard them close with the Angelic Salutation. Then he knew\nthat he had found the place of his rest; and he asked to be admitted\ninto the order, and was gladly received. But after awhile he desired to\ngo back to his poor peasants at Amarante; therefore he asked leave of\nthe superior, and it was accorded him. So he returned to his cell and\noratory, and there preached to the people the word of God.\n\nNow it happened that at Amarante there was a ford of the Tamego, which\nwas much used, as it lay in the direct route from Braga to Lamego and\nthe south. It was, however, dangerous, and a great number of lives were\nlost whilst Gonsalvo lived at Amarante. He considered much the necessity\nthere was that a bridge should be built, how many lives it would be the\nmeans of saving, and what a great convenience it would prove to\ntravellers. He accordingly resolved on building one, and he went round\nthe country begging for his bridge. By many his project was regarded as\nvisionary, and he would himself have despaired of accomplishing his\nundertaking, had he not been upheld by his strong confidence in the\ngoodness of God. This confidence was, moreover, sustained by signs and\nwonders, showing him that God approved his undertaking. If we may\nbelieve the life of him, written by De Rosario, on one occasion he\nbegged of a nobleman, who, as a rude joke, and to get rid of the beggar,\nscribbled a couple of lines on a scrap of paper, and bade him take it to\nhis wife, who would give him something. The Saint walked to the\nnobleman's castle, and was exhausted with fatigue when he reached it and\npresented the note. The lady looked at it, and saw written therein,\n\"The bearer is a poor fool who wishes to build a bridge. Let him have\nthe weight of this paper in cash.\" She laughed, and showed the message\nto Gonsalvo, telling him that her husband had been making sport of him.\n\"Be it so,\" said the priest, \"yet give me the weight of that note in\nmoney.\" She cast the paper into one scale, and into the other she put\nsilver; then, to her amazement, the note weighed a large sum of money.\nThus God compensated his servant for his labour, and punished the\nnobleman for his bitter jest.\n\nLittle by little the money was begged, and at length the poor priest was\nable to set masons to work, and to erect the desired bridge over the\nTamego.\n\nS. Gonsalvo died, and was buried at Amarante, of which place he is\npatron.\n\n(Gonsalvus, in Portuguese, Gon\u00e7alo, Gonsallo, or Gonsalvo.)\n\nIn art, he is represented with a bridge in his hand.\n\n\nB. ORINGA, OR CHRISTIANA, V.\n\n(A.D. 1310.)\n\n [Her life, from an ancient MS., in the Convent of S. Clara, at\n Florence, was published by Silvanus Razzi, and reprinted in the\n Acta Sanctorum.]\n\nThe Blessed Oringa was born at Sancta Croce, on the Arno, in the year\n1237, of poor parents, who died whilst she was young. She kept the\ncattle on the farm occupied by her two brothers. The cows were taken by\nher into the woods to pasture, and they became so docile that they\nobeyed her voice in all things. When she grew to a marriageable age, her\nbrothers determined that she should become the wife of a small farmer in\nthe parish; but she ran away, and escaping across the river, made her\nway to Lucca. The way was long, and night falling, the young girl lost\nthe road, and wandered in a forest. At the same time her fancy conjured\nup horrible forms to frighten her. She would had died of terror, but for\nthe companionship of a little hare which played about her skirts, as\ntamely as if it had been a favourite kitten, and rested on her lap all\nnight, when she cast herself down in weariness. Next morning, the hare\ngambolled before her, and led her into the road, after which it ran\naway. At Lucca she entered the service of a pious family. As she was\nannoyed on account of her beauty, she stained her skin with walnut\njuice. Having gone on a pilgrimage to Mount Gargano, on which the\narchangel Michael had once appeared, for she held the angels in great\nreverence; on her return, some men with whom she fell in on the road,\ntowards dusk, misled her with evil purpose; but S. Michael himself\nflashing out of the darkness at her side, protected her, and led her in\nthe right road. Later in life she visited Rome, and took service in the\nhouse of a pious widow, named Margaret, who treated her as a daughter\nrather than as a domestic. At Rome she was called Christiana, instead of\nher baptismal name of Oringa. She occasionally fell into ecstasies as\nshe prayed, and saw into futurity. When aged seventy she was struck with\nparalysis, in which she lay three years. As she died, her face is said\nto have shone with a celestial light.\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 11.\n\n S. BALTHAZAR, _K., one of the Magi, circ._ A.D. 54.\n S. HYGINUS, _Pope_, A.D. 156.\n S. LEUCIUS, _B. of Brindisi, in Italy_.\n S. PALAEMON, _H., 4th cent._\n S. THEODOSIUS, _of Antioch, circ._ A.D. 412.\n S. THEODOSIUS THE COENOBIARCH, A.D. 529.\n S. VITALIS, _Monk of Gaza, 7th cent._\n S. SALVIUS, _B. of Amiens, circ._ A.D. 615.\n S. EGWIN, _B. of Worcester, circ._ A.D. 720.\n S. PAULINUS, _Patr. of Aquileia_, A.D. 803. (See Jan. 28.)\n\n\nS. BALTHAZAR, K.\n\n(ABOUT 54.)\n\n [Cologne Breviary. In some Martyrologies S. Gaspar is commemorated\n on this day, and S. Balthazar on the 6th Jan.; but the Cologne use\n is to commemorate S. Melchior on the 1st, S. Gaspar on the 6th, and\n S. Balthazar on the 11th January, as the 1st Jan. is the\n Circumcision, and the 6th is the Epiphany; at Cologne this day is\n kept, with special services, as the Feast of the Three Kings;\n Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar being hereon commemorated\n together.]\n\nOn this day S. Balthazar, one of the Magi, King and Bishop, having\nreceived consecration from the hands of the Apostle S. Thomas, after\ncelebrating the Holy Sacrifice, fell asleep. According to some\nauthorities, the Three Kings met in the royal church of the city Sewe,\nin the East; when the eldest, Melchior, being one hundred and sixteen\nyears old, consecrated the venerable mysteries on Jan. 1st, the Octave\nof the Nativity, and then died. On the feast of the Epiphany, Gaspar,\naged one hundred and twelve, did the same; and on the 11th January,\nBalthazar, aged one hundred and nine, offered the adorable sacrifice,\ngave up the ghost, and was laid in the same sepulchre with the two\nothers. See what has been said on the subject of the Three Kings in the\naccount of the Epiphany.\n\n\nS. HYGINUS, POPE.\n\n(156.)\n\nOf this Pope, who succeeded S. Telesphorus, little is known. Eusebius\ninforms us that he sat four years in the chair of S. Peter. He brought\nthe church in Rome into more complete organization than heretofore,\ntaking advantage of the repose after persecution, enjoyed under the mild\nEmperor Antoninus Pius. He is said to have been a Greek, and to have\nbeen educated in philosophy. In his reign the heretics Cerdo and\nValentine came to Rome.\n\n\nS. PALAEMON, H.\n\n(4TH CENT.)\n\n [From the authentic life of S. Pachomius, of whom S. Palaemon was\n the master.]\n\nS. Palaemon was an aged hermit in the deserts of Upper Egypt, when\nPachomius, released from military service, and desiring to flee the\nworld, came to him and desired to become his pupil. The old anchorite\nrefused to receive him, because his manner of life was too severe for a\nyouth. \"I eat nothing but bread and salt,\" said he; \"I never taste wine,\nand I watch half the night.\" Then, answered Pachomius, \"I believe in\nJesus Christ my Lord, who will give me strength and patience to assist\nthee in thy prayers to follow thy holy conversation.\"\n\nThen Palaemon, beholding him with his spiritual eye, saw that he was a\nchosen vessel, and admitted him to be his disciple. So they lived\ntogether, serving the Lord in fasting and tears and prayer.\n\nWhen the feast of Easter came, Pachomius, to honour the day of the\nResurrection, prepared a dinner of herbs and oil, and set it before the\nmaster. But Palaemon, pressing his brow with his hands, exclaimed, \"My\nLord suffered on the Cross, and shall I taste oil?\" So he refused it,\nand contented himself with bread and salt.\n\nOne evening, a solitary came into their cell, and asked to join them in\nprayer; then, filled with a spirit of presumption, he said, \"If we are\nthe true servants of God, let us say our prayers standing on live\ncoals.\"\n\nBut Palaemon was wroth, and rebuked him for his pride.\n\nHowever, the monk persisted, and by Satan's craft, he stood unhurt on\nthe red-hot cinders. Then he retired to his own cell, puffed up with\nself-confidence. But pride goes before a fall, and shortly after he fell\ninto fleshly lust; then, filled with shame, he crept back to the cave of\nPalaemon, and falling at his feet, with bitter tears, confessed his sin.\n\nWhen S. Pachomius was inspired to found a monastery at Tabenna, he\nannounced his intention to S. Palaemon. The old man accompanied his\npupil, and took up his abode at Tabenna, for he loved Pachomius as his\nown son, and he could not bear to be separated from him. Therefore he\nsaid, \"Let us make a compact together, that we part not the one from the\nother, till God break our union.\" And to this Pachomius gladly agreed.\nSo they lived much together, till the old man died, and then his\ndisciple buried him at Tabenna.\n\n\nS. THEODOSIUS, THE COENOBIARCH, H.\n\n(A.D. 529.)\n\n [Greek Menaea and Roman Martyrology. The life of S. Theodosius,\n written by a contemporary anonymous author, supposed by Baronius,\n but without sufficient grounds, to be Cyril, the author of the\n lives of SS. Euthemius, Saba, and John the Silent. But Cave says\n that the life of S. Theodosius was written by Theodore, Bishop of\n Pera.]\n\nTheodosius was born in the little town of Marissa, in Cappadocia, in\n423. He was ordained reader, but some time after, being moved by\nAbraham's example, to quit his country and friends, he resolved to visit\nthe holy places. He accordingly set out for Jerusalem, and visited the\nfamous S. Simeon Stylites, near Antioch, on his way. S. Simeon accosted\nhim by name, and bade him ascend his pillar, when he embraced him, and\nforetold several circumstances of his life, giving him advice how to act\nunder them. Having satisfied his devotion in visiting the holy places in\nJerusalem, he betook himself to the cell of Longinus, a holy man, who\ndwelt near the tower of David, and to him he became dear, on account of\nhis singular virtue. A lady, named Icelia, having built a church to the\nhonour of the Virgin Mother of God, on the high road to Bethlehem,\nLonginus appointed his disciple, Theodosius, to the charge of this\nchurch. But he did not retain this charge long; loving solitude, he\nretired to the mountains, and took up his abode in the cave, where the\nWise Men were traditionally held to have reposed on their way to\nBethlehem. Here he passed his time in labouring with his hands, in\nfasting, and in prayer. His food was coarse pulse and herbs; for thirty\nyears he did not taste bread. Many desired to serve God under his\ndirection: he at first determined to admit six or seven, but was soon\nobliged to receive a greater number, and at length came to a resolution\nnever to reject any that presented themselves with dispositions that\nseemed sincere. The first lesson he taught his monks was, that the\ncontinual remembrance of death is the foundation of religious\nperfection. To impress the thought of death more deeply on their minds,\nhe caused a great sepulchre to be constructed as the common burying\nplace of his monks. When it was complete, half seriously and half in\njest, he said: \"The tomb is finished, which of you will be its first\ninmate?\" Then one, Basil, a priest, knelt at his feet, and asked to be\nthe first to celebrate the dedication of the sepulchre. Therefore S.\nTheodosius ordered all the offices of the dead to be recited for Basil,\nfirst for three days, then for nine, and then for forty; and at the\nclose of the forty days he died without sickness or pain, as though\ngoing to sleep. And for forty days after his death he was seen by the\nabbot Theodosius in his place among the brethren, chanting the praises\nof God. None others saw him, but one Aetius heard his voice. Then the\nabbot, hearing Aetius confess this, prayed to God to open his eyes, and\nseeing the dead monk again in choir, he pointed him out; and then Aetius\nsaw him, and ran, and would have embraced him, but he vanished out of\nhis sight.\n\nOnce, as Easter approached, there was a deficiency of food in the\nmonastery, and they had not even bread for the Holy Sacrifice. This\ntroubled them sore, for they feared that the holy feast would come, and\npass, without their being able to celebrate the divine liturgy.\nTherefore they prayed with one accord to God, and behold! mules laden\nwith provisions arrived at the monastery, and amongst the provisions was\nbread for the sacrifice.\n\nThe lustre of the sanctity of S. Theodosius drawing great numbers to\nhim, who desired to serve God under his direction, he resolved on\nbuilding a large monastery to receive them all; but where to build it he\nknew not. After some consideration, he took a censer, and put charcoal\nand incense thereon, but no fire, and he prayed: \"O God who didst of\nold, by many and great miracles, confirm Israel; who didst to thy\nservant Moses persuade by many and various marvels, to take on him the\nburden of ruling that people; who didst turn the water of Egypt into\nblood, and then re-convert it again; who didst give to Gideon an earnest\nof his victory in the fleece and the dew; who didst assure Hezekiah of\nan addition to his days, by the return of the shadow on the dial; who\ndidst at the cry of Elias send fire from heaven to consume his\nsacrifice. Thou art the same Lord, unto whom this day I plead! Hear thou\nthe prayers of the servant, and show me where I shall build a temple to\nThy honour, and a habitation for thy servants and my disciples. Show, O\nLord! by the kindling of these coals, where the place shall be, to Thy\nglory, and to the acknowledgment of many, and the confirmation of the\ntruth.\" Having uttered this prayer, he walked through the land with the\ncenser in his hand. And when he came, after much wandering, to a desert\nspot called Gutilla, on the shores of the Dead Sea, he turned and came\nhome, and as he neared his cave the coals kindled, and the smoke of the\nincense rose towards heaven, as a sign that thence should ascend the\nprayers of the faithful from age to age, in the daily sacrifice. There\naccordingly he erected his monastery, and it was soon filled with holy\nmonks. To this monastery were annexed several infirmaries; one for the\nsick monks, two for sick lay folk; one for the aged and feeble monks,\nand one for persons deranged. All succours, spiritual and temporal, were\nafforded in these hospitals, which were kept in admirable order, and\nwere attended by the monks with alacrity and care. S. Theodosius erected\nalso several buildings for the reception of strangers, in which he\nexercised an unbounded hospitality, entertaining all that came, for\nwhose use there were, on one occasion, above a hundred tables served\nwith provisions. The monastery itself was like a city of saints in the\nmidst of a desert; and in it reigned regularity, silence, charity, and\npeace. There were four churches belonging to it, one for each of the\nthree nations of which his community was composed, each speaking a\ndifferent language, and the fourth church was for the use of the\nrecovering lunatics. The nations into which his community was divided\nwere the Greeks, and all those using the liturgy in the Greek tongue;\nthe second church was used by those having divine worship in the\nArmenian language; and in the third church the holy praises of God were\nsung, and the sacrifice was offered in the language of the Bessi, that\nis, of the wandering nations of Arab race. \"Thus by them,\" says the\ncontemporary writer; \"the rule of hymnody was carried out, and seven\ntimes a day was it offered to the God of all. But when it behoved them\nto participate in the venerable Sacrament, the law was very beautifully\nconstituted among them, that till after the Gospel, divinely inspired,\neach should hear in his own church and language the divine voice; but\nafter that they were assembled into one--the possessed alone\nexcepted--namely, into the large church of the Greeks, as is done to\nthis day, and there they participate together of the sanctifying gifts.\"\n\nAt times not set apart for public prayer and necessary rest, every monk\nwas obliged to apply himself to some trade or manual labour. Sallust,\npatriarch of Jerusalem, appointed S. Sabas superior of all the hermits\nin Palestine, and S. Theodosius head of all the monks living in\ncommunity, for which reason he obtained the title of Coenobiarch.\n\nThese two great servants of God lived in close friendship, and together\nstrove against the heresy of Eutyches, which then devastated the Church.\nFor the Emperor Anastasius favoured the Eutychians; he banished the\npatriarch of Antioch and the patriarch of Jerusalem, and introduced an\nheretical bishop, Severus, into the latter see, commanding the Syrians\nto obey and hold communion with him. Then these great ascetic saints,\nwith those bodies of religious men whom they ruled, proved bulwarks of\nthe faith, uncompromising defenders of the truth. Like rocks in the\ndesert, they remained unchanged and immovable. In vain did the emperor\nemploy persuasion, attempt bribery, and finally exile the Cenobiarch; he\ncould not be moved, but journeyed through the land from which the\nbishops had been expelled, confirming the faithful, and denouncing the\nestablished heresy. At Jerusalem, having assembled the people together,\nhe from the pulpit cried with a loud voice, \"If any man receives not the\nfour General Councils as the four Gospels, let him be anathema!\" Such\nboldness in an old man, venerated for his sanctity, inspired with\ncourage those whom the edicts had frightened. His discourses produced a\nwonderful effect on the people, and God gave a sanction to his zeal by\nmiracles. The Emperor sent an order for his banishment, which was\nexecuted; but dying soon after, Theodosius was recalled by his\nsuccessor Justin, who was a Catholic.\n\nOur Saint survived his return eleven years. So great was his humility,\nthat, seeing two monks at variance with each other, he threw himself at\ntheir feet, and would not rise till they were reconciled. Once, having\nexcommunicated one of his monks for some offence, the man defiantly\nexcommunicated Theodosius, and he meekly accepted the sentence, and\nacted as one cut off from the society of the faithful and participation\nin the Sacraments, till the guilty monk, confounded and repentant,\nremoved the ban. During the last year of his life he was afflicted with\na painful disease, which reduced him to a shadow. It was noticed by\nthose who nursed him, that, even in his sleep, his lips murmured the\nfamiliar words of prayer. Perceiving the hour of his dissolution draw\nnigh, he gave his last exhortations to his disciples, and foretold many\nthings which came to pass after his death; and then fell asleep in\nChrist, on the 11th Jan., 529. Peter, patriarch of Jerusalem, and the\nwhole country, assisted at his interment. He was buried in the first\ncell the cave of the Magi.\n\n\nS. VITALIS, MONK.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 7TH CENT.)\n\n [Greek Menaea. His history occurs as an episode in the life of S.\n John the Almsgiver, patriarch of Alexandria, by Leontius, Bishop of\n Naplous in Cyprus, from the relation of the Acts of S. John, by his\n clergy. This life was commended in the seventh General Council, and\n is perfectly authentic.]\n\nThe story of Vitalis, or Vitali, monk of Gaza, is brought in by the\nBishop of Naplous, in his life of S. John the Almsgiver, almost\naccidentally, to illustrate the long suffering and charity of S. John,\nthat thinketh not evil. But I know not, in all the glorious histories of\nthe blessed ones, one story so deeply touching as that of the little\nknown, and soon forgotten, monk of Gaza.\n\nWhere he was born we know not; of what parents he was born we are\nignorant; but we do know that his was a heart full, to overflowing, with\nthe divine charity of Him who came to seek and to save those that were\nlost.\n\nWhilst John the Almsgiver was patriarch of Alexandria, there arrived in\nthat city, an old man of sixty, or thereabouts, in monk's garb. In his\ncell he had thought over the crimes of that pleasure-loving city, and\nhaving read in the Gospel the story of the woman taken in adultery, in\nthe old monk's heart kindled a sudden fire of zeal, which drove him to\nAlexandria, that he might save some of those poor women who sold\nthemselves. Arrived in the city, he obtained the names of all the\nharlots, and then hired himself as a day labourer. Every evening he took\nhis wage, and with it went to one of the unfortunate women, and supped\nwith her, and gave her the rest, and said, \"I pay thee this, that thou\nmayest spend one night without sin.\" Then he retired into a corner of\nthe room, where she slept, and passed the night in reciting psalms, and\npraying with many tears for the woman present; and he rejoiced that, by\nhis toil of the day, he had saved her from evil on that one night.\n\nAnd thus he visited all the harlots in Alexandria, and from each, as he\nwent forth in the morning, he took a solemn promise that she would\nreveal to none what had taken place, so long as he was alive.\n\nNow, considerable scandal arose, and Vitalis was loudly condemned. One\nsaid to him, \"Monk, take to thyself a wife, and lay aside thy religious\ngarb, that the name of God be not blasphemed through thee.\" But Vitalis\nanswered, \"I will not take to myself a wife, nor will I change my habit.\nHe that will be scandalized, let him be scandalized. What hast thou to\ndo with me? Hath God constituted you to be my judges? Go to, look to\nyourselves, ye have not to answer for me. There is one Judge and one\nholy day of judgment, wherein every man shall give an account of his own\nworks.\"\n\nOne of the Defenders of the Church (this was the name of an officer who\nsaw to the order and morals of the clergy and monks,) came to the\npatriarch John, and told him what he had heard of the abbot Vitalis. But\nthe patriarch closed his ears, and rebuked the accuser, saying,\n\"Remember what were the words of Constantine of pious memory; he said\nthat the crimes of priests ought not to be divulged, and that if he\ndetected a priest or a monk in wrong-doing, he would draw his purple\nimperial robe over him, so that none might be scandalized. And when\nquarrelsome individuals wrote accusations against certain prelates, he\nformed them into a packet, and cast them into the fire.\"[38]\n\nBut Vitalis, though he bore without a murmur the shame, the hard\nspeeches, and false accusations that fell to his share, was deeply\nsensitive for the souls of others, lest through him they should be\nwounded. Yet he could not relinquish his mission;--the love of God\nconstrained him thereto, and many a poor woman, moved by the tears and\nprayers of the holy man, deserted her evil courses, and married and\nsettled into ways of steadiness; and many, filled with bitter\ncompunction, fled from that city of temptation, to expiate their\noffences in the desert. Seeing how great a blessing attended his work,\nVitalis persevered in spite of obloquy; but he prayed to God to reveal\nthe truth after his death, that the reproach might be wiped off the\nmonastic garb he wore; but he would not suffer the truth to be known\nwhilst he lived, or the houses of ill-fame would be closed against him,\nand the prosecution of his mission would be hindered.\n\nOne morning, very early, as he left a harlot's door, a man came in, and\nseeing a monk issue forth, he struck him over the head, exclaiming, \"How\nlong, rascal, do you outrage Christ by not mending your wicked ways?\"\n\nThen said Vitalis, \"Believe me, friend, thou shalt receive from me, a\nhumble monk, such a stroke that all Alexandria shall ring with it.\" So\nsaying, he went his way to the little chamber where he lodged, by the\nchurch of S. Metras, near the Gate of the Sun.\n\nWhat followed is not very clear. But if we put aside some absurd fable\nwhich has attached itself to the story, we shall find that it was\nsomething like this:--Probably from the unfortunate woman, from whom\nVitalis had gone forth, and to whom the man who had smitten him entered,\nthat man heard the truth; then, full of contrition, he rushed forth and\nproclaimed abroad how he had wronged Vitalis, and how mistaken was the\npopular opinion concerning him. So a crowd collected, and rolled in the\ndirection of the cell of Vitalis, by the Gate of the Sun. The man\nforemost of all cried, \"Pardon me my violence, Vitalis, thou man of\nGod!\" And so the mob broke into the little hovel where he dwelt. Then\nthey saw the despised monk kneeling upright, with his hands clasped,\ndead and rigid; and before him lay a sheet of paper, whereon were\nwritten the words of the Apostle, 1 Cor. iv. 5, \"Judge nothing before\nthe time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden\nthings of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart.\"\n\nThen, when this was noised abroad, almost the whole city came together,\nand the patriarch John arrived, and all the clergy, and they took up the\nbody of Vitalis. Thereupon, all those women who had been converted by\nhim, and were married, came forth, bearing lamps and candles, and went\nbefore him, beating their breasts and crying, \"We have lost our\ndeliverer and instructor!\" And they told how, by his urgent prayers and\nburning zeal for their souls, he had rescued them from a life of misery.\nBut he who had smitten the old monk his death-blow, struck with\ncompunction, renounced his vicious ways, and entered the monastery at\nGaza, and lived and died in the cell once occupied by Vitalis. Thus did\nVitalis deal him such a blow that all Alexandria rang with it.\n\n\nS. SALVIUS, OF AMIENS, B. C.\n\n(ABOUT 615.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. There are three bishops, Saints, of this name,\n one Bishop of Albi, one Bishop of Angoul\u00eame, and this one, Bishop\n of Amiens; they are often confounded by writers.]\n\nS. Salvius lived as a monk for many years, in what monastery is not\nknown. He was afterwards elected abbot. Being chosen Bishop of Amiens,\nhe ruled the diocese with prudence, but little or nothing is known of\nhis acts. As he died in an ecstasy, a brilliant light is said to have\nilluminated his cell, and praying with extended arms, he surrendered his\nsoul.\n\n\nS. EGWIN, OF WORCESTER, B. C.\n\n(ABOUT 720.)\n\n [The life of S. Egwin was written by his contemporary, S.\n Brithwald, Archbishop of Canterbury. This original has not\n descended to us, but a fragment of a somewhat later recension of\n this life exists; and a still later life, probably an amplification\n of that by Brithwald. Moreover, S. Egwin is mentioned by Matthew of\n Westminster, Florence of Worcester; William of Malmesbury also\n speaks of him in his Acts of the English Bishops.]\n\nS. Egwin was of the royal blood of the Mercian kings, and was born at\nWorcester, in the reign of Ethelred and Kenred. He was elected Bishop in\n692. By his zeal in rebuking the illicit connexions formed by some of\nthe great men in his diocese, and vehemence in reforming the corrupt\nmorals of all, he stirred up a party against him, and with the\nconnivance of the King, he was expelled his diocese. Egwin, meekly\nbending to his fate, determined to make a pilgrimage to Rome. According\nto a popular mediaeval legend, he also resolved to expiate at the same\ntime certain sins of his youth, by putting iron fetters on his feet,\nwhich were fastened with a lock, and he cast the key into the Avon. As\nhe neared Italy, on a ship from Marseilles, a huge fish floundered upon\ndeck, and was killed and cut open; when, to the surprise of the Saint,\nin its belly was found the key to his fetters. He accepted this as an\nexpression of the will of heaven, and released his limbs. According to\nanother version of the story, the fish was caught in the Tiber, after S.\nEgwin had appeared before the Pope in Rome; but William of Malmesbury\ndoubts the whole story as an idle legend.\n\n [Illustration: S. EGWIN, BISHOP OF WORCESTER, After Cahier. [Jan. 11.]]\n\nAfter his return, with the assistance of Kenred, King of Mercia, S.\nEgwin founded the famous abbey of Evesham, under the invocation of the\nBlessed Virgin. After this he undertook a second journey to Rome, in\ncompany with Kenred, and Offa, King of the East Saxons. S. Egwin died on\nthe 30th December, 717, and was buried in the monastery of Evesham. The\ntranslation of his relics probably took place on Jan. 11th, on which day\nmany English Martyrologies mark his festival.\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[38] Theodoret, lib. i. c. 11.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 12.\n\n S. ARCADIUS, _M., in Africa, circ._ A.D. 260.\n SS. SATYRUS, CYRIACUS, MOSENTIUS, _MM._\n SS. TIGRIS, _P., and_ EUTROPIUS, _MM._, A.D. 404.\n S. JOHN, _B. C. of Ravenna, circ._ A.D. 495.\n S. CAESARIA, _V., at Arles, circ._ A.D. 530.\n S. VICTORINUS, _Ab., in Spain_, A.D. 560.\n S. BENEDICT BISCOP, _in England_, A.D. 703.\n SS. XXXVIII, MONKS, _MM., in Ionia, circ._ A.D. 750.\n S. AELRED, _Ab. of Rievaulx, in Yorkshire_, A.D. 1166.\n\n\nS. ARCADIUS, M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 260.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, those of Bede, Ado, Usuardus, Notker, &c.\n Authority, a panegyric by S. Zeno, Bishop of Verona, his\n contemporary.]\n\nDuring a severe outbreak of persecution, in the reign of Gallienus, in\nthe north of Africa, Arcadius, doubting his own constancy, sought refuge\nin flight, and escaping from Caesarea, hid himself. As he did not appear\nat the sacrifices, the Governor ordered his house to be searched. It was\nfound to be deserted, save by a relative of his, whom the soldiers\nseized, and, at the command of the Governor, detained till Arcadius\nshould surrender himself.\n\nHearing of this capture, and unwilling that his kinsman should suffer,\nArcadius deserted his hiding place, and gave himself up. The Governor,\nexasperated at his constancy in refusing to adore the gods of the state\nreligion, ordered him to be dismembered, piecemeal and leisurely. First\nhis fingers were taken off, joint by joint; then his toes, then his\nhands at the wrists, and his feet at the ankles. As he extended his\nhands to amputation, he prayed, \"Thy hands have made me and fashioned\nme; O give me understanding that I may keep thy law.\" Thereupon the\njudge ordered his tongue to be cut out. He was cast on his back, and his\nfeet were taken off. Then his legs and arms were amputated at the knees\nand elbows, finally at the thighs and shoulders, so that he was nothing\nsave a human trunk in a pool of blood, with his limbs in little\nfragments scattered about him. Thus he expired; but the Christians\ncollected the portions of his body, and buried them with the trunk\nreverently, glorifying God for having given such constancy to his\nmartyr.\n\nIn art, represented as a torso; sometimes, for some reason unknown, with\na candle in his hand.\n\n\nSS. SATYRUS, CYRIACUS, MOSENTIUS, MM.\n\n(DATE UNCERTAIN.)\n\n [All Martyrologies. Nothing is known for certain of the date of\n their martyrdoms, or whether they all suffered together.]\n\nS. Satyrus is said to have signed the cross, and breathed on an idol in\nthe street of Achaia (on the Euxine?), and it fell. Wherefore he was\nexecuted by decapitation. This is stated in all the Martyrologies, but\nsome say the act was done at Antioch. Of the others, his companions,\nnothing is known.\n\n\nSS. TIGRIS, P., AND EUTROPIUS, LECTOR, MM.\n\n(A.D. 404.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology and German Martyrologies. Not commemorated by\n the Greeks. Authorities: Sozomen, lib. viii. c. 22, 23; Nicephorus\n Callistus, lib. xiii.; S. John Chrysostom also, in his 12th letter\n to S. Olympias, speaks of Tigris the priest.]\n\nWhen S. John Chrysostom had incurred the anger of the Empress Eudoxia,\nby declaiming against her silver statue set up close to the church of\nthe Eternal Wisdom at Constantinople, by her machinations he was deposed\nand exiled from the city, and Arsacius was ordained patriarch of\nConstantinople in his room. But a large company of bishops and priests,\nand others of the clerical order, refused to recognize the right of\nArsacius, and being driven from the churches, held their divine worship\nin places apart. For the space of two months after his deposition,\nChrysostom remained at his post, though he refrained from appearing in\npublic; after that he was obliged to leave, being banished by the\nEmperor Arcadius. On the very day of his departure the church caught\nfire, and a strong easterly wind carried the flames to the senate\nhouse.[39] The party opposed to S. John Chrysostom immediately spread\nthe report that this fire was the result of a wilful act of incendiarism\nby the Johannites, or party of the exiled bishop. Socrates, the\nhistorian, strongly prejudiced against Chrysostom, distinctly charged\nthem with the act. He says, \"On the very day of his departure, some of\nJohn's friends set fire to the church,\" and then he adds, \"The\nseverities inflicted on John's friends, even to the extent of capital\npunishment, on account of this act of incendiarism, by Optatus, the\nprefect of Constantinople, who being a pagan was, as such, an enemy to\nthe Christians, I ought, I believe, to pass by in silence.\" There can be\nno doubt that the fire was purely accidental, and that it was used as a\nmeans of endeavouring to excite the people of Constantinople against\ntheir favourite Chrysostom, that bold champion of the truth against\nspiritual wickedness in high places, and the Erastianism of a large\nparty of bishops and clergy, just as before Nero had charged the burning\nof old Rome on the Christians.\n\nOn this false charge some of the most faithful and zealous adherents of\nChrysostom suffered, amongst them were the priest Tigris, and the reader\nEutropius. The rest shall be quoted from Sozomen, who, belonging to the\nparty of Chrysostom, gives those details which Socrates found it\nconvenient to omit:--\"Both parties mutually accused each other of\nincendiarism; the enemies of John asserted that his partizans had been\nguilty of the deed from revenge; the other side, that the crime had been\nperpetrated by their enemies, with intention of burning them in the\nchurch. Those citizens who were suspected of attachment to John, were\nsought out and cast into prison, and compelled to anathematize him.\nArsacius was not long after ordained over the Church of Constantinople.\nNothing operated so much against him as the persecution carried on\nagainst the followers of John. As these latter refused to hold\ncommunion, or even to join in prayer with him, and met together in the\nfurther parts of the city, he complained to the Emperor of their\nconduct. The tribune was commanded to attack them with a body of\nsoldiers, and by means of clubs and stones he soon dispersed their\nassembly. The most distinguished among them in point of rank, and those\nwho were most zealous in their adherence to John, were cast into prison.\nThe soldiers, as is usual on such occasions, went beyond their orders,\nand stripped the women of their ornaments. Although the whole city was\nthus filled with trouble and lamentation, the affection of the people\nfor John remained the same. After the popular insurrection had been\nquelled, the prefect of the city appeared in public, as if to inquire\ninto the cause of the conflagration, and to bring the perpetrators of\nthe deed to punishment; but, being a pagan, he exulted in the\ndestruction of the Church, and ridiculed the calamity.\n\n\"Eutropius, a reader, was required to name the persons who had set fire\nto the church; but, although he was scourged severely, although his\nsides and cheeks were torn with iron nails, and although lighted torches\nwere applied to the most sensitive parts of his body, no confession\ncould be extorted from him, notwithstanding his youth and delicacy of\nconstitution. After having been subjected to these tortures, he was cast\ninto a dungeon, where he soon afterwards expired.\n\n\"A dream of Sisinius concerning Eutropius seems worthy of insertion in\nthis history. Sisinius, the Bishop of the Novatians, saw in his sleep a\nman, tall in stature, and handsome in person, standing near the altar in\nthe Novatian Church of S. Stephen. This man complained of the rarity of\ngoodness among men, and said that he had been searching throughout the\ncity, and found but one who was good, and that one was Eutropius.\nAstonished at what he had seen, Sisinius made known the dream to the\nmost faithful of his priests, and commanded him to make search for\nEutropius, wherever he might be. The priest, rightly conjecturing that\nthis Eutropius could be no other than he who had been so barbarously\ntortured by the prefect, went from prison to prison in quest of him. At\nlength he found him, and made known to him the dream of the Bishop, and\nbesought him with tears to pray for him. Such are the details we possess\nconcerning Eutropius.\n\n\"Tigris, a priest, was about the same time stripped of his clothes,\nscourged on the back, bound hand and foot, and stretched on the rack. He\nwas a foreigner, and an eunuch, but not by birth. He was originally a\nslave in the house of a man of rank, and on account of his faithful\nservices had obtained his freedom. He was afterwards ordained priest,\nand was distinguished by his moderation and meekness of disposition, and\nby his charity towards strangers and the poor. Such were the events\nwhich took place in Constantinople. Those who were in power at court\nprocured a law in favour of Arsacius, by which it was enacted that the\northodox were to assemble together in churches only, and that if they\nseceded from communion with the above-mentioned Bishop, they were to be\nexiled.\"\n\n\nS. CAESARIA, V.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 530.)\n\n [Gallican Martyrologies. Her history from the life of S. Caesarius\n of Arles, her brother, by his disciple, Cyprian.]\n\nS. Caesaria was the superior of a convent of religious women, erected by\nher brother, S. Caesarius, at Arles. When, in 507, the Franks and\nBurgundians, under Alaric, had been defeated by Clovis, Theodoric\ninvaded the south of Gaul from Italy, and besieged the city, and\nbattered down the convent which had been erected for S. Caesaria. When\ntranquillity was re-established, Caesarius rebuilt the monastery, and\ncalled his sister from Marseilles to inhabit it. The rule of S. Caesaria,\ndrawn up by her brother, exists, and is published by the Bollandists.\n\n\nS. BENEDICT BISCOP.\n\n(A.D. 703.)\n\n [Roman, Benedictine, and Anglican Martyrologies. Life from William\n of Malmesbury, Bede's Homilies and Ecclesiastical History, Florence\n of Worcester, Matthew of Westminster. The following account is\n condensed from the life of S. Benedict Biscop, in Montalembert's\n Monks of the West, Bk. xiii., c. 2.]\n\nBenedict was born of the highest Anglo-Saxon nobility, in the year 628.\nWhile he was still very young, he held an office in the household of\nKing Oswy. At twenty-five he gave up secular life, marriage, and his\nfamily, restored his lands to the king, and dedicated himself to the\nservice of God. Before he settled in any community he went to Rome,\nwhither he had been long attracted by that desire of praying at the tomb\nof the Apostles, which became so general among the Anglo-Saxons. He\nstarted in company with S. Wilfrid, but the two young Northumbrian\nnobles separated at Lyons. After his first visit to Rome, Benedict\nreturned thither a second and a third time, having in the meantime\nassumed the monastic habit in the island of Lerins. Pope Vitalianus,\nstruck with the piety and knowledge of so constant and zealous a\npilgrim, assigned to him, as guide and interpreter, that Greek,\nTheodore, who became Archbishop of Canterbury, and who, when he went to\nEngland, transferred the monk of Lerins to be abbot of the principal\nmonastery in Canterbury.\n\nAfter thus spending two years with the new Archbishop, the abbot\nBenedict, instead of re-visiting his native district, went for the\nfourth time to Rome, 671. He was then in the prime of life; but when it\nis considered what were the difficulties and dangers of such a\njourney--at such a time--when we remember that a journey from London to\nRome then took twice as long, and was a hundred times more dangerous\nthan a journey from London to Australia is now, we are amazed at the\nenergy which induced so many Anglo-Saxon monks, not once only, but many\ntimes in their life, to cross the sea and the Alps on their way to Rome.\nHis fourth expedition was undertaken in the interests of literature. He\nbrought back a cargo of books, partly sold, partly given to him; and, in\npassing by Vienne, the ancient capital of the Gauls, on his return, he\nbrought with him many more which he had deposited there in the charge of\nhis friends. When he returned at length to his native Northumbria, he\nsought King Egfrid, the son of his former master, Oswy, then the\nreigning monarch, and told him all he had done during the twenty years\nthat had passed since he left his country and the royal service. Then,\nendeavouring to communicate to him the religious ardour with which his\nown heart was filled, he explained to the King all he had learned at\nRome and elsewhere, of ecclesiastical and monastic discipline, showing\nhim the books and relics which he had brought back. Egfrid, who had not\nyet begun his struggle with Wilfrid, allowed himself to be won by the\nstories of the pilgrim, for whom he conceived a great affection; and in\norder that he might apply his experience to the government of a new\ncommunity, he detached from his own possessions, and presented to\nBenedict, an estate situated at the mouth of the Wear, a little stream\nwhich flows through Durham, and throws itself into the Northern sea, a\nlittle south of the Tyne.[40] This gave the name of Wearmouth to the new\nmonastery, which was dedicated to S. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles,\naccording to the express wish of Egfrid, in agreement with that of\nBenedict, as an evidence of his leanings towards Rome.\n\nThis foundation was no sooner assured, than the unwearied Benedict took\nship again, to seek in France masons to build him a stone church, in the\nRoman style, for everything that came from Rome was dear to him. The\nchurch was carried on with so much energy, that, a year after the first\nstone was laid, the church was roofed in, and mass was celebrated under\none of those stone arches which excited the surprise of the English in\nthe seventh century. He brought glass-makers also from France, for there\nwere none in England; and these foreign workmen, after having put glass\ninto the windows of the church and new monastery, taught their art to\nthe Anglo-Saxons. Animated by a zeal which nothing could discourage, and\ninspired by intelligent patriotism, and a sort of passion for beauty in\nart, which shrank neither from fatigue nor care, he sent to seek beyond\nthe seas all that he could not find in England--all that seemed\nnecessary to him for the ornamentation of his church; and not finding\neven in France all he wanted, he went for the fifth time to Rome. Even\nthis was not his last visit, for some years later he made a sixth\npilgrimage. On both occasions he brought treasures back with him,\nchiefly books in countless quantities, and of every kind. He was a\npassionate collector, as has been seen, from his youth. He desired each\nof his monasteries to possess a great library, which he considered\nindispensable to the instruction, discipline, and good organization of\nthe community; and reckoned upon the books as the best means of\nretaining his monks in their cloisters; for much as he loved travelling\nhimself, he did not approve of other monks passing their time on the\nhighways and byways, even under pretext of pilgrimages.\n\nAlong with the books he brought a great number of pictures and coloured\nimages. By introducing these images from Rome to Northumberland,\nBenedict Biscop has written one of the most curious, and, at the same\ntime, forgotten pages in the history of art. The Venerable Bede, who\nspeaks with enthusiasm of the expeditions of his master and friend,\nleads us to suppose that he brought back with him only portable\npictures, but it may be supposed that the abbot of Wearmouth brought\nback with him both painters and mosaic-workers, to work on the spot at\nthe decoration of his churches. How can it be otherwise explained, how\npictures on wood, brought even by water from Rome to England, should\nhave been large enough to cover the walls and arches of the two or three\nchurches of which Bede speaks. However this may be, the result was that\nthe most ignorant of the Christians of Northumbria found, on entering\nthese new monastic churches, under a material form, the attractive image\nof the instructions which the monastic missionaries lavished on them.\nLearned and unlearned could contemplate and study with delight, we are\ntold, here the sweet and attractive form of the new-born Saviour, there\nthe Twelve Apostles surrounding the Blessed Virgin; upon the northern\nwall all the parables of the Gospels; upon the southern, the visions of\nthe Apocalypse; elsewhere, a series of pictures which marked the harmony\nbetween the Old and New Testaments; Isaac carrying the wood for his\nsacrifice opposite to Jesus bearing His Cross; the brazen serpent\nopposite Jesus crucified, and so on.[41] All these Bede, who had seen\nthem, describes with great delight.\n\nAfter Latin and Greek books, after art, it was the turn of music. On his\nreturn from his fifth voyage, Benedict brought back with him from Rome\nan eminent monk, called John, precentor of S. Peter's, to establish at\nWearmouth the music and Roman ceremonies with entire exactitude. As soon\nas he had arrived at Wearmouth, this learned abbot set out in writing\nthe order of the celebration of all feasts for all the year, of which he\nsoon circulated numerous copies. Then he opened classes, at which he\ntaught, _viva voce_, the liturgy and ecclesiastical chants. The best\nsingers of the Northumbrian monasteries came to listen to him, and\ninvited him to visit their communities.\n\nThe passionate zeal of Benedict for the building and decoration of his\nmonastic houses, did not make him forget the more essential interests of\nhis foundations. Before leaving Rome he took care to constitute his\ncommunity upon the immovable basis of the rule of S. Benedict. He\nobtained from Pope Agatho a charter which guaranteed the liberty and\nsecurity of the new monastery of Wearmouth. In order to give Benedict a\nnew mark of sympathy, King Egfrid assigned to him another estate, near\nto the first. This was the cradle of the monastery of Jarrow, the name\nof which is inseparably linked with that of Bede. This monastery he\ndedicated to S. Paul, and appointed one of his most intimate friends and\nfellow pilgrims, Ceolfrid, abbot of the new foundation.\n\nIn order to be more at liberty to devote his time to travel, Benedict\ntook a coadjutor in the government of Wearmouth. This new abbot was his\nnephew, Easterwin, his junior by twenty-two years, and like Biscop, of\nhigh birth. The noble youth took pride in following minutely the rule of\nthe house, like any other monk. Thanks to his illustrious biographer, we\nknow what the occupations of a Saxon thane turned monk were in the\nseventh century. His duties were to thrash and winnow the corn, to milk\nthe goats and cows, to take his turn in the kitchen, the bakehouse, and\nthe garden, always humble and joyous in his obedience. When he became\ncoadjutor, and was invested, in Biscop's absence, with all his\nauthority, the young abbot continued the course of communal life; and\nwhen his duties as superior led him out of doors to where the monks\nlaboured in the fields, he set to work along with them, taking the\nplough or the fan in his own hands, or forging iron upon the anvil. He\nwas robust as well as young and handsome; but his look was infinitely\ngentle, and his conversation full of amiability. When he was compelled\nto reprove a fault, it was done with such tender sadness that the\nculprit felt himself incapable of any new offence which should bring a\ncloud over the benign brightness of that beloved face. His table was\nserved with the same provisions as that of the monks; and he slept in\nthe general dormitory, which he left only five days before his death,\nbeing then hopelessly ill, to prepare himself in a more solitary place,\nfor the last struggle. When he felt his end approaching, he had still\nstrength enough left to go down into the garden; and, seating himself\nthere, he called to him all his brethren, who wept the anticipated loss\nof such a father. Then, with the tenderness which was natural to him, he\ngave to each of them a last kiss. The following night (March 7th, 686)\nhe died, aged thirty-six, whilst the monks were singing matins. When\nBenedict returned from his last expedition to Rome he found his\nbenefactor, King Egfrid, and his nephew, Easterwin, both dead, along\nwith a great number of his monks, carried off by one of the epidemics\nthen so frequent. The only survivors at Jarrow were the abbot and one\nlittle scholar, whose fame was destined to eclipse that of all the Saxon\nSaints and kings, who are scarcely known to posterity except by his\npen.[42]\n\nBenedict Biscop did not lose courage, but promptly collected new\nsubjects under his sway, recommenced and pursued, with his habitual\nenergy, the decoration of his two churches of S. Peter and S. Paul. The\nmonks had already chosen as successor to Easterwin a deacon named\nSigfried, a learned and virtuous man, but affected with lung disease,\nand the first of the English in whom history indicates a malady so\ngeneral and so fatal to their race.\n\nBenedict's own turn was, however, soon to come. God preserved his life\nto purify him, and put his patience to a long and cruel trial, before\ncalling him to his eternal recompense. After having devoted the first\nthirteen years of his abbacy to the laborious and wandering life so dear\nto him, and to those distant expeditions that produced so many fruits\nfor his order and his country, he was stricken with a cruel disease,\nwhich lasted for three years, and paralysed all his members one after\nthe other. Though kept to his bed by his infirmity, and unable to follow\nhis brethren to the choir, he, notwithstanding, continued to celebrate\neach service, both day and night, with certain of the monks, mingling\nhis feeble voice with theirs. At night his sleepless hours were consoled\nby the reading of the Gospels, which was kept up without interruption by\na succession of priests. Often, too, he collected the monks and novices\nround his couch, addressing to them urgent and solemn counsels, and\namong other things begging them to preserve the great library which he\nhad brought from Rome, and not to allow it to be spoiled or dispersed;\nbut above all, to keep faithfully the rules which, after a careful study\nof the seventeen principal monasteries which he had visited during his\njourneys, he had collected for them. He also dwelt much upon the\ninjunction he had already often repeated, that they should pay no regard\nto high birth in their choice of an abbot, but look simply to his life\nand doctrine. \"If I had to choose between two evils,\" said he, \"I should\nprefer to see the spot on which I have established our dear monastery\nfall back into eternal solitude, rather than to be succeeded here by my\nown brother, who, we all know, is not in the good way.\"\n\nThe strength of the abbot, and at the same time that of his poor\ncoadjutor, was by this time so exhausted by their respective diseases,\nthat they both perceived that they must die, and desired to see each\nother for the last time before departing from this world. In order that\nthe wish of these two tender friends should be accomplished, it was\nnecessary to bring the dying coadjutor to the bed of the abbot. His head\nwas placed on the same pillow; but they were both so feeble that they\ncould not even embrace each other, and the help of brotherly hands was\nnecessary to join their lips. All the monks assembled in chapter round\nthis bed of suffering and love; and the two aged Saints, having pointed\nout among them a successor, approved by all, breathed together, with a\nshort interval between, their last breath. Thus died, at the age of\nsixty-two, S. Benedict of England, a worthy rival of the great patriarch\nof the monks of the West, whose robe and name he bore.\n\n\nSS. XXXVIII MONKS, IN IONIA.\n\n(ABOUT 750.)\n\n [The account of their martyrdom was written by Theosterictus, a\n confessor in the same Iconoclastic persecution.]\n\nIn the horrible persecution of the orthodox by Constantine Copronymus,\non the subject of the images, concerning which more shall be said\nelsewhere, the blessed martyr Stephen the younger, Archimandrite of\nAuxentia, was in prison, when a monk, Theosterictus by name,[43] was\nadmitted to him, with his nose cut off, and his cheeks burnt with pitch;\nhe came from the monastery of Peleceta, and related to the abbot how, on\nthe Wednesday in Holy Week, as the unbloody Sacrifice was being offered\nin the monastery church, a band of soldiers, by command of the heretical\nEmperor, broke into the sacred building and interrupted the mysteries.\nThirty-eight monks were chained, the rest were mutilated, their noses\ncut off, and their beards steeped in tar, and then fired. Then the\nsoldiers set the whole convent in flames. The thirty-eight were carried\noff to the borders of Ephesus, and thrust into the furnace of an old\nbath; the openings were then closed, and they were suffocated therein.\n\n [Illustration: S. AELRED, ABBOT OF RIEVAULX.\n From a Design by A. Welby Pugin.\n Jan. 12.]\n\n\nS. AELRED, AB. OF RIEVAULX.\n\n(A.D. 1166.)\n\n [Authorities: His life in Capgrave, and his own writings, still\n extant.]\n\nHe was of noble descent, and was born in the north of England, in 1109.\nBeing educated in learning and piety, he was invited by David, the pious\nKing of Scotland, to his court, made master of his household, and highly\nesteemed both by him and the courtiers. His virtue shone with bright\nlustre in the world, particularly his meekness, which Christ declared to\nbe his favourite virtue, and the distinguishing mark of his true\ndisciples. The following is a memorable instance to what a degree S.\nAelred possessed this virtue:--A certain person of quality having\ninsulted and reproached him in the presence of the King, Aelred heard\nhim out with patience, and thanked him for his charity and sincerity, in\ntelling him his faults. This behaviour had such an influence on his\nadversary that it made him ask his pardon on the spot. Another time,\nwhilst he was speaking on a certain matter, one interrupted him with\nvery harsh reviling expressions: the servant of God heard him with\ntranquility, and afterward resumed his discourse with the same calmness\nand presence of mind as before. He desired ardently to devote himself\nentirely to God, by forsaking the world; but the charms of friendship\ndetained him some time longer in it, and were fetters to his soul;\nreflecting notwithstanding that he must sooner or later be separated by\ndeath from those he loved most, he condemned his own cowardice, and\nbroke at once those bands of friendship, which were more agreeable to\nhim than all other sweets of life. To relinquish entirely all his\nworldly engagements, he left Scotland, and embraced the austere\nCistercian order, at Rievaulx, in Yorkshire, where Walter de l'Especke\nhad founded a monastery in 1122. At the age of twenty-four, in 1133, he\nbecame a monk under the first abbot, William, a disciple of S.\nBernard. In spite of the delicacy of his body he set himself cheerfully\nto practise the greatest austerities, and employed much of his time in\nprayer and reading. His heart turned with great ardour to the love of\nGod, and this made him feel all his mortifications sweet and light. \"Thy\nyoke doth not oppress, but raiseth the soul; thy burden hath wings, not\nweight,\" said he. He speaks of divine charity with love, and by his\nfrequent ejaculations on the subject, it seems to have been the sweet\nconsolation of his soul. \"May thy voice (says he) sound in my ears, O\nGood Jesus, that my heart may learn how to love thee, that my mind may\nlove thee, that the interior powers, the bowels of my soul, and very\nmarrow of my heart may love thee, and that my affections may embrace\nthee, my only true good, my sweet and delightful joy! O my God! He who\nloves thee possesses thee; and he possesses thee in proportion as he\nloves, because thou art love itself. This is that abundance with which\nthy beloved are inebriated, dissolved to themselves, that they may live\ninto thee, by loving thee.\" He had been much delighted in his youth with\nreading Cicero; but after his conversion found that author, and all\nother reading, tedious and bitter, which was not sweetened with the\nhoney of the holy name of Jesus, and seasoned with the word of God, as\nhe says in the preface to his book _On Spiritual Friendship_. He was\nmuch edified with the very looks of a holy monk, called Simon, who had\ndespised high birth, an ample fortune, and all the advantages of mind\nand body, to serve God in that penitential state. This monk went and\ncame as one deaf and dumb, always recollected in God; and was such a\nlover of silence, that he would scarce speak a few words to the prior on\nnecessary occasions. His silence however was sweet, agreeable, and full\nof edification. Our Saint says of him, \"The very sight of his humility\nstifled my pride, and made me blush at the want of mortification in my\nlooks.\" This holy monk, having served God eight years in perfect\nfidelity, died in 1142, in wonderful peace, repeating with his last\nbreath, \"I will sing eternally, O Lord, thy mercy, thy mercy, thy\nmercy!\"\n\nS. Aelred, much against his inclination, was made abbot of a new\nmonastery of his order, founded by William, Earl of Lincoln, at Revesby,\nin Lincolnshire, in 1142, and after, in 1143, of Rievaulx, where he\ngoverned three hundred monks. Describing their life, he says that they\ndrank nothing but water, ate little, laboured hard, slept little, and on\nhard boards; never spoke, except to their superiors on necessary\noccasions; and loved prayer.\n\n [Illustration: S. Odilo, Jan. 1, p. 20.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[39] Socrates, Eccl. Hist., lib. vi. c. 18.\n\n[40] Monk-Wearmouth on the north bank of the river.\n\n[41] Bede: Vitae Abbt. in Wiramuth, c. 6.\n\n[42] This is Bede, who describes, further on, how the abbot and\nthat little boy celebrated alone, and in great sadness, the whole psalms\nof the monastic service, with no little labour, until new monks\narrived.\n\n[43] Not to be confused with Theosterictus, disciple of the\nabbot S. Nicetas, who writes this account.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 13.\n\nThe Octave of the Epiphany.\n\n S. POTITUS, _M._, A.D. 166.\n SS. HERMYLUS AND STRATONICUS, _MM., at Belgrade_, A.D. 315.\n S. GLAPHYRA, _V., at Amasia, circ._ A.D. 324.\n S. AGRICIUS, _B. of Tr\u00e8ves, circ._ A.D. 335.\n S. HILARY, _B. of Poictiers_, A.D. 368.\n S. VIRENTIUS, _P._, _in Burgundy_, A.D. 400.\n S. KENTIGERN, _B. of Glasgow_, A.D. 601.\n B. BERNO, _Ab. of Cluny_, A.D. 920.\n S. HELDEMAR, _H., in Artois_, A.D. 1097.\n B. GOTFRIED, _of Kappenberg_, A.D. 1127.\n B. JUTTA, _W. and Recluse, at Huy, in Belgium_, A.D. 1228.\n B. VERONICA, _V. at Milan_, A.D. 1497.\n\n\nSS. HERMYLUS AND STRATONICUS, MM., AT BELGRADE.\n\n(A.D. 315.)\n\n [Greek Menaea and Menologium. The Acts in Metaphrastes are compiled\n from the original genuine Acts, and may be trusted.]\n\nWhen Licinius was in Mysia he sought out the Christians, to punish them\nwith death, being moved thereto by his great hatred to the religion of\nChrist, which Constantine protected. Socrates says, in his\n\"Ecclesiastical History,\" that Licinius hated the Christians; and that,\nalthough for a while, from dread of Constantine, he avoided open\npersecution, yet he managed to plot against them covertly, and at length\nproceeded to acts of undisguised malevolence. The persecution, however,\nwas local, not extending beyond those districts where Licinius himself\nwas, but these and other public outrages could not long remain concealed\nfrom Constantine. By this perfidy he drew upon himself the Emperor\nConstantine's heaviest displeasure; and the pretended treaty of\nfriendship having been so flagrantly violated, it was not long before\nthey took up arms against each other.[44]\n\nWhen Licinius was at Sigidunum (Belgrade), on the Danube, a deacon,\nnamed Hermylus, was denounced to him as a despiser of the gods of Rome.\nThe Emperor ordered him to be brought before him. The order was obeyed.\n\nThen the Emperor said, \"Answer me, and tell me openly, dost thou confess\nthyself to be a Christian?\"\n\n\"Not only do I acknowledge myself to be a Christian, but to be\nconsecrated a deacon to the service of God.\"\n\n\"Well then, be deacon in the service of the gods,\" said Licinius.\n\n\"Thou must be deaf, Emperor! I said that I served God the all-seeing,\nnot these blind stocks.\"\n\nLicinius ordered the deacon to be smitten on the cheeks, and said, \"Not\nso glib with thy tongue, Hermylus. Honour the Emperor, sacrifice to the\ngods, and save thy life.\"\n\nThen Hermylus cried out with a loud voice, \"Thou shalt endure torments\nwithout end, from the hand of God, because thou dost adore vain idols,\nand seekest to destroy those who serve the living God, as though envious\nof their superiority.\"\n\nThen the martyr was taken back to prison. And after three days he was\nagain brought forth, and when Licinius had mounted the tribunal, he\nsaid, \"Well now, Hermylus, art thou prepared to abandon this folly and\nescape what is in store for thee?\"\n\nBut the deacon answered, \"I am ready to endure. There is one God in\nheaven to whom I live, and to whom I am ready to die. He will succour\nme.\"\n\n\"We shall soon see what His succour is worth,\" said the Emperor; and\nordered him to be beaten. Then six men cast him on the ground and\nstripped him, and scourged him. But Hermylus cried, \"O Lord my God, who\nbefore Pilate enduredst the scourge, strengthen me suffering for Thee,\nthat I may finish my course, and that, being made partaker in Thy\nsufferings, I maybe made also to partake in Thy glory.\"\n\nThen there was heard a voice from heaven, saying, \"Verily, verily,\nHermylus, in three days shalt thou receive a glorious reward!\" Hearing\nthis, the martyr was filled with boldness, and a great fear fell on all\naround. Then Licinius hastily remitted the deacon to prison. Now the\njailor's name was Stratonicus, and he was a disciple, but secretly, like\nNicodemus, not having great boldness, and he comforted Hermylus in the\ndungeon as well as he could, for he was also his personal friend.\n\nOn the morrow, the Emperor ordered the brave soldier of Christ to be led\nforth again, and beaten on the stomach, as his back was one great wound,\nand the instrument wherewith he was to be beaten was a willow rod,\ntwisted and knotted into a triangle, and this, say the Acts, was a most\nexcruciating torture, for the angles and knots cut like knives into the\nflesh. But as he bore this with unflinching constancy, the tyrant\ncommanded that his belly should be torn with little iron hooks. Then\nStratonicus, the jailor, unable to bear the sight of his friend's\nsufferings, covered his face with his hands and burst into tears. Seeing\nthis, the soldiers who stood by jeered him, and called the attention of\nthe Emperor to the agitation of the jailor. Then Stratonicus, mustering\nup all his courage, cast himself before Licinius, and cried, \"Sire! I am\na Christian, I believe in God, the maker of heaven and earth.\" Then\nLicinius ordered him to be scourged. And Stratonicus, looking piteously\nat his friend, said, \"Hermylus, pray for me to Christ, that I may be\nable to endure!\"\n\nAnd when Licinius saw that Stratonicus was covered with wounds, he bade\nthe executioners desist, and he remitted the jailor and the prisoner to\nthe same dungeon. But on the morrow, finding Stratonicus resolute, he\nordered him and Hermylus to be drowned in the Danube. Then they were\ntied up in nets and cast into the river. Three days after their bodies\nwere washed up, and were buried by the Christians.\n\n\nS. HILARY, B. D. OF POICTIERS.\n\n(A.D. 368.)\n\n [In the Roman Missal, before 1435, there was no mention of S.\n Hilary; in the reformed Breviary of Cardinal Quignon, published by\n authority of Pope Paul III., S. Hilary was commemorated on Jan.\n 31st, the same day as that on which he was noted in the York\n Calendar, because Jan. 13th is the Octave of the Epiphany.\n Afterwards, however, the commemoration of S. Hilary was fixed for\n Jan. 14th, his name being inserted in the Martyrology on the 13th;\n but with this clause, \"His festival is, however, to be celebrated\n on the morrow,\" so as not to interfere with the Octave of the\n Epiphany. The Sarum, Dominican, Belgian, and some of the German\n Calendars mark the 13th as the feast of S. Hilary. The Anglican\n Calendar also notes his name on this day. The Bollandists give his\n life on this day, though in the Roman offices the commemoration is\n on the morrow. His own writings, and the histories of his age,\n contain all the materials for his life.]\n\nS. Hilary was born at Poictiers in Gaul. There is some reason to believe\nthat his family was illustrious in that country. His parents were\npagans, and he was brought up in idolatry. He gives an account of his\nconversion to the faith of Christ in his book \"On the Trinity.\" He was\nmarried before his conversion; and his wife, by whom he had a daughter,\nnamed Apra, was yet living when he was chosen Bishop of Poictiers, about\nthe year 353; but from the time of his ordination he lived in perpetual\ncontinence. It is probable that S. Hilary was elected Bishop from the\nrank of a layman, as was often the case in the early ages, and received\nall orders by accumulation. He soon became renowned in Gaul as a\npreacher; and S. Martin, then a young man, was attracted by his name,\nand lived for a time at Poictiers as his disciple.\n\nImmediately after the Arian Council at Milan, in A.D. 355, which had\ncondemned S. Athanasius, and had prevailed on the Emperor Constantius to\nbanish all the Bishops who adhered to him, S. Hilary wrote to the\nEmperor, entreating him to stop the persecution, to recall the Catholic\nBishops, and forbid secular judges to interfere in the affairs of the\nChurch. This remonstrance had no effect; but he had the satisfaction of\nseeing the Gallican Bishops remain firm during those days of trial.\nSaturninus, Bishop of Arles, alone united with Ursacius and Valens, two\nIllyrian Bishops, to vex the Catholics. They held an Arian synod at\nB\u00e9ziers in Languedoc, at which Saturninus himself presided. S. Hilary\nthere made a noble confession of the Nicene Faith, and refuted the\nheresy of Arius; but the party of Saturninus, reinforced by Bishops from\nthe neighbouring countries, was too strong for him, and he was condemned\nand deposed; and immediately afterwards the Emperor Constantius banished\nhim into Phrygia. He left Gaul early in A.D. 356, in company with\nRhodanus, Bishop of Toulouse, whom God called from those evils to His\nkingdom, soon after their arrival in Phrygia.\n\nHis departure was followed by a cruel persecution of the Gallican\nclergy; but nothing could daunt their constancy, or prevail on them to\ncommunicate with the enemies of S. Hilary and the Nicene Faith, or to\nfill up his see, which in the eye of the Church was not vacant. The\npriests and deacons of Toulouse were severely beaten, and their church\nprofaned. In A.D. 357 the Bishops wrote a letter to S. Hilary assuring\nhim of their fidelity and firmness. About the same time S. Hilary\nreceived a letter from Apra, his only daughter, informing him that she\nhad been asked in marriage by a young man. She was then about thirteen\nor fourteen years of age. He immediately wrote to her, entreating her to\nset her thoughts on the more precious rewards which the Lord Jesus has\npromised to those virgins who devote themselves wholly to their Heavenly\nSpouse, and are not entangled in the snares of earthly love. He reminded\nher of that blissful company whom the Church commemorates on the feast\nof the Holy Innocents (Dec. 28), who sing a new song which no man can\nlearn but they who are virgins and follow the Lamb whithersoever He\ngoeth. She yielded to his pious counsel; and on his return home God took\nher to Himself at his request, without pain or any visible sickness.\nBishop Jeremy Taylor relates this little story in his own beautiful\nlanguage in the \"Holy Dying.\"\n\nIn return for the comforting letter which the Gallican Bishops had sent\nhim, and at their request to be informed regarding the faith of the\nEastern Churches, S. Hilary wrote his \"History of Synods\" in the end of\nA.D. 358. It contains an account of the various councils that had been\nassembled in the East on the subject of the Arian heresy, together with\na defence of the Nicene Faith. It is addressed to the British Bishops\namong others, whom he congratulates on their steadfastness. The Saint\nalso wrote his book \"On the Trinity\" during his exile, and a smaller\ntreatise \"Against the Arians.\" He was also the undoubted author of\nseveral hymns, and others have been attributed to him.\n\n [Illustration: S. HILARY BAPTIZING S. MARTIN, OF TOURS. From a Window,\n dated 1528, in the Church of S. Florentin, Yonne.]\n\n [Illustration: THE THREE CHILDREN IN THE FIERY FURNACE. From the\n Catacombs.\n Jan. 13.]\n\nIn A.D. 359 the Western Bishops held a synod at Rimini, at which nearly\nfour hundred were present. The Arian party among them beguiled the rest\nby its address, to sanction its errors by their signatures. The Bishops\nof Agen and Tongres took a prominent lead in the proceedings of the\nsynod. In September of the same year S. Hilary was invited with other\nCatholic Bishops by the semi-Arians to their council at Seleucia, in\nIsauria. Their object was to defeat the Arians, and they hoped that the\nCatholics would assist them. In this council S. Hilary bore witness to\nthe faith of the Western Church being the same as that declared to be\nthe Catholic Faith at the Council of Nice in A.D. 325, and he protested\nagainst both the Arian and semi-Arian opinions as novelties. He\naccompanied the deputies of the council to Constantinople, in hopes of\nobtaining from the Emperor Constantius the recall of his sentence of\nbanishment.\n\nWhile the Arian synod was sitting at Constantinople, in January, A.D.\n360, he entreated the Emperor to grant him a conference with Saturninus,\nBishop of Arles, the author of his exile, and that he might be allowed\nto appear in the synod, and bear witness to the Catholic Faith. He also\ncomplained of the perplexity which the multiplication of creeds and\nconfessions of faith had occasioned; for in the preceding year alone\nfour had been published to the Church. The Emperor refused to grant S.\nHilary what he asked; but the Arians so much dreaded his presence in the\nEast, that they persuaded Constantius to send him back to Gaul, yet\nwithout formally recalling the sentence of exile.\n\nThe joy of his return to his Church and his native land was much\nlessened by the miserable confusion which he left behind him in the\nEast. Still it must have been very great; and his approach was hailed\nwith delight by the Church in Gaul. S. Martin, who had been living in\nretirement in the island of Gallenari, off the city of Genoa, went to\nRome to meet him; but finding that he had already left it, he followed\nhim to Poictiers, and soon after built a monastery near the town (see\nNovember 11.) S. Hilary immediately applied himself to repair the\nmischief which the Council of Rimini had done: and a synod was assembled\nat Paris, which condemned its proceedings, and declared the true Faith\nof the _consubstantiality_ of the Son of God. The Bishops also\ncorresponded with their banished brethren in the East.\n\nIn A.D. 363 S. Hilary made a journey into Italy in company with Eusebius\nof Vercelli. They were at Milan in the autumn of the following year, at\nthe time when the Emperor Valentinian arrived there. The people were\nCatholic, and even abstained from entering the churches, to avoid\ncommunicating with Auxentius their Arian Bishop. In a public disputation\nwhich the Emperor invited him to hold, S. Hilary extorted from the Arian\na confession of the Nicene Faith, which was taken down in writing and\npreserved. Auxentius was enraged at being thus vanquished, and prevailed\non the Emperor to send S. Hilary away from Milan. Before his departure\nhe addressed a letter to the Catholic Bishops and laity in the\nneighbourhood, exhorting them to remain firm. This was the last public\nact of his life which is recorded. He returned home to Poictiers, and\nfinished his labours by a blessed death in January, A.D. 368, according\nto the testimony of the greater number of historians. A brilliant light\nis said to have filled the chamber where the body of the holy man was\nlying. S. Gregory of Tours attests the truth of a miracle performed at\nhis tomb; and others also are authenticated by various writers. But\nneither the fame of these, nor respect for the memory of the saintly\nConfessor, prevented his tomb from being violated by the Calvinists in\n1567.\n\n\nS. KENTIGERN, OR MUNGO, B. OF GLASGOW.\n\n(A.D. 601.)\n\n [His life was written by S. Asaph, his disciple in the monastery of\n Llan-Elwyn, in Wales, founded by Kentigern when exiled. This life\n has not come down to us in its original form. We have, however, his\n life compiled in 1125 by Jocelyn, monk of Furness, from ancient\n authorities, by order of Bishop Jocelyn of Glasgow. Undoubtedly the\n life of S. Asaph formed the basis of this compilation. S. Kentigern\n is also spoken of by many ancient Scottish historians, John Major\n de Gest. Scotorum, lib. ii. c. 7; Hector Boece, lib. ix; Leslie,\n lib. iv., &c.]\n\nS. Kentigern is said[45] to have been the illegitimate son of Themin,\ndaughter of Loth, King of the Picts, by Eugenius III., King of the\nScots; but there is great uncertainty about his origin. When the Pictish\nKing found that his daughter was likely to become a mother, he was\nfilled with grief and anger, and ordered her to be thrown down a rock,\non Mount Dunpeld. By God's mercy she was not injured, and was then, by\nher father's orders, sent to Culross, where she brought forth a son. At\nthe same time S. Servan, being engaged in saying matins, heard angels\nsinging. When he had finished his office he left his cell, and\ndescending to the sea shore in the grey dusk, found there a mother\nrocking her new-born babe, wherefore the old hermit exclaimed, being\nmoved with compassion, \"Mochoche, mochoche!