The Lives of the Saints, Volume 1 (of 16)

By Author	[ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z \| Other Symbols ]
By Title	[ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z \| Other Symbols ]
By Language

Download this book: [ ASCII | HTML | PDF ]

Look for this book on Amazon

We have new books nearly every day.
If you would like a news letter once a week or once a month fill out this form and we will give you a summary of the books for that week or month by email.

Title: The Lives of the Saints, Volume 1 (of 16)
Author: Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.

*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Lives of the Saints, Volume 1 (of 16)" ***

THE
Lives of the Saints

REV. S. BARING-GOULD

_SIXTEEN VOLUMES_

VOLUME THE FIRST

[Illustration: SILVER-GILT MONSTRANCE,
In the Treasury of the Cathedral, Aix-la-Chapelle.]

THE
Lives of the Saints

BY THE
REV. S. BARING-GOULD, M.A.

New Edition in 16 Volumes

Revised with Introduction and Additional Lives of
English Martyrs, Cornish and Welsh Saints,
and a full Index to the Entire Work

_ILLUSTRATED BY OVER 400 ENGRAVINGS_

VOLUME THE FIRST

January

LONDON
JOHN C. NIMMO
14 KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND
MDCCCXCVII

_Printed by_ BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
_At the Ballantyne Press_

AUTHOR'S PREFACE
TO FIRST EDITION
(1872)

The Lives of the Saints, which I have begun, is an undertaking, of
whose difficulty few can have any idea. Let it be remembered, that
there were Saints in every century, for eighteen hundred years; that
their Acts are interwoven with the profane history of their times,
and that the history, not of one nation only, but of almost every
nation under the sun; that the records of these lives are sometimes
fragmentary, sometimes mere hints to be culled out of secular history;
that authentic records have sometimes suffered interpolation, and that
some records are forgeries; that the profane history with which the
lives of the Saints is mixed up is often dark and hard to be read; and
then some idea may be formed of the difficulty of this undertaking.

After having had to free the Acts of a martyr from a late accretion of
fable, and to decide whether the passion took place under--say Decius
or Diocletian, Claudius the Elder, or Claudius the younger,--the writer
of a hagiology is hurried into Byzantine politics, and has to collect
the thread of a saintly confessor's life from the tangle of political
and ecclesiastical intrigue, in that chaotic period when emperors
rose and fell, and patriarchs succeeded each other with bewildering
rapidity. And thence he is, by a step, landed in the romance world of
Irish hagiology, where the footing is as insecure as on the dark bogs
of the Emerald Isle. Thence he strides into the midst of the wreck
of Charlemagne's empire, to gather among the splinters of history a
few poor mean notices of those holy ones living then, whose names
have survived, but whose acts are all but lost. And then the scene
changes, and he treads the cool cloister of a mediaeval abbey, to glean
materials for a memoir of some peaceful recluse, which may reflect
the crystalline purity of the life without being wholly colourless of
incident.

And then, maybe, he has to stand in the glare of the great
conflagration of the sixteenth century, and mark some pure soul passing
unscathed through the fire, like the lamp in Abraham's vision.

That one man can do justice to this task is not to be expected. When
Bellarmine heard of the undertaking of Rosweydus, he asked "What is
this man's age? does he expect to live two hundred years?" But for the
work of the Bollandists, it would have been an impossibility for me to
undertake this task. But even with this great storehouse open, the work
to be got through is enormous. Bollandus began January with two folios
in double columns, close print, of 1200 pages each. As he and his
coadjutors proceeded, fresh materials came in, and February occupies
three volumes. May swelled into seven folios, September into eight,
and October into ten. It was begun in 1643, and the fifty-seventh
volume appeared in 1861.

The labour of reading, digesting, and selecting from this library is
enormous. With so much material it is hard to decide what to omit, but
such a decision must be made, for the two volumes of January have to
be crushed into one, not a tenth of the size of one of Bollandus, and
the ten volumes for October must suffer compression to an hundredth
degree, so as to occupy the same dimensions. I had two courses open to
me. One to give a brief outline, bare of incident, of the life of every
Saint; the other to diminish the number of lives, and present them to
the reader in greater fulness, and with some colour. I have adopted
this latter course, but I have omitted no Saint of great historical
interest. I have been compelled to put aside a great number of lesser
known saintly religious, whose eventless lives flowed uniformly in
prayer, vigil, and mortification.

In writing the lives of the Saints, I have used my discretion, also,
in relating only those miracles which are most remarkable, either
for being fairly well authenticated, or for their intrinsic beauty
or quaintness, or because they are often represented in art, and are
therefore of interest to the archaeologist. That errors in judgment,
and historical inaccuracies, have crept into this volume, and may find
their way into those that succeed, is, I fear, inevitable. All I can
promise is, that I have used my best endeavours to be accurate, having
had recourse to all such modern critical works as have been accessible
to me, for the determining of dates, and the estimation of authorities.

Believing that in some three thousand and six hundred memoirs of
men, many of whose lives closely resembled each other, it would be
impossible for me to avoid a monotony of style which would become as
tedious to the reader as vexatious to myself, I have occasionally
admitted the lives of certain Saints by other writers, thereby giving a
little freshness to the book, where there could not fail otherwise to
have been aridity; but I have, I believe, in no case, inserted a life
by another pen, without verifying the authorities.

At the head of every article the authority for the life is stated,
to which the reader is referred for fuller details. The editions of
these authorities are not given, as it would have greatly extended
the notices, and such information can readily be obtained from that
invaluable guide to the historian of the Middle Ages, Potthast:
_Bibliotheca Historica Medii Aevi_, Berlin, 1862; the second part of
which is devoted to the Saints.

I have no wish that my work should be regarded as intended to supplant
that of Alban Butler. My line is somewhat different from his. He
confined his attention to the historical outlines of the saintly lives,
and he rarely filled them in with anecdote. Yet it is the little
details of a man's life that give it character, and impress themselves
on the memory. People forget the age and parentage of S. Gertrude, but
they remember the mouse running up her staff.

A priest of the Anglican Church, I have undertaken to write a book
which I hope and trust will be welcome to Roman and Anglican Catholics,
alike. It would have been unseemly to have carried prejudice,
impertinent to have obtruded sectarianism, into a work like this. I
have been called to tread holy ground, and kneel in the midst of the
great company of the blessed; and the only fitting attitude of the
mind for such a place, and such society, is reverence. In reading the
miracles recorded of the Saints, of which the number is infinite, the
proper spirit to observe is, not doubt, but discrimination. Because
much is certainly apocryphal in these accounts, we must not therefore
reject what may be true. The present age, in its vehement naturalism,
places itself, as it were, outside of the circle of spiritual
phenomena, and is as likely to deny the supernatural agency in a
marvel, as a mediaeval was liable to attribute a natural phenomenon to
spiritual causes. In such cases we must consider the evidence and its
worth or worthlessness. It may be that, in God's dealings with men, at
a time when natural means of cure were unattainable, the supernatural
should abound, but that when the science of medicine became perfected,
and the natural was rendered available to all, the supernatural should,
to some extent, at least, be withdrawn.

Of the Martyrologies referred to, it may be as well to mention the
dates of the most important. That of Ado is of the ninth century,
Bede's of the eighth;[1] there are several bearing the name of S.
Jerome, which differ from one another, they are forms of the ancient
Roman Martyrology. The Martyrology of Notker (D. 912), of Rabanus
Maurus (D. 856), of Usuardus (875), of Wandalbert (circ. 881). The
general catalogue of the Saints by Ferrarius was published in 1625,
the Martyrology of Maurolycus was composed in 1450, and published
1568. The modern Roman Martyrology is based on that of Usuardus. It
is impossible, in the limited space available for a preface, to say
all that is necessary on the various Kalendars, and Martyrologies,
that exist, also on the mode in which some of the Saints have received
apotheosis. Comparatively few Saints have received formal canonization
at Rome; popular veneration was regarded as sufficient in the mediaeval
period, before order and system were introduced; thus there are many
obscure Saints, famous in their own localities, and perhaps entered in
the kalendar of the diocese, whose claims to their title have never
been authoritatively inquired into, and decided upon. There is also
great confusion in the monastic kalendars in appropriating titles
to those commemorated; here a holy one is called "the Venerable,"
there "the Blessed," and in another "Saint." With regard also to the
estimation of authorities, the notes of genuineness of the Acts of
the martyrs, the tests whereby apocryphal lives and interpolations
may be detected, I should have been glad to have been able to make
observations. But this is a matter which there is not space to enter
upon here.

The author cannot dismiss the work without expressing a hope that it
may be found to meet a want which he believes has long been felt; for
English literature is sadly deficient in the department of hagiology.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] This only exists in an interpolated condition.

INTRODUCTION

TO THE

LIVES OF THE SAINTS

THE MARTYROLOGIES

A martyrology means, properly, a list of witnesses. The martyrologies
are catalogues in which are to be found the names of the Saints, with
the days and places of their deaths, and generally with the distinctive
character of their sanctity, and with an historic summary of their
lives. The name is incorrect if we use the word "martyr" in its
restricted sense as a witness unto death. "Hagiology" would be more
suitable, as a martyrology includes the names of many Saints who were
not martyrs. But the term "Martyrology" was given to this catalogue at
an early age, when it was customary to commemorate only those who were
properly martyrs, having suffered death in testimony to their faith; but
it is not unsuitable if we regard as martyrs all those who by their
lives have testified to the truth, as indeed we are justified in doing.

In the primitive Church it was customary for the Holy Eucharist to be
celebrated on the anniversary of the death of a martyr--if possible, on
his tomb. Where in one diocese there were several martyrs, as, for
instance, in that of Caesarea, there were many days in the year on which
these commemorations were made, and the Church--say that of
Caesarea--drew up a calendar with the days marked on which these
festivals occurred.

In his "Church History," Eusebius quotes a letter from the Church of
Smyrna, in which, after giving an account of the martyrdom of their
bishop, S. Polycarp, the disciple of S. John the Divine, the Smyrnians
observe: "Our subtle enemy, the devil, did his utmost that we should not
take away the body, as many of us anxiously wished. It was suggested
that we should desert our crucified Master, and begin to worship
Polycarp. Fools! who knew not that we can never desert Christ, who died
for the salvation of all men, nor worship any other. Him we adore as the
Son of God; but we show respect to the martyrs, as His disciples and
followers. The centurion, therefore, caused the body to be burned; we
then gathered his bones, more precious than pearls, and more tried than
gold, and buried them. In this place, God willing, we will meet, and
celebrate with joy and gladness the birthday of this martyr, as well in
memory of those who have been crowned before, as by his example to
prepare and strengthen others for the combat."[2]

S. Polycarp suffered in the year 166; he had been ordained Bishop of
Smyrna by S. John in 96. This passage is extremely interesting, for it
shows us, in the age following that of the apostles, the Church already
keeping the festivals of martyrs, and, as we may conclude from the words
of the letter, over the tombs of the martyrs. In this the Church was
following the pattern shown to S. John in vision; for he heard the cry
of the souls of the martyrs reposing under the altar in heaven. Guided,
doubtless, by this, the Church erected altars over the bodies of saints.
Among the early Christian writers there are two, S. Paulinus of Nola,
and Prudentius, whose testimony is of intrinsic value, not only from its
being curiously interesting, but because it is so full and unequivocal
as to the fact of the tombs of the martyrs being used as altars.[3] In
one of his letters to Severus, S. Paulinus encloses some verses of his
own composition, which were to be inscribed over the altar under which
was deposited the body of S. Clavus, of whom the venerable prelate says:

"Sancta sub aeternis altaribus ossa quiescunt."[4]

Before describing the basilica of Nola, the Saint proceeds to give a
sketch of another but a smaller church, which he had just erected in the
town of Fondi. After furnishing some details about this latter edifice,
he says, "The sacred ashes--some of the blessed relics of the apostles
and martyrs--shall consecrate this little basilica also in the name of
Christ, the Saint of saints, the Martyr of martyrs, and the Lord of
lords."[5] For this church two inscriptions were composed by Paulinus:
one, to accompany the painting with which he had adorned the apse; the
other, to announce that portions of the relics of the Apostle S. Andrew,
of the Evangelist S. Luke, and of S. Nazarius, and other martyrs, were
deposited under the altar. His verses may be thus rendered:

"In royal shrines, with purple marble graced,
Their bones are under lighted altars placed.
A holy band enshrined in one small chest,
Full mighty names within its tiny breast."

Prudentius visited not only the more celebrated churches in Spain built
over the bodies of the martyrs, he being a Spaniard by birth, but he
also visited those of Italy and Rome on a journey made in 405. During
his residence in the capital of Christianity, the poet frequented the
catacombs; and he has bequeathed to us a valuable record of what he
there saw. In his hymn in honour of S. Hippolytus, he tells us that he
visited the sepulchral chapel in which were deposited the remains of the
martyr; and, after having described the entrance into the cemetery, and
the frescoes that adorned it, he adds:

"In gloomy cave the martyr's corpse is placed,
And there to God with sacred altars graced,
To give the sacrament the board is spread,
And zealous guard the holy martyr's bed.
The bones are resting in this hallowed tomb,
To wait th' eternal Judge's gracious boon;
And there with holy food are nourished those
Who call on Christ where tawny Tiber flows."[6]

In his other hymns, Prudentius bears the most unequivocal testimony to
the practice, even then a long time in use, of depositing the relics of
the Saints immediately under the altar. It is unnecessary to quote more.
The assertions of ancient writers on this point have been several times
verified. The bodies of the martyrs have been discovered under the high
altars of the churches dedicated to God in their memory. The body of S.
Martina, together with those of two other martyrs, SS. Concordens and
Epiphanius, were found in 1624 under the high altar of the ancient
church near the Roman Forum, which bears the name of the Saint. The body
of S. Agnes, and that of another virgin martyr, were also ascertained to
be under the high altar of her church, denominated Fuori delle Mura.
These, however, had all been removed from the Catacombs into Rome,
within the walls.

Now this fact being established, as well as that of the annual
commemoration of the Saint reposing in the church, it follows that it
became necessary for a Church to draw up calendars marking those days in
the year which were consecrated to the memory of martyrs whose relics
were preserved in it; for instance, in the Church of Fondi, which
contained relics of S. Andrew, S. Luke, S. Nazarius, and others, the
Holy Eucharist would be celebrated over the relics on the day of S.
Andrew, on that of S. Luke, on that of S. Nazarius, and so on; and it
would be necessary for the Church to have a calendar of the days thus
set apart.

In the first centuries of the Church, not only the Saints whose bodies
reposed in the church, but also the dead of the congregation were
commemorated.

When a Roman Consul was elected, on entering on his office he
distributed among his friends certain presents, called diptychs. These
diptychs were folding tablets of ivory or boxwood, sometimes of silver,
connected together by hinges, so that they could be shut or opened like
a book. The exterior surface was richly carved, and generally bore a
portrait of the Consul who gave them away. Upon the inner surface was
written an epistle which accompanied the present, or a panegyric on
himself. They were reminders to friends, given much as a Christmas card
is now sent. The diptych speedily came into use in the Church. As the
Consul on his elevation sent one to his friends to remind them of his
exaltation, so, on a death in the congregation, a diptych was sent to
the priest as a reminder of the dead who desired the prayers of the
faithful. At first, no doubt, there was a pack of these little
memorials, each bearing the name of the person who desired to be
remembered at the altar. But, for convenience, one double tablet was
after a while employed instead of a number, and all the names of those
who were to be commemorated were written in this book. From the ancient
liturgies we gather that it was the office of the deacon to rehearse
aloud, to the people and the priest, this catalogue registered in the
public diptychs. In the "Ecclesiastical Hierarchy," attributed to S.
Dionysius the Areopagite, but really of a later date, the end of the
fifth century, the author says of the ceremonies of the Eucharist, that
after the kiss of peace, "When all have reciprocally saluted one
another, there is made the mystic recitation of the sacred tablets."[7]
In the Liturgy of S. Mark we have this, "The deacon reads the diptychs
(or catalogue) of the dead. The priest then bowing down prays: To the
souls of all these, O Sovereign Lord our God, grant repose in Thy holy
tabernacle, in Thy kingdom, bestowing on them the good things promised
and prepared by Thee," etc.

It is obvious that after a while the number of names continually
swelling would become too great to be recited at once. It became
necessary, therefore, to take some names on one day, others on another.
And this originated the Necrologium, or catalogue of the dead. The
custom of reading the diptychs has ceased to be observed in the Roman
Liturgy, though we find it indicated there by the "Oratio supra
Diptycha." At present, when the celebrating priest arrives at that part
of the Canon called the "Memento," he secretly commemorates those for
whose souls he more particularly wishes to pray.

But, in addition to the diptychs of those for whom the priest and
congregation were desired to pray, there was the catalogue of the
Martyrs and Saints for whom the Church thanked God. For instance, in the
modern Roman Mass, in the Canon we have this commemoration: "Joining in
communion with, and reverencing, in the first place, the memory of the
glorious and ever-virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ;
as also of Thy blessed apostles and martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew,
James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and
Thaddaeus; Linus, Cletus, Clement, Xystus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Laurence,
Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and of all Thy Saints,"
etc. This is obviously a mere fragment of a commemoration of the Blessed
Virgin, of the apostles, and then of the special Roman martyrs. The
catalogue of the Saints to be remembered was long; there were hundreds
of martyrs at Rome alone, and their names were written down on sacred
diptychs especially appropriated to this purpose. Such an inscription
was equivalent to the present ceremony of canonization. The term
canonization itself tells the history of the process. It is derived from
that part of the Mass called the Canon, in which occurs that memorial
already quoted. On the day when the Pope, after a scrutinizing
examination into the sanctity of a servant of God, formally inscribes
him among the Saints, he adds his name at the end of those already
enumerated in the Canon, after "Cosmas and Damian," and immediately
reads Mass, adding this name at this place. Formerly every bishop could
and did canonize--that is, add the name of any local Saint or martyr
worthy of commemoration in his diocese.

When the list became long, it was found impracticable to commemorate all
_nominatim_ at once, and the Saints were named on their special days.
Thus, out of one set of diptychs grew the Necrologium, and out of the
other the Martyrology.

The Church took pains to collect and commit to writing the acts of the
martyrs. This is not to be wondered at; for the martyrs are the heroes
of Christianity, and as the world has her historians to record the
achievements of the warriors who have gained renown in conflict for
power, so the Church had her officers to record the victories that her
sons won over the world and Satan. The Saints are the elect children of
the spouse of Christ, the precious fruit of her body; they are her crown
of glory. And when these dear children quit her to reap their eternal
reward, the mother retains precious memorials of them, and holds up
their example to her other children to encourage them to follow their
glorious traces.

The first to institute an order of scribes to take down the acts of the
martyrs was S. Clement, the disciple of S. Peter, as we are told by Pope
S. Damasus, in the "Liber Pontificale."[8] According to this tradition,
S. Clement appointed seven notaries, men of approved character and
learning, to collect in the city of Rome, each in his own region of the
city, the acts of the martyrs who suffered in it. To add to the
guarantee of good faith, Pope S. Fabian[9] placed these seven notaries
under the control of the seven subdeacons, who with the seven deacons
were placed over the fourteen cardinal regions of the city of Rome.
Moreover, the Roman Pontiffs obtained the acts of martyrs who had
suffered in other churches. These acts were the _procès verbal_ of their
trial, with the names of the judges under whom they were sentenced, and
an account of the death endured. The acts of S. Philip of Heraclea, SS.
Hilary and Tatian, and SS. Peter, Paul, Andrew, and Dionysia, are
examples of such acts. Other acts were those written by eye-witnesses,
sometimes friends of the martyrs; those of the martyrs, SS. Perpetua,
Felicitas, and their companions are instances. The first part of these
was written by S. Perpetua herself, and reaches to the eve of her
martyrdom; then another confessor in the same prison took the pen and
added to the eve of his death, and the whole was concluded by an
eye-witness of their passion. Other acts again were written by those
who, if not eye-witnesses, were able, from being contemporaries and on
the spot, to gather reliable information; such are the narratives of the
martyrs of Palestine by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea. Unfortunately,
comparatively few of the acts of the martyrs have come down to us in
their genuine freshness; and the Church of Rome, which set the example
in appointing notaries to record the facts, has been most careless about
preserving these records unadulterated; so that even the acts of some of
her own bishops and martyrs, S. Alexander, and S. Marcellinus, and S.
Callixtus, are romances devoid of all stamp of truth.

Tertullian[10] says that on the natal days, that is, on the days of
martyrdom of the Saints who have suffered for Christ, "We keep an annual
commemoration." It is easy to see how this usage necessitated the
drawing up of lists in which were inscribed not only the names of the
martyrs, and the place of their decease, but also a few words relative
to their conflict, so that the people might associate their names with
their victories, and the names might not become, in time, to them empty
sounds. S. Cyprian was absent from Carthage when the persecution was
raging there, but he wrote to his clergy, "Note the days of their death,
that we may celebrate their commemorations along with the memorials of
the martyrs."[11] S. Augustine says,[12] "The Christian people celebrate
the memory of the martyrs with religious solemnity, both to excite to
imitation, and that they may become fellows in their merits and be
assisted by their prayers."

Adrian I. quotes the 13th Canon of the African Church and the 47th of
the third Carthaginian Council, in a letter to Charlemagne, in which he
says, "The Sacred Canons approved of the passions of the Holy Martyrs
being read in Church when their anniversary days were being celebrated."

The names of the martyrs to be commemorated were announced on the eve.
By degrees other names besides those of martyrs were introduced into the
Martyrologies, as those of faithful servants of God whose lives were
deserving of imitation, but who had not suffered to the death in
testimony to the truth. Thus we have confessors, or those who endured
hardships for Christ, doctors, or teachers of the Church, virgins,
widows, bishops and abbots, and even penitents.

The Martyrologies may be divided into two series, the ancient and the
modern. We need only concern ourselves with the Ancient Martyrologies.

The first to draw up a tolerably full Martyrology was Eusebius the
historian, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, and he did this at the
request of the Emperor Constantine. In this Martyrology he noted all the
martyrs of whom he had received an authentic account on the days of
their suffering, with the names of the judges who sentenced them, the
places where they suffered, and the nature of their sufferings. Eusebius
wrote about A.D. 320, but there were collections of the sort already
extant, as we may learn from the words of S. Cyprian already quoted, who
in his instructions to his clergy ordered them to compile what was
practically a Martyrology of the Carthaginian Church.

We have not got the Greek Martyrology of Eusebius, but we have the Latin
version made by S. Jerome. Bede says of this, "Jerome was not the
author, but the translator of this book; Eusebius is said to have been
the author."

But even this Latin version has not come down to us in its original
form. There are numerous copies, purporting to be the Martyrology of S.
Jerome, still extant, but hardly two of them agree. The copies have been
amplified. The occasion of S. Jerome making his translation was as
follows. At the Council of Milan, held in 390, the presiding Bishop,
Gregory of Cordova, read out daily on the eve, as usual, the lists of
martyrs whose anniversary was to be celebrated on the morrow. As a good
number of those present knew nothing of the martyrs thus commemorated,
they wrote by the hands of Chromatius, Bishop of Aquileja, and
Heliodorus, Bishop of Altino, to S. Jerome, then at Bethlehem, to
request him to draw up for their use a Martyrology out of the
collection made by Eusebius of Caesarea.

To this S. Jerome answered by letter, stating that he had got the
passions of the martyrs written by Eusebius, and that he would gladly
execute what was asked of him. With this letter he sent the Martyrology,
with the name of a martyr to every day in the year except the first of
January.[13] Unfortunately, as already said, we have not got a copy of
the Martyrology unamended and unenlarged.

Next in importance to the Martyrology of Jerome comes the "Martyrologium
Romanum Parvum," mentioned by S. Gregory the Great, who sent a copy of
it to the Bishop of Aquileja. Ado, Bishop of Vienne, saw this; it was
lent him for a few days, and he made a transcript with his own hand, as
he tells us in the preface to his own Martyrology, and it served him as
the basis for his work.

Baronius was unable to discover a copy, though he made inquiry for it,
in the libraries of Italy; but it was discovered by Rosweydus, the
learned Bollandist, and published by him in 1613.

S. Gregory the Great, in his 29th Epistle, says, "We have the names of
nearly all the martyrs with their passions set down on their several
days, collected into one volume, and we celebrate the Mass daily in
their honour."

Cassiodorus, in his "Institution of Divine Lessons," says, "Read
constantly the passions of the martyrs, which among other places you
will find in the letter of S. Jerome to Chromatius and Heliodorus; they
flourished over the whole earth, and provoked to imitation; you will be
led thereby to the heavenly kingdom."

Next in importance to the Martyrology of Jerome and the little Roman
Martyrology, comes that of the Venerable Bede. In the catalogue of his
own works that he drew up, he says, "I wrote a Martyrology of the natal
days of the holy martyrs, in which I took care to set down all I could
find, not only on their several days, but I also gave the sort of
conflict they underwent, and under what judge they conquered the world."

If we compare this Martyrology with the Acts of the Martyrs, we see at
once that Bede took his account from them verbatim, merely condensing
the narrative.

The Martyrology of Bede was written about 720; Drepanius Florus, a
priest of Lyons, who died 860, added to it considerably, and most of the
copies of Bede's Martyrology that we have are those enlarged by Florus.

The next martyrologist was Usuardus, monk of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, who
died in 876. He wrote his Martyrology at the request of Charles the
Bald, who was dissatisfied with the Martyrologies of Jerome and of Bede
because they were too short in their narratives, and also because
several days in the calendar were left blank. This account, which
Usuardus gives in his preface, does not tally with the words of the
epistle attributed to S. Jerome that precedes his Martyrology; and leads
to the suspicion that this portion of the epistle, at least, is not
genuine. Usuardus certainly used the Hieronyman Martyrology as the basis
of his work, and this has caused his work to be designated the larger
Hieronyman Martyrology. This work of Usuardus was so full, that it
displaced the earlier Martyrologies in a great many churches. The best
edition of the Martyrology of Usuardus is that of Solerius, Antwerp,
1714-1717.

Usuardus was followed by Wandelbert, monk of Prum, who died in 870.
Wandelbert followed the Martyrologies of SS. Jerome and Bede, as
amplified by Florus, and wrote the notices of the martyrs in hexameter
Latin verses. This monument of patience is composed of about 360
metrical pieces, of which each contains the life of the Saint
commemorated on the day. To these, which form the bulk of the work, are
prefixed others of less importance, prefaces, dedicatory epistles to
Lothair, preliminary discourses on the importance of the Martyrology, on
the knowledge of times and seasons, months and days, etc. Although
Wandelbert wrote for the most part in hexameters, he abandoned them
occasionally for lyric metres, which he managed with less facility.
D'Achéry published this Martyrology in his "Spicilegium," but the
edition is a bad one.

The next martyrologist is Ado, Bishop of Vienne, who has been already
mentioned in connection with the "Martyrologium Parvum." Ado was born
about the year 800, and died in 875. In his preface, Ado says: "For this
work of noting on their proper days the nativities of the Saints, which
are generally found confusedly in calendars, I have made use of a
venerable and very ancient Martyrology, at Aquileja, sent to a certain
holy bishop by the Roman Pontiff, and this was lent me, when at Ravenna,
for a few days by a certain religious brother. This I diligently copied,
and thought to place it at the head of my work. I have, however,
inserted the passions of the Saints somewhat longer in this Martyrology,
for the use of the infirm brothers, and those less able to get at books,
that they may be able to read out of a little book a compendium to the
praise of God and the memory of the martyrs, instead of overhauling a
host of big volumes with much labour." The best edition of Ado's
Martyrology is that by Geo. Rhodigini, published at Rome, 1740.

There have been many later Martyrologies, but these are of far inferior
importance, and need not be here enumerated. In the East, the Greeks had
anciently their collections. That of Eusebius probably formed the basis
of later Menologies. In the Horology are contained calendars of the
Saints for every day with prayers; this portion of the Horology is
called the Menology.

The Menology is divided into months, and contains the lives of the
Saints, in abridgment, for each day, or the simple commemoration of
those whose acts are extant. The Menology of the Greeks is, therefore,
much the same as the Latin Martyrology, and there are almost as many
Menologies as there are Martyrologies. The principal is that of the
Emperor Basil II. (d. 1025), published by Ughelli in his "Italia Sacra."
The larger Menologies are entitled "Synaxaria," because they were read
in the churches on days of assembly. These lives are very long, and the
Menology contains the substance in a condensed form.

The modern Roman Martyrology was drawn up by order of Pope Gregory
XIII., who appointed for the purpose eight commissaries, amongst whom
was Baronius. It leaves much to be desired, as it bristles with
inaccuracies. A fresh edition was issued with some corrections by
Benedict XIV. It demands a careful revision. Many of its inaccuracies
have been pointed out in the course of this work.

It is impossible to dismiss the subject of Martyrologies without a word
on the "Acta Sanctorum" of the Bollandists. This magnificent collection
of Lives of the Saints is arranged on the principle of the Synaxarium,
or Martyrology--that is to say, the Saints are not given in their
chronological order, but as they appear in the calendar.

Heribert Resweidus, of Utrecht, was a learned Jesuit father, born in
1563, who died 1629. In 1607 he published the "Fasti sanctorum quorum
vitae manuscriptae in Belgio," a book containing the plan of a vast work
on the lives of all the Saints, which he desired to undertake. In 1613
he published "Notes on the old Roman Martyrology," which he was the
first to discover. In 1615 he brought out the "Lives of the Hermits,"
and in 1619 another work on the "Eremites of Palestine and Egypt." In
1626 he published the "Lives of the Virgin Saints." He died before the
great work for which he had collected, and to which he had devoted his
time and thoughts, was begun. But the project was not allowed to drop.
It was taken up by John Bollandus, another Jesuit; with him were
associated two other fathers of the same order, Henschenius and
Papebrock, and in 1643 appeared the January volumes, two in number. In
1648 the three volumes of the February Saints issued from the press.
Bollandus died in 1665, and the March volumes, three in number, edited
by Henschenius and Papebrock, appeared in 1668. As the work proceeded,
material came in in abundance, and the work grew under their hands. May
was represented by seven volumes; so also June, July, and August. The
compilation is not yet complete. At present, this huge work consists of
about sixty folio volumes, which bring the student down to within three
days of the end of the month of October; but a large store of material
is being utilized in order to complete that month forthwith, and further
stores have been accumulated towards the Lives of the Saints for
November and December, about 4000 of such biographies being still to be
actually written. Moreover, the earlier volumes are very incomplete, and
at least the months of January to April need rewriting.

The principle on which the Bollandists have worked is an excellent one.
They have not themselves written the lives of the Saints, but they
publish every scrap of record, and all the ancient acts and lives of the
Saints that are extant. The work is a storehouse of historical
materials. To these materials the editors prefix an introductory essay
on the value and genuineness of the material, and on the chronology of
the Saint's life. They have done their work conscientiously and well.
Only occasionally have they omitted acts or portions of lives which
they have regarded as mythical or unedifying. These omissions are to be
regretted, as they would have been instructive.

Another valuable repository of the lives of Saints is Mabillon's
"Collection of the Acts of the Saints of the Order of S. Benedict," in
nine volumes, published 1668-1701. The arrangement in this collection is
by centuries. Theodoric Ruinart, in 1689, published the Acts of the
Martyrs, but not a complete series; he selected only those which he
regarded as genuine.

With regard to England there is a Martyrology of Christ Church,
Canterbury, written in the thirteenth century, and now in the British
Museum (Arundell MSS., No. 68); also a Martyrology written between 1220
and 1224, from the south-west of England; this also is in the British
Museum (MSS. Reg. 2, A. xiii.). A Saxon Martyrology, incomplete, is
among the Harleian MSS. (2785) in the same museum. It dates from the
fourteenth century. There is a transcript among the Sloane MSS. (4938),
of a Martyrology of North English origin, but this also is incomplete.
There are others, later, of less value. The most interesting is "The
Martiloge in Englysshe, after the use of the chirche of Salisbury,"
printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1526, reissued by the "Henry Bradshaw
Society" in 1893. To these Martyrologies must be added the "Legenda" of
John of Tynemouth, A.D. 1350; that of Capgrave, A.D. 1450, his "Nova
Legenda," printed in 1516; Whitford's "Martyrology," 1526; Wilson's
"Martyrologue," 1st edition, 1608, 2nd edition, 1640; and Bishop
Challoner's "Memorial of Ancient British Piety," 1761. Recently the
Rev. Richard Stanton, Priest of the Oratory, London, has issued an
invaluable "Martyrology of England and Wales," 1887.

Scottish Kalendars have been reprinted and commented on, and brief lives
of the Saints given by the late Bishop Forbes of Brechin, in "Kalendars
of Scottish Saints," Edinburgh, 1872.

Unhappily little is known of the Welsh and Cornish and some local
English Saints, but it is my purpose to add such information as can be
gathered concerning them.

S. BARING-GOULD.

_January 1897._

[Illustration: Decoration]

FOOTNOTES:

[2] Euseb., "Hist. Eccl.," lib. iv., cap. xv.

[3] S. Paulinus was born A.D. 353, and elected Bishop of Nola
A.D. 409. Prudentius was born A.D. 348.

[4] Ep. xii., ad Severum, "His holy bones 'neath lasting altars rest."

[5] Ep. xii., ad Severum.

[6] Hymn xi.

[7] "Eccl. Hierarch.," cap. iii.

[8] S. Damasus was born A.D. 304, and died A.D. 384.

[9] He died A.D. 250; see Ep. i.

[10] Born A.D. 160, died A.D. 245.

[11] Ep. xxxvii.

[12] Lib. xx., contra Faustum, cap. xxi.

[13] The copies of these letters prefixed to the Martyrology
vary greatly, and their authenticity has been questioned; but the
circumstance is probably true.

[Illustration: Decoration]

CONTENTS

PAGE

S. Adalhardt 34
" Adelelm 461
" Adrian 128
" Aelred 176
" Agatho 137
" Agnes 317
" Aidan 467
" Aldegund 460
" Aldric 96
" Alexander Acoemetus 228
SS. Anastasius and comp. 334
B. Angela of Foligni 63
S. Anteros 38
" Anthony 249
" Apollinaris Synclet 70
" Apollo 372
" Arcadius 162
SS. Archelaa and others 278
S. Artemas 370
" Asclas 346
" Athanasius 38
" Atticus 100
" Audifax 285
" Augurius 312

S. Babylus 361
" Baldwin 112
" Balthazar 148
" Barsas of Edessa 460
" Bassian of Lodi 286
" Bathild 394
" Benedict Biscop 167
" Bertilia 51
SS. Blaithmac and comp. 289
S. Brithwald 131

S. Cadoc 363
" Caesaria 167
" Canute Lavard 97
" Cedd 91
" Ceolwulf 236
" Charlemagne 437
" Christiana 146
Circumcision, The 1
S. Clement of Ancyra 347
" Concord 3
Conversion of S. Paul 370
S. Cyriacus 163
" Cyril, Alexandria 418
" Cyrinus 44
SS. Cyrus, John, and others 465

S. Dafrosa 57
" Datius 210
" Deicolus 280
" Devota 399
" Domitian 136

S. Egwin 160
SS. Elvan and Mydwyn 5
Epiphany, The 82
S. Erminold 86
" Eulogius 312
" Euthymius 305
" Eutropius 163

S. Fabian 299
" Fechin 310
" Felix 199
" Fillan 127
" Francis of Sales 443
" Frodobert 112
" Fructuosus 312
" Fulgentius 10
" Fursey 243

S. Gaudentius 334
" Genoveva 46
" Genulph 247
" Gerlach 81
" Germanicus 284
" Gildas 440
" Gonsalvo 142
" Gordius 42
B. Gotfried 194
S. Gregory of Langres 58
" Gudula 115

S. Habakkuk 285
" Henry 245
SS. Hermylus and Stratonicus 179
S. Hilary 182
" Honoratus 240
" Hyacintha 462
" Hyginus 149

S. Isidore 228

S. James (Tarantaise) 242
" James the Penitent 433
" John the Almsgiver 348
" John the Calybite 233
" John Chrysostom 400
" John of Therouanne 415
" Julian of Le Mans 398
SS. Julian and comp. 121
S. Justina 133
SS. Juventine and Maximus 371

S. Kentigern 187

S. Launomar 287
" Laurence Justiniani 119
" Leobard 278
" Lucian of Antioch 88
" Lucian of Beauvais 99
" Lupus of Châlons 413

S. Macarius, Alexandria 28
" Macarius, Egypt 221
" Macedonius 362
" Macra 85
" Macrina 202
" Marcella 466
" Marcellus 238
" Marcian 134
" Marciana 120
" Mares 374
SS. Maris and others 285
S. Martha 285
SS. Martyrs at Lichfield 28
" Martyrs in the Thebaid 65
S. Maurus 234
" Maximus 371
" Meinrad 321
" Melanius 85
" Melas 239
" Melor 44
" Mildgytha 273
" Mochua or Cronan 20
" Mochua or Cuan 19
" Mosentius 163

S. Nicanor 133

S. Odilo 20
B. Ordorico 211
S. Oringa 146

S. Palaemon 149
" Palladius 417
" Patiens 100
" Patroclus 315
" Paul 215
" Paula 384
SS. Paul and comp. 277
S. Paulinus 436
" Pega 118
" Peter Balsam 39
" Peter Nolasco 470
" Peter of Canterbury 86
" Peter of Sebaste 125
" Peter's Chair 275
" Pharaildis 60
" Polycarp 378
" Poppo 375
" Praejectus 375
" Primus 44
" Prisca 276
" Priscilla 238

S. Raymund 357
" Rigobert 61
" Rumon 57

S. Sabine 273
SS. Sabinian and Sabina 439
S. Salvius 160
SS. Satyrus and others 163
S. Sebastian 300
" Serapion 470
" Sethrida 138
" Severinus 101
" Silvester 36
" Simeon Stylites 72
" Simeon the Old 383
SS. Speusippus and others 246
S. Sulpicius Severus 442
S. Susanna 278
" Syncletica 67

S. Telemachus 7
" Telesphorus 65
" Thecla 278
SS. Thecla and Justina 133
S. Theodoric 414
" Theodosius 151
SS. Theodulus & comp. 202
" Theognis & comp. 44
S. Theoritgitha 397
SS. Thyrsus and comp. 416
" Tigris and Eutropius 163
S. Timothy 359
" Titus 53
" Tyllo 94

S. Ulphia 468

S. Valentine 90
" Valerius of Trèves 439
" Valerius (Saragossa) 417
" Veronica of Milan 196
" Vincent 331
" Vitalis 156

B. Walter of Bierbeeke 341
S. William (Bourges) 139
" Wulsin 118
" Wulstan 290

SS. Xenophon and Mary 389
" XXXVIII Monks, in Ionia 175

SS. Zosimus and Athanasius 38

[Illustration: Decoration]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

SILVER-GILT MONSTRANCE _Frontispiece_
_In the Treasury of the Cathedral, Aix-la-Chapelle._

THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST _to face p._ 1
_From the grand Vienna edition of the
"Missale Romanum."_

OBLATION OF AN INFANT TO A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY _on p._ 37

S. Genoveva _to face p._ 48
_From "Caractéristiques des Saints dans l'Art
populaire énumérées et expliquées," par le_
P. CH. CAHIER, _de la Compagnie de Jesus.
4to. Paris, 1867._

S. SIMEON STYLITES " 72
_From_ HONE'S "_Everyday Book._"

THE EPIPHANY " 82
_From the Vienna Missal._

WORSHIPPERS AT THE SHRINE OF A SAINT _on p._ 87

SEAL OF THE CITY OF BRUSSELS " 98

S. GENOVEVA " 132

S. EGWIN, BP. OF WORCESTER _to face p._ 160
_After_ CAHIER.

S. AELRED, AB. OF RIEVAUX _to face p._ 176
_From a Design by_ A. WELBY PUGIN.

S. ODILO _on p._ 178

S. HILARY BAPTIZING S. MARTIN OF TOURS _to face p._ 184
_From a Window, dated 1528, in the Church of
S. Florentin, Yonne._

THE THREE CHILDREN IN THE FIERY FURNACE 184
_From the Catacombs._

SEAL OF ROBERT WISHART, BP. OF GLASGOW, 1272-1316 _on p._ 198

HERMIT SAINTS--S. ANTHONY " 214

HERMIT SAINT _to face p._ 216
_From a Drawing by_ A. WELBY PUGIN.

S. CEOLWULF (?) _on p._ 237

S. HONORÉ _to face p._ 240
_After_ CAHIER.

S. ANTHONY TORTURED BY DEMONS " 252
_From the Design by_ MARTIN SCHONGUER.

THE CHAIR OF S. PETER IN THE VATICAN _on p._ 274

S. PETER'S COMMISSION, "FEED MY FLOCK" _to face p._ 274

THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION " 274

BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION _on p._ 283
_From a Painting in the Catacombs._

S. WULSTAN, BP. OF WORCESTER _to face p._ 296
_From a Design by_ A. WELBY PUGIN.

SS. FABIAN AND SEBASTIAN _on p._ 298

S. SEBASTIAN _to face p._ 304
_From a Drawing by_ LUCAS SCHRAUDOLF.

THE PEACOCK AS A CHRISTIAN EMBLEM _on p._ 311

S. AGNES _to face p._ 316
_From the Vienna Missal._

THE VIRGIN APPEARING TO S. ILDEPHONSUS " 356
_After a Painting by_ MURILLO _in the Museum
at Madrid._

S. TIMOTHY " 360
_From a Window of the Eleventh Century at
Neuweiler._

S. PAUL _on p._ 369
_After a Bronze in Christian Museum in
the Vatican._

THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL _to face p._ 370
_After the Cartoon by_ RAPHAEL.

ALPHA AND OMEGA; THE FIRST AND THE LAST _on p._ 377

SS. PAULA, PRISCA, AND PAUL _to face p._ 384

S. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA " 424
_After the Picture by_ DOMINICHINO (_or_ DOMINIQUIN)
_in the Church of Grotta Ferrata, Rome._

S. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA " 432
_After_ CAHIER.

CHARLEMAGNE AND S. LOUIS " 436
_After a Picture in the Palais de Justice, Paris._

BAPTISM OF VANQUISHED SAXONS BY COMMAND
OF CHARLEMAGNE _on p._ 438
_From a Miniature of the 15th Century in the
Burgundy Library at Brussels._

S. FRANCIS OF SALES _to face p._ 448

S. ALDEGUND " 460
_After_ CAHIER.

VIRGIN IN CRESCENT _on p._ 464
_After_ ALBERT DÜRER.

S. MARCELLA _to face p._ 466
_After an Engraving of the Seventeenth Century._

S. ULPHIA " 468
_From_ CAHIER.

S. PETER NOLASCO " 470
_From_ CAHIER.

[Illustration: Decoration]

[Illustration: THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST.
From the grand Vienna Edition of the "Missale Romanum."
Jan. 1.]

LIVES OF THE SAINTS

January 1.

The Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ.

S. GASPAR, _one of the Magi_.
S. CONCORD, _P. M., at Spoleto, in Umbria, circ._ A.D. 175.
SS. ELVAN, _B., and_ MYDWYN, _in England, circ._ A.D. 198.
S. MARTINA, _V. M., at Rome_, A.D. 235.
S. PARACODIUS, _B. of Vienne_, A.D. 239.
S. SEVERUS, _M., at Ravenna_, A.D. 304.
S. TELEMACHUS, _M., at Rome_, A.D. 404.
S. FULGENTIUS, _B. C. of Ruspe, in N. Africa_, A.D. 533.
S. MOCHUA, or CUAN, _Ab. in Ireland, 6th cent._
S. MOCHUA, or CRONAN, _Ab. of Balla, in Ireland, 7th cent._
S. EUGENDUS, _Ab. of Condate, in the Jura_, A.D. 581.
S. FANCHEA, or FAIN, _V. Abss., of Rosairthir, in Ireland, 6th cent._
S. CLARE, _Ab. of Vienne, circ._ A.D. 660.
S. WILLIAM, _Ab. S. Benignus, at Dijon_, A.D. 1031.
S. Odilo, _Ab. Cluny_, A.D. 1049.

THE CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD.

This festival is celebrated by the Church in order to commemorate the
obedience of our Lord in fulfilling all righteousness, which is one
branch of the meritorious cause of our redemption, and by that means
abrogating the severe injunctions of the Mosaic law, and placing us
under the grace of the Gospel.

God gave to Abraham the command to circumcise all male children on the
eighth day after birth, and this rite was to be the seal of covenant
with Him, a token that, through shedding of the blood of One to come,
remission of the original sin inherited from Adam could alone be
obtained. It was also to point out that the Jews were cut off, and
separate, from the other nations. By circumcision, a Jew belonged to the
covenant, was consecrated to the service of God, and undertook to
believe the truths revealed by Him to His elect people, and to hold the
commandments to which He required obedience. Thus, this outward sign
admitted him to true worship of God, true knowledge of God, and true
obedience to God's moral law. Circumcision looked forward to Christ,
who, by His blood, remits sin. Consequently, as a rite pointing to Him
who was to come, it is abolished, and its place is taken by baptism,
which also is a sign of covenant with God, admitting to true worship,
true knowledge, and true obedience. But baptism is more than a covenant,
and therefore more than was circumcision. It is a Sacrament; that is, a
channel of grace. By baptism, supernatural power, or grace, is given to
the child, whereby it obtains that which by nature it could not have.
Circumcision admitted to covenant, but conferred no grace. Baptism
admits to covenant, and confers grace. By circumcision, a child was made
a member of God's own peculiar people. By baptism, the same is done; but
God's own people is now not one nation, but the whole Catholic Church.
Christ underwent circumcision, not because He had inherited the sin of
Adam, but because He came to fulfil all righteousness, to accomplish the
law, and for the letter to give the spirit.

It was, probably, the extravagances committed among the heathen at the
kalends of January, upon which this day fell, that hindered the Church
for some ages from proposing it as an universal set festival. The
writings of the Fathers are full of invectives against the idolatrous
profanations of this day, which concluded the riotous feasts in honour
of Saturn, and was dedicated to Janus and Strena, or Strenua, a goddess
supposed to preside over those presents which were sent to, and received
from, one another on the first day of the year, and which were called
after her, strenae; a name which is still preserved in the _étrennes_, or
gifts, which it is customary in France to make on New Year's Day.

But, when the danger of the heathen abuses was removed, by the
establishment of Christianity in the Roman empire, this festival began
to be observed; and the mystery of our Blessed Lord's Circumcision is
explained in several ancient homilies of the fifth century. It was,
however, spoken of in earlier times as the Octave of the Nativity, and
the earliest mention of it as the Circumcision is towards the end of the
eleventh century, shortly before the time of S. Bernard, who also has a
sermon upon it. In the Ambrosian Missal, used at Milan, the services of
the day contain special cautions against idolatry. In a Gallican
Lectionary, which is supposed to be as old as the seventh century, are
special lessons "In Circumcisione Domini." Ivo, of Chartres, in 1090,
speaks of the observance of this day in the French Church. The Greek
Church also has a special commemoration of the Circumcision.

S. CONCORD, P. M.

(ABOUT 175.)

[S. Concord is mentioned in all the Latin Martyrologies. His
festival is celebrated at Bispal, in the diocese of Gerona, in
Spain, where his body is said to be preserved, on the 2nd Jan. His
translation is commemorated on the 4th July. The following is an
abridgment of his genuine Acts.]

In the reign of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus, there raged a violent
persecution in the city of Rome. At that time there dwelt in Rome a
sub-deacon, named Concordius, whose father was priest of S. Pastor's,
Cordianus by name. Concord was brought up by his father in the fear of
God, and in the study of Holy Scripture, and he was consecrated
sub-deacon by S. Pius, Bishop of Rome. Concord and his father fasted and
prayed, and served the Lord instantly in the person of His poor. When
the persecution waxed sore, said Concord to his father, "My lord, send
me away, I pray thee, to S. Eutyches, that I may dwell with him a few
days, until this tyranny be overpast." His father answered, "My son, it
is better to stay here that we may be crowned." But Concord said, "Let
me go, that I may be crowned where Christ shall bid me be crowned." Then
his father sent him away, and Eutyches received him with great joy. With
him Concord dwelt for a season, fervent in prayer. And many sick came to
them, and were healed in the name of Jesus Christ.

Then, hearing the fame of them, Torquatus, governor of Umbria, residing
at Spoleto, sent and had Concord brought before him. To him he said,
"What is thy name?" He answered, "I am a Christian." Then, said the
Governor, "I asked concerning thee, and not about thy Christ." S.
Concord replied, "I have said that I am a Christian, and Christ I
confess." The Governor ordered: "Sacrifice to the immortal gods, and I
will be to thee a father, and will obtain for thee favour at the hands
of the Emperor, and he will exalt thee to be priest of the gods." S.
Concord said, "Harken unto me, and sacrifice to the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt escape eternal misery." Then the governor ordered him to
be beaten with clubs, and to be cast into prison.