\" which being interpreted is,\nMy dear, my dear! Then he took the unfortunate girl and her babe to his\ncell, instructed her in the faith of Christ, and baptized her and her\nlittle one, and he called her Tanca, and him he named Kentiern.[46] So\nthe child grew up in the old man's cell, and became so dear to him, that\nhe called him familiarly Mungho, or Dearest, and by this name he is\ngenerally known in Scotland. His mother learned to love God, and to\nserve him with all her heart, and bitterly to bewail her fault.\n\nMany pretty legends of the childhood of Kentigern have been wafted down\nto us. S. Servan had a pet redbreast which was wont to eat out of his\nhand, and to perch on his shoulder, and when he chanted the psalms of\nDavid, the little bird flapped its wings and twittered shrilly.\n\nNow Servan had several lads whom he educated at Culross, and these\nenvied Kentigern, because he was the favourite of the old master, so in\nspite they wrung the neck of the redbreast, and charged the favourite\nboy with having done the deed. But Kentigern took the little dead bird,\nand crying bitterly, and praying to God, signed the cross over it. Then\nwhen the old man returned from church, the bird hopped to meet him as\nusual, chirping joyously. In those days it was no easy matter to kindle\na fire, indeed, without a flame from which to light one, it was\nimpossible, for in the north, sticks are not dry enough to be rubbed\ninto a blaze as they can be in hot climates. Therefore it was necessary\nthat fires should never be allowed to become extinct. It was the duty of\nthe boys of S. Servan, in turn by weeks, to rise during the night and\nmend the fire, so that there should not be a deficiency of light for\nillumining the Church at the matin offices. When it was Kentigern's\nweek, the boys, to bring him into trouble, extinguished the fire. Mungo,\nrising as usual, went to the hearth but found the fire out. Then he took\na stick and placed it over the cold ashes, and invoking the name of the\nHoly Trinity, he blew upon the dead cinders, and a flame leaped up which\nkindled the branch; and thereat he lighted the Church candles.\n\nAt last, unable to endure longer the envy of his fellow pupils,\nKentigern ran away. And when S. Servan discovered it, he pursued him,\nand reached the bank of a river, but Kentigern had escaped to the other\nside. Then the old man cried to him, \"Alas! my dearest son, the light\nof my eyes, and the staff of my age, wherefore hast thou deserted me?\nRemember that I took thee from thy mother's womb, nursed thee, and\ntaught thee to this day. Do not desert my white hairs.\"\n\nThen Kentigern, bursting into tears, answered, \"My father, it is the\nwill of the Most High that I should go.\"\n\nServan cried out, \"Return, return, dear son, and I, from being a father,\nwill be to thee as a son, from being a master I will become a disciple.\"\n\nBut Kentigern, suffused with tears, replied, \"It cannot be, my father;\nreturn and admonish thy disciples, and instruct them by thine example. I\nmust go where the Lord God calls me.\"\n\nThen Servan blessed him across the river, lifting up his holy hands, and\nsorrowfully they parted the one from the other, to see each other's face\nno more in this life.\n\nKentigern settled near Glasgow, where he inhabited a cave in the face of\na rock, where the people looked at him with respectful curiosity, while\nhe studied the direction of the storms at sea, and drank in with\npleasure the first breezes of the spring. Having converted many of the\npeople, together with the King of Strathclyde, he was consecrated Bishop\nby an Irish prelate, the Keltic Church being ignorant of the Nicene\ncanon requiring three to consecrate, \"with unction of holy oil,\ninvocation of the Holy Spirit, and imposition of hands.\"\n\nThe district of Strathclyde, or Cumbria, on the west coast of Britain,\nfrom the mouth of the Clyde to that of the Mersey, that is to say, from\nGlasgow to Liverpool, was occupied by a mingled race of Britons and\nScots, whose capital was Al-Cluid, now Dumbarton. It was in this region\nthat S. Kentigern was called to labour.\n\nAs bishop, he still dwelt in his rocky cell, where he used a stone for\na pillow, and to inure his body to hardships, he stood in the Clyde to\nrecite his psalter. He wore a dress of goat-skin bound about his loins,\nand a hood, and over all, his white linen alb, which he never left off;\nand carried in his hand his pastoral staff of wood without ornament, and\nin his other hand his office book. Thus he was ever prepared to execute\nhis ministry; and thus attired, he went through the kingdom from the\nClyde to the Firth of Forth. In his cell he lived on bread and cheese\nand milk, but when he was with the King, he relaxed the severity of his\nfasting, so as not to appear ungracious when offered more abundant and\nbetter food; however, on his return to his cell, he curtailed his\nallowance, so as to make up for his relaxation of rule at court.\n\nWhen S. Kentigern was made Bishop of Glasgow, Gurthmel Wledio was King\nof the North Britons. He was succeeded by Roderick the Liberal\n(Rydderach Hael), a religious and deserving prince, who was driven by\nhis rebellious subjects under Morken Mawr to Ireland. Morken having\nusurped the throne of Strathclyde, drove S. Kentigern out of the\ncountry, and the Saint took refuge in Wales with S. David, Bishop of\nMenevia, and remained with him till the Prince of Denbigh bestowed on\nhim lands, where he built the famous monastery of Llan-Elwyn, afterwards\ncalled S. Asaph. Here he gathered about him a great number of disciples\nand scholars, and he was there at the date of the death of S. David, in\n544.\n\nOn the death of Morken, Roderick returned to Scotland, and recovered his\ncrown. He immediately recalled Kentigern to his see, and he, leaving his\nmonastery to the care of S. Asaph, went back to Glasgow in 560.\n\nRoderick's mother was Irish, and he had been baptized by an Irish monk,\nand greatly respected Kentigern. The Saint returned bringing with him a\nhive of Welsh monks, and established the seat of his renewed\napostleship once more at Glasgow, where Ninian had preceded him nearly a\ncentury before, without leaving any lasting traces of his passage.\nKentigern, more fortunate, established upon the site of a\nburying-ground, consecrated by Ninian, the first foundation of that\nmagnificent cathedral which still bears his name, though diverted to a\nreligion different from that he professed.\n\nKentigern collected round him numerous disciples, all learned in holy\nliterature, all working with their hands, and possessing nothing as\nindividuals. \"They dwelt,\" says Jocelyn, \"in separate cells, as did\nKentigern, thence were they called Calledei.\" He distinguished himself\nduring his episcopate by his efforts to bring back to the faith the\nPicts of Galloway, which formed part of the kingdom of Strathclyde; and\nafterwards, by numerous mission and monastic foundations throughout all\nAlbyn--a name which was then given to midland Scotland. His disciples\npenetrated even to the Orkney Isles, where they probably met with the\nmissionaries of S. Columba, despatched from Iona.\n\nThe salutary and laborious activity of Kentigern must often have\nencroached upon the regions which were specially within the sphere of\nColumba. But the generous heart of Columba was inaccessible to jealousy.\nHe was, besides, the personal friend of Kentigern and of King\nRoderick.[47] The fame of the Bishop of Strathclyde's apostolic labours\ndrew him from his isle to do homage to his rival in love and good works.\nHe arrived from Iona with a great train of monks, whom he arrayed in\nthree companies at the moment of their entrance into Glasgow. Kentigern\ndistributed in the same way the numerous monks who surrounded him in his\nepiscopal monastery, and whom he led out to meet the abbot of Iona. He\ndivided them, according to their age, into three bands, the youngest of\nwhom walked first; then those who had reached the age of manhood; and\nlast of all, the old and grey-haired, among whom he himself took his\nplace. They all chanted the anthem, \"They shall sing in the ways of the\nLord: that great is the glory of the Lord. The path of the just is made:\nand the way of the saints is prepared.\" The monks of Iona, on their\nside, chanted the versicle, \"The saints shall go from strength to\nstrength: and unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in\nSion.\"[48] From every side echoed the Alleluia; and it was to the sound\nof these words of Holy Scripture that the Apostles of the Picts and\nScots met at what had been the extreme boundary of the Roman empire, and\nlimit of the power of the Caesars, and upon a soil henceforth for ever\nfreed from paganism and idolatry. They embraced each other tenderly, and\npassed several days in intimate and friendly intercourse.\n\nThe historian, who has preserved for us the account of this interview,\ndoes not conceal a less edifying incident. He confesses that some\nrobbers had joined themselves to the following of the abbot of Iona, and\nthat they took advantage of the general enthusiasm to steal a ram from\nthe Bishop's flock. They were soon taken; but Kentigern pardoned them.\nColumba and his fellow Apostle exchanged their pastoral staves before\nthey parted, in token of mutual affection. The staff of S. Columba,\nafterwards used by S. Kentigern, was in later times given to S. Wilfred,\nwho placed it in the monastic church he founded at Ripon.\n\nI know not how far we may put faith in another narrative of Jocelyn,\nwhich has remained Kentigern's most popular title to fame. The wife of\nKing Roderick, led astray by a guilty passion for a knight of her\nhusband's court, had the weakness to bestow on him a ring which had been\ngiven to her by the King. When Roderick was out hunting with this\nknight, the two took refuge on the banks of the Clyde, during the heat\nof the day, and the knight, falling asleep, unwittingly stretched out\nhis hand, upon which the King saw the ring which he had given to the\nQueen as a token of his love. It was with difficulty that he restrained\nhimself from killing the knight on the spot; but he subdued his rage,\nand contented himself by taking the ring from his finger, and throwing\nit into the river, without awakening the guilty sleeper. When he had\nreturned to the town, he demanded his ring from the Queen, and, as she\ncould not produce it, threw her into prison, and gave orders for her\nexecution. She obtained, however, a delay of three days, and having in\nvain sought the ring from the knight to whom she had given it, she had\nrecourse to S. Kentigern. He, moved by the remembrance of his mother,\nthrough whose sin he had entered the world, and anxious that the unhappy\nwoman should be given time for repentance, prayed to God, and the ring\nwas found in the belly of a salmon caught in the Clyde, and sent by him\nto the Queen, who showed it to her husband, and thus escaped the\npunishment which awaited her. On her liberation she hastened to\nKentigern, confessed her fault to him, and was exhorted by him to amend\nher life and do penance for the past. It is for this reason that the\nancient effigies of the Apostle of Strathclyde represent him holding the\nepiscopal cross in one hand, and in the other a salmon with a ring in\nits mouth.\n\nS. Kentigern lived to a very advanced age, and his jaws being too weak\nto masticate his food, his lower jaw was supported by a band of linen\ntied round his head. He died gently as he was being lifted out of a\nwarm bath, in the year 601.\n\nPatron of Glasgow.\n\nIn art, represented with a fish and a ring. (See above.)\n\n\nB. GOTFRIED OF KAPPENBERG.\n\n(A.D. 1127.)\n\n [His life by a writer of the same time, a monk of Kappenberg, who,\n though he did not know Gotfried himself, derived his information\n from those who knew him well. He is also mentioned, and the\n principal incidents of his life noticed, in the life of S.\n Norbert.]\n\nGodfrey or Gotfried, Count of Kappenberg,[49] in Westphalia, lived at a\nperiod when the nobles of Germany were engaged in constant feuds with\none another, falling on each others lands, burning the villages, and\ncarrying off the cattle. It was a period when the poor suffered untold\nwoes. \"It is good to live under the crook,\" they said, meaning that\ntheir only place, where they could live in security, was on the lands of\nthe abbeys. One little incident mentioned in the life of Count Gotfried,\nshews the lawlessness of the times. The Count and the city of M\u00fcnster\nnot being on good terms, a party of the Kappenbergers made a foray, and\nswept up all the cattle from the farms in the neighbourhood of M\u00fcnster,\nand brought them in triumph to the Count; but he rebuked them saying,\n\"Take all these back again; my quarrel is with the men of the city; it\nis not seemly that the innocent and helpless farmers should lose their\nall on account of a contest of the rights of which they know nothing.\"\n\nGotfried happening to attend, along with his brother Otto, the preaching\nof S. Norbert, who traversed Westphalia at this time, was converted, and\nresolved on turning his fortress into a monastery. His wife at first\nopposed his intention, and his relations used all their influence to\ndissuade him. But his earnestness moved his wife at last to withdraw her\nobjections, and to consent to his entering the religious life; she, at\nthe same time, also resolved to take the veil. Accordingly, Gotfried and\nhis brother Otto, who was his junior, received the tonsure, and became\ncanons of S. Augustine, under the rule of S. Norbert of Pr\u00e9montr\u00e9.\nFrederick, Count of Arnsberg, the father of Gotfried's wife, was\nfurious. He was a man of great cruelty, in whose dungeons languished\nmany wretches, and who delighted in war. His protests were in vain, the\nCount of Kappenberg transformed his castle into a monastery, and built\ntwo more, at Varlar and Elstadt. So great was the humility of Gotfried,\nthat finding he was continually given his title of Count, even by the\nbrethren, he took upon himself the most disagreeable office in the\nhouse, that of scourer of the privies.\n\nFrederick, Count of Arnsberg, finding remonstrances in vain, threatened\nto fall on the county of Kappenberg, and drive the monks out \"As for\nthat Norbert!\" he exclaimed, \"who has come riding on an ass through\nWestphalia, turning men's heads, let me catch him, and I'll hang him and\nhis ass at the two ends of one rope over a bough, and see which is the\nheaviest fool of the twain.\"\n\nGotfried and his brethren sent to Pr\u00e9montr\u00e9, to tell their father in\nreligion, that it was impossible for them to remain in Germany, that\nCount Arnsberg would attack them shortly; and they added the threat\nuttered against Norbert himself and his ass.\n\n\"Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world, said Christ,\" he wrote\nback to them, \"and as for me and my ass, we are coming into Westphalia\nto be weighed one against the other.\" Nor was S. Norbert long in coming;\nhe rode upon his ass to the door of Kappenberg; but there was no further\ndanger, Count Frederick of Arnsberg was dead.\n\nBefore he died, Gotfried visited the cradle of his order, Pr\u00e9montr\u00e9, the\nhome of S. Norbert. On his way back, next year, he sickened, and died at\nElstadt.\n\n\nB. VERONICA, V. OF MILAN.\n\n(A.D. 1497.)\n\n [Beatified by Pope Leo X. Her life and revelations were written by\n Brother Isidore of Isolani, O.S.D., from the account given him by\n those who had known her well; among others from the notes of\n Benedetta, and the recital of Thaddaea, two sisters, who had been\n intimately acquainted with Veronica. This account was printed in\n 1518, at Milan.]\n\nVeronica was the daughter of a pious peasant at Binasco, a small village\nbetween Milan and Pavia. Her father was noted for his integrity, and\nwhen he sold a horse he always mentioned its defects to the purchaser.\nVeronica was employed in the fields weeding, as the parents were too\npoor to send her to the school. Veronica desired earnestly to become a\nsister in the convent of S. Martha, at Milan, but her mother assured her\nthat it was impossible to join a religious community without a knowledge\nof letters. Accordingly, every night Veronica laboured, by the light of\nher little oil lamp, at her alphabet and spelling book; but she made\nlittle progress. One night, as she lay with her hands spread out on the\ntable, and her head bowed, disheartened at the difficulty of her task,\nthe Blessed Virgin appeared to her in a robe of dazzling blue, like the\nsummer sky. \"My child,\" said the gentle Mother, \"trouble thyself not\nwith this scholarship, the only learning thou needst is comprised in\nthree letters, white, black, and red. This white letter is purity of\nsoul and body; this black letter is simplicity, contentedness with what\nGod sends you, and freedom from taking offence; this red letter is\nmeditation on the passion of my dear Son. Let these three branches of\nlearning be mastered, and all the other letters come of themselves.\"\n\nVeronica, some years later, entered the convent of S. Martha, as a lay\nsister, and her duties were to beg for the society, as her ignorance of\nreading and Latin disqualified her from chanting the choir offices with\nthe full sisters.\n\nShe persevered in the study of those three letters shown her by the\nQueen of Heaven, and in studying them she advanced far on the way of\nperfection. She was honoured with wondrous revelations, but her modesty\nwas so great that she sought to conceal them. On the Octave of Corpus\nChristi, 1487, during mass, she saw in the adorable Sacrament exposed in\nthe Tabernacle, the form of Jesus Christ as a little child surrounded by\nadoring angels. In her simplicity she asked one of the other sisters if\nshe had seen the Holy Child, and when she answered in the negative,\nVeronica flushed red, and said no more.\n\nIt was a great disappointment to her that she was unable to sing the\nchoir offices, and she made it a special object of prayer that her\nunderstanding might be enlightened, so that she might join the others in\ntheir psalmody. Then an angel descended to her cell, and he held in his\nhand the psalter, and opening it before her, bade her read, and all her\ndifficulty passed away, and she chanted the psalms of David, with the\nantiphons and responses, alternately with the Angel of God. One night,\nwhen she had been very ill, and deprived of the privilege of communion,\nshe rose from her sick bed, drawn by an irresistible impulse to the\nchurch. It was full of light; she cast herself at the altar steps,\nbefore the adorable Sacrament, and Jesus in a cloud of glory\ncommunicated her Himself.\n\nShe lay three years in a lingering illness, all which time she would\nnever be exempted from any of the duty of the house, or make use of the\nleast indulgence, though she was given leave; her answer always was, \"I\nmust work whilst I can, whilst I have time.\"\n\nSister Thaddaea informed the writer of her life, that on Whitsun-Monday,\n1496, she went to the cell of Veronica, who was ill, at the hour of\nnones, and was astonished to see a bright light streaming from the\nchinks in the door. Looking in through a hole, she saw Veronica, in\ndazzling light, chanting nones. Veronica died in the year 1497.\n\n [Illustration: Seal of Robert Wishart, Bp. of Glasgow, 1272-1316. See\n life of S. Kentigern, p. 193.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[44] Lib. I., c. 3, 4.\n\n[45] By David Camerarius, Hector Boece, and Condeus.\n\n[46] From Ken-tiern, chief lord.\n\n[47] Adamnan i. 15.\n\n[48] In viis Domini magna est gloria Domini, et via justorum\nfacta est: et iter sanctorum praeparatum est. Ibunt sancti de virtute in\nvirtutem: videbitur Deus corum in Sion.\n\n[49] Near Lunen, on the river Lippe.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 14.\n\n S. PONTIAN, _M., at Spoleto, 2nd cent._\n S. FELIX, _P. C., at Nola, 3rd cent._\n S. MACRINA, _at Neocaesarea, 4th cent._\n SS. THEODULUS, PAUL, PROCLUS, HYPATIUS, ISAAC, AND OTHERS,\n _Monks, MM., at Sinai, 5th cent._\n S. DATIUS, _Abp. of Milan_, A.D. 552.\n S. FULGENTIUS, _B. of Carthagina_, A.D. 619.\n B. ENGELMAR, _H. M. in Bavaria, beginning of 12th cent._\n B. SABBAS, _Abp. of Servia, 13th cent._\n B. ORDORICO, _Friar at Udine, in Italy_, A.D. 1331.\n For S. HILARY, see JAN. 13.\n\n\nS. FELIX, P. C., AT NOLA.\n\n(3RD CENT.)\n\n [On this day are commemorated two priests, Confessors, of Nola, of\n the same name, Felix. This has led to almost inextricable confusion\n among Martyrologists. There is another, a martyr, of this name. The\n life of S. Felix is given by S. Gregory of Tours, De Glor. Martyr,\n lib. i. c. 104, and by the Venerable Bede. The miracles wrought by\n him have also been recorded by S. Paulinus of Nola.]\n\nSaint Felix was a native of Nola, in Campania, where his father,\nHermias, who was by birth a Syrian, and had served in the army, had\npurchased an estate and settled. He had two sons, Felix and Hermias, to\nwhom, at his death, he left his property. The younger, loving the things\nof Caesar rather than the things of God, says Bede, served in the army,\nbut Felix, more _happy_--as his name implies--enrolled himself as a\nsoldier of Jesus Christ. Having passed the grades of lector and\nexorcist, he was finally ordained priest by Maximus, Bishop of Nola.\n\nPersecution having broken out, the aged Bishop, mindful of the\ninjunction, \"When they persecute you in one city flee to another\" (Matt.\nx. 23), escaped to the hills, and left his flock to the charge of Felix,\nwhom he designated as his successor. The persecutors, not finding the\nBishop, seized on Felix, and cast him, heavily ironed, into a dungeon\nstrewn with broken crockery, into which no ray of light entered. In the\nmeantime, Maximus was perishing with cold and hunger in the mountains,\nhardships which his great age made him unable to endure.\n\nOne night an angel appeared to Felix, and bade him go forth out of\nprison and succour the aged Bishop. Then his chains fell off his neck,\nand hands, and feet, and the doors opened to him of their own accord,\nand guided by the angel, he was brought to the hiding place of Maximus,\nwhom he found prostrate and speechless, and apparently dying. He\nmoistened the old man's lips with wine, and forced some food into his\nmouth, and chafed his frozen limbs. By slow degrees the Bishop was\nrestored, and then laying him upon his shoulders, Felix carried him home\nbefore daybreak, where a pious old woman took care of him.\n\nFelix, with the blessing of his pastor, repaired secretly to his own\nlodgings, and there kept himself concealed, praying for the Church\nwithout ceasing, till peace was restored to it by the death of the\nEmperor Decius in 251. Persecution breaking forth again, the sergeants\nwere sent in quest of Felix. Meeting him in the street, and not\nrecognizing him, they stopped him and asked if he had met Felix on the\nway. \"No,\" he answered; \"I have not met him.\" They went on, but\nsomething arousing their suspicion, they had not gone far before they\nturned and hastened back. Felix had, in the meantime, crept through a\nsmall hole in some old broken walls. The officers came to the place, but\nseeing a spider's web covering the hole, they did not search the place,\nthinking that Felix could not have passed that way. But this was the\nLord's doing. He had sent the little spider to drop his lines and lace\nthem together, with the utmost rapidity, over the place through which\nHis servant had escaped. Felix, finding among the ruins, between two\nhouses, an old well half dug, hid himself in it for six months; and\nreceived during that time wherewithal to subsist from a devout Christian\nwoman.\n\nPeace having been restored to the Church, the Saint quitted his retreat,\nand was received in the city as an angel from heaven. Soon after, S.\nMaximus dying, Felix was unanimously elected Bishop; but he persuaded\nthe people to make choice of Quintus, because he was the senior priest,\nhaving been ordained seven days before him.\n\nHis property having been confiscated in the persecution, S. Felix rented\na little spot of barren land, not exceeding three acres, which he tilled\nwith his own hands, and was able by his industry to support himself, and\ngive something in alms to the poor. He died at a good old age, on Jan.\n14th, on which day the Martyrology, under the name of S. Jerome, and all\nothers of later date mention him.\n\nPatron of Nola, in conjunction with other Saints.\n\nRelics, in the Cathedral at Nola.\n\nIn art, he is represented (1), with an angel striking off his chains;\n(2), with a bunch of grapes, wherewith he fed S. Maximus; (3), bearing\nS. Maximus on his shoulders, or in his arms; (4), with a spider.\n\n\nS. MACRINA THE ELDER, C., AT NEOCAESAREA.\n\n(4TH CENT.)\n\n [Spoken of by S. Gregory Nyssen, her grandson, in his life of his\n sister Macrina. S. Gregory Nazianzen gives a fuller account in his\n life of her grandson, S. Basil the Great.]\n\nIn the persecution of Galerius, A.D. 304, S. Macrina and her husband\nwere obliged to hide till the tyranny was overpast, in a wooded mountain\nin Pontus, for seven years, suffering severely from cold and from\ninsufficiency of food. They were, however, able to catch and kill wild\ndeer.\n\n\nSS. THEODULUS, P. PAUL, PROCLUS, HYPATIUS, ISAAC, AND OTHERS, MONKS AND\nMM. AT SINAI.\n\n(5TH CENT.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. German Martyrology on the 13th Jan. The account\n of the martyrdom of these monks was written by S. Nilus himself, an\n eye-witness of their passion, and father of Theodulus, one of the\n sufferers, though not the martyr of the same name.]\n\n\"O my friends,\" says S. Nilus, in his account of the tragedy\ncommemorated this day;[50] \"I, wretched man that I am, had two sons, one\nof whom I had to lament, the other remained with his mother. After I had\nbecome the father of these two, my wife and I separated. A vehement\ncraving after solitude and rest drew me into the desert; I could think\nand look to nothing else. When the desire of anything has engrossed the\nmind, it draws it violently from all things else, even from good works,\nand strains towards that which it desires, heeding no impediments and\ntoils. When, then, I was thus impelled to go forth, I took my two\nsons--they were quite little fellows then--and I led them to their\nmother, and I gave one to her, and kept the other with me, and I told\nher my design, and begged her not to oppose it. She did not resist me,\nseeing my earnestness, yielding rather to necessity than consenting\nspontaneously. But know, all of you, that the separation of those who\nhave been united in legitimate marriage, and have become one body, by\nHim who in His secret council has joined them, is no light matter. It is\nlike hacking through a living body with a sword.\"\n\nNilus, having escaped with his little son Theodulus into the deserts of\nSinai, took up his abode with the monks, and served God in the solitude\nand rest he had so much desired, \"Among these,\" continues Nilus,\n\"Caesar's money does not circulate, for they neither buy nor sell. Each\nis ready to give freely to the other whatever he wants. Olives and\ndates, and rarely bread, is all they have to give, but they become\ntokens of charity, and sufficiently evidence liberality of intention.\nThere is no envy among them, and he who abounds less in good works does\nnot feel jealous of him who abounds more. Their cells are not close\ntogether, but at some little distance from one another, not because of\nwant of love, but that they may mould themselves to the pattern God has\nset before them in all quiet and silence. On the Lord's Day they all\nassemble in one church, and meet accordingly once a week; lest, on the\nother hand, total isolation should break the bonds of concord and make\nthem forgetful of the offices due to one another, and their manners\nbecome savage and uncouth. After having all participated of the Divine\nMysteries, they accordingly meet to converse. But why should I relate\nmore of their ways? All at once a storm came on, a cloud of barbarians\nburst upon the settlement, early one morning, when the hymns had just\nceased. I was there then with my son. I was descending the holy\nmountain to visit the Saints who inhabited the bush, as I was wont to do\noften, when I heard the noise of shouts and cries, and like yelping of\ndogs, the barbarians carried off all the Saints had prepared for their\nwinter provision. They dragged them out of the church and stripped them,\nand made a circle round them with drawn swords, and eyes filled with\nfury, ready to kill them. Then, first they bade the priest stretch out\nhis neck, and he, without a cry, though they cut him on the back with\ntheir blades, signed himself and whispered, 'Blessed be the Lord!' One\nblow cut him from the back-bone to the jaw, and cut through his ear; the\nnext blow was from his shoulder to his cheek. So the holy man sank down\nmodestly. The previous evening that admirable man at supper had said,\n'How do we know whether we shall all live to meet again at table?' After\nthat they killed him who lived with the old priest, and then the boy who\nserved them.\" Then the Arabs, brandishing their bloody weapons, rushed\nafter the monks, who scattered in all directions, some escaping down the\nvalley, and some, Nilus included, flying up the all but inaccessible\nrocks of Sinai, whither the Arabs did not trouble themselves to pursue\nthem. Nilus escaped reluctantly, for his boy was in the hands of the\nbarbarians. \"I stood bewildered,\" he says \"not knowing what to do, and\nbound to the child by my bowels of love, and unable to fly till the boy\nmade signs to me with his eyes to escape; but I could hardly persuade\nmyself to do so. My feet went forward and dragged my body along, I\nhardly knew how, for my heart would not leave him, and I turned my face\never and anon to look at the boy. Thus I reached the mountain, following\nthe others, and saw my poor boy carried away, unable to look about him\nas he would, but furtively casting glances towards where I was. Such is\nthe tie of nature, that separation of bodies does not break it, but it\nis cruelly wrenched. The cow which is led away lows piteously and\noften, always turning its head towards the dear calf, and by its eyes\nproving the intensity of its grief. And I, when I had reached, I know\nnot how, the mountain top, with my mind one way and my body elsewhere, I\ntried still to see my son, but I could not, the distance was too great.\nThen I burst into prayer to God, weeping for my captive son and the\nmurdered saints.\"\n\n\"After the barbarians had killed many others, they went their way; and\nas day declined we were able, without fear, to descend and bury the\nbodies. We found some quite dead, but Theodulus, the priest, was still\nbreathing and able to speak. Therefore we, sitting down there, passed\nthe night there, weeping, at the old man's request.\" The dying priest\nbade them be of good cheer, reminding them that Job was robbed of his\nsubstance and his children, and was grievously plagued in his body, yet,\ntrusting in God, he was given in the end more than he had lost. Then,\nkissing the survivors, he breathed forth his holy soul. S. Theodulus and\nthese martyrs fell on Jan. 14th; but other sufferers who were put to\ndeath by this horde of barbarians are commemorated with them. S. Nilus\ngives an account of the sufferings of several of these, whom the Arabs\nhunted from the rocks, wherever there was a spring of water and a patch\nof herbage.\n\nNilus, having obtained money, went into the desert in quest of the\nArabs, in company with an armed embassy, to their chief or king, that he\nmight ransom his son. \"Having gone eight days, we were hard pressed for\nwant of water; but those who knew the locality said that there was a\nspring somewhere near. So the party ran here and there in their\neagerness to find and enjoy it; and I went along too, but on account of\nmy age was not able to travel as fast as they, and could not run without\nloss of dignity. Now the well was really behind them, hidden behind a\nlittle hill, so that they kept rushing further from it, and I, ascending\nthe mound, lighted suddenly upon it, for it lay on the other side, and\nthere I saw a number of Arabs gathered round it. When I thus fell into\nthe hands of the enemy, I cannot say whether I was glad or sorry, for I\nwas between the two conditions of mind, being fearful for my personal\nsafety, but very anxious to see my son, whom I hoped to deliver out of\ncaptivity, or at least to share captivity with him. Those who had\naccompanied me escaped, throwing themselves down, and creeping away\nbehind the hill; but the barbarians, shouting, surrounded me, and\ndragged me violently about, but I looked about with great desire, hoping\namong them to catch a sight of my boy.\n\n\"Suddenly, some of our party, armed, appeared on the horizon, and the\nbarbarians, in great alarm, fled away, and in a moment the spot where\nthey had swarmed was bare and lifeless.\n\n\"Next day we continued our course, and so for four days did we\npersevere, till we reached the camp; and when it was announced that\nthere were ambassadors come to the King, we were brought before Haman,\nthe chief of the barbarians. Who, when we had presented gifts, gave us a\ngracious reception, and lodged us near him, till he could make\nperquisition for the offenders. My heart beat violently, and I waited\nthe result in an agony of suspense. Every sound seemed to me to speak of\nhim whom I sought so anxiously; my ears were ever on the alert, and my\nmind on the stretch for the tidings, that I might be certified whether\nmy son lived or was dead. Ever before my eyes I saw his image, sometimes\nI saw him killed in one way, sometimes in another, and I fancied I heard\nhis weeping voice calling me. O wretched boy! art thou alive or art thou\ndead? If thou hast escaped death, what miserable bondage is thine? If\nthou hast died, where is thine unburied corpse?\n\n\"At last the messengers returned, and by their faces I read the sad\nnews. 'You need not speak,' I said, 'I see in your countenances that I\nhave no hope.' But they assured me that Theodulus, my little fellow, was\nnot dead, but was sold to some one or other in the city Eleusa. Then I\nresolved to go there in quest of him. But I had no rest in mind, for I\nthought, Well, if he lives, he is lost to me, for he serves as a slave;\nhe cannot follow his free will, but is for ever subject to the caprice\nof a master.\n\n\"As we were on our way to Eleusa, a young man, driving some laden\nanimals, met us. He had already seen me in the camp, and he knew all\nabout my affair. He, being in Eleusa, made inquiries, and learned that\nmy son had been brought there by the barbarians, and had been sold.\nSeeing me coming, he advanced last and smiling towards me, and when we\nwere within speaking distance, he shouted cheerily to me, and stretching\nforth his right hand, he turned it behind him over his shoulder, and\npulled out a letter from his quiver, which he gave to me, telling me\nthat my boy was alive, and bade me be of good cheer, and not to be out\nof heart because he was a slave, for he had been bought by a Christian\npriest.\n\n\"Then I, being without money or home, and unable thus to reward the\nfellow, blessed him with many tears, and prayed that he might be\nabundantly rewarded by God for the joy he gave me, I being unable to\noffer him anything.\n\n\"But I, as soon as I reached the city, went first of all to the church,\nas to the source of all good, and I gave honour there to God, watering\nthe pavement with my tears, and filling the sacred building with the\nsound of my sobs. Thence I was guided to the house where my son was,\nsending first of all before me messengers to break the news of my\ncoming. All knew me, by the report which had preceded me, to be the\nfather of the boy who had been sold there, and there was not a person\nall along the street who did not express joy, in countenance, and\nrunning out of their houses with glad faces, seemed as though each\nrejoiced with me over a lost son re-found.\n\n\"Now when we came to the door of the house, he was called out and told\nthat I was there, and they brought him to salute me. And when we saw one\nanother, we did not rejoice, nor exclaim at first, but both cried till\nour tears dribbled over our breasts. He ran to me, but scarcely knew me,\nI was so ragged in dress, and my hair uncombed. Believing what others\nsaid rather than knowing me, he came with arms outspread and clasped me\nround with bursting heart. But _I_ knew _him_ when he was a long way\noff, though there were numbers of others there, for it was just the same\nface, stamped by constant remembrance on my mind; and unable to contain\nmy joy, my strength suddenly failed me, and I fell down. Then the\npeople, seeing me with open mouth on the ground, thought me dead. There\nwas great outcry, but when my son had clasped me in his arms, my spirit\ncame back, and I knew where I was, and who I was, whom I saw before me\nwith mine eyes. Then I hugged him and he hugged me, never satisfying our\ngreat desire. However, at last, when more composed, I blamed myself to\nhim as the cause of all these misfortunes, because I had taken him away\nfrom his home to a wild place which was full of danger, and it was so,\nas I said.\"\n\nThen Theodulus told his father all his adventures with the Arabs.\n\"Father,\" said he, \"on the night after we were taken, the barbarians had\nprepared everything for a sacrifice, altar, sword, incense, and the\nlike, and we thought we were sure to be killed and offered up on the\nmorrow. Then my fellow captive, in the night, ran away and escaped, but\nI was afraid to do so, not knowing whither to go in the desert, but I\nprayed to God till I fell asleep. And, waking early in the morning when\ndawn broke on the horizon, I knelt with my hands on my knees, and my\nface bowed upon them, wetting my bosom with my tears, and again with my\nwhole heart I cried out to Him who alone could deliver me, 'Thou, Lord,\nalone hast power over life and death, Thou hast shown wonders of old and\nhast delivered Thy servants out of peril. Thou didst save Isaac, lying\non the altar, and Joseph from the hands of his brethren. Save me, too,\nfor Thy great Name's sake.'\n\n\"Then, presently, the Arabs awoke, and making a great noise because my\ncompanion was gone, asked me where he was; but when I said that I did\nnot know, because I had not run away, they were not angry. Then my mind\nbecame calm, and I blessed God. After that they consulted, and brought\nme to the city to sell me. They stripped me naked, and put a sword round\nmy neck, to show that if I was not bought they would kill me. Then I was\nexposed for sale, and I stretched out my hands suppliantly to the\npurchasers to save me from death, promising my glad service if they\nwould redeem my blood. Then after a while he came by and bought me, even\nthe Bishop of this place.\"\n\nNow the Bishop had bought the boy out of charity, and he at once\nsurrendered him to his father, regarding nothing the price he had paid\nfor him, and he, moreover, furnished them with food for their long\njourney home; and before he dismissed them, feeling confident of their\nvocation, he ordained together to the priesthood both father and son.\n\n\nS. DATIUS, ABP. C., OF MILAN.\n\n(A.D. 552.)\n\n [Roman and other Latin Martyrologies. Datius, Dacius, or Dasius, is\n spoken of by Procopius Cassidorus, whose letter to S. Datius is\n extant, and by S. Gregory the Great, who relates the incident of\n his reduction of the evil spirits to silence, narrated in the text,\n in his Dialogues, lib. iii., c. 4.]\n\nS. Datius ruled the see of Milan in a stormy time, when Italy was\nover-run with the Goths. When Milan was threatened, S. Datius implored\nBelisarius to come to its protection, or send troops to defend the city.\nBelisarius was then at Rome, and S. Datius made the journey to Rome, on\npurpose to urge upon him, in person, the protection of the city.\nBelisarius, though hard pressed through the deficiency of supplies\nafforded him by the Emperor Justinian, detached a body of men to the\ndefence of the Milanese, and for a time Milan was thought to be safe.\nSoon, however, a large army of Goths and Burgundians swooped down upon\nit and besieged it. Belisarius, seeing the danger to which the city was\nexposed, sent troops under his generals, Martin and Uliaris, to the\nsuccour. But they, through timidity, did not venture to attack the\nGoths. In the city famine prevailed to such an extent, that as S. Datius\nrelates in his Annals, an unfortunate mother roasted and ate her infant,\nthat being the first morsel she had eaten since her confinement. The\ncity was surrendered, but the terms of surrender were not kept. It was\ngiven up to plunder, and the streets ran with the blood of the butchered\ncitizens. What became of the Archbishop is not known; some assert that\nhe was taken captive to Ravenna, but was liberated at the intercession\nof his friend Cassiodorus.\n\nThe Arian King, Totila, drove S. Datius from his see, and he escaped to\nConstantinople. On his way occurred that incident recorded by S. Gregory\nthe Great, by which he is chiefly known. Arriving at Corinth, and\nlooking about for a large house, which would lodge him and his\ncompanions, he saw a mansion, which seemed exactly suited to his\npurpose, and was apparently unoccupied. Having instituted inquiries, he\nwas told that the house was haunted, and that it was impossible for any\nman to spend the night in it. \"Ghost and devil will not scare a servant\nof God!\" said S. Datius, and he ordered beds to be made in the haunted\nhouse. He said his prayers as usual, and then retired to rest. About\nmidnight he was aroused by a hideous rout, like the braying of asses,\nthe grunting of swine, the squeaking of rats, and the hissing of\nserpents. Then Datius, raising himself in bed, shouted, \"Oh, Satan! thou\nwho saidst in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my\nthrone above the stars of God: I will be like the most High! (Isa. xiv.\n13, 14.) Well done, I say, Satan. Thou, who wouldst be like God, art\nreduced to bray like a jackass, and grunt like a hog.\" Instantly there\nwas dead silence, and S. Datius was no more troubled with unearthly\nnoises.\n\n\nB. ORDORICO, O.S.F.\n\n(A.D. 1331.)\n\n [His life, by several writers on the Franciscan Saints. His travels\n were dictated by him to Friar Guglielmo, who wrote them down, and\n added an account of his death. No copy of his original Latin MS.\n exists, and the Italian and Latin copies we have vary so much from\n one another that it is difficult to know which is the most correct.\n Copyists, not considering the things related in his travels as\n sufficiently marvellous, have supplied by their fancy what Ordorico\n never dictated. Although no copy of the original MS. exists, we can\n trace the progress of amplification and error by comparing the\n oldest and best account of the travels extant, with some of the\n later narratives of Friar Ordorico's life and adventure.]\n\nAmong the early travellers in the East a conspicuous place is due to\nFriar Ordorico de Pordenone, commonly called Il Beato, the Blessed. He\nwas born in the district of Pordenone, in the Friuli, about the year\n1286. Early in life he entered the Order of Friars Minors, or\nFranciscans, and took the vows in their house at Udine. After many years\nof exemplary life and industry he girded up his loins for the perilous\npilgrimage and great mission--that is, he proceeded to the remote\ncountries of the East to convert the infidel and idolater. He is\nbelieved to have been absent from Italy for the long space of sixteen\nyears. He took with him his monastic habit, his cord, and his pilgrim's\nstaff, and apparently no other thing. Where there were Christians, he\nclaimed their charity; and where there were none, he threw himself upon\nthe hospitality of the unbelievers. Friar Ordorico went from the\nAdriatic Sea to Constantinople, and proceeding from that great city to\nthe Black Sea, he landed at Trebizond. From Trebizond he travelled\nthrough Armenia and Persia, and came to Ormuz on the Persian Gulf. At Ur\nof the Chaldees, he was shocked to find that the men did the knitting\nand spinning; and he was surprised that they liked a head of venison\nmore than four fat partridges. At Bagdad, says he, the men are handsome\nand the women ugly; the women carry loads and the men saunter about in\nidleness. But this, alas! is not confined to Bagdad. At the port of\nBalsora he embarked, and crossing the Indian Ocean, he reached the\ncoasts of Malabar. There, says he, he much surprised, the people prefer\ndates to venison. Thence he turned round upon Ceylon. He landed in that\nmagnificent island, and travelled through the greater part of it. He\ndescribes the quantities of elephants which are found in the interior of\nthat country; the blood-sucking land-leeches, so well-known to the\nIndians, which render the passage through the jungle so painful to\nEuropeans; he correctly describes the general qualities of that\nremarkable tree, the talipot, which flourishes in the island of Ceylon,\nand in the contiguous Malabar country. He mentions Adam's Peak, and the\nlake at its side, which the natives told him was formed of the tears of\nAdam and Eve after their fall. \"But,\" adds the friar, \"I perceived this\nto be false, for I saw the water flowing from the mountain into the\nlake, and filling it.\" He adds that on the sides of the lake rubies are\ndiscovered. His account of the pearl fishery is without exaggeration. In\nthe neighbouring continent some of the Brahminical superstitions are\ncorrectly set down. The excessive cruelty and indisputable cannibalism\nof the Andaman Islanders, who are called natives of Bodan, are\naccurately noted. So shocked was the friar with what he saw there, that\nhe remained there some while preaching, but he admits with no success.\nThen he voyaged to Meliapore. After this he ran down the Indian Ocean to\nSumatra and Java, whence he appears to have reached some of the islands\nof Japan, which he calls Zapan. He next entered the empire of China, and\nthere he remained several years. He travelled through various of the\nvast provinces of China, and then turned West, and after long and\ndangerous wayfaring, he entered the country of Thibet.\n\nIn company with three other friars, he was one day resting with them\nunder a tree, when the Khan passed by. Then one of the friars, who was a\nbishop, put on his pontifical vestments, and took his pastoral cross,\nand all four advanced to meet the Khan chanting the _Veni Creator_. Then\nthe Khan stopped his car, and asked who these were, and when told that\nthey were four Frank missionaries, he called them to him, and kissed the\ncross of the bishop. Then, because it is the custom of the country not\nto approach the king empty-handed, the friars offered him a plate with\nsome apples on it. The Khan took two, ate one, and drove away tossing\nthe other about in his hands. From his kissing the cross the friars were\nsatisfied that he knew something of the Catholic faith.\n\nThe account left of these travels breaks off abruptly in Thibet, leaving\nus entirely in the dark as to the route and the manner by which the\nfriar reached Europe. It is known, however, from a postscript to his\nbook, that he returned in 1330, when he was forty-four years old. His\nhealth appears to have been much broken by the fatigues and privations\nhe had undergone during his peregrinations; and he died within a few\nmonths after his return to his native country.[51]\n\n [Illustration: Hermit Saints. S. Anthony.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[50] The narrative of S. Nilus is necessarily much condensed. I\nregret having to do this, as it is most touching in its entirety.\n\n[51] A much fuller account of the travels of B. Ordorico than I\nam able to give here may be read in MacFarlane's \"Romance of Travel,\"\nII. c. 1. The most correct version of these travels is that given by\nBollandus, Jan. T. 1, pp. 920-986, which MacFarlane does not seem to\nhave seen.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 15.\n\n S. EPHYSIUS, _M., at Cagliari_.\n S. PAUL, _the First Hermit in Egypt_, A.D. 341.\n S. MACARIUS OF EGYPT, _P. and Ab., in Sc\u00e9t\u00e9_, A.D. 391.\n S. ISIDORE, _P. and Monk, at Alexandria_, A.D. 404.\n S. ALEXANDER ACOEMETUS, _at Constantinople, circ._ A.D. 430.\n S. JOHN THE CALYBITE, _5th cent_.\n S. MAURUS, _Ab. of Glanfeuil, in France_, A.D. 584.\n S. YTHA, _V., in Ireland, 6th cent._\n S. BONITUS, OR BON, _B. of Claremont, beginning of 8th cent._\n S. EMBERT, _B. of Cambrai, beginning of 8th cent._\n S. CEOLWULF, _K. and Monk, in England, 8th cent._\n\n\nS. PAUL, THE FIRST HERMIT IN EGYPT.\n\n(A.D. 341.)\n\n [S. Paul died on Jan. 10th, on which day he is commemorated in most\n ancient Martyrologies, as the Roman, that of Cologne, Bede, &c. But\n both Greeks and Latins have transferred his feast to Jan. 15th, so\n as not to interfere with the celebration of the Octave of the\n Epiphany. The York Breviary and those of Paul III., and of the\n Dominican Order, commemorate him on the 29th Jan. His life, written\n by S. Jerome, is perfectly authentic. The following is a\n translation, much abridged, from the original.]\n\nUnder the persecuting Emperors Decius and Valerius, at the time that\nCornelius was Bishop at Rome, and Cyprian, Bishop at Carthage, were\ncondemned to shed their blessed blood, a cruel tempest swept over the\nChurches in Egypt and the Thebaid.\n\n\"In those days, in the Lower Thebaid, was Paul, to whom had been left a\nrich inheritance, at the death of both his parents, with a sister\nalready married. He was then about fifteen years old, well taught in\nGreek and Egyptian literature, gentle tempered, and loving God much.\nWhen the storm of persecution burst, he withdrew into a distant city.\nBut his sister's husband purposed to betray him, notwithstanding the\ntears of his wife; however, the boy discovered it, and fled into the\ndesert hills. Once there, necessity became a pleasure, and going on, and\nthen stopping awhile, he reached at last a stony cliff, at the foot of\nwhich was a great cave; its mouth closed with a stone. Having rolled\nthis away, and exploring more greedily, he saw within a great vault open\nto the sky above, but shaded by the spreading boughs of an ancient\ndate-palm; and in it a clear spring, the rill of which, flowing a short\nspace forth, was sucked up again by the soil.\n\n\"There were, besides, not a few dwellings in that cavernous mountain, in\nwhich he saw rusty anvils and hammers, with which coin that had been\nstamped of old. For this place was an old workshop for base coin.\n\n\"Therefore, in this beloved dwelling, offered him as it were by God, he\nspent all his life in prayer and solitude, while the palm-tree gave him\nfood and clothes.\n\n\"When the blessed Paul had been leading the heavenly life on earth for\n113 years, and Antony, ninety years old, was dwelling in another\nsolitude, this thought (so Antony was wont to assert) entered his\nmind--that no monk more perfect than himself had settled in the desert.\nBut as he lay still by night, it was revealed to him that there was\nanother monk far better than he, to visit whom he must set out. So when\nthe light broke, the venerable old man, supporting his weak limbs on a\nstaff, began to go he knew not whither. And now the mid-day, with the\nsun roasting above, grew fierce; and yet he was not turned from the\njourney he had begun, for he said 'I trust in my God, that he will show\nHis servant that which He has promised.' Antony went on through that\nregion, seeing only the tracks of wild beasts, and the wide waste of the\ndesert. What he should do, or whither turn, he knew not. A second day\nhad now run by.\n\n [Illustration: HERMIT SAINT.\n From a Drawing by A. Welby Pugin.\n Jan. 15.]\n\nOne thing remained, to be confident that he could not be deserted by\nChrist. All night through he spent a second darkness in prayer, and\nwhile the light was still dim, he saw afar a she-wolf, panting with heat\nand thirst, creeping in at the foot of the mountain. Following her with\nhis eyes, and drawing nigh to the cave when the beast was gone, he began\nto look in: but in vain; for the darkness stopped his view. However, as\nthe Scripture saith, perfect love casteth out fear; with gentle step and\nbated breath the cunning explorer entered, and going forward slowly, and\nstopping often, watched for a sound. At length he saw afar off a light\nthrough the horror of the darkness; then he hastened on more greedily,\nstruck his foot against a stone, and made a noise, at which the blessed\nPaul shut and barred his door, which had stood open.\n\n\"Then Antony, casting himself down before the entrance, prayed there\ntill the sixth hour, and more, to be let in, saying, 'Who I am, and\nwhence, and why I am come, thou knowest I know that I deserve not to see\nthy face; yet, unless I see thee, I will not return. Thou who receivest\nbeasts, why repellest thou a man? I have sought, and I have found. I\nknock that it may be opened to me: which if I win not, here will I die\nbefore thy gate. Surely thou shalt at least bury my corpse.'\n\n\"'No one begs thus to threaten. No one does injury with tears. And dost\nthou wonder why I do not let thee in, seeing thou art a mortal guest?'\nThus spake Paul, and then smiling, he opened the door. They mutually\nembraced and saluted each other by name, and committed themselves in\ncommon to the grace of God. And after the holy kiss, Paul, sitting down\nwith Antony, thus began--\n\n\"'Behold him whom thou hast sought with such labour; with limbs decayed\nby age, and covered with unkempt white hair. Behold, thou seest but a\nmortal, soon to become dust. But, because charity bears all things, tell\nme, I pray thee, how fares the human race? whether new houses are rising\nin the ancient cities? by what emperor is the world governed? whether\nthere are any left who are led captive by the deceits of the devil?' As\nthey spoke thus, they saw a raven settle on a bough; who, flying gently\ndown, laid, to their wonder, a whole loaf before them. When he was gone,\n'Ah,' said Paul, 'the Lord truly loving, truly merciful, hath sent us a\nmeal. For sixty years past I have received daily half a loaf, but, at\nthy coming, Christ hath doubled his soldiers' allowance.' Then, having\nthanked God, they sat down on the brink of the glassy spring.\n\n\"But here a contention arising as to which of them should break the\nloaf, occupied the day till well-nigh evening. Paul insisted, as the\nhost; Antony declined, as the younger man. At last it was agreed that\nthey should take hold of the loaf at opposite ends, and each pull\ntowards himself, and keep what was left in his hand. Next they stooped\ndown, and drank a little water from the spring; then, offering to God\nthe sacrifice of praise, they passed the night watching.\n\n\"And when day dawned again, the blessed Paul said to Antony, 'I knew\nlong since, brother, that thou wert dwelling in these lands; long since\nGod had promised thee to me as a fellow-servant: but because the time of\nmy falling asleep is now come, and (because I always longed to depart,\nand to be with Christ) there is laid up for me, when I have finished my\ncourse, a crown of righteousness; therefore thou art sent from the Lord\nto cover my corpse with mould, and give back dust to dust.'\n\n\"Antony, hearing this, prayed him with tears and groans not to desert\nhim, but take him as his companion on such a journey. But he said, 'Thou\nmust not seek the things which are thine own, but the things of others.\nIt is expedient for thee, indeed, to cast off the burden of the flesh,\nand to follow the Lamb: but it is expedient for the rest of the brethren\nthat they should be still trained by thine example. Wherefore go, unless\nit displeases thee, and bring the cloak which Athanasius the bishop gave\nthee, to wrap up my corpse.' But this the blessed Paul asked, not\nbecause he cared greatly whether his body decayed covered or bare (for\nhe had long been used to clothe himself with woven palm leaves), but\nthat Antony's grief at his death might be lightened when he left him.\nAntony astounded that he had heard of Athanasius and his own cloak,\ndared answer nothing: but keeping in silence, and kissing his eyes and\nhands, returned to the monastery. Tired and breathless, he arrived at\nhome. There two disciples met him, who had been long sent to minister to\nhim, and asked him, 'Where hast thou tarried so long, father?' He\nanswered, 'Woe to me a sinner, who falsely bear the name of a monk. I\nhave seen Elias; I have seen John in the desert; I have truly seen Paul\nin Paradise;' and so, closing his lips, and beating his breast, he took\nthe cloak from his cell, and when his disciples asked him to explain\nmore fully what had befallen, he said, 'There is a time to be silent,\nand a time to speak.' Then going out, and not taking even a morsel of\nfood, he returned by the way he had come. For he feared--what actually\nhappened--lest Paul in his absence should render up his soul to Christ.\n\n\"And when the second day had shone, and he had retraced his steps for\nthree hours, he saw amid hosts of angels, amid the choirs of prophets\nand apostles, Paul shining white as snow, ascending up on high. The\nblessed Antony used to tell afterwards, how he ran the rest of the way\nso swiftly, that he seemed to fly like a bird. Nor without cause. For\nentering the cave he saw Paul on bended knees, erect with hands spread\nout on high,--a lifeless corpse. And at first, thinking that it still\nlived, he prayed in like wise. But when he heard no sighs come from the\nworshipper's breast, he gave him a tearful kiss, understanding how the\nvery corpse of the Saint was praying to that God to whom all live.\n\n\"So, having wrapped up and carried forth the corpse, and chanting hymns,\nAntony grew sad, because he had no spade, wherewith to dig the ground;\nand thinking over many plans in his mind, said, 'If I go back to the\nmonastery, it is a three days' journey. If I stay here, I shall be of no\nmore use. I will die, then, as it is fit; and, falling beside thy\nwarrior, O Christ! breathe my last breath.'\n\n\"As he was thinking thus to himself, two lions came running from the\ninner part of the desert, their manes tossing on their necks. Seeing\nthese, he shuddered at first: but then, turning his mind to God, he\nremained without fear. They came straight to the corpse of the blessed\nold man, and crouched at his feet, wagging their tails, and roaring with\nmighty growls, so that Antony understood them to lament, as best they\ncould. Then they began to claw the ground with their paws, and, carrying\nout the sand eagerly, dug a place large enough to hold a man: then at\nonce, as if begging a reward for their work, they came to Antony,\ndrooping their necks, and licking his hands and feet. But he perceived\nthat they prayed a blessing from him; and at once, bursting into praise\nof Christ, because even dumb animals felt that He was God, he said,\n'Lord, without whose word not a leaf of the tree drops, nor one sparrow\nfalls to the ground, give to them as thou knowest how to give.' And,\nsigning to them with his hand, he bade them go.\n\n\"And when they had departed, he bent his aged shoulders to the weight of\nthe holy corpse; and laying it in the grave, heaped earth on it, and\nraised a mound as is the wont. And when another dawn shone, lest the\npious heir should not possess aught of the goods of the intestate dead,\nhe kept for himself the tunic which Paul had woven out of the leaves of\nthe palm; and returning to the monastery, told his disciples all\nthroughout; and, on the solemn days of Easter and Pentecost, he always\nclothed himself in Paul's tunic.\"\n\n\nS. MACARIUS OF EGYPT, AB.\n\n(A.D. 391.)\n\n [Not to be confounded with S. Macarius of Alexandria (Jan. 2nd).\n This Macarius is commemorated by the Greeks on Jan. 19th; by the\n Roman later Martyrology on Jan. 15th, but in earlier ones on the\n same day as the other Macarius, Jan. 2nd. Authorities for his life\n are Palladius, in his History Lausiaca, a thoroughly trustworthy\n contemporary, Ruffinus, Sozomen, Socrates, Cassian, &c.]\n\nS. Macarius the Elder was born in Upper Egypt, about the year 300, and\nwas brought up in the country to attend cattle. In his childhood, in\ncompany with some others, he stole some figs and ate one of them; but\nfrom his conversion to his death, he never ceased bewailing this\noffence. By a powerful call of divine grace, he was led to desert the\nworld in his youth, and to take up his abode in a little cell made of\nmats. A wicked woman falsely accused him of having deflowered her; for\nwhich supposed crime he was dragged through the streets, beaten and\ninsulted, as a base hypocrite under the garb of a monk. He suffered all\nwith patience, and sent the woman what he earned by his work, saying to\nhimself, \"Well, Macarius, having now another to provide for, you must\nwork all the harder.\" But the woman, in the anguish of her travail,\nconfessed that she had maligned him, and told the real name of her\nseducer. Then the people regarded him as a Saint, whom lately they would\nhave slain. To shun the esteem of men he fled into the desert of Sc\u00e9t\u00e9,\nbeing then about thirty years of age. In this solitude he lived sixty\nyears, and became the spiritual father of innumerable holy persons, who\nput themselves under his direction, and were governed by the rules he\nprescribed them; but all dwelt in separate hermitages. S. Macarius\nadmitted only one disciple with him to entertain strangers.\n\nHe was compelled by an Egyptian bishop to receive the order of\npriesthood, about the year 340, the fortieth of his age, that he might\ncelebrate the Divine Mysteries for the convenience of his holy colony.\nWhen the desert became better peopled, there were four churches built in\nit, served by as many priests. The austerities of S. Macarius were very\nsevere. He usually ate but once a week. Evagrius, his disciple, once\nasked him leave to drink a little water, under a parching thirst: but\nMacarius bade him be satisfied with reposing a little in the shade,\nsaying, \"For these twenty years I have never eaten, drunk, nor slept as\nmuch as nature demanded.\" To deny his own will, he did not refuse to\ndrink a little wine, when others desired him; but he would punish\nhimself for this indulgence by abstaining two or three days from all\nmanner of drink; and it was for this reason that his disciples desired\nstrangers never to tender him a drop of wine. He delivered his\ninstructions in few words, and principally inculcated silence, humility,\nmortification and continual prayer, to all sorts of people. He used to\nsay, \"In prayer you need not use many or grand words. You can always\nrepeat, Lord, show me mercy as Thou knowest best; or, Assist me, O\nLord!\"\n\nHis mildness and patience were invincible, and occasioned the conversion\nof a heathen priest. A young man applying to S. Macarius for spiritual\nadvice, he directed him to go to a burying place and upbraid the dead;\nand after that to go and flatter them. \"Well,\" said Macarius, when the\nyoung man returned, \"How did the dead receive thy abuse of them.\" \"They\nanswered not a word,\" he replied. \"And how did they behave when\nflattered?\" \"They took no notice of that either.\" \"Go,\" said Macarius,\n\"and do thou likewise.\"\n\nA monk complained to Macarius that he could fast in the monastery, but\nnot in solitude. \"Ah!\" said the abbot, \"thou likest to have people see\nthat thou art fasting. Beware of vainglory.\"\n\nGod revealed to Macarius that two women in the nearest city excelled him\nin virtue, in spite of all his fasting, and tears, and prayer. He took\nhis staff, and left the desert, and went in quest of them, and lo! they\nwere two homely married women, of whom no one talked, but who were\nextremely careful not to say spiteful things of their neighbours, who\nhad not the smallest idea that they were saints, and who laboured night\nand day to make home pleasant to their husbands and children.\n\nLucius, the Arian usurper of the see of Alexandria, who had expelled\nPeter, the successor of S. Athanasius, in 376, sent troops into the\ndeserts, to disperse the zealous monks, several of whom sealed their\nfaith with their blood. The chiefs, the two Macarii, Isidore, Pambo, and\nothers, were banished, by the authority of the Emperor Valens, to a\nlittle isle of Egypt, in the midst of stagnant marshes. The inhabitants,\nwho were pagans, were all converted to the faith by these confessors.\nThe public indignation obliged Lucius to suffer them to return to their\ncells.\n\nThe Church of God flashes forth some peculiar type of sanctity at one\ntime, and then another. It is like a rain-drop in the sun, blazing now\ncrimson, now green, now yellow, now blue. As there is need, God calls up\nan army of Saints, exactly adapted to meet the difficulties of the\ntimes, to uphold the truth, and form, as it were, a prop to stay up his\ntottering Church. Now it is the martyrs, who by their constancy conquer\nthe infidels, now it is these hermits of the Syrian and Egyptian\ndeserts, against whose orthodoxy Arianism breaks and crumbles to powder.\nHumanly speaking, these hermits saved the doctrine of the Godhead of\nChrist from being denied, and disappearing from the creed of the Church.\nAn age like the present, so like the condition of the Roman world in its\nhighest civilization, when pleasure and self-will are the sole things\nsought, and when Arianism is in power in high places, and the learned\nand polished, admitting the excellency of Christianity in general, allow\nto Christ only the place of a founder of a school of religious\nthought--such an age as this seems one meet for the revival of the\nhermit life as a witness for the truth, and a protest against luxury.\nThis, and this only, as far as we can judge, will meet the great want of\nthe day; it is not preaching that will recover the multitude lapsed into\nreligious indifference; it must be the example of men, believing with\nsuch a fiery faith, that they sacrifice everything the world holds\nprecious, for the sake of the truth that Jesus Christ, the everlasting\nGod, came in the Flesh.\n\nNothing in the wonderful history of the hermits of Egypt is so\nincredible as their number. But the most weighty authorities agree in\nestablishing it. It was a kind of emigration of towns to the desert, of\ncivilization to simplicity, of noise to silence, of corruption to\ninnocence. The current once begun, floods of men, of women, and of\nchildren threw themselves into it, and flowed thither during a century,\nwith resistless force. Let us quote some figures. Pachomius, who died at\nfifty-six, reckoned three thousand monks under his rule; his monasteries\nof Tabenna soon included seven thousand, and S. Jerome affirms that as\nmany as fifty thousand were present at the annual gathering of the\ngeneral congregation of monasteries which followed his rule.\n\nThere were five thousand on the mountain of Nitria alone. Nothing was\nmore frequent than to see two hundred, three hundred, or five hundred\nmonks under the same abbot. Near Arsino\u00eb (now Suez), the abbot Serapion\ngoverned ten thousand, who, in the harvest time, spread themselves over\nthe country to cut the corn, and thus gained the means of living and\ngiving alms. It has even been asserted that there were as many monks in\nthe deserts of Egypt as inhabitants in the towns. The towns themselves\nwere, so to speak, inundated by them, since in 356, a traveller found in\nthe single town of Oxyrynchus (Abou Girge) upon the Nile, ten thousand\nmonks and twenty thousand virgins consecrated to God.[52] The immense\nmajority of these religious were cenobites, that is to say, they lived\nin the same enclosure, and were united by common rule and practice under\nan elected head, whom they everywhere called abbot, from the Syriac word\n_abba_, which means _father_. The cenobitical life superseded rapidly,\nand almost completely, the life of solitaries. Scarcely any man became a\nsolitary until after having been a cenobite, and in order to meditate\nupon God during the last years of his life. Custom has, therefore, given\nthe title of monks to cenobites alone.\n\nAmbitious at once of reducing to subjection their rebellious flesh, and\nof penetrating the secrets of the celestial light, these cenobites\nunited the active with the contemplative life. The various and incessant\nlabours which filled up their days are known. In the great frescoes of\nthe cemetery of Pisa, they appear in their coarse black or brown\ndresses, a cowl upon their shoulders, occupied in digging up the soil,\nin cutting down trees, in fishing in the Nile, in milking the goats, in\ngathering the dates which served them for food, in plaiting the mats on\nwhich they were to die. Others are absorbed in reading or meditating on\nthe Holy Scriptures. Thus a Saint has said that the cells united in the\ndesert were like a hive of bees. There each had in his hands the wax of\nlabour, and in his mouth the honey of psalms and prayers. The days were\ndivided between prayer and work. The work was divided between field\nlabour and the exercise of various trades. There were among these monks\nentire colonies of weavers, of carpenters, of curriers, of tailors, and\nof fullers.[53] All the rules of the patriarchs of the desert made\nlabour obligatory, and the example of their holy lives gave authority to\nthe rule. When Macarius of Egypt came to visit the great Antony, they\nimmediately set to work on their mats together, conferring thus upon\nthings important to souls; and Antony was so edified by the zeal of the\npriest, that he kissed his hands, saying, \"What virtues proceed from\nthese hands!\"\n\nEach monastery was then a great school of labour; it was also, at the\nsame time, a great school of charity. The monks practised charity not\nonly among themselves, and with regard to the poor inhabitants of the\nneighbouring countries, but especially in the case of travellers whom\nthe necessities of commerce called to the banks of the Nile, and of the\nnumerous pilgrims, whom their increasing fame drew to the desert. A more\ngenerous hospitality had never been exercised, nor had the universal\nmercy, introduced by Christianity into the world, blossomed anywhere to\nsuch an extent. A thousand incidents in their history reveal the most\ntender solicitude for the miseries of the poor. The _Xenodochium_--that\nis, the asylum for the poor and strangers--formed from that time a\nnecessary appendix to every monastery. The most ingenious combinations,\nand the most gracious inspirations of charity are to be found in this\nhistory. A certain monastery served as an hospital for sick children;\nanother was transformed by its founder into an hospital for lepers and\ncripples. \"Behold,\" said he, in shewing to the ladies of Alexandria the\nupper floor which was reserved for women, \"behold my jacinths.\" Then\nconducting them to the floor below, were the men were placed, \"See my\nemeralds.\"\n\nThey were hard only upon themselves. Under a burning sky, in a climate\nwhich has always seemed the cause, or the excuse of vice, in a country\ngiven up at all times to every kind of luxury and depravity, there were\nthousands of men who, during two centuries, interdicted themselves from\nthe very shadow of a sensual gratification, and made of the most\nrigorous mortification a rule as universal as a second nature.\n\nIt was their rule also to cultivate the mind by the study of sacred\nliterature. The rule of S. Pachomius made the reading of divers portions\nof the Bible a strict obligation. All the monks, besides, were required\nto be able to read and write. To qualify themselves for reading the\nScriptures was the first duty imposed upon the novices.\n\nWhen, towards evening, at the hour of vespers, after a day of stifling\nheat, all work ceased, and from the midst of the sands, from the depths\nof caverns, from pagan temples cleared of their idols, and from all the\nvast tombs of a people dead, now occupied by these men dead to the\nworld, the cry of a living people rose to heaven; when everywhere, and\nall at once, the air vibrated with hymns, prayers, and the pious and\nsolemn, tender and joyous songs of these champions of the soul and\nconquerors of the desert, who celebrated, in the language of David, the\npraises of the living God, the thanksgivings of the freed soul, and the\nhomage of vanquished passions,--then the traveller, the pilgrim, and\nespecially the new convert stood still, lost in emotion, and transported\nwith the sounds of that sublime concert, cried aloud, \"Behold, this is\nParadise.\"[54]\n\n\"Go,\" said the most eloquent doctor of the Church at that period; \"go to\nthe Thebaid; you will find there a solitude still more beautiful than\nParadise, a thousand choirs of angels under human form, nations of\nmartyrs, armies of virgins, the diabolical tyrant chained, and Christ\ntriumphant and glorified.\"[55]\n\n\nS. ISIDORE, P. AND MONK IN ALEXANDRIA.\n\n(A.D. 404.)\n\n [Almost all the ancient Martyrologies commemorate S. Isidore on the\n same day as S. Macarius the Elder. Authorities for his life, same\n as for S. Macarius.]\n\nS. Isidore, priest and monk, lived in Alexandria as hospitaller, that\nis, in charge of a hospital for the reception of strangers and the poor.\nHe suffered many persecutions, first from Lucius, the Arian Bishop, who\nill-treated the two Macarii, and afterwards from the orthodox bishop,\nTheophilus, who, moved by some jealousy, unjustly charged him with\nfavouring the views of Origen. He took refuge at Constantinople with S.\nJohn Chrysostom, where he repudiated the heresy of Origen, declaring\nthat he was falsely accused of holding it, and died in 404.\n\n\nS. ALEXANDER, OF THE SLEEPLESS ONES, MONK AT ALEXANDRIA.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 430.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea. The life of S. Alexander,\n written by a disciple of his, exists in Greek. From this the\n following epitome is taken.]\n\nS. Alexander was of Asiatic origin, and was educated at Constantinople,\nwhere he entered the army, and was advanced to the office of eparchus,\nor proctor. Being a studious reader of the Old and New Testament, he\noften mused on the words of Christ, \"If thou wilt be perfect, go and\nsell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure\nin heaven; and come, follow Me.\" (Matt. xix. 21).\n\nThen, moved by these words, he resolved to obey the command, and he sold\nhis possessions and made distribution unto those that had need; and\nhastening away, into the solitudes of Syria, he became a monk for seven\nyears.\n\nAfter that, inflamed with zeal against idolatry, he went into the\nnearest city, which was Edessa, on a solemn festival of the heathen\ngods, and set fire to the temple. He was at once seized and brought\nbefore the governor, Rabbulus, who remanded him till the rage of the\npopulace should be abated, and he could be judged with calmness and\nequity.