Then, at night, there came to him the blessed Eutyches, with S.
Anthymius, the bishop; for Anthymius was a friend of the governor; and
he obtained permission of Torquatus to take Concord home with him for a
few days. And during these days he ordained him priest, and they watched
together in prayer.

And after a time, the governor sent and brought him before him once more
and said to him, "What hast thou decided on for thy salvation?" Then
Concord said, "Christ is my salvation, to whom daily I offer the
sacrifice of praise." Then he was condemned to be hung upon the little
horse; and, with a glad countenance, he cried, "Glory be to Thee, Lord
Jesus Christ!"

After this torment he was cast into prison, with irons on his hands and
neck. And blessed Concord began to sing praise to God in his dungeon,
and he said, "Glory be to God on high, and in earth peace to men of good
will." Then, that same night, the angel of the Lord stood by him, and
said, "Fear not to play the man, I shall be with thee."

And when three days had passed, the governor sent two of his officers,
at night, to him with a small image of Jupiter. And they said, "Hear
what the governor has ordered; sacrifice to Jupiter or lose thy head."
Then the blessed Concord spat in the face of the idol, and said, "Glory
be to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ." Then one of the officers smote off his
head in the prison. Afterwards, two clerks and certain religious men
carried away his body, and buried it not far from the city of Spoleto,
where many waters flow forth.

SS. ELVAN AND MYDWYN.

(ABOUT 198.)

[Mentioned in English Martyrologies, and by Ferrarius in his
General Catalogue of the Saints. The evidence for these Saints is
purely traditional; the first written record of them was by Gildas,
A.D. 560, but his account is lost. It is referred to by Matthew of
Westminster.]

Saint Elvan of Avalon, or Glastonbury, was brought up in that school
erroneously said to have been founded by S. Joseph of Arimathea. He
vehemently preached the truth before Lucius, a British king, and was
mightily assisted by S. Mydwyn of Wales (Meduinus), a man of great
learning. Lucius despatched Elvan and Mydwyn to Rome, on an embassy to
Pope Eleutherius, in 179, who consecrated Elvan bishop, and appointed
Mydwyn teacher. He gave them, as companions, two Roman clerks, Faganus
and Deruvianus; or, according to some, Fugatius and Damianus. They
returned with these to King Lucius, who was obedient to the word of God,
and received baptism along with many of his princes and nobles. Elvan
became the second archbishop of London. He and Mydwyn were buried at
Avalon. S. Patrick is said to have found there an ancient account of the
acts of the Apostles, and of Fugatius and Damianus, written by the hand
of S. Mydwyn. Matthew of Westminster gives the following account of the
conversion of Lucius, under the year 185:--"About the same time, Lucius,
king of the Britons, directed letters to Eleutherius, entreating him
that he would make him a Christian. And the blessed pontiff, having
ascertained the devotion of the king, sent to him some religious
teachers; namely, Faganus and Deruvianus, to convert the king to Christ,
and wash him in the holy font. And when that had been done, then the
different nations ran to baptism, following the example of the king, so
that in a short time there were no infidels found in the island."

There is a considerable amount of exaggeration in this account of
Matthew of Westminster, which must not be passed over. Lucius is known
in the Welsh triads by the name of Lleurwg, or Lleufer Mawr, which means
"The great Luminary," and this has been Latinized into Lucius, from
_Lux_, light. He was king of a portion of South Wales only. The Welsh
authorities make no mention of the alleged mission to Rome, though, that
such a mission should have been sent, is extremely probable. Some
accounts say that Medwy and Elfan were Britons, and that Dyfan and
Ffagan (Deruvianus and Faganus) were Roman priests. But both these names
are British, consequently we may conjecture that they were of British
origin, but resided then at Rome.

Four churches near Llandaf bore the names of Lleurwg (Lucius), Dyfan,
Ffagan, and Medwy, which confirms the belief in the existence of these
Saints, and indicates the scene of their labours. Matthew of Westminster
adds:--"A.D. 185. The blessed priests, Faganus and Deruvianus, returned
to Rome, and easily prevailed on the most blessed Pope that all that
they had done should be confirmed. And when it had been, then the
before-mentioned teachers returned to Britain, with a great many more,
by whose teaching the nation of the Britons was soon founded in the
faith of Christ, and became eminent as a Christian people. And their
names and actions are found in the book that Gildas the historian wrote,
concerning the victory of Aurelius Ambrosius."

Geoffrey, of Monmouth, who, unsupported, is thoroughly untrustworthy,
mentions the same circumstance, on the authority of the treatise of
Gildas, now lost. The embassy to Rome shall be spoken of at length,
under the title of S. Lucius, December 11th. See also Nennius, § 22;
Bede's Eccles. Hist. i. 4; and the Liber Landavensis, p. 65.

S. TELEMACHUS, H. M.

(ABOUT 404.)

The following account of the martrydom of S. Telemachus is given by
Theodoret, in his Ecclesiastical History, book v., chap. 26:--"Honorius,
who had received the empire of Europe, abolished the ancient exhibitions
of gladiators in Rome on the following occasion:--A certain man, named
Telemachus, who had embraced a monastic life, came from the East to
Rome at a time when these cruel spectacles were being exhibited. After
gazing upon the combat from the amphitheatre, he descended into the
arena, and tried to separate the gladiators. The bloodthirsty
spectators, possessed by the devil, who delights in the shedding of
blood, were irritated at the interruption of their savage sports, and
stoned him who had occasioned the cessation. On being apprised of this
circumstance, the admirable Emperor numbered him with the victorious
martyrs, and abolished these iniquitous spectacles."

For centuries the wholesale murders of the gladiatorial shows had lasted
through the Roman empire. Human beings, in the prime of youth and
health, captives or slaves, condemned malefactors, and even free-born
men, who hired themselves out to death, had been trained to destroy each
other in the amphitheatre for the amusement, not merely of the Roman
mob, but of the Roman ladies. Thousands, sometimes in a single day, had
been

"Butchered to make a Roman holiday."

The training of gladiators had become a science. By their weapons, and
their armour, and their modes of fighting, they had been distinguished
into regular classes, of which the antiquaries count up full eighteen:
Andabatae, who wore helmets, without any opening for the eyes, so that
they were obliged to fight blindfold, and thus excited the mirth of the
spectators; Hoplomachi, who fought in a complete suit of armour;
Mirmillones, who had the image of a fish upon their helmets, and fought
in armour, with a short sword, matched usually against the Retiarii, who
fought without armour, and whose weapons were a casting-net and a
trident. These, and other species of fighters, were drilled and fed in
"families" by lanistae, or regular trainers, who let them out to persons
wishing to exhibit a show. Women, even high-born ladies, had been
seized in former times with the madness of fighting, and, as shameless
as cruel, had gone down into the arena, to delight with their own wounds
and their own gore, the eyes of the Roman people.

And these things were done, and done too often under the auspices of the
gods, and at their most sacred festivals. So deliberate and organized a
system of wholesale butchery has never perhaps existed on this earth
before or since, not even in the worship of those Mexican gods, whose
idols Cortez and his soldiers found fed with human hearts, and the walls
of their temples crusted with human gore. Gradually the spirit of the
Gospel had been triumphing over this abomination. Ever since the time of
Tertullian, in the second century, Christian preachers and writers had
lifted up their voice in the name of humanity. Towards the end of the
third century, the Emperors themselves had so far yielded to the voice
of reason, as to forbid, by edicts, the gladiatorial fights. But the
public opinion of the mob, in most of the great cities, had been too
strong both for Saints and for Emperors. S. Augustine himself tells us
of the horrible joy which he, in his youth, had seen come over the vast
ring of flushed faces at these horrid sights. The weak Emperor Honorius
bethought himself of celebrating once more the heathen festival of the
Secular Games, and formally to allow therein an exhibition of
gladiators. But, in the midst of that show, sprang down into the arena
of the Colosseum of Rome, this monk Telemachus, some said from Nitria,
some from Phrygia, and with his own hands parted the combatants, in the
name of Christ and God. The mob, baulked for a moment of their pleasure,
sprang on him, and stoned him to death. But the crime was followed by a
sudden revulsion of feeling. By an edict of the Emperor, the
gladiatorial sports were forbidden for ever; and the Colosseum,
thenceforth useless, crumbled slowly away into that vast ruin which
remains unto this day, purified, as men well said, from the blood of
tens of thousands, by the blood of this true and noble martyr.[14]

S. FULGENTIUS, B. C.

(A.D. 533.)

[Roman Martyrology and nearly all the Latin Martyrologies. His life
was written by one of his disciples, and addressed to his
successor, Felicianus. Many of his writings are extant.]

Fulgentius belonged to an honourable senatorial family of Carthage,
which had, however, lost its position with the invasion of the Vandals
into Northern Africa. His father, Claudius, who had been unjustly
deprived of his house in Carthage, to give it to the Arian priest,
retired to an estate belonging to him at Telepte, a city of the province
of Byzacene. And here, about thirty years after the barbarians had
dismembered Africa from the Roman empire, in the year 468, was born
Fulgentius. Shortly after this his father died, and the education of the
child devolved wholly on his mother, Mariana. It has been often observed
that great men have had great mothers. Mariana was a woman of singular
intelligence and piety. She carefully taught her son to speak Greek with
ease and good accent, and made him learn by heart Homer, Menander, and
other famous poets of antiquity. At the same time, she did not neglect
his religious education, and the youth grew up obedient and modest. She
early committed to him the government of the house, and servants, and
estate; and his prudence in these matters made his reputation early, and
he was appointed procurator of the province.

But it was not long before he grew weary of the world; and the love of
God drew him on into other paths. He found great delight in religious
reading, and gave more time to prayer. He was in the habit of
frequenting monasteries, and he much wondered to see in the monks no
signs of weariness, though they were deprived of all the relaxations and
pleasures which the world provides. Then, under the excuse that his
labours of office required that he should take occasional repose, he
retired at intervals from business, and devoted himself to prayer and
meditation, and reduced the abundance of food with which he was served.
At length, moved by a sermon of S. Augustine on the thirty-sixth Psalm,
he resolved on embracing the religious life.

There was at that time a certain bishop, Faustus by name, who had been
driven, together with other orthodox bishops, from their sees, by
Huneric, the Arian king. Faustus had erected a monastery in Byzacene. To
him Fulgentius betook himself, and asked to be admitted into the
monastery. But the Bishop repelled him saying, "Why, my son, dost thou
seek to deceive the servants of God? Then wilt thou be a monk when thou
hast learned to despise luxurious food and sumptuous array. Live as a
layman less delicately, and then I shall believe in thy vocation." But
the young man caught the hand of him who urged him to depart, and,
kissing it said, "He who gave the desire is mighty to enable me to
fulfil it. Suffer me to tread in thy footsteps, my father!" Then, with
much hesitation, Faustus suffered the youth to remain, saying, "Perhaps
my fears are unfounded. Thou must be proved some days."

The news that Fulgentius had become a monk spread far and wide. His
mother, in transports of grief, ran to the monastery, crying out,
"Faustus! restore to me my son, and to the people their governor. The
Church always protects widows; why then dost thou rob me, a desolate
widow, of my child?" Faustus in vain endeavoured to calm her. She
desired to see her son, but he refused to give permission. Fulgentius,
from within, could hear his mother's cries. This was to him a severe
temptation, for he loved her dearly.

Shortly after, he made over his estate to his mother, to be
discretionally disposed of, by her, in favour of his brother Claudius,
when he should arrive at a proper age. He practised severe mortification
of his appetite, totally abstaining from oil and everything savoury, and
his fasting produced a severe illness, from which, however, he
recovered, and his constitution adapted itself to his life of
abstinence.

Persecution again breaking out, Faustus was obliged to leave his
monastery, and Fulgentius, at his advice, took refuge in another, which
was governed by the Abbot Felix, who had been his friend in the world,
and who became now his brother in religion. Felix rejoiced to see his
friend once more, and he insisted on exalting him to be abbot along with
himself. Fulgentius long refused, but in vain; and the monks were ruled
by these two abbots living in holy charity, Felix attending to the
discipline and the bodily necessities of the brethren, Fulgentius
instructing them in the divine love. Thus they divided the authority
between them for six years, and no contradictions took place between
them; each being always ready to comply with the will of the other.

In the year 499, the country being ravaged by the Numidians, the two
abbots were obliged to fly to Sicca Veneria, a city of the proconsular
province of Africa. Here they were seized by orders of an Arian priest,
and commanded to be scourged. Felix, seeing the executioners seize first
on Fulgentius, exclaimed, "Spare my brother, who is not sufficiently
strong to endure your blows, lest he die under them, and strike me
instead." Felix having been scourged, Fulgentius was next beaten. His
pupil says, "Blessed Fulgentius, a man of delicate body, and of noble
birth, was scarce able to endure the pain of the repeated blows, and, as
he afterwards told us, hoping to soothe the violence of the priest, or
distract it awhile, that he might recover himself a little, he cried
out, 'I will say something if I am permitted.'" The priest ordered the
blows to cease, expecting to hear a recantation. But Fulgentius, with
much eloquence, began a narration of his travels; and after the priest
had listened awhile, finding this was all he was about to hear, he
commanded the executioners to continue their beating of Fulgentius.
After that, the two abbots, naked and bruised, were driven away. Before
being brought before the Arian priest, Felix had thrown away a few coins
he possessed; and his captors, not observing this, after they were
released, he and Fulgentius returned to the spot and recovered them all
again. The Arian bishop, whose relations were acquainted with the family
of Fulgentius, was much annoyed at this proceeding of the priest, and
severely reprimanded him. He also urged Fulgentius to bring an action
against him, but the confessor declined, partly because a Christian
should never seek revenge, partly also because he was unwilling to plead
before a bishop who denied the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fulgentius, resolving to visit the deserts of Egypt, renowned for the
sanctity of the solitaries who dwelt there, went on board a ship for
Alexandria, but the vessel touching at Sicily, S. Eulalius, abbot at
Syracuse, diverted him from his intention, assuring him that "a
perfidious dissension had severed this country from the communion of S.
Peter. All these monks, whose marvellous abstinence is noised abroad,
have not got with you the Sacrament of the Altar in common;" meaning
that Egypt was full of heretics. Fulgentius visited Rome in the latter
part of the year 500, during the entry of Theodoric. "Oh," said he, "how
beautiful must the heavenly Jerusalem be, if earthly Rome be so
glorious." A short time after, Fulgentius returned home, and built
himself a cell on the sea-shore, where he spent his time in prayer,
reading and writing, and in making mats and umbrellas of palm leaves.

At this time the Vandal heretic, King Thrasimund, having forbidden the
consecration of Catholic bishops, many sees were destitute of pastors,
and the faithful were reduced to great distress. Faustus, the bishop,
had ordained Fulgentius priest, on his return to Byzacene, and now, many
places demanded him as their bishop. Fulgentius, fearing this
responsibility, hid himself; but in a time of such trial and difficulty
the Lord had need of him, and He called him to shepherd His flock in a
marvellous manner. There was a city named Ruspe, then destitute of a
bishop, for an influential deacon therein, named Felix, whose brother
was a friend of the procurator, desired the office for himself. But the
people, disapproving his ambition, made choice unanimously of
Fulgentius, of whom they knew only by report; and upon the primate
Victor, bishop of Carthage, giving his consent that the neighbouring
bishops should consecrate him, several people of Ruspe betook themselves
to the cell of Fulgentius, and by force compelled him to consent to be
ordained. Thus, he might say, in the words of the prophet, "A people
whom I have not known shall serve me."

The deacon, Felix, taking advantage of the illegality of the proceeding,
determined to oppose the entrance of S. Fulgentius by force, and
occupied the road by which he presumed the bishop would enter Ruspe. By
some means the people went out to meet him another way, and brought him
into the Cathedral, where he was installed, whilst the deacon, Felix,
was still awaiting his arrival in the road. Then he celebrated the
Divine Mysteries, with great solemnity, and communicated all the
people. And when Felix, the deacon, heard this, he was abashed, and
refrained from further opposition. Fulgentius received him with great
sweetness and charity, and afterwards ordained him priest.

As bishop, S. Fulgentius lived like a monk; he fed on the coarsest food,
and dressed himself in the plainest garb, not wearing the orarium, which
it was customary for bishops to put upon them. He would not wear a cloak
(_casula_) of gay colour, but one very plain, and beneath it a blackish,
or milk-coloured habit (_pallium_), girded about him. Whatever might be
the weather, in the monastery he wore this habit alone, and when he
slept, he never loosed his girdle. "In the tunic in which he slept, in
that did he sacrifice; he may be said, in time of sacrifice, to have
changed his heart rather than his habit."[15]

His great love for a recluse life induced him to build a monastery near
his house at Ruspe, which he designed to place under the direction of
his old friend, the Abbot Felix. But before the building could be
completed, King Thrasimund ordered the banishment of the Catholic
bishops to Sardinia. Accordingly, S. Fulgentius and other prelates,
sixty in all, were carried into exile, and during their banishment they
were provided yearly with provisions and money by the liberality of
Symmachus, Bishop of Rome. A letter of this Pope to them is still
extant, in which he encourages them, and comforts them. S. Fulgentius,
during his retirement, composed several treatises for the confirmation
of the faith of the orthodox in Africa. King Thrasimund, desirous of
seeing him, sent for him, and appointed him lodgings in Carthage. The
king drew up a set of ten objections to the Catholic faith, and required
Fulgentius to answer them. The Saint immediately complied with his
request, and his answer had such effect, that the king, when he sent him
new objections, ordered that the answers should be read to himself
alone. He then addressed to Thrasimund a confutation of Arianism, which
we have under the title of "Three Books to King Thrasimund." The prince
was pleased with the work, and granted him permission to reside at
Carthage; till, upon repeated complaints from the Arian bishops, of the
success of his preaching, which threatened, they said, the total
conversion of the city to the faith in the Consubstantial, he was sent
back to Sardinia, in 520. He was sent on board one stormy night, that he
might be taken away without the knowledge of the people, but the wind
being contrary, the vessel was driven into port again in the morning,
and the news having spread that the bishop was about to be taken from
them, the people crowded to say farewell, and he was enabled to go to a
church, celebrate, and communicate all the faithful. Being ready to go
on board when the wind shifted, he said to a Catholic, whom he saw
weeping, "Grieve not, I shall shortly return, and the true faith of
Christ will flourish again in this realm, with full liberty to profess
it; but divulge not this secret to any."

The event confirmed the truth of the prediction. Thrasimund died in 523,
and was succeeded by Hilderic, who gave orders for the restoration of
the orthodox bishops to their sees, and that liberty of worship should
be accorded to the Catholics.

The ship which brought back the bishops to Carthage was received with
great demonstrations of joy. The pupil of the bishop, and eye-witness of
the scene, thus describes it:--"Such was the devotion of the
Carthaginian citizens, desiring to see the blessed Fulgentius again,
that all the people ardently looked for him whom they had seen wrestle
so manfully before them. The multitude, which stood upon the shore, was
silent in expectation as the other bishops disembarked before him,
seeking with eyes and thoughts only him whom they had familiarly known,
and eagerly expecting him from the ship. And when his face appeared,
there broke forth a huge clamour, all striving who should first salute
him, who should first bow his head to him giving the benediction, who
should deserve to touch the tips of his fingers as he walked, who might
even catch a glimpse of him, standing afar off. From every tongue
resounded the praise of God. Then the people, going before and following
after the procession of the blessed confessors, moved to the Church of
S. Agileus. But there was such a throng of people, especially around
Fulgentius, whom they especially honoured, that a ring had to be formed
about him by the holy precaution of the Christians, to allow him to
advance upon his way. Moreover, the Lord, desiring to prove the charity
of the faithful, marvellously poured upon them, as they moved, a heavy
shower of rain. But the heavy down-pour deterred none of them, but
seemed to be the abundant benediction of heaven descending on them, and
it so increased their faith, that they spread their cloaks above blessed
Fulgentius, and composed of their great love a new sort of tabernacle
over him. And the evening approaching, the company of prelates presented
themselves before Boniface, the bishop (of Carthage) of pious memory,
and all together praised and glorified God. Then the blessed Fulgentius
traversed the streets of Carthage, visiting his friends and blessing
them; he rejoiced with them that did rejoice, and wept with them that
did weep; and so, having satisfied all their wishes, he bade farewell to
his brethren, and went forth out of Carthage, finding on all the roads
people coming to meet him in the way with lanterns, and candles, and
boughs of trees, and great joy, giving praises to the ineffable God, who
had wondrously made the blessed Fulgentius well pleasing in the sight of
all men. He was received in all the churches as if he were their bishop,
and thus the people throughout Byzacene rejoiced as one man over his
return."

Arrived at Ruspe, S. Fulgentius diligently laboured to correct what was
evil, and restore what was fallen down, and strengthen what was feeble
in his diocese. The persecution had lasted seventy years, so that many
abuses had crept in, and the faith of many was feeble, and ignorance
prevailed. He carried out his reformation with such gentleness, that he
won, sooner or later, the hearts of the most vicious.

In a council, held at Junque, in 524, a certain bishop, named
Quodvultdeus, disputed the precedency with the Bishop of Ruspe, who made
no reply, but took the first place accorded him by the council. However,
S. Fulgentius publicly desired, at the convention of another council,
that he might be allowed to yield the precedence to Quodvultdeus.

About a year before his death, the bishop retired from all business, to
prepare his soul for its exit, to a little island named Circinia. The
necessities of his flock recalled him, however, to Ruspe for a little
while.

He bore the violent pains of his last illness with great resignation,
praying incessantly, "Lord grant me patience now, and afterwards
pardon." He called his clergy about him, and asked them to forgive him
if he had shewn too great severity at any time, or had offended them in
any way, and then, committing his soul into the hand of God as a
merciful Creator, he fell asleep in the evening of January 1ST, A.D.
533, in his sixty-fifth year.

Relics, at Bourges, in France, where May 16 is observed as the feast of
his translation, in the year 714.

S. MOCHUA, OR CUAN.

(ABOUT 6TH CENT.)

[Commemorated in the ancient Irish Martyrologies on the 11th April;
probably as being the day of his translation. But he died on Jan.
1st. The life of S. Mochua, in the Bollandists, is legendary, and
is full of the wildest fable.]

SAINT MOCHUA was the son of a certain Cronan, of noble race, and spent
his youth in fighting. At the age of thirty, he laid aside his arms, and
burnt a house, with all its contents, which had been given to him by his
uncle, saying that a servant of Christ should take nothing from sinners.
Then he settled at a spot called Teach Mochua. He is said to have healed
S. Finnan, or Munnu, of leprosy, and when S. Finnan was about to return
home, and his horse broke its leg, S. Mochua summoned a stag out of the
forest to come and draw the vehicle, in place of the horse.

In his time, the first stone church was erected in Ireland by S. Kieran,
and during the building of the church, there fell no rain to impede the
masons, for the clouds were stayed by the prayers of S. Mochua. He is
said to have founded thirty churches. To assist in drawing wood from the
forest to build these churches, Mochua called to his aid twelve stags,
which served as patiently and obediently as oxen. And when his virtues
drew to him many people and much praise, the old man fled from place to
place, for he considered that the glory of this world would turn his
heart from the glory of the world to come. And when very aged, he
escaped with his oratory bell into a wild and mountainous part, and
there the clapper fell to the ground, at a place called Dagrinnis. He
was troubled in spirit, so bleak and lonely did the place appear; but an
angel announced to him that there he was to build a cell, and there to
die; and in this spot he spent thirty years, and wrought many miracles,
and died in the ninety-ninth year of his age.

It is difficult to clear the lives of many of the Irish Saints from the
fable wherewith lively imaginations have invested them, in their oral
transmission through many hundreds of years.

S. MOCHUA, OR CRONAN, OF BALLA

(7TH CENT.)

[The day of his death is unknown. He is here mentioned because of
the similarity of his name to that of S. Mochua, of Teach Mochua.
His life is legendary.]

Saint Mochua, or Cronan, was the third son of Began, a man of good
family. As a child, he was despised by his parents, and sent to keep
sheep. But S. Congal, passing by his father's house, called the boy to
follow him, and made him a monk. S. Mochua founded the monastery of
Balla in Connaught. He departed to the Lord in the fifty-sixth year of
his age.

S. ODILO, AB. CLUNY.

(A.D. 1049.)

[Roman and Benedictine Martyrologies. Two lives of S. Odilo are
extant, one written by Jotsald, a monk, who had lived under his
rule, and who wrote it for Stephen, the nephew of the Saint. The
other, a very inferior life, by S. Peter Damian. Both are printed
in the Bollandists, but the first is from an imperfect MS. It was
printed entire by Mabillon, Acta SS. O. S. B.]

Odilo belonged to the family of Mercoeur, one of the most illustrious of
Auvergne. Jotsald says:--"In the beginning of the account of his virtues
I must relate what happened to him as a boy. And lest it be thought
incredible, I mention that I heard it from those to whom he was wont to
narrate the circumstance. When he was quite a little boy in his
father's house, before he was sent to school, he was destitute of almost
all power in his limbs, so that he could not walk or move himself
without help. It happened that one day his father's family were moving
to another place, and a nurse was given charge of him to carry him. On
her way, she put the little boy down with her bundles before the door of
a church, dedicated to the Mother of God, as she and the rest were
obliged to go into some adjacent houses to procure food. As they were
some while absent, the boy finding himself left alone, impelled by
divine inspirations, began to try to get to the door and enter the
Church of the Mother of God. By some means, crawling on hands and knees,
he reached it, and entered the church, and went to the altar, and caught
the altar vestment with his hands; then, with all his power, stretching
his hands on high, he tried to rise, but was unable to do so, his joints
having been so long ill-united. Nevertheless, divine power conquered,
strengthening and repairing the feeble limbs of the boy. Thus, by the
intervention of the Mother of God, he rose, and stood upon his feet
whole, and ran here and there about the altar. The servants returning to
fetch their bundles, and not finding the child, were much surprised, and
looked in all directions, and not seeing him, became greatly alarmed.
However, by chance, entering the church, they saw him rambling and
running about it; then they recognised the power of God, and joyously
took the boy in their arms, and went to their destination, and gave him,
completely whole, to his parents, with great gladness."

As a child, he showed singular simplicity, modesty, and piety. "Thus
passed his childish years, and as the strength of youth began to succeed
to boyhood, he silently meditated how to desert the flesh-pots of Egypt,
and to strive to enter the Land of Promise, through the trials of the
world. O good Jesu! how sweet is Thy call! how sweet the inspiration of
Thy Spirit, which as soon as Thou strikest on the heart, turns the fire
of the Babylonish furnace into love of the celestial country. So! as
soon as thou strikest the heart of the youth, thou changest it." Whilst
he was thus meditating, S. Majolus passed through Auvergne, and Odilo
came to him; then the old man, looking on the graceful form and comely
face of the youth, and by the instinct of the Saints seeing into his
soul, he loved him greatly; also the youthful Odilo felt a great
affection for the aged monk. And when they spoke to one another, Odilo
opened his heart to Majolus, and the venerable man encouraged the youth
to persevere in his good intentions.

Shortly after, Odilo left his home, "as Abraham of old went forth out of
Ur of the Chaldees, and sought admittance into the abbey of Cluny, as
into the Promised Land. O good Jesu! how pleasant it was to see this
sheep shorn of its worldly fleece, again ascend as from the baptismal
font! Then, wearing our habit, you might have seen our sheep amongst the
others of His flock, first in work, last in place, seeking the pastures
of eternal verdure; attending to the lamps, sweeping the floors, and
doing other common offices. But the pearl could not remain long
concealed. After four years, S. Majolus, after many hard labours borne
for Christ, went out of the darkness of Egypt, entered Jerusalem, and
was placed in eternal peace by Christ. As death approached, he chose
Odilo to be his successor, and to him and to the Lord, he committed his
flock." But S. Odilo shrank from the position for which his youth, as he
considered, disqualified him; however, he was elected by the whole
community, and was therefore unable to refuse the office wherewith he
was invested by the vote of the brethren, and the desire of the late
abbot.

His disciple, Jotsald, gives a very beautiful picture of his master. He
describes him as being of middle stature, with a face beaming with
grace, and full of authority; very emaciated and pale; his eyes bright
and piercing, and often shedding tears of compunction. Every motion of
his body was grave and dignified; his voice was manly, and modulated to
the greatest sweetness, his speech straightforward and without
affectation or artificiality.

His disciple says that he would recite psalms as he lay on his bed, and
falling asleep, his lips would still continue the familiar words, so
that the brethren applied to him the words of the bride, "I sleep but my
heart waketh," _Ego dormio et cor meum vigilat_. He read diligently, and
nothing gave him greater delight than study. His consideration for
others was very marked. "He was burdensome to none, to none importunate,
desirous of no honour, he sought not to get what belonged to others, nor
to keep what was his own." His charity was most abundant; often the
brethren feared that it exceeded what was reasonable, but they found
that though he gave largely, he did not waste the revenues of the
monastery. Once, in time of famine, he was riding along a road, when he
lit on the naked bodies of two poor boys who had died of hunger. Odilo
burst into tears, and descending from his horse, drew off his woollen
under garment and wrapping the bodies in it, carefully buried them. In
this famine he sold the costly vessels of the Sanctuary, and despoiled
the Church of its gold and silver ornaments, that he might feed the
starving people. Amongst the objects thus parted with was the crown of
gold presented to the abbey by Henry, King of the Romans. He accompanied
this Prince in his journey to Rome, when he was crowned emperor, in
1014. This was his second journey thither; he made a third in 1017, and
a fourth in 1022. Out of devotion to S. Benedict, he paid a visit to
Monte Cassino, where he kissed the feet of all the monks, at his own
request, which was granted him with great reluctance.

"The convocation of the brethren was regularly held by him till he was
at the point of death. O how joyous he was in the midst of them, as
standing in the midst of the choir, and looking to right and left he saw
the ring of young plantings, and remembered the verse of David's song,
'Thy children shall be as the olive branches round about thy table.'
_Filii tui sicut novellae olivarum, in circuitu mensae tuae._ And the more
the number of brothers increased, the more he exhibited his joy of heart
by signs. And when some seemed distressed thereat, he was wont to say,
'Grieve not that the flock has become great, my brothers, He who has
called us in, He governs, and will provide.'"

Fulbert, Bishop of Chartres, called him the archangel of monks; and the
name, says his disciple, became him well. S. Odilo, out of his great
compassion for the souls of the dead expiating the penalty of their sins
in purgatory, instituted the commemoration of All Souls for the morrow
of All Saints, in the Cluniac order, which was afterwards adopted by the
whole Catholic Church in the West. Many incidents of his travels, and
miracles that he wrought, are related by his pupil. As he was riding
over the Jura mountains, in snowy weather, the horse carrying his
luggage fell, and was precipitated into the valley, and all the baggage
was scattered in the snow-drifts. With much trouble, the horse and much
of the baggage were recovered, but a valuable Sacramentary, inscribed
with gilt letters, and some glass vessels, with embossed work, were
lost. That evening, Odilo and his monks arrived at a cell, under the
jurisdiction of S. Eugendus, and being much troubled at his loss, as
much rain fell in the night, S. Odilo sent some of the brethren early
next morning to search for the lost treasures. But the snow-drifts were
so deep that they could not find them, and he was obliged to leave
without them. However, as the spring came round, a certain priest, named
Ermendran, was walking in the glen, and he found the book uninjured,
and the glass goblets unbroken. He brought them to the cell, and on the
return of Odilo to the Jura, he received his lost treasures intact.

Another story of a glass vessel comes on good authority. The
circumstances were related by Albert, Bishop of Como, in these words,
"Once our Abbot and Superior came to the court of the Emperor Henry, and
whilst there, it happened one day that at table a goblet of glass, of
Alexandrine workmanship, very precious, with coloured enamel on it, was
placed before him. He called me and Landulf, afterwards Bishop of Turin,
to him, and bade us take this glass to Odilo. We accordingly, as the
Emperor had bidden, took it, and going to the abbot, offered it to him,
on the part of the Emperor, humbly bowing. He received it with great
humility, and told us to return after a while for the goblet again.
Then, when we had gone away, the monks, filled with natural curiosity to
see and handle a new sort of thing, passed the vessel from hand to hand,
and as they were examining it, it slipped through their fingers to the
ground, and was broken. When the gentle man of God was told this, he was
not a little grieved, and said, 'My brothers, you have not done well,
for by your negligence, the young clerks who have the custody of these
things will, maybe, lose the favour of the Emperor, through your fault.
Now, that those who are innocent may not suffer for your carelessness,
let us all go to church and ask God's mercy about this matter.'
Therefore, they all ran together into the church, and sang psalms and
prayed, lest some harm should befall us--Albert and Landulf, each of
them earnestly supplicating God for us. When the prayer was over, the
holy man ordered the broken goblet to be brought to him. He looked at
it, and felt it, and could find no crack or breakage in it. Wherefore,
he exclaimed indignantly, 'What are you about, brothers? You must be
blind to say that the glass is broken, when there is not a sign of
injury done to it.' The brethren, considering it, were amazed at the
miracle, and did not dare to speak. Then, after a while, I and my
companion came back for the vessel, and we asked it of him who was
carrying it. He called me apart, and returned it to me, bidding me tell
the Emperor to regard it as a great treasure. And when I asked his
meaning, he told me all that had happened."

S. Odilo seems to have been fond of art, for he rebuilt the monasteries
of his order, and made them very beautiful, and the churches he adorned
with all the costly things he could procure. The marble pillars for
Cluny were brought, by his orders, in rafts down the Durance, into the
Rhone, and he was wont to say of Cluny, that he found it of wood and
left it of marble. He erected over the altar of S. Peter, in the church,
a ciborium, whose columns were covered with silver, inlaid with nigello
work.

When he felt that his death approached, he made a circuit of all the
monasteries under his sway, that he might leave them in thorough
discipline, and give them his last admonitions. On this journey he
reached Souvigny, a priory in Bourbonnais, where he celebrated the Vigil
of the Nativity, and preached to the people, although at the time
suffering great pain. After that, he announced to the brethren in
chapter, that he was drawing nigh to his end, and he besought their
prayers. As he was too weak to go to the great Church of S. Peter, which
was attended by the monks, he kept the festival of the Nativity with a
few brethren, whom he detained, to be with him in the Chapel of S. Mary;
joyously he praecented the psalms and antiphons, and gave the
benedictions, and performed all the ceremonies of that glad festival,
forgetful of his bodily infirmities, knowing that soon he was to see God
face to face, in the land of the living, and no more in a glass darkly.
Most earnest was he, lest death should come and find him unprepared.
Throughout the Octave, he was carried in the arms of the monks to
church, where he assisted at the choir offices, night and day, and at
the celebration of the mass, refreshing himself at the sacred mysteries,
and looking forward to the feast of the Circumcision, when his friend
William, abbot of Dijon, had fallen asleep, on which day, he foretold,
he also should enter into his rest.

On that day, carried by his brethren, he was laid before the altar of
the Virgin Mother, and the monks sang vespers. Now and then their voices
failed, through over much sorrow, and then he recited the words of the
psalms they in their trouble had omitted. As night crept in at the
windows, he grew weaker and fainter. Then the brothers laid sack-cloth
and ashes under him, and as he was lifted in the arms of one, brother
Bernard, he asked, reviving a little, where he was. The brother
answered, "On sack-cloth and ashes." Then he sighed forth, "God be
thanked!" and he asked that the little children, and the whole body of
the brethren, might be assembled. And when all were gathered around him,
he directed his eyes to the Cross, and his lips moved in prayer, and he
died thus in prayer, gazing on the sign of his salvation.

His body was laid in the nave of the Church of Souvigny, near that of S.
Majolus.

He is often represented saying mass, with purgatory open beside the
altar, and those suffering extending their hands to him, in allusion to
his having instituted the commemoration of All Souls.

FOOTNOTES:

[14] The Hermits, by Rev. C. Kingsley, p. 153, 154.

[15] This passage has been quoted by some to show that at this
period special vestments were not in general use for the Eucharist, as
an argument against their present use. But it by no means appears from
the passage quoted that Fulgentius did not wear Eucharistic vestments.
It simply says that he wore at Mass the habit he lived and slept in.
This is what monks and friars do now; they put the vestment over the
habit.

JANUARY 2.

The Octave of S. Stephen, the First Martyr.

SS. FRONTASIUS, AND COMPANIONS, _MM. in Gaul_.
SS. MARTYRS, _at Lichfield, circ._ A.D. 304.
S. ISIDORE, _B.C., in Egypt, 4th cent._
S. MACARIUS, OF ALEXANDRIA, _Ab._, A.D. 394.
S. ASPASIUS, C., _at Melun, France_, A.D. 550.
S. MAXIMUS, _Ab. M., in France_, A.D. 614.
S. ADALHARDT, _Ab. of Corbie_, A.D. 826.
S. SILVESTER, _Monk of Trani, in S. Italy_, A.D. 1185.

THE HOLY MARTYRS OF LICHFIELD.

(A.D. 304.)

[Anglican Martyrologies.]

Lichfield derives its name from Lyke-field, the field of dead bodies,
because it is traditionally said, that in the persecution of Diocletian,
many Christians suffered there for the faith. The arms of Lichfield are
a plain strewn with corpses. Nothing certain is known of this event,
which is probably altogether apocryphal.

S. MACARIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, AB.

(A.D. 394.)

[There were two Macarii. Both are commemorated together by the
Greeks, on Jan. 19th; but the Latins commemorate S. Macarius of
Alexandria, on Jan. 2nd; and S. Macarius the Egyptian, on Jan.
15th. The history of this S. Macarius is perfectly authentic,
having been written by S. Palladius (B. 368,) in the year 421; the
writer knew S. Macarius personally, having been nine years in "the
cells," of which S. Macarius was priest. Three of these years
Macarius and Palladius lived together; so that, as the author says,
he had every opportunity of judging of his manner of life and
actions.]

Saint Macarius the younger was born in Alexandria, of poor parents, and
followed the trade of confectioner. Desirous of serving God with his
whole heart, he forsook the world in the flower of his age, and spent
upwards of sixty years in the deserts, in the exercise of fervent
penance and prayer. He first retired into the Thebaid, or Upper Egypt,
about the year 335; then, aiming at greater disengagement, he descended
to Lower Egypt, in or about the year 373. Here there were three deserts
almost adjoining each other; that of Scété; that of the Cells, so called
because of the multitude of cells wherewith its rocks were honey-combed;
and a third, which reached the western bank of the Nile, called the
Nitrian desert. S. Macarius had a cell in each of these deserts. When he
was in Nitria he gave advice to those who sought him. But his chief
residence was in the desert of the Cells. There each hermit lived
separate, assembling only on Saturday and Sunday, in the church, to
celebrate the divine mysteries, and to partake of the Holy Communion.
All the brothers were employed at some handicraft, generally they
platted baskets or mats. All in the burning desert was still; in their
cells the hermits worked, and prayed, and cooked their scanty victuals,
till the red ball of the sun went down behind the sandy plain to the
west; then from all that region rose a hum of voices, the rise and fall
of song, as the evening psalms and hymns were being chanted by that
great multitude of solitaries in dens and caves of the earth.

Palladius has recorded an instance of the great self-denial observed by
these hermits. A present was made to S. Macarius of a bunch of grapes,
newly gathered. The holy man carried it to a neighbouring solitary who
was sick; he sent it to another, and each wishing that some dear brother
should enjoy the fruit rather than himself, passed it on to another; and
thus the bunch of grapes made the circuit of the cells, and was brought
back to Macarius.

The severity of life practised by these hermits was great. For seven
years together S. Macarius lived on raw herbs and pulse, and for the
three following years contented himself with four or five ounces of
bread a day. His watchings were not less surprising. He told Palladius
that it had been his great desire to fix his mind on God alone for five
days and nights continuously. And when he supposed he was in the proper
mood, he closed his cell, and stood up, and said, "Now thou hast angels
and archangels, and all the heavenly host in company with thee. Be in
heaven, and forget earthly things." And so he continued for two nights
and days, wrapped in heavenly contemplations, but then his hut seemed to
flame about him, even the mat on which he stood, and his mind was
diverted to earth. "But it was as well," said he; "for I might have
fallen into pride."

The reputation of the monastery of Tabenna, under S. Pachomius, drew him
to it in disguise. S. Pachomius told him he seemed too far advanced in
years to begin to practise the austerities undergone by himself and his
monks; nevertheless, on his earnest entreaty, he admitted him. Then Lent
drew on, and the aged Macarius saw the monks fasting, some two whole
days, others five, some standing all night, and sitting at their work
during the day. Then he, having soaked some palm leaves, as material for
his work, went apart into a corner, and till Easter came, he neither ate
nor drank, nor sat down, nor bowed his knee, nor lay down, and sustained
life on a few raw cabbage leaves which he ate on Sundays; and when he
went forth for any need he returned silently to his work, and occupied
his hands in platting, and his heart in prayer. But when the others saw
this, they were astonished, and remonstrated with S. Pachomius, saying,
"Why hast thou brought this fleshless man here to confound us with his
austerities. Send him away, or we will desert this place." Then the
abbot went to Macarius, and asked him who he was, and when he told his
name, Pachomius was glad, and cried, "Many years have I desired to see
thee. I thank thee that thou hast humbled my sons; but now, go thy way,
sufficiently hast thou edified us; go, and pray for us." Macarius, on
one occasion, to subdue his flesh, filled two great baskets with sand,
and laying them on his shoulders, walked over the hot desert, bowed
beneath them. A friend meeting him, offered to ease him of his burden,
but "No," said the old hermit, "I have to torment my tormentor;" meaning
his body.

One day, a gnat stung him in his cell, and he killed it. Then, ashamed
that he had allowed himself to be irritated by the petty insect, and to
have lost an opportunity of enduring mortification with equanimity, he
went to the marshes of Scété, and stayed there six months, suffering
greatly from the stings of the insects. When he returned, he was so
disfigured by their bites, that he was only recognized by his voice.

The terrible severity with which these Egyptian hermits punished
themselves is perhaps startling, but it was something needed at a time
when the civilized world was sunk in luxury, profligacy, and
indifference. That was a time which called for a startling and vivid
contrast to lead minds into self-inspection. "Private profligacy among
all ranks was such as cannot be described in any modern pages. The
clergy of the cities, though not of profligate lives, and for the most
part unmarried, were able to make no stand against the general
corruption of the age, because--at least if we are to trust such writers
as Jerome and Chrysostom--they were giving themselves up to ambition and
avarice, intrigue and party spirit. No wonder if, in such a state of
things, the minds of men were stirred by a passion akin to despair. It
would have ended often, but for Christianity, in such an actual despair
as that which had led, in past ages, more than one noble Roman to slay
himself, when he lost all hope for the Republic. Christianity taught
those who despaired of society, of the world--in one word, of the Roman
empire, and all that it had done for men--to hope at last for a Kingdom
of God after death. It taught those, who, had they been heathens and
brave enough, would have slain themselves to escape out of a world which
was no place for honest men, that the body must be kept alive, at least,
for the sake of the immortal soul, doomed, according to its works, to
endless bliss or endless torment. But that the world--such, at least, as
they saw it then--was doomed, Scripture and their own reason taught
them. They did not merely believe, but see, in the misery and confusion,
the desolation, and degradation around them, that all that was in the
world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of
life, was not of the Father, but of the world; that the world was
passing away, and the lust thereof, and that only he who did the will of
God could abide for ever. They did not merely believe, but saw, that the
wrath of God was revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of
men; and that the world in general was treasuring up to themselves
wrath, tribulation, and anguish, against a day of wrath and revelation
of the righteous judgment of God, who would render to every man
according to his works. That they were correct in their judgment of the
world about them, contemporary history proves abundantly. That they were
correct, likewise, in believing that some fearful judgment was about to
fall on man, is proved by the fact that it did fall; that the first half
of the fifth century saw, not only the sack of Rome, but the conquest
and desolation of the greater part of the civilized world, amid
bloodshed, misery, and misrule, which seemed to turn Europe into a
chaos, which would have turned it into a chaos, had there not been a
few men left who still felt it possible and necessary to believe in God,
and to work righteousness. Under these terrible forebodings, men began
to flee from a doomed world, and try to be alone with God, if by any
means they might save each man his own soul in that dread day."[16]

S. Macarius, of Alexandria, and his namesake, the Egyptian, lived much
together. They were both exiled in 375, at the instigation of the Arian
patriarch of Alexandria, who dreaded their influence over the people,
and zeal for the orthodox faith. They crossed the Nile together in a
ferryboat, when they encountered two military tribunes, accompanied by a
great array of horses, with decorated bridles, of equipages, soldiers,
and pages covered with ornaments. The officers looked long at the two
monks in their old dresses, humbly seated in a corner of the bark. They
might well look at them, for in that bark two worlds stood face to face;
old Rome, degraded by the emperors, and the new Christian republic, of
which the monks were the precursors. As they approached the shore, one
of the tribunes said to the cenobites, "You are happy, for you despise
the world." "It is true," answered the Alexandrine, "we despise the
world, and the world despises you. You have spoken more truly than you
intended; we are happy in fact, and happy in name, for we are called
Macarius, which means in Greek happy."

The tribune made no answer, but, returning to his house, renounced all
his wealth and rank, and went to seek happiness in solitude.

In art, S. Macarius is represented with wallets of sand on his
shoulders; sometimes with a hyaena and its young, because the story is
told that one day a hyaena brought her young one and laid it at the feet
of the hermit. He looked at the animal, and saw that it was blind,
therefore he pitied the poor whelp, and prayed to God; then he touched
the eyes of the young hyaena, and it saw plain. Next day, the mother
brought a sheepskin and laid it at his feet, and this the hermit wore
continually afterwards, till he gave it to S. Melania.

FOOTNOTES:

[16] Kingsley, The Hermits, p. 4, 6.

S. ADALHARDT, OR ADELARD, AB. C.

(A.D. 826.)

[Named in many later Western Martyrologies, but not enrolled in the
Roman Kalendar. He is variously called Adelhard, Adalarch, Alard,
and Adelhardt. His life was written by S. Paschasius Radbertus, his
disciple, and this was epitomized by S. Gerard, of Sauve-Majeur, in
the 11th century. Paschasius says that the reason of his writing
the life, was "to recall him whom almost the whole world regards as
holy and admirable; whom we have seen, and whose love we enjoyed."]

Adalhardt was of royal race, having been the son of Bernhardt, son of
Charles Martel, the brother of King Pepin; so that Adalhardt was
cousin-german to Charlemagne, by whom he was called to court in his
youth, and created Count of the Palace. But when the king put away his
wife, the daughter of Desiderius, King of Italy, to marry another,
Adalhardt left the court, disgusted with its lawlessness and vice, and
became a monk at Corbie, at the age of twenty, in the year 773. He was
made gardener, and, as his historian says, "With Mary he sought Jesus in
the garden." At Corbie, he was so frequently visited by his relations,
his friends, and acquaintances, that he had not sufficient solitude for
the labour of turning his soul from earth to heaven; therefore he left
Corbie and betook himself to Monte Cassino; but by order of the Emperor
Charles, he was brought back again to Corbie, where he was shortly after
elected abbot. He was compelled at last, by Charlemagne, to quit the
monastery, and take upon him the charge of prime minister to his son
Pepin, to whom he had intrusted the government of Italy.

On the death of Charlemagne, Louis the Pious succeeded to the throne,
and dismissed all the old ministers and officers of his father. Bernard,
son of Pepin, the elder brother of Louis, who was dead, having asserted
his right to the throne, King Louis suspected the abbot of Corbie of
having been privy to this attempt, and he exiled him to the island of
Heri, or Herimoutier, and his brothers and sisters were sent into
monasteries. His brother Walla was forced to become a monk at Corbie;
Bernharius was sent to Lerins; his sister Gundrada was given to the
charge of S. Radegund, at Poictiers, and only Theodradra was left
unmolested at Soissons.

Adalhardt spent seven years in banishment at Herimoutier, and then the
king, having recognized his error, recalled him, to the great grief of
the monks of Heri, to whom his meekness and charity had made him dear,
and to the joy of those of Corbie, to whom he returned. He was not,
however, allowed to remain at peace in his abbey at the head of his
monks, but was recalled to court, where the king, whose disposition was
much changed, followed his advice in all his undertakings, and Adalhardt
was of great use to him, in suggesting improvement in the laws. At
length, in 823, he obtained leave to return to Corbie, which he governed
till his death. He had an admirable memory, so that he never forgot the
face, or name, or disposition of one of his monks; and he was careful to
speak with each of them once a week.