\n\nRabbulus often sent for Alexander out of prison, and heard him gladly.\nAnd Alexander unfolded to him the doctrine of Christ and the great power\nof God. And as he expounded to him the Scriptures, he related the\nwondrous works of Elijah, how that he had prayed, and God had withheld\nthe rain three years, and at his prayer had again brought a cloud and\nabundance of rain upon the earth, and also how he had cried, and God had\nsent fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice. Then, hearing this,\nRabbulus said, \"Nay! thou speakest of marvels. If the God of whom thou\ntellest wrought those wonders then, He can work them now. Cry unto Him\nto send fire on earth, that I may see and believe.\"\n\nInstantly, filled with confidence, the holy man, Alexander, turned to\nthe East and spread forth his hands, and prayed; then there fell fire\nfrom heaven, and consumed the mats that were laid upon the ground, but\nhurt nothing else. And the Governor bowed his head, and said, \"The Lord\nHe is God, the Lord He is God!\" Then he was baptized,[56] he and all his\nhouse, and he suffered Alexander to go forth to the people, and in their\naudience plead for the cause of Christ against their false gods. So they\nhastened and destroyed their images, and multitudes were added to the\nChurch. And after that Alexander went away into the desert, where he\nheard there was a band of robbers, desiring to save their souls, as\nJesus on the Cross had saved the thief. So the robbers took him, and he\nexhorted them, and spake the Word to them, and they believed, they and\ntheir chief, so that he tarried some while with them--they were thirty\nin number--and he baptized them. But the robber-chief, as he was being\nbaptized, prayed in secret. Then said Alexander, \"I saw thy lips move.\nWhat was thy petition?\" And he answered, \"I have been a great sinner,\nand I fear my old habits of evil resuming the mastery. I prayed God, if\nit were His will, to let His servant depart in peace, now that mine eyes\nhave seen salvation.\" The prayer was heard, and the captain died within\neight days, whilst still in the white dress he wore for his baptism. But\nAlexander remained with the robbers, and turned their den into a\nmonastery, and converted the robbers into monks, and they served God in\nfasting and prayer. Now when he saw that they were established firmly in\nthe course of penitence, he appointed one of them to be their abbot, and\nhe went his way into Mesopotamia, and founded a monastery on the\nEuphrates, where he dwelt twenty years, and had very many monks under\nhim. And after that he visited Antioch, Palmyra, and other cities,\ntaking with him one hundred and fifty of his monks, that they might\npreach the Gospel to those who were yet in heathen darkness. The people\nof Palmyra shut their gates against him, saying that such a host of\nmonks would devour all the produce in the market. Then Alexander and his\nbrethren halted outside the city for three days, and the heathen people\naround brought them food, which they accepted with thanks. After that\nAlexander took the Book of the Gospels, and stood in the way, and cried:\n\"Glory be to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards\nmen.\" This was the signal of departure, so the whole moving monastery\ndeserted their camp and went towards Antioch, where the brother of\nAlexander, Peter by name, was superior of a large monastery. Alexander\nand one companion went to the gate and knocked. Then the porter looked\nforth, and said, \"Wait without, till I go to the abbot, and ask\npermission for you to enter and refresh yourselves.\" But Alexander\nthrust in on the heels of the porter, and went after him to the abbot's\nchamber, and there Peter knew him, and cast himself on his neck. But\nAlexander said, \"Our father Abraham went forth himself to receive\nstrangers, and invited them in, and our Lord Jesus Christ exhorted his\nfollowers to show glad hospitality, but thou lettest a wayfaring man\nstand without, and makest a favour of admitting him!\" Then he turned,\nand went away in a rage, and would not eat in the monastery of his\nbrother. And when they would enter into Antioch, the bishop, Theodotus,\nbeing prejudiced against Alexander, ordered that he and his monks should\nbe refused admission. So they sat down all day in the heat outside, but\nrising up to sing their psalms at midnight, they all went forward\nchanting, and no man stayed them, through the streets of Antioch, and\nthey found an old bath-house, and lodged there. Then the Bishop feared\nto disturb them, for all the people magnified them. There they stayed\nsome time and erected a large hospital, where they cherished the sick\nand the poor.\n\nBut one Malchus, a sub-deacon, who was greatly offended with the monks,\nwent to the Bishop, and urged that they should be expelled. And when he\nhad been given license, he went with all the church sextons and drove\nthe monks from their lodgings, and he boxed Alexander on the ear,\nsaying, \"Go forth, thou rascal!\" But Alexander said nothing, save that\nhe quoted the words of S. John, \"The servant's name was Malchus.\"\n(xviii. 10.) Then the Governor of the city, finding that the people\nwould take part with the monks, and that a tumult would be made, came\nwith force, and drave the brethren without the walls. So Alexander and\nhis monks swarmed off to the Crithenian monastery, which he had founded,\nand there he saw that the discipline was admirable.\n\nThence he went to Constantinople, taking with him from Crithene\ntwenty-four monks, and in all he was now followed by three hundred, and\nthey were Greeks, and Romans, and Syrians, and he settled them at Gomon,\non the Bosphorus, near Constantinople, and divided them into six choirs,\nwho should alternately sing the divine office, so that ceaselessly,\nnight and day, the praises of Christ might ascend. Thence his order was\ncalled the Acoemeti, or the Sleepless Ones, for, in it, some were ever\nwatching for the coming of the Bridegroom. However, even in\nConstantinople, he was not left in peace, but the civil powers\ninterfered and broke up the monastery, and the monks were imprisoned and\nbeaten, and ill-treated in divers ways, so that, for a while, the\nincessant song was interrupted. But when the persecution was over, the\nmonks flowed together again, and the sleepless vigil recommenced.\n\nS. Alexander died and was buried at Gomon.\n\n\nS. JOHN THE CALYBITE, H.\n\n(ABOUT 450.)\n\n [Commemorated on the same day by Greeks and Latins. Some old\n Western Martyrologies honoured him on Feb. 27th. Authority, his\n life by Simeon Logotheta.[57]]\n\nS. John the Calybite is the Eastern counterpart of the Western S.\nAlexis. At an early age he met a monk of the Sleepless Ones, founded by\nS. Alexander, as mentioned in the immediately preceding life; and he was\nso struck with what he heard of the religious life, that he desired to\nenter it. Returning home, he asked his parents, who were wealthy, to\nmake him a present of the Holy Gospels. They, surprised that the boy\ndesired a book, instead of some article of dress or of play, purchased\nhim a handsomely illuminated and illustrated book of the Gospels. The\nboy read, \"He that loveth father and mother more than me, is not worthy\nof me.\" Then he ran away from home, and made his way to Gomon, where he\nentered the Sleepless order. The archimandrite, or abbot, thinking him\ntoo young, objected to receive him, but when the boy persisted, he made\nhim undergo the discipline of the monks. He remained there, however, six\nyears, and then a longing came over him to see his father and mother\nagain; so he told the superior, who said, \"Did I not say to thee, thou\nart too young. Go in peace to thy home.\" So John left the monastery. But\nreturning home, he did not make himself known to his parents, but,\nchanging clothes with a beggar, he crouched at the gate of his father's\nhouse and begged. Then his father gave him daily food from his kitchen;\nbut after a while his mother, disliking the presence of a squalid beggar\nat the door, bade the servants remove him to a little cot, and thence he\ntook his name of Calybite, or Cotter. Three years after, as he was\ndying, he sent for his mother, and revealed himself to her.\n\nHe was buried beneath the hut, and his parents built a church over his\ntomb.\n\nRelics, in the church dedicated to him at Rome; his head at Besan\u00e7on, in\nthe church of S. Stephen.\n\n\nS. MAURUS, AB. OF GLANFEUIL.\n\n(A.D. 584.)\n\n [The life of S. Maurus, professing to be by S. Faustus, is not of\n the date it pretends to. It was written by Odo of Glanfeuil (D.\n 868); it is, however, probable that he used a previous composition\n of S. Faustus, monk of Cassino (D. 620), amplifying and altering in\n style. Other authorities are S. Gregory the Great, Dialog. II., and\n a metrical life, falsely attributed to Paulus Diaconus.]\n\nA nobleman, named Eguitius, gave his little son Maurus, aged twelve, to\nthe holy patriarch Benedict, to be by him educated. The youth surpassed\nall his fellow monks in the discharge of his monastic duties, and when\nhe was grown up, S. Benedict made him his coadjutor in the government of\nSubiaco. Placidus, a fellow-monk, going one day to fetch water, fell\ninto the lake, and was carried about a bow-shot from the bank. S.\nBenedict seeing this from his cell, sent Maurus to run and draw him out.\nMaurus obeyed, walked upon the water, without perceiving it, and pulled\nout Placidus by the hair, without himself sinking.\n\nThe fame of Benedict and his work had not been slow to cross the\nfrontiers of Italy; it resounded especially in Gaul. A year before the\ndeath of the patriarch, two envoys arrived at Monte Cassino, from\nInnocent, Bishop of Mans, who, not content with forty monasteries which\nhad arisen during his episcopate in the country over which he ruled,\nstill desired to see his diocese enriched by a colony formed by the\ndisciples of the new head and law-giver of the cenobites in Italy.\nBenedict confided this mission to the dearest and most fervent of his\ndisciples, the young deacon Maurus. He gave him four companions, one of\nwhom, Faustus, is the supposed author of the history of the mission; and\nbestowed on him a copy of the rule, written with his own hand, together\nwith the weights for the bread, and the measure for the wine, which\nshould be allotted to each monk every day, to serve as unchanging types\nof that abstinence which was to be one of the strongest points of the\nnew institution.\n\nAt the head of this handful of missionaries, who went to sow afar the\nseed destined to produce so great a harvest, Maurus came down from Monte\nCassino, crossed Italy and the Alps, paused beneath the precipices which\noverhang the monastery of Agaunum now S. Maurice in the Valais, beside\nthe foaming Rhone, which the Burgundian king, Sigismund, had just raised\nover the relics of the Theban Legion; then went into the Jura to visit\nthe colonies of Condate. Arrived upon the banks of the Loire, and\nrepulsed by the successor of the Bishop who had called him, he stopped\nin Anjou, which was then governed by a viscount called Florus, in the\nname of Theodebert, King of Austrasia. This viscount offered one of his\nestates to the disciple of Benedict, that he might establish his colony\nthere, besides giving one of his sons to become a monk, and announcing\nhis own intention of consecrating himself to God. On this estate, bathed\nby the waters of the Loire, Maurus founded the monastery of Glanfeuil,\nwhich afterwards took his own name. The site of this monastery, now\nlost among the vineyards of Anjou, merits the grateful glance of every\ntraveller who is not insensible to the advantages which flowed from that\nfirst Benedictine colony over the whole of France.\n\nThe beloved son of S. Benedict spent forty years at the head of his\nFrench colony; he saw as many as a hundred and forty monks officiate\nthere; and when he died, after having lived apart for two years in an\nisolated cell, to prepare himself in silence for appearing before God,\nhe had dropped into the soil of Gaul, a germ which could neither perish\nnor be exhausted.\n\nIn art, S. Maurus is represented holding the weights and measures given\nhim by S. Benedict.\n\n\nS. CEOLWULF, K., MONK.\n\n(A.D. 767.)\n\n [Old English Martyrologies on March 14th; later ones on this day,\n on which he is commemorated in the Roman Calendar. Authorities:\n Bede, Florence of Worcester, William of Malmesbury, Henry\n Huntingdon, Simeon of Durham, &c.]\n\nBede dedicated his \"History of the English\" to Ceolwulf, King of\nNorthumbria, whose tender solicitude for monastic interests made the\nmonk of Jarrow look to him as a patron. Ceolwulf was of the race of Ida\nthe Burner; after two obscure reigns, Ceolwulf was called to the throne,\nand vainly attempted to struggle against the disorder and decay of his\ncountry. He was vanquished and made captive by enemies whose names are\nnot recorded, and was shut up in a convent. He escaped, however,\nregained the crown, and reigned for some time in a manner which gained\nthe applause of Bede. But after a reign of eight years, a regret, or an\nunconquerable desire for that monastic life which had been formerly\nforced upon him against his will, seized him. He made the best\nprovisions possible for the security of his country, and for a good\nunderstanding between the spiritual and temporal authorities, nominating\nas his successor a worthy prince of his race. Then, giving up the cares\nof power, and showing himself truly the master of the wealth he\nresigned, he cut his long beard, had his head shaved in the form of a\ncrown, and retired to bury himself anew in the holy island of\nLindisfarne, in the monastery beaten by the winds and waves of the\nnorthern sea. There he passed the last thirty years of his life in study\nand happiness. He had, while king, enriched this monastery with many\ngreat gifts, and obtained permission for the use of wine and beer for\nthe monks, who, up to that time, according to the rigid rule of ancient\nKeltic discipline, had been allowed no beverage but water and milk.\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[52] For authorities for these statements, see Montalembert's\nMonks of the West, I. p. 315.\n\n[53] S. Jerome, Proef. in Reg. S. Pachomii, \u00a7 6.\n\n[54] Pallad. Hist. Lausiaca, c. 7.\n\n[55] S. John Chrysostom, in Matt., hom. VIII. The above account\nof the life of the monks in Egypt is by the eloquent pen of the Count de\nMontalembert.\n\n[56] Rabbulus was afterwards consecrated Bishop of Edessa.\n\n[57] Bollandus gives two lives; one is authentic, the other is\nnot. The first states that he lived at Constantinople, from which he\nescaped to Gomon, threescore furlongs from the city, by water. The\nsecond, mistaking new Rome for old Rome, makes him voyage from Italy to\nBithynia.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 16.\n\n S. PRISCILLA, _Matron, at Rome, 1st cent._\n S. MARCELLUS, _Pope, M., at Rome, circ._ A.D. 309.\n S. MELAS, _B. C., at Rhinoclusa, 4th cent._\n S. HONORATUS, _B. C., of Arles, circ._ A.D. 430\n S. JAMES, _B. C., of the Tarantaise, 5th cent._\n S. VALERIUS, _B. C., of Sorrente, circ._ A.D. 600.\n S. TATIAN, _B. C., at Underzo, in Italy, 7th cent._\n S. FURSEY, _Ab., in France, circ._ A.D. 653.\n S. TOSSA, _B. C., of Augsburg_, A.D. 661.\n S. HENRY, _H., in Northumberland_, A.D. 1127.\n SS. FRANCISCAN MARTYRS, _in Mauritania_, A.D. 1220.\n\n\nS. PRISCILLA, MATRON, AT ROME.\n\n(1ST CENT.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. This Priscilla is not to be confounded with the\n wife of Aquila (Acts xviii. 26.) She was the mother of S. Pudens (2\n Tim. iv. 21), who was the father of SS. Praxedes and Pudentiana,\n the guests and disciples of S. Peter. Nothing more is known of\n her.]\n\n\nS. MARCELLUS, POPE, M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 309.)\n\n [The Greeks have confounded Marcellus with his predecessor,\n Marcellinus, who is commemorated on April 26th. Roman Martyrology,\n that of Bede, Ado, Notker, &c. The Acts are not to be trusted.]\n\nSaint Marcellus succeeded Pope Marcellinus, in 308, after the see had\nbeen vacant for three years and a half. An epitaph written on him by\nPope Damasus, says that by enforcing the penitential canons, he drew on\nhimself the hostility of lukewarm Christians. For his severity to an\napostate he was exiled by the tyrant Maxentius.\n\nRelics, in the church of S. Marcellus at Rome; also at Mons and Namur,\nin Belgium.\n\n\nS. MELAS, B. C. OF RHINOCLUSA.\n\n(4TH CENT.)\n\n [Roman and German Martyrologies. Authority for his life, Sozomen.]\n\nRhinoclusa, or Rinocorurus, was near the river of Egypt, dividing Egypt\nfrom Palestine; of this city and monastic settlement S. Melas was\nBishop. Sozomen, in his Ecclesiastical History, gives the following\naccount of him (lib. vi. c. 31):--\n\n\"Rinocorurus was celebrated at this period, on account of the holy men\nwho were born and flourished there. I have heard that the most eminent\namong them were Melas, the Bishop of the country; Denis and Solon, the\nbrothers and successors of Melas. When the decree went forth for the\nejection of all bishops opposed to Arianism, the officers appointed to\nexecute the mandate found Melas engaged in trimming the lights of the\nchurch, and clad in an old cloak soiled with oil, fastened by a girdle.\nWhen they asked him for the Bishop, he replied that he was within, and\nthat he would conduct them to him. As they were fatigued with their\njourney, he led them to the episcopal dwelling, made them sit down at\nhis table, and placed before them such things as he had. After the\nrepast, he supplied them with water to wash their hands, and then told\nthem who he was. Amazed at his conduct, they confessed the mission on\nwhich they had arrived; but, from respect to him, gave him full liberty\nto go wherever he would. He, however, replied that he would not shrink\nfrom the sufferings to which the other bishops, who maintained the same\nsentiments as himself, were exposed, and that he was ready to go into\nexile. He had been accustomed, from his youth up, to practise all the\nvirtues of asceticism. The Church of Rinocorurus, having been thus, from\nthe beginning, under the guidance of such exemplary bishops, never\nafterwards swerved from their doctrine. The clergy of this Church dwell\nin one house, sit at the same table, and have all things in common.\"\n\n\nS. HONORATUS, B. OF ARLES.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 430.)\n\n [Honoratus, in French Honor\u00e9, is commemorated in almost all the\n Western Kalendars. His life by his kinsman and successor, S.\n Hilary. Another life of him is apocryphal. \"A tissue,\" says\n Bollandus, \"of fables and crazes;\" \"which,\" says Baronius, \"cannot\n be read without nausea, except by those with iron stomachs, and\n wits covered with the rust of ignorance.\" This life, therefore,\n must be completely put aside, as worthless, and we must draw all\n our information from that by S. Hilary, Bishop of Arles.]\n\nThe sailor who proceeds from the roadstead of Toulon towards Italy or\nthe East, passes among two or three islands, rocky and dry, surmounted\nhere and there by a slender cluster of pines. He looks at them with\nindifference, and avoids them. However, one of these islands has been,\nfor the soul and for the mind, a centre purer and more fertile than any\nfamous isle of the Greek sea. It is Lerins, formerly occupied by a city,\nwhich was already ruined in the time of Pliny, and where, at the\ncommencement of the fifth century, nothing more was to be seen than a\ndesert coast, rendered unapproachable by the number of serpents which\nswarmed there.\n\n [Illustration: S. HONOR\u00c9. After Cahier. Jan. 16. ]\n\nIn 410 a man landed and remained there; he was called Honoratus.\nDescended from a consular race, educated and eloquent, but devoted from\nhis youth to great piety; he desired to be made a monk. His father\ncharged his eldest brother, a gay and impetuous young man, to turn him\nfrom the ascetic life; but, on the contrary, it was he who gained his\nbrother. After many difficulties, he at last found repose at Lerins; the\nserpents yielded the place to him; a multitude of disciples gathered\nround him. A community of austere monks and indefatigable labourers was\nformed there. The face of the isle was changed, the desert became a\nparadise; a country bordered with deep woods, watered by streams, rich\nwith verdure, enamelled with flowers, revealed the fertilizing presence\nof a new race. Honoratus, whose fine face was radiant with a sweet and\nattractive majesty,[58] opened the arms of his love to the sons of all\ncountries who desired to love Christ. A multitude of disciples of all\nnations joined him.\n\nThere is, perhaps, nothing more touching in monastic annals than the\npicture traced by S. Hilary, one of the most illustrious sons of Lerins,\nof the paternal tenderness of Honoratus for the numerous family of monks\nwhom he had collected round him. He could reach the depths of their\nsouls to discover all their griefs. He neglected no effort to banish\nevery sadness, every painful recollection of the world. He watched their\nsleep, their health, their food, their labours, that each might serve\nGod according to the measure of his strength. Thus he inspired them with\na love more than filial. \"In him,\" they said, \"we find not only a\nfather, but an entire family, a country, the whole world.\" When he wrote\nto any of those who were absent, they said, on receiving his letter,\nwritten according to the usage of the time, upon tablets of wax, \"It is\nhoney which he has poured back into that wax, honey drawn from the\ninexhaustible sweetness of his heart.\"\n\nIn that island paradise, and under the care of such a shepherd, the\nperfume of life breathed everywhere. These monks, who had sought\nhappiness by renouncing secular life, felt and proclaimed that they had\nfound it; to see their serene and modest joy, their union, their\ngentleness, and their firm hope, one would have believed one's self,\nsays S. Eucher, in the presence of a battalion of angels at rest.[59]\nHow S. Honoratus converted S. Hilary by his prayers, as told by S.\nHilary himself, shall be related when we speak of that Saint. Honoratus\nwas, by compulsion, made to assume the direction of the see of Arles,\nand was consecrated Bishop in 426. He died in the arms of S. Hilary, who\nsucceeded him in 429.\n\nRelics, at S. Honor\u00e9, formerly Lerins.\n\nIn art, he appears expelling serpents from the isle with his staff.\n\n\nS. JAMES, B. OF THE TARANTAISE.\n\n(5TH CENT.)\n\n [Authority for his life, a fragmentary life of uncertain date,\n published by Bollandus.]\n\nJames, of Asiatic origin, and a soldier, was one of the first disciples\nof S. Honoratus in his monastic settlement at Lerins. When S. Honoratus\nwas appointed Archbishop of Arles, he called James to be the first\nBishop of the Tarantaise, the valleys of the Is\u00e8re and Arc, of which\nMoutiers is the modern capital, between the Graian and Pennine Alps. S.\nJames made Centronum, or Moutiers, the seat of the bishopric, and there\nhe laboured to convert the people still buried in heathenism. Of him is\nrelated a story very similar to that told of other Saints, viz., that\nas his monks were cutting down trees in the forest, for the construction\nof his cathedral church, a bear killed one of the oxen which drew the\ntimber. Then the monks fled in consternation to S. James, who went\nboldly to the bear and said, \"I, James, the servant of Christ, command\nthee, cruel beast, to bow thy stubborn neck to the yoke, in place of the\nox thou hast slain.\" Then the bear was obedient, and drew the timber to\nthe church.\n\nS. James is also said to have taken an ass's load of pure snow of the\nmountain in mid-summer, as a tribute to Gondecar, King of the\nBurgundians, having nothing else to offer, when the king had ordered a\ntax to be levied on all the produce of the land.\n\n\nS. FURSEY, AB.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 653.)\n\n [Roman, Donegal, and Scottish Martyrologies, but English on March\n 4th; Feb. 25th is noted in several Kalendars as the festival of the\n translation of his relics, also Sept. 28. A very ancient life of S.\n Fursey, of the date of Bede, exists; later and more prolix lives\n exist, but are of less authority. Bede himself relates the\n principal events of the life of this Saint in his history, and\n quotes the above-mentioned life, lib. iii. c. 19.]\n\nFursey, son of Fintan, an Irish prince, was abbot of a monastery in the\ndiocese of Tuam. Afterwards, travelling with two of his brothers, Fullan\nand Ultan, through England, he entered the province of Essex, and was\nhonourably received by the king, Sigebert, \"and performing his usual\nemployment of preaching the Gospel,\" says Bede, \"by the example of his\nvirtue, and the efficacy of his discourse, he converted many unbelievers\nto Christ, and confirmed in faith and love those that already believed.\nHere he fell into some infirmity of body, and was thought worthy to see\na vision from God; in which he was admonished diligently to proceed in\nthe ministry of the Word, and indefatigably to continue his usual vigils\nand prayers. Being confirmed by this vision, he applied himself with all\nspeed to build a monastery on the ground which had been given him by\nKing Sigebert, and to establish regular discipline therein. The\nmonastery was pleasantly situated in the woods, and with the sea not far\noff; it was built within the area of a castle called Cnobheresburg\n(Burghcastle, in Suffolk.) There, falling sick, he fell into a trance,\nand quitting his body from evening till cock-crow, he was found worthy\nto behold the choirs of angels, and to hear the praises which are sung\nin heaven.\"\n\nThe abbot Fursey, becoming desirous of ridding himself of all business\nof this world, quitted his monastery, having first confided the care of\nit to his brother Fullan; and resolved to end his life as a hermit. He\nrepaired to his brother Ultan, who had already adopted the life of a\nsolitary, and lived a whole year with him in prayer and hard labour.\n\nAfterwards, the province being desolated by war, he crossed the sea to\nFrance, and was there honourably entertained by Clovis, King of the\nFranks, and then by the noble Erconwald. He built a monastery at Lagny,\nabout six miles north of Paris, on the Marne, and falling sick not long\nafter, departed this life.\n\nErconwald took his body, and deposited it in the porch of a church he\nwas building in his town of Peronne, till the church itself should be\ndedicated. This happened twenty-seven days after, and the body being\ntaken from the porch to be re-buried, near the altar, was found as\nentire as if he had but just died.\n\nFursey in _French_ is Fourcy, and in _Flemish_ Fro.\n\nPatron of Lagny and Peronne.\n\nRelics, at Peronne.\n\nIn art, (1), with oxen at his feet, because his body was placed on a\nwagon, and the oxen allowed to conduct it without guide, and they went\nto Peronne; or (2), making a fountain spring up at Lagny, by thrusting\nhis staff into the soil; or beholding a vision, (3), of angels, or (4),\nof the flames of purgatory and hell, in reference to his remarkable\nvision.[60]\n\n\nS. HENRY, H. IN NORTHUMBERLAND.\n\n(A.D. 1127.)\n\n [English Martyrologies. His life in Capgrave.]\n\nS. Henry was of Danish origin. Leaving his parents and wife, he resolved\nto serve God in solitude, and escaped to Coquet Island, off the coast of\nNorthumberland. His relatives came after him, urging him to return to\nhis home; then, in an agony of doubt, he cast himself before his\ncrucifix, and implored God to reveal to him what was His will. Then it\nseemed to him that the Saviour said to him, \"Abide here, play the man,\nand strengthen thine heart to resist. I have called thee in mine eternal\npurpose.\"\n\nSo he remained, and laboured in the islet, and a few brethren joined\nhim, but lived in separate cells. And when he died, they heard the bell\nof his little hovel ring violently, so they ran, and found him dead,\nwith the bell rope in his hand, and the candle by his side was alight.\n\nHis body was taken to Tynemouth, and was buried in the church of the\nBlessed Virgin, near that of S. Oswin.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[58] S. Eucher, De laude Eremi, p. 342.\n\n[59] So far Montalembert's Monks of the West, Vol. I., Book III.\n\n[60] There is not space to give an account of S. Fursey's\nvision, which seems to have been the original of Dante's Divina\nCommedia.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 17.\n\n SS. BRETHREN, SPEUSIPPUS, ELEUSIPPUS, MELEUSIPPUS, AND COMPANIONS,\n _MM. in Cappadocia_.\n S. GENULPH, _B. in France, 3rd cent._\n S. ANTONY THE GREAT, _Ab. in Egypt_, A.D. 356.\n S. SABINE, _B. of Piacenza, in Italy, 4th cent._\n S. NENN, _Ab. in Ulster, Ireland, 6th cent._\n S. SULPICIUS, _B. of Bourges, in France, circ._ A.D. 647.\n S. MILDGYTHA, _V. in Kent, circ._ A.D. 730.\n S. RICMER, _Ab. at Le Mans, in France, circ._ A.D. 700.\n\n\nSS. SPEUSIPPUS, ELEUSIPPUS, MELEUSIPPUS, LEONILLA, JONILLA, NEO AND\nTURBO, MM.\n\n(DATE UNCERTAIN.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea. The relics of these Saints\n having been moved to Langres, in France, they are sometimes called\n Martyrs of Langres, and are supposed to have suffered there; but\n this is a mistake. A copy of the Acts of their martyrdom was sent\n from Langres by one Varnahair to S. Ceraunus, Bishop of Paris, in\n the beginning of the 7th century. The original Acts are said to\n have been written by SS. Neo and Turbo, but they have not come down\n to us without manifest corruption and interpolation.]\n\nSpeusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus were three sons at a birth of a\nbelieving mother and a heathen father. They were instructed in the\nChristian faith by their aunt, Leonilla, and then, in boyish enthusiasm,\nthey rushed from her knee, where they had been taught, to demolish the\nidols in the temples of the city they inhabited. They were taken and\nburnt in one pyre, and received the baptism of blood. Jonilla, a woman\nstanding by, with her little babe in her arms, cried out, \"I also am a\nChristian, I believe in Christ, my God and my King.\" Then the judge\nordered her hands to be bound behind her back, and that she should be\nhung by her hair. Her husband, horrified at the sentence, implored her\nto save her life for his sake and that of the babe; but she answered,\n\"True, that I gave life to this dear little one, but it is true also\nthat I owe my life to God, and I cannot set God after my child.\"\nLeonilla, the aunt of the brothers, was executed. Then Neo, who wrote\nthese Acts, closing his tablets, in which he had inscribed what had\ntaken place, gave them to his colleague, Turbo, and ran to the image of\nNemesis, and cast it down, and stamped on the marble fragments. And when\nthe guardians of the temple saw this, they seized him and beat and\nstoned him till he yielded up his soul to God. \"Turbo also, who wrote\nthe victories of these confessors, not long afterwards suffered\nmartyrdom.\" With these words the Acts close.\n\nThese saintly brothers are called in France Les SS. _Jaumes_, that is to\nsay Gemelli, for Tergemini; sometimes _Geaumes_.\n\n\nS. GENULPH, B. C.\n\n(3RD CENT.)\n\n [Commemorated on this day at Cahors, of which diocese he is\n regarded as the Apostle and first Bishop. He is however mentioned\n in several Martyrologies as Bishop of Bourges. It is probable that\n he was a missionary Bishop without settled see. Called in the Roman\n Martyrology, June 17th, Gundulph; same day and name the same in the\n Bourges Breviary, that being the day of his translation, Jan. 17th,\n of his death. His life was written by S. Sebastus, three years\n after the death of S. Genulph, but this has not come down to us in\n its original form. It has, however, doubtless formed the basis of a\n life written about A.D. 910, published by Bollandus.]\n\nGenitus and his wife, Aclia, were pious Christians at Rome, serving God\nconstantly, night and day, and happy in one another's love. But one\nthing they lacked which grieved them sore, they had no child. Having\nasked God to look upon them and give them a son, He heard their prayer,\nand the wife of Genitus brought forth a man-child, and they called him\nGenulph, or Gundulph. At the age of five, the parents gave him to S.\nSixtus, Bishop of Rome, to educate him in the knowledge and love of God.\nOn the breaking out of the Decian persecution, S. Sixtus ordained\nGenulph bishop, bade him and his father go into Gaul, and preach the\nGospel there. S. Genulph ever wore a garment of camel's hair, \"except\nwhen he celebrated the Holy Mysteries, when he was arrayed in soft\nlinen, and such other shining vestments as pertain to so great a\nmystery. But when the mystery was celebrated, he put on him again the\nrough garb.\"[61] Having entered the territory of the Cadurci, now called\nCahors, he preached the word of God vehemently, and wrought many\nmiracles of healing. Then he and his father were denounced to the\nGovernor, and were beaten and scorched with fire, but remained constant\nto the faith, witnessing a good profession, so that the Governor\nmarvelled, and questioned them about their faith, and so was brought to\na knowledge of the truth; and he released the confessors from prison,\nand they preached boldly, and multitudes came and were baptized; so\nmightily grew the word of God and prevailed. And afterwards he left\nCahors, and went north, till he came to the country of the Bituriges, or\nBerry, and there he took up his residence in a haunted cell, which all\nthe people of the neighbourhood avoided, through fear. But Genulph\nsprinkled it with holy water, and signed himself with the cross, and\nboldly took up his residence therein, nor was he troubled by evil\nspirits. Living in this cell, he laboured diligently with his hands,\ncultivating the soil, and keeping very many cocks and hens. The fame of\nhis sanctity drew others to him, and he became the head of a community.\nAlso many sick came there to be nursed, and the peasants to be\ninstructed. Then Genulph fed them with the eggs, and with the hens,\nwhich he killed and roasted. One day a fox came, and carried off a hen.\nHearing the noise in the poultry yard, Genulph ran out, and saw the fox\nstealing away with his prey. Then he cried, \"Reynard! that hen is not\nthine. Wherefore dost thou rob the poor brothers, who have not injured\nthee?\" And the fox let go the hen unhurt.\n\nWhen he was dying, he exhorted the brethren to wrap him in sack-cloth and\nbury him outside the church, \"for it seemed to him unfitting that the\nprey of worms and corruption should be placed within the holy\ntabernacle.\"\n\n\nS. ANTONY THE GREAT, AB.\n\n(A.D. 356.)\n\n [S. Antony is famous in the East as in the West, and is named in\n all Kalendars. His life was written by S. Athanasius, and is quite\n genuine. S. Antony is also spoken of at length by Sozomen,\n Socrates, S. Jerome, Ruffinus, Theodoret, Evagrius, &c. The\n following account is a condensed translation of the life of the\n great patriarch of monks, by S. Athanasius. It is necessarily very\n much abbreviated.]\n\nAntony was an Egyptian by race, born of noble parents,[62] who had a\nsufficient property of their own: and as they were Christians, he too\nwas Christianly brought up, and when a boy was nourished in the house of\nhis parents, besides whom and his home he knew nought. But when he grew\nolder, he would not be taught letters,[63] not wishing to mix with other\nboys; but all his longing was (according to what is written of Jacob) to\ndwell simply in his own house. But when his parents took him into the\nLord's house he was not saucy, as a boy, nor inattentive as he grew\nolder; but was subject to his parents, and attentive to what was read,\nturning it to his own account. Nor, again, did he trouble his parents\nfor various and expensive dainties; but was content with what he found,\nand asked for nothing more. When his parents died, he was left alone\nwith a little sister, when he was about eighteen or twenty years of age,\nand he took care both of his house and of her. But not six months after\ntheir death, as he was going as usual to the Lord's house, and\ncollecting his thoughts, he meditated, as he walked, how the Apostles\nhad left all and followed the Saviour; and how those in the Acts brought\nthe price of what they had sold, and laid it at the Apostles' feet, to\nbe given away to the poor; and what, and how great, a hope was laid up\nfor them in heaven. With this in his mind he entered the church. And it\nbefell then that the Gospel was being read; and he heard how the Lord\nhad said to the rich man, \"If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell all that\nthou hast, and give to the poor; and come, follow me, and thou shalt\nhave treasure in heaven.\" Antony, therefore, as if the remembrance of\nthe saints had come to him from God, and as if the lesson had been read\non his account, went forth at once from the Lord's house, and gave away\nto those of his own village the possessions he had inherited from his\nancestors (three hundred plough-lands, fertile and very fair), that they\nmight give no trouble either to him or his sister. All his moveables he\nsold, and a considerable sum which he received for them he gave to the\npoor. But having kept back a little for his sister, when he went again\ninto the Lord's house, he heard the Lord saying in the Gospel, \"Take no\nthought for the morrow;\" and, unable to endure any more delay, he went\nout and distributed that too to the needy. And having committed his\nsister to known and faithful virgins, and given to her wherewith to be\neducated in a nunnery, he himself thenceforth devoted himself, outside\nhis house, to training; taking heed to himself, and using himself\nseverely. For monasteries were not then common in Egypt, nor did any\nmonks know the wide desert; but each, who wished to take heed to\nhimself, exercised himself alone, not far from his own village. There\nwas then, in the next village, an old man who had trained himself in a\nsolitary life from his youth. When Antony saw him, he emulated him in\nthat which is noble. And first he began to stay outside the village; and\nthen, if he heard of any earnest man, he went to seek him, and did not\nreturn till he had seen him. So dwelling there at first, he settled his\nmind neither to look back towards his parents' wealth nor to recollect\nhis relations; but he put all his longing and all his earnestness on\ntraining himself more intensely. For the rest he worked with his hands,\nbecause he had heard, \"If any man will not work, neither let him eat;\"\nand of his earnings he spent some on himself and some on the needy. He\nprayed continually, because he knew that one ought to pray secretly,\nwithout ceasing. He attended also so much to what was read, that with\nhim none of the Scriptures fell to the ground, but he retained them all,\nand for the future his memory served him instead of books. Behaving\nthus, Antony was beloved by all; and submitted truly to the earnest men\nto whom he used to go. And from each of them he learnt some improvement\nin his earnestness and his training: he contemplated the courtesy of\none, and another's assiduity in prayer; another's freedom from anger;\nanother's love of mankind: he took heed to one as he watched; to another\nas he studied: one he admired for his endurance, another for his fasting\nand sleeping on the ground; he laid to heart the meekness of one, and\nthe long-suffering of another; and stamped upon his memory the devotion\nto Christ and the mutual love which all in common possessed. And thus\nfilled full, he returned to his own place of training, gathering to\nhimself what he had got from each, and striving to show all their\nqualities in himself. He never emulated those of his own age, save in\nwhat is best; and did that so as to pain no one, but make all rejoice\nover him. And all in the village who loved good, seeing him thus, called\nhim the friend of God; and some embraced him as a son, some as a\nbrother.\n\nBut the devil, who hates and envies what is noble, would not endure such\na purpose in a youth: but attempted against him all that he is wont to\ndo; suggesting to him the remembrance of his wealth, care for his\nsister, relation to his kindred, love of money, love of glory, the\nvarious pleasures of luxury, and the other solaces of life; and then the\nharshness of virtue, and its great toil; and the weakness of his body,\nand the length of time; and altogether raised a great dust-cloud of\narguments in his mind, trying to turn him back from his righteous\nchoice. But when the enemy saw himself to be too weak for Antony's\ndetermination, then he attacked him with the temptations which he is\nwont to use against young men; but Antony protected his body with faith,\nprayers, and fastings. At last, when the evil one could not overthrow\nAntony even thus, as if beside himself he appeared to the sight as a\nblack child, and falling down before him, no longer tempted him to\nargue, but using a human voice, said, \"I have deceived many; I have cast\ndown many. But now I have been worsted in the battle.\" Then, when Antony\nasked him, \"Who art thou who speakest thus to me?\" he forthwith replied\nin a pitiable voice, \"I am the spirit of impurity.\"\n\n [Illustration: S. ANTHONY TORTURED BY DEMONS.\n From the Design by Martin Schonguer.\n Jan. 17.]\n\nThis was Antony's first struggle against the devil: or rather this\nmighty deed in him was the Saviour's, who condemned sin in the flesh\nthat the righteousness of the Lord should be fulfilled in us, who walk\nnot after the flesh, but after the Spirit. But neither did Antony,\nbecause the evil one had fallen, grow careless and despise him; neither\ndid the enemy, when worsted by him, cease from lying in ambush against\nhim. Antony ate once a day, after the setting of the sun, and sometimes\nonly once in two days, often even in four; his food was bread with salt,\nhis drink nothing but water. When he slept he was content with a\nrush-mat; but mostly he lay on the bare ground. He would not anoint\nhimself with oil, saying that it was more fit for young men to be\nearnest in training than to seek things which softened the body; and\nthat they must accustom themselves to labour. So forgetting the past, he\ndaily, as if beginning afresh, took more pains to improve, saying over\nto himself continually the Apostle's words, \"Forgetting what is behind,\nstretching forward to what is before.\" Antony then went to the tombs,\nwhich happened to be some way from the village; and having bidden one of\nhis acquaintances bring him bread at intervals of many days, he entered\none of the tombs, and, shutting the door upon himself, remained there\nalone. But Satan, terrified lest in a little while he should fill the\ndesert with his training, coming one night with a multitude of daemons,\nbeat him so much with stripes that he lay speechless from the torture.\nBut by the providence of God, the next day his acquaintance came,\nbringing him the loaves. And having opened the door, and seeing him\nlying on the ground for dead, he carried him to the Lord's house in the\nvillage, and laid him on the ground; and many of his kinsfolk and the\nvillagers sat round him, as round a corpse. But about midnight, Antony\ncoming to himself, and waking up, saw them all sleeping, and only his\nacquaintance awake, and, nodding to him to approach, begged him to carry\nhim back to the tomb, without waking any one. When that was done, the\ndoor was shut, and he remained as before, alone inside. And because he\ncould not stand on account of the daemon's blows, he prayed prostrate.\nAnd after his prayer, he said with a shout, \"Here am I, Antony: I do not\nfly from your stripes; yea, do your worst, nothing shall separate me\nfrom the love of Christ.\" And then he sang, \"Though an host were laid\nagainst me, yet shall not my heart be afraid.\" So then, in the night,\nthe devils made such a crash, that the whole place seemed shaken, and\nthe daemons, as if breaking in the four walls of the room, seemed to\nenter through them, changing themselves into the shapes of beasts and\ncreeping things; and the place was forthwith filled with shapes of\nlions, bears, leopards, bulls and snakes, asps, scorpions and wolves,\nand each of them moved according to his own fashion. The lion roared,\nlonging to attack; the bull seemed to toss; the serpent writhed, and the\nwolf rushed upon him; and altogether the noises of all the apparitions\nwere dreadful. But Antony lay unshaken and awake in spirit. He groaned\nat the pain of his body: but clear in intellect, and as it were mocking,\nhe said, \"If there were any power in you, it were enough that one of you\nshould come on; but since the Lord has made you weak, therefore you try\nto frighten me by mere numbers. And a proof of your weakness is, that\nyou imitate the shapes of brute animals.\" And taking courage, he said\nagain, \"If ye can, and have received power against me, delay not, but\nattack; but if ye cannot, why do ye disturb me in vain? For a seal to us\nand a wall of safety is our faith in the Lord.\" The devils, having made\nmany efforts, gnashed their teeth at him, because he rather mocked at\nthem than they at him. But neither then did the Lord forget Antony's\nwrestling, but appeared to help him. For, looking up, he saw the roof as\nit were opened, and a ray of light coming down towards him. The devils\nsuddenly became invisible, and the pain of his body forthwith ceased,\nand the building became quite whole. But Antony, feeling the succour,\nand getting his breath again, and freed from pain, questioned the vision\nwhich appeared, saying, \"Where wert thou? Why didst thou not appear to\nme from the first, to stop my pangs?\" And a voice came to him, \"Antony,\nI was here, but I waited to see thy fight. Therefore, since thou hast\nwithstood, and hast not been worsted, I will be to thee always a\nsuccour, and will make thee become famous everywhere.\" Hearing this, he\nrose and prayed, and was so strong, that he felt that he had more power\nin his body than he had before. He was then about thirty-and-five years\nold. And on the morrow he went out, and was yet more eager for devotion\nto God; and, going to that old man aforesaid, he asked him to dwell with\nhim in the desert. But when he declined, because of his age, and because\nno such custom had yet arisen, he himself straightway set off to the\nmountain. But the fiend cast in his way a great silver plate. But\nAntony, perceiving the trick of him who hates what is noble, stopped.\nAnd he judged the plate worthless; and said, \"Whence comes a plate in\nthe desert? This is no beaten way. Had it fallen, it could not have been\nunperceived, from its great size; and besides, he who lost it would have\nturned back and found it, because the place is desert. This is a trick\nof the devil. Thou shalt not hinder, devil, my determination by this:\nlet it go with thee into perdition.\" Then again he saw gold lying in the\nway as he came up. Antony, wondering at the abundance of it, stepped\nover it and never turned, but ran on in haste, until he had lost sight\nof the place. And growing even more and more intense in his\ndetermination, he rushed up the mountain, and finding an empty enclosure\nfull of creeping things, on account of its age, he dwelt in it. The\ncreeping things straightway left the place: but he blocked up the entry,\nhaving taken with him loaves for six months (for the Thebans do this,\nand they often remain a whole year fresh), and having water with him,\nentering, as into a sanctuary, he remained alone, never going forth, and\nnever looking at any one who came. Thus he passed a long time there\ntraining himself, and only twice a year received loaves, let down from\nabove through the roof. But those of his acquaintance who came to him,\nas they often remained days and nights outside (for he did not allow any\none to enter), used to hear as it were crowds inside clamouring,\nthundering, lamenting, crying, \"Depart from our ground. What dost thou\neven in the desert? Thou canst not abide our onset.\" At first those\nwithout thought that there were some men fighting with him, and that\nthey had got in by ladders: but when, peeping in through a crack, they\nsaw no one, then they took for granted that they were devils. His\nacquaintances came up continually, expecting to find him dead, and heard\nhim singing, \"Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; let them\nalso that hate Him flee before Him. Like as the wax melteth at the fire,\nso let the ungodly perish at the presence of God.\" And again, \"All\nnations compassed me round about, but in the name of the Lord will I\ndestroy them.\"\n\nHe endured this for twenty years, training himself alone; neither going\nforth, nor being seen by any one for long periods of time. But after\nthis, when many longed for him, and wished to imitate his training, and\nothers who knew him came, and would have burst in the door by force,\nAntony came forth, as from some inner shrine, initiated into the\nmysteries of God. And when they saw him they wondered; for his body had\nneither grown fat, nor waxed lean from fasting, but he was just such as\nthey had known him before his retirement. They wondered again at the\npurity of his soul, because it was neither contracted, as if by grief,\nnor relaxed by pleasure, nor possessed by laughter or by depression; for\nhe was neither troubled at beholding the crowd, nor over-joyful at\nbeing saluted by too many; but was altogether equal, as being governed\nby reason, and standing on that which is according to nature. Many\nsufferers in body, who were present, did the Lord heal by him. And He\ngave to Antony grace in speaking, so that he comforted many who grieved,\nand reconciled others who were at variance, exhorting all to prefer\nnothing in the world to the love of Christ, and persuading and exhorting\nthem to be mindful of the good things to come, and of the love of God\ntowards us, who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all.\nHe persuaded many to choose the solitary life; and so, thenceforth,\ncells sprang up in the mountains, and the desert was colonized by monks.\n\nBut when he returned to the cell, he persisted in the noble labours of\nhis youth; and by continued exhortations he increased the willingness of\nthose who were already monks, and stirred to love of training the\ngreater number of the rest; and quickly, as his speech drew men on, the\ncells became more numerous; and he governed them all as a father.\n\nThe cells in the mountains were like tents filled with divine choirs,\nsinging, discoursing, fasting, praying, rejoicing over the hope of the\nfuture, working that they might give alms thereof, and having love and\nconcord with each other. And there was really to be seen, as it were, a\nland by itself, of piety and justice; for there was none there who did\nwrong, or suffered wrong; but a multitude of men training themselves,\nand in all of them a mind set on virtue. After these things, the\npersecution which happened under the Maximinus of that time,[64] laid\nhold of the Church; and when the holy martyrs were brought to\nAlexandria, Antony too followed, leaving his cell, and saying, \"Let us\ndepart too, that we may wrestle if we be called, or see them wrestling.\"\nAnd he longed to be a martyr himself, but, not choosing to give himself\nup, he ministered to the confessors in the mines, and in the prisons.\nAnd he was very earnest in the judgment-hall to excite the readiness of\nthose who were called upon to wrestle; and to receive and bring on their\nway, till they were perfected, those of them who went to martyrdom. At\nlast the judge, seeing the fearlessness and earnestness of him and those\nwho were with him, commanded that none of the monks should appear in the\njudgment-hall, or haunt at all in the city. So all the rest thought good\nto hide themselves that day; but Antony cared so little for the order,\nthat he washed his cloak, and stood next day upon a high place, and\nappeared to the Governor in shining white. Therefore, when all the rest\nwondered, and the Governor saw him, and passed by with his array, he\nstood fearless. He himself prayed to be a martyr, and was like one\ngrieved, because he had not borne his witness. But the Lord was\npreserving him for our benefit, and that of the rest, that he might\nbecome a teacher to many in the training which he had learnt from\nScripture. For many, when they only saw his manner of life, were eager\nto emulate it. So he again ministered continually to the confessors;\nand, as if bound with them, wearied himself in his services. And when at\nlast the persecution ceased, and the blessed Bishop Peter had been\nmartyred, he left the city, and went back to his cell. And he was there,\nday by day, a martyr in his conscience, and wrestling in the conflict of\nfaith; for he imposed on himself a much more severe training than\nbefore; and his garment was within of hair, without of skin, which he\nkept till his end.\n\nWhen, then, he retired, and had resolved neither to go forth himself,\nnor to receive any one, one Martinian, a captain of soldiers, came\nand gave trouble to Antony. For he had with him his daughter, who was\npossessed by a devil. And while he remained a long time knocking at the\ndoor, and expecting him to come to pray to God for the child, Antony\ncould not bear to open, but leaning from above, said, \"Man, why criest\nthou to me? I, too, am a man, as thou art. But if thou believest, pray\nto God, and it shall come to pass.\" Forthwith, therefore, he believed,\nand called on Christ; and went away, his daughter made whole. Most of\nthe sufferers, when he did not open the door, sat down outside the\ncell, and praying, were cleansed. But when he saw himself troubled by\nmany, and not being permitted to retire, as he wished, being afraid\nlest he himself should be puffed up by what the Lord was doing by him,\nor lest others should count of him above what he was, he resolved to\ngo to the Upper Thebaid, to those who knew him not. And, in fact,\nhaving taken loaves from the brethren, he sat down on the bank of the\nriver, watching for a boat to pass, that he might embark and go up in\nit. And as he watched, a voice came to him: \"Antony, whither art thou\ngoing, and why?\" And he, not terrified, but as one accustomed to be\noften called thus, answered when he heard it, \"Because the crowds will\nnot let me be at rest; therefore am I minded to go up to the Upper\nThebaid, on account of the many annoyances which befall me; and above\nall, because they ask of me things beyond my strength.\" And the voice\nsaid to him, \"Even if thou goest up to the Thebaid, even if, as thou\nart minded to do, thou goest down to the cattle pastures,[65] thou\nwilt have to endure more; but if thou wilt really be at rest, go now\ninto the inner desert.\" And when Antony said, \"Who will show me the\nway, for I have not tried it?\" forthwith he was shown Saracens who\nwere going to journey that road. So, going to them, and drawing near\nthem, Antony asked leave to depart with them into the desert. They\nwillingly received him; and, journeying three days and three nights\nwith them, he came to a very high mountain;[66] and there was water\nunder the mountain, clear, sweet, and very cold, and a plain outside;\nand a few neglected date-palms. Then Antony, as if stirred by God,\nloved the spot. Having received bread from those who journeyed with\nhim, he remained alone in the mount, no one else being with him. For\nhe recognized that place as his own home, and kept it thenceforth. And\nthe Saracens themselves seeing Antony's readiness, came that way on\npurpose, and joyfully brought him loaves; and he had, too, the solace\nof the dates, which were then small and paltry. But after this, the\nbrethren, having found out the spot, like children remembering their\nfather, were anxious to send things to him; but Antony saw that, in\nbringing him bread, some were put to trouble and fatigue; so he asked\nsome who came to him to bring him a hoe and a hatchet, and a little\ncorn; and when these were brought, having gone over the land round the\nmountain, he found a very narrow place which was suitable, and tilled\nit; and, having plenty of water to irrigate it, he sowed; and, doing\nthis year by year, he got his bread from thence, rejoicing that he\nshould be burdensome to no one on that account. But after this, seeing\nagain some people coming, he planted also a very few pot-herbs, that\nhe who came might have some small solace, after the labour of that\nhard journey. At first, however, the wild beasts in the desert, coming\non account of the water, often hurt his crops and his tillage; but\nhe, gently laying hold of one of them, said to them all, \"Why do you\nhurt me, who have not hurt you? Depart, and, in the name of the Lord,\nnever come near this place.\" And from that time forward, as if they\nwere afraid of his command, they never came near the place. So he was\nthere alone in the inner mountain, having leisure for prayer and for\ntraining. But the brethren who ministered to him asked him that they\nmight bring him olives, and pulse, and oil every month; for, after all,\nhe was old.\n\nBeing once asked by the monks to come down to them, and to visit them\nand their places, he journeyed with the monks who came for him. A camel\ncarried their loaves and their water, for that desert is all dry, and\nthere is no drinkable water except in that mountain where his cell is.\nBut when the water failed on the journey, and the heat was most intense,\nthey all began to be in danger; for finding no water, they could walk no\nmore, but lay down on the ground, and they let the camel go, and gave\nthemselves up. Then the old man, seeing them in danger, was grieved, and\ndeparting a little way from them, he bent his knees, and stretching out\nhis hands, he prayed, and forthwith the Lord caused water to come out\nwhere he had stopped and prayed. Thus all of them drinking, took breath\nagain; and having filled their skins, they sought the camel, and found\nher; for it befell that the halter had been twisted round a stone, and\nthus she had been stopped. So, having brought her back, and given her to\ndrink, they put the skins on her, and went through their journey\nunharmed. And when they came to the outer cells, all embraced him,\nlooking on him as a father. And there was joy again in the mountains,\nand comfort through their faith in each other. And he too rejoiced,\nseeing the willingness of the monks, and his sister grown old in\nmaidenhood, and herself the leader of other virgins. And so, after\ncertain days, he went back again to his own mountain.\n\nAnd after that many came to him; and others, who suffered, dared also to\ncome. Now to all the monks who came to him he gave continually this\ncommand: To trust in the Lord and love Him, and to keep themselves from\nfoul thoughts and fleshly pleasures; and not to be deceived by fulness\nof bread; and to avoid vainglory; and to pray continually; and to sing\nbefore sleep and after sleep; and to lay by in their hearts the\ncommandments of Scripture; and to remember the works of the Saints, in\norder to have their souls attuned to emulate them. But especially he\ncounselled them to meditate continually on the Apostle's saying, \"Let\nnot the sun go down upon your wrath;\" and this he said was spoken of all\ncommandments in common, in order that, not on wrath alone, but on every\nother sin, the sun should never go down; for it was noble and necessary\nthat the sun should never condemn us for a baseness by day, nor the moon\nfor a sin or even a thought by night; therefore, in order that that\nwhich is noble may be preserved in us, it was good to hear and to keep\nwhat the Apostle commanded: for he said, \"Judge yourselves, and prove\nyourselves.\" Let each then take account with himself, day by day, of his\ndaily and nightly deeds; and if he has not sinned, let him not boast,\nbut let him endure in what is good and not be negligent, neither condemn\nhis neighbour, neither justify himself until the Lord comes who searches\nsecret things. For we often deceive ourselves in what we do. Giving\ntherefore the judgment to Him, let us sympathize with each other; and\nlet us bear each other's burdens, and examine ourselves; and what we are\nbehind in, let us be eager to fill up. And let this, too, be our counsel\nfor safety against sinning. Let us each note and write down the deeds\nand motions of the soul as if we were about to relate them to another;\nand be confident that as we shall be utterly ashamed that they should\nbe known, we shall cease from sinning, and even from desiring anything\nmean. As therefore, when in each other's sight we dare not commit a\ncrime, so if we write down our thoughts, and confess them, we shall keep\nourselves the more from foul thoughts, for shame lest they should be\nknown. And thus forming ourselves we shall be able to bring the body\ninto slavery, and please the Lord on the one hand, and on the other\ntrample on the snares of the enemy. This was his exhortation to those\nwho met him: but with those who suffered he suffered, and prayed with\nthem. And those who suffered he exhorted to keep up heart, and to know\nthat the power of cure was none of his, nor of any man's; but only\nbelonged to God, who works when and whatsoever He chooses. So the\nsufferers received this as a remedy, learning not to despise the old\nman's words, but rather to keep up heart; and those who were cured,\nlearned not to bless Antony, but God alone.\n\nBut when two brethren were coming to him, and water failed them on the\njourney, one of them died, and the other was about to die. In fact,\nbeing no longer able to walk, he too lay upon the ground expecting\ndeath. But Antony, as he sat on the mountain, called two monks who\nhappened to be there, and hastened them, saying, \"Take a pitcher of\nwater, and run on the road towards Egypt; for of two who are coming\nhither one has just expired, and the other will do so if you do not\nhasten. For this has been showed to me as I prayed.\" So the monks,\ngoing, found the one lying dead, and buried him; and the other they\nrecovered with the water, and brought him to the old man. Now the\ndistance was a day's journey. But this alone in Antony was wonderful,\nthat sitting on the mountain he kept his heart watchful, and the Lord\nshowed him things afar off.\n\nAnd concerning those who came to him, he often predicted some days, or\neven a month, beforehand, and the cause why they were coming. For some\ncame only to see him, and others on account of sickness, and all thought\nthe labour of the journey no trouble, for each went back aware that he\nhad been benefited.\n\nBut how tolerant was his temper, and how humble his spirit! for though\nhe was so great, he wished to put every ecclesiastic before himself in\nhonour. For to the bishops and priests he bowed his head; and if a\ndeacon came to him, he discoursed with him on what was profitable, but\nin prayer he gave place to him. He often asked questions, and deigned to\nlisten to all present, confessing that he was profited if any one said\naught that was useful. Moreover, his countenance had great and wonderful\ngrace; and this gift too he had from the Saviour. For if he was present\namong the multitude of monks, and any one who did not previously know\nhim wished to see him, as soon as he came, he passed by all the rest,\nand ran to Antony himself, as if attracted by his eyes. He did not\ndiffer from the rest in stature or in stoutness, but in the steadiness\nof his temper, and the purity of his soul; for as his soul was\nundisturbed, his outward senses were undisturbed likewise, so that the\ncheerfulness of his soul made his face cheerful. And he was altogether\nwonderful in faith, and pious, for he never communicated with the\nMeletian[67] schismatics, knowing their malice and apostasy from the\nbeginning; nor did he converse amicably with Manichaeans or any other\nheretics, save only to exhort them to be converted to piety. For he held\nthat their friendship and converse was injury and ruin to the soul. So\nalso he detested the heresy of the Arians, and exhorted all not to\napproach them, nor hold their misbelief.[68]\n\nBeing sent for by the bishops and all the brethren, he went down from\nthe mountain, and entering Alexandria, he denounced the Arians, teaching\nthe people that the Son of God was not a created thing, but that He is\nthe Eternal Word and Wisdom of the Essence of the Father. Wherefore he\nsaid, \"Do not have any communication with these most impious Arians; for\nthere is no communion between light and darkness. For you are pious\nChristians: but they, when they say that the Son of God, who is from the\nFather, is a created being, differ nought from the heathen, because they\nworship the creature instead of the Creator.\" All the people therefore\nrejoiced at hearing that heresy anathematized by such a man; and all\nthose in the city ran together to see Antony; and the Greeks,[69] and\nthose who are called their priests, came into the church, wishing to see\nthe man of God. And many heathens wished to touch the old man, believing\nthat it would be of use to them; and in fact as many became Christians\nin those few days as would have been usually converted in a year. And\nwhen some thought that the crowd troubled him, he quietly said that they\nwere not more numerous than the fiends with whom he wrestled on the\nmountain. But when he left the city, and we were setting him on his\njourney, when we came to the gate, a certain woman called to him: \"Wait,\nman of God, my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil; wait, I\nbeseech thee, lest I too harm myself with running after thee.\" The old\nman hearing it, and being asked by us, waited willingly. But when the\nwoman drew near, the child dashed itself on the ground; and when Antony\nprayed and called on the name of Christ, it rose up sound, the unclean\nspirit having gone out; and the mother blessed God, and we all gave\nthanks: and he himself rejoiced at leaving the city for the mountain, as\nfor his own home.\n\nNow he was very prudent; and what was wonderful, though he had never\nlearnt letters, he was a shrewd and understanding man.\n\nWhen some philosophers met him in the outer mountain, and thought to\nmock him, because he had not learnt letters, Antony answered, \"Which is\nfirst, the sense or the letters? And, which is the cause of the other,\nthe sense of the letters, or the letters of the sense?\" And when they\nsaid that the sense came first, Antony replied, \"If then the sense be\nsound, the letters are not needed.\" So they went away wondering, when\nthey saw so much understanding in an unlearned man. For though he had\nlived, and grown old, in the mountain, his manners were not rustic, but\ngraceful and courteous; and his speech was seasoned with the divine\nsalt.\n\nThe fame of Antony reached even the kings, for Constantine, and his\nsons, Constantius and Constans, hearing of these things, wrote to him as\nto a father, and begged to receive an answer from him. But he did not\nmake much of the letters, nor was puffed up by their messages; and he\nwas just the same as he was before the kings wrote to him. And he called\nhis monks and said, \"Wonder not if a king writes to us, for he is but a\nman: but wonder rather that God has written His law to man, and spoken\nto us by His own Son.\" So he declined to receive their letters, saying\nhe did not know how to write an answer to such things; but being\nadmonished by the monks that the kings were Christians, and that they\nmust not be scandalized by being despised, he permitted the letters to\nbe read, and wrote an answer; accepting them because they worshipped\nChrist, and counselling them, for their salvation, not to think the\npresent life great, but rather to remember judgment to come; and to know\nthat Christ was the only true and eternal king; and he begged them to\nbe merciful to men, and to think of justice and the poor. And they, when\nthey received the answer, rejoiced. Thus was he kindly towards all, and\nall looked on him as their father. He then betook himself again into the\ninner mountain, and continued his accustomed training. But often, when\nhe was sitting and walking with those who came unto him, he was\nastounded, as is written in Daniel. And after the space of an hour, he\ntold what had befallen to the brethren who were with him, and they\nperceived that he had seen some vision. Often he saw in the mountain\nwhat was happening in Egypt, and once he told what he had seen, to\nSerapion the Bishop, who saw him occupied with a vision. For as he sat,\nhe fell as it were into an ecstasy, and groaned much at what he saw.\nThen, after an hour, turning to those who were with him, he fell into a\ntrembling, and rose up and prayed, and bending his knees, remained so a\nlong while; and then the old man rose up and wept. The bystanders,\ntherefore, trembling and altogether terrified, asked him to tell them\nwhat had happened, and they tormented him so much, that he was forced to\nspeak. And he groaning greatly--\"Ah! my children,\" he said, \"it were\nbetter to be dead than to live and behold the things that I have seen\nshall come to pass.\" And when they asked him again, he said with tears,\nthat \"Wrath will seize on the Church, and she will be given over to men\nlike unto brutes, which have no understanding; for I saw the table of\nthe Lord's house, and mules standing all around it in a ring and kicking\ninwards, as a herd does when it leaps in confusion; and ye all perceived\nhow I groaned, for I heard a voice saying, 'My sanctuary shall be\ndefiled.'\"\n\nThis the old man saw, and after two years there befell the present\ninroad of the Arians,[70] and the plunder of the churches, when they\ncarried off the holy vessels by violence, and made the heathen carry\nthem: and when too they forced the heathens from the prisons to join\nthem, and in their presence did on the Holy Table what they would.[71]\nThen we all perceived that the kicks of those mules foreshadowed to\nAntony what the Arians are now doing, without understanding, as brute\nbeasts. But when Antony saw this sight, he exhorted those about him,\nsaying, \"Lose not heart, children; for as the Lord has been angry, so\nwill He again be appeased, and the Church shall soon receive again her\nown order and shine forth as she is wont; and ye shall see the\npersecuted restored to their place, and impiety retreating again into\nits own dens, and the pious faith speaking boldly everywhere with all\nfreedom. Only defile not yourselves with the Arians, for this teaching\nis not of the Apostle, but of their father the devil; barren and\nirrational like the deeds of those mules.\"\n\nAll the magistrates asked him to come down from the mountain, that they\nmight see him, because it was impossible for them to go in thither to\nhim. And when he declined, they insisted, and even sent to him prisoners\nunder the charge of soldiers, that at least on their account he might\ncome down. So being forced by necessity, and seeing them lamenting, he\ncame to the outer mountain. And his labour this time too was profitable\nto many, and his coming for their good. To the magistrates, he was of\nuse, counselling them to prefer justice to all things, and to fear God,\nand to know that with what judgment they judged they should be judged in\nturn. But he loved best of all his life in the mountain. Once again,\nwhen he was compelled in the same way to leave it, by those who were in\nwant, and by the general of the soldiers, who entreated him earnestly,\nhe came down, and having spoken to them somewhat of the things which\nconduced to salvation, he was pressed also by those who were in need.\nBut being asked by the general to lengthen his stay, he refused, and\npersuaded him by a graceful parable, saying, \"Fishes, if they lie long\non the dry land, die; so monks who stay with you lose their strength. As\nthe fishes then hasten to the sea, so must we to the mountain, lest if\nwe delay we should forget what is within.\"\n\nAnother general, named Balacius, bitterly persecuted us Christians on\naccount of his affection for those abominable Arians. His cruelty was so\ngreat that he even beat nuns, and stripped and scourged monks. Antony\nsent him a letter to this effect:--\"I see wrath coming upon thee. Cease,\ntherefore, to persecute the Christians, lest the wrath lay hold upon\nthee, for it is near at hand.\" But Balacius, laughing, threw the letter\non the ground, and spat on it; and insulted those who brought it,\nbidding them tell Antony, \"Since thou carest for monks, I will soon come\nafter thee likewise.\" And not five days had passed, when the wrath laid\nhold on him. For Balacius himself, and Nestorius, the Eparch of Egypt,\nwent out to the first station from Alexandria, which is called\nChaereas's. Both of them were riding on horses belonging to Balacius, and\nthe most gentle in all his stud: but before they had got to the place,\nthe horses began playing with each other, as is their wont, and suddenly\nthe more gentle of the two, on which Nestorius was riding, attacked\nBalacius and pulled him off with his teeth, and so tore his thigh that\nhe was carried back to the city, and died in three days.\n\nBut the rest who came to Antony he so instructed that they gave up at\nonce their lawsuits, and blessed those who had retired from this life.\nAnd those who had been unjustly used he so protected, that you would\nthink he, and not they, was the sufferer. And he was able to be of use\nto all; so that many who were serving in the army, and many wealthy\nmen, laid aside the burdens of life and became thenceforth monks; and\naltogether he was like a physician given by God to Egypt. For who met\nhim grieving, and did not go away rejoicing? Who came mourning over his\ndead, and did not forthwith lay aside his grief? Who came wrathful, and\nwas not converted to friendship? What poor man came wearied out, and,\nwhen he saw and heard him, did not despise wealth and comfort himself in\nhis poverty? What monk, who had grown remiss, was not strengthened by\ncoming to him? What young man coming to the mountain and looking upon\nAntony, did not forthwith renounce pleasure and love temperance? Who\ncame to him tempted by devils, and did not get rest? Who came troubled\nby doubts, and did not get peace of mind? For this was the great thing\nin Antony's asceticism, that (as I have said before), having the gift of\ndiscerning spirits, he understood their movements, and knew in what\ndirection each of them turned his endeavours and his attacks. And not\nonly he was not deceived by them himself, but he taught those who were\ntroubled in mind how they might turn aside the plots of devils, teaching\nthem the weakness and the craft of their enemies. How many maidens, too,\nwho had been already betrothed, and only saw Antony from afar, remained\nunmarried for Christ's sake! Some, too, came from foreign parts to him,\nand all, having gained some benefit, went back from him as from a\nfather. He was visiting, according to his wont, the monks in the outer\nmountain, and having learned from Providence concerning his own end, he\nsaid to the brethren, \"This visit to you is my last, and I wonder if we\nshall see each other again in this life. It is time for me to set sail,\nfor I am near a hundred and five years old.\" And when they heard that,\nthey wept, and kissed the old man. And he, as if he were setting out\nfrom a foreign city to his own, spoke joyfully, and exhorted them not to\ngrow idle in their labours, or cowardly in their training, but to live\nas those who died daily. And when the brethren tried to force him to\nstay with them and make his end there, he would not endure it, on many\naccounts, as he showed by his silence; and especially on this:--The\nEgyptians are wont to wrap in linen the corpses of good persons, and\nespecially of the holy martyrs, but not to bury them underground, but to\nlay them upon benches and keep them in their houses;[72] thinking that\nby this they honour the departed. Now Antony had often asked the bishops\nto exhort the people about this, and, in like manner, he himself rebuked\nthe laity and terrified the women; saying that it was a thing neither\nlawful, nor in any way holy; for that the bodies of the patriarchs and\nprophets are to this day preserved in sepulchres, and that the very body\nof our Lord was laid in a sepulchre, and a stone placed over it to hide\nit, till He rose the third day. And thus saying, he showed that those\nbroke the law who did not bury the corpses of the dead, even if they\nwere saints; for what is greater or more holy than the Lord's body?\nMany, then, when they heard him, buried their dead thenceforth\nunderground; and blessed the Lord that they had been taught rightly.\nBeing then aware of this, and afraid lest they should do the same by his\nbody, he hurried himself, and bade farewell to the monks in the outer\nmountain; and coming to the inner mountain, where he was wont to abide,\nafter a few months he grew sick, and calling those who were by--and\nthere were two of them who had remained there within fifteen years, he\nsaid to them, \"I indeed go the way of the fathers, as it is written, for\nI perceive that I am called by the Lord. Promise to bury me secretly, so\nthat no one shall know the place, save you alone, for I shall receive my\nbody incorruptible from my Saviour at the resurrection of the dead. And\ndistribute my garments thus. To Athanasius, the bishop, give one of my\nsheepskins, and the cloak under me, which was new when he gave it me,\nand has grown old by me; and to Serapion, the bishop, give the other\nsheepskin; and do you have the hair-cloth garment. And for the rest,\nchildren, farewell, for Antony is going, and is with you no more.\"\n\nSaying this, when they had embraced him, he stretched out his feet, and,\nas if he saw friends coming to him, and grew joyful on their account\n(for, as he lay, his countenance was bright), he departed and was\ngathered to his fathers. And they forthwith, as he had commanded them,\npreparing the body and wrapping it up, hid it under ground: and no one\nknows to this day where it is hidden, save those two servants only.\n\nIn art, S. Antony appears (1), with a hog which has a bell attached to\nits neck. Sometimes, however, S. Antony holds the bell. He was regarded\nas the Patron of the Hospitallers; and when ordinances were passed\nforbidding the poor from allowing their swine to run loose about the\nstreets, as they were often in the way of horses, an exception was made\nin favour of the pigs of the hospitallers, on consideration of their\nwearing a bell round their necks. But it is possible that this did not\noriginate the symbol, but that rather, on account of the hog being the\nsymbol of S. Antony, the Antonine Hospitallers were allowed to preserve\ntheirs, and that the hog represents the flesh which S. Antony\ncontrolled, and the bell is a common symbol of hermits; (2), he is\nrepresented with his peculiar cross. The cross of S. Antony is a\ncrutch, or the Egyptian cross, like the letter T.\n\n\nS. SABINE, B. OF PIACENZA.\n\n(END OF 4TH CENT.)\n\n [Authorities: Roman Martyrology and the Dialogues of S. Gregory the\n Great, lib. III., c. 10.]\n\nS. Sabine or Savine, was of Roman origin; he was made Bishop of Piacenza\nin Italy, and was present at the great Council of Nicaea, and also at\nthat of Aquileija. S. Gregory relates of him, that on one occasion the\nriver Po had overflowed its banks, and was devastating the church lands.\nThen Sabine said to his deacon, \"Go and say to the river, 'The Bishop\ncommands thee to abate thy rage, and return into thy bed.'\" But the\ndeacon refused to go, thinking he was sent on a fool's errand. Therefore\nSabine said to his notary, \"Write on a strip of parchment these words,\nSabine, servant of the Lord Jesus Christ to the river Po, greeting:--I\ncommand thee, O river, to return into thy bed, and do no more injury to\nthe lands of the church, in the name of Jesus Christ, our common Lord.\"\nAnd when the notary had thus written, the Bishop said, \"Go, cast this\ninto the river.\" And he did so; then the flood abated, and the Po\nreturned within its banks, as aforetime. After having governed his\ndiocese forty-five years, he died on December 11th, and was buried in\nthe church of the Twelve Apostles, but now known as the church of S.\nSavine, on Jan. 17th.\n\n\nS. MILDGYTHA, V. (ABOUT A.D. 730.)\n\n [Mildgytha, Mildwitha, Milgith or Milwith, as she is variously\n called, is commemorated in the English Kalendars.]\n\nNothing more is known of S. Mildgytha than that she was the youngest\nsister of S. Mildred and S. Milburgh, and daughter of S. Ermenburga and\nMerewald, Prince of Mercia, who was the son of the terrible Penda, the\ngreat enemy of Christianity in Mid-England. Mildgytha, like her sisters,\ntook the veil, and died a nun at Canterbury.\n\n [Illustration: The Chair of S. Peter in the Vatican.]\n\n [Illustration: S. PETER'S COMMISSION, \"FEED MY FLOCK.\"]\n\n [Illustration: THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. Jan. 18.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[61] Vita, ex duobus veteribus MSS., Bolland. II. p. 83\n\n[62] He is said to have been born at Coma, near Heracleia, in\nMiddle Egypt, A. D. 251.\n\n[63] Seemingly the Greek language and literature.\n\n[64] A.D. 301. Galerius Valerius Maximinus (his real name was\nDaza) had been a shepherd-lad in Illyria, like his uncle Galerius\nValerius Maximianus; and rose, like him, through the various grades of\nthe army to be co-Emperor of Rome, over Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor; a\nfurious persecutor of the Christians, and a brutal and profligate\ntyrant. Such were the \"kings of the world\" from whom those old monks\nfled.\n\n[65] The lonely alluvial flats at the mouths of the Nile.\n\"Below the cliffs, beside the sea,\" as one describes them.\n\n[66] Now the monastery of Deir Antonios, over the Wady el\nArabah, between the Nile and the Red Sea, where Antony's monks endure to\nthis day.\n\n[67] Meletius, Bishop of Lycopolis, was the author of an\nobscure schism calling itself the \"Church of the Martyrs,\" which refused\nto communicate with the rest of the Eastern Church.\n\n[68] Arius (whose most famous and successful opponent was\nAthanasius, the writer of this biography) maintained that the Son of God\nwas not co-equal and co-eternal with the Father, but created by Him out\nof nothing, and before the world. His opinions were condemned in the\nfamous Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325.\n\n[69] _I.e._ those were still heathens.\n\n[70] Probably that of A.D. 341, when Gregory of Cappadocia,\nnominated by the Arian Bishops, who had assembled at the Council of\nAntioch, expelled Athanasius from the see of Alexandria, and great\nviolence was committed by his followers and by Philagrius the Prefect.\nAthanasius meanwhile fled to Rome.\n\n[71] _I.e._ celebrated there their own Communion.\n\n[72] Evidently the primaeval custom of embalming the dead, and\nkeeping mummies in the house, still lingered among the Egyptians.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 18.\n\n S. PETER'S CHAIR, _at Rome_, A.D. 43.\n S. PRISCA, _V. M., at Rome, about_ A.D. 50.\n SS. PAUL AND THIRTY-SIX COMPANIONS, _MM., in Egypt_.\n SS. ARCHELAA, THECLA, AND SUSANNA, _V., MM., at Salerno, in Italy_,\n A.D. 285.\n S. VOLUSIAN,_ B. C. of Tours, in France, circ._ A.D. 400.\n SS. LIBERATA AND FAUSTINA, _VV., at Como, in Italy, circ._ A.D. 580.\n S. LEOBARD, _H., Marmoutier, France, circ._ A.D. 583.\n S. DEICOLUS, _Ab. of Lure, in Burgundy, beginning of 7th cent._\n S. FACE, C., _at Cremona, in Italy_, A.D. 1272.\n\n\nS. PETER'S CHAIR.\n\n(A.D. 43.)\n\n [All ancient Latin Martyrologies. The commemoration having,\n however, died out, it was restored by Pope Paul IV. The feast of\n the Chair of S. Peter is found in a copy of the ancient\n Martyrology, passing under the name of S. Jerome, made in the time\n of S. Willibrod, in 720.]\n\nIt was an ancient custom observed by churches to keep an annual feast of\nthe consecration of their bishops, and especially of the founding of the\nepiscopate in them. The feast of S. Peter's Chair is the commemoration\nof the institution of the patriarchal see of Rome by S. Peter, the\nPrince of the Apostles. \"This day,\" says S. Augustine (Serm. xv. de\nSanctis), \"has received the name of the Chair from our predecessor,\nbecause S. Peter, the first of the Apostles, is said on this to have\ntaken the throne of his episcopate. Rightly, therefore, do the churches\nvenerate the natal day of that chair which the Apostle received for the\ngood of the churches.\"\n\nThe ancient wooden seat of S. Peter is preserved in the Vatican. That S.\nPeter founded the church at Rome by his preaching is expressly asserted\nby Caius, an ecclesiastical writer born about A.D. 202,[73] who relates\nthat he and S. Paul suffered there. The same is affirmed by Dionysius,\nBishop of Corinth, in the second age.[74] S. Irenaeus, who lived in the\nsame age, calls the Church of Rome \"the greatest and most ancient\nchurch, founded by the two glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul.\"[75]\nEusebius says, \"Peter, that powerful and great Apostle, like a noble\ncommander of God, fortified with divine armour, bore the precious\nmerchandise of the revealed light from the east to those in the west,\nand came to Rome, announcing the light itself, and salutary doctrine of\nthe soul, the proclamation of the kingdom of God.\"[76] And he adds that\nhis first epistle was said to have been composed at Rome, and that he\nshows this fact, by calling the city by an unusual trope, Babylon; thus,\n\"The Church of Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you.\" (1\nPet. v. 13.[77])\n\n\nS. PRISCA, V. M., AT ROME.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 50.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. She is often confounded with S. Priscilla\n mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, the wife of Aquila, but\n called Prisca in the second epistle of Paul to Timothy. What adds\n to the confusion is, that S. Prisca is said in her Acts to have\n suffered under Claudius, but whether Claudius, who reigned from\n 41-54, or the second Claudius, who reigned from 263 to 270, is not\n stated; but it seems probable that it was under the first\n Claudius.[78] The Acts of S. Prisca are a forgery, and deserve no\n confidence. The following account is taken from the Martyrologies.]\n\nS. Prisca, a maiden of consular birth, being accused of Christianity,\nat the age of thirteen, was ordered by the Emperor Claudius to\nsacrifice to idols. On her steadfastly refusing, she was beaten with\nthe hand and cast into prison. On the morrow she was again urged to\nsacrifice, but when she remained invincible, she was beaten with rods,\nand then taken back to prison. The third day she was exposed to a lion,\nwhich however crouched at her feet, doing her no injury. Then, having\nbeen tortured on the little horse, with hooks and pincers, she was led\noutside of the city, and was decapitated.\n\nAn eagle is said to have defended her body from dogs, till Christians\ncame and buried it.\n\n\nSS. PAUL AND THIRTY-SIX COMPANIONS, MM. IN EGYPT.\n\n(DATE UNCERTAIN.)\n\n [From the ancient Acts in Bollandus and Ruinart.]\n\nIn Egypt thirty-seven Christian soldiers entered into a zealous\nconfederacy to spread the Gospel throughout the country. Their leader\nwas one Paul. They divided themselves into four companies. Paul and nine\nothers went eastwards. Recumbus, with eight more, went to the north;\nTheonas, with the like number, to the south; and Popias, with the\nremainder, to the west. The Governor of Egypt, alarmed at the report he\nheard of this confederacy, sent troops to apprehend them, and when they\nwere brought before him he ordered them to instant execution; those who\nwent to the east and south, to be burnt; those who went to the north to\nbe beheaded, and those who travelled west to be crucified. They\nsuffered on the 18th January, but in what year is not mentioned.\n\n\nSS. ARCHELAA, THECLA, AND SUSANNA, VV., MM. AT SALERNO.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 285.)\n\n [The Acts of these martyrs constitute the lections for this day in\n the Salerno Breviary.]\n\nArchelaa, a virgin consecrated to God, during the persecution of\nDiocletian, took refuge with two maidens, Thecla and Susanna, in a\nprivate house outside the walls of Nola, in Campania, hoping to remain\nunnoticed till the storm was passed. But Leontius, Governor of Salerno,\nhaving heard that they were Christians, ordered them to be brought\nbefore him. Archelaa was exposed to lions, but was unhurt; then the\ninhuman judge ordered boiling oil and pitch to be poured over her naked\nbody. In her agony, she spread her hands to heaven, and cried: \"Look, O\nLord, on us, and be mindful of thy servants. Extinguish the fire which\nconsumes me, and cool my tortured body, refreshing me after the wounds\nthe wicked one has dealt me!\" Then a sudden sunbeam shot from between\nthe clouds upon her, and a voice was heard, \"O Martyr, fear not! A crown\nis laid up for thee in heaven. Fear not, I am with thee, and I will give\nthee refreshment and succour.\" Then Leontius ordered Archelaa, Thecla,\nand Susanna to have their heads smitten off with the executioner's\nsword.\n\n\nS. LEOBARD, H., AT MARMOUTIER.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 583.)\n\n [Gallican Martyrologies. Authority: the life of S. Leobard, written\n by his friend, S. Gregory of Tours.]\n\nLeobard was the son of noble parents in Auvergne. The youth loved study\nand prayer. On reaching his majority, his father urged him to marry, but\nthe young man, having no wish to take to himself a wife, refused. The\nfather, however, pressed him so strongly, that at last he consented to\nbe betrothed. \"Then,\" says S. Gregory, \"the ring, the kiss, and the shoe\nwere given, and the betrothal feast was kept.\" But Leobard lost his\nfather shortly after, and taking the betrothal gifts, he rode to his\nbrother's house, to make them over to him. He found his brother so drunk\nthat he did not even invite him to stay the night with him, so Leobard\ntied up his horse, and crept into a hay loft and slept there. But in the\nmiddle of the night he woke, and his mind turned to the importance of\nsaving his soul, and of striving to be like Christ. Then he resolved to\nrenounce the world wholly; but first to seek counsel at the tomb of S.\nMartin at Tours. From Tours he went to Marmoutier, and joined himself to\na hermit named Alaric, who spent his time in making parchment and\nwriting out Holy Scripture. Leobard lived in a cave, which he dug out of\nthe rock, enlarging it and improving it as he saw fitting; and here he\nspent twenty-two years in prayer and study and writing, and in labour\nwith his hands. He was frequently visited by S. Gregory of Tours, who\nwas his personal friend. On a Sunday, being very ill, he said to him who\nministered to him in his sickness, \"Prepare me some food.\" \"It is ready,\nsir,\" answered the servant shortly after. \"Go forth,\" said the hermit,\n\"and see if the people are returning from mass.\" And this he said\nbecause he knew that his hour was come, and he desired to be alone with\nGod when he migrated. So the servant went out and looked towards the\nchurch, and waited, and presently he returned to say that he saw the\ncongregation drifting homewards, then he saw his master lying dead upon\nthe ground, and he, too, was going home.\n\n\nS. DEICOLUS, AB. OF LURE.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 7TH CENT.)\n\n [Deicolus, in Irish _Deichul_, in French _D\u00e9el_, _D\u00e8l\u00e9_, _Dielf_,\n _Dieu_, or _Diel_, is commemorated on this day in the Roman\n Martyrology and in the Anglican Kalendars. His translation is\n observed on Feb. 15th or Nov. 21st. His life was written by an\n anonymous author about the year 700.]\n\nDeicolus quitted Ireland, his native country, with S. Columbanus,\nand lived with him, first in the kingdom of the East Angles, and\nafterwards at Luxeuil, the great monastery he founded in France. When\nS. Columbanus was expelled by the fierce Queen Brunehaut and her son\nThierri, King of Burgundy, Deicolus followed him, but his strength\nfailing him, he was unable to continue in the companionship of the\nenergetic and active Columbanus; therefore, falling at the feet of his\nsuperior, he besought his permission to retire to some solitude where\nhe could serve God in tranquillity. Then Columbanus, compassionating\nthe exhaustion of his companion, said in a fatherly tone, \"God\nAlmighty, out of love to whom thou didst leave thy country, and hast\never obeyed me, make us together to rejoice in the presence of His\nMajesty.\" And when they had long clasped each other, and had shed many\ntears, then the abbot blessed his follower with these words, \"The\nLord give thee blessing out of Zion, and make thee to see Jerusalem\nin prosperity all thy life long.\" Then he hastily tore himself away\nweeping, and Deicolus remained alone in Burgundy. And after he had\nknelt down and commended himself to God, he turned and went through the\nwild tangled thicket and waste lands, seeking where he might settle.\nBut the country was a wilderness without habitation. Then, by chance,\nhe lighted on a swineherd, who was feeding pigs on acorns in the\nforest; who was much surprised to see a stranger. But Deicolus said,\n\"Fear not, my brother, I am a monk. And now I beseech thee, show me a\ncommodious spot where I may settle.\" Then the swineherd mused and said,\n\"There is no such place in this wilderness, save a little lake we call\nLuthra, with fresh springs.\" And when Deicolus urged him to conduct him\nthither, the swineherd said, \"I cannot do so, for I shall lose my hogs\nif I leave them without a keeper.\" But Deicolus took his staff, and\nplanted it in the ground, and said, \"Be without fear, my staff shall\nbe thy substitute, and the swine will not stray till thou returnest.\"\nThen the pigwarden believed the word of the man of God, and he left his\nswine, and guided Deicolus to the place called Luthra; and there was\na little chapel, dedicated to S. Martin, built by a gentleman named\nWeifhardt, where service was occasionally performed by his chaplain.[79]\n\nNow Deicolus was pleased with the place, and he dwelt in the forest, and\nevery day he visited the little chapel and opened the door and went in,\nand there he prayed. But the priest who served that chapel was very\nwroth, and he spoke to the people, saying, \"There is a man, a sort of\nhermit, who haunts the woods, and he intrudes on this chapel, and uses\nit, as if it were his own private property. If he be caught here by me,\nI swear that I will beat him well.\"\n\nThen the people choked the windows and door with brambles and thorns, to\nprevent the ingress of the hermit. Nevertheless, regardless of the\nimpediment, he came as usual. So the priest complained to Weifhardt, who\nflew into a rage, and ordered his servants to scour the woods for\nDeicolus, and when they had caught him, savagely to maltreat him. All\nwhich they obeyed. But shortly after, the gentleman fell sick of a most\npainful disorder, and when his wife, Berthilda, thought that he must\ndie, she considered that perhaps the disease was sent in punishment for\nthe injury done to the hermit. Therefore she bade her servants find him\nand bring to the sick-bed. Now when Deicolus heard that Weifhardt was\ngrievously tormented, mindful of the command of Christ, to return good\nfor evil, he hasted and went to the castle of the gentleman, and entered\nthe room. And as the day was hot, and he had walked fast, he plucked off\nhis mantle, for he was heated. Then the servants ran to take it from\nhim, but Deicolus exclaimed, \"On him who serves God the elements attend,\nand he needeth not the assistance of man.\" Then, seeing a sunbeam shot\nthrough the window, he cast his mantle upon it, and it rested on the\nsunbeam.[80]\n\nAnd when he had prayed, the Lord healed the gentleman; and Berthilda\ngave Deicolus the farm of Luthra, and the little chapel, and the wood\nadjoining. Then the hermit walked round the land given him, and he\nrejoiced and cried, \"This shall be thy rest for ever; here shalt thou\ndwell, for thou hast a delight therein.\"\n\nNow it happened one day, as he sat reading in his cell, that King\nClothaire II. was hunting in the forest, and his dogs pursued a wild\nboar, and when the beast was hard pressed, it rushed into the oratory of\nDeicolus, covered with foam. Thereupon the hermit extended his hand, and\nlaid it on the boar, and said, \"Believe me, because thou hast taken\nrefuge in the love of the brethren, thy life shall be spared to-day.\"\nThen the hunters came up, with the hounds, and they found the boar lying\npanting before the altar, and the man of God standing at the door to\nprotect the beast. So the King asked Deicolus who he was, and whence he\ncame, and when the hermit had told him that he was the disciple of\nColumbanus, who had promised to him in old times that he should reign\nover three kingdoms, which now had come to pass, he gave to Deicolus the\ngame in the wood and the fish in the waters, and some vineyards. So\nDeicolus gathered brethren, and built a monastery. And after a time the\nabbot Deicolus became desirous of visiting Rome, so he went with some of\nhis brethren, and obtained a charter from the Pope, conferring\nprivileges on his monastery. After his return he remained some years\ngoverning his monks, ever cheerful and of amiable disposition; the joy\nand peace of his soul beamed in his countenance. S. Columbanus once said\nto him in his youth, \"Deicolus, why art thou always smiling?\" He\nanswered in simplicity, \"Because no one can take my God from me.\"\n\nThe year of his death is not known with certainty. It was on the 18th\nJanuary that he heard God's call to depart. Then he took the Holy\nSacrament, and after having communicated himself, he kissed all the\nbrethren, and when he had kissed the last he fell asleep.\n\n [Illustration: Baptism and Confirmation, from a Painting in the\n Catacombs.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[73] Euseb. Hist. Eccl., lib. II. c. 25.\n\n[74] Euseb. lib. II. c. 25.\n\n[75] Lib. III. c. 3.\n\n[76] Euseb. lib. II. c. 14.\n\n[77] Ibid. c. 15.\n\n[78] That Claudius I. did persecute the Church appears from\nActs xviii. 2. Why Alban Butler should give S. Prisca the date 275,\nafter the death of the second Claudius, when all notices of her are\nunanimous in saying she suffered under Claudius I., I am at a loss to\nconjecture.\n\n[79] Lure is in the diocese of Besan\u00e7on, among the Vosges\nmountains, between Vesoul and Belfort.\n\n[80] A similar story is told of S. Goar (July 6th), S. Florence\n(Nov. 7th), S. Amabilis (Oct. 19th), S. Cuthman (Feb. 8th), S. David,\nabbot in Sweden (July 15th), S. Hildevert, B. of Meaux (May 27th), S.\nRobert of Chaise-Dieu, S. Cunegunda, S. Odo of Urgel, S. Leonore, S.\nLucarus of Brixen, S. Bridget, B. Utho of Metten, and the Blessed Alruna\nof Altaich. I give it for what it is worth. The story is traditional,\nnot having been consigned to writing for a hundred years after the death\nof S. Deicolus.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 19.\n\n S. GERMANICUS, _M., at Smyrna, in Asia Minor_, A.D. 161.\n SS. MARIS, MARTHA, AUDIFAX, AND HABAKKUK, _MM., near Rome_, A.D. 270.\n S. BASSIAN, _B. of Lodi, in Italy, circ._ A.D. 409.\n S. CATELLUS, _B. of Castellamare, in Italy_, A.D. 617.\n S. LAUNOMAR, _P., Ab. of Corbion, in France_, A.D. 593.\n S. REMIGIUS, _B. of Rouen, circ._ A.D. 771.\n SS. BLAITHMAIC, _Ab._, AND COMPANIONS, _Monks and MM., at Iona, in\n Scotland_, A.D. 824.\n S. CANUTE, _K. M., in Denmark_, A.D. 1086. _See_ July 10.\n S. WULSTAN, _B. of Worcester_, A.D. 1095.\n S. HENRY, _B. M., at Upsala, in Sweden_, A.D. 1150.\n\n\nS. GERMANICUS, M.\n\n(A.D. 161.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, and those of Usuardus, Ado, Notker and that\n attributed to Bede, also the later ones of Maurolycus, Bellinus and\n Galesinius, sometimes also on Feb. 18. Authority, the contemporary\n Epistle of the Church of Smyrna to the Church of Pontus, describing\n the martyrdom of SS. Germanicus, Polycarp, and others; quoted by\n Eusebius, lib. IV. c. 15.]\n\nThe Epistle of the Church of Smyrna, narrating its sufferings under the\nEmperors Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius, says:--\"Germanicus, a\nnoble youth, was particularly pre-eminent as a martyr, for, strengthened\nby divine grace, he overcame the natural dread of death implanted in us;\nalthough the pro-consul was desirous of persuading him, and urged him\nfrom consideration of his youth, that, as he was so young and blooming,\nhe should take compassion on himself. He, however, hesitated not, but\neagerly irritated the wild beast let loose upon him, that he might be\nthe sooner freed from this unjust and lawless generation.\"\n\nThe Acts of this martyr have been lost.\n\n\nSS. MARIS, MARTHA, AUDIFAX AND HABAKKUK, MM.\n\n(A.D. 270.)\n\n [Modern Roman Martyrology, but the ancient Roman Martyrology\n commemorated them on Jan. 20th, so did that attributed to S.\n Jerome, and many others. Authority, the authentic Acts.]\n\nIn the time of the Emperor Claudius II., there came a man from Persia,\nnamed Maris, with his wife Martha, and his two sons, Audifax and\nHabakkuk, to Rome, where they sought out the Christians who were in\nprison, and ministered to them.\n\nAt this time Claudius had given orders for the suppression of\nChristianity. Two hundred and sixty Christians were condemned to work in\nthe sand-pits on the Salarian way; but were afterwards brought into the\namphitheatre, and were killed with arrows, and their bodies thrown on a\npyre. Maris and his sons withdrew the bodies from the fire, and with the\nassistance of a priest, named John, they buried many of them in the\ncatacomb on the Salarian way. And in the evening, passing under a house,\nthey heard singing, and they knew that what they heard was a Christian\ncanticle. Then they struck at the door, and those who were within feared\nto open, thinking it was the soldiers come to take them; but the bishop,\nwho was with the congregation, went boldly to the door and opened it;\nthen they knew that these were Christians who stood without; so they\nfell on their necks and kissed them.\n\nNow it fell out that Maris and his wife and sons were in the house of\nAsterius, a new convert, on a certain occasion, with Valentine the\npriest, when the soldiers entered the house and took all within before\nthe Emperor, who remanded them to Muscianus, the prefect, to be by him\nsentenced according to their deserts.\n\nMuscianus ordered Maris and his two sons to be beaten, and then to be\nplaced on the little horse and tortured with iron hooks and lighted\ntorches, but Martha to stand by, and see her husband and children\ntormented. As they remained constant, he commanded their hands to be\nstruck off. Then Martha stooped and dipped her finger in their blood,\nand signed her brow therewith. Exasperated to the last degree, the judge\nordered Maris and the two sons to be decapitated in a sand-pit, and\nMartha to be drowned in a well, all which was carried into\nexecution.[81] A pious matron, named Felicitas, rescued the bodies, and\nburied them in her farm.\n\n\nS. BASSIAN, B. OF LODI.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 409.)\n\n [Roman and many other Martyrologies. Double feast with octave at\n Lodi. Authorities, his life by an anonymous author, of uncertain\n date, also the lections for this day in the Lodi Breviary. S.\n Ambrose, in his 60th letter, speaks of S. Bassian.]\n\nBassian was the son of Sergius, praefect of Syracuse, a heathen. As a\nchild he is said to have scrawled the sign of the cross in the dust, and\nwas rebuked for so doing by his nurse. This set him wondering, and his\nmind turned to the religion of the Crucified, so that when sent to Rome,\nat the age of twelve, to be educated in the liberal arts, he sought out\nthose who reverenced that sign which his nurse had forbidden him to\nscribble. A priest, named Gordian, instructed the lad in the Christian\nfaith, and finally baptized him. As soon as his father heard of his\nconversion, he sent orders to have him brought home at once. Then\nBassian, fearing the result, should he be re-conducted to Syracuse, ran\naway to Ravenna. On his way occurred one of those simple and touching\nincidents which abound in the lives of the saints, and which in spite of\nrepetition, must be related. A stag with her two fawns bounded into the\nroad, the hunters were in pursuit, the stag was not willing to desert\nher little ones, and they were too young to make good their escape.\nSeeing the distress of the mother, Bassian called to her, and she came\nto him with her fawns, and licked his feet, as he caressed her dappled\nhide. Soon after the hunters came up, and one more impetuous than the\nrest, attempted to take the stag. Then Bassian threw his arms round her\nneck, and called on God to protect her. Instantly the man, whose anger\nhad flamed up at the resistance offered him, fell in an apoplectic fit;\nand when he recovered, withdrew in fear, without injuring the stag.\n\nIn the reign of Valerian, Bassian was elected Bishop of Lodi, and ruled\nthe diocese with zeal and discretion. He built in his Cathedral city the\nchurch of the Twelve Apostles, and S. Ambrose assisted in its\ndedication. Bassian was with S. Ambrose when he died.\n\n\nS. LAUNOMAR, AB. OF CORBION.\n\n(A.D. 593.)\n\n [S. Launomar, called in French _Laumer_ or _Lomer_, is commemorated\n in the Gallican Martyrologies. His life was written by one who\n apparently knew him, as we may conclude from certain passages\n therein.]\n\nS. Laumer as a boy kept his father's sheep near Chartres; afterwards,\nhaving learned his letters, he heard the call of God, and gave himself\nup to his service. He was ordained priest, and entering a monastery, was\nappointed steward. However, such a life did not suit him, and he retired\ninto the forest, escaping from the monastery one stormy night, when all\nthe brethren were asleep, taking in his hand nothing save his staff. He\ntook refuge in the depths of the forest, where he hoped none would find\nhim, but his sanctity becoming known, disciples flocked to him. Two\nmiracles occur in his forest life very similar to those related of other\nsaints. One night as he prayed, the Prince of the power of the Air,\nhoping to frighten him, by leaving him in the dark, thrice extinguished\nhis light, and thrice was it rekindled. One day he saw a hind pursued by\nwolves, he ordered the wolves to desist from pursuing the poor animal,\nwhich came and crouched at his feet, whilst he patted it. Then he gave\nthe hind his blessing and dismissed it. When the number of his disciples\nincreased, so that he felt his solitude dissolved, Laumer fled away\nagain, and hid himself in the wood, where afterwards rose the monastery\nof Corbion, near Dreux. But a city set on a hill cannot be hid, his cell\nof green leaves and wattles soon became the centre of a colony of monks,\nand a nobleman whose land this was, gave it to him, that he might build\nthereon a monastery. One instance of the gentleness of S. Laumer\ndeserves not to be passed over. During the night, some robbers stole a\ncow belonging to the monks. The brethren were in despair. The robbers\nhowever, had lost their way in the tangled forest, as they drove the cow\naway, and they wandered all night and the next day, unable to discover\nthe road; when, as evening settled in, they saw the forest lighten, and\nthey came out, driving the cow, upon the clearing of the monastery, and\nS. Laumer himself stood before them. They at once fell at his feet,\nasking his pardon, and imploring him to direct them aright; but he\nraised them, and said, \"I thank you, kind friends, for finding and\nbringing back to me my strayed cow; you must be very tired and hungry,\nfollow me.\" Then he led them into his hut, and set before them such\nthings as he had, and they ate and were refreshed, and he set them on\ntheir right road, but of course, without the cow.\n\n\nSS. BLAITHMAC AND COMP. MONKS, M.M.\n\n(A.D. 824)\n\n [Irish Martyrologies. Authority:--The Acts of S. Blaithmac written\n in verse by his contemporary Walafrid Strabo, and the Irish\n Annals.]\n\nS. Blaithmac was a native of Ireland, son of Flann, perhaps one of the\nsouthern Niells, princes of Meath, the names of Flann and Blaithmac\nhaving been common in that family. He was heir to a principality, but he\nabandoned his prospects in this world to become a monk, and afterwards\nan abbot. Blaithmac had an ardent desire to visit foreign parts, but he\nwas prevented by his friends and companions from leaving Ireland. At\nlength he passed over to Iona, which was shortly after invaded by a\nparty of Northmen. As he was anxious to receive the crown of martyrdom,\nhe determined to remain there whatever might happen, and by his example\ninduced some others to stay with him, advising those who feared death to\ntake refuge on the mainland. While he was celebrating mass the Danes\nburst into the church, and having slaughtered the monks, demanded of the\nabbot where was the precious shrine of S. Columba. This had been carried\noff and concealed underground, where the abbot knew not. Accordingly he\nanswered that he was ignorant where it was, and added that even if he\nhad known, he would not have pointed out the spot to them. They then put\nhim to death. The Ulster Annals give his martyrdom in 825-828. The Irish\nannals generally agree in fixing his death at 823 (A.D. 824). Mabillon\nwas wrong in supposing it took place in 793. Blaithmac is derived from\nBlaith, a flower; hence his latinized name is Florigenius or Florus.\n\n\nS. WULSTAN, B. OF WORCESTER.\n\n(A.D. 1095.)\n\n [Anglican and German and Roman Martyrologies. Authorities: his life\n by Florence of Worcester (D. 1118),[82] and William of Malmesbury,\n written 47 years after the death of S. Wulstan; another in Roger of\n Wendover, and numerous notices in other old English historians. He\n is called variously Wulstan and Wulfstan.]\n\nS. Wulstan was born in Warwickshire of pious parents. His father's name\nwas Ealstan, and his mother's Wulfgeova. Both his parents were so\ndevoted to the religious life, that, by mutual consent, they retired\ninto monastic houses. Inspired by such examples, but chiefly by his\nmother's persuasion, Wulfstan quitted the world whilst yet young, and\ntook the monastic habit in the same monastery in Worcester where his\nfather had devoted himself to the service of God. He was there ordained\ndeacon, and then priest, by the bishop. Observing a very strict course\nof life, he soon became remarkable for his vigils, fasting and prayers.\nIn consequence of his discipline of himself, he was first appointed\nmaster of the novices, and afterwards, on account of his acquaintance\nwith the ecclesiastical services, precentor and treasurer of the church.\nBeing now intrusted with the custody of the church, he embraced the\nopportunities it afforded him for being almost perpetually in the sacred\nedifice, spending whole nights before the altar in prayer; and when he\nwas exhausted with fatigue, he lay on one of the church benches, and\nplaced his prayer-book beneath his head as a pillow.\n\nAfter some time, on the death of the prior, Bishop Aldred appointed\nWulstan to succeed him. As prior, he preached every Lord's Day to the\npeople, with so great unction, that they were moved to tears. One of the\nmonks grumbled, and said that Wulfstan forgot his place,--it was the\noffice of the bishop to preach, and that of the monk to hold his tongue.\nHearing this, Wulfstan said, \"My brother, the Word of God is not bound.\"\n\nAlthough very abstemious and moderate in his diet, he had not refrained\nfrom meat, till one day that roast goose was being prepared for dinner,\nthe fragrance filled the church, and Wulstan, who was at the altar\ncelebrating mass, was so distracted with the delicious odour, for he was\nvery hungry, as it was the late choral mass, that he could not collect\nhis thoughts. Then, filled with shame, before he left the altar he vowed\nnever to touch meat again, and he kept this vow to his dying day.\n\nOn the elevation of Aldred, Bishop of Worcester, to the archbishopric of\nYork, by unanimous consent of the clergy and laity in the election of a\nsuccessor, Wulstan was chosen; the king having granted them permission\nto elect whom they pleased.\n\nIt chanced that the legates from the Pope were present at the election,\nbut neither they nor the clergy and people could persuade Wulstan to\naccept the charge, of which he declared himself to be unworthy. At last,\nbeing sharply reproved for his obstinate willfulness by Wulfsi, a\nhermit, and being strongly urged by S. Edward the Confessor, then king,\nhe yielded, and was consecrated on the Feast of the Nativity of the\nBlessed Virgin Mary, 1062.\n\nAs bishop, Wulstan maintained the same severity towards himself; every\nday he sang the late high mass; it being usual for the priests to take\nthe choral mass by weeks, in turns, it being very trying, as the\ncelebrant had to remain fasting till a late hour. Wulstan not only sang\nthe high mass daily, but also all the canonical hours, and when he rode\non journeys, he had his book open before him on the pommel of his\nsaddle, and he chanted aloud the psalms of David.\n\nAs the old church and monastic buildings reared by S. Oswald were being\ndemolished, to make way for more splendid edifices, Wulstan stood one\nday, and looked at the roofless church, and the walls that were being\ntorn down, and his eyes filled with tears. \"Why should you weep,\" said a\nmonk, standing by; \"you should rather laugh, to see the meanness of the\nfirst house swept away, to make room for a glorious second one.\" \"No,\"\nanswered Wulstan, \"I see nothing to rejoice over in the demolition of\nthe work of our Saints. True, they knew not how to rear a stately\nbuilding; but under a mean roof, they offered the adorable sacrifice to\nGod with great devotion, and set saintly examples to their flock; and\nwe--we collect and carve the stones of the material temple, and neglect\nthe edification of that which is spiritual--the souls of men.\"\n\nBelow him in church sat a curly-headed choir boy. One day the bishop\nbent down, and laying his hand on the glossy curls, said, \"All these\nwill fall off one day!\" Then the boy in alarm, turned round and said,\n\"Oh, save my curls for me!\" \"My child, do not fear, as long as I live\nyou shall retain your abundant hair.\" And so he did, for many long\nyears, till Wulstan died, and then, says the chronicler who records this\nstrange little incident, his hair came off as the bishop had\nforetold.[83]\n\nWhen William the Conqueror established himself in England, he not only\ngave the lands to his Norman nobles, but also the bishoprics to his\nNorman clergy. \"Wulstan is a fool, he cannot speak French!\" said\nWilliam, and he ordered Lanfranc, his Norman Archbishop of Canterbury,\nto depose the plain Saxon Bishop of Worcester, on the charge of\nignorance. A conclave was held in Westminster Abbey in 1074, to decide a\ndispute between Robert, Archbishop of York, and Lanfranc, Archbishop of\nCanterbury, as to the question whether the diocese of Worcester belonged\nto the northern or the southern province, and at the same time to\ndeprive Wulstan. When called in question as to his slender attainments\nin learning, he rose and said, \"We have not sung Sext yet. Let us chant\nthe office first, and I will answer afterwards.\"\n\nBut those around him remonstrated, saying, \"Let us do our business\nfirst, and we can sing the service afterwards; we shall become objects\nof ridicule to the king and nobles, if we keep them waiting till we have\ndone our office.\"\n\n\"No!\" exclaimed Wulstan; \"the duty to God must be done first, and then\nwe will consider the petty disputes of men.\" Having sung the service, he\ndirectly proceeded to the council chamber. To his dependants, who were\ndesirous of withholding him, and who could not be persuaded that their\ncause was not in danger, he said, \"Know for certain, that I here see the\nholy archbishops, Dunstan of Canterbury and Oswald of York, defending me\nthis day by their prayers, and they will darken the understandings of my\ngainsayers.\" Then he gave his benediction to a monk who could speak\nNorman French, but imperfectly at best, and ordered him to state his\ncase for him.[84]\n\nThere stood the grave long-bearded Saxon bishop arraigned for ignorance\nbefore the Norman king, and his smooth-shaven[85] Norman prelates.\nWulstan, the representative of the people, Lanfranc of the nobles;\nWulstan, the bishop of the conquered, and Lanfranc of the conquerors.\nWhen the poor Saxon peasants had come to him at Worcester, and had\ncomplained that these Norman invaders trampled down their corn, and\nrobbed them of their cattle, and ground them down with taxes; \"They are\nGod's scourge, these Normans, punishing us for our sins, my children,\"\nsaid Wulstan. And now he was to be deprived of his office by these\ninvaders, that a Norman might occupy his stool, and shepherd with his\ncrook the Saxon bondsmen. The council decided, in accordance with the\nroyal pleasure, that Wulstan was too ignorant to deserve to retain his\nsee, and that therefore he must resign his pastoral staff and ring. The\nring, the token that he was wedded to his diocese before God, that he\nsaid he would never resign, in life or in death. \"I received this ring\nwithout coveting it, and I will bear it with me to my grave.\"[86] But\nthe staff, the token of jurisdiction, that he could be deprived of, so\nrising from his place, with unruffled composure, and placid countenance,\nholding his staff, he said, \"Truly, my Lord Archbishop, truly I know\nthat I am unworthy of this honour, nor fit to bear this burden, nor\nsufficient to endure the labour. I knew this when the clergy elected me,\nand when the bishops urged me, and when my own master, King Edward,\ninvited me. He, with the authority of the apostolic see, laid this\nburden on my shoulders, and ordered me to be invested with the\nepiscopate, by the token of this staff. Now thou desirest of me this\npastoral staff, which thou gavest me not; thou demandest of me the\nsurrender of the office thou laidest not on me. I, indeed, am well aware\nof my ignorance, and yielding to the sentence of this holy conclave, I\nresign my staff--not to thee, but to him who gave it me.\" Saying this he\nwent forth from the chapter house to the tomb of S. Edward the\nConfessor, and standing before the stone, he cried, \"Thou knowest, O my\nMaster! how reluctantly I received this burden, how often I fled away\nfrom it; how, when sought, that it might be imposed on me, I secreted\nmyself. I confess that I am a fool, but thou didst constrain me. There\nlacked not the election of the brethren, the entreaty of the people, the\nwill of the bishops, the favour of the nobles; but none of these things\nweighed with me like thy authority; it was thy will that bent mine. And\nnow we have a new king, a new law, a new archbishop, who found new\nrights and declare new sentences. They convince thee of error, who\ncommanded, and me of presumption, who obeyed. Therefore, not to them who\ndemand, but to thee who gavest; not to them, fallible, walking in\ndarkness, but to thee who hast been led forth into the clear light of\nvery truth, and hast escaped out of this region of error and ignorance,\nto thee I resign my staff, to thee I surrender the cure of those thou\ndidst commend to me, to thee I commit them in confidence, knowing well\nthy merits.\"\n\nHaving said this, he slowly raised his hand a little, and said, \"My lord\nand king, accept this, and surrender it to whom thou choosest!\" Then he\nstruck the staff into the sepulchral stone, and laying aside his\npontifical habit, he seated himself, as a monk, among the monks.\n\nWas there ever a grander incident in English Church history? Was there\never a nobler speech uttered by an English bishop?\n\nThen all, surprised, saw that the staff stood in the stone; and one ran\nand told Lanfranc, but he believed it not, and bade Gundulf, Bishop of\nRochester, to whom he had promised the bishopric of Worcester, to go and\nbring back the staff. So Gundulf went, but the staff was immovably\nimbedded in the stone.\n\nThen the archbishop and the king went to the tomb, and sought to wrench\nthe staff from where it stood, but they were unable. Lanfranc at once\nturned, and coming straight down to where the monk sat, he bowed to him,\nand said, \"Verily God resisteth the proud and giveth grace unto the\nhumble. Thy simplicity was scorned by us, brother, but thy righteousness\nis made clear as the light. Our wisdom has been brought to naught, and\nthy ignorance has prevailed. Take then again that charge which we\nunadvisedly deprived thee of, but which we, by our authority and the\njudgment of God, commit to thee once more.\"\n\nBut Wulstan hesitated; however, being urged vehemently by those who\nstood by, he went to the tomb again, and said:--\"Now, my lord and king,\nto whose judgment I commended myself, and to whom I resigned my staff,\nshow me what is thy pleasure. Thou hast preserved thine honour, thou\nhast made manifest my innocence. If thine old sentence stands, restore\nto me my staff; if not, yield it to whom thou wilt!\" Then he put forth\nhis hand, and touched the staff, and he removed it at once with\nease.[87]\n\nTo Lanfranc and Wulstan, acting conjointly, is due the cessation of the\nslave traffic in England. It was the custom of the English to sell\nslaves to the Irish, and this was subject to a tax which passed into the\nroyal exchequer. \"The credit of this action,\" says Malmesbury,[88] \"I\nknow not whether to attribute to Lanfranc, or to Wulstan, who would\nscarcely have induced the king, reluctant from the profit it produced to\nhim, to this measure, had not Lanfranc commended it, and Wulstan,\npowerful through the sanctity of his character, commended it by\nepiscopal authority.\"\n\n [Illustration: S. WULSTAN, BISHOP OF WORCESTER.\n From a Design by A. Welby Pugin.\n Jan. 19.]\n\nHaving taken the oath of allegiance to William, Wulstan remained\nfaithful. When, in the same year, 1074, some of the Saxon earls rose\nagainst the Conqueror, Wulstan and the abbot of Evesham, supported by\nthe sheriff of Worcester and Walter de Lacy, prevented their junction,\nby raising their vassals and occupying the ford of the Severn.[89]\n\nIn the Barons' revolt, 1088, \"Bernard du Neuf-March\u00e9, Roger de Lacy, who\nhad lately wrested Hereford from the king, and Ralph de Mortimer, with\nthe vassals of the Earl of Shrewsbury, having assembled a numerous army\nof English, Normans and Welsh, burst into the province of Worcester,\ndeclaring that they would burn the city of Worcester, plunder the Church\nof God and S. Mary, and take summary vengeance on the inhabitants for\ntheir loyalty to the king. On hearing this, the reverend father Wulstan,\nBishop of Worcester, a man of deep piety and dove-like simplicity,\nbeloved alike by God and the people he governed, faithful to the king as\nhis earthly lord, was in great tribulation; but soon rallying, by God's\nmercy, prepared to stand manfully by his people and city. While they\narmed themselves to repel the enemy, he poured forth supplications in\nthe impending danger, exhorting his people not to despair. Meanwhile,\nthe Normans, taking counsel, entreated the bishop to remove from the\nchurch into the castle, saying that his presence there would give them\nmore security, if they were in great peril, for they loved him much.\nSuch was his extraordinary kindness of heart, that from duty to the\nking, and regard for them, he assented to their request.\n\n\"Thereupon, the bishop's retainers made ready, and the garrison and the\nwhole body of citizens assembled, declaring that they would encounter\nthe enemy on the other side of the Severn, if the bishop would give them\nleave. Taking their arms, and being arrayed for battle, they met the\nbishop, as he was going to the castle, and besought him to grant their\ndesire, to which he freely assented. 'Go,' said he, 'My sons, go in\npeace, go in confidence, with God's blessing and mine. Trusting in God,\nI promise you that no sword shall hurt you this day. Be loyal, and do\nvaliantly for the safety of the people and the city.'\" The victory was\ncomplete. The rebels were routed, and the king's liege-men and the\nbishop's retainers returned home in triumph, without the loss of a\nsingle man.[90]\n\nHe died in the year 1095, on January the 19th, and was buried with his\nring on his finger. \"God suffered no man to remove from his finger the\nring with which he had received episcopal consecration,\" says Florence\nof Worcester; \"that the holy man might not appear to forfeit his\nengagement to his people, to whom he had often protested that he would\nnot part with it during his life, nor even on the day of his burial.\"\n\n [Illustration: SS. Fabian and Sebastian. Jan. 20.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[81] At Santa Ninfa, about thirteen miles from Rome.\n\n[82] Florence knew S. Wulstan personally, as appears from his\naccount of his vigils. He says, \"He sometimes went four days and nights\nwithout sleep,--a thing we could hardly have believed, if we had not\nheard it from his own mouth.\"\n\n[83] S. Wulstan sometimes joked; but the specimen recorded by\nMalmesbury is not striking for wit, nor for its reverence, wherefore I\ngive it in Latin. Being asked why he wore lamb's wool garments in\nwinter, instead of cat's skin like the other clergy he answered,\n\"Nunquam audivi cantari Cattus Dei, sed Agnus Dei; ideo non catto, sed\nagno volo calefieri.\"\n\n[84] So far William of Malmesbury, who abruptly closes, saying\nthat he will no longer torture the patience of his readers. What follows\nis from Roger of Wendover.\n\n[85] Dr. Rock: Church of our Fathers, II. p. 99, plate.\n\n[86] Roger of Wendover, and Capgrave.\n\n[87] This most striking incident is not mentioned by Florence\nof Worcester, or William of Malmesbury, but occurs in Roger of Wendover\nand Matthew of Westminster.\n\n[88] Chronicle, lib. III.\n\n[89] Florence of Worcester.\n\n[90] Florence of Worcester.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 20.\n\n S. FABIAN, _Pope and M., at Rome_, A.D. 250.\n S. SEBASTIAN, _M., at Rome_, A.D. 303.\n S. EUTHYMIUS THE GREAT, _Ab. in Palestine_, A.D. 473.\n S. FECHIN, _Ab., at Fore, in Ireland_, A.D. 665.\n S. MAUR, _B. of Cesena, in Italy, middle of 7th cent._\n S. BENEDICT, _H., near Fiesole, in Italy_.\n\n\nS. FABIAN, POPE AND M., AT ROME.\n\n(A.D. 250.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authorities: Eusebius, lib. vi. c. 29 and 39;\n the Liber de Romanis Pontificibus; S. Jerome, lib. de Eccles.\n Script. c. 54; a letter of S. Cyprian (55) to Cornelius, &c.]\n\nSaint Fabian succeeded Anteros in the see of Rome. It is said that\nFabian had come to Rome out of the country, and, by divine grace, he was\nsingled out in a very remarkable manner to be bishop. For, when all the\nbrethren had assembled in the church for the purpose of ordaining him\nthat should succeed in the episcopate, though there were many eminent\nand illustrious men present, yet no one thought of any but Fabian. They\nrelate that a dove, suddenly fluttering down, rested upon his head,\nbringing up before their minds the scene when the Holy Spirit of old\ncame down on the Saviour. Thereupon the whole body exclaimed with one\nvoice, as if moved by the Spirit of God, \"He is worthy!\"[91] and without\ndelay they took him and placed him upon the episcopal throne.[92]\n\nS. Fabian governed the Church of Rome for sixteen years. He is said by\nsome to have converted and baptized the Emperor Philip. \"Philip, after a\nreign of seven years,\" says Eusebius, \"was succeeded by Decius, who, in\nconsequence of his hatred to Philip, raised a persecution against the\nChurch, in which Fabian suffered martyrdom, and was succeeded, as Bishop\nof Rome, by Cornelius.\"[93]\n\nRelics, in the churches of S. Martin de la Monte, S. Praxedes, a head\nand an arm in that of S. Sebastian, in Rome.\n\nIn art, he appears with the pontifical tiara and a dove.\n\n\nS. SEBASTIAN, M., AT ROME.\n\n(A.D. 303.)\n\n [All the ancient Latin Martyrologies. The Greeks commemorate him on\n December 18th. The original Acts are not in our possession. What is\n regarded as the Acts appears to be a panegyric, falsely attributed\n to S. Ambrose, on S. Sebastian's Day. The incidents are no doubt\n taken from the original Acts, but the long sermons and theological\n instructions put into the mouths of S. Sebastian and Tranquillinus,\n are certainly oratorical compositions of the author who passes for\n S. Ambrose.]\n\nS. Sebastian was born at Narbonne, in Gaul, but his parents were of\nMilan, in Italy, and he was brought up in that city. He was a fervent\nsoldier of Christ at the same time that he served in the army of the\nEmperor. He was so greatly regarded by the Emperors Diocletian and\nMaximian, that he was elevated to the command of the first cohort, for\nhe was a man prudent, upright in word and act, faithful in business,\nfervent in spirit. He was enabled, by his rank and office, to be of\nservice to those who were imprisoned for the faith of Christ. He\nrelieved their sufferings, and urged them to constancy.\n\nTwo brothers, Marcus and Marcellianus, had been accused of being\nChristians, and were expecting execution in prison, when their friends,\nadmitted to see them, implored them with tears to save their lives by\napostasy. They seemed to waver; they promised to deliberate. Sebastian\nheard of this, and rushed to save them. He was too well known to be\nrefused admittance, and he entered their gloomy prison as an angel of\nlight.\n\nTranquillinus, the father of the two youths, had obtained from Agrestius\nChromatius,[94] prefect of the city, a respite of thirty days for them,\nto try their constancy; and, to second his efforts, they had been placed\nin the house of Nicostratus, the keeper of the records (_primiscrinius_).\n\nSebastian's was a bold and perilous office. Besides the two Christian\ncaptives, there were gathered in the place sixteen heathen prisoners;\nthere were the parents of the unfortunate youths weeping over them, to\nallure them from their threatened fate; and there was the magistrate,\nNicostratus, with his wife Zo\u00eb, drawn thither by the compassionate wish\nof seeing the youths snatched from their fate. Could Sebastian hope that\nof this crowd not one would be found whom a sense of official duty, or a\nhope of pardon, or hatred of Christianity, might impel to betray him, if\nhe avowed himself a Christian?\n\nThe room was illumined only by an opening in the roof, and Sebastian,\nanxious to be seen by all, stood in the ray which shot through it;\nstrong and brilliant where it beat, but leaving the rest of the\napartment dark. It broke against the gold and jewels of his rich\ntribune's armour, and as he moved, scattered itself in brilliant\nreflections into the darkest recesses of the gloom; while it beamed with\nserene steadiness on his uncovered head.[95]\n\n\"O most happy soldiers of Christ, valiant warriors in the fight! are ye\nnow, after having undergone so much that ye touch the palm, are ye now,\nI ask, about to withdraw from the fight and lay aside the crown,\novercome by these blandishments? Let them see in you the fortitude of\nChristian soldiers, sheathed rather in fortitude than in armour of iron.\nCan it be that you will cast away the rewards of victory at the\ninstigation of a woman? Can it be that half-conquering already, you will\nbow your necks to be trampled on by the deadly foe?\" Words of reproach\nand threatening and promise poured from his lips.[96]\n\nThe scene that followed baffles description. All were moved; all wept.\nMarcus and Marcellianus were ashamed of their late hesitation.\nTranquillinus and his wife were convinced; the prisoners joined in the\ntumult of these new affections; and Sebastian saw himself surrounded by\na group of men and women smitten by grace, softened by its influences,\nand subdued by its power; yet all was lost if one remained behind. He\nsaw the danger, not to himself, but to the Church, if a sudden discovery\nwere made, and to those souls fluttering in uncertain faith.\n\nZo\u00eb knelt before Sebastian with a beseeching look and outstretched arm,\nbut she spoke not a word, for, six years before, her tongue had been\nparalysed in a severe sickness, and she had not spoken since. Sebastian\nlooked at her earnestly, and read in her signs, and the expression of\nher countenance, that she believed in her heart. Then he asked wherefore\nshe spoke not, and it was told him that she was dumb. Then, raising his\nhand and signing her mouth with a cross, he said, \"If I am the true\nservant of Christ, and those things are true which I have spoken, and\nthou O, woman, hast heard, may the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom I believe,\nrestore the use of thy tongue, and open thy mouth, as he opened the\nmouth of his prophet Zachariah.\"\n\nThen suddenly the woman cried out:--\"Blessed art thou, and blessed is\nthe word of thy mouth, and blessed are they that believe in Jesus\nChrist, the Son of the living God.\" And when Nicostratus saw the grace\nof God revealed by the healing of his wife, he fell at the feet of\nSebastian, and offered to break the chains off the hands and feet of the\nconfessors, and let them go; but to this they would not consent. Then\nNicostratus transferred them all, with Tranquillinus and his wife, to\nthe full liberty of his house, after having obtained leave from Claudius\nthe keeper of the prisons (_Commentariensis_.) Sebastian lost no time in\nputting them under the care of the priest Polycarp, of the title, or\nparish of S. Pastor, who diligently instructed them, night and day. In\nthe meantime, Claudius, the gaoler, came to the house of Nicostratus,\nand said, \"The prefect is much disturbed at my having allowed the\nprisoners to be in your house; and therefore he requires you to appear\nbefore him and explain the reason.\"\n\nNicostratus at once went to the prefect, and told him that he had taken\nthe Christian prisoners into his own house, with the purpose of moving\nthem the more easily to apostasy. \"You did well,\" said Chromatius, and\nhe dismissed him. On his way home, the keeper of the rolls told Claudius\nthe truth; and when he related how Sebastian had healed his wife,\nClaudius exclaimed in an agony of eagerness:--\"Send him to my house, I\nhave two lads, sons of my first wife, one dropsical, the other a poor\nwretched cripple. If he cured your wife, he can heal my sons.\" Then\nrunning home, he brought his two boys, one in each arm, to the house of\nNicostratus, and introduced them into the company of the neophytes, and\ncasting the boys in the midst, implored the disciples to recover his\npoor children, and declaring that he believed with all his heart. Then\nPolycarp, the priest, took the names of the whole company, they were\nsixty-eight in all, and he baptized them. Now when the two boys rose\nfrom the baptismal water, they were healed of their infirmities; and\nTranquillinus, who had suffered excruciating torments from the gout,\nalso felt that he was made whole.\n\nChromatius, the prefect, was afterwards converted, and having resigned\nhis office, retired into privacy.\n\nThe care which Sebastian took of the Christian prisoners, and the\nefforts he made to stimulate their courage, could not long remain\nsecret; and he was denounced to the Emperor Diocletian, who sent for\nhim, and in a rage, exclaimed, \"What! I have had thee about my person,\nand thou hast conspired against my safety!\"\n\nS. Sebastian answered, \"I pray daily for thy safety and for the\nprosperity of the state, to the God of heaven, for I reckon no succour\ncan be got from gods of stone.\"\n\nThen Diocletian ordered him to be taken out into a field, and be shot to\ndeath with arrows. Therefore the soldiers placed him as their mark, and\nleft him for dead, bristling with arrows. But a certain woman, named\nIrene, the widow of the martyr Castulus, finding that he still lived,\ntook him to her lodgings, at the head of the great staircase of the\npalace, and there nursed him till he was convalescent. And one day, as\nhe began to walk, the Emperor passed. Then he started out to the head of\nthe stairs. He had heard the familiar trumpet notes, which told him of\nthe Emperor's approach, and he had risen, and crept to greet him.\n\n [Illustration: S. SEBASTIAN.\n From a Drawing by Lucas Schraudolf.\n Jan. 20.]\n\n\"Diocletian!\" he cried out, in a hollow but distinct voice; \"False are\nthe words of thy idol priests, my sovereign, who say that we Christians\nare adversaries to the state; who cease not to pray for thy welfare and\nthat of the realm.\"\n\n\"What!\" exclaimed the Emperor; \"Art thou Sebastian?\" \"I am Sebastian,\nraised as from death to witness against thee for thy cruel persecution\nof the servants of Christ.\"\n\nThen the Emperor, in a rage, ordered him to be taken into the court-yard\nof the palace, and to be beaten to death with clubs, and his body to be\ncast into the sewer.\n\nAnd when all this had been done, a devout woman, named Lucina, by night\nrescued the body from the place where it had been cast, and buried it\nreverently in her own garden.\n\nA church was afterwards built over his relics by Pope Damasus.\n\nPatron of Chiemsee, Mannheim, Oetting, Palma, Rome, Soissons; of makers\nof military laces, of archers, makers of fencing foils.\n\nRelics, at Soissons, the head at Eternach, in Luxemburg, portions at\nMantua, at Malaga, Seville, Toulouse, Munich, Paris, Tournai, in the\nCathedral; Antwerp, in the church of the Jesuits; and at Brussels, in\nthe Court Chapel.\n\nIn art, can always be recognized as a young man, transfixed with arrows.\n\n\nS. EUTHYMIUS THE GREAT, AB.\n\n(A.D. 473.)\n\n [Greek and Latin, and Syriac Martyrologies. Authority, his life by\n Cyrillus, monk of his monastery, in 543, sixty years after the\n death of Euthymius; he derived much of his information from an old\n monk who had been the disciple of the Saint.]\n\nThere was a man named Paul, with his wife Dionysia, at Melitene in\nArmenia, good Christians, loving one another, but childless. Then, with\none consent, they entered into the church of the Martyr Polyeuctus, and\nabode there many days instant in prayer, that they might be given a son.\n\nAnd after this had continued some time, in a vision of the night, the\nmartyr appeared to them, and said, \"Your prayer is heard, now therefore\ndepart in peace; and when the child is born, let him be named Euthymius,\nor the 'Well disposed.'\"\n\nNow it fell out, that shortly after the child's birth, Paul died. Then\nDionysia, the widow, took her babe, and went to her brother Eudoxius,\nthe chaplain or confessor to the Bishop of Melitene, and gave the little\nboy to him, as Hannah presented Samuel to Eli, that he should minister\nbefore the Lord.\n\nAfter that, Dionysia was ordained deaconess, and in due course Euthymius\nreceived the sacred orders of lector, and sub-deacon, and finally was\nmade priest, and appointed to the oversight of all the monasteries in\nthe diocese.\n\nEuthymius often visited the church of S. Polyeuctus, and loving\nsolitude, was wont to spend whole nights in prayer on a neighbouring\nmountain. But the love of being alone with God grew upon him, so that he\ncould not rest, and at the age of twenty-nine, he secretly deserted his\nnative place, and went to Jerusalem, where he visited the holy places;\nand then retired into the desert, near the Laura of Paran,[97] he found\na cell in every way convenient, and there he abode. Now there was a monk\nnear his cell, named Theoctistus, and him Euthymius loved greatly, for\nhe was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost. \"The love of the same\nthings,\" says his biographer; \"and society in labour, united them so\nclosely in the bond of charity, and to such an extent were their spirits\nblended in affection, that each was, as it were, planted in the heart of\nthe other.\"\n\nAfter five years spent in Paran, Euthymius resolved, with his friend\nTheoctistus, to fly into a solitude, more remote. So they went away into\nthe barren mountains, near the Dead Sea; and there, searching for a\nplace where they might dwell, they discovered a ravine, down which a\ntorrent poured, and in the face of the rock was a cave. Then they\nentered into it and there they abode, living on vegetables, and drinking\nthe water of the brook. Now it fell out, one day, that some shepherds\ncame that way, and ascending to the cavern looked in, and were\nfrightened when they saw two men, very haggard, with long beards. But\nEuthymius bade them be of good cheer, for they were hermits who dwelt\nthere on account of their sins. Then the shepherds noised it abroad, and\nmany disciples came to them, and they built a monastery, and Euthymius\nappointed Theoctistus to rule over it; and then he retired, loving\nsolitude, into a remote hermitage, whence he issued forth only on the\nSabbath (Saturday) and the Sunday. He enjoined on the monks to be\ndiligent in work, and never to allow their hands to be idle. \"For,\" said\nhe, \"if men in the world labour to support themselves, their wives,\nfamilies and children, how much rather we, who have the poor depending\nupon us.\"\n\nHaving cured Terebon, the son of Aspebetes, of paralysis, which\nafflicted one side of his body, Aspebetes, chief of the Arabs in\nPalestine, desired baptism, and took the name of Peter. Such multitudes\nof Arabs followed his example, that Juvenal, patriarch of Jerusalem,\nordained him bishop of the wandering tribes, and he assisted at the\ncouncil of Ephesus against Nestorius, in 431.\n\nHe built S. Euthymius a Laura on the right hand of the road from\nJerusalem to Jericho, in the year 420. Euthymius could never be\nprevailed upon to depart from his rule of strict solitude; but he\ngoverned his monks by superiors to whom he gave directions on Sundays.\n\n\"Do not suppose,\" said he to his monks, \"that you come into the desert\nto leave temptation behind you.\" And then he related to them the\nfollowing story. There was in Egypt a man afflicted with a very violent\ntemper. So he ran away from his home into a monastery, where he thought\nhe would be free from incentives to anger. But there he was frequently\nirritated by the other monks who, unintentionally, gave him annoyance.\nSo he determined to escape wholly from the society of men, and then said\nhe, I cannot give way, for I shall never be tempted. So he took with him\nonly an earthenware bowl, out of which to drink, and he hid himself in a\nremote desert.\n\nNow, one day, he was fetching water from the spring, and he upset the\nbowl, and the water fell; then he dipped the vessel again, and as he was\ngoing, his foot tripped, and again the water was spilt; he dipped it\nonce more, but his hand shook, and he overturned the basin a third time.\nThen, flaming into a furious passion, he dashed the bowl against a\nstone, and shivered it to fragments. And when his anger cooled down, he\nlooked at his shattered bowl, and said, \"Oh fool that I am! how can I\nescape the temptation which is in my nature! If I have not men to be\nangry with I rage against an earthen pot!\"\n\nThere was a man in the Laura, named Auxentius, whom the steward told to\nattend upon the mules, for \"he was apt at mule-grooming.\" But Auxentius\nindignantly refused, saying, he came to the monastery to be a monk, and\nnot an ostler. And when he constantly refused, on the next Lord's Day,\nthe steward complained to Euthymius, who sent for the man. Then\nEuthymius said, \"My son, it is necessary that some one of the brethren\nshould attend to the stables. Why shouldst not thou do this?\"\n\n\"Because,\" answered Auxentius, \"I don't like it.\"\n\n\"Alas,\" exclaimed the abbot; \"I see thou art not imitating Him who said,\nI came not to do mine own will, I came not to be ministered to, but to\nminister.\"\n\nWhen the monk still refused, Euthymius said sadly, \"Well, go thy way,\nand see if self-will will make thee happy.\"\n\nAnd presently the man fell ill, and in his sickness his conscience smote\nhim, and he sent for the abbot, and he said, \"I was wrong, I will look\nto the mules.\"\n\nThen Euthymius healed him, and Auxentius did as was required of him.\n\nS. Euthymius showed great zeal against the Nestorian and Eutychian\nheretics. The turbulent Empress Eudocia, after the death of her husband,\nTheodosius, retired into Palestine, and there continued to favour them\nwith her protection. Aroused by domestic affliction, the captivity of\nher daughter and grand-daughters, and the plunder of Rome, she sent to\nask advice of S. Simeon Stylites. He answered that her misfortunes were\nthe consequence of her sins, and especially of her having persecuted the\northodox faith; and ordered her to follow the direction of Euthymius. By\nthe advice of S. Euthymius, she renounced Eutychianism, and embraced the\nCatholic communion. In 459, she sent word to Euthymius that she was\ncoming to see him, and that she designed settling on his Laura\nsufficient revenues for its subsistence. He returned her answer that she\nneed not do so, and that she must prepare for death. She obeyed, and\ndied shortly after. One of the last disciples of our Saint was the young\nS. Sabas, whom he dearly loved. In the year 473, on the 13th January,\nMartyrius and Elias, two monks, to whom S. Euthymius had foretold that\nthey should become patriarchs of Jerusalem, came with several others to\nvisit him, and to conduct him to his Lent retreat in a solitary place.\nHe said that he would stay with them all that week, and leave them on\nthe Saturday following, meaning, by death. Three days after, he gave\norders that a general vigil should be observed on the eve of S.\nAnthony's Day; on this he made a discourse to his spiritual children. He\nappointed Elias to be his successor, and foretold that Domitian, a\nbeloved disciple, who had long ministered to him, should follow him out\nof this world, on the seventh day, which happened accordingly. Euthymius\ndied on Saturday, the 20th of January, being ninety-five years old, of\nwhich he had spent sixty-eight in his beloved deserts.\n\n\nS. FECHIN, AB. OF FORE.\n\n(A.D. 665.)\n\n [Authority, a life written in the 12th century, from tradition.\n Like so many of these Irish lives which were handed down from\n generation to generation, it contains many improbabilities.]\n\nS. Fechin was abbot of Foure, in West Meath, where he governed three\nhundred monks. He is said to have pitied the monks engaged in grinding\ntheir corn in querns, he therefore brought water from a marsh to the\nmonastery, by cutting a tunnel through the rock, and then established a\nwater mill. Of this Giraldus Cambrensis relates the following:--There is\na mill at Foure, which S. Fechin made most miraculously with his own\nhands, in the side of a certain rock. No women are allowed to enter\neither this mill or the church of the saint; and the mill is held in as\nmuch reverence by the natives as any of the churches dedicated to\nhim.[98] The Saint finding a poor leper, full of sores one day, took\nhim to the Queen, and bade her minister to him as to Christ. She bravely\novercame her repugnance, and tended him with gentle care.[99] Fechin was\nthe son of Coelcharna, descendant of Eochad Fionn, brother to the famous\nking Conn of the Hundred Battles, and his mother Lassair was of the\nroyal blood of Munster. When fit to be sent to school he was placed\nunder S. Nathy of Achonry. Having finished his studies he was ordained\npriest, and retired to a solitary place at Fore in Westmeath, there to\nlive as a hermit. But he was followed by many disciples, and Fore became\na monastery of three hundred monks. He also established a religious\nhouse in the island of Immagh, near the coast of Galway. The inhabitants\nwere then pagans, but Fechin and his monks converted them. His influence\nwas very great with the kings and princes of his age. He died of a\ndreadful pestilence which swept Ireland in A.D. 665.\n\n [Illustration: The Peacock as a Christian Emblem.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[91] This was the common acclamation at the election of\nbishops, of which we have many examples in Philostorgius, lib. ix. c.\n10. And in the relation of things done at the election of Eradins\n(recorded in S. Augustine's Epistles), we read that they cried out\ntwenty times, \"He is worthy and just!\" and five times, \"He is deserving,\nhe is worthy!\"\n\n[92] Eusebius. lib. vi. c. 29.\n\n[93] Ibid. c. 39.\n\n[94] This name presents a difficulty, as it does not appear in\nthe lists of the prefects of the city. Bollandus suggests, not very\nplausibly, that on account of his secession from the state religion, his\nname was expunged.\n\n[95] This is H. E. Cardinal Wiseman's elegant description of\nthe scene, which accords exactly with the Acts. This incident is not due\nto his imagination, but occurs in the Acts in these words:--\"Igitur, cum\nhaec Beatissimus Sebastianus, indutus chlamyde, succinctus baltheo, ex\nsuo ore proferret, subito per unam fere horam splendore nimio de coelo\nveniente illuminatus est.\"\n\n[96] In the version of the Acts by S. Ambrose, the whole\nlengthy exhortation is given. This can hardly, however, be original, but\nis the composition of the author who passes for S. Ambrose.\n\n[97] A Laura was a colony of eremites dwelling in separate\nhovels or caves, and differed in this particular from a monastery, where\nall dwelt under one roof.\n\n[98] Topography of Ireland, c. 52.\n\n[99] Here occurs a very favourite incident in the lives of\nthese Irish saints; it shall be given in Latin. The same is told of S.\nMochua and others. \"Leprosus ad Reginam dixit: Nares meas in ore tuo\nsuge, et phlegma inde extrahe. At illa viriliter agens, sicut imperavit\nfecit, et phlegma in linteum posuit; iterum quoque ei mandavit, ut\nsimiliter faceret, et id quod extraheret, S. Fechino reservaret.