During the banishment of the Saint, another Adalhardt, who governed the
monastery by his appointment, began the foundation of another Corbie, in
the diocese of Paderborn, in Westphalia, that it might be a nursery of
missionaries for the conversion of the northern nations. S. Adalhardt
often journeyed from one Corbie to the other, that he might provide for
the welfare, and look to the discipline of both houses. Finding himself
attacked with fever, and knowing that he should not recover, he used
every effort to reach the mother house before Christmas. This he
achieved, and there he calmly prepared for his passage, communicating
daily. Hearing of his sickness, Hildemann, Bishop of Beauvais, who had
been a monk under him, hurried to his side, and administered to him the
Sacrament of extreme unction, and scarcely left him. One day, however,
the bishop left the room for a moment, and, on his return, saw the sick
man in great transport. The Abbot exclaimed, "Hither speedily, Bishop, I
urge you, and kiss the feet of Jesus, my Lord, for He is at my side."
Then the Bishop of Beauvais trembled with awe, and stood still, not
knowing what to say or do. But Adalhardt said no more. On the Octave of
the Nativity, he called together the brethren, and having received the
Body and Blood of Christ, he said to the assembled monks, "O my sons,
the fruit of my old age in the Lord! I have finished the number of my
days, and to-day I shall depart, and go the way of all flesh, and appear
in the presence of my Redeemer. I have finished the course of my
struggle, and what reward I shall receive, I know not. But help me, I
pray, that I in you, and you in me, may rejoice in the Lord." Thus
saying, he surrendered his pure soul to Him who made it. He was buried
at the foot of the chancel steps in the Church of S. Peter, at Corbie;
but in the year 1040 the body was taken up and enshrined.

S. SILVESTER, OF TRANI, MONK.

(A.D. 1185.)

[S. Silvester, monk of Trani, near Barletta, in South Italy, is
held there in great reverence, and commemorated on the 2nd Jan. and
2nd May.]

Saint Silvester, of whom nothing authentic is known, is traditionally
said to have been a monk of the order of S. Basil, in the convent of S.
Michael, at Bari. Various miracles are attributed to him, as his having
gone one winter day to Catania and back on foot. He is also said to have
entered a baker's furnace to scrape the living embers together for him,
when he had lost his shovel, and to have come forth unhurt.

[Illustration: Oblation of an Infant to a Religious Community. After
a Miniature in the Burgundy Library at Brussels.]

January 3.

The Octave of S. John, the Evangelist.

S. ANTEROS, _Pope and M., at Rome_, A.D. 236.
S. FLORENTIUS, _B.M., at Vienne, in France, circ._ A.D. 258.
SS. ZOSIMUS AND ATHANASIUS, _MM., in Cilicia, circ._ A.D. 290.
S. PETER BALSAM, _M., at Aulane in Palestine_, A.D. 291.
S. GORDIUS, _M., at Caesarea, circ._ A.D. 320.
SS. THEOGNIS, PRIMUS, AND CYRINUS, _MM., circ._ A.D. 320.
S. MELOR, _M., in Cornwall, circ._ A.D. 411.
S. GENOVEVA, _V., at Paris_, A.D. 512.
S. BERTILIA, _V., at Marolles_, A.D. 687.

S. ANTEROS, P. M.

(A.D. 236.)

[Commemorated in the Roman Martyrology, and in that attributed to
Bede, that of Usuardus, &c.]

Saint Anteros succeeded S. Pontianus as Bishop of Rome in 235. He
instituted the office of notaries in the Church, to take down the
sayings and sufferings of the martyrs, so that faithful records of their
acts might be preserved. He died, June 18th, A.D. 236.

SS. ZOSIMUS AND ATHANASIUS, MM.

(ABOUT A.D. 290.)

[Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea. The Greeks keep their
commemoration, however, on Jan. 4th. The authority for the
following account is the Greek Menaea.]

These martyrs suffered under Diocletian, in Cilicia. S. Zosimus was a
hermit. His ears were burnt off with red hot irons, afterwards he was
plunged into a vessel of molten lead, and was then dismissed. He
returned to his desert, converted and baptized Athanasius, and died in
his cell.

S. PETER BALSAM, M.

(A.D. 291.)

[Commemorated in most Latin Martyrologies, and in the Greek Menaea
on the 12th Jan. He is mentioned as Peter the Ascetic, by Eusebius;
his genuine Acts are given in Ruinart.]

Eusebius, in his account of the martyrs of Palestine, appended to the
8th book of his Ecclesiastical History, says:--"On the eleventh of the
month Audynoeus, _i.e._, on the third of the ides of January (11th Jan.),
in the same city of Caesarea, Peter the Ascetic, also called Absolom,
from the village of Anea, on the borders of Eleutheropolis, like the
purest gold, with a good resolution, gave proof of his faith in the
Christ of God. Disregarding both the judge and those around him, that
besought him in many ways to have compassion on himself, and to spare
his youth and blooming years, he preferred his hope in the Supreme God
of all, and even to life itself."

The name of this Saint seems to have been Peter Absolom; the latter
appellation has been corrupted into Apselm, Anselm, and Balsam. The acts
of his martrydom are authentic. They are as follows:--

At that time Peter, called Balsam, was captured at Aulane, in the time
of persecution. He came from the borders of Eleutheropolis, and was
brought before the governor, Severus, who said to him, "What is your
name?" Peter answered, "I am called by my paternal name of Balsam, but
in baptism I received my spiritual name of Peter." The Governor, "To
what family do you belong?" Peter, "I am a Christian." The Governor,
"What office do you bear?" Peter, "What office can be more honourable
than to live a Christian?" The Governor, "Have you any parents?" Peter,
"I have none." The Governor, "There you lie, for I have heard that you
have." Peter, "In the Gospel I am commanded to renounce all things when
I come to confess Christ." The Governor, "Do you know the imperial
edicts?" Peter, "I know the laws of God, the Sovereign true and
everlasting." The Governor, "It is commanded by the most clement
emperors that all Christians shall either sacrifice, or be executed in
various ways." Peter, "And this is the command of the everlasting King.
If thou sacrifice to any demon, and not to God alone, thou shalt be
plucked out of the Book of the Living. Judge thou which I shall obey."
The Governor, "Come, listen to me, sacrifice and obey the law." Peter,
"I will not sacrifice to gods made by men's hands of wood and stone."
And he poured forth a vehement invective against idolatry. The governor
ordered him to the rack, and when he was slung to it, he said, "Well,
Peter, what say you to this? How do you like your swing?" Peter said,
"Bring the iron hooks; I have already told thee that I will not
sacrifice to devils, but to God alone, for whom I suffer." The governor
ordered him to be tortured. And when the stress of torment was very
great, the martyr uttered no cry of pain, but sang, "One thing have I
desired of the Lord, which I will require: even that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the fair beauty of
the Lord, and to visit His temple. What reward shall I give unto the
Lord for all the benefits that He hath done unto me? I will take the cup
of salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord." As he thus spake, the
governor ordered other executioners to come to the work, being much
exasperated. And the crowd standing by, when they saw much blood run
over the pavement, lamented, and urged him, saying, "O man,
compassionate thyself, and sacrifice, that thou mayest escape these
dreadful pains." But the holy man of God answered them, "These pains are
nothing, and give me no suffering; but were I to deny the name of my
God, I know that I should fall into greater torments, which would last
eternally." The Governor said, "You had better sacrifice, or you will
repent it." "No," answered Peter; "I will not sacrifice, and I shall not
repent it." The Governor said, "Well, then I shall pronounce sentence."
"That," said Peter, "is what I most ardently desire."

Then the governor gave sentence in these words, "I command Peter,
continuously despising the commands of the unconquered emperors, to
suffer the death of the cross."

Thus, the venerable athlete of Christ, fulfilling his agony, was found
worthy to participate in the Passion of his Lord. And he suffered at
Aulane, on the third of the nones of January (Jan. 3rd,) under Maximian,
the emperor.

This account is somewhat abbreviated from the Acts. There is some little
discrepancy between it and that of Eusebius. The ecclesiastical
historian says he was executed at Caesarea; the Acts say at Aulane; but
as this was an insignificant village in the district over which the
governor of Caesarea held jurisdiction, the discrepancy is only apparent.
Eusebius says he suffered on the third of the ides; the Acts, that he
suffered on the third of the nones. It is probable that Eusebius is
right, for the Greeks observe the martyrdom of S. Peter Balsam on the
12th Jan., and in the Martyrology, attributed to S. Jerome, the passion
of this Saint is given as occurring on the third of the ides, 11th Jan.

S. GORDIUS M.

(ABOUT 320.)

[Commemorated by the Roman Martyrology and the Greek Menaea on the
same day. The account of his passion is given by S. Basil the Great
in a panegyric at Caesarea, on the anniversary of his martyrdom,
which he says was then recent. This account, given on the scene of
his suffering, within the memory of man, so that some of those who
heard the discourse of S. Basil, had seen the conflict of the
martyr, is unquestionably trustworthy.]

Saint Gordius was a native of Caesarea, in Cappadocia, and was a
centurion in the army. When Galerius issued his edicts against the
Church in the East (303,) Gordius laid aside his office, and retired
into the desert, where he lived in fasting and prayer amongst the wild
beasts. In the desert he spent many years, but his zeal for Christ gave
him no rest. The churches in Caesarea had been destroyed, the clergy
scattered, and many Christians had conformed, rather than lose their
lives. It was a heathen city once more, and such salt as had remained
had lost its savour. The spirit of the Lord stirred in the soul of
Gordius, and urged him to return to his native city, and there play the
man for Christ, where so many had fallen away from the faith. "One day
that the amphitheatre was crowded to see horse and chariot races in
honour of Mars, the god of war, when the benches were thronged, and Jew
and Gentile, and many a Christian also," says S. Basil, "was present at
the spectacle, and all the slaves were free to see the sight, and the
boys had been given holiday from school for the same purpose, suddenly,
in the race-course, appeared a man in rags, with long beard and matted
locks; his face and arms burned with exposure to the sun, and shrivelled
with long fasting; and he cried aloud, "I am found of them who sought me
not, and to them who asked not after me, have I manifested myself
openly."

Every eye was directed upon this wild-looking man, and when it was
discovered who he was, there rose a shout from Gentile and Christian;
the latter cried because they rejoiced to see the faithful centurion in
the midst of them again; the former, because they hated the truth, and
were wrath at the disturbance of the sports.

"Then," continues S. Basil, "the clamour and tumult became more, and
filled the whole amphitheatre; horses, chariots, and drivers were
forgotten. In vain did the rush of wheels fill the air; none had eyes
for anything but Gordius; none had ears to hear anything but the words
of Gordius. The roar of the theatre, like a wind rushing through the
air, drowned the noise of the racing horses. When the crier had made
silence, and all the pipes and trumpets, and other musical instruments
were hushed, Gordius was led before the seat of the governor, who was
present, and was asked, blandly, who he was and whence he came. Then he
related, in order, what was his country, and family, and the rank he had
held, and why he had thrown up his office and fled away. 'I am
returned,' said he, 'to shew openly that I care naught for your edicts,
but that I place my hope and confidence in Jesus Christ alone.'" The
governor, being exceedingly exasperated at the interruption in the
sports, and the open defiance cast in his face by a deserter, before the
whole city, ordered him at once to be tortured. "Then," S. Basil
proceeds to relate in his graphic style, "the whole crowd poured from
the theatre towards the place of judgment, and all those who had
remained behind in the city ran to see the sight. The city was deserted.
Like a great river, the inhabitants rolled to the place of martyrdom;
mothers of families, noble and ignoble, pushed there; houses were left
unprotected, shops were deserted by the customers, and in the
market-place goods lay here and there neglected. Servants threw up
their occupations, and ran off to see the spectacle, and all the rabble
was there to see this man. Maidens forgot their bashfulness and shame of
appearing before men, and sick people and old men crawled without the
walls, that they, too, might share the sight." The relations of Gordius,
in vain, urged him to yield and apologise for his defiance of the state
religion; signing himself with the cross, he cheerfully underwent the
torments of leaded scourges, of the little horse, fire, and knife, and
was finally beheaded.

SS. THEOGNIS, PRIMUS, AND CYRINUS, MM.

(ABOUT A.D. 320.)

[The Martyrologies of S. Jerome, Bede, Usuardus, &c. Commemorated
in the Roman Martyrology on this day; in the Greek Menaea on the 2nd
Jan. Theognis, especially, is famous throughout East and West. The
account in the Menaea and Menology is probably trustworthy. The Acts
published by the Bollandists are of doubtful authority.]

Theognis was the son of the Bishop of Cyzicus, in Hellespont. In the
persecution of Licinius, he and his companions suffered at Cyzicus,
being first scourged, and then cast into the sea.

S. MELOR, M.

(ABOUT A.D. 411.)

[English Martyrologies on this day, though he died on Oct. 1st, on
which day he is mentioned in Usuardus. His life in Capgrave is of
no historical value--a composition of the 11th cent. "incertum"
even to William of Malmesbury.]

When first Christianity penetrated Britain, a great number of Saints
existed, especially in Wales and Cornwall. At this time there was a
duke, or prince, of Cornwall, named Melian, whose brother, Rivold,
revolted against him, and put him to death. Melian left a son, Melor,
and the usurper only spared his life at the intercession of the bishops
and clergy. He, however, cut off his right hand and left foot, and sent
him into one of the Cornish monasteries to be brought up.

The legend goes on to relate that the boy was provided with a silver
hand and a brazen foot, and that one day, when he was aged fourteen, he
and the abbot were nutting together in a wood, when the abbot saw the
boy use his silver hand to clasp the boughs and pick the nuts, just as
though it were of flesh and blood. Also, that one day he threw a stone,
which sank into the earth, and from the spot gushed forth a fountain of
pure water.

Rivold, fearing lest the boy should depose him, bribed his guardian,
Cerialtan, to murder him. This Cerialtan performed. He cut off the head
of Melor, and carried it to the duke; but angels with lights stood
around the body and guarded it.

On his way to the duke, Cerialtan was parched with thirst, and
exclaimed, "Wretched man that I am! I am dying for a drop of water."
Then the head of the murdered boy said, "Cerialtan, strike the ground
with thy rod, and a fountain will spring up." He did so, and quenched
his thirst at the miraculous well, and pursued his way. When Rivold saw
the head, he touched it, and instantly sickened, and died three days
after. The head was then taken back to the body, and was buried with it.
But the relics were afterwards taken to Amesbury, in Wiltshire.

It must be remembered, in reading the legends of the British and Irish
Saints of the first period, that we have nothing like contemporary
histories of their lives, and that these legends were committed to
writing many hundreds of years after their death, so that the original
facts became surrounded with an accretion of fable so dense that it is
impossible to distinguish truth from falsehood in the legends as they
have reached us.

S. GENOVEVA, V.

(A.D. 512.)

[S. Genoveva is mentioned in almost all the Latin Martyrologies.
Her life was written by an anonymous learned man, in the reign of
Childebert, about eighteen years after her death. Three ancient
lives exist, but whether one of these is that then composed, it is
impossible to say.]

The blessed Genoveva was born at Nanterre, near Mont Valerien, on the
outskirts of Paris. Her father's name was Severus; that of her mother
was Gerontia. When S. Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, was on his way to
Britain, to oppose the heresy of Pelagius, with his companion, S. Lupus,
they passed through Nanterre. The people went out to meet him, and
receive the benedictions; men, and women, and children in companies.
Amongst the children, S. Germanus observed Genoveva, and bade her be
brought before him. The venerable bishop kissed the child, and asked her
name. The surrounding people told him, and the parents coming up, S.
Germanus said to them, "Is this little girl your child?" They answered
in the affirmative. "Then," said the bishop, "happy are ye in having so
blessed a child. She will be great before God; and, moved by her
example, many will decline from evil and incline to that which is good,
and will obtain remission of their sins, and the reward of life from
Christ the Lord."

And then, after a pause, he said to Genoveva, "My daughter, Genoveva!"
She answered, "Thy little maiden listens." Then he said, "Do not fear to
tell me whether it be not thy desire to dedicate thy body, clean and
untouched, to Christ, as His bride?" She said, "Blessed be thou, father,
for thou hast spoken my desire. I pray God earnestly that He will grant
it me."

"Have confidence, my daughter," said S. Germain; "be of good courage,
and what thou believest in thy heart, and confessest with thy lips,
perform in work. God will add to thy comeliness virtue and fortitude."

Then they went to the church, and sang Nones and Vespers, and throughout
the office the bishop held his hand on the little maiden's head. And
that evening, after supper had been eaten, and they had sung a hymn, S.
Germain bade Severus retire with his daughter, but bring her to him very
early in the morning again. So when the day broke, Severus came back
bringing the child, and the old bishop smiled, and said, "Hail, my
daughter Genoveva. Dost thou recall the promise thou didst make
yesterday, about keeping thy body in integrity?" She answered, "I
remember what I promised to thee, my father, and to God, that with His
help I would preserve the chastity of my mind, and the integrity of my
body, unto the end."

Then S. Germain picked up from the ground a little brass coin with the
sign of the cross on it, which he had observed lying there whilst he was
speaking, and gave it her, saying, "Bore a hole in this, and wear it
round thy neck in remembrance of me, and let not any other metal
ornament, gold or silver, or pearls, adorn thy neck or fingers." Then he
bade her farewell, commending her to the care of her father, and pursued
his journey.

It has been supposed by some that the command of S. Germain not to wear
gold, &c., indicates that she was of wealthy parents, and they are
disposed to doubt the common tradition of the place, and the ancient
Breviary, which says that she kept sheep for her father on the slopes of
Valerien at Nanterre. But there need be no difficulty upon this point,
for the sons and daughters of men of some position, at that period, were
thus employed, and there was not supposed to be anything demeaning in
the office. Thus, S. Cuthbert, though of noble race, kept sheep on the
Northumbrian moors.

At the age of fifteen she was presented to the Bishop of Paris, to be
consecrated to the religious life. With her were two other virgins, and
though she was the youngest of the three, the bishop, moved by some
interior inspiration, placed her first, saying that heaven had already
sanctified her.

On the death of her parents, she moved to Paris, where she was remarked
for her sanctity and miraculous powers. When S. Germain was on his way
to Britain again, he passed through Paris, and asked after Genoveva,
when certain envious persons tried to poison his mind against her; but
he, despising their slanders, greeted her with great kindness openly, so
as to testify before all the people how highly he honoured her, as he
had done before at Nanterre.

The influence exerted by this holy woman must have been very great, for
she persuaded the Parisians to remain in the city, instead of flying
into the country, when the hosts of Attila, King of the Huns, threatened
it. Then Genoveva assembled the pious matrons, and with them fasted, and
prayed, asking God incessantly, with many tears, to avert the scourge
of the Huns from the city.

[Illustration: S. GENOVEVA, Patroness of the City of Paris.
From Cahier.
Jan. 3.]

A tumult, however, arose; many people saying that she was a false
prophet, and that she would bring ruin on the citizens by dissuading
them from escaping with their goods to places of greater security. The
mob, headlong and cruel--as a Parisian mob has ever been--came upon her
to stone her, or drown her in the Seine, and they would have carried
their ferocious purpose into execution, had not her ancient friend and
father in God, S. Germain, stood by her in her extremity. He was then
dying at Auxerre, and his thoughts turned to the little girl he had
consecrated to God in bygone years, in the humble church of Nanterre.
Then, he bade the archdeacon take to her the _Eulogae_, or blessed
bread,[17] in token of love and regard.

The archdeacon arrived when the feeble woman was in greatest peril.
He had heard the prophecy of S. Germain of old; and, running among
the people, he exhibited the Eulogies sent by the holy bishop, and
told them how highly he had venerated her virtues; so he appeased the
multitude and dispersed them.

The saying of the Apostle was fulfilled, "All men have not faith; but
the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil;"
for by the prayers of S. Genoveva the city was preserved, and the army
of Alaric came not near it.

S. Genoveva lived on a little barley bread, and a few beans stewed in
oil; but after she was aged fifty, at the command of the bishop, she
ate also fish, and drank milk. Feeling a great reverence for S. Denis,
she desired greatly to build a church in his honour, and she, one day,
urged some priests to undertake the work. But they hesitated, saying
that they were not able to do so; one reason being that there was no
means of burning lime. Then S. Genoveva said, "Go, and cross the city
bridge, and tell me what you hear." The priests left her, and as they
passed over the bridge, they heard two swineherds in conversation. One
said to the other, "Whilst I was following one of my pigs the other
day, it led me into the forest to a large limekiln."

"That is no marvel," answered the other, "for I found a sapling in the
forest uprooted by the wind, and under its roots was an old kiln."
On hearing this, the priests returned and told Genoveva what the
swineherds had said, and she rejoiced, and set the Priest Genes over
the work; and all the citizens, at the instigation of S. Genoveva,
assisted; and she encouraged the workmen, till the church of S. Denis
was built and roofed in. This incident is not a little curious, as it
exhibits the fall and prostration of the arts at this period, when,
apparently, the science of building was forgotten, and old Roman
limekilns had to be used, because the Gauls, owing to the incursions of
barbarians and civil war, had lost the art of building them.

Childeric, though a heathen, had a great respect for Genoveva, and was
unable to refuse her, when she requested him, to spare the lives of his
prisoners. On one occasion, when he was about to execute, outside the
city, a large number of captives made in war, he ordered the gates to
be closed behind him, lest Genoveva should follow, and obtain pardon
for them. But when the saintly woman heard that the blood of so many
men was about to flow, in a paroxysm of compassion, she hurried through
the streets, and reaching the gates, put her hand to them, and though
locked and barred, they unclosed at the touch of charity, and she
pursued the king; and, falling down before him, would not be comforted
till she had obtained pardon for all those whom he had ordered to be
executed. After Paris was blockaded by the Franks, the neighbourhood
suffered greatly from famine, as the harvests had been destroyed and
the country laid waste. Genoveva, seeing that many died of want,
conducted vessels to Arcis, and procuring sufficient supplies, returned
with them to Paris.

Every Saturday night, Genoveva was wont to watch in prayer, that the
Lord coming in the Holy Eucharist of His day, might find his servant
watching. It fell out that one stormy night, as the Sabbath drew
towards Sunday morn, and the cock had crowed, she left her home to
betake herself to the church of S. Denis, with the virgins who were her
fellows, and the lantern that was carried before her was extinguished
by a puff of wind; then the maidens were frightened at the pitch
darkness, the howling of the storm, and the rain, and the road was
so muddy that, without a light, they could not pick their way. Then
Genoveva took the lantern in her hand, and the candle lighted of itself
within; and holding it, she entered the church.

She performed several pilgrimages to the shrine of S. Martin, at Tours,
in company with those holy women who lived with her, and imitated her
virtues. She died at the age of eighty-nine, probably in the year 512;
but the date is not to be ascertained with certainty.

Patroness of Paris.

Relics, in the church of S. Etienne du Mont, at Paris.

In art, S. Genoveva is represented, (1), with a devil blowing out her
candle, and an angel rekindling it. Sometimes, in old sculpture, the
devil is provided with a pair of bellows; or, (2), she is restoring
sight to her mother with the water of the well of Nanterre; or, (3),
guarding her father's sheep; or, (4), with the keys of Paris at her
girdle, as patroness of the city; or, (5), holding bread in her lap;
or, (6), with the well of Nanterre at her side.

S. BERTILIA, V.

(A.D. 687.)

[Belgian and Gallo-Belgian Martyrologies. The life is from a MS.
at Marolles, of uncertain date, but apparently authentic.]

Saint Bertilia was born of noble parents. From an early age her heart
turned to the service of God alone, and she delighted in attending the
offices of religion. A youth of noble blood, named Guthland, sought
her hand in marriage, for she was very beautiful, gentle in speech,
and modest in manner. But Bertilia refused him, desiring to retire
into a solitary place; however, when her parents urged her vehemently,
she gave a reluctant consent to their wishes, and was married.
Nevertheless, at her desire, the young husband and she lived together
in all chastity, as brother and sister, serving the poor, and given
to hospitality. On the death of her husband, she divided his goods
with the Church, and built a great church at Marolles, with a little
cell adjoining it for her habitation. One night, after long protracted
prayer in the church, she returned to her cell, where she was seized
with excruciating pains; nevertheless, she knelt down and prayed with
fervour, and prepared her soul for its departure. After having received
the last Sacraments, she fell asleep in Christ, and was buried in the
church she had built at Marolles. She was taken up and enshrined by
Gerard II., Bishop of Cambray, on September 14th, 1081; and translated
to another shrine on the 8th October, 1221.

Patroness of Marolles, in the diocese of Cambray.

Relics at Marolles.

[Illustration: Decoration]

FOOTNOTES:

[17] The custom of blessing bread and distributing it amongst the
faithful, prevails still in the French Church, as may be seen at any
festival in a church of importance. The blessed bread is not to be
confounded with the Holy Eucharist. It is taken about the church in
baskets, and is a sort of sweet-cake. This is a relic of the ancient
Love Feasts or Agapae.

January 4.

Octave of the Holy Innocents.

S. TITUS, _B. and Ap. of Crete, circ_. A.D. 105.
SS. AQUILINUS, GEMINUS, EUGENIUS, AND OTHERS, _Martyrs in Africa_.
S. DAFROSA, _W. C., at Rome_, A.D. 361.
S. RUMON, _B. C., at Tavistock, in Devonshire_.
S. GREGORY, _B. of Langres, in France, circ_. A.D. 541.
S. PHARAILDIS, _V., in Brabant, about_ A.D. 745.
S. RIGOBERT, _B. of Rheims_, A.D. 749.
S. LIBENTIUS, _Abp. of Bremen_, A.D. 1013.
B. ANGELA, _of Foligni, in Umbria_, A.D. 1309.

S. TITUS, B.

(ABOUT 105.)

[S. Titus is commemorated on this day in the Roman, and all the
Latin Martyrologies. But the Greeks observe the feast of S. Titus
on August 25th. Much of his history can be gathered from the first
and second epistles of S. Paul to the Corinthians, and from his
epistle to S. Titus; also from the Greek Menologium, and his life,
written by Zenas, the lawyer, in the Menaea; and that by Peter de
Natalibus, compiled from Greek sources.]

Saint Titus was born of Gentile parents, being descended from the
ancient royal family of Crete.[18] He was a favourite companion of S.
Paul, who calls him his son in Christ. His virtue gained him the
particular esteem of this Apostle; for we find him employed as secretary
and interpreter by S. Paul; and the Apostle styles him his brother.[19]
On one occasion, when much depressed, he was consoled by the presence of
Titus: "God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by
the coming of Titus;"[20] and he testified, on another occasion, that he
found no rest in his spirit, because at Troas he had not met Titus.[21]

In the year 51, Titus accompanied S. Paul to the Council that was held
at Jerusalem, on the subject of the Mosaic rites. Though the Apostle had
consented to the circumcision of Timothy, in order to render his
ministry more acceptable among the Jews, he would not allow the same in
the case of Titus, apprehensive of giving thereby a sanction to the
faction which held to the necessity of combining the rites of the Law
with the Sacraments of the Gospel.

Towards the close of the year 56, S. Paul sent Titus from Ephesus to
Corinth, with full commission to remedy several subjects of scandal, and
to allay the dissensions in that Church. He was there received with
great respect, and was satisfied with the penance and submission of the
offenders; but could not be prevailed upon to accept from them any
present, not even so much as his own maintenance. His love for that
Church was very great, and at the request of the Corinthians, he
interceded with S. Paul for the pardon of the incestuous man whom he had
excommunicated. He was sent the same year by the Apostle, a second time,
to Corinth, to bring the alms of that Church to Jerusalem, for the
relief of the necessity of the poor Christians there. All these
particulars we learn from S. Paul's two epistles to the Corinthians.

S. Paul, after his first imprisonment, returning from Rome into the
East, made some stay in the island of Crete, of which Rustilius, the
governor, was married to the sister of S. Titus. He consecrated his
beloved disciple, Titus, to be bishop of that island, and left him there
to finish the work he had begun.[22] "We may form a judgment," says S.
Chrysostom, "from the importance of the charge, how great was the esteem
of S. Paul for his disciple."[23] But the Apostle, on his return into
Europe the year after, finding the loss of such a companion too
material, ordered him to meet him at Nicopolis, in Epirus, where he
intended to pass the winter, as soon as Artemas or Tychicus, whom the
Apostle was about to send to him, to take the place of the bishop during
his absence, should arrive.[24] And when he came, he bade him assist
Zenas, the lawyer, and Apollos on their journey.[25] From this Zenas we
have certain incidents of the life of S. Titus, which have been
preserved in a fragmentary condition in the Greek Menaea.

Zenas relates the conversion of S. Titus thus:--Titus, living in the
island of Crete, was learned in Greek literature, having been studious
in youth. But the dreams of the poets and philosophers did not satisfy
the inward craving of his soul after truth. One day, when twenty years
old, he heard a voice say to him, "Titus, depart hence and save thy
soul, for the learning of the Greeks will not profit thee unto
salvation." Wondering in himself what this could mean, he was bidden by
the same voice to take up a Hebrew volume that he had long disregarded,
and open it. And the book was the Prophet Isaiah, and the place of the
Scriptures that his eye rested on was this, "Keep silence before me, O
islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near;
then let them speak,"[26] and what follows.

He seems to have read on much of that chapter, with its promise to the
isles, and to have applied to himself the words, "Thou whom I have taken
from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof,
and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not
cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for
I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will
uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.... When the poor
and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for
thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake
them."[27] These were words very different from those of the poets of
Greece, and gave an idea of God quite other from that formed by Homer,
in whose writings he had found delight; so Titus left his Greek studies
and his native island, and sought Jerusalem, the chief city of that
people of whom the prophet spake such great things. And when he was
there he saw Jesus, and heard Him teach. Perhaps he was one of those
Greeks whom S. Andrew brought to Christ.[28] He believed, and was of the
number of the first disciples. He remained at Jerusalem after the
ascension and the descent of the Holy Ghost. After he joined S. Paul, he
accompanied him in most of his journeys. In 65, S. Paul sent him to
preach the Word of God in Dalmatia, after he had visited him in
Nicopolis;[29] but he probably was there for no great length of time,
though the Dalmatians honour him as their Apostle.

Peter de Natalibus relates that when death approached, he saw angels
coming from heaven in a glorious train to fetch his soul, and that his
face lit up with joy at their approach, and shone with supernatural
splendour. He committed his people to God in long and earnest prayer,
and then yielded up his spirit in peace to Christ his Saviour.

The body of S. Titus was kept, with great veneration, in the Cathedral
of Gortyna; but that city having been ruined by the Saracens, in 823,
the metropolitan see was transferred to Candia, seventeen miles from the
ancient Gortyna; there the head of S. Titus was preserved, till it was
carried off by the Venetians, and is now among the sacred treasures of
S. Mark's, at Venice.

Patron of Candia, or Crete.

S. DAFROSA, W. C.

(A.D. 361.)

[Mentioned in Roman Martyrology, and in those of Bede, Ado, Notker,
Maurolycus, &c. All known of her is contained in the
Martyrologies.]

This Saint was the wife of S. Flavian, a martyr. She was one of the
few who suffered in the reign of Julian, the Apostate; having been
sentenced by Apronianus, praefect of the city, in Rome, along with her
daughters, Demetria and Bibiana. S. Flavian, her husband, was crowned
on the 22nd December; and she followed him shortly. She was sent to
the house of a certain Faustus, who desired to have her in marriage;
but she refused to become his wife, and converted him to the faith. He
was baptized by S. John the priest, who is commemorated on June 23rd.
Faustus was executed, and his body cast to the dogs; but Dafrosa saved
it, and buried it secretly at night. Then, in a dream, her husband
Flavian appeared to her, and called her to follow him. And at the
expiration of five days, whilst engaged in prayer, she migrated to her
heavenly country.

S. RUMON, B. C.

[Does not occur in the Roman Martyrology.]

William of Malmesbury informs us that the history of S. Rumon's life was
destroyed by the wars, which devastated England. He was a bishop; but of
what see we do not know. Many of the early Saints of the Church in
Cornwall, Wales, and Ireland, received episcopal consecration, without
jurisdiction. His body was preserved at Tavistock, in Devonshire, where
Ordulf, Earl of Devonshire, built a church under his invocation, before
the year 960.

S. GREGORY OF LANGRES, B.

(ABOUT A.D. 541.)

[Roman and Gallican Martyrologies. The life of S. Gregory of
Langres was written by S. Gregory of Tours, who died 591.]

Saint Gregory, one of the principal senators of Autun, in France, was
appointed count of the city, and for many years administered justice
with the utmost prudence and uprightness. His wife, Armentaria, was also
of senatorial rank; by her he had several children, of whom Tetricus was
numbered among the Saints.

After the death of his wife, having been elected by the clergy and
citizens of Langres to be their bishop, he was consecrated by the
metropolitan. As bishop, his life was edifying. He was a model of
humility, and sought, above all things, to conceal his acts of
self-denial, and long communings with God. He ate barley bread, but that
this might not be observed, he had wheat cakes piled on the table above
his brown barley cakes, so that he could draw from the dish those for
his own eating, whilst the others ate white bread, and supposed him to
be doing the same. In like manner, at table he used a dull glass goblet,
so that it might not be noticed that he drank water, whereas, the others
were supplied with wine. At night, he was wont to rise from his bed,
when everybody else was asleep, and steal, on tip-toe, to the baptistery
of the church, where he passed several hours in prayer and singing
psalms. This was long unobserved; but one night a deacon was awake, and
saw the bishop rise. Wondering at his proceeding, when S. Gregory had
left the dormitory, he rose also, and stole softly after him, and saw
him enter the baptistery, the gate opening to him of its own accord. For
some time there was silence; and then the bishop's voice was heard
chanting, and immediately many voices took up the psalm, and the singing
continued for three hours. "I, for my part," says S. Gregory, of Tours,
"think that the Saints, of whom the relics were there preserved,
revealed themselves to the blessed man, and sang praises to God in
company with him."

One day, as he was walking to Langres, he was struck with fever, and he
died shortly after; "and his blessed countenance was so glorified after
his departure, that it looked like a blushing rose, whilst the rest of
his body was shining like a white lily, so that it seemed then to have a
foretaste of its future resurrection beauty." He was buried at Dijon,
which was then in the diocese of Langres, and his son, Tetricus,
succeeded him in the see of Langres.

There is much uncertainty about the date of his death. In some
Martyrologies he is said to have died in 535; Galesinius says in 524.
But he was present at the Council of Clermont, in 535, and signed the
decrees of the third Council of Orleans by his deputy, Evantius, the
priest, in 538; but did not appear at, or send a deputy to, the fourth
Council of Orleans, in 541. It is, therefore, probable that the see was
then vacant by his death.

In art, S. Gregory appears before a church door, which an angel opens to
him; or with chains, because it is said that as his body was being taken
to burial, the bier was set down before a prison, and the chains fell
off the prisoners, and they were freed at the same moment.

S. PHARAILDIS, V.

(ABOUT A.D. 745.)

[Belgian and German Martyrologies. Authorities for her life:--A MS.
life from the monastery of Mont Gerard, published by the
Bollandists, and by Molanus on the Belgian Saints. Besides, we have
mention of her in the lives of her mother and sisters.]

Saint Pharaildis was the daughter of Theodoric, duke of Lorraine, and
his wife, S. Amalberga. The family was one of Saints. The brother of S.
Pharaildis, on the mother's side, was S. Emenbert, Bishop of Cambray,
and her sisters were S. Rainelda and S. Gudula. She was born at Ghent,
and after her baptism, was taken by her aunt, S. Gertrude, to be by her
brought up. She was married, but lived with her husband as though
single. For thirty years she rose every night at cock-crow, and sought
the church of the nearest monastery to hear prime, and matins, and
lauds. She died at the age of ninety, and was buried in the church of S.
Bavo, in Ghent, A.D. 745, but afterwards was carried to Nivelles by the
religious of Ghent, fleeing the incursions of the Normans. A portion of
the relics was left at Nivelles, but the major part was brought back to
Ghent, and enshrined in the new church of S. Pharaildis, which was
destroyed by the Calvinists in 1566. The relics, however, were saved. On
the 17th Dec., 1608, the chapter of S. Pharaildis, in Ghent, gave some
portion to a little chapel at Steenockerzeel.

In Flemish, S. Pharaildis is called Veerle, or Verelde.

In art, S. Pharaildis appears as a patroness of Ghent, with a goose in
her arms, or at her feet, Gans being the Flemish for a goose; in base
Latin, Ganta or Gansa; and the Latin name of Ghent, in the Middle Ages,
being Gantum. She is also represented with loaves of bread; for,
according to a legend, a woman having begged bread of her sister for
her child, the sister said, "I have none to give to you; there's no
bread in the house." And when the poor woman urged her, she exclaimed,
"May S. Pharaildis change the bread into stones if there be any here."
Whereupon, some loaves she had by her were petrified.

S. RIGOBERT, ABP. OF RHEIMS.

(ABOUT A.D. 749.)

[Roman, Benedictine, and Gallican Martyrologies. Authority:--A life
of the 9th cent.]

Saint Rigobert, a Benedictine monk, was ordained archbishop of Rheims in
the year 696. He consecrated Dagobert II., Chilperic II., and Theoderic
II., kings of the Franks. In his diocese he laboured to restore
discipline and sanctity of life. When Charles Martel and Ragenfried were
fighting for the mastery, the former came with his troops before Rheims,
and demanded to be admitted. The bishop refused to open the gates,
"Because," said he, "I know not whether you or Ragenfried will be given
the kingdom." Charles Martel went away in a fury, and vowed, if he
gained the day, he would make the cautious archbishop suffer for it.
When Charles Martel had subdued his rival, he returned to Rheims, and
drove S. Rigobert into exile, and gave the revenues of the see to
laymen, creatures of the court. Whilst at Rheims, S. Rigobert had lived
over the city gate, and kept the keys of the town. The window of his
chamber looked towards the Basilica of S. Remigius, and at it he was
wont to pray, like Daniel, with his face turned to Jerusalem. That he
might easily, and at will, descend into the church of S. Peter, which
was situated near the gateway, S. Rigobert had a hole knocked in a
turret of the church, so that by a ladder he could descend into the
church to prayer, and return by it to a little oratory, dedicated to S.
Michael, which he had built on the city wall. But this oratory did not
stand very long, for King Louis gave the monastery of S. Peter to his
daughter Alpaida; and her husband, Begus, having knocked his head
against the lintel of the door when entering the little chapel--he being
a very tall man--ordered it to be pulled down, pretending that it cut
off the light from the windows of the church. "Humility," says the
chronicler dryly, "never knocks its head against any thing."

S. Rigobert, when in exile, retired to Gascony, but was recalled by
Pepin, and returned to Rheims; but finding that, contrary to canon law,
Milo, an abbot, had been appointed to the see, he went away to
Gernicour, a village at no great distance. At Gernicour, he lived in
poverty, in great humility and prayer; sometimes he visited Rheims, that
he might celebrate on the altar of S. Mary, which had been conceded to
him by Milo. One day he was at Cormicy, and visited the church of S.
Cyriac, to pray for his poor diocese, a prey to ravening wolves; and his
prayer being ended, he conversed with Wibert, comptroller of Rheims, who
invited him to dine with him, as the table was ready. But S. Rigobert
answered, "I may not eat, as I have to celebrate mass this morning in
the church of S. Peter, at Gernicour." Whilst he was speaking, a poor
widow brought the deputy-governor a goose. "Here," said Wibert, "as you
will not dine with me, take this goose home with you, and cook it for
your own dinner." Then S. Rigobert gave it to his little serving boy to
carry before him; and he went on his way saying his office; when the
goose flew out of the boy's hands, and was gone. The boy was much
grieved, and was on the point of crying. The bishop, seeing the sad face
of the child, interrupted his psalm to console him, and to tell him
that the loss of this world's goods should not draw forth tears, but
that the heart should trust in God, who gives all things bountifully.
Then the bishop resumed his psalms, now reciting them to himself, and
then breaking forth into song. Presently the goose came fluttering down
before the feet of the old man, so the boy put it under his arm again,
and brought it safely to Gernicour. But it was not cooked for dinner.
Indeed, the bishop would not allow it to be killed, and the goose became
so tame, that it followed him about, and would even accompany him on his
walks to Rheims, and wait there for him when he said mass at the altar
of S. Mary.

Relics, in the church of S. Denis, at Rheims, and in the chapel of S.
Rigobert, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, at Paris.

In art, he is represented with a goose.

B. ANGELA. OF FOLIGNI.

(A.D. 1309.)

[B. Angela was beatified by Pope Innocent XII. in 1693. Her life
and revelations were written by her confessor, Arnald, friar of the
order of S. Francis, in her lifetime, and the revelations were
submitted to her for correction.]

The Blessed Angela, of Foligni, belonged to a rich and honourable family
in Umbria. She was married, and had children. Upon the death of her
mother, husband, and children, her heart turned in an agony of love to
God alone, and appeared filled to overflowing with that divine charity
of which an earthly affection is but a reflection. She was frequent in
prayer, and made a discreet use of the Sacrament of penance. "Once she
confessed her sins to me," says Friar Arnald, "preserving the most
perfect knowledge of her sins, and was filled with so much contrition
and tears, from the beginning of her confession to the end, and with so
great humility, that I wept in my heart, believing most surely, that if
the whole world was deceived, God would not permit her, who was full of
so much truth and integrity, to be deceived. The following night she was
sick, well nigh to death, and next morning she drew herself, with great
effort, to the Franciscan Church, and I was then saying mass, and I
communicated her, and I know that she never communicated without God
giving her some great favour, and that a new one continually. But so
great were the consolations and illuminations which she received in her
soul, that frequently they seemed to overflow into her body. Thus, when
she was standing with me, and her soul was lifted up, her face and body
were transformed, through joy, at the divine words of address, and
devotion, and delight at the consolations, that her eyes shone as
candles, and her face flushed like a rose, and became radiant and
angelical, as was beyond nature."

The inner life and meditations of the Blessed Angela were written down
from her lips, and were read over to her by the confessor. They are full
of instruction and beauty, and are of considerable length. She died on
the 4th January, 1309.

Her body reposes in a shrine in the Franciscan Church at Foligni.

[Illustration: Decoration]

FOOTNOTES:

[18] Peter de Nat.

[19] 2 Cor. xii. 16.

[20] 2 Cor. vii. 6.

[21] 2 Cor. xi. 13.

[22] Zenas and Peter de Nat. The latter does not say that S.
Paul visited Crete, but that he sent Titus there. S. Paul says, "I left
thee in Crete," Tit. i. 4, showing that he did visit that island with
Titus.

[23] Homil. i. in Tit.

[24] Tit. iii. 12.

[25] Tit. iv. 13.

[26] Isa. xli. 1.

[27] Isa. xli. 9, 10, 17.

[28] John xii. 21.

[29] 2 Tim. iv. 10.

January 5.

The Vigil of the Epiphany.

S. TELESPHORUS, _P. M._, A.D. 139.
THE HOLY MARTYRS IN THE THEBAID, A.D. 302.
S. SYNCLETICA, _V., in Egypt, 4th cent._
S. APOLLINARIS SYNCLETICA, _V., 5th cent._
S. SIMEON STYLITES, _H._, A.D. 460.
S. EMILIANA, _V., 6th cent._
S. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, _K. of England_, A.D. 1066.
S. GERLACH, _H., near Maestrecht_, A.D. 1170.

S. TELESPHORUS, POPE, M.

(A.D. 139.)

[Mentioned originally in the Carmelite Breviary. This Pope was
inserted in the Roman Breviary by Clement VIII. He is commemorated
by the Greeks on Feb. 22.]

Saint Telesphorus was by birth a Greek, and was the seventh Bishop of
Rome. Towards the end of the year 128, he succeeded S. Sixtus I., and
sat eleven years on the throne of S. Peter, and saw the havoc which the
persecution of Hadrian wrought in the Church. "He ended his life by an
illustrious martyrdom," says Eusebius.[30]

THE MARTYRS IN THE THEBAID.

(ABOUT A.D. 302.)

"One cannot but admire," says Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History
(lib. viii., c. 8, 9), "those who suffered in Egypt, their native land,
where thousands, both men, and women, and children, despising the
present life for the sake of our Saviour's doctrine, submitted to death
in various shapes. Some, after being tortured with scrapings and the
rack, and the most dreadful scourgings, and other innumerable agonies,
which one might shudder to hear, were finally committed to the flames;
some plunged and drowned in the sea, others voluntarily offering their
heads to the executioners; others dying in the midst of their torments,
some wasted away by famine, and others again fixed to the cross. Some,
indeed, were executed as malefactors usually were; others, more cruelly,
were nailed head downwards, and kept alive, until they were destroyed by
starving, on the cross itself. But it would exceed all power of detail
to give an idea of the sufferings and tortures which the martyrs of
Thebais endured. These, instead of hooks, had their bodies scraped with
potsherds, and were mangled in this way until they died. Women, tied by
one foot, and then raised on high in the air by certain machines, with
their naked bodies wholly uncovered, presented this most foul, cruel,
and inhuman spectacle to all beholders; others again perished, bound to
trees and branches. For, drawing the stoutest of the branches together
by machines for this purpose, and binding the limbs of the martyrs to
each of these, they then let loose the boughs to resume their natural
position, designing thus to produce a violent action, to tear asunder
the limbs of those whom they thus treated. But all these things were
doing not only for a few days, or for some time, but for a series of
whole years. At one time, ten or more; at another, more than twenty; at
another time, not less than thirty, and even sixty; and again, at
another time, a hundred men, with their wives and little children, were
slain in one day, whilst they were condemned to various and varied
punishments. We ourselves, when on the spot, saw many crowded together
in one day, some suffering decapitation, some the torments of flames; so
that the murderous weapon was completely blunted, and having lost its
edge, broke to pieces; and the executioners themselves, wearied with
slaughter, were obliged to relieve one another. Then, also, we were
witnesses to the most admirable ardour of mind, and the truly divine
energy and alacrity of those that believed in the Christ of God. For, as
soon as the sentence was pronounced against the first, others rushed
forward from other parts to the tribunal before the judge, confessing
they were Christians, most indifferent to the dreadful and many kinds of
tortures that awaited them, but declaring themselves fully, and in the
most undaunted manner, on the religion which acknowledges only one
Supreme God. They received, indeed, the final sentence of death with
gladness and exultation, so far as even to sing and send up hymns of
praise and thanksgiving, until they breathed their last."

The names of these blessed ones, whose bones are strewn over the deserts
of Egypt, are unknown to us; but they are written in the Book of Life.
At the day of the general Resurrection they will rise and stand, on
their feet, a great army.

S. SYNCLETICA, V.

(4TH CENT.)

[S. Syncletica is commemorated by the Westerns on the 5th Jan., and
by the Easterns on the 4th Jan. Her life, written shortly after her
death, has been attributed to S. Athanasius, but on insufficient
grounds.]

At a time when luxury was carried to extremities, and the body was
pampered, and the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride
of life, were the objects for which men and women lived, here and there
the spirit of man throbbed with higher aspirations, and yearned to
break away from the gilded round of wealthy frivolity, to live a truer
life and breathe a purer air. Society was rotten to its core; decency
was not observed in conversation; modesty was forgotten in dress, and
all that could gratify the flesh, and excite passion, was studied as an
art. In the midst of this hot, sickly atmosphere of evil, pure souls,
like that of Syncletica, stifled. The modest mind of a young girl shrank
into itself, like a delicate flower that closes at the rude touch, and
died to the world. If she were a heathen, she bent her head, and
sickened and faded. If she were a Christian, she found in the shadow of
the Church, a fresh spot where she might bloom, fanned by the breezes of
Paradise.

Syncletica was born at Alexandria, of wealthy parents, of Macedonian
extraction, who had settled there. Being very beautiful and
well-dowered, she was sought in marriage by many suitors; but declined
all offers, for her girlish heart had awakened to a love truer and
deeper than any human affection; the best of her love she gave to God,
and she desired to be His, and His alone. On the death of her parents
she devoted her attention to her blind sister; and together, they served
God in prayer and almsgiving. In token of renunciation of the world, and
to deliver herself from troublesome pursuit by fortune-hunters, she cut
off her hair, and disposed of her estates, but she sought to avoid
notice in all that she did, and to conceal her good deeds and
self-sacrifices. Nevertheless, she became known, and young maidens and
women resorted to her for advice, and to study her example. She was
reluctant to be forced thus into a position which she dreaded;
nevertheless, unable to refuse the girls and young women that assistance
they so much needed, she gave them much instruction, which has been
preserved to us in the record we have of her life, and her words abound
in practical common sense. "Listen to me," she said to the maidens; "we
all know how we can be saved, but we fail through our own carelessness.
The first thing to be done, is to keep the commandment, 'Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself; for
in this consists all perfection.' These are few words, but there is
plenty of matter in them. Then beware of retrogression. The corn in the
Gospel brought forth; some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, and some
thirty-fold. Beware lest, beginning at sixty, we fall back to thirty.
Let those who are virgins take care of their eyes, and their tongue, and
their ears, and keep them in modesty, not looking about them boldly, nor
talking flippantly, nor listening to certain things that may be said.
Obedience is better than asceticism, for asceticism may puff up, but
obedience brings one down. There is an asceticism which is of the devil.
How are we to distinguish right asceticism from that which is wrong? By
its moderation. Have you begun fasting? Don't make pretexts to wriggle
out of it on the score of health, for the lady who does not fast is just
as much subject to maladies as she who does."