\" When\nthe Queen looked into the handkerchief, she found two clots of solid\ngold, one of which she retained, the other she gave to S. Fechin. The\nincident I give as characteristic, rather than edifying.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 21.\n\n SS. FRUCTUOSUS, _B.M._, AUGURIUS, AND EULOGIUS, _DD., MM., at\n Tarragona,\n in Spain_, A.D. 259.\n S. PATROCLUS, _M., at Troyes, in France, circ._ A.D. 272.\n S. AGNES, _V.M., at Rome, circ._ A.D. 303.\n S. EPIPHANIUS, _B. of Pavia, in Italy_, A.D. 496.\n S. MEINRAD, _H. M., at Einsiedeln, in Switzerland_, A.D. 861.\n\n\nSS. FRUCTUOSUS, B. M., AUGURIUS AND EULOGIUS, DD., MM.\n\n(A.D. 259.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, those of Usuardus, Bede, Notker, Ado, &c. The\n perfectly genuine Acts, which are extant, were read in the Church\n on this day, as S. Augustine testifies in his sermon for their\n commemoration.]\n\nValerian and Gallienus being emperors,[100] Aemilian and Bassus consuls,\non January 16th, being the Lord's-day, Fructuosus, the Bishop, Augurius\nand Eulogius, the deacons, were taken. Fructuosus was in bed, but\nhearing the tramp of the officers, he rose at once and went out\nbarefoot.[101] To whom the soldiers said, \"Come, the governor wants\nthee and thy deacons.\" Fructuosus said, \"Let us go, but please, let me\nput on my shoes.\" The soldiers said, \"As thou desirest, shoe thyself.\"\nAs soon as they were come, they were put into prison. Fructuosus,\ncertain and glorying in the crown of the Lord, to which he was called,\nprayed without ceasing. There were also with him some of the brethren,\npraying him to have them in remembrance. Next day, he baptized in the\nprison our brother Rogatian. And they were six days in prison, and then\nwere brought forth. It was on the 21st January, and a Friday, that they\nwere heard. Aemilian, the governor, said, \"Let Fructuosus, the Bishop,\nAugurius and Eulogius be brought forward.\" According to custom it was\nsaid, \"They are here.\" Aemilian, the governor, said to Fructuosus, the\nBishop, \"Hast thou heard what the Emperors have ordered!\" Fructuosus,\nthe Bishop, said, \"I do not know what their orders are; I am a\nChristian.\" Aemilian said, \"They have ordered that the gods be\nworshipped.\" Fructuosus said, \"I worship one God, who made heaven and\nearth, the sea and all that therein is.\" Aemilian said, \"Do you know that\nthere are many gods?\" The Bishop said, \"No, I do not.\" \"Then thou soon\nshalt,\" said the governor. Fructuosus, the Bishop, looked up to the\nLord, and began to pray within himself. Aemilian said, \"Who will be\nheard, who feared, who adored, if the gods and the countenance of the\nEmperor are despised?\" Then he said to Augurius, the deacon, \"Don't\nlisten to the words of Fructuosus.\" Augurius answered, \"I worship the\nAlmighty God.\" Aemilian, the governor, said to Eulogius, the deacon,\n\"Dost thou not worship Fructuosus?\" \"By no means,\" said Eulogius, \"but I\nworship the same God as does Fructuosus.\" Aemilian said to Fructuosus,\n\"Art thou a Bishop?\" Fructuosus answered, \"I am.\" \"You were one,\" said\nthe Governor, and he ordered them to be burnt alive.\n\nAnd when Fructuosus, the Bishop, and his deacons, were led into the\namphitheatre, the people began to mourn for Fructuosus, for he was\ngreatly beloved, not by the brethren only, but also by the heathen. For\nhe was a vessel of election and a teacher of the people. And when some,\nin brotherly charity, offered them a spiced cup to drink, he said, \"The\nhour of breaking fast is not yet come.\" For it was the fourth hour,\nthough indeed they had solemnly celebrated the station (fast) on the\nfourth day (Wednesday) in the prison. Therefore joyously on the sixth\nday (Friday) they hastened to conclude this station (fast) with prophets\nand martyrs in Paradise. And when they had come to the amphitheatre,\none, named Augustalis, a lector, ran to him, with tears, beseeching him\nto suffer him to unloose his shoes. But the blessed martyr said, \"Stand\naside, I can put off my own shoes.\" And when he had done so, our brother\nand fellow-soldier, Felix, went up to him, and took his right hand,\nasking him to remember him.[102] To him S. Fructuosus replied in a clear\nvoice, so that all heard, \"It behoves me to hold in mind the whole\nCatholic Church, extending from east to west.\" Then, as he was in the\ngate of the amphitheatre, ready to advance to his unfading crown, rather\nthan to his pains, as the officers saw, and the brethren heard, and the\nHoly Spirit urged and spake, Fructuosus the Bishop, exclaimed, \"A pastor\nwill not be lacking to you, nor will the love and promises of the Lord\nfail, now or hereafter. This which ye behold is the infirmity of one\nhour.\" And when the bands wherewith their hands were tied had been burnt\nthrough, rejoicing, they cast themselves on their knees, sure of the\nresurrection, and having formed the sign of victory,[103] they poured\nforth their souls, praying to the Lord.\n\nThe brethren, sad as if bereft of a shepherd, endured their solitude;\nnot that they lamented Fructuosus, but rather they desired to be mindful\nof the faith and passion of each. When night came, they hastened to the\namphitheatre with wine, with which to extinguish the charred bodies,\nwhich being done, they collected the ashes of the martyrs, and each\ncarried away a portion. But neither in this did the marvellous works of\nthe Lord fail; that the faith of the believers might be stimulated, and\nan example might be given to the little ones. After his passion,\nFructuosus appeared to the brethren, and exhorted them to restore,\nwithout delay, what each had carried off of the ashes, out of love, that\nthey might be laid altogether in one place.[104]\n\nFructuosus in Spanish _Frutos_, in French _Fruteux_.\n\nPatron of Taragona.\n\nRelics, in the Benedictine monastery, near the Porto Fino, at Genoa;\nsome portions, however, in the church of S. Montana, at Barcelona.\n\n\nS. PATROCLUS, M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 272.)\n\n [From the Acts published by Bollandus, an early recension of the\n original Acts.]\n\nWhen the Emperor Aurelian was in Gaul, he came to Troyes, and hearing\nthat there was a Christian there, named Patroclus, he ordered him to be\nbrought before him, when the following examination was had of him:--\n\n_Aurelian_--\"What is thy name?\" He answered, \"I am called Patroclus.\"\n\n_Aurelian_--\"What is thy religion, or, what God dost thou worship?\"\n\n_Patroclus_--\"I adore the living and true God, who inhabits heaven, and\nregards the humble, and knows all things or ever they are done.\"\n\n_Aurelian_--\"Give up this nonsense, and adore and serve our Gods, from\nwhom you will derive honour and riches.\"\n\n_Patroclus_--\"I will adore only the true God, who made all things\nvisible and invisible.\"\n\n_Aurelian_--\"Dispute of those things which you say are true.\"\n\n_Patroclus_--\"Those things which I declare are true and probable; but I\nknow why falsehood hates the truth.\"\n\n_Aurelian_--\"I will burn you alive if you will not sacrifice to the\ngods.\"\n\n_Patroclus_--\"I offer the sacrifice of praise, and myself as a living\nvictim to God who has deigned to call me to martyrdom.\"\n\nThen Aurelian commanded--\"Put fetters on his feet, and hot manacles on\nhis hands, and cudgel him on the back, and then shut him up in a privy\ncell, until I make up my mind what is to be done with him.\"\n\nThen Patroclus was given into custody to one Elegius until the third\nday. And when he was brought forth again to be examined, Aurelian\ngreeted him with, \"Well, despiser, hast thou thought better of it, and\nart thou ready to sacrifice?\"\n\n_Patroclus_--\"The Lord delivereth the souls of his servants, and will\nnot forsake them that hope in Him. If thou desirest anything out of my\ntreasures, I will freely give it thee, for, believe me, thou art poor.\"\n\n_Aurelian_--\"I, poor!\"\n\n_Patroclus_--\"Thou hast earthly wealth, but art poor in faith of our\nLord Jesus Christ.\"\n\n_Aurelian_--\"Enough of this. Our gods are mighty.\"\n\n_Patroclus_--\"Who are they?\"\n\n_Aurelian_--\"First Apollo, the chief;[105] then Jove, the great god; and\nDiana, the mother of the gods.\"[106]\n\n_Patroclus_--\"Why, how can they be almighty, when Apollo kept sheep for\nAdmetus, and Jove died of a pain in his belly; and as for your Diana,\nevery one knows she is the noon-tide demon.\"\n\nThen Aurelian, inflamed with rage, ordered Patroclus to be taken to a\nmarshy place, and to be there executed. But when the soldiers led him to\nthe bank of the Seine, which had overflowed, Patroclus escaped from them\nacross the river, and took refuge on a hill dedicated to idol worship.\nHere a woman saw him, and she went straightway and told the soldiers.\nThen they came upon him, and smote off his head.\n\n [Illustration: S. AGNES.\n From the Vienna Missal.\n Jan. 21.]\n\nS. Patroclus in France is called _S. Parre_. He is one of the Patrons of\nTroyes.\n\n\nS. AGNES, V. M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 303.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, modern Anglican Kalendar, and Greek Menaea. The\n Greeks commemorate her on Jan. 14th, 21st, and July 5th. Her Acts,\n attributed to S. Ambrose, are a rhetorical recension of her genuine\n Acts. S. Ambrose refers to S. Agnes in lib. I. De Virginibus, and\n in his Commentary on Ps. civ., and in lib. I. c. 4 of his offices.\n There is also a hymn of Prudentius, relating the Acts of this\n famous martyr. The Acts are sufficiently elegant to be really by S.\n Ambrose, and are far superior in style to those of S. Sebastian,\n falsely attributed to him.]\n\nS. Jerome says that the tongues and pens of all nations are employed in\nthe praises of this Saint, who overcame both the cruelty of the tyrant,\nand the tenderness of her age, and crowned the glory of chastity with\nthat of martyrdom.[107] S. Augustine observes that her name signifies\nchaste in Greek, and a lamb in Latin. She has been always looked upon in\nthe Church as a special patroness of purity. We learn from S. Ambrose\nand S. Augustine, that she was only thirteen years old at the time of\nher death. She suffered in the persecution of Diocletian. Her riches and\nbeauty excited one of the young nobles of Rome, the son of the prefect\nof the city, to attempt to gain her hand in marriage. To him she\nanswered, \"I am already engaged to one--to him alone I keep my\ntroth.\"[108] And when he asked further, her answer was, \"He has already\npledged me to Him by his betrothal ring, and has adorned me with\nprecious jewels. He has placed a sign upon my brow that I should have no\nother lover but he. He has showed me incomparable treasures, which he\nhas promised to give me if I persevere. Honey and milk have I drawn from\nHis lips, and I have partaken of His body, and with His blood has he\nadorned my cheeks. His mother is a virgin, and His father knew not\nwoman. Him the angels serve, His beauty sun and moon admire; by His\nfragrance the dead are raised, by His touch the sick are healed. His\nwealth never fails, and His abundance never grows less. For Him alone do\nI keep myself. To Him alone in true confidence do I commit myself. Whom\nloving I am chaste, whom touching I am clean, whom receiving I am a\nvirgin.\"\n\nThe youth repulsed, and filled with jealousy against the unknown lover,\ncomplained to the father of Agnes, who was much disturbed, doubting\nwhether she were mad, or had given her heart to some one without his\nknowing it. By degrees it transpired that Agnes was a Christian.\nThereupon Symphronius,[109] the governor, sent for her parents, and\nthey, alarmed for her safety, urged her to submit, and marry the young\nman. She, however, constantly refused, declaring that she desired to\nremain a virgin. \"Very well,\" said the Governor; \"then become a vestal\nvirgin, and serve the goddess in celibacy.\"\n\n\"Do you think,\" answered Agnes, \"that if I have refused your living son,\nof flesh and blood, that I shall dedicate myself to gods of senseless\nstone?\"\n\n\"Be not headstrong,\" said Symphronius; \"you are only a child, remember,\nthough forward for your age.\"\n\n\"I may be a child,\" replied Agnes; \"but faith dwells not in years, but\nin the heart.\"\n\n\"I will tell you how I shall deal with you,\" cried Symphronius. \"You\nshall be stripped, and driven naked into a house of ill-fame, to be\nsubjected to insult and outrage.\" Then the clothes were taken off the\nslender body of the girl, and she was forced out into the street. In\nshame she loosened the band that confined her abundant hair, and let it\nflow over her body, and cover her. \"You may expose my virtue to insult,\"\nsaid she to the prefect, \"but I have the angel of God as my defence. For\nthe only-begotten Son of God, whom you know not, will be to me an\nimpenetrable wall, and a guardian never sleeping, and an unflagging\nprotector.\"\n\nAnd so it was. For when she was placed in the brothel, the room was\nfilled with light, and an angel brought her a robe, white as snow, to\ncover her nakedness. And also, when the governor's son burst in at the\ndoor in tumultuous exultation, the angel smote him, that he fell\nsenseless on the ground.[110] Thereupon there was an uproar, and the\npeople said, she had slain him by her enchantments. But when he was come\nto himself he was ashamed, and the governor feared. Therefore he\ncommitted the sentencing of Agnes to the deputy, Aspasius, who ordered\nthat she should be immediately executed. And all the people rushed after\nher, crying, \"Away with the witch, away with her!\"\n\nThen a fire was kindled, and Agnes was placed upon the pyre. But she,\nlifting up her hands in the midst of the fire, prayed, \"O Father\nAlmighty, who alone art to be worshipped, feared, and adored, I give\nThee thanks for that through thy holy Son, I have escaped the threats of\nthe profane tyrant, and with unstained footstep have passed over the\nfilthy slough of lust; and now, behold, I come to Thee, whom I have\nloved, have sought, and have always longed for. Thy name I bless, I\nglorify, world without end.\"[111] And she continued, \"So now I am\nbedewed with the Holy Ghost from on high; the furnace grows cold about\nme, the flame is divided asunder, and its heat is rolled back on them\nthat quickened it. I bless Thee, O Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who\npermittest me, intrepid, to come to Thee through the fires. Lo! what I\nhave believed, that now I see; what I have hoped for, that now I hold;\nwhat I have desired, that now I embrace. I confess Thee with my lips,\nand with my heart, I altogether desire Thee. I come to Thee one and true\nGod, who with our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, and with the Holy Ghost,\nlivest and reignest through ages of ages. _Amen._\" And when she had\nfinished praying, the fire became wholly extinct; then Aspasius, the\ndeputy, ordered a sword to be thrust into her throat. \"But,\" said he\nsuddenly, \"why is she not bound?\" The executioner turned over a quantity\nof manacles, and selected the smallest pair he could find, and placed\nthem round her wrists. Agnes with a smile, shook her hands, and they\nfell, like S. Paul's viper, clattering at her feet.[112] Then she calmly\nknelt down, and with her own hands drew forward her hair, so as to\nexpose her neck to the blow.[113] A pause ensued, for the executioner\nwas trembling with emotion, and could not wield his sword.[114]\n\nAs the child knelt alone, in her white robe, with her head inclined, her\narms crossed modestly upon her bosom, and her locks hanging to the\nground, and veiling her features, she might not inaptly have been\ncompared to some rare plant, of which the slender stalk, white as a\nlily, bent with the luxuriance of its golden blossom. \"And thus, bathed\nin her rosy blood,\" said the author of the Acts, \"Christ betrothed to\nHimself his bride and martyr.\"\n\nThen her parents, having no sorrow, but all joy, took her body, and\nplaced it in a tomb on their farm, not far from the city, on the\nNumentan road. But there being a great crowd of Christians following,\nthe pagan mob and soldiers pursued them, and drove them away with stones\nand weapons. But Emerentiana, who was the foster-sister of Agnes, a holy\nvirgin, though only a catechumen, stood intrepid and motionless by the\ntomb, and there she was stoned to death.\n\nAfter her death Agnes appeared in glory to her parents.\n\n From the heavenly regions\n Girt with heavenly legions,\n Eight days past, her home she sought;\n And a lamb, the whitest,\n Loveliest, purest, brightest,\n In her loving arms she brought.\n\n \"These thou seest, my mother\n These, and many another,\n Are my blest companions now.\"\n\nRelics, in the church of S. Agnes, at Rome; portions at Utrecht; a few\nsmall particles at Rouen, in the church of S. Ouen; at Melun; in the\nCathedral at Cologne; in the Court Chapel at Brussels; and in the Jesuit\nChurch at Antwerp.\n\nIn art, she appears (1) with a lamb, or (2) with an angel protecting\nher, or (3) standing on a flaming pyre, or (4) with a sword.\n\n\nS. MEINRAD, H. M.\n\n(A.D. 861.)\n\n [Authority, an ancient anonymous and perfectly authentic life in\n the library of the monastery at Einsiedeln.]\n\nAbout the year of grace 797, was born Meinrad, Count of Hohenzollern.\nHe was born in that part of Swabia, then called Sulichgau, which\ncomprised the valleys of Steinlach and Sturzel, and the towns of\nRottenburg and S\u00fclchen.\n\nBerthold, the father of Meinrad, had married the daughter of the Count\nof S\u00fclchen, and lived with his wife in the strong castle of S\u00fclchen on\nthe Nekar.\n\nMeinrad lived at home till he was ten or eleven years old. At that time\nthe island of Reichenau possessed a Benedictine monastery of great\nreputation. This island is situated in the arm of the lake of Constance,\ncalled the Zeller-see, and very fertile. The monks superintended two\nschools in this island, connected with their monastery, one for the boys\nwho were in training to be monks, the other for the sons of nobles, who\ndesired to live in the world. At the time that Meinrad entered the\nschool, his kinsman, Hatto of S\u00fclchen, was abbot.\n\nAt this period the great lesson that the monks had to teach the Germans\nwas, the dignity of labour. The Germans were a turbulent people, loving\nwar, harrying their neighbour's lands, hunting and fighting, despising\nheartily the work of tilling the land, and tending cattle. The monks\nbegan to labour with their hands, and by degrees they broke through the\nprejudices of the time, and converted the Germans into an agricultural\npeople. In 818, when Meinrad was aged 21, the first vines were planted\nin Reichenau, to become, to this day, the principal source of revenue to\nthose to whom it belongs. The position of Reichenau, on the main road to\nItaly, gave it a special importance. Many foreign bishops, who, halting\nthere on their journeys, had carried away with them a pleasant memory of\nthat quiet isle in the blue lake, returned to it to spend their last\nyears in peace. Thus the Bishop Egino retired to Reichenau, and built\nthere, in 799, the church of Our Lady, at the western extremity of the\nisland, which still exists. At the time of the consecration of this\nchurch, Meinrad was in the monastery school; this was in 816. Seven\nhundred monks, a hundred novices, and four hundred scholars assisted at\nthe ceremony, and sang the grand psalms and _Coelestis urbs_ with\nwondrous effect.\n\nThe time came for Meinrad to leave school and decide on his career. The\nvoice of his heart called him to the service of God, and he prepared for\nHoly Orders. In 821 he was ordained deacon, and shortly afterwards\npriest. He was fond of study; but the book that most charmed his\nimagination was the account of the Fathers of the Desert, by Cassian.\nThe forms of these venerable hermits in their caves seemed to appear to\nhim and beckon him on. The voice which had called him to the priesthood\nsaid to him, \"Friend, go up higher,\" and he took vows as a monk in the\nabbey of Reichenau, to his great-uncle Erlebald, now superior, on the\nresignation of Hatto in 822. He was then aged twenty-five.\n\nAt the upper extremity of the Lake of Z\u00fcrich was the little cloister of\nBollingen, dependant on that of Reichenau. It contained a prior and\ntwelve brethren, who had established themselves in this wild\nneighbourhood, lost, as it were, among the mountains, to become the\nteachers of a neighbourhood buried in darkness. They established a\nschool for the gentry and also for the serfs, in which they taught the\nboys what was suitable for their different stations in life. Being in\nwant of a master for this school, they sent to the abbot of Reichenau\nfor one. His choice fell on Meinrad, who was at once despatched to the\nhumble priory, situated on the confines of civilization, to which the\nmountains and dense forests seemed to say, \"Thus far and no further\nshalt thou go.\"\n\nIn his new situation, Meinrad drew upon himself general esteem and\naffection. His prudence in the direction of souls, his learning, and his\nmodesty, endeared him to all.\n\nNevertheless, from the moment of his entering into the priory, Meinrad\nhad felt a yearning in his heart for a life more secluded, in which he\ncould pray and meditate without distraction. About two leagues off,\nbeyond the lake, rose Mount Etzel, covered with dense forest. Often from\nthe window of his cell did his eyes rest, with an invincible longing, on\nthe blue mountain. The desire became, at length, so uncontrollable, that\nhe resolved to visit the Etzel, and seek among its rocks for some place\nwhere he might pass his days in repose. One day, accordingly, he took\nwith him one of his pupils, and, entering a boat, rowed to the foot of\nthe desired mount. A few hours after he was at the summit, and his heart\nbeat with a sweet joy at the sight of a place to which his yearning soul\nhad long turned. Behind him was a pathless forest of pines, inhabited by\nwolves, but he feared them not. He descended the hill by the side of\nRapperschwyl, and arrived at the village, called afterwards Altendorf.\nHe rested at the house of a pious widow, who received him hospitably. To\nher Meinrad confided his design, and asked her to minister to his\nnecessities on the Etzel, should he retire thither. She readily promised\nto do so. Having thanked her, he returned full of joy to Bollingen. He\nasked the prior to give him his benediction and permission to accomplish\nhis project. He, with regret, permitted him to respond to the call of\ngrace, and Meinrad at once tore himself from his companions and pupils,\nand crossed the lake to the beloved mountain. This was in June, 828,\nwhen Meinrad was aged thirty-one. He took nothing with him save his\nmissal, a book of instructions on the Gospels, the rule of S. Benedict,\nand the works of Cassian. Burdened with these volumes, he climbed the\nEtzel, and stood on a commanding point. At his feet and before him lay\nthe blue lake of Z\u00fcrich, its waters sleeping in sunshine; behind him was\nthe gloomy horror of the forest. Beyond, the Alpine peaks wreathed in\nglaciers, glittering in the light, and around him a solemn silence,\nbroken only by the distant scream of a magpie, or the creaking of the\npines in the breeze.\n\nThe first care of the new solitary was to provide himself with shelter\nagainst rain and storm. He collected broken boughs, and interlaced them\nbetween four pines that served as corner posts to his hovel, and roofed\nit in with fern. This was his first house; but shortly after, the widow,\nhaving heard that he had retired to the Etzel, built him a hut of pine\nlogs, and a little chapel, in which he might offer the Holy Sacrifice.\nShe attended to all his necessities, as she had promised, and Meinrad\nwas now at the summit of happiness.\n\nStrange must have been those first evenings and nights in loneliness.\nThere is a sense of mystery which oppresses the spirit when alone among\nthe fragrant trees, that stand stiff and entranced, awaiting the coming\non of night. To persons unaccustomed to the woods, few moments of\ngreater solemnity could occur than those following the set of sun. A\nshadow falls over the forest, and in the deep winding tunnels that\nradiate among the grey, moss-hung trunks, the blackness of night\ncondenses apace.\n\nMysterious noises are heard; the rustling of large birds settling\nthemselves for the night, the click of falling cones, the cry of the\nwild cat, or the howl of the wolf. The gold light, that all day has\nflickered through the boughs and diapered the spine strewn soil, has\nwholly disappeared, save that for a moment it lies a flake of fire on\nthe distant snowy peak. Patches of ash-grey sky, seen through the\ninterstices of the branches, diffuse no light. Perhaps an evening breeze\nwhispers secrets among the pine-tops and pipes between the trunks, or\nhums an indistinct tune, pervading the whole air, among the green\nneedle-like leaves of the firs. And then, when night has settled in, the\nmoon shoots its fantastic silver among the moving branches, and draws\nweird pictures over the brambles and uneven soil. Branches snap with a\nreport like a pistol, and voices of unseen birds and beasts sound\nghost-like among the dark aisles of the labyrinth of firs.\n\nIt is well to picture these surroundings, when we call up before us the\nfigures of the old hermits. Their trials were not only of hunger, and\nthirst, and cold; there was the trial of nerve as well.\n\nIn the forest cell, Meinrad disciplined his body by rigorous fasts, and\nhis soul by constant prayer. By degrees, his cabin became a resort of\npilgrims, who arrived seeking ease to their troubled consciences, or\nillumination to their dark understandings. Always united to God, always\npenetrated with the sense of His presence, he strove to know the will of\nGod, and to submit his own will wholly to that.\n\nSeven years passed, and the number of those who visited him increased\nevery day. Then, finding his solitude no more a solitude, he resolved to\nleave the Etzel, and bury himself in some nook far from the habitations\nof men.\n\nBehind the Etzel extended a vast forest untrodden by man, whose savage\nand gloomy loneliness attracted Meinrad. Whilst he was musing on his\nprojected flight, some of his old pupils at Bollingen came, as was their\nwont occasionally, to visit their former master. Meinrad descended the\nmountain with them to the point where the river Sihl, after numerous\nwindings in the forest, flows gently through an agreeable valley, and\nempties itself into the lake. The pines on its banks were reflected in\nthe glassy water, and in its crystal depths could be seen multitudes of\ntrout. The young monks desiring to have a day's fishing, Meinrad crossed\nthe river, and entered the forest. He walked on silent and meditating,\nlooking around him, in hopes of discovering some place suitable for the\npurpose that occupied his mind. After a walk of an hour and a half, in\na southerly direction, he reached the foot of a range of hills which\nformed a semi-circle as far as the Alb. In this basin, enclosed within\nthe arms of the mountain, wound a little stream over a bed of moss, from\na spring beneath the roots of two large pines. To the south lay the\nvalley of the Alb, blocked by the rugged snow-topped crags of the\nMythen. This was just such a solitude as Meinrad had desired. He fell on\nhis knees, and thanked God for having brought him to so pleasant a spot,\nand drinking for the first time from the fountain, he returned to his\ncompanions, who, having caught a bag full of fish, went back with him to\nhis hermitage, and as evening fell, returned to Bollingen.\n\nMeinrad now prepared to leave the Etzel. He went to Altendorf to thank\nthe widow who had provided for him, and then he departed, taking with\nhim one monk of Bollingen and a peasant, to carry such things as would\nbe necessary in the wilderness. As they descended the hill towards the\nriver, the brother saw a nest of ravens on a branch; he climbed the\ntree, and taking the nest, brought it along with the two young birds it\ncontained to Meinrad, who kept them, to be the companions of his\nsolitude.\n\nA few paces above the spring, where there was a gentle rise, he decided\nshould be the site of his habitation, and there accordingly he erected a\nsimple hut of logs. Providence did not desert him. The abbess Hedwig,\nhead of a small community of women at Z\u00fcrich, undertook to minister to\nhis necessities, in place of the widow of Altendorf; and from time to\ntime she sent him food, and such things as be needed.\n\nHe was now left in complete solitude, and often the temptation came upon\nhim, as he lay shivering with cold in the winter nights, and the snow\ndrifted about his cabin, to give up this sort of life, and return to the\ncommunity at Bollingen or Reichenau. But he resisted these thoughts, as\ntemptations of the evil one, with redoubled prayer and fasting. In this\nplace he spent several years in perfect retirement, till a carpenter of\nWollerau, coming there one day in quest of some wood, discovered his\ncell. After that, he was visited by hunters, and then, by degrees, a\ncurrent of pilgrims flowed towards his abode, as had been the case on\nthe Etzel. What added to this was the present of a statue of the Blessed\nVirgin and Child, made to Meinrad by Hildegard, daughter of Louis the\nGerman, who had been appointed by her father abbess of Z\u00fcrich, in 853.\nThis image speedily acquired the credit of being miraculous, and thus\nbegan that incessant pilgrimage which has continued for over a thousand\nyears to the venerated shrine where it is preserved.\n\nMeinrad had spent twenty-five years in solitude; and his love for this\nmortified and retired life had grown stronger in his heart as he grew\nolder. He was glad when winter, the frost, and the snow came to block\nthe paths, and diminish the concourse of pilgrims; yet in spite of the\nrigour of the climate at that season, and the want of roads through the\nforest, he still saw many visitors, who came to confide to him their\ntroubles, as children to a father, and to ask counsel of his prudence.\nThere were also days in which he was alone, and, shut up in his log-hut,\nheard only the hissing of the wind among the trees, and the howling of\nthe wolves, pressed by hunger in the forest; all was sad around the\nhermitage, the flowers, the grass, the little spring slept under the\nsnow, spread like a white pall over dead nature. The two ravens, perched\non a branch of pine which overhung the cabin door, uttered their\nplaintive croak. Meinrad alone was happy. He celebrated the Divine\nMysteries, and holding in his hands the eternal Victim, offered himself,\nin conjunction with the sacrifice of Calvary; desiring earnestly that he\nmight be found worthy to die the death of a martyr. His prayer was\nheard.\n\nDuring the last years of Meinrad's life, pilgrims laid presents at the\ndoor of Meinrad, and before the image of Mary. Those that served to\nadorn the chapel he kept, the rest he gave away to the poor. Two men,\none from the Grisons, named Peter, the other a Swabian, named Richard,\nsuspecting that he had a store of money collected from the pilgrims,\nresolved on robbing him. They met in a tavern at Endigen, where now\nstands Rapperschwyl, where they spent the night. Next day, January 21st,\n861, long before daybreak, they took the road to the Etzel and entered\nthe forest. For a while they lost their way, for the paths were covered\nwith snow. However, at length they discovered the hermitage. The ravens\nscreamed at their approach, and fluttered with every token of alarm\nabout the hut, so that, as the murderers afterwards confessed, they were\nsomewhat startled at the evident tokens of alarm in the birds. The\nassassins reached the chapel door. S. Meinrad had said his morning\nprayers, and had celebrated mass. The murderers watched him through a\ncrack in the door, and when he had concluded the sacrifice, and had\nturned from the altar, they knocked. Meinrad opened, and received them\ncheerfully. \"My friends,\" said he; \"had you arrived a little earlier,\nyou might have assisted at the sacrifice. Enter and pray God and His\nSaints to bless you; then come with me and I will give you such\nrefreshments as my poor cell affords.\" So saying he left them in the\nchapel, and went to prepare food in his own hut.\n\nThe murderers rushed after him, and he turned and said, smiling, \"I know\nyour intention. When I am dead, place one of these tapers at my head,\nand the other at my feet, and escape as quickly as you can, so as not to\nbe overtaken.\"\n\nHe gave to one his cloak and to the other his tunic; and they beat him\nabout the head with their sticks, till he fell dead at their feet. Then\nthey threw his body on the bed of dried leaves whereon he was wont to\nsleep, and cast a rush mat over it. They then searched the hut for\nmoney, but found none. Before leaving, they remembered the request of\nMeinrad, and placed one of the tapers at his head, the other they took\nto the chapel, to light it at the ever-burning lamp. When they returned,\nto their astonishment, they saw that the candle at the head of the body\nwas alight. Filled with a vague fear, they set down the other candle and\ntook to flight. But the two faithful ravens pursued them, screaming\nharshly, and dashing against the heads of the murderers with their beaks\nand claws, as though desirous of avenging their master's death.\nFrightened more and more, and continually pursued and exposed to the\nattack of the enraged birds, the murderers ran towards Wollerau, where\nthey met the carpenter who had discovered the retreat of Meinrad. This\nman, recognizing the tame ravens of the hermit, and suspecting mischief,\nhastily bade his brother not allow the two men to escape out of his\nsight, and then ran to the hermitage, where he found the body of the\nSaint. The candle at his feet had set fire to the mat, but the flame had\nexpired as soon as it had reached the corpse. The carpenter at once\nreturned to Wollerau, where he spread the news of the murder, and having\nbade his wife and some friends take care of the body of S. Meinrad, he\nwent in pursuit of the assassins on the Z\u00fcrich road. He soon overtook\nthem. The ravens were fluttering with shrill screams at the windows of a\nhouse. He entered and denounced the murderers. They were taken, and\ndelivered over to justice. By their confession all the circumstances of\nthe martyrdom were made known.\n\nRelics, at Einsiedeln, where, in 1861, the thousandth anniversary of\nthe Saint's death was celebrated with great pomp.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[100] This account is a translation of the Acts; it is a very\nfair specimen of the original documents as written by the Church\nnotaries at the time. The style being too simple to please the taste of\nlater ages, too many of them were re-written in florid diction, and long\nspeeches were put in the martyrs' mouths.\n\n[101] One reading is _insolutus_, another _in soleis_.\n\n[102] That is, to intercede for him when he, the martyr, stood\nin the presence of Christ in Paradise.\n\n[103] That is, extending their arms, so that they formed the\nsymbol of the Cross.\n\n[104] Slightly abbreviated from the Acts.\n\n[105] Aurelian was a special votary of the sun.\n\n[106] There is some blunder here.\n\n[107] S. Hieron, Ep. 6.\n\n[108] S. August. Serm. 274.\n\n[109] Here a difficulty occurs. There is no such name in the\nlists of the prefects of the city. According to this account, he\ntransferred to the deputy, Aspasius, the duty of sentencing her. In some\naccounts he is called Aspasius Paternus. A Paternus was prefect of the\ncity in 264 and 265; an Ovinius Paternus in 281. Aspasius Paternus,\npro-consul of Africa, in or about 260, is mentioned by S. Cyprian. It is\nprobable that Symphronius was not prefect of the city, but a powerful\nsenator, and that Aspasius is the same as Ovinius Paternus. Transcribers\nmade havoc of the names in the Acts.\n\n[110] Antiphon to Ps. cix. _Dixit Dominus_, for S. Agnes' Day,\nand Greek Menaea.\n\n[111] This is appointed as the antiphon to the Magnificat for\nS. Agnes' Day.\n\n[112] Prudentius.\n\n[113] Ibid.\n\n[114] S. Ambrose lib. I. _De Virgin._ c. 2.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 22.\n\n S. VINCENT, _D. M., at Saragossa, in Spain_, A.D. 304.\n SS. VINCENT, ORONTIUS, VICTOR, AND AQUILINA, _MM., at Gerunda, in\n Spain_, A.D. 304.\n S. BLAESILLA, _W., at Rome_, A.D. 383.\n S. GAUDENTIUS, _B. of Novara, in Italy, circ._ A.D. 418.\n SS. ANASTASIUS AND LXX. COMPANIONS, _MM., in Assyria_, A.D. 628.\n S. DOMINIC, _Ab. of Sora, in Italy_, A.D. 1031.\n S. BRITHWALD, _B. of Wilton, in England_, A.D. 1045.\n B. WALTER VAN BIERBEEKE, _Monk, at Hemmerode, in Belgium, circ._\n A.D. 1220.\n\n\nS. VINCENT, D. AND M.\n\n(A.D. 304.)\n\n [All Western Martyrologies, and by the Greeks on the same day, and\n Nov. 11th. The Acts, very ancient, quoted by Metaphrastes, are a\n very early recension of the original Acts by the notaries of the\n Church. Also, a hymn of Prudentius.]\n\nThis most illustrious martyr of the Spanish Church was born at Saragossa\nin Arragon, the mother of martyrs, as Prudentius calls it. His parents\nare mentioned in his Acts, which are at least older than S. Augustine\n(August 28), in whose time they were publicly read in the church of\nHippo. The name of his father was Eutychius; and his mother, Enola, was\na native of Osca, or Huesca, which sometimes claims the honour of his\nbirth. He was trained in the discipline of the Christian faith by\nValerius, Bishop of Saragossa, and was in due time ordained to the\noffice of deacon. The Bishop was a man of venerable piety, but laboured\nunder an impediment in his speech. He therefore devoted himself to\nprayer and contemplation, and intrusted the care of teaching to S.\nVincent, whom he also appointed his principal or archdeacon. Dacian was\nthen Governor of Spain under Diocletian and Maximian, and had already\ndistinguished himself by his cruelty against the Christians. The\nimperial edict for the seizure of the clergy had just been published in\nthe end of the year 303, in which the laity were not included until the\nfollowing year. Valerius and his deacons were accordingly loaded with\nchains and carried to Valencia, where the Governor then was. The pains\nof hunger were added to their sufferings, in the hope of subduing their\nfortitude. When they were brought before Dacian he first tried the\neffect of mild language and promises of reward if they would obey the\norders of the Emperors and sacrifice to the gods. He reminded Valerius\nof the influence which his episcopal dignity gave him; and to Vincent he\nrepresented the honour of his family, and the sweet joys of youth which\nstill lay before him. But the confessors of Christ were not to be thus\nmoved. Valerius, being unable from his infirmity to reply to the artful\npersuasions of the tempter, Vincent made a noble profession of the faith\nin the name of them both.\n\nThe Bishop was condemned to exile, where he seems afterwards to have\nfinished his course by martyrdom; and Vincent was remanded to prison,\nthence to pass by a more painful but a speedier way to his crown. His\nbody was stretched upon the rack and cruelly torn with iron hooks, but\nno torture could shake his resolution or disturb the calm which sat upon\nhis countenance. He defied the utmost efforts of his tormentors; and,\nwhen they began to grow weary, Dacian ordered them to be beaten,\nsuspecting that they spared the martyr. But the Governor himself was at\nlast moved to a faint pity by the miserable spectacle, and entreated\nVincent to purchase his deliverance by at least giving up the Christian\nbooks. Vincent, still continuing firm, was taken from the rack and led\nto a more terrible torture called the _Question_. It was an iron frame\nwith bars running across it, sharp as scythes, and underneath a fire was\nkindled, which made the whole frame red hot. To this fearful agony the\nmartyr walked with a willing step, and even went before the\nexecutioners. And, as he lay bound upon the bed of torture, his eyes\nwere fixed on heaven, his lips moved as if in prayer, and a peaceful\nsmile would sometimes pass across his countenance. No cruelty was spared\nthat diabolical ingenuity could invent, but the love of Christ surpassed\nthe wrath of man and won the day. When the malice of his enemies could\ndo no more, he was carried back to prison, and laid in a dark dungeon\nstrewn with broken potsherds, which allowed his wounded body no rest.\nHis feet, too, were fastened in the stocks. But God was mindful of His\nservant, and sent His angels to comfort him, bestowing a foretaste of\nhis reward while his trial was as yet unfinished. His cell was\nilluminated with the light of heaven, his bonds were loosed, and the\nfloor of his prison seemed to be strewn with flowers. The martyr and his\ncelestial visitants sang hymns together, and the unwonted sound\nastonished the jailer. He looked into the cell, and, overpowered by what\nhe saw and heard, confessed the power of God and the truth of the\nChristian faith. When Dacian heard of it he shed tears of rage; but,\nfinding it was useless to continue his cruelty, he gave orders that some\nrepose should be allowed to the martyr. His motives for this act of\nclemency are variously represented; perhaps he only meant to recruit the\nstrength of Vincent that he might endure further tortures; or perhaps he\nfeared that, if he expired under them, the Christian faith might be\nexalted in the eyes of the people by his constancy. But, whatever was\nthe policy of Dacian, God overruled it to obtain for His blessed servant\nan easy departure. The scattered remnant of Christians gathered round\nhim, and tended him with anxious care. They provided a soft bed, on\nwhich he was no sooner laid than he yielded up his soul to the Lord, on\nJanuary 22, A.D. 304. The rage of the Governor followed his poor\nremains. His body was cast out into a field to become the prey of wild\nbeasts and birds; but was defended by a raven. Then, to add further\nindignities to it, it was taken out in a boat and thrown into the sea\nwith a mill-stone about the neck. During the night it was washed ashore,\nand at last was privately buried by some good Christians in a humble\nchapel near Valencia. When the fury of the persecution had ceased, it\nwas removed with great honour, and buried under the altar of the\nprincipal church.\n\n\nS. GAUDENTIUS, B. OF NOVARA.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 418.)\n\n [From his life by an anonymous writer in, or about, 760; quite\n trustworthy.]\n\nGaudentius was a native of Ivrea (Eporoedia), under the shadows of the\nAlps; he was brought up as a Christian, and exhibited early indications\nof piety. On reaching man's estate he went to Novara, was ordained\npriest, and became so distinguished for his sanctity, that S. Ambrose\nvisited him. When Constantius, the Arian Emperor, exiled S. Eusebius,\nthe Catholic Bishop of Vercelli, Gaudentius went into exile with him; on\nhis return he was elected to the episcopal throne of Novara.\n\n\nS. ANASTASIUS THE PERSIAN, AND LXX. COMPANIONS, MM. IN ASSYRIA.\n\n(A.D. 628.)\n\n [Commemorated by Greeks and Westerns. His Acts are genuine, having\n been written either by the monk commissioned to attend him during\n his passion, or from his dictation. These Acts were referred to in\n the 7th General Council, 180 years after his death.]\n\nThere lived in Rages, in Persia, at the time when the true Cross fell\ninto the hands of Chosro\u00ebs, King of Persia, A.D. 614, a young man, named\nMagundat, the son of a Magian of rank. The capture of the Cross was\nfamed all through Persia, and Magundat was led by curiosity to enquire\nabout it of some Christians. Thus he learned the history of the Passion\nof Jesus Christ, and the doctrine of the Redemption. It left a deep\nimpression on his mind. He was soon after called to serve in the army\nthat marched under Sarbar through the north of Asia Minor to Chalcedon,\nbut on his retreat, Magundat left the army, and visited Hierapolis in\nSyria. In that city he lodged with a Persian Christian, a silversmith,\nwith whom he often went to the Christian Church. There he contemplated\nthe pictures of saints glorified on golden grounds, and martyrs in their\nagonies, and asked about them. His curiosity was satisfied, and being\ngreatly moved by what he heard, he felt a desire to visit those holy\nplaces where Christ had been born and where he had died, as he had seen\npainted on the walls of the Church of the Martyrs in Hierapolis.\nTherefore he went to Jerusalem, and he lodged there also in the house of\na smith, who was a Christian; and to him he opened his heart, and\nrelated how he had been led to desire baptism, and a right to the\nResurrection of the Just. He was, therefore, placed under instruction,\nand was afterwards baptized by Modestus, \"vicar of the Apostolic seat,\"\nas he is called in the Acts, who governed Jerusalem, Zachary the\npatriarch being in captivity. He prepared himself for the Holy Sacrament\nwith great devotion, and spent the octave after it--which persons\nbaptized passed in white garments--in continuous prayer. At his baptism\nhe took the name of Anastasius, thereby meaning, in Greek, his\nresurrection to a new life.\n\nAfter his baptism, the more perfectly to keep inviolably his baptismal\nvows and obligations, he resolved on becoming a monk in a monastery\nfive miles from Jerusalem. Justin, the abbot, made him first learn the\nGreek tongue and the psalter; then cutting off his hair, gave him the\nmonastic habit, in the year 620.\n\nAnastasius was always most earnest in all spiritual duties, especially\nin assisting at the celebration of the Divine Mysteries. His favourite\nreading was the lives of the saints; and when he read the triumphs of\nthe martyrs, his eyes overflowed with tears, and he longed to be found\nworthy to share their glory. Being tormented with the memory of the\nsuperstitious and magical rites, which his father had taught him, he was\ndelivered from that troublesome temptation by discovering it to his\ndirector, and by his advice and prayers. After seven years spent in\ngreat perfection in this monastery, his desire of martyrdom daily\nincreasing, and having been assured by a revelation that his prayers for\nthat grace were heard, he left that house, and visited the places of\ndevotion in Palestine, at Diospolis, Gerizim, and Our Lady's church at\nCaesarea, where he stayed two days. This city, with the greatest part of\nSyria, was then subject to the Persians. The Saint, seeing certain\nPersian soothsayers of the garrison occupied in their abominable\nsuperstitions in the streets, boldly spoke to them, remonstrating\nagainst the impiety of such practices. The Persian magistrates\napprehended him as a suspected spy; but he informed them that he had\nonce enjoyed the dignity of Magian amongst them, but had renounced it to\nbecome a humble follower of Christ. Upon this confession he was thrown\ninto a dungeon, where he lay three days without eating or drinking, till\nthe return of Marzabanes, the governor, to the city. When interrogated\nby him, he confessed his conversion to the faith. Marzabanes commanded\nhim to be chained by the foot to another criminal, and his neck and one\nfoot to be also linked together by a heavy chain, and condemned him, in\nthis condition, to carry stones. The Persians, especially those of his\nown province, and his former acquaintance, upbraided him with having\ndisgraced his country, kicked and beat him, plucked his beard, and\nloaded him with burdens above his strength.\n\nThe Governor sent for him a second time, but could not induce him to\npronounce the impious words which the Magians used in their\nsuperstitions; \"For,\" said he, \"the wilful calling of them to\nremembrance defiles the heart.\" The judge then threatened he would write\nimmediately to the king, if he did not comply. \"Write what you please,\"\nsaid the Saint, \"I am a Christian: I repeat it again, I am a Christian.\"\nMarzabanes commanded him to be forthwith beaten with knotty clubs. The\nexecutioners were preparing to bind him fast to the ground; but the\nSaint told them it was unnecessary, for he had courage enough to lie\ndown under the punishment without moving, and he regarded it as his\ngreatest happiness to suffer for Christ. He only begged leave to put off\nhis monk's habit, lest it should be treated with that contempt which\nonly his body deserved. He therefore laid it aside respectfully, and\nthen stretched himself on the ground, and, without being bound, remained\nall the time of the cruel torment, bearing it without changing his\nposture.\n\nThe Governor again threatened him to acquaint the king with his\nobstinacy. \"Whom ought we rather to fear,\" said Anastasius, \"a mortal\nman, or God, who made all things out of nothing?\" The judge pressed him\nto sacrifice to fire, and to the sun and moon. The Saint answered, he\ncould never acknowledge as gods creatures which God had made only for\nthe use of man; upon which he was remanded to prison.\n\nHis old abbot, hearing of his sufferings, sent two monks to assist him,\nand ordered prayers to be offered daily for him. The confessor, after\ncarrying stones all the day, spent the greatest part of the night in\nprayer, to the surprise of his companions; one of whom, a Jew, saw and\nshowed him to others at prayer in the night, shining in brightness and\nglory like a blessed spirit, and angels praying with him. As the\nconfessor was chained to a man condemned for a public crime, he prayed\nalways with his neck bowed downwards, keeping his chained foot near his\ncompanion, not to disturb him.\n\nMarzabanes, in the meantime, having informed Chosro\u00ebs, and received his\norders, acquainted the martyr by a messenger, without seeing him, that\nthe king would be satisfied if he would by word of mouth abjure the\nChristian faith: after which he might choose whether he would be an\nofficer in the king's service, or still remain a Christian and a monk;\nadding he might in his heart always adhere to Christ, provided he would\nbut for once renounce Him in words privately, in his presence, \"in which\nthere could be no harm, nor any great injury to his Christ,\" as he said.\nAnastasius answered firmly, that he would never even seem to dissemble,\nor to deny his God. Then the Governor told him that he had orders to\nsend him bound into Persia to the king. \"There is no need of binding\nme,\" said the Saint: \"I go willingly and cheerfully to suffer for\nChrist.\" The Governor put on him and on two other prisoners the mark,\nand gave orders that they should set out after five days. In the\nmeantime, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the 14th of\nSeptember, at the request of the Commerciarius, or tax-gatherer for the\nking, who was a Christian of distinction, Anastasius had leave to go to\nthe church and assist at the Divine Sacrifice. His presence and\nexhortations encouraged the faithful, excited the lukewarm to fervour,\nand moved all to tears. He dined that day with the Commerciarius, and\nthen returned with joy to his prison. On the day appointed, the martyr\nleft Caesarea in Palestine, with two other Christian prisoners, under a\nstrict guard, and was followed by one of the monks whom the abbot had\nsent to assist and encourage him. The Acts of his martyrdom were written\nby this monk, or at least from what he related by word of mouth. The\nSaint received great marks of honour, much against his inclination, from\nthe Christians, wherever he came. This made him fear lest human applause\nshould rob him of his crown, by infecting his heart with pride. He wrote\nfrom Hierapolis, and again from the river Tigris to his abbot, begging\nthe prayers of his brethren.\n\nHaving reached Barsaloe in Assyria, six miles from Discartha or\nDastagerde, near the Euphrates, where the king then was, the prisoners\nwere thrown into a dungeon, till his pleasure was known. An officer came\nfrom Chosro\u00ebs to interrogate the Saint, who made answer, touching his\nmagnificent promises: \"My religious habit and poor clothes show that I\ndespise from my heart the gaudy pomp of the world. The honours and\nriches of a king, who must shortly die himself, are no temptation to\nme.\" Next day the officer returned to the prison, and endeavoured to\nintimidate him by threats and reproaches. But the Saint said calmly, \"My\nlord judge, do not give yourself so much trouble about me. By the grace\nof Christ I am not to be moved: so execute your pleasure without more\nado.\" The officer caused him to be unmercifully beaten with staves,\nafter the Persian manner, insulting him all the time, and often\nrepeating, that because he rejected the king's bounty, he should be\ntreated in that manner every day, as long as he lived. This punishment\nwas inflicted on him three days; on the third, the judge commanded him\nto be laid on his back, and a heavy beam pressed down by the weight of\ntwo men on his legs, crushing the flesh to the very bone. The martyr's\ntranquility and patience astonished the officer, who went again to\nacquaint the king with his behaviour. In his absence the jailer, a\nChristian, gave every one free access to the martyr. The Christians\nimmediately filled the prison; every one sought to kiss his feet or\nchains, and kept as relics whatever had been sanctified by their touch.\nThe Saint, with confusion and indignation, strove to hinder them, and\nexpressed his dissatisfaction at their proceedings. The officer,\nreturning from the king, caused him to be beaten again, which the\nconfessor bore rather as a statue than as flesh and blood. Then he was\nhung up for two hours by one hand, with a great weight at his feet, and\ntampered with by threats and promises. The judge, despairing to overcome\nhim, went back to the king for his last orders, which were, that\nAnastasius and all the Christian captives should be put to death. He\nreturned speedily to put these orders into execution, and caused the two\ncompanions of Anastasius, with threescore and eight other Christians, to\nbe strangled one after another, on the banks of the river, before his\nface, the judge all the time pressing them to return to the Persian\nworship, and to escape so disgraceful a death. Anastasius, with his eyes\nlifted up to heaven, gave thanks to God for bringing his life to so\nhappy a conclusion; and said he expected that he should have met with a\nmore cruel death, by the torture of all his members; but seeing that God\ngranted him one so easy, he embraced it with joy. He was accordingly\nstrangled, and when dead, his head was struck off. This was in the year\n628, the seventeenth of the Emperor Heraclius. His body, along with the\nrest of the dead, was exposed to be devoured by dogs, but it was the\nonly one they left untouched.\n\nIt was afterwards redeemed by the Christians, who laid it in the\nmonastery of S. Sergius, a mile from his place of triumph, in the city\nof Barsaloe, called afterwards from that monastery, Sergiopolis. The\nmonk that attended him brought back his _colobium_, or linen sleeveless\ntunic. The Saint's body was afterwards brought into Palestine, thence it\nwas removed to Constantinople, and finally to Rome.\n\nRelics, in the church of SS. Vincent and Anastasius at Rome, also in the\nchapel of the Santa Scala, near S. John Lateran, at Rome.\n\nIn art, he figures with a hatchet. Often his head alone, on a plate; to\nbe distinguished from that of S. John Baptist, by the cowl that\naccompanies it.\n\n\nB. WALTER OF BIERBEEKE, MONK AT HEMMERODE.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 1220.)\n\n [Authority, life in Caesarius of Heisterbach's \"Dialogus\n Miraculorum,\" Distinctio VII. c. xxxviii. ed. Strange. Caesarius\n knew Walter, and some of the things he relates from what Walter\n told him, or from some of the brethren who where eye-witnesses to\n the events he describes. At the same time allowance must be made\n for the great credulity of Caesarius.]\n\nWalter of Bierbeeke, in Brabant, was a knight of noble blood, having\nbeen related to Henry, Duke of Louvain. He fought against the Saracens\nin the Holy Land, and was a brave and upright chevalier. He was also a\nman of deep piety, and of a fervent devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Like\nSir Galahad he might have said:--\n\n \"---- all my heart is drawn above,\n My knees are bowed in crypt and shrine;\n I never felt the kiss of love,\n Nor maiden's hand in mine.\n More beauteous aspects on me beam,\n Me mightier transports move and thrill;\n So keep I fair through faith and prayer\n A virgin heart in work and will.\"\n\nThe great German writer, Fouqu\u00e9, seems to have had this Brabantine hero\nin his mind's eye, when he wrote his \"Aslauga's Knight.\" Like Froda, in\nthat exquisite story, Walter of Bierbeeke had fixed his heart on a\nheavenly mistress, whose pure image haunted his dreams.\n\nA story told by Caesarius, illustrative of this, must not be omitted,\nthough we may doubt its truth. Walter rode with a brilliant company of\nknights to a tournament. On his way he passed a little chapel, and the\nbell was tinkling for mass. It was a feast of Our Lady, and the good\nknight, leaping from his horse, entered the chapel to hear the mass of\nthe Blessed Virgin. \"You will be late for the tournament!\" shouted his\ncompanions. \"My duty is first to Her,\" answered Walter, pointing to the\nimage of the Mother of God. Now when the mass was said, and the\nbeginning of the Gospel of S. John was read, then the knight rose from\nhis knees, remounted his horse, and rode towards the town.\n\nAs he neared the lists, he asked of some hurrying from it how matters\nfared. \"The tournament is well nigh over,\" was the answer, \"Walter of\nBierbeeke has borne down all competitors. He has done marvellously.\" But\nthe knight understood not. He asked others, and the same answer was\ngiven. Then he rode into the lists, but met with no distinguished\nsuccess. And when all was over, many knights came to him and said, \"Deal\ngraciously by us.\" \"What mean you?\" he asked. \"We were captured and\ndisarmed by thee in the lists, and we must ransom ourselves.\" \"But I was\nnot there.\"\n\n\"Nay, but it was thou,\" they replied; \"for we saw thy cognizance on helm\nand shield, and heard thy cry, and knew thy voice.\" Then Walter knew\nthat his heavenly Mistress had sent an angel to fight for him, whilst he\nworshipped at her humble shrine.\n\nAnd after that, many a token did she show, that she had accepted Walter\nas her knight. Then his love to her waxed daily stronger, and he said,\n\"I have been her knight, now will I be her slave.\" So he went into a\nlittle chapel, dedicated to his dear Lady, and put a rope round his\nneck, and offered himself at the altar to be her serf, and to pay to her\na yearly tax.\n\n\"And because out of honour to the heavenly queen he so humbled himself,\"\nsays Caesarius; \"therefore she, on the other hand, glorified him, whom\nshe loved, in many ways.\"\n\nAfter a while he wearied of wearing coat of mail, and he cast his\nweapons and harness aside, and donned the Cistercian habit in the\nmonastery of Hemmerode. There he was not allowed to live in such\nretirement as he loved; being unskilled in Latin, he was made to serve\nas a lay-brother instead of being in constant attendance in choir.\nSeveral pretty stories are told of his cloister life. At dinner, as is\nusual in monasteries, a monk read aloud from a Latin book. The abbot\nnoticed Walter during the meal, every day, to seem very intent on what\nwas being read; smiles came out on his face, and sometimes tears\ntrickled down his cheeks. At last the abbot sent for him, and asked him,\n\"What art thou attending to? Thou understandest not the Latin book.\"\n\"No, not that book,\" said Walter; \"but I have another book open before\nmy mind's eye, full of sacred pictures, and I look at the first, and\nthere I see Gabriel announcing to Mary that Christ is coming. Then I\nturn over the leaf, and I see the stable of Bethlehem, and the adoring\nshepherds; and I see the Magi come; and the next picture is the\nPresentation in the Temple; and so my book goes on, and I come at last\nto Calvary and the grave. And that is a picture book of which I never\nweary.\"\n\nOnce he was sent in a boat laden with wine to Zealand. And a storm arose\nso that the vessel was in great danger, and she drave before the wind\nall night. Thinking that they must all perish, Walter made his\nconfession to his servant, there being no priest on board, and then he\ndescended into the hold, after midnight, and placing his little ivory\nstatue of the Blessed Virgin before him, he knelt down and prayed,\nexpecting death. As he prayed he slept. Then, in a dream, he saw the\nmonastery of Hemmerode, and in it was an old monk, Arnold by name,\nharping, and singing psalms, and praying for those who \"go down to the\nsea in ships and exercise their business in great waters.\" Then Walter\nawoke, and went to the mariners and said, \"Be of good cheer, we shall\nnot perish, Arnold at Hemmerode is not asleep to-night, but is harping\non his harp and singing to God for us.\"\n\nNow when they had come safe to land, Walter returned to his monastery,\nand told the abbot of his dream. Then the abbot sent for the monk\nArnold, and he said to him, \"What wast thou doing on the vigil of S.\nNicholas?\" For it was on that night that the vessel had been in danger.\n\n\"I could not sleep at all that night,\" answered the monk, \"so I prayed\nto, and praised God.\"\n\n\"But thou wast harping on a harp,\" said the abbot.\n\n\"Nay, my lord,\" answered the monk Arnold; \"this is what I do. I play\nwith my fingers on an imaginary harp, under my habit, making music in my\nsoul; and this I do whenever my devotion flags.\"\n\nNow Walter went with his superior, the abbot Eustace, to the monastery\nof Villars, which was of the same Cistercian order. And in the evening\nthe abbot of Villars called all the monks before the abbot Eustace of\nHemmerode. And he said, \"Are they all here?\" He answered, \"All are here\nbut two little French boys, who have communicated to-day, and on such\ndays as they communicate they love to remain in silence by themselves.\"\n\nNow on the morrow, when the convent had gone to nones, and the elder of\nthese boys was waiting the sound of the bell, leaning on his spade\nbefore the church door, he read the little nones of Our Lady, and\nreading, he fell asleep. Then he thought he saw the Blessed Virgin, with\na great company enter the church, and she looked not towards him. And he\ncried, \"Oh wretched me! she calls me not!\" Then the Mother of God\nturning, looked at him, and signing to a monk, bade him go and call the\nboy, and this the monk did, coming to him, and saying, \"The Mistress\ncalleth thee.\"\n\nWhen he woke, he told his fellow the dream; and when they went within,\nhe saw Walter, and he whispered to his companion, \"If that monk had a\ngrey habit instead of a white one, I would say that it was he who\nsummoned me.\"\n\nNow on the morrow, when Walter and the abbot Eustace were about to\ndepart, they stood in the door, and Walter wore his grey travelling\nhabit. Then the boy exclaimed, \"Yes, that certainly is he.\" A few days\nafter, the blessed Walter of Bierbeeke died at Hemmerode, and strange to\nsay, within a day or two, the little French boy was called away also.\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 23.\n\n S. PARMENAS, _one of the first Seven Deacons, end of 1st cent._\n S. MESSALINA, _V. M., at Foligno, in Italy_, A.D. 250.\n S. ASCLAS, _M., at Antino\u00eb, in Egypt, circ._ A.D. 304.\n S. EMERENTIANA, _V. M., at Rome_, A.D. 304. (_See p. 321._)\n S. CLEMENT, _B. of Ancyra_, AND COMPANIONS, _MM., beginning of\n 4th cent._\n S. AMASIUS, _B. C. of Teano, near Capua, circ._ A.D. 356.\n S. EUSEBIUS, _Ab. in Syria, 4th cent._\n S. MAUSIMAS, _P. in Syria, circ._ A.D. 400.\n S. URBAN, _B. of Langres, 5th cent._\n S. JOHN THE ALMSGIVER, _Patr. of Alexandria_, A.D. 616.\n S. ILDEPHONSUS, _B. of Toledo_, A.D. 667.\n S. BOISILUS, _of Melrose, circ._ A.D. 664.\n S. MAIMBOD, _M., at Besan\u00e7on._\n S. BERNARD, _Ab. of Vienne, in France, 9th cent._\n S. RAYMOND, _of Pennaforte, C. in Spain_, A.D. 1275.\n S. MARGARET, _V., at Ravenna_, A.D. 1505.\n\n\nS. ASCLAS, M.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 304)\n\n [S. Asclas was martyred on Jan. 21st, but his body was found on\n Jan. 23rd, and on this latter day he is usually commemorated. His\n Acts, in a fragmentary condition, are genuine.]\n\nAsclas, a native of Antino\u00eb, was brought before the Roman governor,\nArrianus, when he visited Hermopolis, in the Thebaid, or Upper Egypt.\nAfter a close interrogation, which is faithfully recorded in the Acts of\nthis martyr, the Governor exclaimed, \"Come, now! sacrifice to the gods,\nand consult thy safety. I have various instruments at hand, as thou\nseest.\" \"Try, now,\" said the martyr, boldly. \"Try, now, which will\nprevail, thou and thy instruments, or I and my Christ.\" The Governor\nordered him to be swung from the little horse, and his flesh to be torn\noff in ribands. This was done. Then Arrianus said sullenly, \"I see he is\nas obdurate as ever.\" An orator, standing by, remarked, \"The approach\nof death has robbed him of his wits.\" Asclas turned his head, and said,\n\"No, I am robbed neither of my wits nor of my God.\"\n\nNow this had taken place on the further side of the river, near Antino\u00eb;\nand as there were not sufficient conveniences for continuing the\ntorture, the Governor said, \"We will return to Hermopolis.\" So he\nordered Asclas into one boat; and when he had been taken over the Nile,\nthen Arrianus entered his boat, and began to cross. Thereupon Asclas\ncried out, \"O Lord, for whose sake I have suffered, may Thy name be\nglorified now, even by unwilling lips. Retain the vessel in the midst of\nthe river, till Arrianus confesses Thy power.\" Then suddenly the boat\nstood, as though it had grounded on a sand-bank, and it could not be\nmoved, till the Governor wrote on a piece of parchment: \"The Lord of\nAsclas, He is God, and there is none other god save He.\" And when he had\nsent this to the martyr, the boat floated, and was propelled to the\nshore. Then the Governor, inflamed with rage, thinking that the captive\nhad used magical arts, tortured him by applying fire to his sides and\nbelly, till his body was one great sore. And after that he cast him,\nwith a stone attached to his neck, into the Nile.\n\n\nS. CLEMENT, B. OF ANCYRA, AND HIS COMPANIONS, MM.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 4TH CENT.)\n\n [Commemorated by the Greeks. The Greek Acts of these martyrs are\n not genuine.]\n\nS. Clement, Bishop of Ancyra, was the son of a heathen father and a\nChristian mother. When Clement was ten years old, his mother died.\nBefore her death, she summoned him to her side, and urged him not to\ndesert Christ, whatever sufferings he might be called on to endure for\nHis sake. Being possessed of private means, on coming of age, he adopted\na number of poor boys, and educated them in the nurture and admonition\nof the Lord. He was at length ordained Bishop of Ancyra, his native\ncity. In the persecution of Diocletian, he was taken and brought before\nthe governor. He was treated with great barbarity, being torn with\nhooks, and his teeth and jaw broken with a large stone. As he lay among\nother prisoners that night in the jail, a bright light filled it, and\nthe prisoners saw a man enter in dazzling garments, who held in his hand\nthe Holy Eucharist, and therewith he communicated the bishop. But\nwhether he were mortal priest, or an angel of God, no man knows. Along\nwith Clement, one Agathangelus and many others, men, women, and boys\nsuffered for Christ, whose names are written in the Book of Life.\n\n\nS. JOHN THE ALMSGIVER, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA.\n\n(A.D. 616.)\n\n [S. John died on Nov. 11th. But as that is the feast of S. Mennas,\n among the Greeks, they commemorate him on Nov. 12th; and as the\n 11th is the feast of S. Martin among the Latins, the commemoration\n of S. John is transferred in some Martyrologies to Jan. 23rd, in\n others to Feb. 3rd, and in others again to July 13th. Authority,\n his life by Leontius, Bishop of Cyprus, and S. John Damascene,\n Orat. 3; also a life in Metaphrastes. Leontius wrote from the\n account of the priests of Alexandria, who had been under S. John.]\n\nJohn the Eleemosynary, or the Almsgiver, was a very wealthy native of\nAmathus in Cyprus, and a widower. Having buried all his children, he\nemployed his whole fortune in relieving the necessities of the poor.\n\nOn his election to the metropolitan see of Alexandria, he at once\nordered a list to be made of his masters. When asked what he meant, he\nreplied that he desired to know how many poor there were demanding his\nservices in the great city, for, like his Lord, he had come to minister\nto their needs.\n\nAs many as 7,500 were found without a livelihood. John at once undertook\nto relieve them. Finding that their poor little savings were wasted by\nthe fraud of tradesmen, who used unequal balances and unjust measures,\nhe at once began an attack on such dealings, and thereby stirred up no\nsmall hostility against himself on the part of the petty shopkeepers.\n\nTwice in the week he drew his chair outside the church door, and placed\ntwo benches before it, that he might hear the complaints of the\noppressed, and remedy them, as far as lay in his power. One day he was\nfound softly crying. \"Why these tears?\" he was asked. \"None seek my\nassistance this day,\" he replied. \"Thou shouldst rather rejoice that\nthere is no need,\" said his interlocutor. Then he raised his eyes to\nheaven, with a joyous smile, and thanked God. He built hospitals for the\nsick and visited them, \"not as captives, but as brothers,\" says\nLeontius. He was discreet in his charities. To women and girls he gave\ntwice as much as to men, because they are less able to earn a living.\nBut he would not allow anything to be given to those who were dressy and\nadorned with trinkets. But it was not the poor alone that he assisted. A\nmerchantman, having been twice ruined by shipwrecks, had as often relief\nfrom the good patriarch, who the third time gave him a ship belonging to\nthe church, laden with corn. This vessel was driven by a storm to\nBritain, where raged a famine. He was therefore able to sell the corn at\na good price, and brought back a load of British silver.[115] A nobleman\nhaving been greatly reduced, the patriarch ordered his treasurer to\ngive him fifteen pounds of gold. The treasurer thinking this too much,\nreduced the gift to five. Almost directly after, a wealthy lady sent him\nan order for five hundred pounds. The patriarch, who had expected more\nfrom that quarter, asked her to come to him. \"May it please your\nHoliness,\" said she; \"I wrote the order last night for fifteen hundred\npounds, but this morning I saw that the 10 on the cheque had\ndisappeared.\" S. John at once concluded that this was God's doing. He\nturned to the treasurer and asked how much had been given the poor\nnobleman. On the hesitation of this man, he sent for the gentleman, and\nfound that his liberal orders had not been complied with. \"What is sown\nto the Lord, the Lord restores an hundred fold,\" said the patriarch. \"I\nknew that five pounds alone could have been given, when He returned me\nonly five hundred.\"\n\nNicetas Patricius, sub-praetor of Africa, saw the lavish charity of the\npatriarch with a jealous eye. The state exchequer was without funds, and\nhe thought to appropriate the wealth of the patriarch to such purposes\nas the state required. Accordingly, one day he visited John the\nAlmsgiver, with his attendants, and peremptorily demanded his money.\n\"Here is my strong box,\" said the patriarch; \"but the money belongs to\nthe church, not to the state. If you choose to take it, you may do so,\nbut I will not give it you, for it is not mine to give.\"\n\nNicetas, without more ado, ordered his servants to shoulder the money\nchest, and take it away. As he opened the door to leave, he saw some\ndomestics bringing up a number of pots labelled \"VIRGIN HONEY.\" \"Hah!\"\nsaid the sub-praetor, \"I wish you would give me a taste of your honey!\"\n\"You shall have some,\" said the Patriarch. Now when the pots were\nopened, it was found that they contained a contribution in money sent\nto the Bishop; as indeed those who brought them announced.[116] When\nJohn saw the amount thus supplied to his pillaged treasury, he ordered\none of his servants to take a pot, labelled as it was, to Nicetas, and\nto put it on his table, saying, \"All those pots you met coming upstairs,\nas you went out, were full of the same sort of honey.\" And John wrote a\nnote, which he attached to the pot, to this effect: \"I will never leave\nthee, nor forsake thee, said the Lord; and His word is true, and no lie.\nThink not that mortal man can restrain the everlasting God. Farewell.\"\n\nNow, Nicetas was sitting at table with friends at supper, when it was\nannounced that the patriarch's honey awaited him. He ordered it at once\nto be set on the table, and said, \"That patriarch is out of temper with\nme, that I can see, or he would have sent me more than one miserable\nlittle pot.\" But when he opened the jar, behold! it was full of money.\nThen he felt compunction for what he had done, and he ordered his\nservants to haste, and return to the patriarch his cash-box, and all the\ncontents of the honey-pot.\n\nNicetas, after this, became friendly to the patriarch, who, as a token\nof response, stood godfather to his children. On one occasion this\nfriendship was clouded, and threatened dissolution. The governor had\nimposed a tax, which fell with peculiar severity on the poor. John\ncomplained, and back-biters were not slow to excite Nicetas against\nJohn, by representing him as fomenting general discontent. The governor\nrushed to the patriarch's lodgings, and exploded into a storm of angry\nwords, which left our Saint agitated and distressed. As evening drew on,\nhe wrote on a scroll the words, \"_The sun is setting_,\" and sent it to\nNicetas, who, recalling the maxim of S. Paul, \"Let not the sun go down\nupon your wrath,\" was moved to regret his violence, and he sped with the\nsame celerity as before, but with different purpose, to the residence of\nthe patriarch, to ask his pardon, and heal their friendship.\n\nThe good prelate could ill bear to be at discord with another, though\nthe fault was none of his.\n\nOn one occasion he had excommunicated, for a few days, two clerks, who\nhad attacked each other with their fists. One bore the sentence in a\nright spirit of compunction, but the other with resentment. Next Sunday,\nthe patriarch was at the altar celebrating. As the deacon was about to\nremove the veil covering the sacred vessels, John remembered all at once\nthe hostility of the clerk, and the words of our Lord: \"If thou bringest\nthy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought\nagainst thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;\nfirst be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.\"\n(Matt. v. 25, 24.) Then, bidding the deacon recite the general prayer\nover and over again till his return, he left the altar, and, entering\nthe vestry, sent a minister to bring the clerk who was not in charity\nwith him. And when this man came, the patriarch fell before him on his\nknees, and bowed his white head, and said, \"Pardon me, my brother!\" Then\nthe clerk, full of shame to see the patriarch, an aged man, in all his\nsplendid vestments, at his feet, flung himself down, weeping, confessed\nhis wrong, and asked forgiveness. Then the patriarch embraced him, and\nreturning to the altar, finished the sacrifice.\n\nHaving in vain exhorted a certain nobleman to forgive one with whom he\nwas at variance, he invited him to his private chapel, to assist at his\nmass. Now as they were reciting the Lord's Prayer, the patriarch kept\nsilence after he had said, \"Give us this day our daily bread;\" and the\nserver, at a signal from him, ceased also; but the nobleman continued,\n\"And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against\nus,\"--and then noticed that he had made that one petition alone, so he\npaused. Then the patriarch turned round at the altar and said, \"What\nhast thou now asked?--to be forgiven by God as thou forgivest others.\"\nThe nobleman was pricked at the heart, and fell down and promised to\nforget the wrong that had been done him.\n\nObserving that as soon as the Gospel was read at Mass, a portion of the\ncongregation retired and stood outside the church, talking among\nthemselves, the patriarch went forth and seated himself amongst them,\nsaying, \"Where the sheep are, there the shepherd must also be,\" and they\nwith shame came into church. Thus he broke through a pernicious custom.\n\nThe patriarch, one day, took a bishop named Troilus, then visiting\nAlexandria, to see his poor in a certain quarter, where he had erected\nfor their accommodation a number of domed huts, supplied with beds,\nmattrasses, and blankets for the winter. Now Troilus had seen a handsome\nchased silver drinking cup in the town, and had set his heart upon it;\nit cost thirty pounds, and he had brought this sum with him, intending\nto buy the cup on his return, and when he had shaken himself free from\nthe charitable patriarch. \"I see,\" said John, \"you have some money with\nyou--many pounds, if I mistake not; distribute it among these my poor.\"\n\nTroilus was unable to refuse; and so, most reluctantly, his gold went\ninto the pocket of the beggars instead of into that of the silversmith.\nHe was so greatly put out about this that he fretted himself into a\nfever. The patriarch, not seeing him, or hearing of him, for some days,\nsent a servant to invite him to dinner; but the Bishop declined, saying\nthat he suffered from a bad cold and fever. Then S. John hastened to his\nhouse to sympathize with the sick man, but soon discovering that there\nwas more of temper than malady in the case, he guessed the cause, and\nsaid, \"By the way, I borrowed of you thirty pounds the other day, for my\npoor; if you are so disposed, I will at once repay the sum.\"\n\nThen--says the writer of the life of S. John--when the Bishop saw the\nmoney in the hand of the patriarch, all at once his fever vanished, his\ncold flew away, and his colour and vigour came back; so that any one\nmight have seen what was the real cause of his indisposition. \"And now,\nif you are well enough, you will dine with me,\" said the patriarch. \"I\nam ready,\" answered Bishop Troilus, jumping off his bed, on which he had\ncast himself in his fever of vexation.\n\nNow it fell out that after dinner the Bishop dropped asleep with his\nhead on the table, and in a dream he saw himself in a wondrous land of\nrare beauty; and there he beheld a glorious house of unearthly beauty,\nover the door of which was inscribed, \"THE ETERNAL MANSION AND PLACE OF\nREPOSE OF TROILUS, THE BISHOP.\" Having read this, he was glad. But there\ncame by a certain One, with many attendants in robes of white, and He\nlooked up and read the title, and said: \"Not so, change the\nsuperscription.\" Then the attendants removed the writing, and replaced\nit with this, \"THE ETERNAL MANSION AND PLACE OF REPOSE OF JOHN,\nARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, PURCHASED FOR THIRTY POUNDS.\"\n\nOne of his domestic servants having fallen into great difficulties, the\npatriarch privately helped him, by giving him two pounds. \"I do not know\nhow I can sufficiently thank your excellence and angelic holiness,\" said\nthe servant. \"No thanks,\" said the patriarch, \"Humble John\"--so he was\nwont to call himself--\"has not yet shed his blood for you, as his Master\ntaught him.\"\n\nThere was a certain man, named Theopentus, greatly given to charity, who\ndied leaving an only son. And on his death-bed, he called the boy, and\nsaid to him, \"I have ten pounds, and that is all that remains to me;\nshall I give it to you or to the Virgin Mother of God?\" And when the boy\nsaid, \"It shall be her's;\" then the father said, \"Go and spend it among\nthe poor.\"\n\nNow when the patriarch heard of this, and that the orphan was left\ndestitute, and was in great want; knowing that it would hurt him to\noffer him charity, he devised an innocent deception. He bade a scribe\ndraw up a false pedigree, making himself and the deceased to be cousins,\nand he bade him show it to the youth, and bring him to the residence of\nthe patriarch. And when this was done, the holy man ran to the lad and\nkissed him, and said, \"How is this! that the child of my dear kinsman is\nin poverty. I must provide for thee, my dear son.\" So he made him an\nallowance, and married and settled him comfortably in Alexandria.\n\nWhen the Persians devastated the Holy Land and sacked Jerusalem, S. John\nentertained all who fled into Egypt, and nursed the wounded. He also\nsent to Jerusalem, for the use of the poor there, a large sum of money,\nand a thousand sacks of corn, as many of pulse, one thousand barrels of\nwine, and one thousand Egyptian workmen to assist in rebuilding the\nchurches. He moreover despatched two bishops and an abbot to ransom the\ncaptives.\n\nS. John lived a simple life, his apparel, the furniture of his house,\nhis diet, were all of the meanest. A person of distinction in the city,\nbeing informed that he had only an old tattered blanket on his bed, sent\nhim a very handsome one. \"Humble John\" wore it over him for one night,\nbut sold it next day, and gave the price to the poor; for, during the\nnight, he thought of some poor wretches who had no blankets at all. The\nfriend, being informed of this, bought the blanket, and sent it to him\nagain. It met with the same fate as before, and he again and again\nre-purchased it. \"We shall see who will be tired first,\" said the\npatriarch; \"he of buying, or I of selling, the blanket.\"\n\nThere was one class of men to whom it was peculiarly difficult to offer\nassistance, and that was the slaves, placed at the almost complete\ndisposal of their masters. But the watchful care of S. John did not\nforget them. To the masters he spoke noble words: \"These men are made in\nthe image of God. What constitutes you different from them? You and your\nslaves have legs and arms, and eyes and mouths, and a soul alike. S.\nPaul said, 'Whosoever is baptised into Christ hath put on Christ--ye are\nall one in Christ.' In Christ master and slave are equal. Christ took on\nHim the form of a servant, teaching us to respect our servants. God\nregardeth the humble, we are taught; He says not, the lofty ones, but\nthose who are least esteemed. For the sake of the poor slave were the\nheavens made, for him the earth, for him the stars, for him the sun, for\nhim the sea and all that therein is. For him Christ abased Himself to\nwash His servants' feet, for him He suffered, for him He died. Shall we\npurchase with money such an one, so honoured, redeemed with such\nprecious blood? You ill-treat a servant, as though he were not of like\nnature with you, yet is he highly honoured by God.\"\n\nA monk arrived in Alexandria with a young Jewess in his company, whom he\nhad converted and baptized; this caused great scandal, and by order of\nthe patriarch, he was severely beaten. The monk bore his chastisement\nmeekly, without exculpating himself. Next day it was made so evident\nthat the monk was without the least blame, that the patriarch sent for\nhim to ask his forgiveness, and ever after he was most careful not to\njudge rashly. \"My sons,\" said he, when he heard people blame others; \"be\nnot hasty to judge and condemn. We see often the sin of fornication, but\nwe see not the hidden repentance. We see the crime of a theft, but we\nsee not the sighs and tears of contrition. We severely blame the\nfornicator, the thief, or the perjurer, but God receives his hidden\nconfessions, and bitter sorrow, and holds it as very precious.\"\n\n [Illustration: THE VIRGIN APPEARING TO S. ILDEPHONSUS.\n After a Painting by Murillo in the Museum at Madrid.\n Jan. 23.]\n\nNicetas, the governor, persuaded the Saint to accompany\nhim to Constantinople, to pay a visit to the Emperor. S.\nJohn was admonished from heaven, whilst he was on his way,\nat Rhodes, that his death drew near; so he said to Nicetas,\n\"You invite me to the king of the earth; but the King of\nheaven calls me to Himself.\" He therefore sailed to his\nnative island of Cyprus, and soon after died at Amanthus,\nthe home of his boyhood and married life, and where he had\nlaid his wife and children, and there he fell asleep in Christ\nat the age of sixty-four, after having ruled the patriarchal see\nof Alexandria ten years.\n\n\nS. RAYMUND, OF PENNAFORTE, O.S.D.\n\n(A.D. 1275.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authorities: The bull of his canonization, by\n Clement VIII., in 1601, and a life by Leander Albertus.]\n\nS. Raymund was born in 1175, at Pennaforte, a castle in Catalonia. At\nthe age of thirty he went to Bologna, in Italy, to perfect himself in\nthe study of canon and civil law. In 1219 the Bishop of Barcelona, who\nhad been at Rome, took Raymund home with him and made him archdeacon\nof Barcelona. In 1222 he took the religious habit of S. Dominic,\neight months after the founder had died. James, King of Arragon, had\nmarried Eleonora of Castile within the prohibited degrees, without a\ndispensation. A legate of Pope Gregory IX., in a council of bishops\nheld at Tarragona, declared the marriage null. Acting on the mind of\nthe prince, by his great sanctity and earnestness, Raymund persuaded\nhim to introduce the inquisition into the kingdom to suppress the\nWaldenses and Albigenses, who had made many converts to their\npernicious doctrines. The object of S. Raymund doubtless was that it\nshould serve as a check to the diffusion of heresy, and be a protection\nto simple souls against the poison which the ministers of Antichrist\nstrove to infuse into them. The inquisitors were to be the dogs\nprotecting the sheep from the wolves. S. Raymund laboured diligently,\nby exhortation and example, to convert the Moors and heretics, and his\nefforts were attended with extraordinary success.\n\nPope Gregory IX., having called S. Raymund to Rome, made him his\nconfessor. In 1235 he was named to the archbishopric of Tarragona, but,\nby his tears, he persuaded the Pope not to enforce his acceptance of\nthe responsible charge. In 1238 he was chosen general of the Dominican\norder. He made the visitation of the order on foot, and reduced the\nconstitution to a more complete system than heretofore. Being in\nMajorca with the king, he discovered that King James was living in\nadultery with a lady of his court. As the king would not dissolve the\nsinful union, the Saint implored leave to depart; the king refused,\nand forbade any shipper taking him into his vessel. Thereupon Raymund\nboldly spread his cloak on the water, and standing on it, was wafted\nacross to Barcelona. This miracle so alarmed the king, that he became\na sincere penitent. Raymund died on Jan. 6th, 1275, at the age of a\nhundred.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[115] From the mines in the Cassiterides, Devon and Cornwall.\n\n[116] We see here an instance of the manner in which some stories of\nmiracles were formed. Leontius, who heard the story from the clergy\nacquainted with all the circumstances, says that the bearer of the pots\ntold the Patriarch that they contained money; but that, for greater\nsecurity, they were labelled honey. But Metaphrastes, in telling the\nstory, says that, miraculously, the honey was converted into gold.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 24.\n\n\n S. TIMOTHY, _B. M. at Ephesus_, A.D. 97.\n SS. BABYLUS, _B._, and COMPANIONS, _MM., at Antioch, 3rd cent._\n S. FELICIAN, _B. M. of Foligni, in Italy_, A.D. 250.\n S. MACEDONIUS, _H., in Syria, beginning of 5th cent._\n S. EUSEBIA, _V., at Mylasa, in Caria (Asia Minor), 5th cent._\n S. CADOC, _Ab., in Wales, and M., 6th cent._\n S. ZOSIMUS, _B. of Babylon, in Egypt, 6th cent._\n\n\nS. TIMOTHY, B. OF EPHESUS.\n\n(A.D. 97.)\n\n [By almost all the ancient Latin Martyrologies, S. Timothy is\n commemorated on this day, but by the Greeks on Jan. 22. The\n Martyrology called by the name of S. Jerome on Sept. 27. That of\n Wandelbert on May 16, possibly because of some translation of\n relics. Authorities: the Epistles of S. Paul, and the Acts of S.\n Timothy, by Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus (210), which, however, we\n have not in their original form, but in a recension of the 5th or\n 6th century; other Acts of S. Timothy, also in Greek, and a life in\n Metaphrastes.]\n\nSaint Timothy, the beloved disciple of S. Paul, was born at Lystra in\nLycaonia. His father was a Gentile, but his mother, Eunice, was a\nJewess. She, with Lois, his grandmother, embraced Christianity, and S.\nPaul commends their faith. S. Timothy had made the writings of the Old\nTestament his study from infancy.[117] S. Paul took the young man as the\ncompanion of his labours,[118] but first he had him circumcised at\nLystra, as a condescension to the prejudices of the Jews. He would not\nsuffer S. Titus, born of Gentile parents, to be brought under the law,\nbut Timothy, on account of his Jewish mother, to avoid scandal to the\nJews, he submitted to circumcision.\n\nWhen S. Paul was compelled to quit Beraea, he left Timothy behind him to\nconfirm the new converts. But on his arrival at Athens S. Paul sent for\nhim, and sent him to Thessalonica where the Christians were suffering\npersecution. Thence he returned to S. Paul, who was then at Corinth, to\ngive an account of his mission.[119] From Corinth S. Paul went to\nJerusalem, and thence to Ephesus. Here he formed the resolution of\nreturning into Greece, and he sent Timothy and Erastus before him\nthrough Macedonia, to apprize the faithful in those parts of his\nintention of visiting them. Timothy had a special charge to go\nafterwards to Corinth, to correct certain abuses there. S. Paul awaited\nhis return, in Asia, and then went with him into Macedonia and Achaia.\n\nDuring the subsequent imprisonment of S. Paul, Timothy appears to have\nbeen with him. He was ordained Bishop of Ephesus, probably in the year\n64. S. Paul wrote his first Epistle to Timothy from Macedonia, in 64;\nand his second in 65, from Rome, while there in chains, to press him to\ncome to Rome, that he might see him again before he died.\n\nS. Timothy was afterwards associated with S. John; and in the Apocalypse\nhe is the Angel, or Bishop, of the Church of Ephesus, to whom Christ\nsends His message by S. John.[120] During the great annual feast of the\nCatagogii, which consisted of processions bearing idols, with women\nlewdly dancing before them, and ending in bloodshed, S. Timothy moved by\nrighteous zeal, rushed into the portico of the temple, and exhorted the\nfrenzied revellers to decency; but this so enraged them, that they fell\nupon him with sticks and stones, and killed him.\n\n [Illustration: S. TIMOTHY.\n From a Window of the Eleventh Century at Neuweiler.\n Jan. 24.]\n\n\nSS. BABYLUS, B., AND COMPANIONS, MM.\n\n(3RD CENT.)\n\n [Latin Martyrologies Jan. 24; Greek Menaea Sept. 4. Authorities:\n Eusebius, Sozomen, Philostorgius; and his Acts, written by\n Leontius, patriarch of Antioch, A.D. 348, which exist only in a\n fragmentary condition; also S. Chrysostom: Contra Gentiles de S.\n Babyla, and Hom. de S. Babyla; the latter written in 387.]\n\nOn the death of Zebinus, patriarch of Antioch, in the year 237, S.\nBabylus was elected to the patriarchal throne. The Emperor Philip,\npassing through Antioch in 244, and being, as is supposed, a catechumen,\ndesired to visit the church. Babylus, informed of his approach, went to\nmeet him at the gate, and forbade his ingress, because he was stained\nwith the blood of his predecessor, Gordian, who had associated him in\nthe empire, and whom he had basely murdered.\n\nAccording to S. Chrysostom, who relates this anecdote, the Emperor\nwithdrew in confusion. But according to the Acts it was not the Emperor\nPhilip, but the governor, Numerian, who attempted to enter the church,\nbut was repulsed as being an idolator and stained with murder, by the\ndauntless Bishop; and Nicephorus Callistus, and Philostorgius say the\nsame. Certain it is that S. Babylus suffered under this governor\nNumerian, son of Carus, who was afterwards, for eight months, emperor,\nconjointly with his brother Carinus. Babylus, and three little boys,\naged respectively twelve, nine, and seven, orphans, whom he brought up\nin his house, were so cruelly handled by the torturers before the\ngovernor, that the boys died, and Babylus expired shortly after in\nprison. In order to put a stop to the abominations of the famous temple\nand oracle of Daphne, the zealous Emperor Gallus, brother of Julian,\nburied the body of S. Babylus opposite the temple gate. From that day\nthe oracle ceased to speak. The apostate Emperor Julian ordered its\nremoval, in hopes of restoring liberty to the demon who uttered the\noracles, and the Christians translated the sacred relics to the city,\n\"singing psalms along the road,\" says Sozomen. \"The best singers went\nfirst, and the multitude chanted in chorus, and this was the burden of\ntheir song: _Confounded are all they that worship carved images, and\ndelight in vain gods._\"[121]\n\n\nS. MACEDONIUS, H.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 5TH CENT.)\n\n [Greek Menaea. Authorities: Theodoret in his Philotheus, c. 13, and\n his Ecclesiastical Hist. lib. v. c. 20; Nicephorus Callistus, lib.\n xii. 44. Theodoret's mother was under the direction of S.\n Macedonius.]\n\nS. Macedonius lived a life of great austerity on barley and water. For\nforty-five years he inhabited a dry ditch, after that he spent\ntwenty-five in a rude cabin.\n\nA sedition having broken out in Antioch, and the people having\noverthrown the statue of the Empress Flacilla, Theodosius, the Emperor,\nin a fit of rage, ordered the city to be set on fire and reduced to the\ncondition of a village. Blood would also have been infallibly shed, had\nnot S. Ambrose obtained from Theodosius, shortly before, the passing of\nthe law that no sentence against a city should take effect till thirty\ndays had expired. The Emperor sent his chamberlain, Eleutherius, to\nAntioch to execute his severe sentence against the city and its\ninhabitants. As he entered the streets lined with trembling citizens, a\nragged hermit, it was Macedonius, plucked him by the cloak and said: \"Go\nto the Emperor, and say to him from me, You are not only an Emperor,\nbut a man; and you ought not only to remember what is due to an empire,\nbut also to human nature. Man was made in the image and likeness of God.\nDo not then order the image of God to be destroyed. You pass this cruel\nsentence, because an image of bronze has been overthrown. And for that\nwill you slay living men, the hair of whose head you cannot make to\ngrow?\" When this speech was reported to the Emperor, he regretted his\nangry sentence, and sent to withdraw it.\n\n\nS. CADOC, AB.\n\n(BETWEEN A.D. 522 AND 590.)\n\n [English and Gallican Martyrologies. Through a strange confusion,\n S. Cadoc of Wales has been identified with S. Sophias of Beneventum\n in Italy; because S. Cadoc appears in the Martyrologies as S.\n Cadoc, at Benavenna (Weedon), and S. Sophias or Sophius Bishop of\n Beneventum being commemorated the same day, the life given by\n Bollandus, with hesitation, is a confused jumble of these two\n saints into one. The best account of S. Cadoc is in Rees \"Lives of\n the Cambro-British Saints;\" and in La Ville-marqu\u00e9's La L\u00e9gende\n Celtique. There is also a poem composed in honour of S. Cadoc, by\n Richard ap Rhys of Llancarvan, between 1450 and 1480, published in\n the Iolo MSS., p. 301, and the sentences, proverbs and aphorisms of\n S. Cadoc are to be found in Myvrian Archaeology, iii. p. 10. The\n following epitome of his life is from M. de Montalembert's Monks of\n the West, with additions from M. de Ville-marqu\u00e9 and corrections\n from Rees.]\n\nImmediately after the period occupied in the annals of Wales by King\nArthur and the monk-bishop David, appears S. Cadoc, a personage\nregarding whom it is difficult to make a distinction between history and\nlegend, but whose life has left a profound impression upon the Keltic\nraces. His father Gwynllyw Filwr, surnamed the Warrior, one of the petty\nkings of South Wales, having heard much of the beauty of the daughter of\na neighbouring chief, had her carried off by a band of three hundred\nvassals, from the midst of her sisters, and from the door of her own\nchamber, in her father's castle. The father hastened to the rescue of\nhis daughter with all his vassals and allies, and soon overtook\nGwynllyw, who rode with the young princess at the croup, going softly\nnot to fatigue her. It was not an encounter favourable for the lover:\ntwo hundred of his followers perished, but he, himself, succeeded in\nescaping safely with the lady. Of this rude warrior and this beautiful\nprincess was to be born the saint who has been called the Doctor of the\nWelsh, and who founded the great monastic establishment of Llancarvan.\nThe very night of his birth, the soldiers, or, to speak more justly, the\nrobber-followers of the king, his father, who had been sent to pillage\nthe neighbours right and left, stole the milch cow of a holy Irish monk,\nwho had no sustenance, he nor his twelve disciples, except the abundant\nmilk of this cow. When informed of this nocturnal theft, the monk got\nup, put on his shoes in all haste, and hurried to reclaim his cow from\nthe king, who was still asleep. The latter took advantage of the\noccasion to have his new-born son baptized by the pious solitary, and\nmade him promise to undertake the education and future vocation of the\ninfant. The Irishman gave him the name of Cadoc, (Cattwg,) which means\nwarlike; and then, having recovered his cow, went back to his cell to\nawait the king's son, who was sent to him at the age of seven, having\nalready learned to hunt and fight. The young prince passed twelve years\nwith the Irish monk, whom he served, lighting his fire and cooking his\nfood, and who taught him the rudiments of Latin grammar. Preferring the\nlife of a recluse to the throne of his father, he went to Ireland for\nthree years, to carry on his education at Lismore, a celebrated\nmonastery school, after which he returned to Wales, and continued his\nstudies under a famous Roman rhetorician, newly arrived from Italy. This\ndoctor had more pupils than money; famine reigned in his school. One\nday poor Cadoc, who fasted continually, was learning his lesson in his\ncell, seated before a little table, and leaning his head on his hands,\nwhen suddenly a white mouse, coming out of a hole in the wall, jumped on\nthe table, and put down a grain of corn; then Cadoc rising, followed the\nmouse into a cellar, one of those old Keltic subterranean granaries,\nremains of which are found to this day in Wales and Cornwall. There\nCadoc found a large heap of corn, which served to feed the master and\nhis pupils for many days.\n\nHaving early decided to embrace monastic life, he hid himself in a wood,\nwhere, after making a narrow escape from assassination by an armed\nswineherd of a neighbouring chief, he saw, near a forgotten fountain,\nwhere a white swan floated, an enormous wild boar, white with age,\ncoming out of his den, and make three bounds, one after another,\nstopping each time, and turning round to stare furiously at the stranger\nwho had disturbed him in his resting place. Cadoc marked with three\nbranches the three bounds of the wild boar, which afterwards became the\nsite of the church, dormitories, and refectory of the great abbey of\nLlancarvan. The abbey took its name, \"The Church of the Stags,\" from the\nlegend that two deers from the neighbouring wood came one day to replace\ntwo idle and disobedient monks who had refused to perform the necessary\nlabour for the construction of the monastery, saying, \"Are we oxen, that\nwe should be yoked to carts, and compelled to drag timber?\"\n\nThe rushes were torn up, the briars and thorns were cut down, and S.\nCadoc dug deep trenches to drain the morass formed about the fountain he\nhad discovered. One day, when the chapel he was building was nearly\ncompleted, a monk came that way, bearing on his back a leather pouch\ncontaining tools for working metal, and some specimens of his\nhandicraft. His name was Gildas. He was the son of a chief in\nWestmoreland, and his brother, Aneurin, was one day famous among the\nbards of Britain.[122] Gildas opened his bag and produced a bell. Its\nform was that of a tall square cap, and it was made of a mixture of\nsilver and copper, not molten, but hammered.\n\nCadoc took the bell and sounded it, and the note was so sweet that he\ngreatly desired the bell, and asked Gildas to give it him. \"No,\" said\nthe bell-maker; \"I have destined it for the altar of S. Peter at Rome.\"\nBut when Gildas offered the bell to the Pope, the holy father was unable\nto sound it; then Gildas knew he must give it to the Welsh monk; so he\nreturned to Britain, and offered it to Cadoc, and when he held it, the\nbell rang sweetly as heretofore.\n\nLlancarvan became a great workshop, where numerous monks, subject to a\nvery severe rule, bowed their bodies under the yoke of continual\nfatigue, clearing the forests, and cultivating the fields when cleared;\nit was besides, a great literary and religious school, in which the\nstudy of the Holy Scriptures held the van, and was followed by that of\nthe ancient authors, and their more modern commentators. Cadoc loved to\nsum up, chiefly under the form of sentences in verse and poetical\naphorisms, the instructions given to his pupils of the Llancarvan\ncloister. A great number of such utterances have been preserved. We\ninstance a few. \"Truth is the elder daughter of God. Without light\nnothing is good. Without light there is no piety. Without light there is\nno religion. Without light there is no faith. The sight of God, that is\nlight.\" \"Without knowledge, no power. Without knowledge, no wisdom.\nWithout knowledge, no freedom. Without knowledge, no beauty. Without\nknowledge, no nobility. Without knowledge, no victory. Without\nknowledge, no honour. Without knowledge, no God.\" \"The best of attitudes\nis humility. The best of occupations is work. The best of sentiments,\npity. The best of cares, justice. The best of pains, peacemaking. The\nbest of sorrows, contrition. The best of characters, generosity.\" When\none of his disciples asked him to define love, he answered, \"Love, it is\nHeaven.\" \"And hate?\" asked his disciple. \"Hate is hell.\" \"And\nconscience?\" \"It is the eye of God in the soul of man.\" \"The best of\npatriots,\" said S. Cadoc, \"is he who tills the soil.\"\n\nWhen a chief at the head of a band of robbers, came to pillage\nLlancarvan, S. Cadoc went against him with his monks armed with their\nharps, chanting and striking the strings. Then the chief recoiled, and\nleft them unmolested. Another chief, enraged at Cadoc receiving his son\ninto his monastery, came with a force to reclaim the youth and destroy\nthe cloister. Cadoc went to meet him, bathed in sunshine, and found the\nchief and his men groping in darkness. He gave them light, and they\nreturned ashamed to their homes.\n\nCadoc had the happiness of assisting in the conversion of his father. In\nthe depths of his cloister he groaned over the rapines and sins of the\nold robber from whom he derived his life. Accordingly he sent to his\nfather's house three of his monks, to preach repentance. His mother, the\nbeautiful Gwladys, was the first to be touched, and it was not long\nbefore she persuaded her husband to agree with her. They called their\nson to make to him a public confession of their sins, and then, father\nand son chanted together the psalm, \"Exaudiat te Dominus\"--\"The Lord\nhear thee in the day of trouble.\" When this was ended, the king and\nqueen retired into solitude, establishing themselves in two cabins on\nthe bank of a river, where they worked for their livelihood, and were\noften visited by their son.\n\nThe invasion of the Saxons obliged S. Cadoc to fly, first to the island\nof Flat-holmes in the Bristol Channel, and then into Brittany, where he\nfounded a new monastery, on a little desert island of the archipelago of\nMorbihan, which is still shown from the peninsula of Rhuys; and to make\nhis school accessible to the children of the district, who had to cross\nto the isle and back again in a boat, he threw a stone bridge four\nhundred and fifty feet long across this arm of the sea. In this modest\nretreat the Welsh prince resumed his monastic life, adapting it\nespecially to his ancient scholarly habits. He made his scholars learn\nVirgil by heart: and one day, while walking with his friend and\ncompanion, the famous historian Gildas, with his Virgil under his arm,\nthe abbot began to weep at the thought that the poet, whom he loved so\nmuch, might be even then perhaps in hell. At the moment when Gildas\nreprimanded him severely for that \"perhaps,\" protesting that without any\ndoubt Virgil must be damned, a sudden gust of wind tossed Cadoc's book\ninto the sea. He was much moved by this accident, and, returning to his\ncell, said to himself, \"I will not eat a mouthful of bread, nor drink a\ndrop of water, till I know truly what fate God has allotted to one who\nsang upon earth as the angels sing in heaven.\" After this, he fell\nasleep, and soon after, dreaming, he heard a soft voice addressing him,\n\"Pray for me, pray for me,\" said the voice, \"never be weary of praying;\nI shall yet sing eternally the mercy of the Lord.\"\n\nThe next morning a fisherman brought him a salmon, and the Saint found\nin the fish the book which the wind had snatched out of his hands.\n\nAfter a sojourn of several years in Brittany, Cadoc left his new\ncommunity flourishing under the government of another pastor, and\nto put in practice that maxim which he loved to repeat to his\nfollowers:--\"Wouldst thou find glory? march to the grave.\" He returned\nto Britain, not to find again the ancient peace and prosperity of his\nbeloved retreat of Llancarvan, but to establish himself in the very\ncentre of the Saxon settlements, and console the numerous Christians\nwho had survived the massacres of the Conquest, and lived under the\nyoke of a foreign and heathen race. He settled at Weedon, in the county\nof Northampton;[123] and it was there that he awaited his martyrdom.\nOne morning, when vested in the ornaments of his priestly office, as he\nwas celebrating the Divine Sacrifice, a furious band of Saxon cavalry,\nchasing the Christians before them, entered pell-mell into the church,\nand crowded towards the altar. The Saint continued the sacrifice as\ncalmly as he had begun it. A Saxon chief, urging on his horse, and\nbrandishing his lance, went up to him and struck him to the heart.\nCadoc fell on his knees; and his last desire, his last thought, were\nstill for his dear countrymen. \"Lord,\" he said, while dying, \"invisible\nKing, Saviour Jesus, grant me one grace,--protect the Christians of my\ncountry!\"\n\n [Illustration: S. Paul, after a Bronze in Christian Museum in the\n Vatican.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[117] 2 Tim. iii. 14.\n\n[118] 1 Thess. iii. 2; 1 Cor. iv. 17.\n\n[119] Acts xviii.\n\n[120] Rev. ii. 1, 7.\n\n[121] Hist. Eccl. v. c. 19: also Socrates, Eccl. Hist. iii. 19.\n\n[122] The Gododdin, a poem descriptive of the massacre of the\nBritish chiefs at Stonehenge by Hengest, was composed by Aneurin whilst\nin prison.\n\n[123] The ancient name of Weedon having been Benavenna, this\nhas helped to cause the confusion which arose between S. Cadoc and S.\nSophias of Benevento in Italy.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 25.\n\n CONVERSION OF S. PAUL.\n S. ARTEMAS, _M., at Puteoli_.\n SS. JUVENTINE AND MAXIMUS, _MM., at Antioch_, A.D. 362.\n S. PUBLIUS, _Ab. of Zeugma, in Syria, 4th cent._\n S. APOLLO, _Ab. in Egypt, circ._ A.D. 395.\n S. MARES, _Ab. in Syria, 5th cent._\n S. PRAEJECTUS, _B._, AND COMPANIONS, _at Clermont_, A.D. 674.\n S. POPPO, _Ab. of Stavelot, in Belgium_, A.D. 1048.\n B. HENRY OF SUSO, _O.S.D., at Ulm, in Germany_, A.D. 1365.\n\n\nTHE CONVERSION OF S. PAUL.\n\n [The circumstances of the Conversion of S. Paul are so fully\n recorded in the Acts of the Holy Apostles, chaps. xix., xxii.,\n xxvi., as not to need repetition here, being familiar to all. Among\n the Greeks, S. Ananias, who baptized S. Paul, is commemorated on\n this day.]\n\n\nS. ARTEMAS, M.\n\n [Commemorated at Puteoli and Naples under the name of Artemas, but\n in the ancient Martyrology attributed to S. Jerome, he is called\n Antimasius, a mistake of copyists for Artimasius or Artemas. The\n Acts are those preserved by the Church of Puteoli, and seem to be\n founded on others of great antiquity; they exist only in a\n fragmentary condition, and give no clue to the date of the\n martyrdom.]\n\nArtemas was a pious Christian boy in Puteoli, in the south of Italy. He\nwas sent to school to one Cathageta, a heathen. Out of the abundance of\nthe heart the mouth speaketh, and the boy, filled with faith, spoke of\nhis belief to some of his fellow-scholars. It was soon known among the\nboys that Artemas was a Christian, and it came to the master's ears.\nCathageta lectured and browbeat the little scholar, and threatened him\nwith the rod. \"You may whip,\" said the brave boy; \"but you will only\nwhip my faith deeper into me.\" Then the master, in a rage, shouted to\nthe boys to punish him, and the cruel tiger-cubs, educated to bloodshed\nby the atrocities of the arena, fell upon him with their iron pens,\nused for scratching on wax tablets, and stabbed him to death.\n\n [Illustration: THE CONVERSION OF S. PAUL.\n After the Cartoon by Raphael.\n Jan. 25.]\n\n\nSS. JUVENTINE AND MAXIMUS, MM., AT ANTIOCH.\n\n(A.D. 362.)\n\n [Authorities: the 40th Homily of S. John Chrysostom; Theodoret,\n Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c. 15; Nicephorus Callistus, lib. x. c. 12.]\n\nTheodoret says:--\"The Emperor Julian continued to oppose religion with\ngreater and greater boldness, while he assumed the specious appearance\nof clemency, in order to lay snares to entrap men, and seduce them into\nirreligion. He cast things offered to idols into the fountains of the\ncity of Antioch, so that no one could drink of the streams without\npartaking of the hateful sacrifices. He defiled in the same way\neverything that was sold in the market-place; for he had water which had\nbeen offered to idols sprinkled on the bread, meat, fruit, herbs, and\nall other articles of food. The Christians lamented these abominations,\nyet partook of the food according to the precept of the Apostle. (1 Cor.\nx. 25.) Two of the Emperor's guards, who were his shield-bearers and\ncompanions in arms, vehemently deplored, at a certain convivial meeting,\nthe perpetration of such odious deeds. One of those who had been present\nacquainted the Emperor with this speech. The Emperor sent for these two\nmen, and asked what it was that they had said. This question they\nanswered thus, in the warmth of their zeal: 'O Emperor, having been\nbrought up in the true religion, and having been accustomed to the\nadmirable laws of Constantine, we cannot but be deeply grieved at\nwitnessing the very food contaminated by being mixed with idol\nofferings. We lamented this privately, and now, publicly, we express our\nregret. This is the only cause of sorrow which we experience under your\ngovernment.' On hearing these words the Emperor threw off the mask of\nclemency. Such excruciating tortures were, by his orders, inflicted on\nthese two men, that they expired under them. The Church of Antioch\nhonoured them as defenders of religion, and interred them in a\nmagnificent tomb; and even to this day an annual festival is celebrated\nin their honour. Their names were Juventius (Juventinus) and Maximus.\"\n\n\nS. APOLLO, AB. IN THE THEBAID.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 395.)\n\n [Commemorated on this day by Greeks and Latins alike, though some\n Latin Martyrologies note him on the 18th April. Authorities: his\n life by Palladius in the Hist. Lausiaca; and Sozomen, lib. iii. c.\n 14, who calls him Apollonius. Palladius is an excellent authority,\n for during his residence among the hermits of the Thebaid, he was\n personally acquainted with Apollo.]\n\nThis illustrious hermit began his discipline of himself by a solitary\nlife in the desert, at the age of fifteen. He spent forty years by\nhimself, and then, called by God to guide the souls of others, he became\nhead of a congregation of monks in Upper Egypt. In the reign of Julian\nthe Apostate, hearing that his brother, who was in the army, was\nimprisoned for his religion, he went at the head of his monks to visit\nhim. The tribune entering the prison shortly after, and seeing so many\nmonks within, ordered the gates to be closed, and vowed he would enlist\nthem all as soldiers. But in the night an angel came, bearing a lamp,\nand opened the doors of the prison and led them forth, and they escaped\nwith great joy to their beloved desert. About fifty monks obeyed him;\nbut he did not confine his sympathies to them. Hearing that the country\npeople were about to fight one another about some trifling subject of\ncontention, Apollo rushed from his rocks, and flinging himself amongst\nthem, conjured them not to shed one another's blood. One party promised\nto retire, but the other, headed by a redoubted robber, confident in his\npowers, held out. Then Apollo turned to the chief and said, \"My son, lay\ndown thine arms, and I will pray God to pardon thy many offences.\" The\nman cast away his weapons, and threw himself at the feet of the abbot.\nOn another occasion he heard that a village procession of a famous\nwooden idol was about to take place; he went down, and kneeling, prayed\nGod to prevent it. Then the image became immovable, so that neither\npriest nor people could take it from its place in the temple. The\npriests said, \"A Christian has done this.\" \"Yes,\" said Apollo, \"I have\ndone it by my prayers,\" and he exhorted the people to forsake the\nworship of such vain gods.\n\nOne Easter day the community had only some old stale loaves and a few\ndried olives, and they lamented that on so great a day they must fast,\nas in Lent. \"Be of good cheer,\" said the abbot, \"let each ask for what\nhe likes best, and on such a day the loving God will give it him.\" But\nthey would not ask, thinking themselves unworthy of such a favour. But\nhe said, \"Fear not, I will pray.\" Then they all knelt down, and Apollo\nasked, and they said Amen. Now as this response came, behold there\narrived men and asses bringing a present to the monks, and it consisted\nof fresh loaves, pomegranates, citrons, honey in the comb, nuts, and a\npitcher of fresh milk, grapes and figs, and large luscious dates\n(_nicolai_).\n\nThe monks of Apollo communicated every day, and some ate nothing from\ncommunion to communion, living only on this heavenly food. These were\nsome of the pieces of advice Apollo gave to his monks:--\"It behoves us\nto be ever joyous, for we ought not to be sad about our salvation. The\nGentiles are sad, the Jews weep, and sinners mourn, all those whose\naffections are fixed on earthly things have cause to be agitated in\nmind, but not we.\" And it was so, that the monks were always cheerful\nand gay, and if any appeared sad, the abbot knew the cause must be sin,\nand he sent for him. \"Let the monks communicate every day, for those who\nwithdraw from the Sacraments, from them God withdraws Himself. But he\nwho approaches them assiduously receives the Saviour. That is a salutary\nsaying, 'He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in Me,\nand I in him.' Daily, therefore, let the monks prepare themselves, and\ndaily let them receive it.\" \"Let asceticism,\" he added, \"be secret. I do\nnot like those who put chains on their necks,--they do it to be seen of\nmen; let them rather fast in their cells, where no one will know\nanything about it.\"\n\n\nS. MARES, AB. IN SYRIA.\n\n(5TH CENT.)\n\n [From the Philotheus of Theodoret, cap. 20.]\n\nS. Mares spent thirty-seven years in a small damp cell, constant in\nprayer. Theodoret says that towards his end, \"I went to his door, and he\nbade me open. He was aged ninety, and wore common goat's hair garments.\nAll his food was bread and salt. As, for long, he had desired to see the\nHoly Sacrifice offered, but was not able, he asked that the oblation of\nthe Divine Gift might be made there. I willingly obeyed, and having\nordered the sacred vessels to be brought from the village, and using for\nan altar the hands of the deacons, I offered the mystic, divine, and\nsalutary Sacrifice. But he was filled with all spiritual delight, and\nthought that he saw heaven, and declared he had never had such joy. I\nwas greatly pleased with him, and I should be doing him and myself a\nwrong, if after his death I did not praise him.\"\n\n\nS. PRAEJECTUS, B., AND OTHERS, MM., AT CLERMONT.\n\n(A.D. 674.)\n\n [S. Praejectus, in French _S. Priest_, _Priets_, _Prie_, or _Prix_,\n is commemorated in the Gallican, Belgic, Sarum, and other\n Martyrologies. Authority: his life by two contemporary writers.]\n\nS. Praejectus, Bishop of Clermont in Auvergne, severely rebuked one\nHector, a noble of Marseilles, for having ravished a young lady of\nAuvergne, and seized on her estates. His remonstrances having been\ndisregarded, he hastened to King Childeric II. to lay his complaint\nbefore him, and the king gave orders for the execution of Hector. On the\nreturn of the Saint to his see, some friends of Hector waylaid him at a\nplace called Volvic, near Clermont, and murdered him.\n\n\nS. POPPO, AB. OF STAVELOT.\n\n(A.D. 1048.)\n\n [Modern Roman Martyrology. The name occurs in no ancient\n Martyrologies; it owes its insertion to Baronius. His life was\n written by Everhelm, abbot of Hautmont, his contemporary, in 1069.]\n\nThe blessed Poppo, born in Flanders in 978, as a youth served in arms.\nHe made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and, on his return, engaged\nhimself to the daughter of his friend Frumhold. When the time of his\nmarriage drew nigh, Poppo mounted his horse one night, together with\nsome retainers, to ride to fetch his bride. He had not gone far before a\ndazzling flash of light illumined him within, in his soul, and bathed\nhis body in a blaze of glory. As it faded away, he spurred on his horse,\nand then noticed that a flame burnt on the point of his spear; it was as\nthough he rode bearing a tall church taper in his hand. Astounded at\nthis marvel, he reined in his steed, and turning to his companions said,\n\"God calls me to another life.\"\n\nThen he left home and went, with the light still illuminating his soul,\nand served in a hospital for the sick. One day a miserable leper was\nbrought in so covered with sores that he could not be placed with the\nother inmates. Thinking that the poor creature was cold in the night,\nPoppo went to him with his own coverlid, and laid it over him. Next\nmorning the leper was whole, the charity of Poppo had healed him.\nRichard, abbot of Verdun, appointed Poppo to rule the abbey of S.\nVedast, which had fallen into scandalous disorder. When the Emperor\nHenry II. was in the Betawe, between the two branches of the Rhine,\nPoppo, having to visit him about some affairs concerning his monastery,\nfound the prince enjoying a favourite pastime of his; a naked man was\nsmeared with honey and exposed to bears; and the sport consisted in the\nbears trying to lick the man, and he eluding their embraces. As this\nsport not unfrequently ended in the man being injured, and sometimes\nkilled, Poppo rebuked the king, and brought him to a sense of the\nimpropriety of encouraging such coarse and dangerous amusements. That\nthis sport was popular, appears from Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims,\nbeing obliged to forbid his clergy and monks attending either it or\nbear-bating.\n\nOn another occasion, when Poppo was on his way to the Emperor, then at\nStrasburg, as he passed through the Ellisgau, with some of his monks,\nthey saw a wolf carry off a man by the neck into a marsh. Poppo at once\ncalled his monks to the rescue. They were unable, on account of the\nloose texture of the swamp, to go direct to where the man lay, but they\nsurrounded the marsh, and following the bloody traces, recovered the\nman, who was much mangled; they bound up his wounds, and he finally\nrecovered. What became of the wolf they saw not, and hoped, and hoping\nbelieved, he was smothered in the marsh.\n\nPoppo was afterwards created abbot of Stavelot, where the monks had\nfallen into grave disorders. His efforts to reform them so irritated\nsome of the worst, that they attempted to poison him, but failed. Having\nthoroughly reformed the monastery, he rebuilt and beautified the church,\nand died on the feast of the Conversion of S. Paul, after having\nreceived extreme unction from the hands of the abbot Everhelm, who is\nhis biographer.\n\n [Illustration: Alpha and Omega; the first and the Last.]\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 26.\n\n S. POLYCARP, _B. M. of Smyrna_, A.D. 167.\n S. SIMEON THE OLD, _Ab. in Syria, end of 4th cent._\n S. PAULA, _W., at Bethlehem_, A.D. 404.\n S. XENOPHON, HIS WIFE AND SONS, _5th cent._\n S. BATHILD, _Q., in France, circ._ A.D. 670.\n S. THEORITGITHA, _V., at Barking, in Essex, 7th cent._\nS. GOBERT, _C., at Foss, in Belgium_. S. ALBERIC, _Ab. of Citeaux,\nbeginning of 12th cent._ B. HASEKA, _R., in Westphalia_, A.D. 1261.\n\n\nS. POLYCARP, B. M. OF SMYRNA.\n\n(A.D. 167.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authorities: His Acts, written by the Church of\n Smyrna immediately after his martyrdom, Eusebius, &c.]\n\nSaint Polycarp was converted to Christianity in the year 80, when quite\nyoung, and he had the privilege of accompanying those who had seen Jesus\nChrist. S. John, whose special disciple he was, consecrated him Bishop\nof Smyrna in the year 96. He is supposed to be the Angel or Bishop of\nthe Church of Smyrna, to whom alone, in the messages recorded in the\nApocalypse, did Jesus Christ address praise unmixed with blame.[124] \"I\nknow thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich), and I\nknow the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are\nthe synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt\nsuffer; behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye\nmay be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful\nunto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.\"\n\nIn the year 158, S. Polycarp visited Rome. The cause of his visit is not\nexactly declared; but he had a conference with Pope Anicetus concerning\nthe time of celebrating the Paschal Feast; and the disputes upon this\nsubject were carried on so warmly, in the second century, that perhaps\nwe are to seek no other reason for Polycarp undertaking so long a\njourney. The first day of the week, or Sunday, appears to have been held\nsacred, on account of our Lord's Resurrection, from the very beginning\nof the Church. The eastern and western Christians agreed in keeping a\nsolemn fast for some time preceding the feast of the Resurrection. There\nwas, however, one important difference between them. The Asiatic\nChristians kept a feast on the true Passover, as well as observing the\ngreat Easter festival. The western Christians kept the Paschal feast on\nEaster Day. By separating the Passover feast from the feast of the\nResurrection, the Easterns had a burst of festivity interrupting\ndiscordantly the hush of the great fast, which caused great offence to\nthe western sense of propriety. Both parties laid claims to apostolic\nauthority for their respective customs. The eastern Christians asserted\nthat SS. John and Philip had sanctioned their custom; while the brethren\nat Rome defended themselves by the authority of SS. Peter and Paul. This\nbeing the case, and neither of the parties being willing to concede, a\nconference between an Asiatic Bishop and the Bishop of Rome seemed a\nvery desirable measure. Polycarp had been personally known to S. John,\nand had been appointed by him to his bishopric. Anicetus was, singularly\nenough, the seventh Bishop of Rome since the beginning of the century,\nbut Polycarp had occupied the see of Smyrna during the whole of that\ntime. S. Irenaeus, who relates the conference between Anicetus and\nPolycarp, states that neither could convince the other. The meeting was,\nhowever, conducted and terminated in perfect amity. The two bishops\nwere firm, and wedded to their respective customs; but the bond of peace\nwas not broken between them; and as proof of their mutual goodwill,\nthey received together the supersubstantial food, the Pope allowing\nPolycarp, out of respect for his age and character, to celebrate.\n\nIn the sixth year of the reign of Marcus Aurelius, an exhibition of\ngames in Smyrna kept the city in excitement for some days, and the\nChristians were made to fight with wild beasts for the amusement of the\npopulace. Polycarp himself was advised to withdraw from the storm, and\nhe concealed himself for some time at a short distance from the city.\nHis retreat was betrayed by a boy, who was threatened with the rack\nunless he discovered him. Herod, the magistrate, whose office it was to\nprevent misdemeanours, sent horsemen by night to beset his lodgings. The\nSaint was above stairs in bed, but refused to make his escape, saying,\n\"God's will be done.\" He went down, met them at the door, ordered them a\nhandsome supper, and desired only some time for prayer before he went\nwith them. This granted, he began his prayer standing, and continued it\nin that posture for two hours, recommending to God his own flock and the\nwhole Church, with so much earnestness and devotion, that several of\nthose that were come to seize him, repented having undertaken the\ncommission. They set him on an ass, and were conducting him towards the\ncity, when he was met on the road by Herod and his father, Nicetes, who\ntook him into their chariot, and endeavoured to persuade him to a little\ncompliance, saying, \"What harm is there in sacrificing, to escape\ndeath?\" The bishop at first was silent, in imitation of our Saviour: but\nbeing pressed, he gave them this resolute answer, \"I shall never do what\nyou desire of me.\" At these words, they thrust him out of the chariot\nwith such violence, that his leg was bruised by the fall. The holy man\nwent forward cheerfully to the place where the people were assembled.\nUpon his entering it, a voice from heaven was heard by many: \"Polycarp,\nbe courageous, and play the man.\" He was led directly to the tribunal of\nthe pro-consul, who exhorted him to respect his own age, to swear by the\ngenius of the Emperor, and blaspheme Christ. Polycarp replied, \"I have\nserved Him these fourscore and six years, and He never did me any harm,\nbut much good. How can I then blaspheme my King and my Saviour? If you\nrequire of me to swear by the genius of Caesar, as you call it, hear my\nfree confession; I am a Christian: but if you desire to learn the\nChristian religion, appoint a time, and hear me.\"\n\nThe pro-consul then, assuming a tone of severity, said, \"I have wild\nbeasts.\" \"Call for them,\" replied the Saint: \"for we are unalterably\nresolved not to change from good to evil. It is only good to pass from\nevil to good.\" The pro-consul said, \"If you despise the beasts, I will\ncause you to be burnt to ashes.\" Polycarp answered, \"You threaten me\nwith a fire which burns for a short time, and then goes out; but are,\nyourself, ignorant of the judgment to come, and of the fire prepared for\nthe wicked. Why do you delay? Bring against me what you please.\" Whilst\nhe said this his countenance shone with a certain heavenly grace,\ninsomuch that the pro-consul was struck with admiration. However, he\nordered a crier to make public proclamation three times, \"Polycarp has\nconfessed himself a Christian.\" At this proclamation the whole multitude\nof Jews and Gentiles gave a great shout. They unanimously demanded that\nhe should be burnt alive. Their request was no sooner granted than every\none ran, with all speed, to fetch wood from the baths and shops. The\nJews were particularly active and busy on this occasion. The pile being\nprepared, Polycarp put off his garments, untied his girdle, and began to\ntake off his shoes. The wood and other combustibles were heaped around\nhim. The executioners would have attached him to the stake; but he said\nto them, \"Suffer me to be as I am. He who gives me grace to endure this\nfire, will enable me to stand still without that precaution.\" They,\ntherefore, contented themselves with tying his hands behind his back,\nand in this posture, looking up towards heaven, he prayed as follows: \"O\nAlmighty Lord God, Father of Thy beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ,\nby whom we have received the knowledge of Thee, God of angels, powers,\nand every creature, and of all the race of the just that live in Thy\npresence! I bless Thee for having been pleased in Thy goodness to bring\nme to this hour, that I may receive a portion in the number of Thy\nmartyrs, and partake of the chalice of Thy Christ, for the resurrection\nto eternal life, in the incorruptibleness of the Holy Spirit. Grant me\nto be received this day as a pleasing sacrifice, such an one as thou\nThyself hast prepared, that so Thou mayest accomplish what Thou, O true\nand faithful God! hast foreshown. Wherefore, for all things I praise,\nbless, and glorify Thee, through the eternal high priest Jesus Christ,\nThy beloved Son, with whom, to Thee, and the Holy Ghost, be glory now\nand for ever. Amen.\" He had scarce said Amen, when fire was set to the\npile, and increased to a mighty flame. \"But behold a wonder seen by us,\"\nsay the authors of these Acts. \"The flames forming themselves into an\narch, like the sails of a ship swelled with the wind, gently encircled\nthe body of the martyr; which stood in the middle, like purified gold or\nsilver, appearing bright through the flames; and his body sending forth\nsuch a fragrance, that we seemed to smell precious spices.\" The heathen\nwere exasperated to see that his body could not be consumed, and ordered\na spearman to pierce him through, which he did, and such a quantity of\nblood issued out of his left side as to quench the fire. The malice of\nthe devil ended not here: he endeavoured to obstruct the relics of the\nmartyr being carried off by the Christians; for many desired to do it,\nto show their respect to his body. Therefore, by the suggestion of\nSatan, Nicetes advised the pro-consul not to bestow it on the\nChristians, lest, said he, abandoning the crucified man, they should\nadore Polycarp: the Jews suggested this, \"Not knowing,\" say the authors\nof these Acts, \"that we can never forsake Christ, nor adore any other,\nthough we love the martyrs, as his disciples and imitators, for the\ngreat love they bore their King and Master.\" The centurion then cast the\nbody into the midst of the fire, and burnt it to ashes. \"We afterwards\ntook up the bones,\" say the writers of the Acts, \"more precious than the\nrichest jewels or gold, and deposited them decently in a place at which,\nmay God grant us to assemble with joy, to celebrate the birthday of the\nmartyr.\"\n\nHis tomb is still shown near Smyrna.\n\n\nS. SIMEON THE OLD, AB.\n\n(END OF 4TH CENT.)\n\n [Greek Menaea. Authority, Theodoret, in his Philotheus, c. 6.]\n\nSimeon the Old dwelt a life of solitude in a cave, feeding on\nvegetables. One day some travellers arrived at his cell, having lost\ntheir way and asked the old hermit to direct them to a certain fort for\nwhich they were bound. The hermit called two lions from the desert, and\ngave them to the travellers as guides. This incident was related to\nTheodoret by one who was present on the occasion. When a large number of\ndisciples assembled under his direction, the aged Simeon went away to\nmount Amanus, near Antioch, and there built a monastery. But afterwards,\nbeing desirous of ending his days on Sinai, he went into the desert of\nthat mountain. And there he saw one day two hands raised from the mouth\nof a cave. Thinking it might be a snare of the devil, he approached with\ncaution. At the sound of his footsteps the supplicating hands were drawn\nin, and he saw no man; then he cried to the dweller of the cave to come\nforth, and there issued out of it an old hermit dressed in palm leaves,\nwho said that he and a brother hermit had come to establish themselves\non Sinai, and they had promised each other never to separate. Now before\nthey reached the holy mount the brother hermit died; so the survivor\nburied his corpse, and, faithful to his promise, tarried by his grave\ntill the Lord should call him; and every day a lion brought him a bunch\nof dates. Now when Simeon had partaken of his dates, and they had sung\ntogether the matin office, he went on, and reaching Sinai with his\nmonks, established on the mountain two monasteries, one at the summit,\nand the other at the foot.\n\n\nS. PAULA, W., AT BETHLEHEM.\n\n(A.D. 404.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. S. Paula died on Jan. 26th, after sunset,\n consequently some commemorate her on Jan. 27th. Authority: her life\n written by S. Jerome, her director, in a letter to her daughter\n Eustochium.]\n\n [Illustration: S. PAULA.\n Jan. 26.]\n\n [Illustration: S. PRISCA.\n From a Window at Winchester.\n Jan. 18.]\n\n [Illustration: S. PAUL.\n After Vischer.\n Jan. 18.]\n\nThe blessed Paula was born at Rome in the year 347. Her father was\nRogatus, of noble Grecian origin. Her mother, Blesilla, reckoned the\nGracchi, the Scipios and Paulus Aemilius among her ancestors. This\nillustrious birth was made more honourable by her union with Toxotius,\nof the Julian race, and very wealthy. Her virtues endeared her to the\npeople of Rome, and her modesty, gravity, and prudence caused her to be\ngenerally respected. Her husband died when she was aged twenty-three,\nand grief for his loss nearly brought her to the grave as well. Toxotius\nleft behind him four daughters, Blesilla, Paulina, Eustochium, Julia,\nand Ruffina; the youngest child was a boy, and he bore the name of his\nfather.\n\nThe heart-broken widow at length found repose in submission to the will\nof God. Filled with a sense of the vanity of all earthly things, she\nstrove to detach her affections daily from all save God. After the death\nof her husband she would not sit down to table with any man, not even\nwith the bishops, whose advice she sought, and who were most hospitably\nentertained in her house. By degrees she accustomed herself to plain\nfood, and inexpensive clothing. Instead of a downy couch, she made her\nbed on the hard floor. \"Hitherto all my care has been how I might please\nmy husband,\" said she, \"now I will care for naught save how I may best\nserve Jesus Christ.\"\n\nShe was now called on to bewail the death of her eldest daughter\nBlesilla, who died shortly after her husband, to whom she had been\nmarried only for a short time. S. Jerome wrote on this occasion to S.\nPaula from Bethlehem. After having tenderly recalled the pale and gentle\nface, bowed with exhaustion after fever on the slender neck, the angelic\nform, of the departed daughter, S. Jerome adds; \"But what am I doing? I\nwould dry the tears of a mother and mingle mine with hers. I do not\nconceal my emotion. I write weeping. But Jesus wept over Lazarus,\nbecause He loved him. It is difficult to console another when one is\nalso overwhelmed with grief, and when the broken heart can find no\nwords. O Paula, I take Jesus Christ to witness, whose Majesty Blesilla\nnow sees; I take the holy angels to witness, whose companion she now is;\nthat I suffer the same anguish of heart as you, for I, having been her\nspiritual father, had learned to love her dearly.\"\n\nPaula saw also her second daughter Paulina die, who had been married to\nTammachius, a man of noble consular birth, as illustrious for his piety\nas for his descent, \"the first of monks in the first of cities,\" S.\nJerome called him in after years, when he had embraced the monastic life\nin Rome. She also survived her fourth daughter Ruffina, married to the\npatrician Aletheus, but this affliction fell upon her when she was no\nlonger in Rome.\n\nHer daughters had grown up, and her son Toxotius, having been secured a\ncareful bringing up, by his sister Ruffina, S. Paula felt that she might\nnow follow at liberty the bent of her desire. The stirring life in Rome\ngave her no rest. Her noble birth and great wealth made her in great\nrequest, and the time, which she desired to devote to God alone, was\nbroken up by the petty business and formalities of social life, which\ncould not be dispensed with in the great city. She therefore resolved to\nabandon Rome, her palace, her crowds of servants, her numerous\nacquaintances, many friends, and dear children.\n\nShe desired to visit the holy scenes consecrated by Christ, and then to\nsettle quietly down near her old confessor and director Jerome, then\ninhabiting a cell at Bethlehem. It was no light matter parting with her\nrelations and children, but she had this consolation, Eustochium, her\nunmarried daughter, accompanied her, one in heart with her mother,\ndesirous of consecrating her virginity, as Paula desired to dedicate her\nwidowhood, to Jesus Christ.\n\nWhen they left Rome, the kinsmen accompanied them to the port. It was a\nheart-breaking scene. Paula took her place on the deck of the vessel\nthat was to bear her away for ever. The anchor was drawn up, the\nmoorings cast loose, and the rowers bowed to their task. Then the grief\nof Toxotius became incontrollable; he stretched forth his arms to her,\nsobbing, \"Mother, mother! do not leave me.\" The grief of the others was\nsilent, manifesting itself in copious tears. But Paula, raising her dry\neyes to heaven, turned her face from the shore, and conquered by a\nsuperhuman effort the agony caused by the rending of so many dear ties.\nOn reaching Jerusalem she found that a palace had been furnished for her\nreception by the governor, with every comfort and even luxury. She,\nhowever, chose the meanest chamber therein, in which to lodge, and spent\nher time in visiting the holy sites. She prayed long and earnestly\nbefore the true Cross, kissed the stones on which the body of Jesus had\nlain, and watered with her tears the dust of the Dolorous Way along\nwhich He had borne His Cross.\n\nShe then journeyed to Bethlehem, and adored Christ in the cave of the\nNativity. Overwhelmed with awe she exclaimed, \"Oh, how dare I, a poor\nsinner, kiss the crib where the Lord wailed as a little babe? How dare I\noffer my prayer, where the Virgin brought the Word into the world in the\nsubstance of our flesh! Let the home of my Redeemer be henceforth my\nresting place, here will I dwell where He walked the earth as man.\"\n\nHaving settled at Bethlehem into a poor little house, she engaged\nworkpeople to erect on the road to Jerusalem a spacious hospital for\npilgrims and sick persons, and also a monastery for S. Jerome and his\nmonks. She then erected three convents for women, with one church in\nwhich all the inmates of the three houses assembled for the divine\noffice. There they met to sing prime, tierce, sext, nones, vespers,\ncompline, and the midnight lauds; thus they daily sang the whole\npsalter, which every sister was required to learn by heart. On Sundays\nthey went to the neighbouring church where the Divine Sacrifice was\noffered, and where they communicated.\n\nAll the sisters worked with their hands, and made clothes for themselves\nand for the poor. No man was ever suffered to set foot within their\ndoors. Paula governed them with great charity and discretion, animating\nthem by her own example. Neither she nor her daughter, Eustochium,\nrefused to perform the most menial offices in the sisterhood. If any of\nthe sisters proved talkative she was separated from the rest, and made\nto walk last and to eat alone.\n\nShe was gladdened to hear in her retreat of the marriage of her son\nToxotius to a pious maiden, named Leta, to whom S. Jerome addressed the\nfirst treatise on the education of women which the Christian spirit had\ninspired, and which prepared for cloistral life the young Paula, her\ndaughter, devoted to the Lord from the cradle, and a nun, like her\ngrandmother and her aunt. He offered with the candour of genius, to\neducate the child himself, and \"old as I am,\" said he, \"I shall accustom\nmyself to infantine lispings, more honoured in this than was Aristotle,\nfor I shall instruct not a king of Macedon, destined to perish by poison\nof Babylon, but a servant and spouse of Christ, to be presented to Him\nin the heavens.\"\n\nBut Toxotius and his wife seem to have thought that an aged monk,\nimmersed in study, would not prove so suitable for the nurture of the\nlittle maiden as a woman, and they therefore sent her to S. Paula, her\ngrandmother. S. Paula lived to the age of fifty-six years and eight\nmonths, of which she had spent in her widowhood five at Rome, and almost\ntwenty at Bethlehem. In her last illness she repeated almost incessantly\nthe verses of the psalms, which express the ardour of the soul to see\nJerusalem which is above, and there to be united to her God. When she\nwas no longer able to speak, she formed the sign of the Cross on her\nlips, and expired in perfect peace, on Jan. 26th, A.D. 404. Her body,\nborne by bishops, attended by acolytes holding lighted tapers, was\nburied on the 28th of the same month, in the church of the Holy Manger\nat Bethlehem.\n\n\nS. XENOPHON, HIS WIFE, AND SONS.\n\n(5TH CENT.)\n\n [Commemorated by the Greeks on this day, and introduced into the\n Roman Martyrology by Clement the VIII. Authority: a life in Simeon\n Metaphrastes of uncertain date.]\n\nIn the Court of Constantine the Great at Byzantium was a senator named\nXenophon, a devout Christian, whose wife's name was Mary. They had two\nsons whom they loved as the apples of their eyes, John and Arcadius.\nThese sons were destined for the law, and after they had finished their\neducation in Greek at home, Xenophon sent them in a ship destined for\nBerytus, to be there instructed in law, that being then a great legal\nschool. At the time of their departure, Xenophon was sick nigh unto\ndeath, and he bade them farewell from his bed. The young men had not\nbeen many days at sea before a violent tempest burst upon them, and the\nvessel was speedily reduced to a wreck. The brothers cast their arms\nround each other's necks and kissing, bade one another farewell. Then\nthe wreck broke up on a reef, and in the havoc of the waves rending the\nfragile ship, they lost sight of one another. However, it fell out that\nboth reached the land on broken pieces of the vessel, but they were cast\nup so far apart that each supposed that he alone was saved. John came\nashore not far from a monastery, into which he was hospitably received,\nand where he was well cared for till he had recovered the exhaustion\nconsequent on battling with the waves for life. In the monastery John\nfound a calm and cheerfulness such as he had not experienced in the\nworld; it seemed to him a peaceful refuge for the storm-tossed soul as\nwell as for the shipwrecked body, and he resolved to remain there as a\nmonk.\n\nArcadius had also come ashore; he made his way to Jerusalem, in great\ntrouble of mind, having lost in the vessel all the money his father had\ngiven him wherewith to prosecute his studies, and above all, his\nbrother. Now alone and poor, he knew not whither to go, and what to do.\nThen one day he came to a monastery governed by an aged abbot, who\ncomforted him, and urged him to despise the world, and seek rest in God.\nArcadius remembered how, as a little boy, he had heard his father\ndescant on the peace of the cloister and the happiness of monastic life.\nHe therefore gladly assumed the habit, and bent his head for the\ntonsure.\n\nNow at Byzantium, Xenophon had recovered of his malady, and he and his\nwife often communed together of their absent sons. Not hearing any news\nof them, he sent a servant to Berytus to make enquiries. The servant\nreturned one day when Xenophon was at court, so that the mother, Mary,\nwas the first to hear of the loss of the vessel. The servant said that\nit was feared at Berytus that all on board had perished. \"The Lord gave,\nand the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord,\" said\nshe.\n\nEvening came, and with it returned her husband from the court, with a\ncrowd of servants and torch-bearers. He found supper spread, and his\nwife awaiting him. He sat down, but noticing that she was grieved in\nspirit, and that her eyes were full of tears, he asked the reason. She\nchanged the subject, and after a while, so as gently to break the news\nto him, she said that the servant was on his way home. Xenophon started\nfrom the table in agitation, and asked where he was. \"How do you know\nthat he is here? he may have been delayed through sickness on the way,\"\nsaid Mary, restraining her grief with an effort. \"But the letters, where\nare the letters?\" asked her husband, white with emotion. \"Surely you can\ndelay reading them till tomorrow,\" said the wife; \"eat your supper now,\nat least, with a glad mind.\" Then her tears streamed down her cheeks.\nXenophon looked steadily at her, and asked in a low voice, \"Is it well\nwith the boys?\" Then she told him all. And Xenophon said, \"The Lord's\nname be praised who has given me such a prudent and self-constrained\nwife,\" and instead of giving way, went to Mary and kissed her and\ncomforted her, for now that the need for control was removed, all her\nmother's heart gave way in a passion of tears and sobs.\n\nXenophon and his wife had no rest. Were their children dead or alive?\nThat they must know; so they resolved to go together to Palestine to\nfind them alive or dead. On arriving at Jerusalem they visited the holy\nplaces, and prayed everywhere that if it were the Lord's will, they\nmight see again once more the faces of their sons. One day in the street\nthey saw a servant they had given to the youths now wearing the monastic\nhabit; Xenophon fell down reverently before him, and when the man, full\nof shame, implored him not to do so, \"It is not you I reverence, but\nyour habit,\" said the nobleman. Then the man told him how the ship had\nbeen wrecked, and how nearly all had perished, but he, escaping to land,\nhad taken the monastic profession upon him.\n\nThree years had passed since John and Arcadius had sailed from\nByzantium, and the parents began to despair of hearing any tidings of\nthem, when one day they visited the monastery of the abbot who had\nreceived Arcadius. The old man having heard their story, knew at once\nthat one of their sons was with him, and from what he had learned, he\nconjectured that the other was alive in another house. He therefore bade\nthem be of good cheer, assuring them that their sons lived, and he bade\nthem meet him on a certain day upon Mount Calvary, by which time he\nwould be supplied with further information.\n\nNow it fell out that John was then in Jerusalem visiting the scenes of\nthe Passion. The aged abbot sent for him and spake with him, and soon\nlearned that his suspicions were correct, and that he was the brother of\nhis monk. Arcadius at this moment arrived. The abbot said to John,\n\"Brother, what is thy history, I pray thee relate it to me.\" So John\nbegan, \"I am the son of wealthy parents in Byzantium, who sent me with\nmy brother to Berytus, to study law; I loved my brother as my own soul.\nHe was dearer to me than my life. On our voyage a storm fell on us, and\nthe vessel was wrecked, then my brother Arcadius and I\"--hereat Arcadius\ntrembled, and extended his hands, and fell at the feet of the abbot, and\nstammered forth, \"It is my brother, my brother!\" And when John heard his\nvoice, he knew him; but they knew each other not before, for they were\nboth cowled, and greatly altered through fasting. And the brothers\nlifted up their voices and wept, and embraced each other with exceeding\njoy. Then the abbot said, \"My sons, I bid you be silent and restrain\nyourselves. Your parents come this way, and too great joy falling too\nsuddenly upon them may be more than they can bear, therefore I say unto\nyou, refrain yourselves awhile.\" Hardly had he done speaking, and the\ntwo monks had fallen behind, before Xenophon came up Calvary, leading\nMary.\n\nThey were much aged by care. They came on with their wistful eyes fixed\non the old abbot; and scarce regarded the monks who followed him, for\ntheir thoughts were on what he had to tell them. They cried, \"Where are\nour dear sons, father?\" Then the abbot said, \"Rejoice, my children,\nrejoice and praise the Lord! your sons are found. Now go and prepare a\nfeast, and I will come shortly with my two disciples whom you see here,\nand when we have eaten, I will bring your sons to your arms.\"\n\nNow when Xenophon and Mary heard this, they were filled with joy, and\nthey hasted and made ready a feast, and the abbot came, he and his two\ndisciples, and they sat down and did eat. But all the while, as Arcadius\nand John heard the dear voices of father and mother, they shook with\nsuppressed emotion, and turned their heads aside, and bowed them on\ntheir breasts, that the tears might trickle unseen. And as they ate, the\nconversation turned to the holy lives of the ascetics in the monasteries\nand lauras of Palestine. \"Oh\" said Xenophon; \"how peaceful and glad of\nheart are all there; methinks there the word of the prophet is\nfulfilled, that the desert should bloom as a rose. Right glad should I\nbe, were my dear boys to seek such blessed places of heavenly\nconsolation, and lying down in those green pastures, there find rest.\"\n\"But if they were to do this, thou wouldst be deprived of their\nsociety,\" said the abbot.\n\n\"That matters not,\" said Xenophon; \"If I could but see their faces\nagain, and know that they had set their hearts on God alone, I should be\ncomforted.