S. Syncletica died at the age of eighty, of cancer on the mouth, and
consumption in the lungs, from which she suffered with great patience
for three years. The cancer made horrible ravages in her face, and
became so distressingly offensive, that to ward off infection from those
who nursed her, she allowed it to be treated with the mixture which is
used for embalming corpses.

[Illustration: Decoration]

S. APOLLINARIS SYNCLETICA, V.

(BEGINNING OF 5TH CENT.)

[Commemorated in the Latin Martyrologies on this day, but by the
Greeks on Jan. 4th. Her life, written by one who lived at the same
time, is given by Metaphrastes. This life represents her as
daughter of Anthemius, the Emperor. Metaphrastes concludes, but
wrongly, that she was daughter of Anthemius, who was appointed
Emperor of the West by Leo I. But it appears more probable that she
was the daughter of Anthemius, consular prefect of the city, who
acted as regent after the death of Arcadius, during the minority of
Theodosius the younger. This Anthemius was grandfather of the
Emperor Anthemius. It is quite possible that the regent may have
received imperial honours. The narrative in one place, speaking of
the expedition of Apollinaris to the Holy Land, says, "A few days
after, when we had found companions, we went on to the Holy City.
And when, at a certain place, we turned aside, on account of our
burdens, and the slaves and serving maids who were with us, we
rested awhile." This is the only allusion to himself made by the
writer, and it is so casual, that it is difficult not to regard it
as an evidence of the authenticity of the piece. The story is,
however, so much like a romance, and is open to so many critical
objections, that it is difficult to accept it exactly as it is.]

Saint Apollinaris, called from her high rank Syncletica, was the
daughter of Anthemius. She had a sister of a different spirit from
herself. The parents of Apollinaris desired to unite her in marriage, at
an early age, to some wealthy noble, but she manifested such a fixed
resolution to remain single, that they yielded to her wish. In her heart
she desired to retire completely from the world; having heard of the
wondrous lives of the recluses in Egypt, she longed greatly to see and
imitate them. Her parents having consented to her making a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem, she visited the holy places, and in Jerusalem she liberated
all the slaves who had been sent to bear her company, and dismissed them
with liberal gifts, retaining in her service only an eunuch and an old
man to prepare her tent. In Jerusalem, she bribed an aged woman to
procure for her, secretly, the habit of a recluse, and this she kept by
her for a proper moment. On her way back she visited the tomb of S.
Meria, on the Egyptian coast; and after prayer retired to her sleeping
tent, when she assumed the monastic habit, and cast aside her worldly
dress, with all its ornaments. Then, in the night, when the two men were
asleep without, she stole from her tent, and fled into the desert, and
took refuge in a morass. Next morning the servants were filled with
consternation, and sought her everywhere in vain. Then they appeared
before the governor of the city Lemna (?) where they were; and he
assisted in the search, but all was in vain; so the governor sent a
letter to the parents of Apollinaris, with her clothes and baggage,
narrating the circumstances. Anthemius and his wife wept when they heard
of the loss of their daughter, but consoled themselves with the belief
that she had entered some community of religious women.

However, S. Apollinaris made her way into the desert of Scété, where
lived S. Macarius of Alexandria, at the head of a large monastery of
recluses in cells and caves. Apollinaris, having cut off her hair, and
being much tanned by exposure to the sun, and wasted with hunger in the
marsh, where she had lived on a few dates, passed as a man, and was
supposed, from being beardless, to be an eunuch. She spent many years
there under the name of Dorotheus. Now it fell out that her sister,
being grievously tormented with a devil, Anthemius bethought himself on
sending her to Macarius to be healed, for the fame of his miracles had
spread far and wide. But when the young girl was brought to Macarius,
the aged abbot, moved by some interior impulse, conducted her to
Dorotheus, and bade him heal the possessed by prayer. Then S.
Apollinaris earnestly, and with many tears, besought Macarius not to
tempt her thus, for God had not given to her the gift of performing
miracles. Nevertheless he persisted; then the possessed woman was shut
into the cell of Dorotheus for several days, that he might, by prayer
and fasting, cast the demon forth. And when, after a while, the virgin
seemed to be healed, she was restored to the attendants, who conducted
her to her parents with great joy.

Some months after, the maiden suffered from an attack of dropsy, and the
parents, in shame and grief, supposing her to be pregnant, questioned
her closely thereabout. But she could not account for her size, and when
they pressed her more vehemently, moved by the evil spirit, she declared
that Dorotheus, the hermit, had seduced her. On hearing this, Anthemius
sent to Scété, that Dorotheus should be brought before him. The holy
congregation was filled with horror and dismay on hearing the charge,
and they went with one accord and cried to God to put away from them so
grievous a reproach. Then said Dorotheus, "Be of good courage, my
brethren, the Lord will reveal my innocence." And when she was brought
before Anthemius, she said, "I am your daughter, Apollinaris." Then they
fell on her neck and wept, and she prayed to God, and kissed her sister,
and the Lord heard her cry, and healed the damsel of her disease. And
after having tarried with them a few days, she returned to the desert
once more.

S. SIMEON STYLITES, H.

(A.D. 460.)

[Commemorated on this day in the Latin Martyrologies, but on Sept.
1st by the Greeks. There were three of this name; the second, who
lived at a later date, is commemorated by the Greeks on May 24th;
and the third, whom they designate Priest and Archimandrite, on
July 26th. These two later Saints copied the great Simeon Stylites,
of world-wide renown. The life of this famous hermit was written by
a disciple of his, named Anthony, who was with him when he died;
and also by Theodoret, who knew him well in life. Also, by Evagrius
in his Ecclesiastical History.]

[Illustration: S. SIMEON STYLITES. From Hone's "Every Day Book."
Jan. 5.]

"Simeon," says Theodoret, "was born in the village of Gesa, between
Antioch and Cilicia, and as a boy kept his father's sheep. One day,
forced by heavy snow to leave them in the fold, he went with his
parents to the church, and there heard the Gospel read, which blesses
those who mourn and weep; which calls those enviable who have a pure
heart. And when he asked a bystander what he would gain who kept the
Beatitudes, the man propounded to him the life of self-sacrifice.
This," Theodoret adds, "he heard from the Saint's own tongue."

Forthwith, Simeon going out of the church, went to a neighbouring
monastery, governed by one Timothy; and falling down before the gate,
he lay five days, neither eating nor drinking. And on the fifth day,
the abbot, coming out, asked him, "Whence art thou, my son? What
parents hast thou, that thou art so afflicted? Or, what is thy name,
lest perchance thou hast done wrong? or, perchance, thou art a slave,
and fleest from thy master?" Then the lad answered with tears, "No,
master! I long to be a servant of God, and to save my soul. Suffer me
to enter the monastery, and send me not away."

Then the abbot, taking him by the hand, introduced him into the house,
saying to the brethren, "My sons, behold I deliver you this brother;
teach him the rules." He was in the convent about four months, serving
all without complaint, and in that time he learned the whole Psalter
by heart. But the food which he took with his brethren, he gave away
secretly to the poor, reserving for himself only food for one day in
the seven. But one day, having gone to the well to draw water, he took
the rope from the bucket and wound it round his body, from the loins to
the neck, and wore it till his flesh was cut into by the rope. One day,
some of the brethren found him giving his food to the poor; and when
they returned, they complained to the abbot, saying, "We cannot abstain
like him; he fasts from Lord's day to Lord's day, and gives away his
food." Then the abbot rebuked him, and Simeon answered not. And the
abbot being angry, bade strip him, and found the rope round him, sunk
into the flesh, and with great trouble it was uncoiled, and the skin
came off with it; then the monks took care of him and healed him. When
he was healed, he went out of the monastery and entered a deserted
tank, where there was no water; no man knowing. After a few days, he
was found, and the abbot descended into the tank. Then the blessed
Simeon, seeing him, began to entreat, saying, "I beg you, servants of
God, let me alone one hour, that I may render up my spirit; for yet a
little while, and it will fail. But my soul is very weary, because I
have angered the Lord."

But the abbot said to him, "Come, servant of God, that we may take thee
to the monastery." But when he would not, they brought him by force,
and he stayed in the community about one year. "After this," says
Theodoret, "he came to the Telanassus, under the peak of the mountain,
on which he lived till his death, and having found a little house,
he remained in it shut up for three years. But, eager to advance in
virtue, he tried to persuade Blasus, who was archpriest of the villages
around, to leave nothing within by him, for forty days and nights, but
to close up the door with clay. The priest warned him that to die by
one's own act is no virtue, but is a great crime." "Put by me then,
father," he said, "ten loaves, and a cruse of water, and if I find my
body needs sustenance, I will partake of them." Then Blasus did so, and
at the end of the days Blasus removed the clay, and going in, found the
bread and water untouched, and Simeon lying, unable to speak or move.
Getting a sponge, he moistened and opened his lips, and then gave him
the Holy Eucharist; and strengthened by this immortal Food, he chewed,
little by little, lettuces and succory, and such like.

When he had passed three years in that little house, he took possession
of the peak, which has since been so famous; and when he had commanded
a wall to be made round him, and procured an iron chain, he fastened
one end of it to a great stone, and the other to his right foot, so
that he could not, if he wished, have left those bounds. But when
Meletius, Bishop of Antioch, saw him, he told him that if he had the
will to remain, the iron profited nothing. Then, having sent for a
smith, he bade him strike off the chain.

The fame of the wondrous austerities of this man wrought upon the
wild Arab tribes, and effected what no missionaries had been able, as
yet, to perform. No doubt the fearful severities exercised by Simeon,
on himself, are startling and even shocking. But the Spirit of God
breathes where He wills, and thou canst not tell whence He cometh and
whither He goeth. What but the divine Spirit could have caught that
young boy's soul away from keeping sheep, and looking forward to the
enjoyment of youth, and precipitated it into this course, so contrary
to flesh and blood? Theodoret says, that as kings change the impression
on their coins, sometimes stamping them with the image of lions,
sometimes of stars, sometimes of angels, so the divine Monarch produces
different marks of sanctity at different periods, and at each period
He calls forth these virtues, or characters, He needs for a particular
work. So was it now; on the wild sons of the desert, no missionaries
had made an impression; their rough hearts had given no echo to the
sound of the Gospel. Something of startling novelty was needed to
catch their attention, and strike their imagination, and drag them
violently to the cross. These wild men came from their deserts to see
the weird, haggard man in his den. He fled from them as they crowded
upon him, not into the wastes of sand, but up a pillar; first up one
six cubits, then one twelve cubits, and finally, one of thirty-six. The
sons of Ishmael poured to the foot of the pillar, "like a river along
the roads, and formed an ocean of men about it." "And," says Theodoret,
"myriads of Ishmaelites, who had been enslaved in the darkness of
impiety, were illuminated by that station on the column. For this
most shining light, set as it were on a candlestick, sent forth all
around its beams, like the sun, and one might see Iberi, Persians, and
Armenians coming and receiving divine baptism. But the Ishmaelites
(Arabs,) coming by tribes, 200 and 300 at a time, and sometimes even
1,000, denied with shouts the error of their ancestors; and breaking
in pieces the images they had worshipped, and renouncing the orgies
of Venus, they received the divine Sacraments, and accepted laws from
that holy tongue. And this I have seen with my own eyes, and have
heard them renouncing the impiety of their fathers, and assenting to
Evangelic doctrine." Here was the result. Little did the boy know, as
he lay before the monastery door five days without eating, to what God
had called him; for what work he was predestined, when he coiled the
rope about his body. The Spirit had breathed, and he had followed the
impulse, and now he wrought what the tongue of a prophet could not have
affected. And it was worth the pain of that rope torn from his bleeding
body; it was recompense for those long fastings.

"Three winters, that my soul might grow to Thee,
I lived up there on yonder mountain side;
My right leg chain'd into the crag, I lay
Pent in a roofless close of ragged stones;
Inswathed sometimes in wandering mist, and twice
Black'd with Thy branding thunder, and sometimes
Sucking the damps for drink, and eating not."

It was worth all this, if souls could be added to the Lord, as they
were, by hundreds and thousands. God's ways are not as our ways. The God
who needed these souls, called up the soul of Simeon to do the work, and
Simeon obeyed, and traversed perhaps the most awful path man has yet
trod.

It is not for us to condemn a mode of life which there is no need for
men to follow now. It was needed then, and he is rightly numbered with
the Saints, who submitted his will to that of God, to make of him an
instrument for His purpose in the way that He saw best.

"There came from Arabena a certain good man," says Theodoret, "who, when
he had come to that mountain peak, 'Tell me,' he cried, 'by the very
Truth, art thou a man, or of incorporeal nature?' But when all there
were displeased with the question, the Saint bade them all be silent,
and bade them set a ladder to the column, and bade the man come up; and
first look at his hands, and then feel inside his cloak of skins, and
see not only his feet, but also a severe ulcer in them. But when he saw
that he was a man, and the size of that sore, and learnt from him how he
took nourishment, he came down and told me all."

"On festivals, from the setting of the sun till its appearance again, he
stood all night with his hands uplifted to heaven, neither soothed with
sleep, nor conquered by fatigue. But in toils so great, and so great
magnitude of deeds, and multitude of miracles, his self-esteem is as
moderate as if he were in dignity the least of men. Besides his modesty,
he is easy of access of speech, and gracious, and answers every man who
speaks to him. And from the bounteous God he has received the gift of
teaching, and he makes exhortations to the people twice every day. He
may be seen also acting as a judge, giving just decisions. This, and the
like, is done after the ninth hour. For all night, and through the day
to the ninth hour, he prays perpetually. After that he sets forth
divine teaching to those who are present, and then, having heard each
man's petition, having performed some cures, he settles disputes. About
sunset, he begins the rest of his converse with God. But though he is
employed in this way, he does not give up the care of the churches,
sometimes fighting against the impiety of the Greeks, sometimes checking
the audacity of the Jews, sometimes putting to flight the heretics, and
sometimes sending messages to the emperor; sometimes stirring up rulers
to zeal for God, and sometimes exhorting the pastors of the churches to
bestow more care on their flocks."

To make trial of his humility, an order was sent him, in the name of the
neighbouring bishops and abbots, to quit his pillar, and new manner of
life. The Saint, ready to obey the summons, was about to step down; when
the messenger, seeing his willingness to obey, said he was empowered to
authorize him to follow his vocation.

Once, his mother hearing of his fame, came to see him, but was not
allowed to enter the enclosure around the pillar. But when Simeon heard
his mother's voice, he said to her, "Bear up, my mother, a little while,
and we shall see each other, if God will." But she began to weep and
rebuke him, saying, "Son, why hast thou done this? In return for the
body I bore thee, thou has filled me with grief. For the milk with which
I nourished thee, thou hast given me tears. For the kiss with which I
kissed thee, thou hast given me an aching heart." "She made us all
weep," says Anthony, who writes this incident. Simeon, on his pillar,
was also deeply agitated, and, covering his face with his hands, he wept
bitterly, and cried to her, "Lady mother, be still a little while, and
we shall see each other in eternal rest." The poor mother, with harrowed
heart, hung about the place for three days, crying to her son, and wrung
with grief to see his terrible penance. Then Simeon, grieving for her,
prayed to God to give her rest, and at the end of those three days she
fell asleep in Christ. Then the people took up her body and brought it
where Simeon might see it. And he, weeping, said, "The Lord receive thee
in joy, mother! because thou hast endured tribulation for me, and borne
me, and nursed and nourished me with labour." Then he prayed, "Lord God
of virtues, who sittest above the Cherubim, and searchest the
foundations of the abyss, who knewest Adam before he was; who hast
promised the riches of the kingdom of heaven to those who love Thee; who
didst speak to Moses out of the burning bush; who blessedst Abraham our
father; who bringest to Paradise the souls of the just, and sinkest the
souls of the ungodly in perdition; who didst humble the lions before
Daniel, and mitigate for the Three Children the strong fire of the
Chaldees; who didst nourish Elijah by the ravens which brought him food,
receive her soul in peace, and put her in the place of the holy Fathers,
for Thine is the power, for ever and ever."

A robber, Jonathan by name, fled to S. Simeon, and embraced the column,
weeping bitterly, and confessing his sins, and saying that he desired to
repent. Then the Saint cried, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven. But
beware that thou fall not again." Then came the officials from Antioch,
demanding the poor wretch, that he might be cast to wild beasts in the
amphitheatre. But Simeon answered, "My sons, I brought him not hither,
but One greater than I. I cannot give him up, for I fear Him who sent
the man to me."

Then the sergeants, struck with fear, went away. And Jonathan lay for
seven days embracing the column, and then asked leave to depart. The
Saint asked him if he was going to return to sin. "No, my lord!"
answered the robber; "but my time is fulfilled." And straightway he gave
up the ghost; and when the sergeants came from Antioch, again insisting
that he should be given up to suffer for his crimes, Simeon replied,
pointing to the body, "He who brought the poor sinner here, has come
with His angels, and has pardoned this man Himself."

Anthony, his disciple, thus relates the death of the old hermit. "After
a few years, it befell one day, that he bowed himself in prayer, and
remained so three days, Friday, the Sabbath, and the Lord's day. Then I
was terrified, and went up to him on the pillar, and stood before his
face, and said, 'Master, arise! bless us, for the people have been
waiting three days and nights for a blessing from thee.' But he answered
me not, so I said to him again, 'Wherefore dost thou grieve me, my lord!
I beseech thee, put out thy hand to me.' And seeing that he did not
answer, I thought to tell no one; for I feared to touch him, and
standing about half-an-hour, I bent down, and put my ear to listen; and
there was no breathing. And so I understood that he rested in the Lord;
and turning faint, I wept most bitterly; and bending down, I kissed his
eyes; and I cried, 'Master, remember me in thy holy rest.' And lifting
up his garments, I fell at his feet, and kissed them, and holding his
hands, I laid them on my eyes, saying, 'Bless me, I beseech thee, my
lord!'"

The body was taken to Antioch, and there buried with great pomp.

S. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, K.

[S. Edward is commemorated on this day in the Roman Martyrology, by
order of Innocent IV. On this day, he is mentioned in the old
English Martyrologies as well, but the festival of his Translation,
Oct. 13th, is that which is chiefly observed in his honour, and to
that day we shall refer our readers for his life.]

S. GERLACH, H.

(ABOUT 1170.)

[Mentioned in the Cologne, German, and Gallo-Belgic Martyrologies.
Two lives of this Saint exist, one written during the life of those
who remembered him, and were able to describe his personal
appearance; the other written by Wilhelm Cripius, son of the
Chancellor of Gueldres, by command of the bishop, Henry Cuyck, of
Roermund.]

Saint Gerlach sprang from a noble family, in the neighbourhood of
Maestricht. He was a knight, and lived a somewhat disorderly life; but
one day, as he was about to engage in a tournament, the news reached
him of the sudden death of his wife, whom he loved passionately.
Casting aside lance and shield, he hastened to his castle, and in
grief over her loss, formed the resolution of renouncing the world. He
visited Rome, and confessed the sins of his life to Pope Eugenius III.,
who bade him, as a penance, go to Jerusalem, and for seven years nurse
the sick in its hospitals. He obeyed, and on his return to Rome, at the
expiration of seven years, found Adrian IV. on the throne. Adrian bade
him live a retired life. Accordingly, Gerlach returned to his estates,
and distributed all his possessions among the poor, reserving for
himself only sufficient for his support. He then took up his abode in
a hollow oak; but some envious persons having complained to the Bishop
of Liege that he offered idolatrous worship to the tree, the bishop
ordered it to be cut down; but afterwards, recognizing the virtue of
the penitent knight, he became his protector. He wore sack-cloth next
his skin, and over that a battered suit of mail. He spent his nights
in prayer, in the church of S. Servais, Maestricht.

FOOTNOTES:

[30] Hist., lib. iv. c. 10.

January 6.

The Epiphany.

S. MELCHIOR, _one of the Magi_.
S. MACRA, _V. M., near Rheims, circ._ A.D. 303.
S. MELANIUS, _B. of Rennes_, A.D. 580.
S. PETER, _Ab. of Canterbury_, A.D. 608.
S. ERMINOLD, _Ab. of Prufening, and M._, A.D. 1121.
THE VEN. GERTRUDE VAN OOSTEN, _V., at Delft_, A.D. 1358.
S. JOHN RIBEIRA, _Patr. of Antioch, and Abp. of Valencia, in Spain_,
A.D. 1611.

THE EPIPHANY.

The principal design of the Church in celebrating this feast is, that
her members may show gratitude to God for manifesting the Gospel to the
Gentile world, and vouchsafing to it the same privileges as to the Jews,
who had hitherto been His chosen and peculiar people; the first instance
of this divine favour was the Manifestation of Christ to the Wise Men of
the East. But, in all, there are three great manifestations of our
Saviour commemorated on this day; all of which, S. Chrysostom says,
happened on the same day, though not in the same year. The first of
these was His manifestation by a star, which conducted the Magi to come
and worship Him. The second Manifestation was that of the Blessed
Trinity, at His Baptism. The third was the Manifestation of the Divinity
of Christ, at Cana, by miraculously changing water into wine.

[Illustration: THE EPIPHANY.
From the Vienna Missal.
Jan. 6.]

But the principal event which is this day celebrated, is the
Manifestation of our Lord to the Wise Men of the East. These, who are
called Magi in Greek, were doubtless men of high rank. Tradition holds
them to have been princes or kings; and they are given the names of
Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. They are said to have been baptized by
the Apostle Thomas, and to have preached the Gospel in Persia. Their
bodies were brought by the first Christian emperors from the East to
Constantinople, whence they were conveyed to Milan. But the Emperor
Frederick I. carried them off to Cologne, in 1162, where they still
remain.

Many very curious traditions, of no authority, have attached to these
three holy men. They were said to have been Shem, Ham, and Japhet, who
had fallen asleep in a cave, and to have woke only at the Nativity
of Christ, when they came to adore Him; and then to have returned to
their cave and died. A much more trustworthy tradition is to the effect
that each wise man belonged to a different stock; that one was of the
seed of Shem, another of the family of Japhet, and that the third,
represented in art as black, belonged to the descendants of Ham. The
three names Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, are not found in any
writers earlier than the twelfth century. Before Pope S. Leo the Great
spoke of them as three, the number was sometimes supposed to have been
as many as twelve. Barhebraeus says, "Magi came from the East. Some
affirm that three princes came with a thousand men; but James, the
bishop (of Edessa,) said that there were twelve princes, who, having
left seven thousand soldiers at the Euphrates, came on with a thousand
men to Jerusalem."

Some authors have suggested that the seeming star, which appeared to
the Magi in the East, might be that glorious Light which shone upon
the shepherds of Bethlehem, when the angel came to impart to them the
tidings of our Saviour's birth, which, at a distance, might appear like
a star. According to an ancient commentary on S. Matthew, this star, on
its first appearance to the wise men, had the form of a radiant child,
bearing a sceptre or cross; and in some early Italian frescoes it is
thus depicted:--

"In a trice a star shone forth
Oh! so brightly shining!
Nearer, nearer yet it came,
Still towards earth inclining;
And 'twas shaped--O! wondrous sight!
Like a child with visage bright,
Holding sign of kindly might,
With a Cross combining."

It is to be expected that the Epiphany, containing in itself, as has
been observed, three distinct festivals, would be known by a variety of
distinct names. In the Mozarabic ritual it is called the "Apparition of
the Lord;" in Germany it is the "Three-Kings' Day."

The Greeks keep the Nativity and the Manifestation to the Wise Men on
the same day, the 25th December, and keep the 6th January as the
festival of the Baptism of our Lord.

The first historical notice of the Epiphany is found in S. Clement of
Alexandria, A.D. 200; in the time of S. Chrysostom, A.D. 400, it is
mentioned as an ancient and principal festival of the Asiatic Church.
The earliest distinct trace of it in the West is found in Gaul, in the
middle of the fourth century. Ammianus Marcellinus (xxi. 2), relates of
Julian the Apostate, that in A.D. 361, he celebrated in the Christian
Church at Paris, the feast of the Epiphany in January, shortly before he
publicly renounced the Christian religion. The title of Day of Lights
was given to this festival as commemorating the earthly manifestation of
the Light of the World, and also because it was the supposed day of the
Baptism of our Lord, to which rite the term "illumination" was
especially given. Hence it became, and in the Greek Church it is still,
one of the three solemn times of baptism.

Greek Hymn.--O Christ, the True Light, which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world, let the Light of Thy Countenance shine upon us,
that thereby we may behold the unapproachable Light, and guide Thou our
steps to fulfil Thy Commandments.

S. MACRA, V. M.

(ABOUT 303.)

[Mentioned in the Roman and German Martyrologies. The account of
her martyrdom is from the Martyrologies, and from her Acts,
published by the Bollandists.]

During the savage persecutions of Diocletian and Maximian, emperors,
one Rictiovarus was governor at Soissons, in Gaul, who laboured to put
down Christianity. The virgin Macra was treated by him with inhuman
barbarity; she was exposed to fire, her breasts were cut off, and she
was rolled on potsherds and coals; then, spreading out her hands, she
prayed, "O Lord Jesu Christ, who madest me triumph over the chains in
my dungeon, and madest the fire to which I was exposed as sweet as dew,
I pray Thee, receive my soul, for now is the time come for Thee to set
my spirit free!" So saying, she entered into her rest.

She is regarded as the patroness of Fimes, near Rheims.

In art, she is represented with her breasts on a book which she carries.

S. MELANIUS, B. OF RENNES.

(A.D. 580.)

[Commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on this day. His life was
written by a contemporary, according to Ducange.]

S. Melanius was born at Plas, in the neighbourhood of Vannes, in
Brittany, and became a monk when grown to man's estate. Upon the death
of S. Amandus, Bishop of Rennes, he was compelled by the clergy and
people to fill that see. He accepted the election of himself with great
reluctance. He is related to have performed many miracles, and to have
extirpated the last remnants of heathenism in his diocese. He died on a
journey through his diocese, at La Vilaine. His body was placed in a
boat, which, says the legend, returned to Rennes against the stream,
without oars or sail.

S. PETER, AB. OF CANTERBURY.

(A.D. 608.)

[Named in the English Martyrologies. Authority for his life, Bede.
Hist. Eccl., i. 33.]

Bede says of this Saint, that he was a disciple of S. Gregory the Great,
and first abbot of the monastery of S. Peter, at Canterbury, which was
in later years called S. Augustine's monastery. Going to France in 608,
he was drowned near the harbour of Ambleteuse, near Boulogne. The
peasants of the place buried the body without much regard, not knowing
at first whose it was, but by night a light appeared above it; and,
perceiving that the drowned man was a Saint, his body was exhumed, and
conveyed to Boulogne.

S. ERMINOLD, AB. OF PRUFENING, AND M.

(A.D. 1121.)

[Mentioned in the German Martyrologies. His life was written by a
monk of Prufening, about the year 1290.]

S. Erminold sprang from one of the first families in Swabia, and was
given in early life to William, abbot of Hirschau, to be educated. A
better tutor could not have been found for him, for William was one of
the most learned and pious men of the age. The youthful Erminold made
rapid progress in his studies, and he grew up in favour with God and
man. When his pupilage was ended, he took the vows of monastic life upon
him. In 1110, he was appointed by the Emperor Henry V., to the abbey of
Lorch, on the Rhine; but hearing that this had been given him at the
request of his brother, as a return for something his brother had done
for the Emperor, Erminold threw up the office, so as not to incur the
least suspicion of simony, and returned to Hirschau. But the Bishop of
Bamberg, having founded an abbey at Prufening, near Ratisbon, he was
invited to colonize it, and be its first father. He accordingly betook
himself thither, with a few brethren. Having incurred the hostility of
some of his monks, by insisting on strict discipline, one, named Aaron,
struck him with a knife and mortally wounded him. He died, forgiving his
murderer.

[Illustration: Worshippers at the Shrine of a Saint.]

January 7.

S. LUCIAN, _P. M., at Antioch, circ._ A.D. 312.
S. NICETAS, _B. C., circ._ A.D. 402.
S. VALENTINE, _B. of Passau, circ._ A.D. 440.
S. CEDD, _B. of London_, A.D. 664.
S. TYLLO, _Monk in Gaul, circ._ 700.
B. WITTEKIND, _Duke of Westphalia_, A.D. 800.
S. RAINOLD, _Monk and M., of Dortmund, in Westphalia._
S. ALDRIC, _B. of Le Mans, in France, circ._ A.D. 855.
S. CANUTE, _Duke of Schleswig_, A.D. 1133.

S. LUCIAN, P. M., OF ANTIOCH.

(ABOUT 312.)

[Commemorated on this day by the Latins, on the 15th October by the
Greeks. This S. Lucian is not to be confused with S. Lucian of
Beauvais, commemorated on Jan. 8th. He is spoken of by S. Jerome
and Theodoret. S. Chrysostom has a homily on S. Lucian. Information
concerning him is also obtained from the Greek Menaea, and from the
Acts of his martyrdom in Metaphrastes.]

Saint Lucian was born at Samosata, in Syria; his parents were
Christians, and sought above all things to educate their son in the fear
of God. Both died and left him an orphan at the age of twelve, and the
boy, in his desolation, distributed his goods to the poor, and took
refuge with Macarius at Edessa, who taught out of Holy Scripture the
things concerning eternal life. Arrived at man's estate, he was ordained
priest, and opened a school at Antioch, and diligently laboured at
procuring a correct version of the Holy Scriptures, by comparing
together the different Hebrew copies. His version of the sacred writings
was used by S. Jerome, and proved of much assistance to him in his work
of writing the Vulgate.

When Maximian persecuted the Church, S. Lucian concealed himself, but
was betrayed by a Sabellian priest into the hands of the persecutors; he
was taken to Nicomedia, and brought before Maximian. On his way he was
the means of recovering forty Christian soldiers, who had lapsed. In
Nicomedia he was subjected to torture. His feet were placed in the
stocks, which were distended, so as to dislocate his legs. His hands
were fastened to a beam, which was above his head, and he was laid on
sharp potsherds, so that his back was lacerated and pierced. After this,
he was allowed to lie on his cell floor, unable to rise, on account of
his legs being out of joint, and was starved to death. He lingered
fourteen days. And when the feast of the Manifestation drew nigh, he
desired greatly to receive the Holy Eucharist. "When the fatal day had
arrived, which was looked forward to, some of the disciples desired to
receive from their master his last celebration of the divine mystery.
But it seemed doubtful how they might bring a table into the prison, and
how they might conceal it from the eyes of the impious. But when many of
the disciples were assembled, and others were arriving, he said: 'This
breast of mine shall be the table, and I reckon it will not be less
esteemed of God than one of inanimate material; and ye shall be a holy
temple, standing round about me.' And thus it was accomplished, for
because the saintly man was at the end of his life, the guards were
negligent, and so God, as I think, to honour his martyr, removed all
impediments to that being done which was proposed. For when all stood in
close ring round the martyr, so that one standing by the other shut him
completely from view, he ordered the symbols of the divine Sacrifice to
be placed on his breast. After that he raised his eyes to heaven, and
uttered the accustomed prayers. Then, when he had uttered many sacred
prayers, and had done all the requisite acts in the sacred rite, he and
the rest communicated, and he sent to those who were absent, as he
himself shows in his last Epistle to them. Next day some officers came
from the Emperor to see if he were still alive. And as he saw them
standing about him, he said thrice, 'I am a Christian,' and so saying,
he died."

The body was then thrown into the sea, to the great grief of his
disciples, who desired to bury it. But fifteen days after it was
recovered. A legend says that a dolphin brought it ashore; be that as it
may, it was found and was buried.

In art, S. Lucian is sometimes represented with a chalice and Host, in
allusion to his offering the holy Sacrifice in prison; sometimes with a
dolphin at his side.

S. VALENTINE, B. OF PASSAU.

(ABOUT 440.)

[Some German Martyrologies, and the Roman, commemorate S.
Maximilian, M., and S. Valentine, B.C., on Oct. 29. But S.
Valentine is commemorated alone on this day at Passau.]

Valentine was sent by the Pope to preach the Gospel in the Passau. He
found that his work was without fruit, and returned to Rome to implore
the Holy Father to send him elsewhere. But the Pope consecrated him
bishop, and sent him back to Passau, to preach in season and out of
season, whether it produced fruit or not. The Bishop renewed his
efforts, but the Pagans and Arians combined to drive him out of the
city. Thereupon he went among the Rhaetian Alps, and his teaching
produced abundant fruit among the mountaineers. At length he resolved to
serve God, and purify his own soul, in a life of retirement. He
therefore built a little chapel and monastery at Mais, in Tyrol, and
there he died.

Relics, at Passau.

S. CEDD, B. OF LONDON.

(A.D. 664.)

[English Martyrologies. His life is given by Bede, in his
Ecclesiastical History, lib. 3, caps. 21, 22, 23.]

Peada, son of Penda, King of Mercia, being appointed by his father King
of the Midland English, by which name Bede distinguished the inhabitants
of Leicestershire, and part of Lincolnshire and Derbyshire, from the
rest of the Mercians; the young king visited Oswy, King of Northumbria,
at Atwell, or Walton, was baptized along with several of his nobles, by
Bishop Finan, and was provided by Oswy with two priests to instruct his
people in Christianity. One of these was S. Cedd, who had been trained
in the monastery of Lindisfarne. "When these two," says Bede,
"travelling to all parts of that country, had gathered a numerous church
to the Lord, it happened that Cedd returned home, and came to the church
of Lindisfarne to confer with Bishop Finan; who, finding how successful
he had been in the work of the Gospel, made him Bishop of the Church of
the East Saxons, calling to him two other bishops, to assist at the
ordination. Cedd, having received the episcopal dignity, returned to his
province, and pursuing the work he had begun, with more ample authority,
built churches in several places, ordaining priests and deacons to
assist him in the work of faith, and the ministry of baptizing,
especially in the city which, in the language of the Saxons, is called
Ithancester,[31] as also in that named Tilabury (Tilbury); the first of
which places is on the bank of the Pante, the other on the bank of the
Thames; where, gathering a flock of servants of Christ, he taught them
to observe the discipline of regular life, as far as those rude people
were then capable.

"Whilst the doctrine of everlasting life was thus, for a considerable
time, making progress, to the joy of the King and of all the people, it
happened that the King, at the instigation of the enemy of all good men,
was murdered by his own kindred. The same man of God, whilst he was
bishop among the East Saxons, was wont also to visit, at intervals, his
own country, Northumberland, to make exhortations. Ethelwald, the son of
King Oswald, who reigned over the Deiri, finding him a holy, wise, and
good man, desired him to accept some land to build a monastery, to which
the King himself might frequently resort, to offer his prayers and hear
the word, and be buried in it when he died; for he believed that he
should receive much benefit by the prayers of those who were to serve
God in that place. The King had before with him a brother of the same
bishop, called Celin, a man no less devoted to God; who, being a priest,
was wont to administer to him the word and the Sacraments, by whose
means he chiefly came to know and love the bishop.

"That prelate, therefore, complying with the King's desires, chose
himself a place to build a monastery among craggy and distant mountains,
which looked more like lurking places for robbers, and retreats for wild
beasts, than habitations for men. The man of God, desiring first to
cleanse the place for the monastery from former crimes, by prayer and
fasting, that it might become acceptable to our Lord, and so to lay the
foundations, requested the King to give him leave to reside there all
the approaching Lent, to pray. All which time, except Sundays, he fasted
till the evening, according to custom, and then took no other sustenance
than a little bread, one egg, and a little milk mixed with water. This,
he said, was the custom of those of whom he had learnt the rule of
regular discipline; first, to consecrate to our Lord, by prayer and
fasting, the places which they had newly received for building a
monastery or a church. When there were ten days of Lent still remaining,
there came a messenger to call him to the King; and he, that the
religious work might not be intermitted, on account of the King's
affairs, entreated his priest, Cynebil, who was also his own brother, to
complete that which had been so piously begun. Cynebil readily complied,
and when the time of fasting and prayer was over, he there built the
monastery, which is now called Lestingan,[32] and established therein
the religious customs of Lindisfarne."

At this time, owing to the influence of S. Wilfrid, who had been
established at Ripon by Alchfrid, son of King Oswy, a great split was
forming in the Church, which made itself felt even in the Royal family.
All the missionaries of the north had been brought up in Iona, or
Lindisfarne, and followed the Keltic ritual; Wilfrid, ordained by a
French bishop, introduced Roman ways. Oswy had been baptized and
educated by Keltic monks, and followed the usages of the Mother Church
of Iona; but his wife, Eanfleda, had learned in exile Roman ways, and
she brought with her to the court of Oswy a Canterbury priest--Romanus
by name, and Roman in heart--who guided her religious exercises. Two
Easter feasts were thus celebrated every year in the same house; and as
the Saxon kings had transferred to the chief festivals of the Christian
year, and especially to the Queen of Feasts, the meeting of assemblies,
and the occasion which those assemblies gave them of displaying all
their pomp, it is easy to understand how painful it must have been for
Oswy to sit, with his earls and thanes, at the great feast of Easter, at
the end of a wearisome Lent, and to see the Queen, with her maids of
honour and her servants, persisting in fasting and penance, it being
with her still only Palm Sunday.[33] To settle this difference, and
prevent a rupture, the King convoked a parliament at Whitby, in 664. In
this parliament Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Cedd, Bishop of the East
Saxons, who had at this time re-established the episcopal see of London,
and S. Hilda, the great abbess of Whitby, upheld the Keltic rite. On the
other side were S. Wilfrid, the young Prince Alchfrid, and James, the
deacon of York. In this parliament, it was decided that the Roman usages
should be adopted, and Cedd renounced the customs of Lindisfarne, in
which he had been educated, and returned to his diocese of London to
spread the Roman usages there.

"Cedd," says Bede, "for many years had charge of his bishopric and of
the monastery of Lastingham, over which he had placed superiors. It
happened that he came there at the time that a plague was raging, and he
fell sick and died. He was first buried in the open air, but in process
of time, a church of stone was built in the monastery, in honour of the
Mother of God, and his body was interred in the same, on the right hand
of the altar."

The Bishop left the monastery to be governed after him by his brother
Chad, who was afterwards made bishop. For the four brothers, Cedd, and
Cynebil, Celin, and Ceadda (Chad)--which is a rare thing to be met
with--were all celebrated priests of our Lord, and two of them also came
to be bishops.

S. TYLLO, H.

(ABOUT 700.)

[Cologne, German, and Belgian Martyrologies. The name is sometimes
Tyllo, Thillo, or Hillo; in Belgium, Theaulon or Tilman. Authority:
A life published in the Bollandists, which agrees with scattered
notices of him in various writers.]

S. Tillo, the Patron of Iseghem, in Belgium, was a son of Saxon parents,
but was stolen, when young, from his home, and sold as a slave in Gaul.
S. Eligius, who redeemed many slaves, bought the lad, and being struck
with his beauty and intelligence, sent him to the monastery of Solignac,
to be educated by S. Remacle, then abbot of Solignac. After his
education was complete, he was returned to S. Eligius, who was a
goldsmith, patronized by King Dagobert and the nobles of the court. With
him Tillo learned the trade of a goldsmith, and made many vessels and
ornaments of gold and silver, encrusted with gems, for the King. Whilst
he worked, he had the Holy Scriptures open before him, and as he chased
the silver and gold he studied the Word of God. He kept ever in his
heart the maxim, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye
even so to them," and all his work was done to the best of his ability,
and executed with punctuality. Thus, he found favour with Eligius, and
with all the customers of his master. When Eligius left his shop, and
became a bishop, he called to the clerical office and to the religious
life, his apprentice whom he had bought in the market many years before.
Tillo, as priest and monk, showed a pattern of holiness, and was made
abbot of Solignac, near Limoges. But ruling three hundred monks and
attending to the worldly affairs of a great monastery, and more than
that, the multitude of visitors, made the life one for which the
goldsmith's apprentice, trained to work in silence, and think and read,
felt himself unfitted; so one night he fled away and was lost. He
penetrated the woods and mountains of Auvergne, seeking out a suitable
spot for a hermitage, and one day he lit upon a quiet place, hid away
among the rocky mountains, into which he could only just crawl on hands
and knees. Having got in, he found a pleasant glade, surrounded with
trees, having streams watering it from the mountain side, and there were
plenty of apple trees, from which he concluded it had been previously a
hermitage. Here he lived for some time, praying and reading, and tilling
the soil. By degrees, it was rumoured that a holy hermit lived in that
glade, and the people of the neighbourhood came to see him, and he
called himself Brother Paul. And to all who visited him this was the
rule of life he gave, "Believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus
Christ his Son, also in the Holy Ghost, three persons, but one God. Keep
your mind from vain cogitations and your body pure from all uncleanness;
avoid self-conceit, and be instant in prayer."

And when there was ever more and more of a concourse, and many desired
to put themselves under his direction, he went forth, and sought out a
suitable spot, and found it at Bayac, where he founded a monastery.
There he remained some while, till a longing came over him to revisit
Solignac, and he fled away when all his monks were asleep, as he had
fled previously from Solignac. And when he reached Solignac, he was
received with great joy. Then he asked the abbot Gundebert to build him
a little cell outside the monastery, in which he might reside with one
or two of the brethren who sought a stricter life. His wish was granted,
and in this cell he spent the rest of his days.

He is regarded with special veneration at Iseghem, in Flanders, because
he visited that place in company with S. Eligius, and there remained
some time teaching the people.

In art, he is represented with a chalice in one hand and an abbatial
staff in the other.

S. ALDRIC, B. OF MANS.

(A.D. 855.)

[Gallican Martyrology. Ancient Life in Baluze: Miscel. iii.]

S. Aldric was born about the year 800. When aged fourteen his father
sent him to the court of Louis the Pious. One day, as he was praying in
church at Aix-la-Chapelle, he felt called by God to leave a life in the
world, and dedicate himself to the service of the altar. With difficulty
he persuaded the King to let him depart, and he was sent to the Bishop
of Metz. There he remained some years, received the tonsure, and was
ordained priest.

Louis the Pious, hearing of the wisdom and sanctity of Aldric, appointed
him to be his chaplain and confessor. Aldric was afterwards elected
Bishop of Mans, and was consecrated on the 22nd December, 832. When
raised to the episcopal throne, he kept a stricter guard over himself,
and treated his body with great rigour, but to others he was gentle and
lenient. All his income was spent in works of mercy. He redeemed
captives, relieved the poor, built churches, and founded monasteries. In
the civil wars which divided the French monarchy, his fidelity to his
prince and to Charles the Bald, his successor, involved him in trouble,
and he was expelled for about a twelvemonth from his see. On his return,
he laboured more indefatigably than ever to perfect the discipline of
his diocese, for which purpose he collected the canons of Councils and
decrees of the Popes into what he called a Capitulary. Some fragments
have reached us of the regulations which he made for the celebration of
divine service; in which he orders ten wax candles, and ninety lamps, to
be lighted in his Cathedral on all great festivals.

S. CANUTE LAVARD, M.

(A.D. 1133.)

[Schleswig and Scandinavian Breviaries. Life in Knytlinga Saga,
Saxo Grammaticus, Schleswig Breviary, &c.]

Canute Lavard was second son of Eric the Good, King of Denmark. His
elder brother, Nicolas, became King of Denmark, though he was
illegitimate, as Canute was very young. Nicolas had a son named Magnus,
who was also brought up with Canute. Canute purchased the duchy of
Schleswig, and occupied himself with clearing the seas and islands of
Denmark of the pirates who infested them. On one occasion, a pirate whom
he had captured, and condemned with others to be hung, cried out that he
was of royal blood, and was related to Canute. "Then," said the duke,
"you shall hang at the topmast head above the others."

Henry, King of the Sclaves, being dead, Canute succeeded him. The
popularity of this prince, owing to his gentleness, virtue, and piety,
stirred up the envy of Magnus, who feared lest he should put in a claim
to the throne of Denmark, to which indeed he had a right prior to Magnus
and his father. In order to make sure of the succession, Magnus decoyed
his unsuspicious kinsman into a wood, surrounded him with armed men, and
killed him.

[Illustration: Seal of the City of Brussels. S. Gudule, p. 115.]

FOOTNOTES:

[31] On the Blackwater; there is no city there now, but numerous traces
of an ancient settlement, and an old chapel marks the site, in the
parish of Bradwell.

[32] Lastingham, near Pickering, in Yorkshire.

[33] Bede iii. 25.

January 8.

S. LUCIAN, _B. M._, AND COMPANIONS, _at Beauvais_.
S. PATIENS, _B. of Metz, circ._ A.D. 152.
S. ATTICUS, _Patr. of Constantinople_, A.D. 425.
S. SEVERINUS, _P. and Apostle of Austria_, A.D. 482.
S. SEVERINUS, _B. C., in Italy, 6th cent._
B. BALDWIN, _Archdeacon of Laon, M., 6th cent._
S. FRODOBERT, _Ab., at Troyes, 7th cent._
S. GUDULA, _V., at Brussels, circ._ A.D. 712.
S. PEGA, _V., in England, circ._ A.D. 718.
S. ERARD, _Bishop in Bavaria, 8th cent._
S. GARIBALD, _B. of Ratisbon, circ._ A.D. 1252.
S. WULSIN, _B. of Sherbourn_, A.D. 983.
S. LAURENCE JUSTINIANI, _Patr. of Venice_, A.D. 1455.

S. LUCIAN, B. M. AT BEAUVAIS.

[Roman, Gallican, and Anglican Martyrologies; Bede, Ado, Notker,
and others. His date uncertain. As little is known of this S.
Lucian, it is probable that the so-called Reformers retained his
name in the Anglican Calendar by mistake, confusing him with the S.
Lucian of Antioch, Jan. 7th, a much better known Saint.]

There is much uncertainty about this martyr. Some writers maintain that
he was a disciple of S. Peter. Others say that he was sent into Gaul by
S. Clement, Bishop of Rome, at the end of the first century, and
suffered death under the reign of Domitian. It is certain, however, that
he came into Gaul to preach the faith to the pagan inhabitants, and that
he finished his labours at Beauvais, by the death of a martyr. There is
good reason to believe that he was of noble Roman blood, and that he
accompanied S. Denys of Paris, or S. Quentin of Amiens, on his mission,
about the year 245. S. Lucian was accompanied by his friends, Maximian
and Julian. They suffered in different places, and on different days;
but they were laid by faithful disciples in one tomb, and are
commemorated together. S. Lucian is called in some calendars a priest;
but in an ancient one of the ninth century, he is styled a bishop, and
such has been the constant tradition at Beauvais.

In art, he is represented holding his head in his hands.

S. PATIENS, B.

(ABOUT A.D. 152.)

[Roman Martyrology; Martyrologies of Cologne, of Rabanus, Notker,
&c. His life is traditional.]

S. Patiens is said to have been a disciple of S. John the Evangelist,
and to have been sent by him into Gaul. He settled at Metz, where he
became the fourth Bishop.

S. ATTICUS, PATR. OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

(A.D. 425.)

[Roman Martyrology, that of Usuardus and the German Martyrologies.
Authorities for his life, very numerous: Socrates, Sozomen,
Synesius, Palladius, Photius, Nicephorus, Zonaras, &c.]

Atticus, a man of gentle spirit and conciliatory manners, succeeded S.
Chrysostom in the see of Constantinople. He, at first, refused to admit
the name of his predecessor into the diptychs; but was afterwards moved
to yield, in accordance with the Latin Church, which refused communion
with the see of Constantinople till the righteousness of the cause of
the great Chrysostom had been acknowledged. Atticus was engaged in
correspondence on this subject with S. Cyril of Alexandria, who
vehemently resented the admission of the name of Chrysostom, till he
also yielded at the instance of Isidore of Pelusium.

S. SEVERINUS, P. AP. OF NORICUM.

(A.D. 482.)