\"\n\n\"And now,\" said the abbot; \"let one of these monks speak, and say why he\nhas entered on the monastic life.\" Thereupon Arcadius began with\nfaltering voice: \"I and my brother here present were born at Byzantium,\nof good Christian parents, and the name of the one was Xenophon, and the\nname of the other was Mary.\"\n\nUpon this the father and mother uttered a cry, and ran, and they were\nlocked in the embrace of their children.\n\nThe abbot stood by and saw with joy their tears and kisses; and after a\nwhile he said, \"Give glory to God!\" so they raised their hands and eyes\nto heaven, and praised Him who had brought them together again.\n\nBut now that Xenophon and his wife had found their children, they felt\nthat there was nothing more for which they cared on earth, and they also\nwent into solitude, and served God in fasting and prayers night and day.\nThus the whole family laboured with one heart for one end, the salvation\nof their souls and the glory of God; and though separated in body, they\nwere united in heart, and now they dwell together in the Paradise of\nGod.\n\n\nS. BATHILD, Q.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 670.)\n\n [Roman and other Martyrologies. In some, however, on Jan. 27th; at\n Paris on Jan. 30th. Authorities: her life by two contemporary\n writers. The first is in plain unpolished style. Its date appears\n from allusions such as this:--\"The venerable Theudofred, who is now\n bishop, was then abbot.\" \"The illustrious offspring of Bathild, now\n reigning, &c.\" The writer of the other expressly states that he had\n seen and known the virtues of her whom he describes.]\n\nArchimbold, mayor of the palace, in the reign of Dagobert, King of\nFrance, bought a slender fair-haired English slave girl. The name of\nthis girl was Bathild, given her probably because of her work, for the\nname signifies \"the damsel of the lady's bower.\"[125] In service she\ngrew up to woman's estate, and was very beautiful, but, withal, adorned\nwith a meek and quiet spirit.\n\nShe is thus described by one of her biographers:--\"Her pious and\nadmirable conversation attracted the admiration of the prince, and all\nhis ministers. For she was of a benignant spirit and sober manners,\nprudent and shy, never scheming evil, never light in talk, or pert in\nspeech; but in all her actions upright. She was of Saxon race, in shape\ngraceful and pleasing, with a bright face and a staid gait, and as such,\nshe found favour with the prince, so that he constituted her his\ncup-bearer, and as such, dealing honestly, she stood often by him\nministering to him. But so far from being lifted up by her position, she\nshowed the utmost humility to her fellow-servants, cheerfully obeying\nthem, ministering reverently to her elders, often taking their shoes off\nfor them, scraping and cleaning them, and bringing them their washing\nwater, and mending their clothes also. All this she did without a\nmurmur, with gentle and pious alacrity.\"\n\nNow it fell out that Archimbold lost his wife, and he looked about for\none to fill her place. Then his glance rested on the fair-haired,\nblue-eyed Saxon maid, so kindly and so obliging. But when he announced\nthat it was his intention to make her his wife, she was so alarmed that\nshe hid herself among the under maids of the kitchen, dishevelled her\nlight hair, begrimed her face, and worked in rags, so that the mayor\nsupposed she had gone clean away, and after a while forgot her, and\npossibly thinking that such a match might have been after all a mistake,\nhe married some one else. Then Bathild shook her tatters off, braided\nher flaxen hair, washed her sunny face, and shone forth in her\naccustomed place. But she had fled the mayor to catch the king. How\nClovis became attached to her is not recorded; possibly he had long\nnoticed the meek maiden at the mayor's elbow filling his wine goblet,\nand her disappearance had made him aware of the strength of his passion.\nCertain it is that shortly after, he asked her to be his lawful wife,\nand to sit at his side on the throne of France. There was no escaping a\nking; and at the age of nineteen, in 649, she was married accordingly to\nClovis II. As queen she exercised a most salutary influence over the\nmind of her husband, and persuaded him to enact many salutary laws. She\nbecame a nursing mother to the Church in France, and exerted herself to\nthe utmost of her power to relieve the necessities of the poor, and\nameliorate the condition of the serfs. She bore her husband three sons,\nwho all successively wore the crown, Clothaire III., Childeric II., and\nThierry I. After six years of married life, in 655, Bathild was left a\nwidow, when her eldest son was only five years old. She then became\nregent of the kingdom. The gentle queen remembered her sorrows as a\nslave, and resolved to become the benefactress of the slave. Slavery was\nuniversally and firmly established in France. To root out such an\ninstitution at once was impossible; it could only be done with caution,\nlest it should alarm and rouse to opposition the great slave owners. She\nhad sufficient penetration to discover the great cause of slavery in\nFrance. The old Gallic population was crushed beneath an enormous tax,\nto pay which mothers were obliged to sell their children, and which\nreduced into bondage those unfortunates who could not pay. This impost\nshe abolished, and thereby cut off the source of slavery. She also\nforbade the retention or purchase of Christian slaves; but, to save\nvested interests, this law did not emancipate those already in bonds,\nbut was of future operation only. She employed, moreover, all the money\nshe could spare in the purchase out of bondage of such children as\nmothers had sold, out of dire necessity. She also sent ambassadors to\nall the European courts, to announce that the sale of French subjects\nwas strictly forbidden, and that any slave who should set foot on French\nsoil would be held from that moment to be free.\n\nBathild also founded a large number of religious houses. France was then\noverspread with forests; vast districts were pathless wildernesses,\nuninhabited by men. Old cities which had thriven under the Roman empire\nhad fallen into ruins, and the wolf made his lair in the deserted\nchambers. How was all this desolation to be remedied, this waste land\nto be reclaimed? A number of men must be gathered together at certain\nspots, and these must become civilizing centres, diffusing knowledge\namongst the people, and cultivating the soil. Such were the monasteries.\nThey were dotted about in the wildest parts of the vast woods, and\nlittle by little the trees were cleared away about them, and pastures\nand corn land usurped their place, and with the advance of agriculture,\ncivilization spread. Bathild founded Corbie, Chelles, and Jumi\u00e8ges,\nbesides others of less note. Towards the close of her days, when her son\nClothaire was of an age to govern, she retired into the monastery of\nChelles, where she finished her days in peace, dying at the age of\nfifty, in 680.\n\n\nS. THEORITGITHA, V., AT BARKING.\n\n(7TH CENT.)\n\n [Anglican Martyrologies, but new Anglo-Roman Martyrology, Jan. 23.\n Authority: Bede's Eccl. Hist. lib. 4. c. 9.]\n\nTheoritgitha was a holy sister in the convent of Barking on the Thames,\nunder the rule of the abbess Ethelberga. \"She had always endeavoured to\nserve God in all humility and sincerity,\" says Bede, \"and she took care\nto assist this same mother in keeping up regular discipline, by\ninstructing and reproving the younger ones.\" She suffered nine years\nfrom a cruel distemper, which purified her soul. She saw in a vision a\nsign of the approaching death of S. Ethelberga.\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[124] Rev. ii. 9.\n\n[125] _Bath-hildr_ in Norse, meaning the maiden (_hildr_) of\nthe _Bath-stofa_, the female apartment in a Norse, Saxon or Frankish\nhouse. She is sometimes called Bathildes, sometimes Baltidis.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 27.\n\n S. JULIAN, _B., of Mans, in France_.\n S. JULIAN, _M., at Atina, in Italy, circ._ A.D. 133.\n S. DEVOTA, _M., in Corsica, circ._ A.D. 303.\n S. PETER THE EGYPTIAN, _H., in Syria, circ._ A.D. 400.\n S. CHRYSOSTOM, _B. D., at Constantinople_, A.D. 407.\n S. DOMITIAN, _Monk and Deacon in Judea_, A.D. 473.\n S. MARIUS, _Ab. of La-val-benoit, near Sisteron, in France,\n 6th cent._\n S. LUPUS, _B., of Chalons-sur-Saone, in France, beginning of\n 7th cent._\n S. VITALIAN, _Pope of Rome_, A.D. 671.\n S. EMERIUS, _Ab., and his mother_, S. CANDIDA, _at Banoles, in Spain,\n end of 8th cent._\n S. GAMELBERT, _P., in Bavaria, end of 8th cent._\n S. SULPICIUS, _B., of S. Ghislain in Belgium_.\n S. THEODORIC II., _B, of Orleans_, A.D. 1022.\n S. GILDWIN, _Can. of Dol, in Brittany_, A.D. 1077.\n S. JOHN, _B. of French Flanders_, A.D. 1130.\n\n\nS. JULIAN, B. OF MANS.\n\n(DATE UNCERTAIN.)\n\n [Called the Apostle of Celtic Gaul; he is commemorated on this day\n in the Roman Martyrology. In the Paris Martyrology on the 28th\n Jan., others on the 31st; that of Cologne on 26th Jan. In the Roman\n Martyrology he is said to have been sent by S. Peter into Gaul; but\n as Bollandus has shown, this is an error. His life was written by\n one Brother Lethald in, or about, A.D. 990.]\n\nSaint Julian was the first to carry the light of the Gospel into that\nportion of France of which Le Mans is the capital. There he laboured\nwith great success, destroyed the idol which the people worshipped, and\npersuaded great numbers to be baptized. His life, written several\nhundreds of years after his death, is of small authority, and contains\nlittle of interest. His relics were given to Paderborn in Westphalia,\nin 1143.\n\n\nS. DEVOTA, V. M., IN CORSICA.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 303.)\n\n [Deivota seems to have been the correct form of her name, but she\n is usually called Devota. Authority: her Acts.]\n\nDeivota, or Devota was brought up from childhood in the Christian faith;\nwhen she was quite young, she was taken into the house of Eutyches, a\nsenator, and probably a relation.\n\nEutyches was not a Christian, but he was a kindly disposed man, who\ndisliked persecution. On the publication of the edict of Diocletian\nagainst Christianity, he sacrificed along with the other senators; but\nthe governor, being told that he sheltered in his house a little\nChristian maiden, ordered him to be poisoned, and Devota to be executed\nwith great barbarity. Her feet were tied together, and she was dragged\nover rough ground till her limbs were dislocated, and she was cut and\nbruised over her entire person. When, after this, she was stretched on\nthe rack, she besought Jesus Christ to release her. Her prayer was\nheard, and with a gentle sigh she expired. At the same moment a white\ndove was seen fluttering over her; it expanded its pure wings, and\nmounting, was lost in the deep blue of the sky. During the night a\ndevout priest, named Benenatus, a deacon, Apollinarius, and a believing\nboatman, Gratian by name, removed her body, and placing it amidst spices\nin the little skiff, rowed out to sea. Then a white dove appeared,\nskimming over the water, then waiting, and hovering before them, then\ndarting forward; and they, remembering the apparition at her death,\nfollowed the guidance of the dove, and reached Monaco, where they laid\nher.\n\n\nS. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, B. D.\n\n(A.D. 407.)\n\n [Authorities: Socrates, Sozomen, life by Palladius, and his own\n writings, &c.]\n\nJohn Chrysostom was the son of Secundus, a military officer, born about\n347, at Antioch, and on his father's death, soon afterwards, he became\nindebted for a careful and Christian training to his pious mother,\nAnthusa. He studied rhetoric under the accomplished pagan teacher\nLibanius, who afterwards, on being asked to name his own successor,\nreplied, \"John would be the fittest, if the Christians had not stolen\nhim.\"\n\nHe was baptized by Meletius, patriarch of Antioch; his chief friend was\nS. Basil, and Anthusa's earnest pleadings were required to counteract\nBasil's proposal that they should both retire into monastic life.\nChrysostom, as we may most conveniently call him, could not resist his\nmother's appeal; he continued to live at home, but in the practice of\nmonastic asceticism and the diligent reading of Scripture. He studied\ntheology under Diodore, the companion of Flavian, who had been the\nchampions of orthodoxy against Arianism, first as laymen, and afterwards\nas priests, in Antioch. Meletius, who had baptized John Chrysostom, was\nhimself a confessor. It was probably about 372-374 that Chrysostom and\nBasil were spoken of as likely to be made bishops; and Chrysostom, by a\nsingular artifice--the justification of which forms the least pleasing\nportion of his treatise \"On the Priesthood,\"--procured Basil's\nconsecration while evading the burden himself.\n\nFor several years he carried out the plan which, during his mother's\nlifetime he had abandoned, living first in cenobitic \"tabernacles,\" and\nafterwards as a hermit in a cave, until his health, never robust, gave\nway, and he was obliged to return to Antioch, where he entered the\nministry.\n\nEarly in 387, an increase of taxes provoked the people of Antioch to\nsedition. They threw down the brazen statues of the Emperor Theodosius,\nand his deceased wife, the pious and charitable Flacilla. Flavian, who\nhad been elected and consecrated patriarch, on the death of Meletius,\nset forth a little before Lent, to appease the emperor, and met the\nofficers of the empire, sent from court to avenge the insult. His\nabsence was well supplied by Chrysostom, who had recently received\npriest's orders, and who began to turn this trouble to account by a\ncourse of \"Sermons on the Statues,\" as they are called. In these he\nendeavoured to allay the people's terror, and to convince them of their\nbesetting sins--of which swearing was the chief--and so far succeeded,\nthat the churches were thronged all day. The people of Antioch were\npardoned by the emperor at the intercession of the patriarch.\n\nS. Chrysostom had been five years deacon, and twelve years priest, when\nNectarius, bishop of Constantinople died, in 397, after an episcopate\nwhich had relaxed the general tone of the clergy. \"Then,\" says the\nbiographer of S. Chrysostom, \"there came together some who were not\nwanted, priests unworthy of the priesthood, besetting the palace gates,\nresorting to bribery, falling on their knees even, before the people.\"\nDisgusted by this scandalous eagerness for an office which saints were\nwont to dread, the faithful entreated Arcadius, the Emperor, to look out\nfor one who could administer it worthily. Eutropius, the emperor's\nchamberlain, had learned by visiting Antioch to admire the character of\nChrysostom. He made Arcadius write to the military commander at Antioch,\ndesiring him to send the priest John to Constantinople, without causing\nany public excitement. The commander sent a message to Chrysostom,\nasking him to meet him \"at the Church of the Martyrs, near the Roman\nGate.\" Chrysostom complied; was placed in a public conveyance, and\nhurried away from the scene of his early life and priestly labours.\nSeveral bishops were summoned for the consecration. Theophilus of\nAlexandria had come to Constantinople to solicit the appointment for his\npriest Isidore. He was required to consecrate Chrysostom, but\nendeavoured to withdraw, reading the decision and earnestness of\nChrysostom in his face, and disliking him, for he was a thoroughly\nworldly, self-seeking prelate. Eutropius showed him some papers,\nhowever, saying, \"Choose between consecrating John, and undergoing a\ntrial on the charges made against you in these documents.\" Theophilus\ncould make no reply. He consecrated Chrysostom on Feb. 26th, A.D. 398;\nbut he never forgave him for having been the cause of this severe\nmortification.\n\nOver a city in which intrigue and adulation were practised as the royal\nroad to honour, John Chrysostom, straight forward and outspoken, was set\nas patriarch. He came to be chief shepherd over a clergy given up to\nease and sycophancy, flattering the rich and powerful, fawning on the\nemperor for place, and betraying their charge, the poor.\n\nChrysostom set to work at once as a reformer of abuses. He forbad the\nclergy frequenting the banquets of great men; he struggled against the\npractice of entertaining \"spiritual sisters.\" Several clergy were\ndeprived; Chrysostom drew upon himself the bitter dislike of many\nmembers of their body. He examined the accounts of the church-stewards,\ncut off superfluous expenses, and ordered the sum thus saved to be\napplied to the maintenance of hospitals. He scrutinized the lives of the\nwidows receiving pension from the Church; he earnestly besought\ncontributions to a fund for the poor; he exhorted the faithful to attend\nthe nocturnal services, but to leave their wives at home with the\nchildren. He rebuked the rich for their pride and selfishness. So great\nwas the charm of his \"golden tongued\" eloquence, and of the\nunmistakeable nobleness and sincerity of his character, that \"the city\nput on a new aspect of piety;\" and the worship of the Catholics became\nmore real, and their lives more earnest and pure.\n\nAmong those of the higher classes in Constantinople who were offended by\nthe uncompromising character of their new archbishop, was Eutropius, the\nchamberlain, who had raised him to the see. He desired to see the Church\nrespectable and subservient, the patriarch pious and obedient, to the\nstate. The Church, in his view, was a portion of the state organization,\nthe clergy the moral police, always to be under the direction of the\ncrown. But under Chrysostom's government it was becoming unmanageable\nand independent. To curtail its liberties, he procured a law to annul\nthe right of asylum in the churches, which had been growing up during\nthe century. But he was soon driven himself, by a revolution in the\nemperor's counsels, to clasp the altar as the safeguard of his life.\nChrysostom violated the new law in defence of its author; and while\nEutropius lay cowering in the sanctuary, bade the people take home this\nnew lesson on the vanity of vanities. \"The altar,\" said he, \"is more\nawful than ever, now that it holds the lion chained.\" He called on his\nhearers to beg the emperor's clemency, or rather, to ask the God of\nmercy to save Eutropius from threatened death, and enable him to put\naway his many crimes. He bravely withstood the court in the cause of\nChristian humanity; but Eutropius himself quitted the church, and was\ncondemned to exile.\n\nAt this time the Origenist controversy was raging with great acrimony.\nIt is difficult to pronounce an opinion upon it. Origen had\nunquestionably published some heretical opinions, but some were also\nattributed to him which he did not hold. Theophilus of Alexandria had\nleaned strongly towards the Origenists, but he was not a man of\nprinciple, and he adopted that view which suited his purposes at the\ntime. Finding it would answer his ends better to oppose Origenism, he\ndenounced it in his Paschal letters, in 401. The monks and hermits of\nEgypt had been regarded with an evil eye by heathens, Arians, and\ninsincere Christians. All the learned, the philosophers, and men of\nletters, among the pagans, were emulous in their protest. The\nimpassioned activity of the monks against idolatry, their efforts, more\nand more successful, to extirpate it from the heart of the rural\npopulation, naturally exasperated the last defenders of the idols. The\nArians were still more implacable than the Pagans. The tendency of these\nenemies of the Divinity of Christ was in everything to abuse, degrade,\nand restrain the spirit of Christianity. How should the monastic life,\nwhich was its most magnificent development escape their fury? The war\nbetween them and the monks was therefore long and cruel. The persecution\nwhich Paganism had scarcely time to light up to its own advantage under\nJulian, was pitiless under the Arian Constantius, and more skilful,\nwithout being more successful, under the Arian Valens. In the time of\nConstantius, entire monasteries, with the monks they contained, were\nburnt in Egypt, and in the frightful persecution under the Arian\npatriarch Lucius, raised in Alexandria, a troop of imperial soldiers\nravaged the solitude of Nitria, and massacred its inhabitants. And now\nLucius was succeeded by the worldly, ambitious, and utterly unspiritual\nTheophilus, who hated the poor monks of the desert as a living reproach\nupon his own self-seeking, and his aim to accommodate Christianity to\nworldliness. He soon quarrelled with S. Isidore the hospitaller, who had\nsuffered under the Arian Lucius, and whom he now drove from Alexandria,\nhating him, as those holding to mammon always will hate those who hold\nto Christ. Isidore fled to Nitria. Theophilus brought the charge of\nOrigenism against the monks there. The chief Nitrian monks were\nDioscorus, Bishop of Nitria, Ammonius, Eusebius, and Euthymius; they\nwere known as the \"Tall Brothers.\" Theophilus ordered them to be\nexpelled; when they came to remonstrate, his eyes flashed, his face\nbecame livid, he threw his episcopal pall round the neck of Ammonius,\nstruck him on the face with open palm and clenched fist, and cried,\n\"Heretic, anathematize Origen!\" They returned to Nitria; the patriarch,\nin a synod, condemned them unheard, and proceeded by night to attack\ntheir monasteries, at the head of a drunken band. Dioscorus was dragged\nfrom his throne; the cells of the other three were burned, together with\ncopies of both Testaments, and even the reserved portions of the Holy\nEucharist. It was said that a boy perished in the flames. The brothers,\nwith many of their companions, fled to Scythopolis in Palestine, hoping\nto support themselves in a place famous for palms, by their occupation\nof weaving palm-baskets. The enmity of Theophilus hunted them out of\nthis refuge; they reached Constantinople, and fell at Chrysostom's feet,\n\"Who is it,\" asked he with tears, \"that has injured you?\" They answered,\n\"Pope Theophilus; prevail upon him, father, to let us live in Egypt, for\nwe have never done aught against him or against our Saviour's law.\"\n\nHe lodged them in the church called Anastasia; allowed them to attend\nthe service, but prudently, to avoid, if possible, a breach with their\npersecutor, debarred them from the communion. They had been condemned by\ntheir own patriarch, and it was not for him to admit them to communion\nwithout a fair investigation and authoritative exculpation. He wrote to\nTheophilus, in the tone of a \"son and brother,\" praying him to be\nreconciled to the fugitives; but Theophilus, who disclaimed his right to\ninterfere, defamed them as sorcerers and heretics. The Tall Brothers now\nappealed to the emperor and empress, who ordered Theophilus to be\nsummoned, and the accusations against the brothers made by him to be\nexamined. The accusations were soon proved to be groundless. Theophilus,\nwho openly said he was \"going to court in order to depose John,\" arrived\nin Constantinople in June, 402, with a load of gifts for the emperor,\nthe empress, and the court, from Egypt and India. He at once assumed a\ntone of contumelious hostility towards S. Chrysostom. He would not visit\nor speak to him; he even abstained from entering the church.\n\nWhile Chrysostom declined to hear judicially the complaints of the Tall\nBrothers, Theophilus was concocting a scheme for his deposition. All the\ncourtiers among the bishops, and the worldly among the clergy desired\nit, for their tempers rebelled against godly discipline, and the example\nof his own self-denial was a standing protest against their\nself-indulgence. Acacius, Bishop of Berrhoea, had been provided with so\nhomely a lodging by Chrysostom that he joined the malcontents, venting\nhis spleen in the curious menace, \"I will cook a dish for him!\" Eudoxia,\nthe empress, who had heard of a sermon in which Chrysostom had lashed\nthe pride of women, took the side of his enemies, who determined to hold\na council at a suburb of Chalcedon, called \"The Oak.\" The bishops who\nattended were thirty-six. Twenty-nine charges were advanced against the\npatriarch. Some were of open violence; that he had beaten and chained a\nmonk, had struck a man in church so as to draw blood, and then had\noffered the sacrifice. Others were of evil speaking; he had said his\nclergy \"were not worth three-pence;\" he had accused three deacons of\nhaving stolen his pall. He was also charged with misconduct in his\noffice; he sold church furniture, had been careless in conferring\norders; he was unsociable, gave women private interviews, was irreverent\nin church, and ate wafers while sitting on his throne. Some of these\ncharges were gross exaggerations of that plain-spoken severity which\nknew no respect of persons. Others were inventions more or less\nmalignant. One of the basest was the charge about disposing of church\nornaments. Like other saints, he had done so for the sake of the\nsuffering poor.\n\nWhile these charges were being read at the Oak, he sat in his palace\nwith forty bishops, and consoled them by quoting texts of Scripture. \"I\nam now ready to be offered. Do not weep and break my heart! To me to\nlive is Christ, and to die is gain.\"\n\nNow entered two young bishops from the council at the Oak citing \"John\"\nto appear, with other clergy. The forty bishops sent a deputation to\nremonstrate with Theophilus. Chrysostom, for himself, sent word that he\nobjected to Theophilus and three others as disqualified, by avowed\nhostility, to be his judges. A bishop, named Isaac, produced a new list\nof charges, three of which were remarkable. He had used strong language\nabout fervour of rapturous devotion. He had been emphatic in his\nassurances of Divine long-suffering. This was denounced as an\nencouragement of sinners in their sins; but it was forgotten that he had\nwarned men against presuming thereon. \"He had eaten before administering\nbaptism,\" that is the Paschal baptism which was followed immediately by\na celebration of the Holy Eucharist, and which therefore implied\nnon-fasting performance of the sacrifice; and \"he had given the\nEucharist to persons who were not fasting;\" two charges which he\nvehemently denied. \"If I have done this, may my name be effaced from the\nroll of bishops,\" he said. The council pronounced him contumacious, and\ndeposed him, requesting the emperor, Arcadius, also to punish him for\ninsolence towards Eudoxia. This was in 403.\n\nAppealing in vain to a more just tribunal, Chrysostom was dragged from\nhis church, and hurried by night into Bithynia. That night an earthquake\nshook the palace; Eudoxia, frightened at the omen, wrote to the exile,\nentreating him to return. He was escorted to the city by a joyous\nmultitude, bearing tapers and chanting psalms, who forced him, in spite\nof the irregularity of such a proceeding, to ascend his throne, before\nthe sentence of the council of the Oak could be annulled. This was,\nhowever, speedily done by a synod of sixty bishops; the hostile assembly\ncould not stand its ground, and Theophilus, after meanly forcing the two\nsurviving brothers, on the ground of their monastic obedience, to ask\nhis pardon, consulted his safety by flight to Alexandria.\n\nNew troubles soon began. In September of the same year 403, a silver\nstatue of the Empress Eudoxia was erected near the cathedral, and the\nManichean governor of the city encouraged wild and heathenish dancing in\nits honour, which interrupted the church service. Chrysostom spoke\nstrongly on the subject, and was said to have begun a sermon with the\nwords, \"Again Herodias rages, again she demands the head of John.\" The\nfoes of the archbishop seized the opportunity. His old enemy Theophilus\nsent three bishops to Constantinople. The feeble Emperor Arcadius was\npersuaded to order that Chrysostom should be refused the use of the\nchurches. Easter-eve came, April 16. Arcadius said to the chief\nadversaries of Chrysostom, \"See to it, that you are not giving me wrong\ncounsel.\" \"On our heads,\" they answered, \"be the deposition of John!\"\nOne of the forty faithful bishops bade the haughty empress fear God, and\nhave pity on her own children. As the churches were closed to S. John\nChrysostom, he held the solemn services of the day in the Baths of\nConstantine. Thither the people thronged, abandoning the churches. The\ncourtier bishops complained, and it was resolved to break up this\nassembly. A band of soldiers was sent together with four hundred\nbarbarian recruits to clear the bath, about 9 p.m. They pressed onwards\nto the font, dispersed the catechumens, for on that day it was customary\nto baptize great numbers, struck the priests on the head until their\nblood was mingled with the baptismal water, rushed up to the altar where\nthe sacred Body and Blood were reserved for communicating the newly\nbaptized, and overthrew them, so that as S. Chrysostom says in his\nletter to Pope Innocent of Rome, \"the most holy Blood of Christ, as\nmight be expected in so great a tumult, was spilled on the clothes of\nthe soldiers.\" Thus were the Arian horrors renewed. On Easter-day,\nArcadius, riding out of the city, saw some three thousand newly baptized\nin their white robes. \"Who are those persons?\" he asked. \"They are\nheretics,\" was the answer; and a new onslaught was made upon them.\nDuring the paschal season, those who would not disown S. Chrysostom were\ncast into prison. Within the churches, instead of the joyful worship of\nthe season, were heard the sounds of torture, and the terrible oaths by\nwhich men were commanded to anathematize the archbishop. His life was\ntwice attempted; his people guarded his house; he wrote an account of\nwhat had happened to the Bishops of Rome, Milan and Aquileia. Pope\nInnocent, who had already heard Theophilus' version of the story,\ncontinued his communion for the present to both parties, but summoned\nTheophilus to attend a council.\n\nTowards the end of Whitsun-week, Arcadius was prevailed upon to send\nanother mandate to Chrysostom--\"Commend your affairs to God, and\ndepart.\" Chrysostom was persuaded to depart secretly; he called his\nfriends to prayer; kissed them, bade farewell in the baptistry to the\ndeaconesses, and desired them to submit to a new bishop, if he were\nordained without having solicited the see. \"The Church cannot be without\na bishop.\" Whilst the people waited for him to mount his horse at the\ngreat western door, he went out at the eastern; repeating to himself the\nwords of Job, \"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked I return\nthither!\"\n\nThis was his final expulsion, June 20th, 404; he crossed over to\nBithynia, while a fire broke out which consumed the cathedral and the\npalace of the senate. Some ascribed it to incendiaries; others called it\na sign of divine wrath. Several of Chrysostom's friends, the\n\"Joannites,\" as they were called, were cruelly treated, as if guilty of\nthe fire.[126]\n\nThe place of his exile was Cucusus, in Armenia; and there, after a\njourney, the pain of which was only alleviated by marks of sympathy and\nreverence, he arrived in the middle of September. The bishop of Cucusus\noffered to resign his see in his favour; and Dioscorus, a man of rank,\nentreated him as a favour to occupy his own house, which he fitted up\nfor the exile's convenience, with a liberality against which Chrysostom\nwrites, \"I am continually exclaiming.\" Very soon after he reached\nCucusus, the Empress Eudoxia bore a dead child and expired.\n\nPope Innocent wrote to the exile, exhorting him to patience by\nScriptural examples. \"A good man can be exercised, but he cannot be\novercome, while the Divine Scriptures fortify his mind. Venerable\nbrother, let your conscience comfort you.\" He also wrote to the clergy\nand laity of Constantinople, declaring his intention of holding a\nGeneral Council for the composing of these miserable quarrels.\n\nThe saintly exile in Cucusus, while suffering from illness and intense\ncold, and in constant peril from freebooters, continued to discharge the\noffice of a good shepherd. He wrote letter after letter to the faithful\nlady Olympias in Constantinople, exhorting her to remember that the only\ntrial really terrible was sin. He lamented that faithful bishops were\nsuffering for adherence to his communion; he exhorted them and their\nclergy to be of good courage. His pastoral thoughtfulness extended far\nbeyond a merely general care for his brethren's welfare. We find him\nrebuking two priests of Constantinople, one of whom had only preached\nfive times between his expulsion and October, while the other had not\npreached once; setting on foot a mission to the pagans of Phoenicia;\nanxious to have a good bishop consecrated for the Goths; drawing tighter\nthe old ties which bound him to the clergy of Antioch, and employing\npart of his friend's contributions in the redemption of captives, and\nthe relief of the poor.\n\nPope Innocent now boldly espoused his cause, as that of a confessor for\nrighteousness' sake. He assembled a synod, and persuaded Honorius,\nEmperor of the West, who had already remonstrated with Arcadius, Emperor\nof the East, to write in a more peremptory tone, demanding a council at\nThessalonica, and pointing out Theophilus of Alexandria as the reputed\nauthor of the present evils.\n\nTowards the end of the year, the furious incursions of the Isaurian\nrobbers, filling the country with rapine and bloodshed, compelled S.\nChrysostom to take shelter in the castle of Arabiscus. The winter was\nagain a time of discomfort; he could not obtain a sufficiency of\nmedicines; and the snow-drifts prevented him from receiving his friend's\nletters. About this time the western delegates sent from Rome with four\neastern bishops who had gone thither to plead the cause of Chrysostom,\nwere intercepted on their way to Constantinople, and confined in a\nfortress, their credentials were violently wrung from them, and instead\nof being allowed to see Arcadius, the westerns were sent back to Italy,\nthe easterns banished to the frontiers of the empire. On their way they\nwere cruelly harassed, robbed of their money, wearied by prolonged days'\njourneys, and compelled to lodge in the lowest haunts of profligacy. One\nof them consoled his brethren by observing that their presence recalled\nthe wretched women to thoughts of God, which might result in their\nsalvation, and His glory. That the persecution was in great measure a\nsystematic revenge on Chrysostom as the representative of clerical\nstrictness, is evidenced by such a fact as that a venerable man named\nHilary was scourged, not by a judge, but by the clergy. Chrysostom wrote\nto thank his western friends for their sympathy, and sent a second\nletter to Pope Innocent, assuring him that \"in the third year of exile,\namid famine, pestilence, war, sieges, indescribable solitude, and daily\nperil from Isaurian swords, he was greatly consoled and delighted by\nInnocent's genuine, stedfast, and abundant charity.\"\n\nThe winter of 406-7 was severe, but Chrysostom preserved his health by\nnever stirring out of a close and well-warmed chamber. In the summer his\nenemies, dreading his influence on the people of Antioch, who went to\nvisit him, procured an order for his removal to Pityus on the shores of\nthe Black Sea, the last fortress of the empire. His guards were ordered\nto exhaust him by long journeys. Through scorching heat and drenching\nrains, he was hurried on, and never allowed the refreshment of the bath;\none only of the guards being disposed to show him furtive kindnesses.\nFor three months this painful journey lasted; at length they halted at\nthe Church of S. Basiliscus, a short distance from Comana, in Pontus.\nThat night, the sufferer had a foreboding that his release was at hand.\nThe martyr Basiliscus appeared to him and said, \"Courage, brother John,\ntomorrow we shall be together.\" In the morning, Sept 14, 407, he begged\nto be allowed to stay in the church until eleven o'clock in the\nforenoon. It could not be; he was forced to proceed, but after\ntravelling about four miles, he was so evidently dying, that they\nreturned to the church. There he asked for white garments, and exchanged\nfor them those which he wore. He was still fasting; he received the Holy\nCommunion, doubtless from the priest of the church, offered up his last\nprayer, added his usual thanksgiving, \"Glory to God for all things,\" and\nsealed it with a final, Amen. \"Then he stretched out his feet, which had\nrun so beauteously for the salvation of the penitent, and the rebuke of\nthe habitual sinners,\" and calmly expired, in about the sixtieth year of\nhis age, and in the tenth of his episcopate. He was buried beside the\nmartyr Basiliscus, the funeral being attended by a throng of virgins and\nmonks from Syria, Cilicia, Pontus, and Armenia. No comment on his\nglorious life could be so expressive as the doxology with which it\nclosed, and which, gathering into one view all its contrasts, recognised\nnot only in success and honour, but in cruel outrage, and homeless\ndesolation, the gracious presence of a never-changing Love.[127]\n\n\nS. LUPUS, B. OF CHALONS.\n\n(7TH CENT.)\n\n [Called in France _Loup_, _Leul_, or _Leu_. He was canonized by\n Pope John VIII, in 879; he is commemorated on this day at Ch\u00e2lons;\n also there on April 30th, the day of his canonization. His life is\n by an anonymous writer, who says that he wrote it from the\n remembrance of those who had read the Acts of S. Lupus which had\n been destroyed by fire.]\n\nS. Lupus, Bishop of Cabilinum, or Ch\u00e2lons sur Saone, flourished about\nthe year 610. He was the son of honourable parents, and he commended\nhimself to the people by his abundant charity, his self-denial, and his\ntenderness to the sick. Ch\u00e2lons being ill-provided with drinking water,\nand the soil dry and sandy, he miraculously provided it with an abundant\nspring which flows to the present day. The story is thus told. He stood\none day with his ivory pastoral staff in hand watching the hay makers;\nthe sun was hot, and the labourers were exhausted. Moved with\ncompassion, and knowing that the turbid waters of the river were unfit\nto drink, he struck his staff into the sand, and a limpid spring bubbled\nup. When dying he sent for the governor of Ch\u00e2lons, and begged him to\npardon the unfortunate wretches who languished in the prison under\nsentence of death. The governor roughly refused. After Lupus was dead,\nhis funeral passed the city prison, and the bier was set down at that\nplace. The prisoners stretched their hands through the bars of their\nwindows crying piteously. Instantly their chains fell off, the doors\nflew open, and they were set at liberty.\n\n\nS. THEODORIC II, B. C. OF ORLEANS.\n\n(A.D. 1022.)\n\n [Called in France _Thierry_. Authority: an ancient life in\n Bollandus.]\n\nS. Thierry was born at Ch\u00e2teau Thierry, so called from an ancestor of\nthe saint, whose family was noble and wealthy. He was taken to court and\ngained the confidence of King Robert the Good. On the death of Bishop\nArnulf of Orleans, Thierry was elected, with the consent of the king, to\nfill the vacant see. His appointment was opposed by a priest named\nAdalric who had desired the throne for himself, and who had the\nindecency to burst into the church with a band of armed men, and thrust\nup to the very altar, uttering violent menaces, when Thierry was being\nconsecrated, in the hopes of terrifying the consecrating bishops from\nwhat they were doing. Afterwards the priest at the head of a party of\nruffians waylaid the Bishop by night, in a lane, and throwing him from\nhis horse, ran him through, as they believed, with a sword. The weapon\nprovidentially cut through his garments without wounding him; and when\nthe would-be assassins had fled, he rose and regained the city. Adalric,\nfearing the consequences, threw himself on the compassion of the Bishop,\nand asked his pardon, which Thierry frankly accorded him. Thierry died\non a journey at Tonnerre, where his kinsman Count Milo built the church\nof S. Michael over his body. He was succeeded on the throne of Orleans\nby the priest Adalric.\n\n\nS. JOHN, B. OF FRENCH FLANDERS.\n\n(A.D. 1130.)\n\nThis saint was forced into the episcopate by Pope Urban against his\ndesire. He was a most meek and gentle-spirited man, full of thought for\nothers, but severe upon himself, as was evidenced by one little fact\nnoticed by his biographer. He was wont to rise very early to his\nprayers, and when he did so, he took the greatest care not to disturb\nothers in the room and house. When he was dying, crowds of people came\nto see his loved face for the last time, and he gave them his\nbenediction, and died in so doing.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[126] See concerning the fire and subsequent persecution in the\naccount of SS. Eutropius and Tygris, Jan. 12th; p. 163.\n\n[127] This life is, for the most part, taken from the Rev.\nCanon Bright's \"Hist. of the Church from A.D. 313 to A.D. 451.\" London,\n1863.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 28.\n\n\n SS. THYRSUS, LEUCIUS AND OTHERS, _MM., in Asia_, A.D. 250.\n SS. EMILIAN, _B._, HILARIAN, _Mk._, AND OTHERS, _MM., at Trevi, in\n Umbria_, A.D. 303.\n S. VALERIUS, _B. of Saragossa, beginning of 4th cent._\n S. PALLADIUS, _H., in Syria, end of 4th cent._\n S. CYRIL, _Pat. of Alexandria_, A.D. 444.\n S. JOHN, _Ab. of Reomay, circ._ A.D. 545.\n S. JAMES, _H., in Palestine, 6th cent._\n S. PAULINUS, _Patr. of Aquileia_, A.D. 804.\n B. CHARLEMAGNE, _Emp._, A.D. 814.\n S. RICHARD, _Ab. of Valcelles, in France, 12th cent._\n S. JULIAN, _B. of Cuenca, in Spain_, A.D. 1207.\n B. MARGARET, _of Hungary, V.O.S.D._; A.D. 1271.\n B. GENTILE, _W., Ravenna_, A.D. 1530.\n\n\nSS. THYRSUS, LEUCIUS, CALLINICUS, AND OTHERS, MM.\n\n(A.D. 250.)\n\n [Roman Kalendar on Jan. 28th; Greek Menaea on Dec. 14th; Mart.\n attributed to S. Jerome on Jan. 20th. The martyrs not having all\n suffered the same day or in the same places, has led to\n considerable variety in the days of their commemoration. Their Acts\n are extant in three forms, agreeing together in most particulars,\n and evidently amplifications by different hands of the original\n Acts. They are not to be implicitly relied upon.]\n\nIn the reign of the Emperor Decius, Combritius, the governor of\nBithynia, made the circuit of the province, to carry into execution the\nsevere imperial edict against the Christians. Being a man of a naturally\ncruel disposition he subjected those brought before him to the most\nexquisite torments his ingenuity could devise. Thyrsus had his eyelids\npierced, and rings put through them, and molten lead was poured down his\nback. His arms and legs were broken. He died in prison. Leucius was hung\nup, and torn with iron hooks, and then decapitated; Callinicus and\nseveral others suffered in this persecution by various deaths.\n\n\nS. VALERIUS, B. OF SARAGOSSA.\n\n(BEGINNING OF 4TH CENT.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology, but in others on Jan. 19th, 22th, 23rd, or\n 29th.]\n\nOf this saint little is known, except that he associated with him S.\nVincent, to speak for him, he having an impediment in his speech. When\nDacian persecuted the Church, S. Valerius was taken to Valentia and\nthere imprisoned. When brought forth and interrogated, his nervousness\nprevented him from articulating a word, therefore Vincent, the deacon,\nspoke for him. Vincent was ordered to execution, but Valerius was\nbanished.\n\n\nS. PALLADIUS, H. IN SYRIA.\n\n(END OF 4TH CENT.)\n\n [This Palladius is not to be confounded with the author of the\n Historia Lausiaca. He is mentioned by Theodoret, who relates of him\n all that is known.]\n\nPalladius was a friend of Simeon the Ancient; they often met to\nencourage one another in the practice of self-denial and prayer. One\nincident in the life of this hermit has been alone transmitted to us.\nNot far from his cell was a frequented market. A merchant who had been\nat it was waylaid, robbed and murdered by a man who, after having done\nthe deed, cast the body by the door of the hermit's cell. Next day a\ncrowd assembled, instigated by the murderer, and with threatening looks\nand words, they broke open the hermit's door, and drew him forth,\ncharging him with the murder. Then Palladius raised his hands and eyes\nto heaven and prayed. And when his prayer was concluded, he turned to\nthe corpse and said, \"Young man, designate the murderer!\" Thereupon the\ndead man partly rose, raised his hand and pointed at him who had killed\nhim; and when he was apprehended, articles belonging to the deceased\nwere discovered upon him.\n\n\nS. CYRIL, PATR. OF ALEXANDRIA.\n\n(A.D. 444.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. The Greeks celebrate the memory of S. Cyril on\n June 9th, and commemorate him together with S. Athanasius on June\n 18th. Authorities: Socrates, Sozomen, Marius Mercator, the Acts of\n the council of Ephesus, and his own letters and treatises &c.]\n\nThis great champion of the faith has been attacked by modern writers as\npassionate and intolerant; it is true that he was guilty of several\nerrors in administrating his patriarchate, and that his impetuosity gave\nthe impulse which led to serious violation of justice. But we must\nremember that no man, not the greatest of saints, is without\nimperfection of character, and that the greatest of saints are they who,\nhaving serious natural defects, have mastered them by their faith and\nself-control. S. Cyril began his patriarchate under disadvantageous\ncircumstances. He was the nephew of Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria,\nChrysostom's worst enemy, a man devoid of principle, wholly given up to\npride of station; on October 15th, 412, he closed his episcopate of\ntwenty-seven years; a melancholy instance of great powers rendered\nbaneful to the Church by a worldly spirit and a violent temper. He was\nsucceeded by his nephew Cyril. The evil of his uncle's example hung\nabout him for some time, obscuring the nobleness which was to shine out\nafterwards. He desired above all things the ascendancy of the Church; as\nto the means of obtaining which, he had fewer scruples than became a\nminister of Him who rebuked the attack on Malchus. He closed the\nNovatian church, took away its sacred ornaments, and deprived its Bishop\nof his property. The Jews of Alexandria--a powerful body during many\ncenturies--had procured the disgrace and punishment of Hierax, an\nadmirer of Cyril's sermons. Cyril, naturally indignant, menaced the\nchief of their community; the Jews' revenge was to raise a cry at\nmidnight, \"The Church of S. Alexander is on fire!\" and to massacre those\nChristians who rushed out to save their church. Cyril appears to have\nmade up his mind that the Christians must right them, without expecting\njustice from the praefect Orestes, and he organized at daybreak a force\nwhich attacked the synagogues, expelled the Jews from Alexandria, and\ntreated their property as rightful spoil. Orestes, exasperated at this\nhasty and lawless vengeance, would not listen to the explanations which\nCyril offered; and the archbishop, after vainly holding out the Gospels\nto enforce his attempts at a reconciliation, gave up all hopes of peace.\nFive hundred monks of Nitria, inflamed by a furious partisanship,\nentered the city and reviled the praefect as a pagan. \"I am a Christian,\"\nhe exclaimed; \"Atticus of Constantinople baptized me.\" A monk named\nAmmonius disproved his own Christianity by throwing a stone at the\npraefect, which inflicted a ghastly wound. He was seized, and expired\nunder tortures; but Cyril so miserably forgot himself as to call this\nruffian an \"admirable\" martyr, a proceeding of which he was afterwards\nheartily ashamed. Then followed a darker tragedy. Hypatia, a learned\nlady, and teacher of philosophy, and a heathen, who had great influence\nin the city in opposing Christianity, was supposed to have embittered\nOrestes against Cyril; and some fiery zealots, headed by a reader of the\nchurch, named Peter, dragged her from her house and tore her to pieces,\nlimb from limb. Cyril was no party to this hideous deed,[128] but it was\nthe work of men whose passions he had originally called out. Had there\nbeen no onslaught on the synagogues, there would have been no murder of\nHypatia. The people of Alexandria were singularly fiery and given to\ncivil contensions. Gibbon says of them, \"The most trifling occasion, a\ntransient scarcity of flesh or lentils, the neglect of an accustomed\nsalutation, a mistake of precedency in the public baths, or even a\nreligious dispute, were at any time sufficient to kindle a sedition\namong that vast multitude, whose resentments were furious and\nimplacable.\"[129] A ferocious civil war which lasted twelve years, and\nraged within the city, till a considerable portion had been reduced to\nruins in the reign of Valerian, had originated in a dispute between a\nsoldier and a townsman about a pair of shoes.\n\nCyril had inherited all his uncle's violent prejudice against S. John\nChrysostom. Pope Innocent had not been able to procure the vindication\nof his memory at Constantinople. But soon after his death, Atticus his\nsuccessor, a good man, but weak and timid, and a declared enemy to\nChrysostom, who had resisted the Pope's exhortation, yielded to the\npopular feeling, and to the advice of the Emperor Theodosius, who\nthought that \"for peace and unity there would be no harm in writing a\ndead man's name on a diptych,\" _i.e._, on the table of names of the\ndeparted prayed for at the Mass. Atticus excused himself for this\ncompliance in a letter to Cyril, in which he observed that, in these\nEucharistic commemorations, laymen as well as bishops were included. The\nnephew of Theophilus was not likely to be thus appeased; and he\nextracted from the messengers of Atticus the confession that Chrysostom\nwas now commemorated as a Bishop. In his view, Chrysostom was simply a\nman who had forfeited the episcopate; and he called upon Atticus to\n\"expunge from the sacerdotal catalogue the name of one who was no\nminister,\" distinctly intimating that unless he resolved to uphold the\nauthority of the Council of the Oak,[130] he would forfeit the communion\nof the patriarchate of Alexandria.\n\nBut as time passed, Cyril thought better of this, and regretted his\nviolence and prejudice. Isidore of Pelusium, a pious abbot, wrote to\nhim, \"Put an end to these dissensions, lest you incur the judgment of\nGod,\" and urged him not to make a perpetual schism in the Church by\nrefusing to commemorate Chrysostom. He placed the name of Chrysostom on\nhis diptychs, and immediately was received into communion with Rome from\nwhich he had been estranged by his adherence to the prejudices of his\nuncle.\n\nAtticus, patriarch of Constantinople, was succeeded in 426, by Sisinius,\nwho died on Christmas Eve, 427. Nestorius, a Syrian bred in Antioch, of\nhigh reputation and great powers as a speaker, ascetic and studious in\nhis habits, was consecrated to the see on April 10th, 428. His first\nsermon indicated a feverish polemical zeal. \"Give me,\" he exclaimed,\naddressing the Emperor, \"give me the earth clear of heretics, and I will\ngive you heaven in return! Help me to overthrow the heretics, and I will\nhelp you to overthrow the Persians.\" He began his episcopate by\nattacking an Arian meeting-house; the Arians set fire to it in their\ndespair; the flames caught other buildings, and the new patriarch\nreceived the ominous name of \"the Incendiary.\" The early violence of\nCyril ought neither to be extenuated nor exaggerated; but there was\nsomewhat less of provocation for the persecuting zeal of Nestorius.\nShortly before Christmas, 428, a priest named Anastasius, whom the new\narchbishop had brought from Antioch, was preaching in S. Sophia. In the\nsermon he said, \"Let no one call Mary the Mother of God; for she was a\nhuman creature, of whom God could not be born.\" Nestorius was present\nand approved; and on Christmas Day he himself began a short course of\nsermons, in which he called the title heathenish, and spoke of Mary's\nSon as a mere man, the instrument employed, and the vesture worn by God.\nEusebius, a lawyer in the city, stood up in full church, and proclaimed\nthat the Eternal Word Himself was born after the flesh. Nestorius\ndenounced this doctrine; \"It was not the Word that was born,\" said he;\n\"It was only the _man_ Jesus.\"\n\nSoon after, on a festival in honour of the Virgin, probably the\nAnnunciation, a certain Bishop Proclus preached in the great church\nbefore Nestorius. After speaking of S. Mary in glowing language, as the\nbush burning and unconsumed, the cloud that bore the cherub-throne,\nGideon's fleece filled with heavenly dew, he passed to the practical\nbearings of the Catholic doctrine. \"If the Word had not dwelt in the\nwomb, Flesh had never sat down on the holy throne. It was necessary,\neither that the doom of death should be executed on all, for all have\nsinned, or that such a price should be paid in exchange as could fully\nclaim the release. Man could not save, for he was under the pressure of\nthe debt of sin. An angel could not redeem humanity, for he had lacked\nsuch a ransom as was needed. One only course remained, that the sinless\nGod should die for sinners. It was God who out of His compassion became\nMan. We do not proclaim a man deified, but we confess a God Incarnate.\nThe Self-same was in the Father's bosom, and in the Virgin's womb; in a\nmother's arms, and on the wings of the wind. He was adored by angels,\nwhile He sat at meat with publicans. The servant buffeted Him, and\ncreation shuddered. He was laid in the tomb, and he spread out the\nheavens as a curtain. O the mystery! I see the miracles, and I proclaim\nthe Godhead; I see the sufferings and I declare the Manhood.\" Nestorius\nrose from his throne and rebuked the preacher. He said that to speak of\nGod as virgin-born was erroneous, and in after sermons he argued that\nGod who \"held the circle of the earth\" could not be wrapt in\ngrave-clothes; that the Sustainer of all things could not rise from the\ndead. Christ, he said, was a sinless man, the image of the Godhead\nthrough His goodness; and that as a child was of the same nature as its\nmother, therefore that Christ could not be divine as Mary was not\ndivine. He allowed to Christ _a_ divinity, but not _the_ divinity,\nplacing Him rather as chiefest of saints than as God. It was Arianism\nunder another form.\n\nHis sermons caused a great excitement at home as well as abroad. Men saw\nthat the question was no strife of words; laymen who felt that Catholic\ntruth was their inheritance, no less than that of the clergy, shrank\nfrom the communion of a bishop who made void the Incarnation. Clergy\nbegan to preach against him, \"They are croaking frogs,\" said Nestorius,\nand he obtained an imperial order to silence them. A priest began to\ncelebrate in private, an abbot and a monk told Nestorius to his face\nthat he was in error, and were savagely beaten and imprisoned for so\ndoing. A monk who dared to denounce him as a heretic was scourged and\nexiled. Among his supporters a bishop named Dorotheus was the chief.\nWhen he preached his heresy, the congregation uttering a cry of\nindignation, rushed out of church, but Nestorius proceeded with the\nservice, and administered Communion to the preacher.\n\nThe careful circulation of the archbishop's sermons brought them into\nthe hands of the Egyptian monks. Cyril strove to undo their effect by a\nletter addressed to the monks, about the end of April, 429. They would\nhave done better, he said, by abstaining from the controversy; but it\nwas necessary as things stood, to impress on them the positive truth.\nSince Christ was Emmanuel, since He who was in the form of God assumed\nthe form of a servant, since the Son of Man was adorable, since the Lord\nof glory was crucified, it was impossible to divide the persons, and\nseparate the manhood from the Godhead. To sum up all in one simple\nformula; \"If our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how can His Mother, the holy\nVirgin, be _not_ Mother of God?\" He guarded himself from\nmisrepresentation by clearly confessing that it was from Mary that\nChrist derived His human nature, but that it was not from her that He\nderived His divine nature. He was God, from her He received His\nhumanity, but to her He was not indebted for His Godhead.\n\nAbout Midsummer he wrote his first letter to Nestorius, urging him not\nto produce scandal and a schism by asserting that God dwelt in Christ\ninstead of proclaiming the Catholic doctrine that Christ was God. In\nFebruary, 430, S. Cyril wrote his second letter to Nestorius--the great\nEpistle which received in subsequent councils a formal sanction from the\nChurch. He set forth his faith in the clearest terms, insisting on a\nreal, not a merely moral union of God and Man in Christ. Nestorius\nreplied, showing a strange confusion of mind in the matter, which\ncontrasts painfully with the bright, crisp, and lucid style of Cyril. He\nwas ready to allow that Christ was an association of God with the man,\nJesus; but he would not admit that God and man made one Christ.\n\nNow it was that Cyril shone as a bright star in the firmament of the\nChurch, proved a pillar in the house of God, sustaining the truth. For\nthis God had raised him up, to maintain in the face of heresy, the Unity\nof the Person in our Blessed Lord. What S. Athanasius had done for the\nChurch when assailed by Arianism, Cyril was called to perform when she\nwas beaten by Nestorianism. \"I care not for distress, or insult, or\nbitterest revilings,\" said he in a letter to his clergy, \"Only let the\nfaith be kept safe.\"\n\n [Illustration: S. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA.\n After the Picture by Dominiquin in the Church of Grotto\n Ferrata, Rome.\n Jan. 28.]\n\nEarly in August a council met at Rome. Pope Celestine\nquoted a stanza from the Christmas hymn of S. Ambrose:--\n\n \"Redeemer of Earth's tribes forlorn.\n Come, show Thyself the Virgin-born;\n Let every age the marvel greet--\n No common birth for God were meet.\"\n\n\"Thus,\" he added, \"Our brother Cyril's meaning, when he calls Mary, the\nmother of God, entirely agrees with _Talis decet partus Deum_.\" He cited\nS. Hilary and S. Damasus as teaching the same doctrine of One Christ;\nand the council pronounced Nestorius guilty of heresy. On August 11th,\nhe wrote to Cyril, accepting his doctrinal statements, and giving him an\nimportant commission. \"Join the authority of our see to your own, and\nfreely occupying our place, execute this sentence with strictness and\nrigour; so that, unless in ten days time from this monition, he condemns\nin writing his unholy doctrine, and assures us that he holds that faith\nconcerning the birth of Christ our God, which is held by the Roman\nChurch, and by your Holiness' Church, and by all who belong to our\nreligion, your Holiness may provide for his Church, and let him know\nthat he must needs be cut off from our body.\"\n\nOn the 19th of November, the emperor Theodosius, at the request of\nNestorius and his opponents, summoned a general council to meet at\nEphesus at the ensuing Pentecost. Besides the circular letter, Cyril\nreceived a private one, angry in tone, from the emperor, asking, \"Why\nhave you despised us, and raised all this agitation, as if a rash\nimpetuosity were more befitting than accurate inquiry, or audacity and\nversatility more pleasing to us than good taste and simple dealing.\" In\na council held at Alexandria, Nestorius was declared heretical, and was\nexcommunicated.\n\nOn Sunday, December 7th, four bishops entered the cathedral of\nConstantinople, during the time of service, and presented to Nestorius\nthe letters of Celestine and Cyril excommunicating him.\n\nAbout four or five days before Whit-sunday, which in 431, fell on June\n7th, Cyril reached Ephesus, accompanied by fifty bishops, and found that\nNestorius had arrived with sixteen before him. The Roman legates,\nArcadius and Projectus, bishops, with Philip, a priest, were on their\nway. Pope Celestine had already expressed to Cyril his opinion, that if\nNestorius were minded to repent, he should by all means be received,\nnotwithstanding the sentence already pronounced by Rome and Alexandria.\nThe bishops of the patriarchate of Antioch had not yet arrived. The\nchurch of Africa devastated by the Vandals could send no prelate; but\nCapreolus of Carthage wrote, entreating the bishops to maintain the\nancient doctrine.\n\nHostilities were, in one sense, commenced between the parties before the\nopening of the council. Memnon, bishop of Ephesus, excluded the\nNestorians from the churches, so that they had no place wherein to\ncelebrate Pentecost, or to say matins and vespers.\n\nAcacius, bishop of Melitene, endeavoured to convert Nestorius. A bishop\nof the Nestorian party said to him, \"The Son who suffered is one, God\nthe Word is another.\" Acacius withdrew in horror; but another saying\nthat fell from Nestorius impressed itself yet more indelibly upon every\nCatholic heart. On June 19th, some prelates were arguing with him on the\ndivinity of Jesus. \"For my part,\" said he, several times over, \"I cannot\nsay that a child of two or three months old was God.\" Thus he declared\nhis disbelief in the foundation doctrine of Christianity.\n\nOn Sunday, June 21st, a fortnight had elapsed from the time fixed for\nthe meeting of the council. The Bishops were weary of waiting; illness\nand even death, had appeared among them; and John, patriarch of Antioch\nhad not arrived. The majority therefore sent a message to Nestorius,\ntelling him that the council should begin, next day. On Monday, June\n22nd, when 198 Bishops assembled in S. Mary's Church, he personally\nremonstrated against the council being opened till the Bishops of the\npatriarchate of Antioch had arrived. It was in vain; Cyril and the\nmajority absolutely refused to delay. On the episcopal throne, in the\ncentre of the assembly, were laid the Gospels; the Bishops sat on each\nside; Cyril, as highest in rank, and as holding the proxy of Coelestine,\nuntil the arrival of the Roman legates, presided in the assembly. It\nwould have been better if some other bishop had discharged this office;\nbut it appears that Cyril's part in the proceedings was mainly that of a\nproducer of evidence, and that he called on the council to judge between\nhimself and Nestorius. A second citation was then directed to Nestorius;\nbut soldiers with clubs denied the deputies access to his presence, and\nhe sent out word that he would attend when all the bishops had reached\nthe city.\n\nA third message was then dispatched to him; care being taken to treat\nhim simply as an accused bishop, not as a condemned heretic. Again the\nrude sentinels thrust back the deputies. \"If you stand here all night,\nyou will get no satisfaction; Nestorius has ordered that no one from\nyour council shall enter.\" They returned to S. Mary's. \"Nestorius,\" said\nthe Bishop of Jerusalem, \"shows a bad conscience. Let us now proceed to\ncompare all recent statements with the creed of Nicaea.\"\n\nWhen the great confession had been read, then the second letter of\nCyril to Nestorius, and extracts from the sermons of the accused, the\nfathers proceeded to depose and excommunicate Nestorius, in the name of\n\"our Lord Jesus Christ whom he has blasphemed.\" The sentence was signed\nby all the bishops; the first signature being, \"I, Cyril, Bishop of\nAlexandria, subscribed to the judgment of the council.\" It was now late\nin the summer evening. The bishops, on issuing from the church, were\nwelcomed with loud applause by the people, who had thronged the streets\nall day. Torches and perfumes were burnt before them, as they proceeded\nto their several abodes; and thus ended the memorable first session of\nthe council of Ephesus. It is interesting to think that while the\nbishops were going home that night, after a day of intense excitement,\nPaulinus of Nola was calmly giving up his soul. His last words, breathed\nforth in a low chant at the hour of vespers, were those of Psalm cxxxi.\n17, (cxxxii.) _Paravi lucernam Christo meo_. \"I have prepared a lamp for\nmy Christ.\"\n\nOn Saturday, June 27th, John of Antioch arrived with fifteen Bishops.\nThe council sent deputies to his lodging: he consented to see them, but\npermitted Count Irenaeus, a friend of Nestorius, to beat them cruelly.\nDusty and travel-stained as he was, John proceeded to assemble a\nconclave of the partisans of Nestorius, numbering forty-three Bishops,\nand deposed Cyril of Alexandria, and Memnon of Ephesus.\n\nTheodosius, the emperor, prejudiced in favour of Nestorius, and\nthinking, perhaps not without reason, that the prelates of Antioch\nshould have been awaited before the opening of the council, wrote on\nJune 29th, in severe terms, ordering that no bishop should leave Ephesus\nuntil the doctrinal question had been fairly scrutinized, and declaring\nthe proceedings null.\n\nAnd now the Roman legates arrived, and the second session was held in\nMemnon's house, July 10th. Celestine's letter to the council, dated May\n8, expressed full confidence that the council would join with the\nlegates in executing what Rome had already decided was good. The bishops\nanswered by applause, \"One Coelestine, one Cyril, one faith of the\ncouncil, one faith of the world!\"\n\nNext day, in the third session, the council wrote to the emperor that\nthe whole Church was against Nestorius; and in a fourth session John,\npatriarch of Antioch, who supported the heretic, was deposed and\nexcommunicated. The emperor then sent his high-treasurer, Count John, to\ncompose the differences in a summary manner. On his arrival he at once\narrested Cyril, Memnon, and Nestorius, and soldiers were stationed at\nthe doors of their bed-rooms, to keep them close prisoners.\n\nThe bishops of the council, in a letter to the clergy of Constantinople,\ndescribed the distress which they were enduring. \"We are killed with the\nheat, the air is unhealthy, there is a funeral nearly every day, the\nservants are all gone home sick; but if they make us die here, we will\nnot alter what Christ has through us ordained.\" Many of the bishops were\nvery ill; some had been obliged to sell all that they had, in order to\npay their expenses. Cyril wrote also, but there was a difficulty in\ngetting these letters carried to their destination. The Nestorians of\nConstantinople beset the ships and the roads, and would allow no\nordinary messenger to enter the city. It was determined to give them\ninto the care of a beggar, who might carry them in the hollow of a cane\non which he leant. This ingenious device succeeded. The clergy of\nConstantinople received the sentence of deposition pronounced on their\npatriarch, and the letters of Cyril and the council. The clergy openly\naddressed the emperor on behalf of Cyril. There was a great stir among\nthe monks, who were for the most part determined enemies of\nNestorianism. The aged abbot Dalmatius had not left his monastery for\nnearly fifty years. The emperor had vainly striven to make him take a\npart in the processional services during earthquakes. But now he felt,\nas he expressed it, that in a cause which so truly belonged to God he\ncould not be inactive. He issued forth, at the head of a solemn train of\nmonks and abbots, chanting in two choirs, which moved towards the\npalace; the abbots were at once admitted to the presence of Theodosius,\nand he having read the letter of the council, said, \"If these things are\nso, let the Bishops come hither.\" \"They are prevented,\" said Dalmatius.\n\"No they are not,\" said the emperor. \"They are under arrest,\" persisted\nthe abbot. The conference ended to the satisfaction of the abbots; they\ncame forth, and directed the multitude without to proceed to a large\nchurch at the extremity of the city. Again the procession swept onwards;\nmonks, bearing wax tapers, led the psalmody, without which in those days\nno great religious movement was conceivable; and the inspiring, \"O\npraise God in His holiness,\" was thundered forth as they approached\ntheir destination. The church was thronged with eager listeners;\nDalmatius caused the letter of the council to be read, and then\ndescribed the interview with Theodosius. Dalmatius might well write to\nthe council, \"I have not neglected your wishes.\" His interposition was a\ngreat event; he had proved too many for the Nestorians. By his simple\ndevotion and impressive firmness, the old recluse had given force and\nunity to a great mass of public feeling, and broken the spell by which a\nparty had bound the emperor.\n\nIt is unnecessary to follow the tangled threads of party strife much\nfurther. Theodosius confirmed the decree of the council, and on Sunday,\nOct. 25th, 431, a new patriarch was consecrated to fill the room of\nNestorius. John of Antioch had been led astray by party feeling, and in\nfaith he had not been really heretical; his mind like that of other\nsupporters of Nestorius was bewildered, and fearing lest Cyril should\nfall in the opposite error, that of Apollinaris, which lost one nature\nin the other, making of Christ but one nature, he had adopted the side\nof Nestorius. Now he was reconciled to Cyril, who gladly met him\nhalfway, and by mutual explanation blew away the dust of strife, and\nfound that their faith was identical. John sent Paul, Bishop of Emesa,\nto Alexandria with this confession, \"We confess our Lord Jesus Christ,\nthe only-begotten Son of God, to be perfect God and perfect Man, of a\nreasonable soul and a body; before the ages begotten of the Father\naccording to His Godhead, but for us and for our salvation, in the\nlatter days, born of the Virgin Mary according to His Manhood; of one\nessence with the Father as to Godhead, of one essence with us as to\nManhood. For there took place an union of two natures; wherefore we\nconfess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. According to this notion of the\nunion without confusion, we confess Holy Mary to be Mother of God,\nbecause God the Word was incarnate and made man, and from His very\nconception united to Himself the temple taken from her.\"\n\nThis formulary Cyril gladly accepted as orthodox, and then, and not till\nthen, Paul of Emesa was permitted to attend the church service, and\ninvited to preach, as a Catholic Bishop, on Christmas Day. The scene\nthat ensued was a very striking one. He began with the angelic hymn,\nproceeded to Isaiah vii. 14, and then pronounced the momentous words,\n\"Thus Mary, Mother of God, brings forth Emmanuel!\" The church rang with\njoyful cries; \"Lo, this is the faith! 'Tis God's gift, orthodox Cyril!\nThis is what we wanted to hear!\" Paul resumed, and presently enforced\nboth sides of the great verity. \"A combination of two perfect natures, I\nmean Godhead and Manhood, constitutes for us the one Son, the one\nChrist, the one Lord.\" Again the people shouted applause; \"Welcome,\northodox Bishop, the worthy to the worthy!\"\n\nS. Cyril died in June, 444, after a pontificate of thirty-two years,\nduring the last fifteen of which he may be said to have as truly lived\nfor the truth of the unity of the two natures in Christ, as his\nmightiest predecessor, S. Athanasius, had lived for the truth of the\nDivinity of Christ. Doubtless, the fiery spirit, which Cyril could not\nalways restrain, impelled him, during this great controversy, into some\nsteps which show that he was not an Athanasius. But modern critics of\nhis character have said more than enough on this point, and too little\non points of a different kind. Historical justice can never demand that\nwe should take the hardest possible view of his conduct at the opening\nof the council of Ephesus, and ignore the noble unselfishness, the\npatience in explaining over and over again his own statements, the\nreadiness in welcoming substantial agreement on the part of others, in a\nword, the \"power, and love, and command\" which made him a true minister\nof peace in the reunion of 433. We need not dwell on other instances in\nwhich he showed a remarkable forbearance, as when he bore without\nirritation the schooling of S. Isidore; on his care for the due\nprobation of aspirants to the priesthood, his depth and acuteness as a\ndogmatic theologian, his faith and thankfulness when treated as a\ndeposed prisoner. The way _not_ to understand him is to substitute a\nhaughty and heartless dogmatist for the ardent, anxious, often the\ndeeply suffering man, who, against an opponent strong in sophistry, in\ncourt influence, and in church power, persevered in defending the simple\ntruth of the Scriptural and Nicene mystery, that \"the one Lord Jesus\nChrist was very God of very God, who for us men and for our salvation\ncame down from heaven, and was incarnate, and was made Man.\"[131]\n\n [Illustration: S. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. After Cahier.\n Jan. 28.]\n\n\nS. JAMES, THE PENITENT, H.\n\n(6TH CENT.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea, but by the Gallo-Belgic\n Martyrology on Jan. 29th. Authority: a life written apparently not\n long after the death of S. James. There are so many saints, and\n even hermit saints of this name, that some confusion would have\n arisen but for the remarkable peculiarity of the life of this man.]\n\nThe story of this hermit is a painful and very sad one; it is that of a\ngreat fall and bitter repentance. As a warning to all those who are\nliving lives near to God, to be not high-minded but fear, the Church has\nplaced it in her sacred Kalendar, but not only as a lesson to such, but\nalso as an encouragement to the poor wretch who has fallen, to look up,\nnot to despair, for great as may be his sin, greater is the mercy of\nGod.\n\nNear the city of Porphyrio in Samaria lived a hermit in a cave. He was\nnot old, but in the bloom of manhood. Some wicked men, desirous of\ndisgracing the anchorite, suborned a harlot to bewitch him. She\ntherefore went to his cave one evening, and knocked at the door. He\nopened the door, and, seeing a woman, slammed it in her face. But she\ncontinued knocking and imploring to be admitted. Night fell, and the\nhowl of the wolf and the snarl of the hyaena sounded dolefully without;\nthen the hermit, fearing lest the woman should become prey to wild\nbeasts, opened the door, and asked her who she was. She replied that she\nwas a religious woman on her road from one convent to another, who\nsought shelter for the night. Then he admitted her to the outer chamber\nof his cave, where burnt his fire, and there he bade her rest, whilst he\nretired into the inner chamber, and closed the door. But, during the\nnight, he heard her moaning and sobbing, then he looked through the\nlittle window in the door, and saw her rolling on the ground, as if in\ngreat pain. He asked what ailed her, and she answered that she had cramp\nof the heart, and implored him to relieve her, by signing her bosom and\nheart with holy oil. Then she tore open her garment, and exposed her\nbreast; and he, entering, took oil and anointed her bosom; but fearing\ntemptation, he prayed to God with great devotion, and at the same time\nplaced his left hand in the fire, whilst with his right he continued\ndoing as she demanded, till suddenly, she was aware that his left hand\nwas so burned that the fingers were completely charred through. Then,\nhorror-struck, and filled with compunction, she threw herself at his\nfeet, and sobbing confessed her evil design. So he bade her go and sin\nno more, and the woman was converted from her evil life, and she went\nand lived the rest of her days in the exercise of penitence.\n\nNow, after this, James was of good confidence that he had completely\nmastered the lust of the flesh, and he was less on his guard against the\nwiles of Satan than before. And people saw his maimed hand, and they\npraised his great continence, so his heart was lifted up within him, and\nhe was filled with spiritual pride. After many years, when he was over\nsixty, there came to his cell a father bringing his daughter, a very\nbeautiful girl, who was possessed with an evil spirit, and he besought\nthe pious hermit to cast forth the demon. And when he had prayed, the\nevil spirit went out of her, but left her almost inanimate. Then the\nfather, thinking her too much exhausted to be at once removed, or\nfearing another access of her disorder, left her in the cell of the\nGod-fearing recluse. And when she was there some days, and he saw her\nbeauty, he was overcome with a violent passion of love, and he lost all\ncontrol over himself, and forgot God, and deceived the unfortunate girl,\nand in madness he savagely murdered her, and threw the body into a\nriver.\n\nAnd now, as the sun set on that day of passion and crime, and the dark\nnight settled down on the wilderness, the horror of remorse came upon\nhim, and he writhed in his cave in an agony of shame and despair, lying\nwith his face on the ground. Then, at last, haggard and hopeless, he\nrushed forth, resolving to confess his crime and then to return into the\nworld, as one unworthy to aspire to a close walk with God. And when he\nhad come to the nearest monastery, he called the monks together, and\ncasting himself at their feet, sobbed forth his story of shame. The good\nbrothers raised him, and mingled their tears with his, and prayed God to\nhave mercy on the poor sinner, and to pluck him as a brand from the\nburning. After that, finding no rest, he went forth, and lighted, as\nevening fell, on an old hermit sitting in his cave, who offered him a\nlodging, and spread for him such food as he had to offer. But James\nwould eat nothing. Then the hermit said, \"Dear Christian brother, give\nme some good advice, how I may escape evil thoughts.\" And when James\nheard that, he uttered a piercing cry, staggered to his feet and fell on\nthe ground, burying his face in his hands. He told all his sin to the\nhermit, and said that now he was about to return into the world, being\nunworthy to wear the habit of a monk, and live a life demanding such\nholiness. \"When I was young, then I controlled my passions, now that I\nam old, my passions have conquered me. I cannot raise my eyes,\" he said;\n\"I despair of salvation. I cannot name the Saving Name; fire will fall\nfrom heaven to consume me, I am lost!\"\n\nThen the good old hermit cast his arms round his neck and kissed him,\nand said, \"Brother, despair not of God's forbearance, but believe that\nthere is a place for repentance. A broken and a contrite heart God will\nnot despise. Great is God's mercy, ever following us, therefore despair\nnot, brother!\"\n\nHe ceased not from speaking, till the black cloud of despair was rolled\naway, and the fallen monk had the courage to hope. Then he led him on\nhis way for many miles, earnestly dissuading him from going into the\nworld; and so they parted, with many tears.\n\nSo James sought out a doleful cave which had been used as an old\nsepulchre, and he hid himself there, and spent in it ten years,\nbewailing his crime, only opening the door twice in the week, to collect\na few olives on which to sustain life, and esteeming himself viler than\nthe dust. And when ten years were accomplished, he felt that God was\nabout to call him, therefore he went to the nearest city, and to the\nBishop there, and besought him, when he was dead, to bury him in the old\nsepulchre in which he had undergone his penance, and in the soil he had\nmoistened with his many tears. After that he returned to his cave, and\nthere died, at the age of seventy-five.\n\n\nS. PAULINUS, PATR. OF AQUILEIA.\n\n(A.D. 804.)\n\n [S. Paulinus died on Jan. 11th, but his festival is observed on\n Jan. 28th. Authorities: various histories of his time, and the\n writings of himself and Alcuin.]\n\nS. Paulinus, born about 726, was one of the most illustrious of the\npatriarchs who sat in the throne of Aquileia, which he ascended, about\nthe year 776. He assisted at the council of Aix-la-Chapelle in 782, of\nRatisbon in 792, and of Frankfort in 794; and he held one himself, at\nFriuli, in 791 or 796. He combated a form of Nestorianism propagated by\nFelix, Bishop of Urgel, and Elipandus, Bishop of Toledo, with such\nsuccess that their heresy made no headway in the West. In 802, S.\nPaulinus assembled a council at Altino. He died on the 11th Jan., 804.\n\n [Illustration: CHARLEMAGNE AND S. LOUIS.\n After a Picture in the Palais de Justice, Paris,\n wrongly attributed to Van Eyck.\n Jan. 28.]\n\n\nB. CHARLEMAGNE, EMP.\n\n(A.D. 814.)\n\n [Inserted in many French, German, and Belgian Martyrologies. He was\n canonized by the Anti-pope Paschal III. The life of this emperor,\n written by his secretary Eginhart, together with the numerous\n historical accounts of his transactions, supply abundant material\n for his life.]\n\nThe public life of the Emperor Charlemagne belongs to the domain of\nsecular history, rather than to hagiology. We shall confine ourselves,\nin this notice, to those acts which have obtained for him a place in the\nKalendar of the Church.\n\nCharlemagne, son of King Pepin, was born in 742, and was crowned king of\nFrance in 768. In the early years of his reign he was guilty of grave\nmoral faults, which he deeply deplored in his after life. He comes\nbefore us as a man penetrated with a strong sense of religious\nresponsibility, and of faith in the divine mission of the Church. In the\nmidst of his wars, the spread of the true faith, and the advancement of\nlearning, were never absent from his mind. He was zealous in reforming\nthe monasteries, and for the sake of uniformity, he introduced into them\nthe rule of S. Benedict. For the discipline of the clergy, he procured\nthe convention of many synods, in which were drawn up his famous\nCapitulars. He meditated assiduously on the Scriptures, assisted at the\ndivine office, even that of midnight, if possible; had good books read\nto him at table, and took but one meal a day. He died at the age of\nseventy-two, at Aix-la-Chapelle, in 814, and was there buried. His tomb\nwas opened in 1165. The body was found, not reclining in his coffin, as\nis the usual fashion of the dead, but seated on his throne as one alive,\nclothed in the imperial robes, bearing the sceptre in his hand, and on\nhis knees a copy of the Gospels. On his fleshless brow was the crown,\nthe imperial mantle covered his shoulders, the sword Joyeuse was by his\nside, and the pilgrim's pouch, which he had borne always while living,\nwas still fastened to his girdle. His skull and throne and hunting\nhorn are preserved in the sacristy at Aix.\n\n [Illustration: Baptism of Vanquished Saxons by command of Charlemagne.\n From a Miniature of the 15th Century in the Burgundy\n Library at Brussels.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[128] \"That Cyril had any share in this atrocity,\" says Canon\nRobertson, i. 401, \"appears to be an unsupported calumny.\"\n\n[129] Decline and Fall, Ed. Bohn, i. p. 348.\n\n[130] See p. 406.\n\n[131] Chiefly from Bright's Church History.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 29.\n\n S. VALERIUS, _B. of Tr\u00e8ves, end of 1st. cent._\n S. CONSTANTIUS, _B.M. at Perugia, between_ A.D. 161-8.\n SS. SABINIAN, _M._, AND SABINA, V., _at Troyes, in France, circ._\n A.D. 275.\n SS. PAPIAS AND MAURUS, _MM., at Rome, circ._ A.D. 303.\n S. GILDAS THE WISE, _Ab. in Brittany, 6th cent._\n S. SULPICIUS SEVERUS, _B. of Bourges_, A.D. 591.\n S. BACULUS, _B. of Sorrento, circ._ A.D. 679.\n S. PETER THOMASIUS, _Latin Patr. of Constantinople_, A.D. 1366.\n S. FRANCIS OF SALES, _B. of Geneva_, A.D. 1622.\n\n\nS. VALERIUS, B. OF TREVES.\n\n(END OF 1ST CENT.)\n\n [There are many Saints of this name. This S. Valerius appears in\n very many of the most ancient Martyrologies. His Acts, together\n with those of SS. Eucher and Maternus, his companions, was written\n by a certain Goldscher, of uncertain date, but ancient; for it is\n quoted by Heriger, Ab. Lobie, who died 1007. Goldscher says that he\n collected the accounts he found of Valerius and his companions from\n various ancient chronicles.]\n\nEucher, Valerius, and Maternus, according to legend wholly unreliable,\nwere three disciples of S. Peter, and were sent by him to preach the\nGospel in Gaul. The first was consecrated by him bishop, the second,\ndeacon, and Maternus, sub-deacon. S. Eucher fixed his see at Tr\u00e8ves,\nthen an important city. After his death Valerius was elevated to the\nepiscopate, and preached the word of God with so much zeal, that many\nwere added to the Church. On his death, he was succeeded by S. Maternus.\n\n\nSS. SABINIAN, M., AND SABINA, V.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 275.)\n\n [Commemorated in some churches on Jan. 25th, in others on Jan.\n 29th, June 8th, Aug. 29th, Sept. 5th; sometimes together, and\n sometimes severally. Authorities: two ancient lives of S. Sabinian,\n and one of S. Sabina, published by Bollandus.]\n\nSS. Sabinian and Sabina were brother and sister, natives of Samos.\nSabinian's soul having been touched by Christian teaching, he left his\nnative island, and coming to Gaul reached Troyes, where he fell in with\nChristians, and he was there baptized in the river Seine. It is said\nthat his staff, which he had driven into the bank, as he went down into\nthe water, on his return put forth leaves and flowered.\n\nIn the reign of Aurelian he was brought before the emperor, then at\nVienne in Gaul, and was cruelly tormented, by being seated on a heated\nbench of iron, and a red-hot helmet was placed on his head. He was\nafterwards executed with the sword. His sister Sabina, who had followed\nhim, arrived at Troyes after his martyrdom. She was there baptized,\nspent a holy life, and died a virgin.\n\n\nS. GILDAS THE WISE, AB., IN BRITTANY.\n\n(6TH CENT.)\n\n [There are said to have been several British saints of this name.\n But that commemorated on this day is the famous author, whose\n writings are extant. It is probable that Gildas, having been born\n in Scotland, bred in Wales, and a monastic founder in Brittany, has\n been divided into three, and some of the incidents have attached\n themselves to S. Gildas the Scotchman, others to S. Gildas the\n Welshman, and others again to him of Brittany. Yet these are all\n easily reducible into a consecutive history, and belong, in fact,\n to one man. His life was written by Caradoc of Llancarvan, about\n 1150; another life is by an anonymous monk of Rhys.]\n\nS. Gildas, surnamed the Wise, was born in North-Britain near the Clyde,\nin the kingdom of which Dumbarton was the capital. His father was of\nprincely birth; his eldest son, Howel, was a great warrior, who,\nsucceeding his father in the principality, was slain by King Arthur.\nMailoc, another son, was brought up to the religious life. Two other\nbrothers, and their sister, Peteona, in like manner left the world, and\nchoosing a retired place in the furthest extremity of that country,\nbuilt themselves separate oratories, where, by watching, fasting, and\nfervent prayer, they continually strove to reach their heavenly country.\nAs to Gildas, we learn from his own writings, that he was born in the\nyear of the famous victory, gained (as some say, by Ambrose; or, as\nothers say, by Arthur,) over the Saxons at Mount Badon, near Bath, about\nA.D. 520. He was, when a child, committed by his parents to the care of\nS. Iltut, who brought him up in his monastery of Llan-Iltut in\nGlamorganshire, instructing him in the divine Scriptures, and in the\nliberal arts. These divine meditations wonderfully increased his faith\nand love of heavenly things, and influenced in such a manner the whole\nconduct of his life, that from his very youth he attained to great\nperfection and was favoured with the gift of miracles. From S. Iltut's\nschool, where he had for companions S. Samson and S. Paul of Leon, both\nof whom were afterwards illustrious prelates, he went over into Ireland,\nfor his further improvement in virtue and learning, among the disciples\nof S. Patrick. There he frequented the most celebrated masters of divine\nand human learning; and like the industrious bee, gathered honey from\nevery flower--the honey of virtue and of knowledge. In the meantime, he\nfailed not to chastise his body and bring it into subjection, lest, with\nall his learning and preaching to others, he himself might become a\ncast-away. Therefore he fasted much, and often watched whole nights,\nemploying that silent time in prayer.\n\nAfter Gildas was ordained priest, he preached the Gospel in the northern\nparts of Britain; where a great part of the inhabitants were heathen,\nand those calling themselves Christians were infected with the Pelagian\nheresy. God blessed his labours there with such success, that great\nnumbers of heathen and heretics were by his means converted to Christ;\nand many miracles were wrought through him in the cure of the sick, in\nconfirmation of his doctrine. The reputation of his success having\nreached Ireland, the king, Ainmeric, invited him over. Gildas accepted\nthe call, and there, by his preaching and miracles, he mightily advanced\nthe kingdom of God. He built churches and monasteries, established\nChristian discipline, regulated the liturgy, taught for some time in the\nfamous school of Armagh, and was, in a word, another S. Patrick to that\nnation, by which he has been ever since gratefully honoured among their\nmost illustrious Saints.\n\nAfter these things, leaving Ireland and Britain, he sailed over into\nArmorica or Brittany, and there founded the monastery of Rhys. But as he\nwas desirous of solitude and undisturbed contemplation, he made himself\nan oratory, at some distance from that monastery, under a rock upon the\nbank of the river Blavet, where he devoted his solitary hours to\nprayer.[132] The exact date of his death is uncertain.\n\n\nS. SULPICIUS SEVERUS, B. OF BOURGES.\n\n(A.D. 591.)\n\n [There is great confusion caused by there having been so many\n archbishops of this name. There was a Sulpicius the Pious,\n Archbishop of Bourges about 644; commemorated on Jan. 17th. There\n was also Sulpicius Severus, the disciple of S. Martin, whose life\n Butler gives on this day, and who is the famous historian, but\n there seems to be no authority for numbering him with the Saints.\n Butler also says that there were four Sulpicii, Archbishops of\n Bourges, but this seems to be a mistake, for Bollandus gives only\n two, Sulpicius the Pious and Sulpicius Severus.]\n\nLittle of the acts of this Saint is known, and he is here mentioned\nsolely to enable the reader to distinguish the Saint of this name from\nthe historian, and also from his successor Sulpicius the Pious.\n\n\nS. FRANCIS OF SALES, B.C. OF GENEVA.\n\n(A.D. 1622.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Beatified, A.D. 1661, canonized, A.D. 1665.\n Jan. 29th, is the day of the translation of his body to Annecy; he\n died on Holy Innocents' Day. Authorities: authentic lives by his\n nephew, Charles Augustus de Sales, also by F. Goulu, general of the\n Feuillans, also by Henry de Maupas du Tour, Bishop of Puys, and\n afterward of Evreux; also by Madame de Bussi-Rabutin, nun of the\n Visitation; also anecdotes of him collected by his friend Camus,\n Bishop of Belley; and finally, his own writings.[133]]\n\nS. Francis of Sales was the eldest son of one of the principal nobles of\nSavoy,--John, Lord of Sales, of Boisy, of Balleyson, and of Ville-Roget,\nusually styled by the second of these titles. His mother Frances,\ndaughter of the Lord of La Thuille and of Vallieres, came of no less\nnoble stock. He had many brothers and sisters, of whom Louis, Lord of La\nThuille, was the father of Charles Augustus, the pious biographer of the\nSaint. Francis was born, Aug. 21st, 1567.\n\nHe was sent in early childhood to the college of Annecy, where he was\ntrained in all the accomplishments which in those days were considered\nessential to the rank of a young noble. He was five years at the college\nof Annecy. At the age of eleven, he entreated permission of his father\nto take the tonsure, having at that early age decided to adopt the\necclesiastical life. M. de Boisy by no means desired this, for his\nambition was, that his eldest son should succeed him as the head of the\nfamily, and distinguish himself in political life; but, with that sort\nof management which men of great experience often prefer to violent\nmeasures, he permitted him to do as he pleased. The old lord knew that\nthe tonsure did not bind his son finally to become an ecclesiastic; and\nhe depended on the changes to which a young man's mind is subject, to\ndissipate this predilection.\n\nIn 1580, he was sent to pursue his studies in the University of Paris.\nAt Paris one of the most critical events of his life took place, a\nterrible temptation to despair, which came on suddenly, and lasted for a\nconsiderable time, but from which he was released in a wonderful manner.\nHe was about the age of seventeen, when the idea took possession of his\nmind, that he was not in a state of grace, and that the face of God was\nturned away from him. In his agony of mental distress he prayed, \"Lord\nif I may not see Thee hereafter, yet, oh grant, that I may never\nblaspheme Thee!\" He seems, if it were possible, to have suffered the\nvery anguish of hell, without the loss of the love of God. During the\nsix weeks this shadow lay upon him, he could hardly eat or sleep, he\nwasted to a skeleton and his friends became greatly alarmed for his\nhealth. At length, this great cross disappeared as suddenly as it came.\nHe one day entered the church of S. Etienne des Gr\u00e9s and knelt down\nbefore an image of the Blessed Virgin. His eye was caught by a tablet on\nthe wall, on which was inscribed the famous prayer of S. Bernard, called\nthe _Memorare_. He repeated it with great emotion; and implored that,\nthrough the intercession of Mary, it might please God to restore his\npeace of mind. He also made a vow of perpetual chastity. The dark\nthoughts which had brooded over his soul for many weeks now sped away,\nand the sun of God's favour shone on it and warmed it once more. He came\nout of the church in that sweet and profound calmness of mind which he\nnever afterwards lost. Considering what he was to become in after life,\nthe guide and comforter of such a multitude of souls, it was necessary,\nin order to give him his tender overflowing sympathy, that he should\nhave sounded the most unusual depths of human agony.\n\nAfter having spent five years at Paris, he was sent to finish his\neducation at the university of Padua, and there he remained till he was\ntwenty-four years of age, when, in 1591, he took his degree of doctor of\nlaws. Soon after his return home, his father sent him to Chamb\u00e9ry, to\ntake the office of senator in the court, and the young Francis took the\nopportunity of conferring with the Bishop on the steps which it would be\nmost advisable for him to take, in order to ensure the consent of his\nfamily to his embracing the ecclesiastical state, on which his heart had\nlong been set. The Bishop advised him to wait a little, before declaring\nthis intention; and, in the mean time he obtained a bull from Rome\nauthorizing the appointment of Francis to the deanery of the cathedral,\nknowing that the attainment of this dignity would soften the feelings of\nthe family towards the purposed steps. The hopes of Francis, however,\nseemed destined to be frustrated altogether by the extreme anxiety of\nhis father, both that he should accept the post offered him, and also\nthat he should marry a rich, amiable, and beautiful girl, the daughter\nof one of their oldest friends. But Francis, to the surprise and despair\nof his parents, refused both offers. Not long after, the suspense\nbecoming intolerable to him, and his vocation day by day stronger, he\nresolved to reveal the cause to his father and mother, and taking with\nhim his cousin, Louis of Sales, he implored their consent to his\nbecoming a priest. M. de Boisy was stupified at his son's proposal,\nwhich took him completely by surprise, and at first flatly refused his\nconsent. But after combating the resolution of Francis for a long time,\nhe yielded to the entreaties of his wife, who warned him that, should he\noppose so decided a vocation, it would be refusing him permission to\nfollow the voice of God. Armed with his father's consent and blessing,\nFrancis lost no time in hastening back to the Bishop of Geneva, from\nwhom he received minor orders on June 8th, 1593. The Bishop, who had the\nhighest opinion of his power, told him that he expected him to preach on\nthe following Thursday, which was the Feast of Corpus Christi. When the\nmorning came, Francis was seized with a sudden panic, and he cast\nhimself on his bed when the bells were ringing for service. But,\novercoming his bashfulness, he rose and went to the cathedral, where he\npreached on the Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist, a sermon which\nflowed from a heart which had long loved and adored that Presence. The\nBishop was much moved by this discourse, and three leading Calvinist\ngentlemen who had come out of sheer curiosity to hear the new preacher\nwere convinced, and shortly after were received into the Church of God.\n\nOn the 18th December of the same year, Francis was promoted to priests'\norders, on which occasion his ecstatic devotion amazed the assistants.\n\nAt this time the Bishop received an appeal from the Duke of Savoy to\nsend missionaries into the Chablais. This is a portion of Savoy to the\nsouth of the lake of Geneva, which had been forced into heresy by the\ncanton of Berne in Switzerland. The circumstances were as follows.\nDuring the wars between the canton of Berne, supporting insurgent Geneva\nagainst the Duke of Savoy, Charles III, who was thus engaged in war with\nFrancis I., King of France, the troops of Berne had invaded the province\nof Chablais, and has wrested it from him. Not content with this\nusurpation, the senate of Berne determined to undermine the Catholic\nreligion in this canton, and for this purpose divided the conquered\nprovince into townships, of which the principal was fixed at Thonon, on\nthe borders of the lake. There were two large churches in the town,\nthose of S. Hippolytus, and S. Augustine. The authorities of Berne drove\nout the Catholic clergy, and sent two violent reformers, Farel and\nLambertet to preach during Lent in 1536, and try to prevail on the\npeople to disbelieve the majority of those truths which the Church had\ntaught them. This they accordingly did, but when Lambertet began to\npreach in the pulpit of the church of S. Hippolytus, a scene of\nconfusion ensued; he was absolutely refused a hearing, and one of the\ncitizens forced him to come down from the pulpit. The government of\nBerne, to punish this tumult, sent six commissioners, who, on the 4th of\nJune, destroyed and defaced the sacred images, burnt the crosses,\nforbade the exercise of the Catholic religion, and drove away all the\npriests and religious; and by edict forbade the exercise of any Catholic\nrite under a penalty of ten florins for each offence. In a few years, to\nall intents and purposes, Catholicism was banished from the land.\nFifty-seven years had passed, and by means of rigid suppression of\nCatholicism, the people had grown up in heresy or total unbelief. Now,\nthe Chablais was returned to the Duke of Savoy, and he wrote to the\nBishop of Geneva, entreating him to send some holy priest to Thonon to\ninaugurate the work of leading the people out of the darkness of error\ninto the clear light of the Gospel of Christ. The Bishop sent a virtuous\npriest, but the following year the castle of Thonon was betrayed and\ndestroyed by the Bernese troops, and the poor priest, fearing for his\nlife, and utterly despairing of effecting any conversions among the\nProtestants, quitted his post, and returned to report his failure to the\nBishop at Annecy. But the Duke, no way disheartened by this state of\nthings, rebuilt and fortified the castle of Allinges not far from\nThonon, placed it in a garrison, and wrote again to the Bishop,\nimploring for fresh workers in the neglected spiritual vineyard.\n\nThe Bishop summoned a meeting of the Cathedral Chapter, and made a\nmoving discourse before them on the subject of the Duke's letter, which\nhe first read to the assembly. A profound and chilling silence followed\nthe Bishop's appeal, but all turned to look at the young dean, whose\nface seemed radiant with joy and emotion. He rose, and said simply and\nearnestly, \"My Lord, if you think me capable and worthy of this mission,\nI undertake it with joy. At thy word will I let down my net!\" The Bishop\ngratefully accepted the generous offer, and prepared to do all for\nFrancis that lay in his power to ensure his success.\n\nFar different, however, was the scene in the castle of Sales, when the\nfatal news became known. M. de Boisy flew to Annecy, and overwhelmed\nFrancis with entreaties and reproaches. \"Wist ye not that I must be\nabout my Father's business,\" was the reply of the Saint; then throwing\nhimself at his father's feet, he besought his consent and his blessing.\nM. de Boisy replied, \"As to consenting to this mad undertaking, I cannot\ndo it. It is of no use asking me;\" and so saying, the poor old man left\nthe palace, and returned in tears to his castle, there to be soothed,\nbut not consoled, by the stronger faith of his wife.\n\n [Illustration: Fran\u00e7ois de Sales Euesque et Prince de Geneue]\n\nOn Sept. 9th, 1594, Francis, accompanied by his cousin, Louis, started\non his evangelical mission. It was necessary to pass by the castle of\nSales, when Frances had a fresh battle to fight with his family. \"The\nCh\u00e2teau of Sales,\" writes a contemporary of our Saint, \"was at that time\none of the most beautiful in Savoy, situated at the foot of mount\nFerreo, and surrounded with lovely gardens and shrubberies. A fountain\nin the centre, and a lake on one side, added to its charms.\" Yet all\nthis Francis seems to have left without a thought or even a regret.\nDuring their visit, the cousins determined to spend a couple of days in\nretreat. The evening of the second day, Francis went to take leave of\nhis mother. Her conduct throughout had been admirable. This terrible\nparting over, Francis went back to the chapel, where, as a child, he had\nso often knelt with that tender mother before the altar and repeated,\nevening after evening, his childish prayers, and there the noble\nsacrifice of his whole future life to God was consummated and accepted.\nHis natural sorrow quenched in the Sacred Presence, Francis spent the\nrest of the night in prayer, for the success of his mission; and the\nnext morning the cousins started at break of day, avoiding all further\nleave-takings; and without either servants or provisions; his father\nhaving expressly forbidden any assistance being given to them, hoping\nthereby to disgust them of their enterprise. So, in poverty, S. Francis\nleft his ancestral home. Nine years afterwards, writing to the Pope, he\nsays, \"On arriving in the Chablais, nothing but heart-breaking sights\nmet our eyes. Out of sixty-five parishes, excepting a few officers of\nthe Duke's garrisons, there were scarcely fifty Catholics. The churches\nwere desecrated or destroyed, and the cross everywhere broken down.\"\n\nIt would be impossible to give an idea of the fury of the Protestants of\nThonon when they heard of the mission of the two cousins. The news flew\nto Geneva, where a public meeting was instantly held to declare that any\none was at liberty to take the lives of the two Papists who had dared to\nundertake the mission; some of the Protestants present went so far as to\nswear that they themselves would be their assassins. M. de Boisy was\nalarmed when news reached him that the life of his son was menaced, and\nhe sent his old and faithful servant, George Roland, with positive\norders to bring Francis back; but the Saint was not to be moved; he,\nhowever, persuaded his cousin, Louis, to go back for a short while, in\norder to calm the anxiety of his family, whilst he himself remained to\nprosecute his great work. Louis obeyed, but soon returned, and the two\nearnest missioners laboured indefatigably together to advance the\nGospel. Francis went on foot among the villages, his stick, his\nbreviary, and his Bible being his sole companions; Louis being sent into\nother parts of the province.\n\nOne night, on the 12th December, being on an expedition of this kind,\nnight came on suddenly; the earth was covered with snow, and he found\nhimself alone in a large wood infested with wolves. Afraid of being\ndevoured, he climbed up into a tree to pass the night; and then, lest he\nshould fall asleep and drop from the branch, he tied himself with his\nleathern girdle to the stem. The next morning some peasants from a\nneighbouring village found him there, nearly frozen with cold, and\nunable to move. They carried him to their home, gently chafed his numbed\nlimbs, and brought him back to warmth and consciousness. Their charity\nwas not without its reward, for the Saint profited by the occasion to\nspeak to them on things concerning their eternal salvation. His gentle,\nloving voice and manner effected even more than his words, and the zeal\nhe had shown in braving every kind of peril and suffering for the sake\nof bringing back a few stray sheep to the fold, spoke more forcibly to\ntheir hearts than a thousand sermons. These poor peasants were moved and\ntouched, and S. Francis numbered them among his first converts. M. de\nBoisy sent George Roland back to Francis at the beginning of the year\n1595, and to the records of this faithful servant, who from that hour\nnever left him, we are mainly indebted for the details of the most\ninteresting personal adventures which befell the Saint. But God Himself\ninterposed on several occasions to save His servant from dangers of\nwhich even George Roland knew nothing. There was one bigoted Protestant,\nwho in the height of fanatical fury, swore that he would murder Francis\nand carry his head to Geneva. This man was afterwards converted, and\ndeclared on oath that he had thrice waylaid the Saint to accomplish\nhis purpose, and that each time his gun missed fire, and that he had\nposted various other persons to kill him, but on each occasion God had\nrendered His apostle invisible. The instigator of this diabolical design\nwas at last touched by the wonderful way in which providence shielded\nFrancis from harm; he abjured his heresy, and became afterwards one of\nthe Saint's most devoted followers.\n\nAt the beginning of the year 1595, Francis began a short, clear, and\nsimple exposition of Catholic doctrine, written on loose sheets for\ndistribution among Protestants, with an answer to the principal\nobjections raised against the Faith. Every one read and discussed these\nfly-leaves--and the Protestants were beyond measure surprised at the way\nin which all their favourite arguments were disproved, while some among\nthem were equally startled at finding how their prejudices regarding the\nCatholic faith melted away before the sunshine of God's truth.\n\nThe winter, always severe in Savoy, was this year one of unusual rigour.\nThe roads were one sheet of ice, and Francis was obliged to put iron\nclamps on his shoes, in order to prevent himself from slipping. As he\nsuffered terribly from broken chilblains, his heels became in such a\nstate that the blood stained the snow as he walked along, penetrating\nthrough his stockings and gaiters. One night he arrived, with his\ncousin, Louis, at a village where all the doors were closed against him.\nIn vain they knocked and entreated for admission; the inhabitants, who\nhad been prejudiced against them, refused to give them shelter; they\ncrept into the village oven, which was still warm, and there slept.\n\nOn the 17th July, he preached a wonderful sermon at Thonon on the\nmediation of Jesus Christ. He showed his hearers that the Catholic\nChurch, so far from destroying this doctrine, as the Protestant\nasserted, based her whole system upon it. The Calvinist ministers were\nexasperated at the effect of the sermon, and held a public meeting, in\nwhich it was resolved to charge him with sorcery and magic. They even\nsuborned a man to swear that he had seen Francis in communication with\ndevils at a witch's festival. As he was walking through a wood at dusk\nimmediately after this, two men rushed upon him with swords, uttering\nhorrid imprecations. Francis met them with such composure, that they\nwere overcome, and casting themselves at his feet, implored his pardon,\nalleging as their excuse the orders they had received from the\nProtestant clergy. The Saint forgave and blessed them, and pursued his\nroad, unmolested. The Calvinists, more furious than ever, hired a body\nof assassins who came secretly, in the dead of the night to the house in\nwhich he lodged. Francis had not yet gone to bed. He was watching and\npraying in his room, when he heard the tramp of armed men in the street,\nand their whispered consultation at the door. He quietly slipped into a\nsecret chamber, cleverly concealed by a panel in the wall which had been\nprovided in case of any such emergency, and the assassins hunted through\nthe house from garret to cellar without being able to find him. What\npromoted the Catholic faith far more than his sermons, was his daily\nlife of never-failing charity. Madame de Boisy at last brought her\nhusband to see and feel the beauty and reality of the mission in which\ntheir son was engaged. This was an untold relief to Francis; and from\nthat time, father and mother worked together in forwarding to the utmost\nof their power the apostolic labours of their son. They gave shelter in\nthe castle of Sales to such of the converts as were compelled to resort\nto flight in order to escape the fury of the heretics; and it is\nimpossible to exaggerate the tender zeal with which Madame de Boisy\nlooked after their temporal and spiritual wants. The Saint, in the\nmeanwhile, continued without intermission his pastoral work. As he could\nnot carry the Blessed Sacrament publicly through the streets of Thonon\nto the sick, he used to take a Host in a little silver pyx in the shape\nof a triangle, suspended by three little silver chains round his neck,\nand thus bear our Lord on his breast. Then wrapping himself up in a\nlarge cloak, he would walk along very gravely, looking on the ground,\nwithout speaking to any one, or raising his hat. This was the sign he\nhad given to the faithful, who no sooner saw him passing in that manner\nthan they left their occupations and silently followed, though at a\nlittle distance, so as not to excite hostile observation. It was an\nintense joy to him to carry the Blessed Sacrament in that way: his flock\noften remarked that his face on such occasions positively shone with the\nfire of his love. As prudence still forbade the public sacrifice of the\nMass in Thonon, S. Francis used to celebrate it in the little village of\nMarin, on the other side of the river Drance, in the old church of S.\nStephen.\n\nOn one occasion he went to preach in an old parish church near Allinges;\nit was S. Stephen's Day, 1595, and he summoned the inhabitants as usual\nby ringing a bell, but, as it was very bad weather, only seven people\ncame. Some one said to him that it was not worth while his preaching to\nso small an audience. He replied, \"One soul is as precious to me as a\nthousand;\" and he began a most eloquent discourse on the Invocation of\nSaints, of which he explained the doctrine, and refuted the Protestant\nobjections with great clearness. Among his seven hearers was a\nmagistrate of Thonon who had lately joined the Church, but had been\nbeset by the ministers, who had succeeded in shaking his feeble faith.\nAfter the sermon, he threw himself at the feet of S. Francis and\nexclaimed, \"You have saved my soul this day!\" He then declared that he\nhad meditated abjuring his new Catholicism next Thursday; that having\nheard the bell ring, and seen only half-a-dozen poor peasants obey the\nsummons, and come to the church, he had thought that, if S. Francis were\nto preach, it would be a proof that he loved souls, but if he did not\npreach, then he would be convinced that he sought applause. He went on\nto say that the pains taken by S. Francis to explain to those half-dozen\npeasants the doctrine of the Communion of Saints, had cleared away his\ndifficulties, and had convinced him of the grand and unutterable truth\nof the Catholic Church, of which he would ever remain a member. Little\nby little the work advanced; Francis was given three energetic\nassistants; for some time the progress was very small, but the great\nmass of the people were like an avalanche, slowly undermined, to fall in\na body at the foot of the Cross.\n\nIt would exceed our limits to detail the steps by which S. Francis\nadvanced the cause. Let us turn to the crowning of his labour. In 1597,\nhe celebrated the \"Forty Hours\" Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at\nThonon. The churches of S. Augustine and S. Hippolytus had been given up\nto the Catholics, and the Bishop arrived to consecrate them anew, and to\nadminister the Sacraments of Confirmation and Ordination for the first\ntime for sixty-three years. An enormous crowd assembled from all\nquarters. After the Blessed Sacrament had been carried in procession\nthrough the town, it was placed in an oratory erected for the purpose.\nVery soon a crowd came up, consisting of three hundred people,\ninhabitants of Bellevaux, all begging to be admitted into the Church.\nThe inhabitants of S. Cergue arrived next, bearing with them a cross\nwhich had been concealed by them between two walls during the Calvinist\npersecution, and which cross remains in the hamlet to this day. Some of\nthese poor people arrived barefoot bearing other emblems of the Passion\nof our Lord, the spear, the nails, the crown of thorns. Then came the\npeople of Bonneville, with the nobility of the Chablais. One portion of\nthe procession arrived later than the rest, and that was from the\nvillage of Ternier. They had been attacked by the fanatics of Geneva on\ntheir way. During the \"Forty Hours\" of Adoration, prayers, meditations,\ncatechizings, and sermons succeeded each other without intermission. The\npersonal love which all the people felt for S. Francis, together with\nhis tender and touching exhortations, gave an additional impulse to the\ndevotion of the spectators. Whole villages took the opportunity of\nreturning to the faith of their fathers; and when the Exposition was\nover, the Bishop and S. Francis had several hard days' work in receiving\nsuch numberless abjurations and administering to them the rites of\nconditional baptism and confirmation.\n\nOn September 30th, the Duke of Savoy visited Thonon, and the Chablais\nceased to be Protestant. Few heretics now remained, and the Duke ordered\nthem to cross the lake to the land of Vaud, as the Calvinists before had\nexpelled those who would not submit to the abolition of their religion.\nThe spiritual conquest achieved by Francis has been commonly reckoned to\nhave amounted to 72,000 souls.\n\nIn 1599, S. Francis was appointed coadjutor bishop of Geneva. The\ncontinual disputes between France and Savoy were at length adjusted by a\ntreaty contracted at Lyons, by which the latter government yielded to\nthe former the province of Gex to the north of the lake of Geneva,\ncontaining thirty-seven parishes, with about 30,000 inhabitants. S.\nFrancis visited Paris in 1602, and persuaded Henry IV. to re-establish\nthe exercise of the Catholic religion throughout Gex, wherever there\nwere a sufficient number of Catholics; only the king stipulated that\nthis should be done gradually, so as to avoid giving alarm to the\nProtestants.\n\nFrancis now returned to Savoy, where the failing health of the aged\nBishop of Geneva made it necessary for him to be present. Some time\nprevious to his death, he had the consolation of celebrating the jubilee\nat Thonon, by which the history of the conversion of the Chablais was\nwound up. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims of all ranks, in companies\npreceded by cross and banner, poured from all the country round, making\nthe Alpine valleys resound with their pious chants, as they thanked God\nfor having brought them out of darkness into the glorious liberty of the\nchildren of God. More than a hundred confessors were engaged continually\nat the tribunal of penance; and altogether 62,000 communions were made\nin the church of Thonon. On Dec. 8th, 1702, Francis was consecrated\nbishop, and appointed to the see of Geneva, in the parish church of\nThonon.\n\nThe first business which Francis undertook after he was settled at\nAnnecy, the seat of the Bishops of Geneva, after their expulsion by the\nCalvinists from the city of Geneva, was to establish a confraternity of\nChristian Doctrine, and to make catechetical instruction his strongest\npoint. He heard the classes himself every Sunday. A more interesting\nsight there could not be than to behold him, seated in front of the\naltar, teaching the little ones, the girls on one side, and the boys on\nthe other. Twice in the year he made a festival for the children, and\nwent through the city with them processionally, singing Litanies. The\ninfluence of his kindness over them was so great, that he never came\nforth, without the children running out from every nook and corner of\nthe streets to ask his blessing or kiss his robe. When some friends\ncomplained of the troops of them who followed him, he said gently,\n\"Suffer them to come, they are my own dear little people.\"\n\nIn 1603, when he was preaching the Lent course of sermons at Dijon, by\ninvitation of the magistrates, he made the acquaintance of Jane Frances\nof Chantal, in combination with whom he afterwards founded the Order of\nthe Visitation. In 1605 and 1606, he made a general visitation of his\nwhole diocese, undergoing great fatigue, and often danger, in traversing\nthe Alpine districts, which formed the greatest part of it, and\neverywhere preaching, catechizing, and hearing confessions. In 1618,\nFrancis was chosen by the Duke of Savoy to accompany an embassy to Paris\nto negotiate the marriage of his son with the daughter of Henry IV., and\nsister of Louis XIII. The negotiations of the embassy lasted for nearly\na year, during which Francis received incessant invitations to preach,\nwhich he did almost daily; the people never tiring of listening to him.\nThe secret of his power lay in the exquisite charm of divine grace which\nradiated from him. The churches were so crowded, that it more than once\nhappened that a ladder had to be brought for the preacher to enter by\nthe window, the doors being completely blocked up. People ran to gaze at\nhim, or to touch his robe as he passed in the streets. Cardinal de Retz,\nBishop of Paris, had set his heart on having him as his coadjutor, and\noffered him a rich pension, the entire control of his diocese, and the\nappointment of his brother, John Francis, to succeed him at Geneva, if\nhe would consent to come; but all was in vain.\n\nBy degrees the whole of the territory of Gex was catholicized, and\nFrancis had the felicity of continually organizing fresh parishes which\nhad submitted to the Gospel of Christ. Towards the close of 1622, he was\ninvited to attend the Duke of Savoy at Avignon, where he was to meet\nLouis XIII. Francis had a presentiment that this journey would be his\nlast; but he did not think it right to decline the invitation of his\nsovereign. Accordingly he made preparation, with the utmost calmness, as\nif to return no more. He made his will, and gave directions concerning\nhis funeral, which he desired should be modest. On November 8th he bade\nfarewell to his friends and started next day. At Lyons a trifling\nincident happened, which is worth relating, as an example of his sweet\nand gentle demeanour. As he was going on board the boat, the ferryman\nrefused to receive him without his passport. When his attendants were\nangry at the delay, the bishop remarked, \"Let him alone, he knows the\nduties of a boatman; we have forgotten that of a traveller.\" He had to\nwait an hour for the passport in a bitterly cold wind. When at last they\ngot on board, he went and sat by the boatman, observing, \"I wish to make\nfriends with this good man, and to talk to him a little of our Blessed\nLord.\"\n\nAt Avignon he held aloof from all the magnificence which the reunion of\ntwo courts in that splendid age so lavishly displayed, and spent his\ntime in prayer, and in conference with religious persons. On his way\nhome he remained at Lyons, very ill. Nevertheless he said his midnight\nMass on Christmas morning and preached on the day with great fervour. He\nthen heard confessions, and said his third Mass shortly before noon,\nafter which he broke his fast. Then he gave the habit to two novices,\npreached, received a number of visitors, and waited on the Queen Marie\nde Medicis, who was to leave Lyons next day. Yet he was actually a dying\nman when he thus crowded such astonishing exertions into one day. Next\nday, the Feast of S. Stephen, he bade his last farewell to the nuns of\nthe Visitation, the order he had founded. On the following morning he\nconfessed, said Mass, and gave the Holy Communion to the nuns. The\nSuperioress noticed his altered looks. Outside the church he was\ndetained talking to some noblemen. It was cold and foggy, and he felt a\nchill. By the time he got home he was excessively fatigued and ill; but\nhe sat down to write letters, and received several visitors. On their\ndeparture his servant came in, and began to tell him about a sermon he\nhad heard, in which the preacher exhorted the Queen to love her\nservants. Francis said, \"And you, do you love me?\" The good servant\ncould not speak for weeping, seeing how deadly ill he looked. The saint\ncontinued: \"And I, too, love you well; but let us love God above all,\"\nAs he said these words he sank back in a fit. Next day the physicians\nresorted to all the expedients used in the barbarous surgery of the age,\nblisters on the head, the application of a hot iron to the nape of the\nneck, and a red-hot ball pressed on the crown till it burnt to the bone.\nHe gradually sank after these operations, and his lips moving in prayer,\nwhen unable to utter words, those in attendance knelt and recited the\n\"Recommendation for a departing soul,\" during which his gentle spirit\ndeparted to its rest.\n\nThe body, after having been embalmed, was removed to Annecy, and reposes\nin the Church of the Visitation.\n\n [Illustration: Decoration]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[132] He is said to have glazed the east window of his oratory\nwith a pane of an hitherto unheard of size.\n\n[133] The following life is epitomized from Mr. Ormsby's \"Life\nof S. Francis of Sales,\" and \"The Mission of S. Francis of Sales in the\nChablais\" by Lady Herbert. See also Addenda at end of this volume.\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 30.\n\n S. SERENA, _M., at Metz_, A.D. 303.\n S. SABINA OR SAVINA, _W., in the Milanese, beginning 4th cent._\n S. BARSAS, _B.C., of Edessa, circ._ A.D. 371.\n S. FELIX, _Pope_, A.D. 530.\n S. ALDEGUND, _V., at Maubeuge in France, circ._ A.D. 680.\n S. ADELELM, _Ab., Burgos, circ._ A.D. 1100.\n S. HYACINTHA, _V., at Viterbo_, A.D. 1640.\n\n\nS. BARSAS, B.C. OF EDESSA.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 371.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority: Theodoret, Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c.\n 16.]\n\nBarses or Barsas, Bishop of Edessa was banished by the Arian Emperor\nValens to the Isle of Aradus; but when it was found that multitudes\nresorted to him, for he was filled with apostolic gifts, the emperor\nsent him to Oxyrynchus, a city of Egypt But as his fame still attracted\nattention, he was banished to a greater distance; and this old man, \"who\nwas worthy of heaven, was then conveyed to the fortress called Philae,\nsituated on the frontier of the barbarian nations.\"\n\n\nS. ALDEGUND, V.\n\n(A.D. 680.)\n\n [Roman and many ancient Martyrologies; by others on Jan. 27th, or\n Nov. 13th, but these were probably days of translation of relics.\n Authorities; a life by a contemporary quoted in an anonymous life\n compiled from already existing notices; another by one Hugbald, and\n another by a monk of S. Ghislain.]\n\n\n [Illustration: S. ALDEGUND. After Cahier.\n Jan. 30.]\n\nThe blessed Aldegund was the daughter of Waldbert, Count of Hainault.\nHer whole heart was given to Christ whom she chose as her heavenly\nbridegroom. Her parents, moved by her example, renounced the world, and\ndistributed their wealth among the poor. After their death, in the year\n661, Aldegund took the veil, and retired into the forest of Maubeuge\nwhere she built a convent, and became the first abbess. When her fair\nfame was attacked by wicked slanders, so that she suffered agonies of\ngrief, she struggled hard to submit to the hand of God, and at last,\nbowing completely to His will, she desired that He would try her with\never keener sufferings, to perfect her by affliction. She was shortly\nafter attacked with cancer in the breast, from which she died on Jan.\n30th, A.D. 680.\n\n\nS. ADELELM, AB. OF BURGOS.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 1100.)\n\n [Authority: his life by Rudolf the monk, who died 1137. S. Adelelm\n is called also _Elesmo_ or _Elmo_; and is not to be confounded with\n another Adelelm or Elmo, who is only beatified.]\n\nS. Adelelm was a noble of Lyons in France, and served in the army, till\nGod called him to a higher walk, then he renounced the world, and became\na monk in the Abbey of Chaise-Dieu, after a visit to Rome. He was\nordained priest by Ranco, Bishop of the Auvergne, but when he heard that\nthe bishop had been suspended for having simonically obtained the see,\nhe refused to execute the priestly office, till a successor was\nappointed. To see him, Adelelm started one stormy night. The way was\ndark, and the tempest raged with such fury that, but that it was\nnecessary, he would not have started then. However, he took a candle,\nlighted it, and gave it to his comrade, and bade him lead the way.\nNotwithstanding the violence of the gale, the flame burnt steady,\nthough not enclosed in a lantern, and illumined their road. From this,\nthe electric lights seen at mastheads are called by sailors in the\nMediterranean S. Elmo's lights. He was afterwards invited to Spain, and\nhe was chosen abbot of his order in the monastery of Burgos, where he\ndied.\n\n\nS. HYACINTHA, V.\n\n(A.D. 1640.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority: the Bull of her Canonization.]\n\nS. Hyacintha was the daughter of Mark Anthony Mariscotti, Count of\nVignanello, and of Octavia Orsini; she was born in 1588, and received in\nbaptism the name of Clarissa, which she exchanged for that of Hyacintha\non entering the cloister.\n\nIn her earliest childhood she was remarkable for her piety, but as she\ngrew older she became giddy and frivolous. In her 17th year she was, one\nday, playing with the rope of a well at Vignanello, when she slipped\nover the edge, and hung, entangled in the rope, which held her some\nminutes suspended above the horrible pit, till a servant, observing her\nperil, from the castle window, ran to her assistance, and rescued her.\nThe shock of this accident seemed for a while to steady her. She shortly\nafter fell in love, and a marriage was projected, but when, through\nfamily circumstances, it was broken off, Clarissa would hear of nothing\nbut of taking the veil, and burying her broken heart in a convent. Her\nfather refused at first, but yielding at length to her sentimental\nvehemence, which he mistook for real vocation, allowed her to take the\nveil in the convent of S. Bernardine at Viterbo.\n\nIn the convent her heart soon healed, and she became an annoyance to\nthe whole sisterhood by her vanity and frivolity. After ten years, she\nfell ill, and sent for her confessor. He, knowing her character, and\nwearied with her shallowness, sharply rebuked her with, \"Beware,\nHyacintha, heaven is no place for giddy-pates!\" His words startled her,\nand she cried out, \"Am I then lost for ever.\"\n\n\"No,\" he answered, \"not if you seek pardon for your sins of the just and\nmerciful God, with sincere resolution of amendment, and cease to be a\nscandal and worry to the poor sisters of this house, by your emptiness\nand light talk, and worldly ways.\" Bursting into a flood of tears, she\npromised amendment, sent for all the sisters, and humbly asked their\npardon, and prayers. Then she cast herself at her confessor's feet, and\nmade a sincere confession. She now completely changed her life; she\nwould not wear shoes, and only put on the meanest dress. She strove\nmanfully to overcome the purposelessness of her life and the feebleness\nof her will; and as she gradually mastered herself and her vanity, there\nbroke on that soul, so long entangled in a fog of petty cares and\npleasures, the burning sun of the love of Jesus, filling her with\nreality, earnestness, and devotion. In after years her character was\ncompletely the reverse of what it had been, was full of dignity and\nmeekness, and above all, had a _purpose_ in it. In a time of want, she\nfounded two institutions, one for the secret relief of decayed\ngentlefolks, suffering, but too proud to ask alms, or display their\nmisery; the other a hospital for old people. Both societies, known under\nthe name of the Oblates of S. Mary, exist to this day at Viterbo.\n\nThe mercy of God rewarded this poor servant, and she was given singular\nprivileges, a remarkable gift of prayer, and a discernment of spirits,\nthat is, she could read the troubles of hearts. She died in the year\n1640, calling on the sacred names of Jesus and Mary, in the 55th year\nof her age.\n\nShe was beatified by Benedict XIII., in 1726, and canonized by Pius\nVII., on May 24th, 1807.\n\nThis is one of those instances of the love and fore-thought of the\nChurch in holding up to every class of mind and sort of temptation, an\nexample of salvation in it. We have seen her fearlessness in exhibiting\nS. James the hermit to the fallen religious, here she shows to the\nthoughtless and giddy female mind, that for it Jesus thirsts in spite of\nits emptiness, and that for it there is sanctity if it will try to seek\nit.\n\n [Illustration: Virgin in Crescent, after Albert Durer.]\n\n\n\n\nJanuary 31.\n\n S.S. CYRUS, JOHN, ATHANASIA AND OTHERS, _MM. in Egypt_ A.D. 250.\n S. GEMINIAN, _B. of Modena, in Italy_.\n S. JULIUS _P._, AND JULIAN _D._, _at Novara, in Italy, beginning\n of 5th cent._\n S. MARCELLA, _W., at Rome_, A.D. 410.\n S. PATROCLUS, _B.M. in France_.\n S. GAUD, _B., of Evreux in Normandy, circ._ A.D. 531.\n S. AIDAN OR MAIDOC, _B., of Ferns, in Ireland, beginning of\n 7th cent._\n S. ADAMNAN, _P., of Coldingham, end of 7th cent._\n S. ULPHIA, _V., at Amiens, 8th cent._\n S. ATHANASIUS, _B., of Methone in the Peloponesus, 9th cent._\n S. EUSEBIUS, _Monk of S. Gall in Switzerland_, A.D. 884.\n S. MARTIN, _P., of Soure near Coimbra, in Portugal_, A.D. 1147.\n S. SERAPION, _M., among the Moors_, A.D. 1240.\n S. PETER NOLASCO, _C., in Spain_, A.D. 1256.\n\n\nS.S. CYRUS, JOHN AND OTHERS, MM., IN EGYPT.\n\n(A.D. 250.)\n\n [Commemorated by Greeks, Latins, and Copts on the same day.\n Authority: ancient Greek Acts.]\n\nCyrus, a physician of Alexandria, who, by the opportunities which his\nprofession gave him, had converted many sick persons to the faith; and\nJohn, an Arabian, hearing that a lady, called Athanasia, and her three\ndaughters, Theodosia, Theoctista and Eudoxia, of whom the eldest was\nonly fifteen years of age, had suffered torments at Canope in Egypt for\nthe name of Christ, went thither to console them. They were themselves\napprehended and cruelly beaten; their sides were burnt with torches, and\nsalt and vinegar were poured into their wounds in the presence of\nAnastasia and her daughters, who were also tortured after them. At\nlength the four ladies, and a few days after, Cyrus and John, were\nbeheaded, the two latter on this day.\n\n\nS. MARCELLA, W.\n\n(A.D. 410.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority: the Letters of S. Jerome.]\n\nMarcella, a young widow, whose name alone is enough to recall the best\ndays of the Roman republic, and whose rare beauty, enhanced by the long\nand illustrious line of her ancestors, drew around her numerous suitors,\nrejected the suit of Cerealtis, the consul, and resolved to imitate the\nlives of the ascetics of the East. Afterwards, when S. Jerome came to\nRome to renew the instructions and narratives of those holy men by\nadding to them the living commentary of his own life, Marcella, with her\nmother Albinia, and her sister Asella, placed herself at the head of\nthat select number of illustrious matrons who took him as their guide\nand oracle. She astonished the holy doctor by her knowledge of the\nDivine Scriptures; she fatigued him by her thirst always to know more of\nthem than he could teach her; she made him afraid to find in her a judge\nrather than a disciple. In her palace on Mount Aventine, she collected,\nunder the presidency of Jerome, the most pious among the noble ladies,\nfor mutual strength and enlightenment. After having thus first given to\nRome the true model of a Christian widow, she passed the last thirty\nyears of her life in her suburban villa transformed into a monastery.\nThe Goths under Alaric plundered Rome in 410. S. Marcella was scourged\nby them to deliver up her treasures, which however she had long before\ndistributed among the poor. All the while she was in anguish of soul for\nher dear spiritual child Principia, and falling at the feet of the cruel\nsoldiers, she tearfully implored them to spare her insult. They\nconducted them both to the Church of S. Paul, to which Alaric had\ngranted the right of sanctuary, and suffered the beautiful young nun\nPrincipia to remain unmolested. S. Marcella did not survive this long,\nbut died peacefully in the arms of Principia, about the end of August,\n410, but her name occurs in the Roman Martyrology on Jan. 31st.\n\n [Illustration: S. MARCELLA.\n After an Engraving of the Seventeenth Century.\n Jan. 31.]\n\n\nS. AIDAN OR MAIDOC, B., OF FERNS.\n\n(ABOUT A.D. 632.)\n\n [S. Aidan of Ferns is not to be confounded with the illustrious S.\n Aidan of Lindisfarne, the apostle of Northumbria, who is\n commemorated on Aug. 31st. The name seems to have been a very\n common one in Ireland, for Colgan asserts that there are in the\n ancient Irish Martyrologies as many as thirty-five Saints of this\n name. Authority: an ancient life from Kilkenny, but certainly not\n more ancient than the 12th cent.]\n\nS. Maidoc or Aidan was the son of Setna, a noble of Connaught, by his\nwife Edna; who, having for a long time no heir, sought that blessing\nfrom God by alms-deeds and prayers; which was at last granted. This\nchild of prayer was born in the island called Innis-Breagh-muigh, in a\nlake in the diocese of Kilmore, and from his childhood declined evil and\nfollowed that which is good. After having learnt the first rudiments of\npiety in his own country, he left home, and sailed into Britain, to\nplace himself under the discipline of the great S. David of Menevia.\nWith that holy man he remained many years, and was one of his favourite\ndisciples. A remarkable instance of his prompt obedience is related.\nBeing called by a superior from reading his book in the field near the\nmonastery, to follow a pair of oxen at the plough, he made such haste to\nobey, that he left his book open in the field, a heavy shower of rain\nfell, but when he recovered the book it was not wet. S. David had seen\nhim leave the volume open before the rain fell, and calling him to him,\nbade him prostrate himself as a punishment for having, as he supposed,\nby his carelessness, spoiled a valuable book. S. Maidoc at once obeyed,\nand S. David went about his work and forgat him. After some hours, when\nthe office was being said, he observed that Maidoc was not present. Then\nhe sent in quest of him, and he was found prostrate on the sea shore,\nwhere his master had bidden him lie, and he had not risen, because S.\nDavid had not removed his penance.\n\nAt length, with the blessing of his master, taking with him other\nreligious of Menevia, he returned to Ireland, where he founded many\nchurches and monasteries; of which the chief was Ferns to which he was\nconsecrated first Bishop. The prodigies related of him, are like so many\nin the lives of the Irish Saints, quite incredible, as for instance, his\nhaving driven to Rome and back in twenty-four hours, his having fed six\nwolves with six sheep and then restored the sheep whole; his having\nbrought a sea-cow out of the ocean to draw his plough, and having\nreturned from a visit to S. David in Wales on the back of a sea-monster;\nhis having called his bell, which he had left behind him Wales, and it\ncame over the waves with promptitude.\n\nAll these are fables, which accumulated in process of time about the\nlives of the Irish Saints, before they were committed to writing.\n\n\nS. ULPHIA V.\n\n(8TH CENT.)\n\n [From the life of S. Domitius, October 23rd; and from an ancient\n life of the Saint.]\n\n [Illustration: S. ULPHIA. From Cahier.\n Jan 31.]\n\nThe blessed Ulphia was the daughter of noble parents in Gaul, she was\nsingularly beautiful in face and graceful in person; consequently she\nwas sought by many suitors, but, with her father's consent she vowed to\nobserve perpetual chastity. At the age of twenty-five she received the\nveil from the hands of the Bishop of Amiens, and then she retired to S.\nAcheuil at some little distance from the city, where she ministered to\nS. Domitius, an aged hermit and canon of Amiens. The old man was wont to\nknock at the door of her little hut as he passed on his way to matins,\nand she rose and accompanied him. Now the place was marshy and many\nfrogs inhabited the pools. One night they sang so shrilly that Ulphia\ncould not sleep, but tossed on her couch, and drew her serge-habit about\nher ears, without being able to stop their voices from penetrating her\nbrain and keeping her awake. After many hours she fell asleep. Shortly\nafter, Domitius came by and rapped with his stick at the door. There was\nno answer, so he called, \"Ulphia, my child, get up!\" Then he rapped\nlouder than before. Still there was no answer, so he called, \"Ulphia, my\nchild, the second watch of the night is past.\" As he received no answer,\nhe supposed she had gone on before. But when he reached the church, he\nlooked round, and he saw her not. And when matins was over, he returned\nin haste and fear, thinking something had befallen his dear child. But\nwhen he came to the cell, Ulphia stood in the door. Then she reproached\nhim for not having called her. \"I did call thee, I knocked loud,\" said\nthe old man. \"It was the frogs' doing!\" exclaimed Ulphia, and she told\nhim how they had kept her awake half the night. Then casting herself on\nthe ground, she prayed to God to quiet the noisy frogs; and Domitius\nknelt beside her and said, Amen. After that the reptiles troubled her no\nmore.\n\nWhen she was dying she prayed, \"Saviour! sanctify, confirm, keep, rule,\nstrengthen, comfort me; and in the end bring me to Thy sempiternal\njoys.\" And when the two virgins who had watched by her had said Amen,\nshe fell asleep, and they left her. At dawn, one of them looked in and\nsaw that she was dead, and in dying she had crossed her hands upon her\nbreast, her face was bright and her lips as though she smiled.\n\n\nS. SERAPION, M.\n\n(A.D. 1240.)\n\nHe was an Englishman, whom S. Peter Nolasco received into his Order at\nBarcelona. He made two journeys among the Moors for the ransoming of\ncaptives, in 1240. The first was to Murcia, in which he purchased the\nliberty of ninety-eight slaves; the second to Algiers, in which he\nredeemed eighty-seven, but remained himself a hostage for the full\npayment of the money. He boldly preached Christ to the Mahometans, and\nbaptised several, for which he was cruelly tortured, scourged, cut and\nmangled, at length fastened to a cross, and was thereon stabbed and\nquartered alive in the same year, 1240.\n\n [Illustration: S. PETER NOLASCO, FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF OUR LADY OF\n MERCY\n FOR THE REDEMPTION OF CAPTIVES.\n From Cahier.\n Jan. 31.]\n\n\nS. PETER NOLASCO, C.\n\n(A.D. 1256.)\n\n [Roman Martyrology. Authority: life by Franciscus Zumel.]\n\nPeter Nolasco sprang from one of the first families of Languedoc. He was\nborn in the year 1189, in the village of Mas des Saintes Pucelles. His\npious parents took pains to give him a good education, and to cultivate\nthe germs of virtue which appeared early in his soul. They saw with\ngladness his compassion for the poor, and his love of prayer. The child\nwas wont to distribute his pocket-money in alms, and he went regularly\nto the matin office sung shortly after midnight. When he was aged 15, he\nlost his father, who left him heir to a large estate, but he remained\nwith his mother, a pious woman, who laboured to strengthen and confirm\nin him those graces which grew and expanded daily. Being solicited to\nmarry, he remained some little while in hesitation, but at last, rising\none night he cast himself before his crucifix in prayer, and remained\ntill day broke in the east, imploring God's guidance, and then feeling a\nclear call, he resolved to devote his patrimony to the honour and glory\nof God, and himself to celibacy. He followed Simon de Montfort, in the\ncrusade against the Albigenses, an heretical, or rather heathen sect,\nholding two Gods, one good, the other evil, and who had devastated\nNavarre, burning churches and massacring priests and monks. The crusade\nwas conducted with too much of worldly ambition, and without that\ncompassionate love which should seek to win by gentleness rather than\nforce by the sword. But the cruel massacres which took place were not\nthe work of the crusaders, but of a mixed multitude of camp-followers,\nwho obeyed no officers but such as they chose to appoint, as appears\nfrom the contemporary accounts of that war. However, Peter Nolasco was\nin no way responsible for the barbarities which sullied this terrible\nwar. In the battle of Muset, the King of Aragon, who headed the\nAlbigenses, was killed, and his son, aged six, fell into the hands of\nSimon de Montfort, who appointed Peter Nolasco, then aged twenty-five,\nto be his tutor, and sent both together into Spain. In the court of the\nKing of Barcelona, where the Kings of Aragon resided, Peter led the life\nof a recluse. The Moors at that time were possessed of a considerable\nportion of Spain, and great numbers of Christians groaned under their\ntyranny in miserable slavery both there and in Africa. Whenever Peter\nsaw a Christian slave, he was moved with sorrow; and he resolved to\ndevote his life to the redemption of captives. He endeavoured to found a\nreligious order for a constant supply of men and means whereby to carry\non so charitable an undertaking. This design met with great obstacles in\nthe execution; but the Blessed Virgin appearing to the king, S. Raymund\nof Pennaforte, and S. Peter Nolasco, the same night, in visions,\nencouraged the prosecution of this charitable scheme.\n\nIn the year 1223 S. Peter took the vows before the Bishop of Barcelona,\nand he became first general of the new order, which was entitled \"the\nOrder of Our Lady of Mercy for the redemption of captives.\" It was\nconfirmed by Pope Gregory IX. in 1225. The habit is white, with a white\nscapular, and the arms of Aragon were worn on the breast, by desire of\nthe king.\n\nS. Peter, after his religious profession, renounced all his business at\ncourt, and no entreaties of the king could prevail on him to appear\nthere again, except once, when called to reconcile two powerful nobles,\nwho by their dissension had kindled a civil war.\n\nHe made several journeys along the coasts, and to Algiers to purchase\ncaptives; on one of these expeditions he underwent imprisonment for the\nfaith. He died on Christmas day, 1286. Almost his last words were those\nof the Psalmist, which summed up the efforts of his life, \"The Lord hath\nsent redemption unto His people; He hath commanded His covenant for\never.\"\n\n\n\n\nADDENDA\n\n_Page 443, S. Francis of Sales, B.C._\n\n\nWhen he wrote this biography the author had not access to the original\nmaterials, as the Acta Sanctorum for January did not include S. Francis.\nHe was therefore obliged to have recourse to two modern biographies,\nthose of Mr. Ormsby and Lady Herbert, based on the \"Vie de S. Fran\u00e7ois\nde Sales,\" by M. Hamon, that has gone through a good number of editions.\nIn 1878 appeared an article, \"Two Sides to a Saint--S. Francis de\nSales,\" by the Rev. L. Woolsey Bacon, which was published in\n_Macmillan's Magazine_ for September; it was founded on the Lives of S.\nFrancis by Marsollier and Loyau d'Amboise, and M. Gabriel, the\nProtestant historian of Geneva. Marsollier did not write till 1700, and\nhe quoted Cotolandi, who composed his Notice of the Saint in 1687.\nD'Amboise is unworthy of consideration, as his work was mere romance.\nHamon's Life is, on the other hand, based on the letters of the Saint,\nand on the sworn depositions of eye-witnesses at his canonization. These\nlatter are of very little value, as any unpartial reader who wades\nthrough such documents can assure himself. Anyhow they may contain, and\ndo contain, fact along with some romance. In \"Bulls of Canonization\"\nmuch fable is introduced that will not endure serious examination. Where\nbiographers disagree and mutually vituperate one another as false\nwitnesses, our only resource is to go to the original letters of the\nSaint. Canon Mackey has written four essays to clear the character of\nFrancis of Sales (London: Burns and Oates. 1883), and again in\n_Christian Literature_, 1896, and it must be admitted that he shows a\ngood reason for mistrusting the charges brought against the Saint. Mr.\nBacon had, for instance, accused S. Francis of addressing a female\nfriend as \"my dearest girl of my heart,\" whereas the original is \"Ma\ntr\u00e8s ch\u00e8re fille de mon coeur.\" At the time S. Francis was a bishop of\nfifty-one, and although the expression is not at all to the taste of an\nEnglishman, has no more meaning than the gushing and fulsome words which\nclose a French letter, or than our \"My dear So-and-So,\" and \"Yours\nsincerely.\" Mr. Bacon also charges the Saint with having played fast and\nloose with the affections of the young lady to whom he was engaged. But\nthe evidence goes no further than to show that at the time he was moved\nby conflicting considerations--submission to the will of his parents and\nhis own strong reluctance to enter the marriage state. Mr. Bacon,\nmoreover, accuses the Saint of having carried on the conversion of the\nChablais under the cover of the soldiers of the Duke of Savoy. The\ncircumstances seem to have been these. In 1536 the Bernese, taking\nadvantage of a rupture between France and Savoy, treacherously and\nwithout declaring war entered the territory of the latter power and\noccupied Gex and a portion of the Chablais. They then wrecked the\nchurches, drove out the priests, and forbade the exercise of the\nCatholic religion. In 1564 Savoy recovered the country, and engaged to\nallow therein the exercise of the Protestant religion. This agreement\nwas faithfully observed for twenty-five years, but in 1589 the Genevese\nand Bernese combined to reoccupy the country. It was recovered by the\nDuke of Savoy, who considered, and justly, that by this violation of the\ntreaty by the Bernese he was freed from his obligation to tolerate\nProtestantism. The mission of S. Francis lasted for four years from\nSeptember 1597, and unquestionably he had the power of the Duke of Savoy\nat his back, and did not scruple to invoke it. But that was the way of\nproselytising at the time. Protestants and Catholics alike leaned on the\narm of flesh, and each was equally ready to employ the sword against the\nother.\n\nBut certainly at first S. Francis was not supported by the Duke in the\nmanner he had expected and desired, and also no doubt can exist that\nwhen the sword was used he employed his best endeavours to prevent its\nbeing wantonly and cruelly wielded. His letters show plainly that his\nsuccess in convincing the people of the Chablais was almost _nil_ till\ntheir fears were excited, and they were afforded other reasons for\nrenouncing Protestantism than conviction that Romanism was better.\n\nThe real difficulty S. Francis encountered at first was that the people\nwould not listen to him. The attitude of the people he thus describes:\n\"One party do not wish to hear; the other excuse themselves on the risk\nthey would run if the truce were broken, should they have shown any\napproval of Catholicism; ... others again are persuaded of the faith,\nbut we cannot induce them to confess it, not knowing what will be the\nend of the truce\" (Letter 9). In Letter 32 he asked the Duke to allow a\nsenator to call the citizens together, and in his magisterial robes\ninvite them to listen to his sermons.\n\nAt last conviction was supposed to be obtained, and a profession of\nsubmission to the Catholic faith extorted, when the inhabitants who were\ncontumacious were threatened with expulsion. But it must be remembered\nthat the Protestant cantons of Switzerland were equally intolerant, and\ndetermined to expel recalcitrant Catholics.\n\n\n END OF VOL. 1.\n\n\n Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.\n Edinburgh & London\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's notes:\n\n- Difference in spelling of 'Ken-tiern' and 'Kentiern' is caused by\n usage of words.\n- Difference in spelling of 'M\u00fcnster' and 'Munster' is caused by\n different meanings.\n- Ligatures '[ae]' converted - as used/possible in latin texts - to 'ae'.\n- Inserted 'S.' (for Saint) Theoritgitha in alphabetical list (toc) of\n Saints.","title":"The Lives of the Saints, Volume 01 (of 16): January","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":157424}