[Roman Martyrology and those of Germany. The life of S. Severinus
was written by his disciple, Eugippius, in the year 511, as he
states in a letter to Paschatius, the deacon. The following life is
extracted from Mr. Kingsley's "Hermits,"[34] with certain necessary
modifications. What has been once well done, the author is
unwilling to do again, and do in an inferior manner.]

In the middle of the fifth century the province of Noricum (Austria, as
we should now call it), was the very highway of invading barbarians, the
centre of the human Maelstrom, in which Huns, Allemanni, Rugii, and a
dozen wild tribes more, wrestled up and down, and round the starving and
beleaguered towns of what had once been a happy and fertile province,
each tribe striving to trample the other under foot, and to march
southward, over their corpses, to plunder what was still left of the
already plundered wealth of Italy and Rome. The difference of race, of
tongue, and of manners, between the conquered and their conquerors, was
made more painful by difference in creed. The conquering Germans and
Huns were either Arians or heathens. The conquered race (though probably
of very mixed blood), who called themselves Romans, because they spoke
Latin, and lived under the Roman law, were orthodox Catholics; and the
miseries of religious persecution were too often added to the usual
miseries of invasion.

It was about the year 455-60. Attila, the great King of the Huns, who
called himself--and who was--"the Scourge of God" was just dead. His
empire had broken up. The whole centre of Europe was in a state of
anarchy and war; and the hapless Romans along the Danube were in the
last extremity of terror, not knowing by what fresh invader their crops
would be swept off up to the very gates of the walled towers, which were
their only defence; when there appeared among them, coming out of the
East, a man of God.

Who he was he would not tell. His speech showed him to be an African
Roman--a fellow-countryman of S. Augustine--probably from the
neighbourhood of Carthage. He had certainly at one time gone to some
desert in the East, zealous to learn "the more perfect life." Severinus,
he said, was his name; a name which indicated high rank, as did the
manners and the scholarship of him who bore it. But more than his name
he would not tell. "If you take me for a runaway slave," he said,
smiling, "get ready money to redeem me with when my master demands me
back." For he believed that they would have need of him; that God had
sent him into that land that he might be of use to its wretched people.
And certainly he could have come into the neighbourhood of Vienna, at
that moment, for no other purpose than to do good, unless he came to
deal in slaves.

He settled first at a town, called by his biographer Casturis; and,
lodging with the warden of the church, lived quietly the hermit life.
Meanwhile the German tribes were prowling round the town; and Severinus,
going one day into the church, began to warn the priests and clergy, and
all the people, that a destruction was coming on them which they could
only avert by prayer, and fasting, and the works of mercy. They laughed
him to scorn, confiding in their lofty Roman walls, which the
invaders--wild horsemen, who had no military engines--were unable either
to scale or batter down. Severinus left the town at once, prophesying,
it was said, the very day and hour of its fall. He went on to the next
town, which was then closely garrisoned by a barbarian force, and
repeated his warning there: but while the people were listening to him,
there came an old man to the gate, and told them how Casturis had been
already sacked, as the man of God had foretold; and going into the
church, threw himself at the feet of S. Severinus, and said that he had
been saved by his merits from being destroyed with his fellow-townsmen.

Then the dwellers in the town hearkened to the man of God, and gave
themselves up to fasting, and almsgiving, and prayer for three whole
days.

And on the third day, when the solemnity of the evening sacrifice was
fulfilled, a sudden earthquake happened, and the barbarians, seized with
panic fear, and probably hating and dreading--like all those wild
tribes--confinement between four stone walls, instead of the free open
life of the tent and the stockade, forced the Romans to open their gates
to them, rushed out into the night, and, in their madness, slew each
other.

In those days a famine fell upon the people of Vienna; and they, as
their sole remedy, thought good to send for the man of God from the
neighbouring town. He went, and preached to them, too, repentance and
almsgiving. The rich, it seems, had hidden up their stores of corn, and
left the poor to starve. At least S. Severinus discovered (by divine
revelation, it was supposed), that a widow named Procula had done as
much. He called her out into the midst of the people, and asked her why
she, a noble woman and free-born, had made herself a slave to avarice,
which is idolatry. If she would not give her corn to Christ's poor, let
her throw it into the Danube to feed the fish, for any gain from it she
would not have. Procula was abashed, and served out her hoards thereupon
willingly to the poor; and a little while afterwards, to the
astonishment of all, vessels came down the Danube laden with every kind
of merchandize. They had been frozen up for many days near Passau, in
the thick ice of the river Enns: but the prayers of God's servant had
opened the ice-gates, and let them down the stream before the usual
time.

Then the wild German horsemen swept around the walls, and carried off
human beings and cattle, as many as they could find. Severinus, like
some old Hebrew prophet, did not shrink from advising hard blows, where
hard blows could avail. Mamertinus, the tribune, or officer in command,
told him that he had so few soldiers, and those so ill-armed, that he
dare not face the enemy. Severinus answered that they should get weapons
from the barbarians themselves; the Lord would fight for them, and they
should hold their peace: only if they took any captives they should
bring them safe to him. At the second milestone from the city they came
upon the plunderers, who fled at once, leaving their arms behind. Thus
was the prophecy of the man of God fulfilled. The Romans brought the
captives back to him unharmed. He loosed their bonds, gave them food and
drink, and let them go. But they were to tell their comrades that, if
ever they came near that spot again, celestial vengeance would fall on
them, for the God of the Christians fought from heaven in his servants
cause.

So the barbarians trembled, and went away. And the fear of S. Severinus
fell on all the Goths, heretic Arians though they were; and on the
Rugii, who held the north bank of the Danube in those evil days. S.
Severinus, meanwhile, went out of Vienna, and built himself a cell at a
place called "At the Vineyards." But some benevolent impulse--divine
revelation his biographer calls it--prompted him to return, and build
himself a cell on a hill close to Vienna, round which other cells soon
grew up, tenanted by his disciples. "There," says his biographer, "he
longed to escape the crowds of men who were wont to come to him, and
cling closer to God in continual prayer: but the more he longed to dwell
in solitude, the more often he was warned by revelations not to deny his
presence to the afflicted people." He fasted continually; he went
barefoot even in the midst of winter, which was so severe, the story
continues, in those days around Vienna, that waggons crossed the Danube
on the solid ice: and yet, instead of being puffed-up by his own
virtues, he set an example of humility to all, and bade them with tears
to pray for him, that the Saviour's gifts to him might not heap
condemnation on his head.

Over the wild Rugii S. Severinus seems to have acquired unbounded
influence. Their king, Flaccitheus, used to pour out his sorrows to him,
and tell him how the princes of the Goths would surely slay him; for
when he had asked leave of him to pass on into Italy, he would not let
him go. But S. Severinus prophesied to him that the Goths would do him
no harm. Only one warning he must take: "Let it not grieve him to ask
peace even for the least of men."

The friendship which had thus begun between the barbarian king and the
cultivated Saint was carried on by his son Feva: but his "deadly and
noxious wife," Gisa, who appears to have been a fierce Arian, always,
says his biographer, kept him back from clemency. One story of Gisa's
misdeeds is so characteristic both of the manners of the time and of the
style in which the original biography is written, that I shall take
leave to insert it at length.

"The King Feletheus (who is also Feva), the son of the afore-mentioned
Flaccitheus, following his father's devotion, began, at the commencement
of his reign, often to visit the holy man. His deadly and noxious wife,
named Gisa, always kept him back from the remedies of clemency. For she,
among the other plague-spots of her iniquity, even tried to have certain
Catholics re-baptized: but when her husband did not consent, on account
of his reverence for S. Severinus, she gave up immediately her
sacrilegious intention, burdening the Romans, nevertheless, with hard
conditions, and commanding some of them to be exiled to the Danube. For
when one day, she, having come to the village next to Vienna, had
ordered some of them to be sent over the Danube, and condemned to the
most menial offices of slavery, the man of God sent to her, and begged
that they might be let go. But she, blazing up in a flame of fury,
ordered the harshest of answers to be returned. 'I pray thee,' she said,
'servant of God, hiding there within thy cell, allow us to settle what
we choose about our own slaves.' But the man of God hearing this, 'I
trust,' he said, 'in my Lord Jesus Christ, that she will be forced by
necessity to fulfil that which in her wicked will she has despised.' And
forthwith a swift rebuke followed, and brought low the soul of the
arrogant woman. For she had confined in close custody certain barbarian
goldsmiths, that they might make regal ornaments. To them the son of the
aforesaid king, Frederick by name, still a little boy, had gone in, in
childish levity, on the very day on which the queen had despised the
servant of God. The goldsmiths put a sword to the child's breast,
saying, that if any one attempted to enter, without giving them an oath
that they should be protected, he should die; and that they would slay
the king's child first, and themselves afterwards, seeing that they had
no hope of life left, being worn out with long prison. When she heard
that, the cruel and impious queen, rending her garments for grief, cried
out, 'O servant of God, Severinus, are the injuries which I did thee
thus avenged? Hast thou obtained, by the earnest prayer thou hast poured
out, this punishment for my contempt, that thou shouldst avenge it on my
own flesh and blood?' Then, running up and down with manifold contrition
and miserable lamentation, she confessed that for the act of contempt
which she had committed against the servant of God she was struck by the
vengeance of the present blow; and forthwith she sent knights to ask
for forgiveness, and sent across the river the Romans, his prayers for
whom she had despised. The goldsmiths, having received immediately a
promise of safety, and giving up the child, were in like manner let go.

"The most reverend Severinus, when he heard this, gave boundless thanks
to the Creator, who sometimes puts off the prayers of suppliants for
this end, that as faith, hope, and charity grow, while lesser things are
sought, He may concede greater things. Lastly, this did the mercy of the
Omnipotent Saviour work, that while it brought to slavery a woman free,
but cruel over much, she was forced to restore to liberty those who were
enslaved. This having been marvellously gained, the queen hastened with
her husband to the servant of God, and showed him her son, who, she
confessed, had been freed from the verge of death by his prayers, and
promised that she would never go against his commands."

To this period of Severinus' life belongs the famous story of his
interview with Odoacer, the first barbarian king of Italy, and brother
of the great Onulf or Wolf, who was the founder of the family of the
Guelphs, Counts of Altorf, and the direct ancestors of Victoria, Queen
of England. Their father was Aedecon, secretary at one time of Attila,
and chief of the little tribe of Turklings, who, though German, had
clung faithfully to Attila's sons, and came to ruin at the great battle
of Netad, when the empire of the Huns broke up at once and for ever.
Then Odoacer and his brother started over the Alps to seek their
fortunes in Italy, and take service, after the fashion of young German
adventurers, with the Romans; and they came to S. Severinus' cell, and
went in, heathens as they probably were, to ask a blessing of the holy
man; and Odoacer had to stoop and to stand stooping, so huge he was. The
Saint saw that he was no common lad, and said, "Go to Italy, clothed
though thou be in ragged sheepskins: thou shalt soon give greater gifts
to thy friends." So Odoacer went up into Italy, deposed the last of the
Caesars, a paltry boy, Romulus Augustulus by name, and found himself, to
his own astonishment, and that of all the world, the first German king
of Italy; and, when he was at the height of his power, he remembered the
prophecy of Severinus, and sent to him, offering him any boon he chose
to ask. But all that the Saint asked was, that he should forgive some
Romans whom he had banished. S. Severinus meanwhile foresaw that
Odoacer's kingdom would not last, as he seems to have foreseen many
things. For when certain German knights were boasting before him of the
power and glory of Odoacer, he said that it would last some thirteen, or
at most fourteen years; and the prophecy (so all men said in those days)
came exactly true.

There is no need to follow the details of S. Severinus's labours through
some five-and-twenty years of perpetual self-sacrifice--and, as far as
this world was concerned, perpetual disaster. Eugippius's chapters are
little save a catalogue of towns sacked one after the other, from Passau
to Vienna, till the miserable survivors of the war seemed to have
concentrated themselves under S. Severinus's guardianship in the latter
city. We find, too, tales of famine, of locust-swarms, of little
victories over the barbarians, which do not arrest wholesale defeat: but
we find, through all, S. Severinus labouring like a true man of God,
conciliating the invading chiefs, redeeming captives, procuring for the
cities which were still standing supplies of clothes for the fugitives,
persuading the husbandmen, seemingly through large districts, to give
even in time of dearth a tithe of their produce to the poor;--a tale of
noble work indeed.

Eugippius relates many wonders in his life of S. Severinus. The reader
finds how the man who had secretly celebrated a heathen sacrifice was
discovered by S. Severinus, because, while the tapers of the rest of the
congregation were lighted miraculously from heaven, his taper alone
would not light. He records how the Danube dared not rise above the mark
of the cross which S. Severinus had cut upon the posts of a timber
chapel; how a poor man, going out to drive the locusts off his little
patch of corn instead of staying in the church all day to pray, found
the next morning that his crop alone had been eaten, while all the
fields around remained untouched. Also he records the well-known story,
which has a certain awfulness about it, how S. Severinus watched all
night by the bier of the dead priest Silvinus, and ere the morning
dawned bade him, in the name of God, speak to his brethren; and how the
dead man opened his eyes, and Severinus asked him whether he wished to
return to life, and he answered complainingly, "Keep me no longer here;
nor cheat me of that perpetual rest which I had already found," and so,
closing his eyes once more, was still for ever.

At last the noble life wore itself out. For two years Severinus had
foretold that his end was near; and foretold, too, that the people for
whom he had spent himself should go forth in safety, as Israel out of
Egypt, and find a refuge in some other Roman province, leaving behind
them so utter a solitude, that the barbarians, in their search for the
hidden treasures of the civilization which they had exterminated, should
dig up the very graves of the dead. Only, when the Lord willed to
deliver them, they must carry away his bones with them, as the children
of Israel carried the bones of Joseph.

Then Severinus sent for Feva, the Rugian king and Gisa, his cruel wife;
and when he had warned them how they must render an account to God for
the people committed to their charge, he stretched his hand out to the
bosom of the king. "Gisa," he asked, "dost thou love most the soul
within that breast, or gold and silver?" She answered that she loved her
husband above all. "Cease then," he said, "to oppress the innocent: lest
their affliction be the ruin of your power."

Severinus' presage was strangely fulfilled. Feva had handed over the
city of Vienna to his brother Frederick--"poor and impious," says
Eugippius. Severinus, who knew him well, sent for him, and warned him
that he himself was going to the Lord; and that if, after his death,
Frederick dared touch aught of the substance of the poor and the
captive, the wrath of God would fall on him. In vain the barbarian
pretended indignant innocence; Severinus sent him away with fresh
warnings.

"Then on the nones of January he was smitten slightly with a pain in the
side. And when that had continued for three days, at midnight he bade
the brethren come to him." He renewed his talk about the coming
emigration, and entreated again that his bones might not be left behind;
and having bidden all in turn come near and kiss him, and having
received the most Holy Sacrament, he forbade them to weep for him, and
commanded them to sing a psalm. They hesitated, weeping. He himself gave
out the psalm, "Praise the Lord in His saints, and let all that hath
breath praise the Lord;" and so went to rest in the Lord.

No sooner was he dead than Frederick seized on the garments kept in the
monastery for the use of the poor, and even commanded his men to carry
off the vessels of the altar. Then followed a scene characteristic of
the time. The steward sent to do the deed shrank from the crime of
sacrilege. A knight, Anicianus by name, went in his stead, and took the
vessels of the altar. But his conscience was too strong for him.
Trembling and delirium fell on him, and he fled away to a lonely island,
and became a hermit there. Frederick, impenitent, swept away all in the
monastery, leaving nought but the bare walls, "which he could not carry
over the Danube." But on him, too, vengeance fell. Within a month he was
slain by his own nephew. Then Odoacer attacked the Rugii, and carried
off Feva and Gisa captive to Rome. And then the long-promised emigration
came. Odoacer, whether from mere policy (for he was trying to establish
a half-Roman kingdom in Italy,) or for love of S. Severinus himself,
sent his brother Onulf to fetch away into Italy the miserable remnant of
the Danubian provincials, to be distributed among the wasted and
unpeopled farms of Italy. And with them went forth the corpse of S.
Severinus, undecayed, though he had been six years dead, and giving
forth exceeding fragrance, though (says Eugippius) no embalmer's hand
had touched it. In a coffin, which had been long prepared for it, it was
laid on a waggon, and went over the Alps into Italy, working (according
to Eugippius) the usual miracles on the way, till it found a
resting-place near Naples, in that very villa of Lucullus at Misenum, to
which Odoacer had sent the last Emperor of Rome to dream his ignoble
life away in helpless luxury.

So ends this tragic story. Of its truth there can be no doubt. M. Ozanam
has well said of that death-bed scene between the saint and the
barbarian king and queen--"The history of invasions has many a pathetic
scene: but I know none more instructive than the dying agony of that old
Roman expiring between two barbarians, and less touched with the ruin of
the empire, than with the peril of their souls."[35] But even more
instructive, and more tragic also, is the strange coincidence that the
wonder-working corpse of the starved and bare-footed hermit should rest
beside the last Emperor of Rome. It is the symbol of a new era. The
kings of this world have been judged and cast out. The empire of the
flesh is to perish, and the empire of the spirit to conquer thenceforth
for evermore.

Relics, in the church of S. Severino at Naples.

Patron (but not sole Patron) of Austria, Vienna, Bavaria.

B. BALDWIN, M. OF LAON.

(6TH CENT.)

[German and Gallican Martyrologies. Life by an unknown author.]

The Blessed Baldwin, archdeacon of Laon, in the reign of Dagobert, was
the son of Basus, a nobleman, and Salaberga, who is numbered among the
Saints. His sister's name was Astruda, who is also reckoned a Saint.
Baldwin having incurred the enmity of certain evil men, was by them
treacherously murdered. The details are not known.

S. FRODOBERT, AB. OF TROYES.

(7TH CENT.)

[Gallican and German Martyrologies. S. Frodobert died on Jan. 1st,
but his body was translated on Jan. 8th, and on that day,
accordingly, his festival is observed at Troyes, and by the
Benedictine Order. His life was written by his disciple, Lupellus,
and used in the compilation of a later life, by a monk of Moutier
la Celle, near Troyes, about 872.]

S. Frodobert, the son of parents of the middle class, from the earliest
age was inspired with the love of God, and a wondrous gentleness and
child-like simplicity. He is said, as a little boy, to have healed his
mother of blindness, as, in a paroxysm of love and compassion for her
affliction, he kissed her darkened eyes, and signed them with the cross.
At an early age he entered the abbey of Luxeuil, where his singleness of
soul and guilelessness exposed him to become the butt of the more
frivolous monks. During the time that he was there, a certain Teudolin,
abbot of S. Seguanus, was staying at Luxeuil for the purpose of study,
and Frodobert was much with him, being ordered to attend on the wants of
the visitor, and obey him implicitly. This Teudolin diversified his
labours with playing practical jokes on his gentle assistant; but
Frodobert never resented any jest. One day the abbot Teudolin sent
Frodobert to another monk, who was also fond of practising jokes on
Frodobert, for a pair of compasses, saying that he wanted them for
writing. The lay brother took the message without in the least knowing
what compasses were. The monk, suspecting that the abbot had sent
Frodobert on a fool's errand, put a pair of stones off a hand-mill round
his neck, and told him to take them to Teudolin. Frodobert obeyed, but
was scarcely able to stagger along the cloister under the weight. On his
way, the abbot of Luxeuil, his own superior, met him, and amazed to see
the poor brother bowed to earth under this burden, bade him throw down
the mill-stones, and tell him whither he was taking them. Frodobert
obeyed, and said that the abbot Teudolin had sent him for them, as he
wanted them for literary purposes. The superior burst into tears,
grieved that the good, simple-minded lay brother should have been thus
imposed upon, and hastening to the visitor, and then to the monk who had
put the "compasses" about Frodobert's neck, he administered to them such
a sharp rebuke, that from that day forward no more practical jokes were
played upon him.

As years passed, his virtue became more generally known, and the Bishop
of Troyes summoned him to be in attendance on himself. The humble monk
in vain entreated to be allowed to return to his monastery; the bishop
retained him about his person in his palace.

As he was unable to return to the quiet of his cloister, Frodobert
withdrew as much as possible from the world in which he moved, into the
calm of his own heart, and practised great abstinence in the midst of
the abundance wherewith the bishop's table was supplied. Living outside
his cloister, he kept its rules, and in Lent he never ate anything till
after sunset. Those who were less strict in their living, sneered at his
self-denial, and told the bishop that Frodobert kept a supply of
victuals in his bedroom, and ate privily. To prove him, the prelate gave
him a chamber in the church tower, and burst in upon him at all
unseasonable moments, but was never able to detect the slightest proof
of the charge being well founded. He, therefore, regretted his mistrust,
and restored the monk to his room in the palace.

Frodobert was given at last, by Clovis II., some marshy land near
Troyes, and on this he built a monastery, which he called La Celle,
which was soon filled with numerous monks, and became famous for the
learned men it educated. Here S. Frodobert spent many years. He passed
his declining years in building a church to S. Peter, and when the
church was completed, his strength failed, and he knew that he had not
many days to live. His great desire was to see it consecrated on the
feast of the Nativity, and he sent two of his monks to the bishop to
beseech him to dedicate his new church that day. But the duties of
Christmas, in his Cathedral, rendered it impossible for the prelate to
grant this request. Frodobert received the refusal with many tears, but
lifting his eyes and hands to heaven, he prayed, and God prolonged his
days, so that he survived to see his church consecrated on the Octave of
the Nativity, Jan. 1st; and when the ceremony was over, he resigned his
soul into the hands of God. The body was translated, some years after,
on the 8th January. The weather had been wet, and the marshes were under
water, so that the abbot and monks were in trouble, because their house
was surrounded with the flood, and it would be difficult for the bishop
and clergy of Troyes to attend the ceremony of the translation. "Grant,"
said the abbot, "that the blessed Frodobert may obtain for us a sharp
frost, or we shall have no one here tomorrow." This was said on the eve
of the projected translation. That night, so hard a frost set in, that
by morning the whole surface of the water was frozen like a stone, and
the bishop, clergy, and faithful of Troyes, came to the monastery over
the ice.

S. GUDULA, V.

(ABOUT 712.)

[Gallo-Belgian and Cologne Martyrologies. Two lives of S. Gudula
exist, besides notices of her in the lives of other members of the
family of saints to which she belonged. One life, by a certain
Hubert, was compiled after 1047, the other is anonymous, given by
Surius. That of Hubert is an amplification of an older life,
written in simple and rude style. He did not apparently add
anything to the history, except the account of the various
translations of her relics, up to his time; but he re-wrote the
life in more pedantic and florid style.]

The date of the birth of this holy virgin is uncertain. During the reign
of King Dagobert, or of his son Sigebert, there lived in Brabant a count
named Witgere. His wife Amalberga, who is said to have been the sister
of Pepin of Landen, presented him with many children; Rainilda,
Pharaildis, and Emebert, who occupied the episcopal throne of Cambrai,
and was afterwards elevated to the ranks of the blessed. Amalberga was
again pregnant, and an angel announced to her, in a dream, that the
child that should be born to her, would be a model of sanctity. A few
days after, S. Gudula was born, and her relative, S. Gertrude, was her
sponsor, and took charge of her education.

When Gudula was still a child, she longed to fly the world. She and her
sister Rainilda betook themselves to Lobbes, and asked to be admitted
into the monastery. But as women were not permitted to invade its
precincts, their request was denied. After waiting three days at the
gates, Gudula turned away sorrowful, but her sister Rainilda, more
persevering, remained undeterred by repeated refusals, till, overcoming
by her persistency, she was allowed to live under the rule of the
monastery. Gudula returned to her parents; but living at home, she lived
a recluse. In those wild times of civil war and general violence, it is
not surprising to see gentle spirits flutter like doves to the convent
gates, as to an ark of refuge, from the storms raging without, which
they were so powerless to withstand.

About two miles from her parents' castle was a little village named
Moorsel, where was an oratory dedicated to the Saviour; thither went S.
Gudula every morning at cock-crow. And now follows an incident similar
to that related of S. Genoveva. One wild night, the Prince of the Power
of the air extinguished the light which the servant girl carried before
the Saint; and she, in profound darkness, on a barren heath, knew not
how to find the path. Gudula knelt down and prayed to God, and the light
rekindled in her lantern, so that she went on her way rejoicing.

At early mass, one frosty morning, the priest, as he turned towards the
people, noticed Gudula wrapped in devotion, and her feet were exposed
from beneath her gown; he saw with dismay that there were no soles to
her shoes, so that though she appeared to be well shod, she in reality
walked barefoot. The good priest, pained to think that her tender feet
should be chilled by the icy stones of the pavement, as soon as he had
unvested, took his warm mittens, and put them under the feet of the
young countess; but she rejected them, much distressed that her act of
penance had been discovered. On leaving the church, she met a poor
woman, with her crippled dumb son on her back. The boy was bowed double,
and was so deformed that he could not feed himself. The Saint looked at
the poor mother and then at the unfortunate child, and actuated by a
movement of compassion, she took the cripple into her arms, and besought
God to pity him. Instantly the stiff joints became supple, and the back
was straightened, and the child, feeling himself whole, cried out: "See,
mother! see!" Gudula, abashed at the miracle, implored the poor woman to
keep what had taken place a secret; but she, full of gratitude,
published it abroad. When S. Gudula died, all the people followed her
body to the grave. She was buried on the 8th January, 712, according to
the general opinion, in a tomb before the door of the oratory of the
village of Hamme, near Releghem. On the morrow, a poplar that stood at
the foot of her grave was seen, in spite of the season, to have burst
into green leaf.[36]

The body was afterwards transported to Nivelles, Mons, and Maubeuge,
through fear of the Normans; and then was laid in the oratory of
Moorsel, which she had loved so well in life. When Charlemagne came to
Moorsel, he built there a monastery, richly endowed; but the convent
disappeared in the times of anarchy which followed the death of the
founder, and the body was finally taken from the robber baron who had
appropriated to himself the lands of Moorsel, and brought to Brussels;
where, since 1047, a magnificent church has eternalized the memory of
the daughter of Witgere. The site of the chapel at Hamme is now a kiln.

Gudula; _French_, Gudule; _Flemish_, Goole.

Relics, at the church of SS. Michel et Gudule, Brussels.

Patroness of Brussels.

In art, represented with a lantern, and an angel kindling it.

S. PEGA, V.

(ABOUT A.D. 718.)

[English Martyrologies. Authorities: Felix of Croyland, Florence of
Worcester, Ordericus Vitalis, lib. iv. c. 17.]

S. Pega was the sister of S. Guthlac of Croyland, and though of the
royal blood of the Mercian kings, forsook the world and led a retired
life in the country, where now stands Peakirk, in Northamptonshire.
"There Pega, S. Guthlac's sister, was for a long time a servant of the
Lord. After her brother's death, she used all her endeavours to wear out
her life for the love of Christ, by still severer austerities. She,
therefore, undertook a pilgrimage to Rome, to pray at the threshold of
the holy Apostles, for herself and her kinsfolk, and she there
triumphantly departed, on the sixth of the ides (8th) of January."

S. Pega, called in Northamptonshire S. Pee, is not to be confounded with
S. Bega, or S. Bees, who is commemorated on September 8th.

S. WULSIN, B. OF SHERBOURN.

(A.D. 983.)

[Benedictine Martyrology. In English Martyrologies S. Wulsin was
commemorated on Sept. 27th. Mentioned by Matthew of Westminster.
His life is given by Capgrave.]

Matthew of Westminster says (De gestis Pontif. Anglorum, lib.
2):--"Dunstan, the archbishop, when he was Bishop of London, made him
(Wulsin), abbot of Westminster, a place where formerly Mellitus had
raised a church to S. Peter, and here he formed a monastery of twelve
monks. Having discharged his office prudently and with sanctity, he was
made Bishop of Sherbourn. Then he at once instituted monks in the
episcopal seat, and dismissed the secular clerks, lest he should seem to
sleep when so many bishops of the time were patrons of diligence. His
sanctity, if manifest in life, was more so in death. For when he was
nigh the gates of death, the eyes of his understanding being opened, he
exclaimed singing, 'I see the heavens opened, and Jesus standing at the
right hand of God!' Which song he uttered without faltering, and
singing, he died."

S. LAURENCE JUSTINIANI, PATR. OF VENICE.

(A.D. 1455.)

S. Laurence Justiniani died on Jan. 8th. He was beatified by Clement
VII., in the year 1524, and was canonized in 1698 by Alexander VIII. The
5th Sept., the day of his consecration as bishop, is generally observed
in his honour, instead of Jan. 8th, and to that day we refer our readers
for his life.

[Illustration: Decoration]

FOOTNOTES:

[34] "The Hermits," by the Rev. C. Kingsley. Macmillan, 1869, pp. 224,
239.

[35] La Civilisation Chretienne chez les Francs. Paris, 1861, p. 41.

[36] So related in one of the lives. The other exaggerates the
incident, and says that in the night a poplar tree sprang up.

January 9.

S. MARCIANA, _V. M., in Africa_, _circ._ A.D. 300.
SS. JULIAN, BASILISSA, CELSUS, AND COMPANIONS, MM, _in Egypt,
circ._ A.D. 310.
S. PETER, _B. of Sebaste, circ._ A.D. 387.
S. MARCELLINUS, _B. of Ancona, circ._ A.D. 566.
S. FILLAN, _Ab., in Scotland, 8th cent._
S. ADRIAN, _Ab., at Canterbury_, A.D. 709.
S. BRITHWALD, _Abp. of Canterbury_, A.D. 731.

S. MARCIANA, V. M.

(ABOUT 300.)

[Roman, Spanish, German, and other Martyrologies. There is some
difficulty as to whether the African S. Marciana and the Saint of
the same name, honoured at Toledo, are to be distinguished; but
probably they are the same. Some hagiographers have supposed that
there were two, because at Toledo, S. Marciana is commemorated on
July 12th, but that is in all probability the day of her
translation. The Acts of the African Saint and the Toledan hymn to
S. Marciana, as well as the account of her in the Mozarabic
Breviary, relate the same incidents. None of these are of any great
authority.]

Saint Marciana was a native of Rusuccus, in Mauritania. When at
Caesarea, in Mauritania, she was brought before the governor on the
charge of having overthrown a marble statuette of Diana, which stood
above a drinking fountain in the public street.

For this outrage on the established religion, she was scourged, and
then delivered over to the lust of the gladiators, but was miraculously
delivered, for God was as careful to protect the modesty of his
servant, as was she to proclaim the honour of His name.

She was exposed in the amphitheatre to a lion, which, however, spared
her; but a bull gored her with its horns, and a leopard despatched her.

Patroness of Tortosa, in Spain.

SS. JULIAN, BASILISSA, CELSUS, AND COMPANIONS, MM.

(ABOUT 310.)

[Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea. Authority:--The Acts of these
martyrs. They are referred to by S. Eulogius, the martyr, who
flourished about A.D. 850. They have been inserted by Metaphrastes
in his collection of the lives of the Saints, in Greek. S. Aldhelm
of Sherbourne, wrote a panegyric on these Saints, in Anglo-Saxon,
in 700; and S. Venantius Fortunatus wrote a hymn in honour of them
in 620. The Acts purport to have been written by an eye-witness of
the martyrdom, for he says:--"We write the Acts of the Saints from
what we saw with our eyes, wherefore we hope to receive some little
share in future blessedness." The writer survived to the time of
Constantine the Great, for he speaks of churches erected to the
memory of these martyrs. Nevertheless, the Acts cannot be regarded
as genuine. They are nothing but a religious romance, possibly
founded on fact. Such religious romances were common in the 5th
cent., written to supply Christians with wholesome reading in place
of the sensual fictions of Heliodorus, Achilles, Tatius, &c. As
there are no less than thirty-six Julians in the Roman Martyrology,
and of these seven are commemorated in January, there is great
liability to confusion. S. Julian seems to have suffered on the 6th
January; but on account of the concurrence of the Epiphany, his
memorial was transferred to different days in different dioceses,
and this again has proved an element of confusion.]

S. Julian was born at Antinoë, in Egypt, of noble parents. The love of
God, and God alone, filled his heart from earliest childhood. At the age
of eighteen his parents required him to marry. This troubled him much,
for he had read the saying of S. Paul, "He that is unmarried careth for
the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: but he
that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may
please his wife." 1 Cor. vii. 32, 33. He besought his parents to allow
him to defer giving them a final answer till he had well considered
their proposal during seven days. He now fasted, and watched, and
prayed, revealing to God the desire of his heart, to keep his body in
virginity, and his soul devoted to God alone. At the end of the seven
days he saw Christ in a vision, who said to him, "Fear not, Julian, to
take thee a wife, and to fulfil the desire of thy parents. As virgins ye
shall serve me, and I shall not be separated from you, and as virgins
shall ye enter into my kingdom." Then Julian was filled with great joy,
and he considered whom he should choose. Now there was one maiden,
Basilissa by name, who was well-known to his parents, and with whom he
had been acquainted from childhood, and whom he loved for her whiteness
of soul. Therefore he told his father that he consented to marry
Basilissa. And she, on her side, was glad to be the wife of Julian, but
her timid soul shrank from the cares and responsibilities of marriage,
for she was as yet young and fresh to the world.

The marriage took place with all the boisterous merriment and display,
usual then as now; and evening approaching, the young bride was led by
the maidens, who were her fellows, to the nuptial chamber. Now when
Julian entered, there came an odour in the apartment, as of lilies and
roses, though the season was mid-winter, and an awe fell on their young
hearts. And they put their hands together, and promised to serve God
together in purity and fervour, with singleness of heart all their days.
Then they were aware of One present in the room, and kneeling down, they
fell prostrate, and besought Him to accomplish the good work He had
begun in them. And when they looked up, the chamber was full of light,
and they saw Jesus and Mary, and an innumerable company of virgin
Saints. Then the Lord said, "Thou hast conquered, O Julian, thou hast
conquered!" And the Blessed Virgin said, "Blessed art thou, Basilissa,
who hast thus sought with single heart the glory that is eternal."

Then said Jesus, "My soldiers, who have overcome the wiles of the old
serpent, rise and behold what is prepared for you!" Thereupon came two
clothed in white robes, and girded about the loins with golden zones,
having crowns of flowers in their hands, and they raised them from the
ground and showed them an open book seven times brighter than silver,
inscribed with golden letters, and round about it stood four elders,
having vials in their hands of pure gold, from which ascended diverse
odours. And one, answering, said, "In these four vials your perfection
is contained. For out of these daily ascends an odour of sweet fragrance
before the Lord. Therefore, blessed are ye, because ye have rejected the
unsatisfying pleasures of this world to strive after those which are
eternal, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered
into the heart of man to conceive."

Then Julian looked, and beheld his name, and the name of his wife,
Basilissa, written in the book. And the elder said, "In that book are
written the chaste and the sober, the truthful and the merciful, the
humble and gentle, those whose love is unfeigned, bearing adversities,
patient in tribulation, and those who, for the love of Jesus Christ,
have given up father and mother, and wife and children, and lands,
for his sake, lest they should impede the progress of their souls to
perfection, and they who have not hesitated to shed their blood for his
name, in the number of whom you also have merited to be written."

Then the vision passed. But Julian and Basilissa spent the night in
prayer, and singing joyful praises to the Lord.

And when his parents were dead, Julian divided his house and made
it into a hospital, and all his substance he spent in relieving the
necessities of the sick and suffering. He ruled over the portion
devoted to the men, and Basilissa, his wife, at the head of a number of
devout virgins, governed the women's department.

Many men placed themselves under the guidance of S. Julian, and
assisted him in his works of charity, and laboured for the advancement
of God's glory, and the salvation of their own souls. It is from the
circumstance of S. Julian having been the first to establish a hospital
for the sick, that he has been called by distinction Julian the
Hospitaller.

After many years, Basilissa died in peace; her husband Julian survived
her. In the persecution of Diocletian he was seized and subjected to
cruel tortures. The governor, Marcian, ordered him to be dragged,
laden with chains, and covered with wounds, about the city. As the
martyr passed the school where Celsus, the son of the governor, was
being instructed, the boys turned out into the street to see the
soldier of Christ go by. Then suddenly the lad exclaimed, "I see angels
accompanying, and extending a glorious crown to him. I believe, I
believe in the God of the Christians!" And throwing away his books,
he fell at the feet of Julian, and kissed his wounds. When the father
heard this, he was filled with ungovernable fury, and believed that the
Saint had bewitched the boy; he ordered them both to be cast into the
lowest dungeon, a loathsome place, where the corrupting carcases of
malefactors lay, devoured by maggots. But God filled this hideous pit
with light, and transformed the stench into fragrant odours, so that
the soldiers who kept the prison were filled with wonder, and believed.
That same night, a priest, Antony, who lived with seven little boys,
orphans committed to his care by their parents, summoned by God, came
with these seven children to the prison. An angel went before them,
and at his touch the gates flew open. Then Antony, the priest, baptized
Celsus and the believing soldiers.

On the morrow the governor, supposing that the night in the pit had
cured his son, sent him to his mother, and the boy, having related to
her in order all he had seen and heard, she believed with her whole
heart, and was baptized by the priest.

The governor, Marcian, ordered all these converts to death. The
soldiers were executed with the sword, the seven boys were cast into
the fire, the rest were tortured to death.

Relics, at Morigny, near Etampes, and in the church of S. Basilissa, at
Paris.

Patron of hospitals.

In art, S. Julian and S. Basilissa are represented holding the same
lily stalk, or looking on the Book of Life wherein their names are
written.

S. PETER, B. OF SEBASTE.

(ABOUT 387.)

[Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea. The life of S. Peter occurs in
that of his sister, S. Macrina, written by his brother, S. Gregory
of Nyssa. He is also spoken of by Socrates, Theodoret, and
Philostorgius.]

The family of which S. Peter was descended was very ancient and
illustrious, as we are informed by S. Gregory Nazianzen. It has become
famous for its saints, for three brothers were at the same time
eminently holy bishops, S. Basil, S. Gregory of Nyssa, and S. Peter of
Sebaste; and their elder sister, S. Macrina, was the spiritual mother of
many saints. Their father and mother, S. Basil the elder, and S. Emilia,
were banished for their faith in the reign of Galerius Maximian, and
fled into the deserts of Pontus; they are commemorated in the Roman
martyrology on May 30th. The grandmother of S. Peter was S. Macrina the
elder, who had been instructed in the way of salvation by S. Gregory the
Wonder-worker. S. Peter of Sebaste, was the youngest of ten children; he
lost his father whilst still an infant, and was therefore brought up by
his mother and sister. When the aged Emilia was dying, she drew her two
children--the only two who were present--to her, and taking their hands,
she looked up to heaven, and having prayed God to protect, govern, and
sanctify her absent children, she said, "To Thee, O Lord, I dedicate the
first-fruits; and the tenth of my womb. This, my first-born, Macrina, I
give thee as my first-fruits; and this, my tenth child, Peter, I give
thee as my tithe. They are thine by law, and thine they are by my free
gift. Hallow, I pray thee, this my first-born daughter, and this my
tenth child, and son." And thus blessing them, she expired, says S.
Gregory Nyssen. S. Emilia had founded two monasteries, one for men, the
other for women; the former she put under the direction of her son
Basil, the latter under that of her daughter Macrina. Peter, whose
thoughts where wholly bent on cultivating the seeds of piety sown in his
heart, retired into the house governed by his brother, situated on the
bank of the river Iris; and when S. Basil was obliged to quit that post
in 362, he left the abbacy in the hands of S. Peter, who discharged this
office for several years with great prudence and virtue. Soon after S.
Basil was made Bishop of Caesarea, in Cappadocia, in 370, he promoted his
brother Peter to the priesthood. His brother, S. Basil, died on Jan.
1st, A.D. 379, and Eustathius, Bishop of Sebaste, an Arian and a furious
persecutor of S. Basil, died soon after. S. Peter was consecrated in his
room, in 380, to root out the Arian heresy in that diocese, where it had
taken deep hold. In 381, he attended the general council held at
Constantinople, and joined in the condemnation of the Macedonian heresy.
His death happened in summer, about the year 387, and his brother, S.
Gregory of Nyssa, mentions that his memory was honoured at Sebaste by an
anniversary solemnity. "Peter," says Nicephorus (lib. ii. c. 44), "who
sprang from the same parents as Basil, was not so well-read in profane
literature as his brother, but he was not his inferior in the splendour
of his virtue."

S. FILLAN, AB.

(8TH CENT.)

[Scottish and Irish Martyrologies. Life in the Aberdeen Breviary.]

S. Fillan, whose name is famous in ancient Scottish and Irish Calendars,
was the son of Feriach, a noble, and his saintly wife Kentigerna,
daughter of Cualann, king of Leinster. His father ordered him to be
thrown into the lake, near his castle, and drowned, when he was shown to
him, for he was somewhat unshapely. But, by the ministry of the angels,
at the prayer of his mother, he floated ashore. S. Fillan was given by
Bishop Ibar to the abbot Munna, to be educated. As he wrote at night in
his cell, he held up his left hand, and it shone so brilliantly that he
was able to write with the right hand by the light shed by the left
hand.

When the abbot Munna died (A.D. 635), S. Fillan was elected to succeed
him as head of the monastery of Kilmund in Argyleshire. After some
years, he resigned his charge, and retired to his uncle Congan, brother
to his mother, in a place called Siracht, a mountainous part of
Glendarshy, in Fifeshire, where, with the assistance of seven others, he
built a church. He was buried at Straphilline, and his relics were long
preserved there with honour. The Scottish historians attribute to his
intercession a memorable victory obtained by King Robert Bruce, in 1314,
over the English at Bannockburn. His pastoral staff and bell still
exist.

S. ADRIAN, AB. OF CANTERBURY.

(A.D. 709.)

[Anglican and some of the German Martyrologies. Life in Bede,
Eccles. Hist., lib. iv., c. 1, 2; lib. v. c. 20.]

"Deusdedit," says the Venerable Bede, "the sixth Bishop of the church of
Canterbury, died on the 14th July, 665. The see then became vacant for
some considerable time, until the priest Wighard, a man skilled in
ecclesiastical discipline, of the English race, was sent to Rome by King
Egbert (of Kent), and Oswy, King of the Northumbrians, with a request
that he might be ordained Bishop of the Church of England; sending at
the same time presents to the Apostolic Pope, and many vessels of gold
and silver. Arriving at Rome, where Vitalian presided at that time over
the Apostolic see, and having made known to the aforesaid Pope the
occasion of his journey, he was not long after snatched away, with
almost all his companions that went with him, by a pestilence which
happened at that time.

"But the Apostolic Pope, having consulted about that affair, made
diligent inquiry for some one to send to the Archbishop of the English
Churches. There was then in the Niridian monastery, which is not far
from the city of Naples, an abbot called Adrian, by nation an African,
well versed in holy writ, experienced in monastic and ecclesiastical
discipline, and excellently skilled in both Greek and Latin. The Pope,
sending for him, commanded him to accept the bishopric, and repair to
Britain; he answered that he was unworthy of so great a dignity, but
said he would name another, whose learning and age were fitter for the
ecclesiastical office. And having proposed to the Pope a certain monk,
belonging to a neighbouring monastery of virgins, whose name was Andrew,
he was by all that knew him, judged worthy of a bishopric; but bodily
infirmity prevented his being advanced to the episcopal office. Then
again Adrian was pressed to accept the bishopric, but he desired a
respite for a time, to see whether he could find another fit to be
ordained bishop.

"There was at that time, in Rome, a monk called Theodore, well-known to
Adrian, born at Tarsus, in Cilicia, a man well instructed in worldly and
divine literature, as also in Greek and Latin; of known probity of life,
and venerable for age, being sixty-six years old. Adrian offered him to
the Pope to be ordained bishop, and prevailed; but upon these
conditions, that he should conduct him into Britain, because he had
already travelled through France twice upon several occasions, and was,
therefore, better acquainted with the way, and was, moreover,
sufficiently provided with men of his own; as also that, being his
fellow labourer in doctrine, he might take special care that Theodore
should not, according to the custom of the Greeks, introduce anything
contrary to the true faith into the Church where he presided. Theodore,
being ordained sub-deacon, waited four months for his hair to grow, that
it might be shorn into the shape of a crown; for he had before the
tonsure of S. Paul[37] the Apostle, after the manner of the Easterns. He
was ordained by Pope Vitalian, in the year of the Lord 668, on Sunday,
the 26th of March, and on the 27th of May was sent with Adrian into
Britain.

"They proceeded by sea to Marseilles, and thence by land to Arles, and
having delivered to John, Archbishop of that city, Pope Vitalian's
letters of recommendation, were by him detained, till Ebroin, the king's
mayor of the palace, sent them a pass to go where they pleased. Having
received the same, Theodore repaired to Agilbert, Bishop of Paris, and
was by him kindly received, and long entertained. But Adrian went first
to Emme, and then to Faro, Bishops of Sens and Meaux, and lived with
them a considerable time; for the hard winter had obliged them to rest
wherever they could. King Egbert, being informed by messengers, that the
bishop they had asked of the Roman prelate was in the kingdom of France,
sent thither his praefect, Redford, to conduct him; who, being arrived
there, with Ebroin's leave, conveyed him to the port of Quentavic (S.
Quentin); where, being indisposed, he made some stay, and as soon as he
began to recover, sailed over into Britain. But Ebroin detained Adrian,
suspecting that he went on some message from the Emperor to the kings of
Britain, to the prejudice of the kingdom, of which he at that time took
especial care; however, when he found that he really had no such
commission, he discharged him, and permitted him to follow Theodore.

"As soon as he came, he received from him the monastery of S. Peter the
Apostle, where the Archbishops of Canterbury are usually buried; for at
his departure, the Apostolic Lord had ordered that Theodore should
provide for him in his diocese, and give him a suitable place to live in
with his followers.

"Theodore arrived in his church the second year after his consecration,
on Sunday, May 27th. Soon after, he visited all the island, wherever the
tribes of the Angles inhabited; and everywhere attended and assisted by
Adrian, he taught the right rule of life, and the canonical custom of
celebrating Easter. This was the first Archbishop whom all the English
Church obeyed. And forasmuch as both of them were well read in both
sacred and secular literature, they gathered a crowd of disciples, and
there flowed from them daily rivers of knowledge to water the hearts of
their hearers; and, together with the books of Holy Writ, they also
taught them the arts of ecclesiastical poetry, astronomy, and
arithmetic. A testimony of which is, that there are still living at this
day some of their scholars, who are as well versed in the Greek and
Latin tongues as in their own, in which they were born. Nor were there
ever happier times since the English came into Britain; for their kings,
being brave men and good Christians, were a terror to all barbarous
nations, and the minds of all men were bent upon the joys of the
heavenly kingdom of which they had just heard; and all who desired to be
instructed in sacred reading had masters at hand to teach them."

S. Adrian died A.D. 709, after having spent thirty-nine years in
Britain. His tomb was famous for miracles wrought at it.

S. BRITHWALD, ABP. OF CANTERBURY.

(A.D. 731.)

[Bede, lib. v., c. 8, 23. William of Malmesbury: De Gest.
Pontificum Anglorum; Roger of Hoveden; Matthew of Westminster, &c.
He is called also Bretwald and Berthwald.]

Bede says that after the death of S. Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury,
in 690, "Berthwald succeeded, being abbot of the monastery of Reculver,
which lies on the north side of the mouth of the river Inlade. He was a
man learned in the Scriptures, and well instructed in ecclesiastical and
monastic discipline, yet not to be compared with his predecessor. He was
chosen Bishop in the year of our Lord's Incarnation, 692, on the first
day of July, Withred and Suebhard being kings of Kent; he was
consecrated the next year, on Sunday, the 29th June, by Godwin,
Metropolitan Bishop of France, and was enthroned on Sunday, April 31st."

"In the year of our Lord's Incarnation, 731, Archbishop Berthwald died
of old age, on the 9th of January, having held his see thirty-seven
years six months and fourteen days."

[Illustration: S. Genoveva, Jan. 3, p. 46.]

FOOTNOTES:

[37] This tonsure consisted in shaving the whole head.

January 10.

S. NICANOR, _M._, A.D. 76.
SS. THECLA, _V., and_ JUSTINA, _Confessors in Sicily, 3rd cent._
S. MARCIAN, _P. C., at Constantinople, circ._ A.D. 476.
S. DOMITIAN, _B. C., in Armenia, circ._ A.D. 600.
S. AGATHO, _Pope of Rome_, A.D. 682.
S. SETHRIDA, _V., Abbess of Brie, in France, 7th cent._
S. WILLIAM, _Ab. and Abp. of Bourges_, A.D. 1209.
S. GONSALVO, _P. C., Portugal_, A.D. 1259.
B. CHRISTIANA, or ORINGA, _V., in Etruria_, A.D. 1310.

S. NICANOR, M.

(A.D. 76.)

[Roman Martyrology. Commemorated by the Greeks on July 28th and
December 28th.]

Saint Nicanor, one of the first seven deacons appointed by the Apostles,
was a native of Cyprus, to which he returned, that he might preach the
Gospel on the dispersion of the Apostles. He was variously tortured and
then executed, in the reign of Vespasian, but where is not known.

SS. THECLA, V., AND JUSTINA.

(3RD CENT.)

[Authority for the lives of these Saints: the lections in the
proper offices for this day in the church of Lentini, in Sicily.]

S. Thecla was a noble virgin of Lentini, and daughter of S. Isidore. She
buried the bodies of the martyrs with loving reverence. For three years
she suffered from paralysis, and could not leave her bed, but was healed
by the prayers of SS. Alphius, Philadelphus, and Cyrinus. When they
were in prison for the faith, she visited them and ministered to their
necessities, and when they had been slain and cast into a well, she
extracted the bodies and buried them. Tertullus, the governor, hearing
of this, sent for her, but his sudden death saved her from injury.
During the persecution, she concealed Agatho, Bishop of Lipari, in one
of her farms; and when the persecution was over, she and her friend
Justina spent their fortunes in works of mercy.

S. MARCIAN, P.

(ABOUT 476.)

[Honoured in the Greek Menaea and Roman Martyrology on the same day.
His life, by an anonymous writer, is given by Simeon Metaphrastes.]

S. Marcian was born at Constantinople; he belonged to a noble Roman
family, related to that of the Emperor Theodosius. From his childhood he
served God in watching, fasting, and prayer. His great compassion for
the necessities of the poor made it impossible for him to refuse relief,
when he had anything to give away.

In the reign of the Emperor Marcian, Anatolius, the Archbishop, ordained
him priest. His love for the poor manifested itself, not merely in
abundant almsgiving, but also in his making their instruction in the
truth his favourite pursuit. The severity of his morals was made a
handle by those who feared the example of his virtue, as a tacit rebuke
of their sloth and avarice, to fasten on him a suspicion of Novatianism;
but his meekness and silence triumphed over this, and other slanders.

The patriarch Gennadius conferred on him the dignity of treasurer of the
church of Constantinople. S. Marcian built, or repaired, in a stately
manner a great number of churches. The following incident is related of
the dedication of the church of S. Anastasia, for which he had obtained
a site, and which he had built in spite of numerous impediments. On the
day that the church was to be consecrated, he was on his way to attend
the ceremony, when he was accosted in the street by a very poor man,
whose rags scarce held together, and who implored him, for the love of
God, to give him an alms. S. Marcian felt in his bosom, but found he had
no money there. The pauper would take no refusal, and the compassionate
heart of the treasurer was melted at the aspect of his tatters and
emaciation. Quickly he slipped off the tunic he wore under his
sacerdotal vestments, handed it to the beggar, and then hurried on to
the new church, drawing his alb and chasuble about him, to conceal the
deficiency of a nether garment. The church was crowded, the Emperor Leo
and the Empress, the senate, and almost the whole city were present.
Marcian was bidden celebrate the Holy Sacrifice before all, in the new
church he had built. So, full of shame, he began, hoping that the folds
of his chasuble would conceal the absence of a tunic. But all saw him as
though clothed beneath his sacerdotal vestments with a garment as of
pure gold, which flashed as he moved. The patriarch Gennadius was
offended, and rebuked him when the liturgy was over, for having worn a
private garment, more splendid than his ecclesiastical vesture, and
worthy only of an emperor. Marcian fell at his feet, and denied that he
had worn any such raiment. Then Gennadius, wroth at his having spoken
falsely, as he thought, for he supposed his eyes could not have been
deceived, caught him by the vesture, and drew it aside, and behold!
Marcian was bare of all other garments save his sacerdotal apparel.

S. Marcian built also the church of S. Irene, another of S. Isidore,
and a baptistery of magnificent appearance, surrounded with five
porches, like that at Jerusalem. "But this one," says the chronicler,
"was greater than that by the sheep market, for here greater miracles
were wrought than there. To that, an angel descended on one day in the
year, and healed but one at a time; at this, whenever a servant of the
Lord ministers, Christ himself is present. The healing, moreover, is not
but once a year, but daily, and not of bodies only, but of souls as
well."

S. Marcian's great compassion extended to women of bad character, and
despising the slander and gossip which he might occasion, by visiting
them in their houses, setting only before his eyes the blessedness of
plucking these brands from the burning, he often sought them out in
haunts of crime; and if they had taken up evil courses through poverty
only, he found for them honest occupations, and by his exhortations and
tears, and his overflowing charity, he convinced and persuaded many of
these unhappy women, so that they came openly and did penance, and some
he sent on pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and some went into solitude, and
recompensed for the past by self-mortification in the desert.

S. DOMITIAN, B. C.

(ABOUT 600.)

[Greek Menaea and Roman Martyrology. His life in the Menaea, and
fuller by Theophylact Simocatta. He is mentioned also by Evagrius,
his contemporary. A letter to him from S. Gregory the Pope, is
extant, praising his learning, prudence and zeal.]

S. Domitian was the son of pious parents, Theodore and Eudoxia by name.
He was an intimate friend, if not, as Evagrius says, "a kinsman of the
Emperor Maurice." He was married for a few years, but his wife dying, he
devoted himself to the services of the Church, and was consecrated
Bishop of Melitene, in Armenia, at the age of thirty.

On the murder of Hormisdas, the Persian King, his son Chosroës II.,
succeeded him (592), but the General Varam having revolted against him,
and being deserted by many of his soldiers, Chosroës fled with his wife,
and two newly-born children, to Circesium. Thence he sent an embassy to
the Emperor Maurice, desiring peace; for at that time war was being
waged between the Persians and the Roman emperors. At the persuasion of
S. Domitian, Maurice admitted his suit, and treated Chosroës as his
guest, instead of as an exile, welcomed him with royal gifts, and placed
the whole of his body-guards, and the entire Roman army, at his
disposal. Moreover, by way of still greater distinction, he sent
Domitian, Bishop of Melitene, to attend him. The Roman army defeated
Varam, and Chosroës was reinstated on the throne of Persia.

Domitian was liberally recompensed for his share in this transaction,
but he kept nothing for himself. Every gift made him, he offered to the
Church, or to the poor; restoring churches, and supporting hospitals. He
died at Constantinople, whither he had been summoned by the Emperor.

S. AGATHO, POPE.

(ABOUT 682.)

[His life by Anastasius, the librarian. Commemorated by the Greeks
on Feb. 21st.]

Agatho, a Sicilian by birth, was remarkable for his charity and
gentleness. Having been several years treasurer of the Church of Rome,
he succeeded Domnus in the Pontificate, in 679. He was represented by
three legates in the sixth general council, the third of Constantinople,
in 680, against the Monothelite heresy, which he confuted in a learned
letter to the Emperor Constantine Pogonatus, appealing to the constant
tradition of the Apostolic Church of Rome, "acknowledged," says he, "by
the whole Catholic Church to be the mother and mistress of all the
churches, and to derive her superior authority from S. Peter, the Prince
of the Apostles, to whom Christ committed his whole flock, with a
promise that his faith should never fail."

On the 25th day of February, the Council decided against Macarius,
author of the Monothelite heresy, and solemnly was the episcopal stole
(orarium) removed from his shoulders, and from those of Basil, Bishop of
Crete, who followed his opinion, and their thrones were cast out of the
council hall, in token that they were removed from their office, and
ejected from the communion of the Church. This Pope restored S. Wilfrid
to the see of York, from which he had been ejected by the Bishops and
King of Northumbria, with the consent of S. Theodore, Archbishop of
Canterbury.

S. SETHRIDA, V., ABSS.

(7TH CENT.)

[Anglican Martyrologies, Saussaye. Authority:--Bede, Eccles. Hist.,
lib. iii. c. 8.]

Bede says that Sethrida was a daughter of the wife of Anna, King of the
East Angles, and that she served God in the monastery of Brie, "for at
that time, but few monasteries being built in the country of the Angles,
many were wont, for the sake of the monastic conversation, to repair to
the monasteries of the Franks or Gauls; and they also sent their
daughters there to be instructed, and delivered to their heavenly
bridegroom, especially in the monasteries of Brie, Chelles, and
Andelys."

S. WILLIAM, AB. AND ABP. OF BOURGES.

(A.D. 1209.)

[Gallican Martyrologies. His life, written by a contemporary, was
published, with the style altered and shortened, by Surius; the
same is re-published by the Bollandists, together with a second
life, written by another contemporary, from a MS. at Antwerp.
Another life by a Canon of Bourges, date uncertain, was published
by Labbe, Bibl. nova II., p. 379, 386.]

On the death of Henry de Sully, Archbishop of Bourges, the clergy of
that church, unable to agree upon a successor, requested Eudo, Bishop of
Paris, to nominate. For this purpose, the bishop came to Beauvais, but
found it no easy matter to decide, without causing an eruption of party
feeling. In his desire to choose a good man, and one who would commend
himself to all, in consultation with two friends, he resolved on
committing the matter to God. Accordingly, all the most advisable names
were written on slips of parchment, and were sealed, and then deposited
beneath the corporal on the altar. The Bishop celebrated very early,
with great devotion, and earnestly besought God to indicate him whom he
had chosen. When mass was over, he put his hand beneath the corporal,
and drew forth one of the billets. He broke the seal in the presence of
his two friends, and saw that the name of William, abbot of Challis, was
written on the parchment.

No one else was privy to this appeal. As he left the church, the clergy
whom he had convened to elect cried out "that they desired William of
Challis as their bishop," and on him the majority of votes fell. Then
the bishopric was offered to William, but he recoiled from accepting it,
with the greatest dismay, for he was a man of retiring habits and of
singular humility. However, on an order coming to him from the superior
of the society, the abbot of Citeaux, and also from the papal legate,
he was unable to refuse; and he was consecrated in the year 1200. After
the ceremony was over, he laid aside the vestments in which he had
received his ordination, and which were of little value, in a press,
till his dying day.

In his new dignity he omitted nothing of the severity of his cloister
life, disciplining himself more strictly than before, because his
business was calculated to distract his thoughts, and his high position
was dangerous to humility.

He was gentle and loving to penitent sinners; and towards the
incorrigible he was stern, but he refused to have recourse to the civil
power against them; he had a horror of shedding blood, so that he looked
with the utmost repugnance upon the violence and warlike customs of his
time. When the crusade against the Albigenses was resolved upon, William
of Beauvais resolved on accompanying the expedition. Perhaps his
earnestness would move the heretics to repentance, and his horror of
bloodshed might serve as a check upon the crusaders. The Albigensian
heresy, which was a revival of Paulicianism, ate as a canker into the
Church of France. It was not even a form of Christianity, but was a
heathen philosophical sect which had adopted a few Christian tenets.

The history of the sect was as follows:--Manes, a Persian heathen,
flourished in the middle of the third century, dying about 277, the
founder of a new religion, after having been, like Simon Magus, a
temporary and nominal convert to the Gospel. He was not an inventor of
his religion, but merely a blender of the earlier Gnostic heresies with
the Persian doctrines of Zoroaster, added to a somewhat larger element
of Christianity than the Gnostics had chosen to accept. The Paulicians
were a sect which took shape about 660, out of Manichaeism, or the
religion of Manes. They were cruelly persecuted by the Byzantine
Emperors, during two whole centuries, and spread to the West by
degrees; one stream emigrated to Bohemia, where it became the parent of
Hussitism; the other to the south of France, where it was called
Albigensianism.

The fundamental dogma of this new Manichaeism was a dualism of good and
evil principles or gods, equally matched. The evil was the origin of the
visible creation, the world and men's bodies; the good God was the
creator of the invisible world and men's souls. The opposition of matter
and spirit constituted the basis of their moral systems. These systems
were diverse; some, regarding everything natural as evil, abstained from
meat, from marriage, and from all employments; whilst others, regarding
the soul as so distinct from the body as to be incapable of being soiled
by any of its actions, gave themselves up to the grossest
licentiousness.

The moral condition of Provence, where Albigensianism held sway, was
like Sodom and Gomorrah, as may be seen by the poetry of the
troubadours; so that God's wrath could not but fall on a land so
polluted. The licentiousness which this creed encouraged, helped to make
it spread, and the Christianity of the whole of the south of France was
imperilled. At the head of these heretics, the Count of Toulouse invaded
the lands of the King of Aragon, devastated them, robbed the churches,
burnt the monasteries, and ill-treated the clergy, "and slaughtered the
Christians of either sex, and every age, without mercy," says Matthew
Paris. "But this being at length made known, their heretical aggression
was put down by the faithful Christians, who, at the command of Pope
Gregory, had come as crusaders from various parts of the West, for the
defence of the Christian faith."

William of Beauvais was not, however, destined to play a part in that
sanguinary war. He was called to his rest in January, 1209. Drawing
near his end, he received first extreme unction, and then, as the
Blessed Sacrament was brought to him, he struggled up in his bed, and
falling on his knees, with many tears, and hands outspread in the shape
of a cross, he adored the presence of his Saviour. The night following,
he began as usual to recite the Office of Nocturns, but was unable to
pronounce more than the first two words, and sign himself with the
cross. Then he was laid, at his desire, on ashes, and the vestments in
which he had been consecrated bishop were produced, that he might be
laid dressed in them in his grave. His body was buried in the Cathedral
of Bourges, but was burnt, and the ashes scattered to the winds, by the
Calvinists, on the occasion of their plundering the Cathedral in 1562.

Patron of Bourges, and of the ancient University of Paris.

In art, he is represented holding a monstrance, or in adoration before
one, to represent his great devotion towards the Blessed Sacrament. He
is also represented with tears on his cheeks, for he is said to have
wept whenever he was told of some scandal of his diocese, or wrong done
to the poor. It may be noted, as a coincidence, that his festival was
the day of Archbishop William Laud's martyrdom in 1644.

S. GONSALVO, P. C.

(ABOUT 1259.)

[His life was compiled in Portuguese, by Didacus de Rosario, of the
order of Friar Preachers, from scattered notices and confused
accounts.]

S. Gonsalvus or Gonsalvo, was born of noble parents, at the little
village of Vizzella, in the diocese of Braga, in Portugal. Many little
incidents are related of his childhood, as how, when an infant at the
font, he stretched out his little hands to the crucifix; how his nurse
was wont to take him with her to church, and watch his little eyes fixed
intently upon the figure of Christ crucified, on the rood screen; how,
when nothing else would still his cries, the child was taken to church,
and there was content looking at the statues and pictures of the Saints.

When he grew to man's estate, he was ordained priest, and was appointed
rector of the church of S. Payo, near his father's estates. Here he
lived as a father to the poor, and was regular in the fulfilment of his
duties as parish priest. After a while the desire came upon him to visit
the Holy Land, and he left his nephew, a priest, who had been trained in
his house, and in whose principles he had confidence, to take charge of
the parish during his absence. He then started on his pilgrimage, and
was absent for fourteen years. In the meantime, his nephew, relieved of
the constraint of his uncle's presence, abandoned himself to the
indulgence of his ruling passion, a love of field sports. He filled the
parsonage house with dogs and hawks, and spent his time in hunting and
revelry. The poor were forgotten, and the church was neglected. At
length, Gonsalvo not returning, the nephew asked the Bishop to institute
him to the living, pretending that he had received authentic information
of the death of his uncle.

One day Gonsalvo, ragged, sunburnt, with grizzled locks and foot-sore,
returned to his parsonage; but the dogs, at the sight of a mendicant,
began to bark furiously, and when he attempted to pass them, bit him and
tore his rags, so that he was compelled to retire. The parish priest
hearing the noise, looked from his window, and seeing a poor man in
tatters defending himself against the dogs, sent a servant to call them
off, and tell the poor man that the owner of the house objected to
beggars.

Gonsalvo, filled with indignation against his nephew for the manner in
which he had betrayed his trust, rushed into the house, passed the dogs
which the servant restrained, and appeared in the door of the dining
apartment, as the nephew was seating himself to an abundant and
sumptuous meal.

Then the old pilgrim's wrath flamed forth, and he cried, "Was it for
this that thy uncle left his parish and committed the care of souls into
thy hands? A wolf now guards the sheep and devours them!"

The nephew, exasperated at the words of reproach, and angry at the
intrusion, caught up a stick, and running upon the old man, drove him
with many blows from the house, refusing to listen to him, and believe
him, when he declared his name.

Then Gonsalvo, full of grief, retired to a wild spot near Amarante,
where was an old shed, beside the river Tamego. Amarante was once a
small town; at this time it had fallen into complete ruin, and was
deserted. Here Gonsalvo erected a little oratory in honour of the
Blessed Virgin, and laboured to instruct the peasantry of the
neighbourhood in Christian doctrine, and to stir up in their hearts the
love of God. But he was not satisfied that he was serving his Master in
the way which He willed. He therefore prayed most earnestly to be guided
aright, and to have the will of God made clear to him. After long
fasting, one day, as he lay prostrate in supplication before the altar,
Our Lady appeared to him and said, "Rise, Gonsalvo, and enter that
religious order in which thou shalt hear the Angelic Salutation open and
close the offices of prayer."

Then Gonsalvo took his staff and wandered from city to city, and from
monastery to monastery, listening to the choir offices, but ever being
disappointed, for they closed with _Benedicamus Domino_, and not with
the _Ave Maria_. And when he came to Vinerana, where were four religious
houses, whereof one was Dominican, and another Franciscan, by chance he
sought shelter in the former. Then when the bells began to chime for
vespers, he went to the church, and heard the friars begin their office
with _Ave Maria_. With beating heart he waited for the conclusion of
vespers, and heard them close with the Angelic Salutation. Then he knew
that he had found the place of his rest; and he asked to be admitted
into the order, and was gladly received. But after awhile he desired to
go back to his poor peasants at Amarante; therefore he asked leave of
the superior, and it was accorded him. So he returned to his cell and
oratory, and there preached to the people the word of God.

Now it happened that at Amarante there was a ford of the Tamego, which
was much used, as it lay in the direct route from Braga to Lamego and
the south. It was, however, dangerous, and a great number of lives were
lost whilst Gonsalvo lived at Amarante. He considered much the necessity
there was that a bridge should be built, how many lives it would be the
means of saving, and what a great convenience it would prove to
travellers. He accordingly resolved on building one, and he went round
the country begging for his bridge. By many his project was regarded as
visionary, and he would himself have despaired of accomplishing his
undertaking, had he not been upheld by his strong confidence in the
goodness of God. This confidence was, moreover, sustained by signs and
wonders, showing him that God approved his undertaking. If we may
believe the life of him, written by De Rosario, on one occasion he
begged of a nobleman, who, as a rude joke, and to get rid of the beggar,
scribbled a couple of lines on a scrap of paper, and bade him take it to
his wife, who would give him something. The Saint walked to the
nobleman's castle, and was exhausted with fatigue when he reached it and
presented the note. The lady looked at it, and saw written therein,
"The bearer is a poor fool who wishes to build a bridge. Let him have
the weight of this paper in cash." She laughed, and showed the message
to Gonsalvo, telling him that her husband had been making sport of him.
"Be it so," said the priest, "yet give me the weight of that note in
money." She cast the paper into one scale, and into the other she put
silver; then, to her amazement, the note weighed a large sum of money.
Thus God compensated his servant for his labour, and punished the
nobleman for his bitter jest.

Little by little the money was begged, and at length the poor priest was
able to set masons to work, and to erect the desired bridge over the
Tamego.

S. Gonsalvo died, and was buried at Amarante, of which place he is
patron.

(Gonsalvus, in Portuguese, Gonçalo, Gonsallo, or Gonsalvo.)

In art, he is represented with a bridge in his hand.

B. ORINGA, OR CHRISTIANA, V.

(A.D. 1310.)

[Her life, from an ancient MS., in the Convent of S. Clara, at
Florence, was published by Silvanus Razzi, and reprinted in the
Acta Sanctorum.]

The Blessed Oringa was born at Sancta Croce, on the Arno, in the year
1237, of poor parents, who died whilst she was young. She kept the
cattle on the farm occupied by her two brothers. The cows were taken by
her into the woods to pasture, and they became so docile that they
obeyed her voice in all things. When she grew to a marriageable age, her
brothers determined that she should become the wife of a small farmer in
the parish; but she ran away, and escaping across the river, made her
way to Lucca. The way was long, and night falling, the young girl lost
the road, and wandered in a forest. At the same time her fancy conjured
up horrible forms to frighten her. She would had died of terror, but for
the companionship of a little hare which played about her skirts, as
tamely as if it had been a favourite kitten, and rested on her lap all
night, when she cast herself down in weariness. Next morning, the hare
gambolled before her, and led her into the road, after which it ran
away. At Lucca she entered the service of a pious family. As she was
annoyed on account of her beauty, she stained her skin with walnut
juice. Having gone on a pilgrimage to Mount Gargano, on which the
archangel Michael had once appeared, for she held the angels in great
reverence; on her return, some men with whom she fell in on the road,
towards dusk, misled her with evil purpose; but S. Michael himself
flashing out of the darkness at her side, protected her, and led her in
the right road. Later in life she visited Rome, and took service in the
house of a pious widow, named Margaret, who treated her as a daughter
rather than as a domestic. At Rome she was called Christiana, instead of
her baptismal name of Oringa. She occasionally fell into ecstasies as
she prayed, and saw into futurity. When aged seventy she was struck with
paralysis, in which she lay three years. As she died, her face is said
to have shone with a celestial light.

[Illustration: Decoration]

January 11.

S. BALTHAZAR, _K., one of the Magi, circ._ A.D. 54.
S. HYGINUS, _Pope_, A.D. 156.
S. LEUCIUS, _B. of Brindisi, in Italy_.
S. PALAEMON, _H., 4th cent._
S. THEODOSIUS, _of Antioch, circ._ A.D. 412.
S. THEODOSIUS THE COENOBIARCH, A.D. 529.
S. VITALIS, _Monk of Gaza, 7th cent._
S. SALVIUS, _B. of Amiens, circ._ A.D. 615.
S. EGWIN, _B. of Worcester, circ._ A.D. 720.
S. PAULINUS, _Patr. of Aquileia_, A.D. 803. (See Jan. 28.)

S. BALTHAZAR, K.

(ABOUT 54.)

[Cologne Breviary. In some Martyrologies S. Gaspar is commemorated
on this day, and S. Balthazar on the 6th Jan.; but the Cologne use
is to commemorate S. Melchior on the 1st, S. Gaspar on the 6th, and
S. Balthazar on the 11th January, as the 1st Jan. is the
Circumcision, and the 6th is the Epiphany; at Cologne this day is
kept, with special services, as the Feast of the Three Kings;
Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar being hereon commemorated
together.]

On this day S. Balthazar, one of the Magi, King and Bishop, having
received consecration from the hands of the Apostle S. Thomas, after
celebrating the Holy Sacrifice, fell asleep. According to some
authorities, the Three Kings met in the royal church of the city Sewe,
in the East; when the eldest, Melchior, being one hundred and sixteen
years old, consecrated the venerable mysteries on Jan. 1st, the Octave
of the Nativity, and then died. On the feast of the Epiphany, Gaspar,
aged one hundred and twelve, did the same; and on the 11th January,
Balthazar, aged one hundred and nine, offered the adorable sacrifice,
gave up the ghost, and was laid in the same sepulchre with the two
others. See what has been said on the subject of the Three Kings in the
account of the Epiphany.

S. HYGINUS, POPE.

(156.)

Of this Pope, who succeeded S. Telesphorus, little is known. Eusebius
informs us that he sat four years in the chair of S. Peter. He brought
the church in Rome into more complete organization than heretofore,
taking advantage of the repose after persecution, enjoyed under the mild
Emperor Antoninus Pius. He is said to have been a Greek, and to have
been educated in philosophy. In his reign the heretics Cerdo and
Valentine came to Rome.

S. PALAEMON, H.

(4TH CENT.)

[From the authentic life of S. Pachomius, of whom S. Palaemon was
the master.]

S. Palaemon was an aged hermit in the deserts of Upper Egypt, when
Pachomius, released from military service, and desiring to flee the
world, came to him and desired to become his pupil. The old anchorite
refused to receive him, because his manner of life was too severe for a
youth. "I eat nothing but bread and salt," said he; "I never taste wine,
and I watch half the night." Then, answered Pachomius, "I believe in
Jesus Christ my Lord, who will give me strength and patience to assist
thee in thy prayers to follow thy holy conversation."

Then Palaemon, beholding him with his spiritual eye, saw that he was a
chosen vessel, and admitted him to be his disciple. So they lived
together, serving the Lord in fasting and tears and prayer.

When the feast of Easter came, Pachomius, to honour the day of the
Resurrection, prepared a dinner of herbs and oil, and set it before the
master. But Palaemon, pressing his brow with his hands, exclaimed, "My
Lord suffered on the Cross, and shall I taste oil?" So he refused it,
and contented himself with bread and salt.

One evening, a solitary came into their cell, and asked to join them in
prayer; then, filled with a spirit of presumption, he said, "If we are
the true servants of God, let us say our prayers standing on live
coals."

But Palaemon was wroth, and rebuked him for his pride.

However, the monk persisted, and by Satan's craft, he stood unhurt on
the red-hot cinders. Then he retired to his own cell, puffed up with
self-confidence. But pride goes before a fall, and shortly after he fell
into fleshly lust; then, filled with shame, he crept back to the cave of
Palaemon, and falling at his feet, with bitter tears, confessed his sin.

When S. Pachomius was inspired to found a monastery at Tabenna, he
announced his intention to S. Palaemon. The old man accompanied his
pupil, and took up his abode at Tabenna, for he loved Pachomius as his
own son, and he could not bear to be separated from him. Therefore he
said, "Let us make a compact together, that we part not the one from the
other, till God break our union." And to this Pachomius gladly agreed.
So they lived much together, till the old man died, and then his
disciple buried him at Tabenna.

S. THEODOSIUS, THE COENOBIARCH, H.

(A.D. 529.)

[Greek Menaea and Roman Martyrology. The life of S. Theodosius,
written by a contemporary anonymous author, supposed by Baronius,
but without sufficient grounds, to be Cyril, the author of the
lives of SS. Euthemius, Saba, and John the Silent. But Cave says
that the life of S. Theodosius was written by Theodore, Bishop of
Pera.]

Theodosius was born in the little town of Marissa, in Cappadocia, in
423. He was ordained reader, but some time after, being moved by
Abraham's example, to quit his country and friends, he resolved to visit
the holy places. He accordingly set out for Jerusalem, and visited the
famous S. Simeon Stylites, near Antioch, on his way. S. Simeon accosted
him by name, and bade him ascend his pillar, when he embraced him, and
foretold several circumstances of his life, giving him advice how to act
under them. Having satisfied his devotion in visiting the holy places in
Jerusalem, he betook himself to the cell of Longinus, a holy man, who
dwelt near the tower of David, and to him he became dear, on account of
his singular virtue. A lady, named Icelia, having built a church to the
honour of the Virgin Mother of God, on the high road to Bethlehem,
Longinus appointed his disciple, Theodosius, to the charge of this
church. But he did not retain this charge long; loving solitude, he
retired to the mountains, and took up his abode in the cave, where the
Wise Men were traditionally held to have reposed on their way to
Bethlehem. Here he passed his time in labouring with his hands, in
fasting, and in prayer. His food was coarse pulse and herbs; for thirty
years he did not taste bread. Many desired to serve God under his
direction: he at first determined to admit six or seven, but was soon
obliged to receive a greater number, and at length came to a resolution
never to reject any that presented themselves with dispositions that
seemed sincere. The first lesson he taught his monks was, that the
continual remembrance of death is the foundation of religious
perfection. To impress the thought of death more deeply on their minds,
he caused a great sepulchre to be constructed as the common burying
place of his monks. When it was complete, half seriously and half in
jest, he said: "The tomb is finished, which of you will be its first
inmate?" Then one, Basil, a priest, knelt at his feet, and asked to be
the first to celebrate the dedication of the sepulchre. Therefore S.
Theodosius ordered all the offices of the dead to be recited for Basil,
first for three days, then for nine, and then for forty; and at the
close of the forty days he died without sickness or pain, as though
going to sleep. And for forty days after his death he was seen by the
abbot Theodosius in his place among the brethren, chanting the praises
of God. None others saw him, but one Aetius heard his voice. Then the
abbot, hearing Aetius confess this, prayed to God to open his eyes, and
seeing the dead monk again in choir, he pointed him out; and then Aetius
saw him, and ran, and would have embraced him, but he vanished out of
his sight.

Once, as Easter approached, there was a deficiency of food in the
monastery, and they had not even bread for the Holy Sacrifice. This
troubled them sore, for they feared that the holy feast would come, and
pass, without their being able to celebrate the divine liturgy.
Therefore they prayed with one accord to God, and behold! mules laden
with provisions arrived at the monastery, and amongst the provisions was
bread for the sacrifice.

The lustre of the sanctity of S. Theodosius drawing great numbers to
him, who desired to serve God under his direction, he resolved on
building a large monastery to receive them all; but where to build it he
knew not. After some consideration, he took a censer, and put charcoal
and incense thereon, but no fire, and he prayed: "O God who didst of
old, by many and great miracles, confirm Israel; who didst to thy
servant Moses persuade by many and various marvels, to take on him the
burden of ruling that people; who didst turn the water of Egypt into
blood, and then re-convert it again; who didst give to Gideon an earnest
of his victory in the fleece and the dew; who didst assure Hezekiah of
an addition to his days, by the return of the shadow on the dial; who
didst at the cry of Elias send fire from heaven to consume his
sacrifice. Thou art the same Lord, unto whom this day I plead! Hear thou
the prayers of the servant, and show me where I shall build a temple to
Thy honour, and a habitation for thy servants and my disciples. Show, O
Lord! by the kindling of these coals, where the place shall be, to Thy
glory, and to the acknowledgment of many, and the confirmation of the
truth." Having uttered this prayer, he walked through the land with the
censer in his hand. And when he came, after much wandering, to a desert
spot called Gutilla, on the shores of the Dead Sea, he turned and came
home, and as he neared his cave the coals kindled, and the smoke of the
incense rose towards heaven, as a sign that thence should ascend the
prayers of the faithful from age to age, in the daily sacrifice. There
accordingly he erected his monastery, and it was soon filled with holy
monks. To this monastery were annexed several infirmaries; one for the
sick monks, two for sick lay folk; one for the aged and feeble monks,
and one for persons deranged. All succours, spiritual and temporal, were
afforded in these hospitals, which were kept in admirable order, and
were attended by the monks with alacrity and care. S. Theodosius erected
also several buildings for the reception of strangers, in which he
exercised an unbounded hospitality, entertaining all that came, for
whose use there were, on one occasion, above a hundred tables served
with provisions. The monastery itself was like a city of saints in the
midst of a desert; and in it reigned regularity, silence, charity, and
peace. There were four churches belonging to it, one for each of the
three nations of which his community was composed, each speaking a
different language, and the fourth church was for the use of the
recovering lunatics. The nations into which his community was divided
were the Greeks, and all those using the liturgy in the Greek tongue;
the second church was used by those having divine worship in the
Armenian language; and in the third church the holy praises of God were
sung, and the sacrifice was offered in the language of the Bessi, that
is, of the wandering nations of Arab race. "Thus by them," says the
contemporary writer; "the rule of hymnody was carried out, and seven
times a day was it offered to the God of all. But when it behoved them
to participate in the venerable Sacrament, the law was very beautifully
constituted among them, that till after the Gospel, divinely inspired,
each should hear in his own church and language the divine voice; but
after that they were assembled into one--the possessed alone
excepted--namely, into the large church of the Greeks, as is done to
this day, and there they participate together of the sanctifying gifts."

At times not set apart for public prayer and necessary rest, every monk
was obliged to apply himself to some trade or manual labour. Sallust,
patriarch of Jerusalem, appointed S. Sabas superior of all the hermits
in Palestine, and S. Theodosius head of all the monks living in
community, for which reason he obtained the title of Coenobiarch.

These two great servants of God lived in close friendship, and together
strove against the heresy of Eutyches, which then devastated the Church.
For the Emperor Anastasius favoured the Eutychians; he banished the
patriarch of Antioch and the patriarch of Jerusalem, and introduced an
heretical bishop, Severus, into the latter see, commanding the Syrians
to obey and hold communion with him. Then these great ascetic saints,
with those bodies of religious men whom they ruled, proved bulwarks of
the faith, uncompromising defenders of the truth. Like rocks in the
desert, they remained unchanged and immovable. In vain did the emperor
employ persuasion, attempt bribery, and finally exile the Cenobiarch; he
could not be moved, but journeyed through the land from which the
bishops had been expelled, confirming the faithful, and denouncing the
established heresy. At Jerusalem, having assembled the people together,
he from the pulpit cried with a loud voice, "If any man receives not the
four General Councils as the four Gospels, let him be anathema!" Such
boldness in an old man, venerated for his sanctity, inspired with
courage those whom the edicts had frightened. His discourses produced a
wonderful effect on the people, and God gave a sanction to his zeal by
miracles. The Emperor sent an order for his banishment, which was
executed; but dying soon after, Theodosius was recalled by his
successor Justin, who was a Catholic.

Our Saint survived his return eleven years. So great was his humility,
that, seeing two monks at variance with each other, he threw himself at
their feet, and would not rise till they were reconciled. Once, having
excommunicated one of his monks for some offence, the man defiantly
excommunicated Theodosius, and he meekly accepted the sentence, and
acted as one cut off from the society of the faithful and participation
in the Sacraments, till the guilty monk, confounded and repentant,
removed the ban. During the last year of his life he was afflicted with
a painful disease, which reduced him to a shadow. It was noticed by
those who nursed him, that, even in his sleep, his lips murmured the
familiar words of prayer. Perceiving the hour of his dissolution draw
nigh, he gave his last exhortations to his disciples, and foretold many
things which came to pass after his death; and then fell asleep in
Christ, on the 11th Jan., 529. Peter, patriarch of Jerusalem, and the
whole country, assisted at his interment. He was buried in the first
cell the cave of the Magi.

S. VITALIS, MONK.

(BEGINNING OF 7TH CENT.)

[Greek Menaea. His history occurs as an episode in the life of S.
John the Almsgiver, patriarch of Alexandria, by Leontius, Bishop of
Naplous in Cyprus, from the relation of the Acts of S. John, by his
clergy. This life was commended in the seventh General Council, and
is perfectly authentic.]

The story of Vitalis, or Vitali, monk of Gaza, is brought in by the
Bishop of Naplous, in his life of S. John the Almsgiver, almost
accidentally, to illustrate the long suffering and charity of S. John,
that thinketh not evil. But I know not, in all the glorious histories of
the blessed ones, one story so deeply touching as that of the little
known, and soon forgotten, monk of Gaza.

Where he was born we know not; of what parents he was born we are
ignorant; but we do know that his was a heart full, to overflowing, with
the divine charity of Him who came to seek and to save those that were
lost.

Whilst John the Almsgiver was patriarch of Alexandria, there arrived in
that city, an old man of sixty, or thereabouts, in monk's garb. In his
cell he had thought over the crimes of that pleasure-loving city, and
having read in the Gospel the story of the woman taken in adultery, in
the old monk's heart kindled a sudden fire of zeal, which drove him to
Alexandria, that he might save some of those poor women who sold
themselves. Arrived in the city, he obtained the names of all the
harlots, and then hired himself as a day labourer. Every evening he took
his wage, and with it went to one of the unfortunate women, and supped
with her, and gave her the rest, and said, "I pay thee this, that thou
mayest spend one night without sin." Then he retired into a corner of
the room, where she slept, and passed the night in reciting psalms, and
praying with many tears for the woman present; and he rejoiced that, by
his toil of the day, he had saved her from evil on that one night.

And thus he visited all the harlots in Alexandria, and from each, as he
went forth in the morning, he took a solemn promise that she would
reveal to none what had taken place, so long as he was alive.

Now, considerable scandal arose, and Vitalis was loudly condemned. One
said to him, "Monk, take to thyself a wife, and lay aside thy religious
garb, that the name of God be not blasphemed through thee." But Vitalis
answered, "I will not take to myself a wife, nor will I change my habit.
He that will be scandalized, let him be scandalized. What hast thou to
do with me? Hath God constituted you to be my judges? Go to, look to
yourselves, ye have not to answer for me. There is one Judge and one
holy day of judgment, wherein every man shall give an account of his own
works."

One of the Defenders of the Church (this was the name of an officer who
saw to the order and morals of the clergy and monks,) came to the
patriarch John, and told him what he had heard of the abbot Vitalis. But
the patriarch closed his ears, and rebuked the accuser, saying,
"Remember what were the words of Constantine of pious memory; he said
that the crimes of priests ought not to be divulged, and that if he
detected a priest or a monk in wrong-doing, he would draw his purple
imperial robe over him, so that none might be scandalized. And when
quarrelsome individuals wrote accusations against certain prelates, he
formed them into a packet, and cast them into the fire."[38]

But Vitalis, though he bore without a murmur the shame, the hard
speeches, and false accusations that fell to his share, was deeply
sensitive for the souls of others, lest through him they should be
wounded. Yet he could not relinquish his mission;--the love of God
constrained him thereto, and many a poor woman, moved by the tears and
prayers of the holy man, deserted her evil courses, and married and
settled into ways of steadiness; and many, filled with bitter
compunction, fled from that city of temptation, to expiate their
offences in the desert. Seeing how great a blessing attended his work,
Vitalis persevered in spite of obloquy; but he prayed to God to reveal
the truth after his death, that the reproach might be wiped off the
monastic garb he wore; but he would not suffer the truth to be known
whilst he lived, or the houses of ill-fame would be closed against him,
and the prosecution of his mission would be hindered.

One morning, very early, as he left a harlot's door, a man came in, and
seeing a monk issue forth, he struck him over the head, exclaiming, "How
long, rascal, do you outrage Christ by not mending your wicked ways?"

Then said Vitalis, "Believe me, friend, thou shalt receive from me, a
humble monk, such a stroke that all Alexandria shall ring with it." So
saying, he went his way to the little chamber where he lodged, by the
church of S. Metras, near the Gate of the Sun.

What followed is not very clear. But if we put aside some absurd fable
which has attached itself to the story, we shall find that it was
something like this:--Probably from the unfortunate woman, from whom
Vitalis had gone forth, and to whom the man who had smitten him entered,
that man heard the truth; then, full of contrition, he rushed forth and
proclaimed abroad how he had wronged Vitalis, and how mistaken was the
popular opinion concerning him. So a crowd collected, and rolled in the
direction of the cell of Vitalis, by the Gate of the Sun. The man
foremost of all cried, "Pardon me my violence, Vitalis, thou man of
God!" And so the mob broke into the little hovel where he dwelt. Then
they saw the despised monk kneeling upright, with his hands clasped,
dead and rigid; and before him lay a sheet of paper, whereon were
written the words of the Apostle, 1 Cor. iv. 5, "Judge nothing before
the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden
things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart."

Then, when this was noised abroad, almost the whole city came together,
and the patriarch John arrived, and all the clergy, and they took up the
body of Vitalis. Thereupon, all those women who had been converted by
him, and were married, came forth, bearing lamps and candles, and went
before him, beating their breasts and crying, "We have lost our
deliverer and instructor!" And they told how, by his urgent prayers and
burning zeal for their souls, he had rescued them from a life of misery.
But he who had smitten the old monk his death-blow, struck with
compunction, renounced his vicious ways, and entered the monastery at
Gaza, and lived and died in the cell once occupied by Vitalis. Thus did
Vitalis deal him such a blow that all Alexandria rang with it.

S. SALVIUS, OF AMIENS, B. C.

(ABOUT 615.)

[Roman Martyrology. There are three bishops, Saints, of this name,
one Bishop of Albi, one Bishop of Angoulême, and this one, Bishop
of Amiens; they are often confounded by writers.]

S. Salvius lived as a monk for many years, in what monastery is not
known. He was afterwards elected abbot. Being chosen Bishop of Amiens,
he ruled the diocese with prudence, but little or nothing is known of
his acts. As he died in an ecstasy, a brilliant light is said to have
illuminated his cell, and praying with extended arms, he surrendered his
soul.

S. EGWIN, OF WORCESTER, B. C.

(ABOUT 720.)

[The life of S. Egwin was written by his contemporary, S.
Brithwald, Archbishop of Canterbury. This original has not
descended to us, but a fragment of a somewhat later recension of
this life exists; and a still later life, probably an amplification
of that by Brithwald. Moreover, S. Egwin is mentioned by Matthew of
Westminster, Florence of Worcester; William of Malmesbury also
speaks of him in his Acts of the English Bishops.]

S. Egwin was of the royal blood of the Mercian kings, and was born at
Worcester, in the reign of Ethelred and Kenred. He was elected Bishop in
692. By his zeal in rebuking the illicit connexions formed by some of
the great men in his diocese, and vehemence in reforming the corrupt
morals of all, he stirred up a party against him, and with the
connivance of the King, he was expelled his diocese. Egwin, meekly
bending to his fate, determined to make a pilgrimage to Rome. According
to a popular mediaeval legend, he also resolved to expiate at the same
time certain sins of his youth, by putting iron fetters on his feet,
which were fastened with a lock, and he cast the key into the Avon. As
he neared Italy, on a ship from Marseilles, a huge fish floundered upon
deck, and was killed and cut open; when, to the surprise of the Saint,
in its belly was found the key to his fetters. He accepted this as an
expression of the will of heaven, and released his limbs. According to
another version of the story, the fish was caught in the Tiber, after S.
Egwin had appeared before the Pope in Rome; but William of Malmesbury
doubts the whole story as an idle legend.

[Illustration: S. EGWIN, BISHOP OF WORCESTER, After Cahier. [Jan. 11.]]

After his return, with the assistance of Kenred, King of Mercia, S.
Egwin founded the famous abbey of Evesham, under the invocation of the
Blessed Virgin. After this he undertook a second journey to Rome, in
company with Kenred, and Offa, King of the East Saxons. S. Egwin died on
the 30th December, 717, and was buried in the monastery of Evesham. The
translation of his relics probably took place on Jan. 11th, on which day
many English Martyrologies mark his festival.

[Illustration: Decoration]

FOOTNOTES:

[38] Theodoret, lib. i. c. 11.

January 12.

S. ARCADIUS, _M., in Africa, circ._ A.D. 260.
SS. SATYRUS, CYRIACUS, MOSENTIUS, _MM._
SS. TIGRIS, _P., and_ EUTROPIUS, _MM._, A.D. 404.
S. JOHN, _B. C. of Ravenna, circ._ A.D. 495.
S. CAESARIA, _V., at Arles, circ._ A.D. 530.
S. VICTORINUS, _Ab., in Spain_, A.D. 560.
S. BENEDICT BISCOP, _in England_, A.D. 703.
SS. XXXVIII, MONKS, _MM., in Ionia, circ._ A.D. 750.
S. AELRED, _Ab. of Rievaulx, in Yorkshire_, A.D. 1166.

S. ARCADIUS, M.

(ABOUT A.D. 260.)

[Roman Martyrology, those of Bede, Ado, Usuardus, Notker, &c.
Authority, a panegyric by S. Zeno, Bishop of Verona, his
contemporary.]

During a severe outbreak of persecution, in the reign of Gallienus, in
the north of Africa, Arcadius, doubting his own constancy, sought refuge
in flight, and escaping from Caesarea, hid himself. As he did not appear
at the sacrifices, the Governor ordered his house to be searched. It was
found to be deserted, save by a relative of his, whom the soldiers
seized, and, at the command of the Governor, detained till Arcadius
should surrender himself.

Hearing of this capture, and unwilling that his kinsman should suffer,
Arcadius deserted his hiding place, and gave himself up. The Governor,
exasperated at his constancy in refusing to adore the gods of the state
religion, ordered him to be dismembered, piecemeal and leisurely. First
his fingers were taken off, joint by joint; then his toes, then his
hands at the wrists, and his feet at the ankles. As he extended his
hands to amputation, he prayed, "Thy hands have made me and fashioned
me; O give me understanding that I may keep thy law." Thereupon the
judge ordered his tongue to be cut out. He was cast on his back, and his
feet were taken off. Then his legs and arms were amputated at the knees
and elbows, finally at the thighs and shoulders, so that he was nothing
save a human trunk in a pool of blood, with his limbs in little
fragments scattered about him. Thus he expired; but the Christians
collected the portions of his body, and buried them with the trunk
reverently, glorifying God for having given such constancy to his
martyr.

In art, represented as a torso; sometimes, for some reason unknown, with
a candle in his hand.

SS. SATYRUS, CYRIACUS, MOSENTIUS, MM.

(DATE UNCERTAIN.)

[All Martyrologies. Nothing is known for certain of the date of
their martyrdoms, or whether they all suffered together.]

S. Satyrus is said to have signed the cross, and breathed on an idol in
the street of Achaia (on the Euxine?), and it fell. Wherefore he was
executed by decapitation. This is stated in all the Martyrologies, but
some say the act was done at Antioch. Of the others, his companions,
nothing is known.

SS. TIGRIS, P., AND EUTROPIUS, LECTOR, MM.

(A.D. 404.)

[Roman Martyrology and German Martyrologies. Not commemorated by
the Greeks. Authorities: Sozomen, lib. viii. c. 22, 23; Nicephorus
Callistus, lib. xiii.; S. John Chrysostom also, in his 12th letter
to S. Olympias, speaks of Tigris the priest.]

When S. John Chrysostom had incurred the anger of the Empress Eudoxia,
by declaiming against her silver statue set up close to the church of
the Eternal Wisdom at Constantinople, by her machinations he was deposed
and exiled from the city, and Arsacius was ordained patriarch of
Constantinople in his room. But a large company of bishops and priests,
and others of the clerical order, refused to recognize the right of
Arsacius, and being driven from the churches, held their divine worship
in places apart. For the space of two months after his deposition,
Chrysostom remained at his post, though he refrained from appearing in
public; after that he was obliged to leave, being banished by the
Emperor Arcadius. On the very day of his departure the church caught
fire, and a strong easterly wind carried the flames to the senate
house.[39] The party opposed to S. John Chrysostom immediately spread
the report that this fire was the result of a wilful act of incendiarism
by the Johannites, or party of the exiled bishop. Socrates, the
historian, strongly prejudiced against Chrysostom, distinctly charged
them with the act. He says, "On the very day of his departure, some of
John's friends set fire to the church," and then he adds, "The
severities inflicted on John's friends, even to the extent of capital
punishment, on account of this act of incendiarism, by Optatus, the
prefect of Constantinople, who being a pagan was, as such, an enemy to
the Christians, I ought, I believe, to pass by in silence." There can be
no doubt that the fire was purely accidental, and that it was used as a
means of endeavouring to excite the people of Constantinople against
their favourite Chrysostom, that bold champion of the truth against
spiritual wickedness in high places, and the Erastianism of a large
party of bishops and clergy, just as before Nero had charged the burning
of old Rome on the Christians.

On this false charge some of the most faithful and zealous adherents of
Chrysostom suffered, amongst them were the priest Tigris, and the reader
Eutropius. The rest shall be quoted from Sozomen, who, belonging to the
party of Chrysostom, gives those details which Socrates found it
convenient to omit:--"Both parties mutually accused each other of
incendiarism; the enemies of John asserted that his partizans had been
guilty of the deed from revenge; the other side, that the crime had been
perpetrated by their enemies, with intention of burning them in the
church. Those citizens who were suspected of attachment to John, were
sought out and cast into prison, and compelled to anathematize him.
Arsacius was not long after ordained over the Church of Constantinople.
Nothing operated so much against him as the persecution carried on
against the followers of John. As these latter refused to hold
communion, or even to join in prayer with him, and met together in the
further parts of the city, he complained to the Emperor of their
conduct. The tribune was commanded to attack them with a body of
soldiers, and by means of clubs and stones he soon dispersed their
assembly. The most distinguished among them in point of rank, and those
who were most zealous in their adherence to John, were cast into prison.
The soldiers, as is usual on such occasions, went beyond their orders,
and stripped the women of their ornaments. Although the whole city was
thus filled with trouble and lamentation, the affection of the people
for John remained the same. After the popular insurrection had been
quelled, the prefect of the city appeared in public, as if to inquire
into the cause of the conflagration, and to bring the perpetrators of
the deed to punishment; but, being a pagan, he exulted in the
destruction of the Church, and ridiculed the calamity.

"Eutropius, a reader, was required to name the persons who had set fire
to the church; but, although he was scourged severely, although his
sides and cheeks were torn with iron nails, and although lighted torches
were applied to the most sensitive parts of his body, no confession
could be extorted from him, notwithstanding his youth and delicacy of
constitution. After having been subjected to these tortures, he was cast
into a dungeon, where he soon afterwards expired.

"A dream of Sisinius concerning Eutropius seems worthy of insertion in
this history. Sisinius, the Bishop of the Novatians, saw in his sleep a
man, tall in stature, and handsome in person, standing near the altar in
the Novatian Church of S. Stephen. This man complained of the rarity of
goodness among men, and said that he had been searching throughout the
city, and found but one who was good, and that one was Eutropius.
Astonished at what he had seen, Sisinius made known the dream to the
most faithful of his priests, and commanded him to make search for
Eutropius, wherever he might be. The priest, rightly conjecturing that
this Eutropius could be no other than he who had been so barbarously
tortured by the prefect, went from prison to prison in quest of him. At
length he found him, and made known to him the dream of the Bishop, and
besought him with tears to pray for him. Such are the details we possess
concerning Eutropius.

"Tigris, a priest, was about the same time stripped of his clothes,
scourged on the back, bound hand and foot, and stretched on the rack. He
was a foreigner, and an eunuch, but not by birth. He was originally a
slave in the house of a man of rank, and on account of his faithful
services had obtained his freedom. He was afterwards ordained priest,
and was distinguished by his moderation and meekness of disposition, and
by his charity towards strangers and the poor. Such were the events
which took place in Constantinople. Those who were in power at court
procured a law in favour of Arsacius, by which it was enacted that the
orthodox were to assemble together in churches only, and that if they
seceded from communion with the above-mentioned Bishop, they were to be
exiled."

S. CAESARIA, V.

(ABOUT A.D. 530.)

[Gallican Martyrologies. Her history from the life of S. Caesarius
of Arles, her brother, by his disciple, Cyprian.]

S. Caesaria was the superior of a convent of religious women, erected by
her brother, S. Caesarius, at Arles. When, in 507, the Franks and
Burgundians, under Alaric, had been defeated by Clovis, Theodoric
invaded the south of Gaul from Italy, and besieged the city, and
battered down the convent which had been erected for S. Caesaria. When
tranquillity was re-established, Caesarius rebuilt the monastery, and
called his sister from Marseilles to inhabit it. The rule of S. Caesaria,
drawn up by her brother, exists, and is published by the Bollandists.

S. BENEDICT BISCOP.

(A.D. 703.)

[Roman, Benedictine, and Anglican Martyrologies. Life from William
of Malmesbury, Bede's Homilies and Ecclesiastical History, Florence
of Worcester, Matthew of Westminster. The following account is
condensed from the life of S. Benedict Biscop, in Montalembert's
Monks of the West, Bk. xiii., c. 2.]

Benedict was born of the highest Anglo-Saxon nobility, in the year 628.
While he was still very young, he held an office in the household of
King Oswy. At twenty-five he gave up secular life, marriage, and his
family, restored his lands to the king, and dedicated himself to the
service of God. Before he settled in any community he went to Rome,
whither he had been long attracted by that desire of praying at the tomb
of the Apostles, which became so general among the Anglo-Saxons. He
started in company with S. Wilfrid, but the two young Northumbrian
nobles separated at Lyons. After his first visit to Rome, Benedict
returned thither a second and a third time, having in the meantime
assumed the monastic habit in the island of Lerins. Pope Vitalianus,
struck with the piety and knowledge of so constant and zealous a
pilgrim, assigned to him, as guide and interpreter, that Greek,
Theodore, who became Archbishop of Canterbury, and who, when he went to
England, transferred the monk of Lerins to be abbot of the principal
monastery in Canterbury.

After thus spending two years with the new Archbishop, the abbot
Benedict, instead of re-visiting his native district, went for the
fourth time to Rome, 671. He was then in the prime of life; but when it
is considered what were the difficulties and dangers of such a
journey--at such a time--when we remember that a journey from London to
Rome then took twice as long, and was a hundred times more dangerous
than a journey from London to Australia is now, we are amazed at the
energy which induced so many Anglo-Saxon monks, not once only, but many
times in their life, to cross the sea and the Alps on their way to Rome.
His fourth expedition was undertaken in the interests of literature. He
brought back a cargo of books, partly sold, partly given to him; and, in
passing by Vienne, the ancient capital of the Gauls, on his return, he
brought with him many more which he had deposited there in the charge of
his friends. When he returned at length to his native Northumbria, he
sought King Egfrid, the son of his former master, Oswy, then the
reigning monarch, and told him all he had done during the twenty years
that had passed since he left his country and the royal service. Then,
endeavouring to communicate to him the religious ardour with which his
own heart was filled, he explained to the King all he had learned at
Rome and elsewhere, of ecclesiastical and monastic discipline, showing
him the books and relics which he had brought back. Egfrid, who had not
yet begun his struggle with Wilfrid, allowed himself to be won by the
stories of the pilgrim, for whom he conceived a great affection; and in
order that he might apply his experience to the government of a new
community, he detached from his own possessions, and presented to
Benedict, an estate situated at the mouth of the Wear, a little stream
which flows through Durham, and throws itself into the Northern sea, a
little south of the Tyne.[40] This gave the name of Wearmouth to the new
monastery, which was dedicated to S. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles,
according to the express wish of Egfrid, in agreement with that of
Benedict, as an evidence of his leanings towards Rome.

This foundation was no sooner assured, than the unwearied Benedict took
ship again, to seek in France masons to build him a stone church, in the
Roman style, for everything that came from Rome was dear to him. The
church was carried on with so much energy, that, a year after the first
stone was laid, the church was roofed in, and mass was celebrated under
one of those stone arches which excited the surprise of the English in
the seventh century. He brought glass-makers also from France, for there
were none in England; and these foreign workmen, after having put glass
into the windows of the church and new monastery, taught their art to
the Anglo-Saxons. Animated by a zeal which nothing could discourage, and
inspired by intelligent patriotism, and a sort of passion for beauty in
art, which shrank neither from fatigue nor care, he sent to seek beyond
the seas all that he could not find in England--all that seemed
necessary to him for the ornamentation of his church; and not finding
even in France all he wanted, he went for the fifth time to Rome. Even
this was not his last visit, for some years later he made a sixth
pilgrimage. On both occasions he brought treasures back with him,
chiefly books in countless quantities, and of every kind. He was a
passionate collector, as has been seen, from his youth. He desired each
of his monasteries to possess a great library, which he considered
indispensable to the instruction, discipline, and good organization of
the community; and reckoned upon the books as the best means of
retaining his monks in their cloisters; for much as he loved travelling
himself, he did not approve of other monks passing their time on the
highways and byways, even under pretext of pilgrimages.

Along with the books he brought a great number of pictures and coloured
images. By introducing these images from Rome to Northumberland,
Benedict Biscop has written one of the most curious, and, at the same
time, forgotten pages in the history of art. The Venerable Bede, who
speaks with enthusiasm of the expeditions of his master and friend,
leads us to suppose that he brought back with him only portable
pictures, but it may be supposed that the abbot of Wearmouth brought
back with him both painters and mosaic-workers, to work on the spot at
the decoration of his churches. How can it be otherwise explained, how
pictures on wood, brought even by water from Rome to England, should
have been large enough to cover the walls and arches of the two or three
churches of which Bede speaks. However this may be, the result was that
the most ignorant of the Christians of Northumbria found, on entering
these new monastic churches, under a material form, the attractive image
of the instructions which the monastic missionaries lavished on them.
Learned and unlearned could contemplate and study with delight, we are
told, here the sweet and attractive form of the new-born Saviour, there
the Twelve Apostles surrounding the Blessed Virgin; upon the northern
wall all the parables of the Gospels; upon the southern, the visions of
the Apocalypse; elsewhere, a series of pictures which marked the harmony
between the Old and New Testaments; Isaac carrying the wood for his
sacrifice opposite to Jesus bearing His Cross; the brazen serpent
opposite Jesus crucified, and so on.[41] All these Bede, who had seen
them, describes with great delight.

After Latin and Greek books, after art, it was the turn of music. On his
return from his fifth voyage, Benedict brought back with him from Rome
an eminent monk, called John, precentor of S. Peter's, to establish at
Wearmouth the music and Roman ceremonies with entire exactitude. As soon
as he had arrived at Wearmouth, this learned abbot set out in writing
the order of the celebration of all feasts for all the year, of which he
soon circulated numerous copies. Then he opened classes, at which he
taught, _viva voce_, the liturgy and ecclesiastical chants. The best
singers of the Northumbrian monasteries came to listen to him, and
invited him to visit their communities.

The passionate zeal of Benedict for the building and decoration of his
monastic houses, did not make him forget the more essential interests of
his foundations. Before leaving Rome he took care to constitute his
community upon the immovable basis of the rule of S. Benedict. He
obtained from Pope Agatho a charter which guaranteed the liberty and
security of the new monastery of Wearmouth. In order to give Benedict a
new mark of sympathy, King Egfrid assigned to him another estate, near
to the first. This was the cradle of the monastery of Jarrow, the name
of which is inseparably linked with that of Bede. This monastery he
dedicated to S. Paul, and appointed one of his most intimate friends and
fellow pilgrims, Ceolfrid, abbot of the new foundation.

In order to be more at liberty to devote his time to travel, Benedict
took a coadjutor in the government of Wearmouth. This new abbot was his
nephew, Easterwin, his junior by twenty-two years, and like Biscop, of
high birth. The noble youth took pride in following minutely the rule of
the house, like any other monk. Thanks to his illustrious biographer, we
know what the occupations of a Saxon thane turned monk were in the
seventh century. His duties were to thrash and winnow the corn, to milk
the goats and cows, to take his turn in the kitchen, the bakehouse, and
the garden, always humble and joyous in his obedience. When he became
coadjutor, and was invested, in Biscop's absence, with all his
authority, the young abbot continued the course of communal life; and
when his duties as superior led him out of doors to where the monks
laboured in the fields, he set to work along with them, taking the
plough or the fan in his own hands, or forging iron upon the anvil. He
was robust as well as young and handsome; but his look was infinitely
gentle, and his conversation full of amiability. When he was compelled
to reprove a fault, it was done with such tender sadness that the
culprit felt himself incapable of any new offence which should bring a
cloud over the benign brightness of that beloved face. His table was
served with the same provisions as that of the monks; and he slept in
the general dormitory, which he left only five days before his death,
being then hopelessly ill, to prepare himself in a more solitary place,
for the last struggle. When he felt his end approaching, he had still
strength enough left to go down into the garden; and, seating himself
there, he called to him all his brethren, who wept the anticipated loss
of such a father. Then, with the tenderness which was natural to him, he
gave to each of them a last kiss. The following night (March 7th, 686)
he died, aged thirty-six, whilst the monks were singing matins. When
Benedict returned from his last expedition to Rome he found his
benefactor, King Egfrid, and his nephew, Easterwin, both dead, along
with a great number of his monks, carried off by one of the epidemics
then so frequent. The only survivors at Jarrow were the abbot and one
little scholar, whose fame was destined to eclipse that of all the Saxon
Saints and kings, who are scarcely known to posterity except by his
pen.[42]

Benedict Biscop did not lose courage, but promptly collected new
subjects under his sway, recommenced and pursued, with his habitual
energy, the decoration of his two churches of S. Peter and S. Paul. The
monks had already chosen as successor to Easterwin a deacon named
Sigfried, a learned and virtuous man, but affected with lung disease,
and the first of the English in whom history indicates a malady so
general and so fatal to their race.

Benedict's own turn was, however, soon to come. God preserved his life
to purify him, and put his patience to a long and cruel trial, before
calling him to his eternal recompense. After having devoted the first
thirteen years of his abbacy to the laborious and wandering life so dear
to him, and to those distant expeditions that produced so many fruits
for his order and his country, he was stricken with a cruel disease,
which lasted for three years, and paralysed all his members one after
the other. Though kept to his bed by his infirmity, and unable to follow
his brethren to the choir, he, notwithstanding, continued to celebrate
each service, both day and night, with certain of the monks, mingling
his feeble voice with theirs. At night his sleepless hours were consoled
by the reading of the Gospels, which was kept up without interruption by
a succession of priests. Often, too, he collected the monks and novices
round his couch, addressing to them urgent and solemn counsels, and
among other things begging them to preserve the great library which he
had brought from Rome, and not to allow it to be spoiled or dispersed;
but above all, to keep faithfully the rules which, after a careful study
of the seventeen principal monasteries which he had visited during his
journeys, he had collected for them. He also dwelt much upon the
injunction he had already often repeated, that they should pay no regard
to high birth in their choice of an abbot, but look simply to his life
and doctrine. "If I had to choose between two evils," said he, "I should
prefer to see the spot on which I have established our dear monastery
fall back into eternal solitude, rather than to be succeeded here by my
own brother, who, we all know, is not in the good way."

The strength of the abbot, and at the same time that of his poor
coadjutor, was by this time so exhausted by their respective diseases,
that they both perceived that they must die, and desired to see each
other for the last time before departing from this world. In order that
the wish of these two tender friends should be accomplished, it was
necessary to bring the dying coadjutor to the bed of the abbot. His head
was placed on the same pillow; but they were both so feeble that they
could not even embrace each other, and the help of brotherly hands was
necessary to join their lips. All the monks assembled in chapter round
this bed of suffering and love; and the two aged Saints, having pointed
out among them a successor, approved by all, breathed together, with a
short interval between, their last breath. Thus died, at the age of
sixty-two, S. Benedict of England, a worthy rival of the great patriarch
of the monks of the West, whose robe and name he bore.

SS. XXXVIII MONKS, IN IONIA.

(ABOUT 750.)

[The account of their martyrdom was written by Theosterictus, a
confessor in the same Iconoclastic persecution.]

In the horrible persecution of the orthodox by Constantine Copronymus,
on the subject of the images, concerning which more shall be said
elsewhere, the blessed martyr Stephen the younger, Archimandrite of
Auxentia, was in prison, when a monk, Theosterictus by name,[43] was
admitted to him, with his nose cut off, and his cheeks burnt with pitch;
he came from the monastery of Peleceta, and related to the abbot how, on
the Wednesday in Holy Week, as the unbloody Sacrifice was being offered
in the monastery church, a band of soldiers, by command of the heretical
Emperor, broke into the sacred building and interrupted the mysteries.
Thirty-eight monks were chained, the rest were mutilated, their noses
cut off, and their beards steeped in tar, and then fired. Then the
soldiers set the whole convent in flames. The thirty-eight were carried
off to the borders of Ephesus, and thrust into the furnace of an old
bath; the openings were then closed, and they were suffocated therein.

[Illustration: S. AELRED, ABBOT OF RIEVAULX.
From a Design by A. Welby Pugin.
Jan. 12.]

S. AELRED, AB. OF RIEVAULX.

(A.D. 1166.)

[Authorities: His life in Capgrave, and his own writings, still
extant.]

He was of noble descent, and was born in the north of England, in 1109.
Being educated in learning and piety, he was invited by David, the pious
King of Scotland, to his court, made master of his household, and highly
esteemed both by him and the courtiers. His virtue shone with bright
lustre in the world, particularly his meekness, which Christ declared to
be his favourite virtue, and the distinguishing mark of his true
disciples. The following is a memorable instance to what a degree S.
Aelred possessed this virtue:--A certain person of quality having
insulted and reproached him in the presence of the King, Aelred heard
him out with patience, and thanked him for his charity and sincerity, in
telling him his faults. This behaviour had such an influence on his
adversary that it made him ask his pardon on the spot. Another time,
whilst he was speaking on a certain matter, one interrupted him with
very harsh reviling expressions: the servant of God heard him with
tranquility, and afterward resumed his discourse with the same calmness
and presence of mind as before. He desired ardently to devote himself
entirely to God, by forsaking the world; but the charms of friendship
detained him some time longer in it, and were fetters to his soul;
reflecting notwithstanding that he must sooner or later be separated by
death from those he loved most, he condemned his own cowardice, and
broke at once those bands of friendship, which were more agreeable to
him than all other sweets of life. To relinquish entirely all his
worldly engagements, he left Scotland, and embraced the austere
Cistercian order, at Rievaulx, in Yorkshire, where Walter de l'Especke
had founded a monastery in 1122. At the age of twenty-four, in 1133, he
became a monk under the first abbot, William, a disciple of S.
Bernard. In spite of the delicacy of his body he set himself cheerfully
to practise the greatest austerities, and employed much of his time in
prayer and reading. His heart turned with great ardour to the love of
God, and this made him feel all his mortifications sweet and light. "Thy
yoke doth not oppress, but raiseth the soul; thy burden hath wings, not
weight," said he. He speaks of divine charity with love, and by his
frequent ejaculations on the subject, it seems to have been the sweet
consolation of his soul. "May thy voice (says he) sound in my ears, O
Good Jesus, that my heart may learn how to love thee, that my mind may
love thee, that the interior powers, the bowels of my soul, and very
marrow of my heart may love thee, and that my affections may embrace
thee, my only true good, my sweet and delightful joy! O my God! He who
loves thee possesses thee; and he possesses thee in proportion as he
loves, because thou art love itself. This is that abundance with which
thy beloved are inebriated, dissolved to themselves, that they may live
into thee, by loving thee." He had been much delighted in his youth with
reading Cicero; but after his conversion found that author, and all
other reading, tedious and bitter, which was not sweetened with the
honey of the holy name of Jesus, and seasoned with the word of God, as
he says in the preface to his book _On Spiritual Friendship_. He was
much edified with the very looks of a holy monk, called Simon, who had
despised high birth, an ample fortune, and all the advantages of mind
and body, to serve God in that penitential state. This monk went and
came as one deaf and dumb, always recollected in God; and was such a
lover of silence, that he would scarce speak a few words to the prior on
necessary occasions. His silence however was sweet, agreeable, and full
of edification. Our Saint says of him, "The very sight of his humility
stifled my pride, and made me blush at the want of mortification in my
looks." This holy monk, having served God eight years in perfect
fidelity, died in 1142, in wonderful peace, repeating with his last
breath, "I will sing eternally, O Lord, thy mercy, thy mercy, thy
mercy!"

S. Aelred, much against his inclination, was made abbot of a new
monastery of his order, founded by William, Earl of Lincoln, at Revesby,
in Lincolnshire, in 1142, and after, in 1143, of Rievaulx, where he
governed three hundred monks. Describing their life, he says that they
drank nothing but water, ate little, laboured hard, slept little, and on
hard boards; never spoke, except to their superiors on necessary
occasions; and loved prayer.

[Illustration: S. Odilo, Jan. 1, p. 20.]

FOOTNOTES:

[39] Socrates, Eccl. Hist., lib. vi. c. 18.

[40] Monk-Wearmouth on the north bank of the river.

[41] Bede: Vitae Abbt. in Wiramuth, c. 6.

[42] This is Bede, who describes, further on, how the abbot and
that little boy celebrated alone, and in great sadness, the whole psalms
of the monastic service, with no little labour, until new monks
arrived.

[43] Not to be confused with Theosterictus, disciple of the
abbot S. Nicetas, who writes this account.

January 13.

The Octave of the Epiphany.

S. POTITUS, _M._, A.D. 166.
SS. HERMYLUS AND STRATONICUS, _MM., at Belgrade_, A.D. 315.
S. GLAPHYRA, _V., at Amasia, circ._ A.D. 324.
S. AGRICIUS, _B. of Trèves, circ._ A.D. 335.
S. HILARY, _B. of Poictiers_, A.D. 368.
S. VIRENTIUS, _P._, _in Burgundy_, A.D. 400.
S. KENTIGERN, _B. of Glasgow_, A.D. 601.
B. BERNO, _Ab. of Cluny_, A.D. 920.
S. HELDEMAR, _H., in Artois_, A.D. 1097.
B. GOTFRIED, _of Kappenberg_, A.D. 1127.
B. JUTTA, _W. and Recluse, at Huy, in Belgium_, A.D. 1228.
B. VERONICA, _V. at Milan_, A.D. 1497.

SS. HERMYLUS AND STRATONICUS, MM., AT BELGRADE.

(A.D. 315.)

[Greek Menaea and Menologium. The Acts in Metaphrastes are compiled
from the original genuine Acts, and may be trusted.]

When Licinius was in Mysia he sought out the Christians, to punish them
with death, being moved thereto by his great hatred to the religion of
Christ, which Constantine protected. Socrates says, in his
"Ecclesiastical History," that Licinius hated the Christians; and that,
although for a while, from dread of Constantine, he avoided open
persecution, yet he managed to plot against them covertly, and at length
proceeded to acts of undisguised malevolence. The persecution, however,
was local, not extending beyond those districts where Licinius himself
was, but these and other public outrages could not long remain concealed
from Constantine. By this perfidy he drew upon himself the Emperor
Constantine's heaviest displeasure; and the pretended treaty of
friendship having been so flagrantly violated, it was not long before
they took up arms against each other.[44]

When Licinius was at Sigidunum (Belgrade), on the Danube, a deacon,
named Hermylus, was denounced to him as a despiser of the gods of Rome.
The Emperor ordered him to be brought before him. The order was obeyed.

Then the Emperor said, "Answer me, and tell me openly, dost thou confess
thyself to be a Christian?"

"Not only do I acknowledge myself to be a Christian, but to be
consecrated a deacon to the service of God."

"Well then, be deacon in the service of the gods," said Licinius.

"Thou must be deaf, Emperor! I said that I served God the all-seeing,
not these blind stocks."

Licinius ordered the deacon to be smitten on the cheeks, and said, "Not
so glib with thy tongue, Hermylus. Honour the Emperor, sacrifice to the
gods, and save thy life."

Then Hermylus cried out with a loud voice, "Thou shalt endure torments
without end, from the hand of God, because thou dost adore vain idols,
and seekest to destroy those who serve the living God, as though envious
of their superiority."

Then the martyr was taken back to prison. And after three days he was
again brought forth, and when Licinius had mounted the tribunal, he
said, "Well now, Hermylus, art thou prepared to abandon this folly and
escape what is in store for thee?"

But the deacon answered, "I am ready to endure. There is one God in
heaven to whom I live, and to whom I am ready to die. He will succour
me."

"We shall soon see what His succour is worth," said the Emperor; and
ordered him to be beaten. Then six men cast him on the ground and
stripped him, and scourged him. But Hermylus cried, "O Lord my God, who
before Pilate enduredst the scourge, strengthen me suffering for Thee,
that I may finish my course, and that, being made partaker in Thy
sufferings, I maybe made also to partake in Thy glory."

Then there was heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Verily, verily,
Hermylus, in three days shalt thou receive a glorious reward!" Hearing
this, the martyr was filled with boldness, and a great fear fell on all
around. Then Licinius hastily remitted the deacon to prison. Now the
jailor's name was Stratonicus, and he was a disciple, but secretly, like
Nicodemus, not having great boldness, and he comforted Hermylus in the
dungeon as well as he could, for he was also his personal friend.

On the morrow, the Emperor ordered the brave soldier of Christ to be led
forth again, and beaten on the stomach, as his back was one great wound,
and the instrument wherewith he was to be beaten was a willow rod,
twisted and knotted into a triangle, and this, say the Acts, was a most
excruciating torture, for the angles and knots cut like knives into the
flesh. But as he bore this with unflinching constancy, the tyrant
commanded that his belly should be torn with little iron hooks. Then
Stratonicus, the jailor, unable to bear the sight of his friend's
sufferings, covered his face with his hands and burst into tears. Seeing
this, the soldiers who stood by jeered him, and called the attention of
the Emperor to the agitation of the jailor. Then Stratonicus, mustering
up all his courage, cast himself before Licinius, and cried, "Sire! I am
a Christian, I believe in God, the maker of heaven and earth." Then
Licinius ordered him to be scourged. And Stratonicus, looking piteously
at his friend, said, "Hermylus, pray for me to Christ, that I may be
able to endure!"

And when Licinius saw that Stratonicus was covered with wounds, he bade
the executioners desist, and he remitted the jailor and the prisoner to
the same dungeon. But on the morrow, finding Stratonicus resolute, he
ordered him and Hermylus to be drowned in the Danube. Then they were
tied up in nets and cast into the river. Three days after their bodies
were washed up, and were buried by the Christians.

S. HILARY, B. D. OF POICTIERS.

(A.D. 368.)

[In the Roman Missal, before 1435, there was no mention of S.
Hilary; in the reformed Breviary of Cardinal Quignon, published by
authority of Pope Paul III., S. Hilary was commemorated on Jan.
31st, the same day as that on which he was noted in the York
Calendar, because Jan. 13th is the Octave of the Epiphany.
Afterwards, however, the commemoration of S. Hilary was fixed for
Jan. 14th, his name being inserted in the Martyrology on the 13th;
but with this clause, "His festival is, however, to be celebrated
on the morrow," so as not to interfere with the Octave of the
Epiphany. The Sarum, Dominican, Belgian, and some of the German
Calendars mark the 13th as the feast of S. Hilary. The Anglican
Calendar also notes his name on this day. The Bollandists give his
life on this day, though in the Roman offices the commemoration is
on the morrow. His own writings, and the histories of his age,
contain all the materials for his life.]

S. Hilary was born at Poictiers in Gaul. There is some reason to believe
that his family was illustrious in that country. His parents were
pagans, and he was brought up in idolatry. He gives an account of his
conversion to the faith of Christ in his book "On the Trinity." He was
married before his conversion; and his wife, by whom he had a daughter,
named Apra, was yet living when he was chosen Bishop of Poictiers, about
the year 353; but from the time of his ordination he lived in perpetual
continence. It is probable that S. Hilary was elected Bishop from the
rank of a layman, as was often the case in the early ages, and received
all orders by accumulation. He soon became renowned in Gaul as a
preacher; and S. Martin, then a young man, was attracted by his name,
and lived for a time at Poictiers as his disciple.

Immediately after the Arian Council at Milan, in A.D. 355, which had
condemned S. Athanasius, and had prevailed on the Emperor Constantius to
banish all the Bishops who adhered to him, S. Hilary wrote to the
Emperor, entreating him to stop the persecution, to recall the Catholic
Bishops, and forbid secular judges to interfere in the affairs of the
Church. This remonstrance had no effect; but he had the satisfaction of
seeing the Gallican Bishops remain firm during those days of trial.
Saturninus, Bishop of Arles, alone united with Ursacius and Valens, two
Illyrian Bishops, to vex the Catholics. They held an Arian synod at
Béziers in Languedoc, at which Saturninus himself presided. S. Hilary
there made a noble confession of the Nicene Faith, and refuted the
heresy of Arius; but the party of Saturninus, reinforced by Bishops from
the neighbouring countries, was too strong for him, and he was condemned
and deposed; and immediately afterwards the Emperor Constantius banished
him into Phrygia. He left Gaul early in A.D. 356, in company with
Rhodanus, Bishop of Toulouse, whom God called from those evils to His
kingdom, soon after their arrival in Phrygia.

His departure was followed by a cruel persecution of the Gallican
clergy; but nothing could daunt their constancy, or prevail on them to
communicate with the enemies of S. Hilary and the Nicene Faith, or to
fill up his see, which in the eye of the Church was not vacant. The
priests and deacons of Toulouse were severely beaten, and their church
profaned. In A.D. 357 the Bishops wrote a letter to S. Hilary assuring
him of their fidelity and firmness. About the same time S. Hilary
received a letter from Apra, his only daughter, informing him that she
had been asked in marriage by a young man. She was then about thirteen
or fourteen years of age. He immediately wrote to her, entreating her to
set her thoughts on the more precious rewards which the Lord Jesus has
promised to those virgins who devote themselves wholly to their Heavenly
Spouse, and are not entangled in the snares of earthly love. He reminded
her of that blissful company whom the Church commemorates on the feast
of the Holy Innocents (Dec. 28), who sing a new song which no man can
learn but they who are virgins and follow the Lamb whithersoever He
goeth. She yielded to his pious counsel; and on his return home God took
her to Himself at his request, without pain or any visible sickness.
Bishop Jeremy Taylor relates this little story in his own beautiful
language in the "Holy Dying."

In return for the comforting letter which the Gallican Bishops had sent
him, and at their request to be informed regarding the faith of the
Eastern Churches, S. Hilary wrote his "History of Synods" in the end of
A.D. 358. It contains an account of the various councils that had been
assembled in the East on the subject of the Arian heresy, together with
a defence of the Nicene Faith. It is addressed to the British Bishops
among others, whom he congratulates on their steadfastness. The Saint
also wrote his book "On the Trinity" during his exile, and a smaller
treatise "Against the Arians." He was also the undoubted author of
several hymns, and others have been attributed to him.

[Illustration: S. HILARY BAPTIZING S. MARTIN, OF TOURS. From a Window,
dated 1528, in the Church of S. Florentin, Yonne.]

[Illustration: THE THREE CHILDREN IN THE FIERY FURNACE. From the
Catacombs.
Jan. 13.]

In A.D. 359 the Western Bishops held a synod at Rimini, at which nearly
four hundred were present. The Arian party among them beguiled the rest
by its address, to sanction its errors by their signatures. The Bishops
of Agen and Tongres took a prominent lead in the proceedings of the
synod. In September of the same year S. Hilary was invited with other
Catholic Bishops by the semi-Arians to their council at Seleucia, in
Isauria. Their object was to defeat the Arians, and they hoped that the
Catholics would assist them. In this council S. Hilary bore witness to
the faith of the Western Church being the same as that declared to be
the Catholic Faith at the Council of Nice in A.D. 325, and he protested
against both the Arian and semi-Arian opinions as novelties. He
accompanied the deputies of the council to Constantinople, in hopes of
obtaining from the Emperor Constantius the recall of his sentence of
banishment.

While the Arian synod was sitting at Constantinople, in January, A.D.
360, he entreated the Emperor to grant him a conference with Saturninus,
Bishop of Arles, the author of his exile, and that he might be allowed
to appear in the synod, and bear witness to the Catholic Faith. He also
complained of the perplexity which the multiplication of creeds and
confessions of faith had occasioned; for in the preceding year alone
four had been published to the Church. The Emperor refused to grant S.
Hilary what he asked; but the Arians so much dreaded his presence in the
East, that they persuaded Constantius to send him back to Gaul, yet
without formally recalling the sentence of exile.

The joy of his return to his Church and his native land was much
lessened by the miserable confusion which he left behind him in the
East. Still it must have been very great; and his approach was hailed
with delight by the Church in Gaul. S. Martin, who had been living in
retirement in the island of Gallenari, off the city of Genoa, went to
Rome to meet him; but finding that he had already left it, he followed
him to Poictiers, and soon after built a monastery near the town (see
November 11.) S. Hilary immediately applied himself to repair the
mischief which the Council of Rimini had done: and a synod was assembled
at Paris, which condemned its proceedings, and declared the true Faith
of the _consubstantiality_ of the Son of God. The Bishops also
corresponded with their banished brethren in the East.

In A.D. 363 S. Hilary made a journey into Italy in company with Eusebius
of Vercelli. They were at Milan in the autumn of the following year, at
the time when the Emperor Valentinian arrived there. The people were
Catholic, and even abstained from entering the churches, to avoid
communicating with Auxentius their Arian Bishop. In a public disputation
which the Emperor invited him to hold, S. Hilary extorted from the Arian
a confession of the Nicene Faith, which was taken down in writing and
preserved. Auxentius was enraged at being thus vanquished, and prevailed
on the Emperor to send S. Hilary away from Milan. Before his departure
he addressed a letter to the Catholic Bishops and laity in the
neighbourhood, exhorting them to remain firm. This was the last public
act of his life which is recorded. He returned home to Poictiers, and
finished his labours by a blessed death in January, A.D. 368, according
to the testimony of the greater number of historians. A brilliant light
is said to have filled the chamber where the body of the holy man was
lying. S. Gregory of Tours attests the truth of a miracle performed at
his tomb; and others also are authenticated by various writers. But
neither the fame of these, nor respect for the memory of the saintly
Confessor, prevented his tomb from being violated by the Calvinists in
1567.

S. KENTIGERN, OR MUNGO, B. OF GLASGOW.

(A.D. 601.)

[His life was written by S. Asaph, his disciple in the monastery of
Llan-Elwyn, in Wales, founded by Kentigern when exiled. This life
has not come down to us in its original form. We have, however, his
life compiled in 1125 by Jocelyn, monk of Furness, from ancient
authorities, by order of Bishop Jocelyn of Glasgow. Undoubtedly the
life of S. Asaph formed the basis of this compilation. S. Kentigern
is also spoken of by many ancient Scottish historians, John Major
de Gest. Scotorum, lib. ii. c. 7; Hector Boece, lib. ix; Leslie,
lib. iv., &c.]

S. Kentigern is said[45] to have been the illegitimate son of Themin,
daughter of Loth, King of the Picts, by Eugenius III., King of the
Scots; but there is great uncertainty about his origin. When the Pictish
King found that his daughter was likely to become a mother, he was
filled with grief and anger, and ordered her to be thrown down a rock,
on Mount Dunpeld. By God's mercy she was not injured, and was then, by
her father's orders, sent to Culross, where she brought forth a son. At
the same time S. Servan, being engaged in saying matins, heard angels
singing. When he had finished his office he left his cell, and
descending to the sea shore in the grey dusk, found there a mother
rocking her new-born babe, wherefore the old hermit exclaimed, being
moved with compassion, "Mochoche, mochoche!" which being interpreted is,
My dear, my dear! Then he took the unfortunate girl and her babe to his
cell, instructed her in the faith of Christ, and baptized her and her
little one, and he called her Tanca, and him he named Kentiern.[46] So
the child grew up in the old man's cell, and became so dear to him, that
he called him familiarly Mungho, or Dearest, and by this name he is
generally known in Scotland. His mother learned to love God, and to
serve him with all her heart, and bitterly to bewail her fault.

Many pretty legends of the childhood of Kentigern have been wafted down
to us. S. Servan had a pet redbreast which was wont to eat out of his
hand, and to perch on his shoulder, and when he chanted the psalms of
David, the little bird flapped its wings and twittered shrilly.

Now Servan had several lads whom he educated at Culross, and these
envied Kentigern, because he was the favourite of the old master, so in
spite they wrung the neck of the redbreast, and charged the favourite
boy with having done the deed. But Kentigern took the little dead bird,
and crying bitterly, and praying to God, signed the cross over it. Then
when the old man returned from church, the bird hopped to meet him as
usual, chirping joyously. In those days it was no easy matter to kindle
a fire, indeed, without a flame from which to light one, it was
impossible, for in the north, sticks are not dry enough to be rubbed
into a blaze as they can be in hot climates. Therefore it was necessary
that fires should never be allowed to become extinct. It was the duty of
the boys of S. Servan, in turn by weeks, to rise during the night and
mend the fire, so that there should not be a deficiency of light for
illumining the Church at the matin offices. When it was Kentigern's
week, the boys, to bring him into trouble, extinguished the fire. Mungo,
rising as usual, went to the hearth but found the fire out. Then he took
a stick and placed it over the cold ashes, and invoking the name of the
Holy Trinity, he blew upon the dead cinders, and a flame leaped up which
kindled the branch; and thereat he lighted the Church candles.

At last, unable to endure longer the envy of his fellow pupils,
Kentigern ran away. And when S. Servan discovered it, he pursued him,
and reached the bank of a river, but Kentigern had escaped to the other
side. Then the old man cried to him, "Alas! my dearest son, the light
of my eyes, and the staff of my age, wherefore hast thou deserted me?
Remember that I took thee from thy mother's womb, nursed thee, and
taught thee to this day. Do not desert my white hairs."

Then Kentigern, bursting into tears, answered, "My father, it is the
will of the Most High that I should go."

Servan cried out, "Return, return, dear son, and I, from being a father,
will be to thee as a son, from being a master I will become a disciple."

But Kentigern, suffused with tears, replied, "It cannot be, my father;
return and admonish thy disciples, and instruct them by thine example. I
must go where the Lord God calls me."

Then Servan blessed him across the river, lifting up his holy hands, and
sorrowfully they parted the one from the other, to see each other's face
no more in this life.

Kentigern settled near Glasgow, where he inhabited a cave in the face of
a rock, where the people looked at him with respectful curiosity, while
he studied the direction of the storms at sea, and drank in with
pleasure the first breezes of the spring. Having converted many of the
people, together with the King of Strathclyde, he was consecrated Bishop
by an Irish prelate, the Keltic Church being ignorant of the Nicene
canon requiring three to consecrate, "with unction of holy oil,
invocation of the Holy Spirit, and imposition of hands."

The district of Strathclyde, or Cumbria, on the west coast of Britain,
from the mouth of the Clyde to that of the Mersey, that is to say, from
Glasgow to Liverpool, was occupied by a mingled race of Britons and
Scots, whose capital was Al-Cluid, now Dumbarton. It was in this region
that S. Kentigern was called to labour.

As bishop, he still dwelt in his rocky cell, where he used a stone for
a pillow, and to inure his body to hardships, he stood in the Clyde to
recite his psalter. He wore a dress of goat-skin bound about his loins,
and a hood, and over all, his white linen alb, which he never left off;
and carried in his hand his pastoral staff of wood without ornament, and
in his other hand his office book. Thus he was ever prepared to execute
his ministry; and thus attired, he went through the kingdom from the
Clyde to the Firth of Forth. In his cell he lived on bread and cheese
and milk, but when he was with the King, he relaxed the severity of his
fasting, so as not to appear ungracious when offered more abundant and
better food; however, on his return to his cell, he curtailed his
allowance, so as to make up for his relaxation of rule at court.

When S. Kentigern was made Bishop of Glasgow, Gurthmel Wledio was King
of the North Britons. He was succeeded by Roderick the Liberal
(Rydderach Hael), a religious and deserving prince, who was driven by
his rebellious subjects under Morken Mawr to Ireland. Morken having
usurped the throne of Strathclyde, drove S. Kentigern out of the
country, and the Saint took refuge in Wales with S. David, Bishop of
Menevia, and remained with him till the Prince of Denbigh bestowed on
him lands, where he built the famous monastery of Llan-Elwyn, afterwards
called S. Asaph. Here he gathered about him a great number of disciples
and scholars, and he was there at the date of the death of S. David, in
544.

On the death of Morken, Roderick returned to Scotland, and recovered his
crown. He immediately recalled Kentigern to his see, and he, leaving his
monastery to the care of S. Asaph, went back to Glasgow in 560.

Roderick's mother was Irish, and he had been baptized by an Irish monk,
and greatly respected Kentigern. The Saint returned bringing with him a
hive of Welsh monks, and established the seat of his renewed
apostleship once more at Glasgow, where Ninian had preceded him nearly a
century before, without leaving any lasting traces of his passage.
Kentigern, more fortunate, established upon the site of a
burying-ground, consecrated by Ninian, the first foundation of that
magnificent cathedral which still bears his name, though diverted to a
religion different from that he professed.

Kentigern collected round him numerous disciples, all learned in holy
literature, all working with their hands, and possessing nothing as
individuals. "They dwelt," says Jocelyn, "in separate cells, as did
Kentigern, thence were they called Calledei." He distinguished himself
during his episcopate by his efforts to bring back to the faith the
Picts of Galloway, which formed part of the kingdom of Strathclyde; and
afterwards, by numerous mission and monastic foundations throughout all
Albyn--a name which was then given to midland Scotland. His disciples
penetrated even to the Orkney Isles, where they probably met with the
missionaries of S. Columba, despatched from Iona.

The salutary and laborious activity of Kentigern must often have
encroached upon the regions which were specially within the sphere of
Columba. But the generous heart of Columba was inaccessible to jealousy.
He was, besides, the personal friend of Kentigern and of King
Roderick.[47] The fame of the Bishop of Strathclyde's apostolic labours
drew him from his isle to do homage to his rival in love and good works.
He arrived from Iona with a great train of monks, whom he arrayed in
three companies at the moment of their entrance into Glasgow. Kentigern
distributed in the same way the numerous monks who surrounded him in his
episcopal monastery, and whom he led out to meet the abbot of Iona. He
divided them, according to their age, into three bands, the youngest of
whom walked first; then those who had reached the age of manhood; and
last of all, the old and grey-haired, among whom he himself took his
place. They all chanted the anthem, "They shall sing in the ways of the
Lord: that great is the glory of the Lord. The path of the just is made:
and the way of the saints is prepared." The monks of Iona, on their
side, chanted the versicle, "The saints shall go from strength to
strength: and unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in
Sion."[48] From every side echoed the Alleluia; and it was to the sound
of these words of Holy Scripture that the Apostles of the Picts and
Scots met at what had been the extreme boundary of the Roman empire, and
limit of the power of the Caesars, and upon a soil henceforth for ever
freed from paganism and idolatry. They embraced each other tenderly, and
passed several days in intimate and friendly intercourse.

The historian, who has preserved for us the account of this interview,
does not conceal a less edifying incident. He confesses that some
robbers had joined themselves to the following of the abbot of Iona, and
that they took advantage of the general enthusiasm to steal a ram from
the Bishop's flock. They were soon taken; but Kentigern pardoned them.
Columba and his fellow Apostle exchanged their pastoral staves before
they parted, in token of mutual affection. The staff of S. Columba,
afterwards used by S. Kentigern, was in later times given to S. Wilfred,
who placed it in the monastic church he founded at Ripon.

I know not how far we may put faith in another narrative of Jocelyn,
which has remained Kentigern's most popular title to fame. The wife of
King Roderick, led astray by a guilty passion for a knight of her
husband's court, had the weakness to bestow on him a ring which had been
given to her by the King. When Roderick was out hunting with this
knight, the two took refuge on the banks of the Clyde, during the heat
of the day, and the knight, falling asleep, unwittingly stretched out
his hand, upon which the King saw the ring which he had given to the
Queen as a token of his love. It was with difficulty that he restrained
himself from killing the knight on the spot; but he subdued his rage,
and contented himself by taking the ring from his finger, and throwing
it into the river, without awakening the guilty sleeper. When he had
returned to the town, he demanded his ring from the Queen, and, as she
could not produce it, threw her into prison, and gave orders for her
execution. She obtained, however, a delay of three days, and having in
vain sought the ring from the knight to whom she had given it, she had
recourse to S. Kentigern. He, moved by the remembrance of his mother,
through whose sin he had entered the world, and anxious that the unhappy
woman should be given time for repentance, prayed to God, and the ring
was found in the belly of a salmon caught in the Clyde, and sent by him
to the Queen, who showed it to her husband, and thus escaped the
punishment which awaited her. On her liberation she hastened to
Kentigern, confessed her fault to him, and was exhorted by him to amend
her life and do penance for the past. It is for this reason that the
ancient effigies of the Apostle of Strathclyde represent him holding the
episcopal cross in one hand, and in the other a salmon with a ring in
its mouth.

S. Kentigern lived to a very advanced age, and his jaws being too weak
to masticate his food, his lower jaw was supported by a band of linen
tied round his head. He died gently as he was being lifted out of a
warm bath, in the year 601.

Patron of Glasgow.

In art, represented with a fish and a ring. (See above.)

B. GOTFRIED OF KAPPENBERG.

(A.D. 1127.)

[His life by a writer of the same time, a monk of Kappenberg, who,
though he did not know Gotfried himself, derived his information
from those who knew him well. He is also mentioned, and the
principal incidents of his life noticed, in the life of S.
Norbert.]

Godfrey or Gotfried, Count of Kappenberg,[49] in Westphalia, lived at a
period when the nobles of Germany were engaged in constant feuds with
one another, falling on each others lands, burning the villages, and
carrying off the cattle. It was a period when the poor suffered untold
woes. "It is good to live under the crook," they said, meaning that
their only place, where they could live in security, was on the lands of
the abbeys. One little incident mentioned in the life of Count Gotfried,
shews the lawlessness of the times. The Count and the city of Münster
not being on good terms, a party of the Kappenbergers made a foray, and
swept up all the cattle from the farms in the neighbourhood of Münster,
and brought them in triumph to the Count; but he rebuked them saying,
"Take all these back again; my quarrel is with the men of the city; it
is not seemly that the innocent and helpless farmers should lose their
all on account of a contest of the rights of which they know nothing."

Gotfried happening to attend, along with his brother Otto, the preaching
of S. Norbert, who traversed Westphalia at this time, was converted, and
resolved on turning his fortress into a monastery. His wife at first
opposed his intention, and his relations used all their influence to
dissuade him. But his earnestness moved his wife at last to withdraw her
objections, and to consent to his entering the religious life; she, at
the same time, also resolved to take the veil. Accordingly, Gotfried and
his brother Otto, who was his junior, received the tonsure, and became
canons of S. Augustine, under the rule of S. Norbert of Prémontré.
Frederick, Count of Arnsberg, the father of Gotfried's wife, was
furious. He was a man of great cruelty, in whose dungeons languished
many wretches, and who delighted in war. His protests were in vain, the
Count of Kappenberg transformed his castle into a monastery, and built
two more, at Varlar and Elstadt. So great was the humility of Gotfried,
that finding he was continually given his title of Count, even by the
brethren, he took upon himself the most disagreeable office in the
house, that of scourer of the privies.

Frederick, Count of Arnsberg, finding remonstrances in vain, threatened
to fall on the county of Kappenberg, and drive the monks out "As for
that Norbert!" he exclaimed, "who has come riding on an ass through
Westphalia, turning men's heads, let me catch him, and I'll hang him and
his ass at the two ends of one rope over a bough, and see which is the
heaviest fool of the twain."

Gotfried and his brethren sent to Prémontré, to tell their father in
religion, that it was impossible for them to remain in Germany, that
Count Arnsberg would attack them shortly; and they added the threat
uttered against Norbert himself and his ass.

"Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world, said Christ," he wrote
back to them, "and as for me and my ass, we are coming into Westphalia
to be weighed one against the other." Nor was S. Norbert long in coming;
he rode upon his ass to the door of Kappenberg; but there was no further
danger, Count Frederick of Arnsberg was dead.

Before he died, Gotfried visited the cradle of his order, Prémontré, the
home of S. Norbert. On his way back, next year, he sickened, and died at
Elstadt.

B. VERONICA, V. OF MILAN.

(A.D. 1497.)

[Beatified by Pope Leo X. Her life and revelations were written by
Brother Isidore of Isolani, O.S.D., from the account given him by
those who had known her well; among others from the notes of
Benedetta, and the recital of Thaddaea, two sisters, who had been
intimately acquainted with Veronica. This account was printed in
1518, at Milan.]

Veronica was the daughter of a pious peasant at Binasco, a small village
between Milan and Pavia. Her father was noted for his integrity, and
when he sold a horse he always mentioned its defects to the purchaser.
Veronica was employed in the fields weeding, as the parents were too
poor to send her to the school. Veronica desired earnestly to become a
sister in the convent of S. Martha, at Milan, but her mother assured her
that it was impossible to join a religious community without a knowledge
of letters. Accordingly, every night Veronica laboured, by the light of
her little oil lamp, at her alphabet and spelling book; but she made
little progress. One night, as she lay with her hands spread out on the
table, and her head bowed, disheartened at the difficulty of her task,
the Blessed Virgin appeared to her in a robe of dazzling blue, like the
summer sky. "My child," said the gentle Mother, "trouble thyself not
with this scholarship, the only learning thou needst is comprised in
three letters, white, black, and red. This white letter is purity of
soul and body; this black letter is simplicity, contentedness with what
God sends you, and freedom from taking offence; this red letter is
meditation on the passion of my dear Son. Let these three branches of
learning be mastered, and all the other letters come of themselves."

Veronica, some years later, entered the convent of S. Martha, as a lay
sister, and her duties were to beg for the society, as her ignorance of
reading and Latin disqualified her from chanting the choir offices with
the full sisters.

She persevered in the study of those three letters shown her by the
Queen of Heaven, and in studying them she advanced far on the way of
perfection. She was honoured with wondrous revelations, but her modesty
was so great that she sought to conceal them. On the Octave of Corpus
Christi, 1487, during mass, she saw in the adorable Sacrament exposed in
the Tabernacle, the form of Jesus Christ as a little child surrounded by
adoring angels. In her simplicity she asked one of the other sisters if
she had seen the Holy Child, and when she answered in the negative,
Veronica flushed red, and said no more.

It was a great disappointment to her that she was unable to sing the
choir offices, and she made it a special object of prayer that her
understanding might be enlightened, so that she might join the others in
their psalmody. Then an angel descended to her cell, and he held in his
hand the psalter, and opening it before her, bade her read, and all her
difficulty passed away, and she chanted the psalms of David, with the
antiphons and responses, alternately with the Angel of God. One night,
when she had been very ill, and deprived of the privilege of communion,
she rose from her sick bed, drawn by an irresistible impulse to the
church. It was full of light; she cast herself at the altar steps,
before the adorable Sacrament, and Jesus in a cloud of glory
communicated her Himself.

She lay three years in a lingering illness, all which time she would
never be exempted from any of the duty of the house, or make use of the
least indulgence, though she was given leave; her answer always was, "I
must work whilst I can, whilst I have time."

Sister Thaddaea informed the writer of her life, that on Whitsun-Monday,
1496, she went to the cell of Veronica, who was ill, at the hour of
nones, and was astonished to see a bright light streaming from the
chinks in the door. Looking in through a hole, she saw Veronica, in
dazzling light, chanting nones. Veronica died in the year 1497.

[Illustration: Seal of Robert Wishart, Bp. of Glasgow, 1272-1316. See
life of S. Kentigern, p. 193.]

FOOTNOTES:

[44] Lib. I., c. 3, 4.

[45] By David Camerarius, Hector Boece, and Condeus.

[46] From Ken-tiern, chief lord.

[47] Adamnan i. 15.

[48] In viis Domini magna est gloria Domini, et via justorum
facta est: et iter sanctorum praeparatum est. Ibunt sancti de virtute in
virtutem: videbitur Deus corum in Sion.

[49] Near Lunen, on the river Lippe.

January 14.

S. PONTIAN, _M., at Spoleto, 2nd cent._
S. FELIX, _P. C., at Nola, 3rd cent._
S. MACRINA, _at Neocaesarea, 4th cent._
SS. THEODULUS, PAUL, PROCLUS, HYPATIUS, ISAAC, AND OTHERS,
_Monks, MM., at Sinai, 5th cent._
S. DATIUS, _Abp. of Milan_, A.D. 552.
S. FULGENTIUS, _B. of Carthagina_, A.D. 619.
B. ENGELMAR, _H. M. in Bavaria, beginning of 12th cent._
B. SABBAS, _Abp. of Servia, 13th cent._
B. ORDORICO, _Friar at Udine, in Italy_, A.D. 1331.
For S. HILARY, see JAN. 13.

S. FELIX, P. C., AT NOLA.

(3RD CENT.)

[On this day are commemorated two priests, Confessors, of Nola, of
the same name, Felix. This has led to almost inextricable confusion
among Martyrologists. There is another, a martyr, of this name. The
life of S. Felix is given by S. Gregory of Tours, De Glor. Martyr,
lib. i. c. 104, and by the Venerable Bede. The miracles wrought by
him have also been recorded by S. Paulinus of Nola.]

Saint Felix was a native of Nola, in Campania, where his father,
Hermias, who was by birth a Syrian, and had served in the army, had
purchased an estate and settled. He had two sons, Felix and Hermias, to
whom, at his death, he left his property. The younger, loving the things
of Caesar rather than the things of God, says Bede, served in the army,
but Felix, more _happy_--as his name implies--enrolled himself as a
soldier of Jesus Christ. Having passed the grades of lector and
exorcist, he was finally ordained priest by Maximus, Bishop of Nola.

Persecution having broken out, the aged Bishop, mindful of the
injunction, "When they persecute you in one city flee to another" (Matt.
x. 23), escaped to the hills, and left his flock to the charge of Felix,
whom he designated as his successor. The persecutors, not finding the
Bishop, seized on Felix, and cast him, heavily ironed, into a dungeon
strewn with broken crockery, into which no ray of light entered. In the
meantime, Maximus was perishing with cold and hunger in the mountains,
hardships which his great age made him unable to endure.

One night an angel appeared to Felix, and bade him go forth out of
prison and succour the aged Bishop. Then his chains fell off his neck,
and hands, and feet, and the doors opened to him of their own accord,
and guided by the angel, he was brought to the hiding place of Maximus,
whom he found prostrate and speechless, and apparently dying. He
moistened the old man's lips with wine, and forced some food into his
mouth, and chafed his frozen limbs. By slow degrees the Bishop was
restored, and then laying him upon his shoulders, Felix carried him home
before daybreak, where a pious old woman took care of him.

Felix, with the blessing of his pastor, repaired secretly to his own
lodgings, and there kept himself concealed, praying for the Church
without ceasing, till peace was restored to it by the death of the
Emperor Decius in 251. Persecution breaking forth again, the sergeants
were sent in quest of Felix. Meeting him in the street, and not
recognizing him, they stopped him and asked if he had met Felix on the
way. "No," he answered; "I have not met him." They went on, but
something arousing their suspicion, they had not gone far before they
turned and hastened back. Felix had, in the meantime, crept through a
small hole in some old broken walls. The officers came to the place, but
seeing a spider's web covering the hole, they did not search the place,
thinking that Felix could not have passed that way. But this was the
Lord's doing. He had sent the little spider to drop his lines and lace
them together, with the utmost rapidity, over the place through which
His servant had escaped. Felix, finding among the ruins, between two
houses, an old well half dug, hid himself in it for six months; and
received during that time wherewithal to subsist from a devout Christian
woman.

Peace having been restored to the Church, the Saint quitted his retreat,
and was received in the city as an angel from heaven. Soon after, S.
Maximus dying, Felix was unanimously elected Bishop; but he persuaded
the people to make choice of Quintus, because he was the senior priest,
having been ordained seven days before him.

His property having been confiscated in the persecution, S. Felix rented
a little spot of barren land, not exceeding three acres, which he tilled
with his own hands, and was able by his industry to support himself, and
give something in alms to the poor. He died at a good old age, on Jan.
14th, on which day the Martyrology, under the name of S. Jerome, and all
others of later date mention him.

Patron of Nola, in conjunction with other Saints.

Relics, in the Cathedral at Nola.

In art, he is represented (1), with an angel striking off his chains;
(2), with a bunch of grapes, wherewith he fed S. Maximus; (3), bearing
S. Maximus on his shoulders, or in his arms; (4), with a spider.

S. MACRINA THE ELDER, C., AT NEOCAESAREA.

(4TH CENT.)

[Spoken of by S. Gregory Nyssen, her grandson, in his life of his
sister Macrina. S. Gregory Nazianzen gives a fuller account in his
life of her grandson, S. Basil the Great.]

In the persecution of Galerius, A.D. 304, S. Macrina and her husband
were obliged to hide till the tyranny was overpast, in a wooded mountain
in Pontus, for seven years, suffering severely from cold and from
insufficiency of food. They were, however, able to catch and kill wild
deer.

SS. THEODULUS, P. PAUL, PROCLUS, HYPATIUS, ISAAC, AND OTHERS, MONKS AND
MM. AT SINAI.

(5TH CENT.)

[Roman Martyrology. German Martyrology on the 13th Jan. The account
of the martyrdom of these monks was written by S. Nilus himself, an
eye-witness of their passion, and father of Theodulus, one of the
sufferers, though not the martyr of the same name.]

"O my friends," says S. Nilus, in his account of the tragedy
commemorated this day;[50] "I, wretched man that I am, had two sons, one
of whom I had to lament, the other remained with his mother. After I had
become the father of these two, my wife and I separated. A vehement
craving after solitude and rest drew me into the desert; I could think
and look to nothing else. When the desire of anything has engrossed the
mind, it draws it violently from all things else, even from good works,
and strains towards that which it desires, heeding no impediments and
toils. When, then, I was thus impelled to go forth, I took my two
sons--they were quite little fellows then--and I led them to their
mother, and I gave one to her, and kept the other with me, and I told
her my design, and begged her not to oppose it. She did not resist me,
seeing my earnestness, yielding rather to necessity than consenting
spontaneously. But know, all of you, that the separation of those who
have been united in legitimate marriage, and have become one body, by
Him who in His secret council has joined them, is no light matter. It is
like hacking through a living body with a sword."

Nilus, having escaped with his little son Theodulus into the deserts of
Sinai, took up his abode with the monks, and served God in the solitude
and rest he had so much desired, "Among these," continues Nilus,
"Caesar's money does not circulate, for they neither buy nor sell. Each
is ready to give freely to the other whatever he wants. Olives and
dates, and rarely bread, is all they have to give, but they become
tokens of charity, and sufficiently evidence liberality of intention.
There is no envy among them, and he who abounds less in good works does
not feel jealous of him who abounds more. Their cells are not close
together, but at some little distance from one another, not because of
want of love, but that they may mould themselves to the pattern God has
set before them in all quiet and silence. On the Lord's Day they all
assemble in one church, and meet accordingly once a week; lest, on the
other hand, total isolation should break the bonds of concord and make
them forgetful of the offices due to one another, and their manners
become savage and uncouth. After having all participated of the Divine
Mysteries, they accordingly meet to converse. But why should I relate
more of their ways? All at once a storm came on, a cloud of barbarians
burst upon the settlement, early one morning, when the hymns had just
ceased. I was there then with my son. I was descending the holy
mountain to visit the Saints who inhabited the bush, as I was wont to do
often, when I heard the noise of shouts and cries, and like yelping of
dogs, the barbarians carried off all the Saints had prepared for their
winter provision. They dragged them out of the church and stripped them,
and made a circle round them with drawn swords, and eyes filled with
fury, ready to kill them. Then, first they bade the priest stretch out
his neck, and he, without a cry, though they cut him on the back with
their blades, signed himself and whispered, 'Blessed be the Lord!' One
blow cut him from the back-bone to the jaw, and cut through his ear; the
next blow was from his shoulder to his cheek. So the holy man sank down
modestly. The previous evening that admirable man at supper had said,
'How do we know whether we shall all live to meet again at table?' After
that they killed him who lived with the old priest, and then the boy who
served them." Then the Arabs, brandishing their bloody weapons, rushed
after the monks, who scattered in all directions, some escaping down the
valley, and some, Nilus included, flying up the all but inaccessible
rocks of Sinai, whither the Arabs did not trouble themselves to pursue
them. Nilus escaped reluctantly, for his boy was in the hands of the
barbarians. "I stood bewildered," he says "not knowing what to do, and
bound to the child by my bowels of love, and unable to fly till the boy
made signs to me with his eyes to escape; but I could hardly persuade
myself to do so. My feet went forward and dragged my body along, I
hardly knew how, for my heart would not leave him, and I turned my face
ever and anon to look at the boy. Thus I reached the mountain, following
the others, and saw my poor boy carried away, unable to look about him
as he would, but furtively casting glances towards where I was. Such is
the tie of nature, that separation of bodies does not break it, but it
is cruelly wrenched. The cow which is led away lows piteously and
often, always turning its head towards the dear calf, and by its eyes
proving the intensity of its grief. And I, when I had reached, I know
not how, the mountain top, with my mind one way and my body elsewhere, I
tried still to see my son, but I could not, the distance was too great.
Then I burst into prayer to God, weeping for my captive son and the
murdered saints."

"After the barbarians had killed many others, they went their way; and
as day declined we were able, without fear, to descend and bury the
bodies. We found some quite dead, but Theodulus, the priest, was still
breathing and able to speak. Therefore we, sitting down there, passed
the night there, weeping, at the old man's request." The dying priest
bade them be of good cheer, reminding them that Job was robbed of his
substance and his children, and was grievously plagued in his body, yet,
trusting in God, he was given in the end more than he had lost. Then,
kissing the survivors, he breathed forth his holy soul. S. Theodulus and
these martyrs fell on Jan. 14th; but other sufferers who were put to
death by this horde of barbarians are commemorated with them. S. Nilus
gives an account of the sufferings of several of these, whom the Arabs
hunted from the rocks, wherever there was a spring of water and a patch
of herbage.

Nilus, having obtained money, went into the desert in quest of the
Arabs, in company with an armed embassy, to their chief or king, that he
might ransom his son. "Having gone eight days, we were hard pressed for
want of water; but those who knew the locality said that there was a
spring somewhere near. So the party ran here and there in their
eagerness to find and enjoy it; and I went along too, but on account of
my age was not able to travel as fast as they, and could not run without
loss of dignity. Now the well was really behind them, hidden behind a
little hill, so that they kept rushing further from it, and I, ascending
the mound, lighted suddenly upon it, for it lay on the other side, and
there I saw a number of Arabs gathered round it. When I thus fell into
the hands of the enemy, I cannot say whether I was glad or sorry, for I
was between the two conditions of mind, being fearful for my personal
safety, but very anxious to see my son, whom I hoped to deliver out of
captivity, or at least to share captivity with him. Those who had
accompanied me escaped, throwing themselves down, and creeping away
behind the hill; but the barbarians, shouting, surrounded me, and
dragged me violently about, but I looked about with great desire, hoping
among them to catch a sight of my boy.

"Suddenly, some of our party, armed, appeared on the horizon, and the
barbarians, in great alarm, fled away, and in a moment the spot where
they had swarmed was bare and lifeless.

"Next day we continued our course, and so for four days did we
persevere, till we reached the camp; and when it was announced that
there were ambassadors come to the King, we were brought before Haman,
the chief of the barbarians. Who, when we had presented gifts, gave us a
gracious reception, and lodged us near him, till he could make
perquisition for the offenders. My heart beat violently, and I waited
the result in an agony of suspense. Every sound seemed to me to speak of
him whom I sought so anxiously; my ears were ever on the alert, and my
mind on the stretch for the tidings, that I might be certified whether
my son lived or was dead. Ever before my eyes I saw his image, sometimes
I saw him killed in one way, sometimes in another, and I fancied I heard
his weeping voice calling me. O wretched boy! art thou alive or art thou
dead? If thou hast escaped death, what miserable bondage is thine? If
thou hast died, where is thine unburied corpse?

"At last the messengers returned, and by their faces I read the sad
news. 'You need not speak,' I said, 'I see in your countenances that I
have no hope.' But they assured me that Theodulus, my little fellow, was
not dead, but was sold to some one or other in the city Eleusa. Then I
resolved to go there in quest of him. But I had no rest in mind, for I
thought, Well, if he lives, he is lost to me, for he serves as a slave;
he cannot follow his free will, but is for ever subject to the caprice
of a master.

"As we were on our way to Eleusa, a young man, driving some laden
animals, met us. He had already seen me in the camp, and he knew all
about my affair. He, being in Eleusa, made inquiries, and learned that
my son had been brought there by the barbarians, and had been sold.
Seeing me coming, he advanced last and smiling towards me, and when we
were within speaking distance, he shouted cheerily to me, and stretching
forth his right hand, he turned it behind him over his shoulder, and
pulled out a letter from his quiver, which he gave to me, telling me
that my boy was alive, and bade me be of good cheer, and not to be out
of heart because he was a slave, for he had been bought by a Christian
priest.

"Then I, being without money or home, and unable thus to reward the
fellow, blessed him with many tears, and prayed that he might be
abundantly rewarded by God for the joy he gave me, I being unable to
offer him anything.

"But I, as soon as I reached the city, went first of all to the church,
as to the source of all good, and I gave honour there to God, watering
the pavement with my tears, and filling the sacred building with the
sound of my sobs. Thence I was guided to the house where my son was,
sending first of all before me messengers to break the news of my
coming. All knew me, by the report which had preceded me, to be the
father of the boy who had been sold there, and there was not a person
all along the street who did not express joy, in countenance, and
running out of their houses with glad faces, seemed as though each
rejoiced with me over a lost son re-found.

"Now when we came to the door of the house, he was called out and told
that I was there, and they brought him to salute me. And when we saw one
another, we did not rejoice, nor exclaim at first, but both cried till
our tears dribbled over our breasts. He ran to me, but scarcely knew me,
I was so ragged in dress, and my hair uncombed. Believing what others
said rather than knowing me, he came with arms outspread and clasped me
round with bursting heart. But _I_ knew _him_ when he was a long way
off, though there were numbers of others there, for it was just the same
face, stamped by constant remembrance on my mind; and unable to contain
my joy, my strength suddenly failed me, and I fell down. Then the
people, seeing me with open mouth on the ground, thought me dead. There
was great outcry, but when my son had clasped me in his arms, my spirit
came back, and I knew where I was, and who I was, whom I saw before me
with mine eyes. Then I hugged him and he hugged me, never satisfying our
great desire. However, at last, when more composed, I blamed myself to
him as the cause of all these misfortunes, because I had taken him away
from his home to a wild place which was full of danger, and it was so,
as I said."

Then Theodulus told his father all his adventures with the Arabs.
"Father," said he, "on the night after we were taken, the barbarians had
prepared everything for a sacrifice, altar, sword, incense, and the
like, and we thought we were sure to be killed and offered up on the
morrow. Then my fellow captive, in the night, ran away and escaped, but
I was afraid to do so, not knowing whither to go in the desert, but I
prayed to God till I fell asleep. And, waking early in the morning when
dawn broke on the horizon, I knelt with my hands on my knees, and my
face bowed upon them, wetting my bosom with my tears, and again with my
whole heart I cried out to Him who alone could deliver me, 'Thou, Lord,
alone hast power over life and death, Thou hast shown wonders of old and
hast delivered Thy servants out of peril. Thou didst save Isaac, lying
on the altar, and Joseph from the hands of his brethren. Save me, too,
for Thy great Name's sake.'

"Then, presently, the Arabs awoke, and making a great noise because my
companion was gone, asked me where he was; but when I said that I did
not know, because I had not run away, they were not angry. Then my mind
became calm, and I blessed God. After that they consulted, and brought
me to the city to sell me. They stripped me naked, and put a sword round
my neck, to show that if I was not bought they would kill me. Then I was
exposed for sale, and I stretched out my hands suppliantly to the
purchasers to save me from death, promising my glad service if they
would redeem my blood. Then after a while he came by and bought me, even
the Bishop of this place."

Now the Bishop had bought the boy out of charity, and he at once
surrendered him to his father, regarding nothing the price he had paid
for him, and he, moreover, furnished them with food for their long
journey home; and before he dismissed them, feeling confident of their
vocation, he ordained together to the priesthood both father and son.

S. DATIUS, ABP. C., OF MILAN.

(A.D. 552.)

[Roman and other Latin Martyrologies. Datius, Dacius, or Dasius, is
spoken of by Procopius Cassidorus, whose letter to S. Datius is
extant, and by S. Gregory the Great, who relates the incident of
his reduction of the evil spirits to silence, narrated in the text,
in his Dialogues, lib. iii., c. 4.]

S. Datius ruled the see of Milan in a stormy time, when Italy was
over-run with the Goths. When Milan was threatened, S. Datius implored
Belisarius to come to its protection, or send troops to defend the city.
Belisarius was then at Rome, and S. Datius made the journey to Rome, on
purpose to urge upon him, in person, the protection of the city.
Belisarius, though hard pressed through the deficiency of supplies
afforded him by the Emperor Justinian, detached a body of men to the
defence of the Milanese, and for a time Milan was thought to be safe.
Soon, however, a large army of Goths and Burgundians swooped down upon
it and besieged it. Belisarius, seeing the danger to which the city was
exposed, sent troops under his generals, Martin and Uliaris, to the
succour. But they, through timidity, did not venture to attack the
Goths. In the city famine prevailed to such an extent, that as S. Datius
relates in his Annals, an unfortunate mother roasted and ate her infant,
that being the first morsel she had eaten since her confinement. The
city was surrendered, but the terms of surrender were not kept. It was
given up to plunder, and the streets ran with the blood of the butchered
citizens. What became of the Archbishop is not known; some assert that
he was taken captive to Ravenna, but was liberated at the intercession
of his friend Cassiodorus.

The Arian King, Totila, drove S. Datius from his see, and he escaped to
Constantinople. On his way occurred that incident recorded by S. Gregory
the Great, by which he is chiefly known. Arriving at Corinth, and
looking about for a large house, which would lodge him and his
companions, he saw a mansion, which seemed exactly suited to his
purpose, and was apparently unoccupied. Having instituted inquiries, he
was told that the house was haunted, and that it was impossible for any
man to spend the night in it. "Ghost and devil will not scare a servant
of God!" said S. Datius, and he ordered beds to be made in the haunted
house. He said his prayers as usual, and then retired to rest. About
midnight he was aroused by a hideous rout, like the braying of asses,
the grunting of swine, the squeaking of rats, and the hissing of
serpents. Then Datius, raising himself in bed, shouted, "Oh, Satan! thou
who saidst in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God: I will be like the most High! (Isa. xiv.
13, 14.) Well done, I say, Satan. Thou, who wouldst be like God, art
reduced to bray like a jackass, and grunt like a hog." Instantly there
was dead silence, and S. Datius was no more troubled with unearthly
noises.

B. ORDORICO, O.S.F.

(A.D. 1331.)

[His life, by several writers on the Franciscan Saints. His travels
were dictated by him to Friar Guglielmo, who wrote them down, and
added an account of his death. No copy of his original Latin MS.
exists, and the Italian and Latin copies we have vary so much from
one another that it is difficult to know which is the most correct.
Copyists, not considering the things related in his travels as
sufficiently marvellous, have supplied by their fancy what Ordorico
never dictated. Although no copy of the original MS. exists, we can
trace the progress of amplification and error by comparing the
oldest and best account of the travels extant, with some of the
later narratives of Friar Ordorico's life and adventure.]

Among the early travellers in the East a conspicuous place is due to
Friar Ordorico de Pordenone, commonly called Il Beato, the Blessed. He
was born in the district of Pordenone, in the Friuli, about the year
1286. Early in life he entered the Order of Friars Minors, or
Franciscans, and took the vows in their house at Udine. After many years
of exemplary life and industry he girded up his loins for the perilous
pilgrimage and great mission--that is, he proceeded to the remote
countries of the East to convert the infidel and idolater. He is
believed to have been absent from Italy for the long space of sixteen
years. He took with him his monastic habit, his cord, and his pilgrim's
staff, and apparently no other thing. Where there were Christians, he
claimed their charity; and where there were none, he threw himself upon
the hospitality of the unbelievers. Friar Ordorico went from the
Adriatic Sea to Constantinople, and proceeding from that great city to
the Black Sea, he landed at Trebizond. From Trebizond he travelled
through Armenia and Persia, and came to Ormuz on the Persian Gulf. At Ur
of the Chaldees, he was shocked to find that the men did the knitting
and spinning; and he was surprised that they liked a head of venison
more than four fat partridges. At Bagdad, says he, the men are handsome
and the women ugly; the women carry loads and the men saunter about in
idleness. But this, alas! is not confined to Bagdad. At the port of
Balsora he embarked, and crossing the Indian Ocean, he reached the
coasts of Malabar. There, says he, he much surprised, the people prefer
dates to venison. Thence he turned round upon Ceylon. He landed in that
magnificent island, and travelled through the greater part of it. He
describes the quantities of elephants which are found in the interior of
that country; the blood-sucking land-leeches, so well-known to the
Indians, which render the passage through the jungle so painful to
Europeans; he correctly describes the general qualities of that
remarkable tree, the talipot, which flourishes in the island of Ceylon,
and in the contiguous Malabar country. He mentions Adam's Peak, and the
lake at its side, which the natives told him was formed of the tears of
Adam and Eve after their fall. "But," adds the friar, "I perceived this
to be false, for I saw the water flowing from the mountain into the
lake, and filling it." He adds that on the sides of the lake rubies are
discovered. His account of the pearl fishery is without exaggeration. In
the neighbouring continent some of the Brahminical superstitions are
correctly set down. The excessive cruelty and indisputable cannibalism
of the Andaman Islanders, who are called natives of Bodan, are
accurately noted. So shocked was the friar with what he saw there, that
he remained there some while preaching, but he admits with no success.
Then he voyaged to Meliapore. After this he ran down the Indian Ocean to
Sumatra and Java, whence he appears to have reached some of the islands
of Japan, which he calls Zapan. He next entered the empire of China, and
there he remained several years. He travelled through various of the
vast provinces of China, and then turned West, and after long and
dangerous wayfaring, he entered the country of Thibet.

In company with three other friars, he was one day resting with them
under a tree, when the Khan passed by. Then one of the friars, who was a
bishop, put on his pontifical vestments, and took his pastoral cross,
and all four advanced to meet the Khan chanting the _Veni Creator_. Then
the Khan stopped his car, and asked who these were, and when told that
they were four Frank missionaries, he called them to him, and kissed the
cross of the bishop. Then, because it is the custom of the country not
to approach the king empty-handed, the friars offered him a plate with
some apples on it. The Khan took two, ate one, and drove away tossing
the other about in his hands. From his kissing the cross the friars were
satisfied that he knew something of the Catholic faith.

The account left of these travels breaks off abruptly in Thibet, leaving
us entirely in the dark as to the route and the manner by which the
friar reached Europe. It is known, however, from a postscript to his
book, that he returned in 1330, when he was forty-four years old. His
health appears to have been much broken by the fatigues and privations
he had undergone during his peregrinations; and he died within a few
months after his return to his native country.[51]

[Illustration: Hermit Saints. S. Anthony.]

FOOTNOTES:

[50] The narrative of S. Nilus is necessarily much condensed. I
regret having to do this, as it is most touching in its entirety.

[51] A much fuller account of the travels of B. Ordorico than I
am able to give here may be read in MacFarlane's "Romance of Travel,"
II. c. 1. The most correct version of these travels is that given by
Bollandus, Jan. T. 1, pp. 920-986, which MacFarlane does not seem to
have seen.

January 15.

S. EPHYSIUS, _M., at Cagliari_.
S. PAUL, _the First Hermit in Egypt_, A.D. 341.
S. MACARIUS OF EGYPT, _P. and Ab., in Scété_, A.D. 391.
S. ISIDORE, _P. and Monk, at Alexandria_, A.D. 404.
S. ALEXANDER ACOEMETUS, _at Constantinople, circ._ A.D. 430.
S. JOHN THE CALYBITE, _5th cent_.
S. MAURUS, _Ab. of Glanfeuil, in France_, A.D. 584.
S. YTHA, _V., in Ireland, 6th cent._
S. BONITUS, OR BON, _B. of Claremont, beginning of 8th cent._
S. EMBERT, _B. of Cambrai, beginning of 8th cent._
S. CEOLWULF, _K. and Monk, in England, 8th cent._

S. PAUL, THE FIRST HERMIT IN EGYPT.

(A.D. 341.)

[S. Paul died on Jan. 10th, on which day he is commemorated in most
ancient Martyrologies, as the Roman, that of Cologne, Bede, &c. But
both Greeks and Latins have transferred his feast to Jan. 15th, so
as not to interfere with the celebration of the Octave of the
Epiphany. The York Breviary and those of Paul III., and of the
Dominican Order, commemorate him on the 29th Jan. His life, written
by S. Jerome, is perfectly authentic. The following is a
translation, much abridged, from the original.]

Under the persecuting Emperors Decius and Valerius, at the time that
Cornelius was Bishop at Rome, and Cyprian, Bishop at Carthage, were
condemned to shed their blessed blood, a cruel tempest swept over the
Churches in Egypt and the Thebaid.

"In those days, in the Lower Thebaid, was Paul, to whom had been left a
rich inheritance, at the death of both his parents, with a sister
already married. He was then about fifteen years old, well taught in
Greek and Egyptian literature, gentle tempered, and loving God much.
When the storm of persecution burst, he withdrew into a distant city.
But his sister's husband purposed to betray him, notwithstanding the
tears of his wife; however, the boy discovered it, and fled into the
desert hills. Once there, necessity became a pleasure, and going on, and
then stopping awhile, he reached at last a stony cliff, at the foot of
which was a great cave; its mouth closed with a stone. Having rolled
this away, and exploring more greedily, he saw within a great vault open
to the sky above, but shaded by the spreading boughs of an ancient
date-palm; and in it a clear spring, the rill of which, flowing a short
space forth, was sucked up again by the soil.

"There were, besides, not a few dwellings in that cavernous mountain, in
which he saw rusty anvils and hammers, with which coin that had been
stamped of old. For this place was an old workshop for base coin.

"Therefore, in this beloved dwelling, offered him as it were by God, he
spent all his life in prayer and solitude, while the palm-tree gave him
food and clothes.

"When the blessed Paul had been leading the heavenly life on earth for
113 years, and Antony, ninety years old, was dwelling in another
solitude, this thought (so Antony was wont to assert) entered his
mind--that no monk more perfect than himself had settled in the desert.
But as he lay still by night, it was revealed to him that there was
another monk far better than he, to visit whom he must set out. So when
the light broke, the venerable old man, supporting his weak limbs on a
staff, began to go he knew not whither. And now the mid-day, with the
sun roasting above, grew fierce; and yet he was not turned from the
journey he had begun, for he said 'I trust in my God, that he will show
His servant that which He has promised.' Antony went on through that
region, seeing only the tracks of wild beasts, and the wide waste of the
desert. What he should do, or whither turn, he knew not. A second day
had now run by.

[Illustration: HERMIT SAINT.
From a Drawing by A. Welby Pugin.
Jan. 15.]

One thing remained, to be confident that he could not be deserted by
Christ. All night through he spent a second darkness in prayer, and
while the light was still dim, he saw afar a she-wolf, panting with heat
and thirst, creeping in at the foot of the mountain. Following her with
his eyes, and drawing nigh to the cave when the beast was gone, he began
to look in: but in vain; for the darkness stopped his view. However, as
the Scripture saith, perfect love casteth out fear; with gentle step and
bated breath the cunning explorer entered, and going forward slowly, and
stopping often, watched for a sound. At length he saw afar off a light
through the horror of the darkness; then he hastened on more greedily,
struck his foot against a stone, and made a noise, at which the blessed
Paul shut and barred his door, which had stood open.

"Then Antony, casting himself down before the entrance, prayed there
till the sixth hour, and more, to be let in, saying, 'Who I am, and
whence, and why I am come, thou knowest I know that I deserve not to see
thy face; yet, unless I see thee, I will not return. Thou who receivest
beasts, why repellest thou a man? I have sought, and I have found. I
knock that it may be opened to me: which if I win not, here will I die
before thy gate. Surely thou shalt at least bury my corpse.'

"'No one begs thus to threaten. No one does injury with tears. And dost
thou wonder why I do not let thee in, seeing thou art a mortal guest?'
Thus spake Paul, and then smiling, he opened the door. They mutually
embraced and saluted each other by name, and committed themselves in
common to the grace of God. And after the holy kiss, Paul, sitting down
with Antony, thus began--

"'Behold him whom thou hast sought with such labour; with limbs decayed
by age, and covered with unkempt white hair. Behold, thou seest but a
mortal, soon to become dust. But, because charity bears all things, tell
me, I pray thee, how fares the human race? whether new houses are rising
in the ancient cities? by what emperor is the world governed? whether
there are any left who are led captive by the deceits of the devil?' As
they spoke thus, they saw a raven settle on a bough; who, flying gently
down, laid, to their wonder, a whole loaf before them. When he was gone,
'Ah,' said Paul, 'the Lord truly loving, truly merciful, hath sent us a
meal. For sixty years past I have received daily half a loaf, but, at
thy coming, Christ hath doubled his soldiers' allowance.' Then, having
thanked God, they sat down on the brink of the glassy spring.

"But here a contention arising as to which of them should break the
loaf, occupied the day till well-nigh evening. Paul insisted, as the
host; Antony declined, as the younger man. At last it was agreed that
they should take hold of the loaf at opposite ends, and each pull
towards himself, and keep what was left in his hand. Next they stooped
down, and drank a little water from the spring; then, offering to God
the sacrifice of praise, they passed the night watching.

"And when day dawned again, the blessed Paul said to Antony, 'I knew
long since, brother, that thou wert dwelling in these lands; long since
God had promised thee to me as a fellow-servant: but because the time of
my falling asleep is now come, and (because I always longed to depart,
and to be with Christ) there is laid up for me, when I have finished my
course, a crown of righteousness; therefore thou art sent from the Lord
to cover my corpse with mould, and give back dust to dust.'

"Antony, hearing this, prayed him with tears and groans not to desert
him, but take him as his companion on such a journey. But he said, 'Thou
must not seek the things which are thine own, but the things of others.
It is expedient for thee, indeed, to cast off the burden of the flesh,
and to follow the Lamb: but it is expedient for the rest of the brethren
that they should be still trained by thine example. Wherefore go, unless
it displeases thee, and bring the cloak which Athanasius the bishop gave
thee, to wrap up my corpse.' But this the blessed Paul asked, not
because he cared greatly whether his body decayed covered or bare (for
he had long been used to clothe himself with woven palm leaves), but
that Antony's grief at his death might be lightened when he left him.
Antony astounded that he had heard of Athanasius and his own cloak,
dared answer nothing: but keeping in silence, and kissing his eyes and
hands, returned to the monastery. Tired and breathless, he arrived at
home. There two disciples met him, who had been long sent to minister to
him, and asked him, 'Where hast thou tarried so long, father?' He
answered, 'Woe to me a sinner, who falsely bear the name of a monk. I
have seen Elias; I have seen John in the desert; I have truly seen Paul
in Paradise;' and so, closing his lips, and beating his breast, he took
the cloak from his cell, and when his disciples asked him to explain
more fully what had befallen, he said, 'There is a time to be silent,
and a time to speak.' Then going out, and not taking even a morsel of
food, he returned by the way he had come. For he feared--what actually
happened--lest Paul in his absence should render up his soul to Christ.

"And when the second day had shone, and he had retraced his steps for
three hours, he saw amid hosts of angels, amid the choirs of prophets
and apostles, Paul shining white as snow, ascending up on high. The
blessed Antony used to tell afterwards, how he ran the rest of the way
so swiftly, that he seemed to fly like a bird. Nor without cause. For
entering the cave he saw Paul on bended knees, erect with hands spread
out on high,--a lifeless corpse. And at first, thinking that it still
lived, he prayed in like wise. But when he heard no sighs come from the
worshipper's breast, he gave him a tearful kiss, understanding how the
very corpse of the Saint was praying to that God to whom all live.

"So, having wrapped up and carried forth the corpse, and chanting hymns,
Antony grew sad, because he had no spade, wherewith to dig the ground;
and thinking over many plans in his mind, said, 'If I go back to the
monastery, it is a three days' journey. If I stay here, I shall be of no
more use. I will die, then, as it is fit; and, falling beside thy
warrior, O Christ! breathe my last breath.'

"As he was thinking thus to himself, two lions came running from the
inner part of the desert, their manes tossing on their necks. Seeing
these, he shuddered at first: but then, turning his mind to God, he
remained without fear. They came straight to the corpse of the blessed
old man, and crouched at his feet, wagging their tails, and roaring with
mighty growls, so that Antony understood them to lament, as best they
could. Then they began to claw the ground with their paws, and, carrying
out the sand eagerly, dug a place large enough to hold a man: then at
once, as if begging a reward for their work, they came to Antony,
drooping their necks, and licking his hands and feet. But he perceived
that they prayed a blessing from him; and at once, bursting into praise
of Christ, because even dumb animals felt that He was God, he said,
'Lord, without whose word not a leaf of the tree drops, nor one sparrow
falls to the ground, give to them as thou knowest how to give.' And,
signing to them with his hand, he bade them go.

"And when they had departed, he bent his aged shoulders to the weight of
the holy corpse; and laying it in the grave, heaped earth on it, and
raised a mound as is the wont. And when another dawn shone, lest the
pious heir should not possess aught of the goods of the intestate dead,
he kept for himself the tunic which Paul had woven out of the leaves of
the palm; and returning to the monastery, told his disciples all
throughout; and, on the solemn days of Easter and Pentecost, he always
clothed himself in Paul's tunic."

S. MACARIUS OF EGYPT, AB.

(A.D. 391.)

[Not to be confounded with S. Macarius of Alexandria (Jan. 2nd).
This Macarius is commemorated by the Greeks on Jan. 19th; by the
Roman later Martyrology on Jan. 15th, but in earlier ones on the
same day as the other Macarius, Jan. 2nd. Authorities for his life
are Palladius, in his History Lausiaca, a thoroughly trustworthy
contemporary, Ruffinus, Sozomen, Socrates, Cassian, &c.]

S. Macarius the Elder was born in Upper Egypt, about the year 300, and
was brought up in the country to attend cattle. In his childhood, in
company with some others, he stole some figs and ate one of them; but
from his conversion to his death, he never ceased bewailing this
offence. By a powerful call of divine grace, he was led to desert the
world in his youth, and to take up his abode in a little cell made of
mats. A wicked woman falsely accused him of having deflowered her; for
which supposed crime he was dragged through the streets, beaten and
insulted, as a base hypocrite under the garb of a monk. He suffered all
with patience, and sent the woman what he earned by his work, saying to
himself, "Well, Macarius, having now another to provide for, you must
work all the harder." But the woman, in the anguish of her travail,
confessed that she had maligned him, and told the real name of her
seducer. Then the people regarded him as a Saint, whom lately they would
have slain. To shun the esteem of men he fled into the desert of Scété,
being then about thirty years of age. In this solitude he lived sixty
years, and became the spiritual father of innumerable holy persons, who
put themselves under his direction, and were governed by the rules he
prescribed them; but all dwelt in separate hermitages. S. Macarius
admitted only one disciple with him to entertain strangers.

He was compelled by an Egyptian bishop to receive the order of
priesthood, about the year 340, the fortieth of his age, that he might
celebrate the Divine Mysteries for the convenience of his holy colony.
When the desert became better peopled, there were four churches built in
it, served by as many priests. The austerities of S. Macarius were very
severe. He usually ate but once a week. Evagrius, his disciple, once
asked him leave to drink a little water, under a parching thirst: but
Macarius bade him be satisfied with reposing a little in the shade,
saying, "For these twenty years I have never eaten, drunk, nor slept as
much as nature demanded." To deny his own will, he did not refuse to
drink a little wine, when others desired him; but he would punish
himself for this indulgence by abstaining two or three days from all
manner of drink; and it was for this reason that his disciples desired
strangers never to tender him a drop of wine. He delivered his
instructions in few words, and principally inculcated silence, humility,
mortification and continual prayer, to all sorts of people. He used to
say, "In prayer you need not use many or grand words. You can always
repeat, Lord, show me mercy as Thou knowest best; or, Assist me, O
Lord!"

His mildness and patience were invincible, and occasioned the conversion
of a heathen priest. A young man applying to S. Macarius for spiritual
advice, he directed him to go to a burying place and upbraid the dead;
and after that to go and flatter them. "Well," said Macarius, when the
young man returned, "How did the dead receive thy abuse of them." "They
answered not a word," he replied. "And how did they behave when
flattered?" "They took no notice of that either." "Go," said Macarius,
"and do thou likewise."

A monk complained to Macarius that he could fast in the monastery, but
not in solitude. "Ah!" said the abbot, "thou likest to have people see
that thou art fasting. Beware of vainglory."

God revealed to Macarius that two women in the nearest city excelled him
in virtue, in spite of all his fasting, and tears, and prayer. He took
his staff, and left the desert, and went in quest of them, and lo! they
were two homely married women, of whom no one talked, but who were
extremely careful not to say spiteful things of their neighbours, who
had not the smallest idea that they were saints, and who laboured night
and day to make home pleasant to their husbands and children.

Lucius, the Arian usurper of the see of Alexandria, who had expelled
Peter, the successor of S. Athanasius, in 376, sent troops into the
deserts, to disperse the zealous monks, several of whom sealed their
faith with their blood. The chiefs, the two Macarii, Isidore, Pambo, and
others, were banished, by the authority of the Emperor Valens, to a
little isle of Egypt, in the midst of stagnant marshes. The inhabitants,
who were pagans, were all converted to the faith by these confessors.
The public indignation obliged Lucius to suffer them to return to their
cells.

The Church of God flashes forth some peculiar type of sanctity at one
time, and then another. It is like a rain-drop in the sun, blazing now
crimson, now green, now yellow, now blue. As there is need, God calls up
an army of Saints, exactly adapted to meet the difficulties of the
times, to uphold the truth, and form, as it were, a prop to stay up his
tottering Church. Now it is the martyrs, who by their constancy conquer
the infidels, now it is these hermits of the Syrian and Egyptian
deserts, against whose orthodoxy Arianism breaks and crumbles to powder.
Humanly speaking, these hermits saved the doctrine of the Godhead of
Christ from being denied, and disappearing from the creed of the Church.
An age like the present, so like the condition of the Roman world in its
highest civilization, when pleasure and self-will are the sole things
sought, and when Arianism is in power in high places, and the learned
and polished, admitting the excellency of Christianity in general, allow
to Christ only the place of a founder of a school of religious
thought--such an age as this seems one meet for the revival of the
hermit life as a witness for the truth, and a protest against luxury.
This, and this only, as far as we can judge, will meet the great want of
the day; it is not preaching that will recover the multitude lapsed into
religious indifference; it must be the example of men, believing with
such a fiery faith, that they sacrifice everything the world holds
precious, for the sake of the truth that Jesus Christ, the everlasting
God, came in the Flesh.

Nothing in the wonderful history of the hermits of Egypt is so
incredible as their number. But the most weighty authorities agree in
establishing it. It was a kind of emigration of towns to the desert, of
civilization to simplicity, of noise to silence, of corruption to
innocence. The current once begun, floods of men, of women, and of
children threw themselves into it, and flowed thither during a century,
with resistless force. Let us quote some figures. Pachomius, who died at
fifty-six, reckoned three thousand monks under his rule; his monasteries
of Tabenna soon included seven thousand, and S. Jerome affirms that as
many as fifty thousand were present at the annual gathering of the
general congregation of monasteries which followed his rule.

There were five thousand on the mountain of Nitria alone. Nothing was
more frequent than to see two hundred, three hundred, or five hundred
monks under the same abbot. Near Arsinoë (now Suez), the abbot Serapion
governed ten thousand, who, in the harvest time, spread themselves over
the country to cut the corn, and thus gained the means of living and
giving alms. It has even been asserted that there were as many monks in
the deserts of Egypt as inhabitants in the towns. The towns themselves
were, so to speak, inundated by them, since in 356, a traveller found in
the single town of Oxyrynchus (Abou Girge) upon the Nile, ten thousand
monks and twenty thousand virgins consecrated to God.[52] The immense
majority of these religious were cenobites, that is to say, they lived
in the same enclosure, and were united by common rule and practice under
an elected head, whom they everywhere called abbot, from the Syriac word
_abba_, which means _father_. The cenobitical life superseded rapidly,
and almost completely, the life of solitaries. Scarcely any man became a
solitary until after having been a cenobite, and in order to meditate
upon God during the last years of his life. Custom has, therefore, given
the title of monks to cenobites alone.

Ambitious at once of reducing to subjection their rebellious flesh, and
of penetrating the secrets of the celestial light, these cenobites
united the active with the contemplative life. The various and incessant
labours which filled up their days are known. In the great frescoes of
the cemetery of Pisa, they appear in their coarse black or brown
dresses, a cowl upon their shoulders, occupied in digging up the soil,
in cutting down trees, in fishing in the Nile, in milking the goats, in
gathering the dates which served them for food, in plaiting the mats on
which they were to die. Others are absorbed in reading or meditating on
the Holy Scriptures. Thus a Saint has said that the cells united in the
desert were like a hive of bees. There each had in his hands the wax of
labour, and in his mouth the honey of psalms and prayers. The days were
divided between prayer and work. The work was divided between field
labour and the exercise of various trades. There were among these monks
entire colonies of weavers, of carpenters, of curriers, of tailors, and
of fullers.[53] All the rules of the patriarchs of the desert made
labour obligatory, and the example of their holy lives gave authority to
the rule. When Macarius of Egypt came to visit the great Antony, they
immediately set to work on their mats together, conferring thus upon
things important to souls; and Antony was so edified by the zeal of the
priest, that he kissed his hands, saying, "What virtues proceed from
these hands!"

Each monastery was then a great school of labour; it was also, at the
same time, a great school of charity. The monks practised charity not
only among themselves, and with regard to the poor inhabitants of the
neighbouring countries, but especially in the case of travellers whom
the necessities of commerce called to the banks of the Nile, and of the
numerous pilgrims, whom their increasing fame drew to the desert. A more
generous hospitality had never been exercised, nor had the universal
mercy, introduced by Christianity into the world, blossomed anywhere to
such an extent. A thousand incidents in their history reveal the most
tender solicitude for the miseries of the poor. The _Xenodochium_--that
is, the asylum for the poor and strangers--formed from that time a
necessary appendix to every monastery. The most ingenious combinations,
and the most gracious inspirations of charity are to be found in this
history. A certain monastery served as an hospital for sick children;
another was transformed by its founder into an hospital for lepers and
cripples. "Behold," said he, in shewing to the ladies of Alexandria the
upper floor which was reserved for women, "behold my jacinths." Then
conducting them to the floor below, were the men were placed, "See my
emeralds."

They were hard only upon themselves. Under a burning sky, in a climate
which has always seemed the cause, or the excuse of vice, in a country
given up at all times to every kind of luxury and depravity, there were
thousands of men who, during two centuries, interdicted themselves from
the very shadow of a sensual gratification, and made of the most
rigorous mortification a rule as universal as a second nature.

It was their rule also to cultivate the mind by the study of sacred
literature. The rule of S. Pachomius made the reading of divers portions
of the Bible a strict obligation. All the monks, besides, were required
to be able to read and write. To qualify themselves for reading the
Scriptures was the first duty imposed upon the novices.

When, towards evening, at the hour of vespers, after a day of stifling
heat, all work ceased, and from the midst of the sands, from the depths
of caverns, from pagan temples cleared of their idols, and from all the
vast tombs of a people dead, now occupied by these men dead to the
world, the cry of a living people rose to heaven; when everywhere, and
all at once, the air vibrated with hymns, prayers, and the pious and
solemn, tender and joyous songs of these champions of the soul and
conquerors of the desert, who celebrated, in the language of David, the
praises of the living God, the thanksgivings of the freed soul, and the
homage of vanquished passions,--then the traveller, the pilgrim, and
especially the new convert stood still, lost in emotion, and transported
with the sounds of that sublime concert, cried aloud, "Behold, this is
Paradise."[54]

"Go," said the most eloquent doctor of the Church at that period; "go to
the Thebaid; you will find there a solitude still more beautiful than
Paradise, a thousand choirs of angels under human form, nations of
martyrs, armies of virgins, the diabolical tyrant chained, and Christ
triumphant and glorified."[55]

S. ISIDORE, P. AND MONK IN ALEXANDRIA.

(A.D. 404.)

[Almost all the ancient Martyrologies commemorate S. Isidore on the
same day as S. Macarius the Elder. Authorities for his life, same
as for S. Macarius.]

S. Isidore, priest and monk, lived in Alexandria as hospitaller, that
is, in charge of a hospital for the reception of strangers and the poor.
He suffered many persecutions, first from Lucius, the Arian Bishop, who
ill-treated the two Macarii, and afterwards from the orthodox bishop,
Theophilus, who, moved by some jealousy, unjustly charged him with
favouring the views of Origen. He took refuge at Constantinople with S.
John Chrysostom, where he repudiated the heresy of Origen, declaring
that he was falsely accused of holding it, and died in 404.

S. ALEXANDER, OF THE SLEEPLESS ONES, MONK AT ALEXANDRIA.

(ABOUT A.D. 430.)

[Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea. The life of S. Alexander,
written by a disciple of his, exists in Greek. From this the
following epitome is taken.]

S. Alexander was of Asiatic origin, and was educated at Constantinople,
where he entered the army, and was advanced to the office of eparchus,
or proctor. Being a studious reader of the Old and New Testament, he
often mused on the words of Christ, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and
sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure
in heaven; and come, follow Me." (Matt. xix. 21).

Then, moved by these words, he resolved to obey the command, and he sold
his possessions and made distribution unto those that had need; and
hastening away, into the solitudes of Syria, he became a monk for seven
years.

After that, inflamed with zeal against idolatry, he went into the
nearest city, which was Edessa, on a solemn festival of the heathen
gods, and set fire to the temple. He was at once seized and brought
before the governor, Rabbulus, who remanded him till the rage of the
populace should be abated, and he could be judged with calmness and
equity.

Rabbulus often sent for Alexander out of prison, and heard him gladly.
And Alexander unfolded to him the doctrine of Christ and the great power
of God. And as he expounded to him the Scriptures, he related the
wondrous works of Elijah, how that he had prayed, and God had withheld
the rain three years, and at his prayer had again brought a cloud and
abundance of rain upon the earth, and also how he had cried, and God had
sent fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice. Then, hearing this,
Rabbulus said, "Nay! thou speakest of marvels. If the God of whom thou
tellest wrought those wonders then, He can work them now. Cry unto Him
to send fire on earth, that I may see and believe."

Instantly, filled with confidence, the holy man, Alexander, turned to
the East and spread forth his hands, and prayed; then there fell fire
from heaven, and consumed the mats that were laid upon the ground, but
hurt nothing else. And the Governor bowed his head, and said, "The Lord
He is God, the Lord He is God!" Then he was baptized,[56] he and all his
house, and he suffered Alexander to go forth to the people, and in their
audience plead for the cause of Christ against their false gods. So they
hastened and destroyed their images, and multitudes were added to the
Church. And after that Alexander went away into the desert, where he
heard there was a band of robbers, desiring to save their souls, as
Jesus on the Cross had saved the thief. So the robbers took him, and he
exhorted them, and spake the Word to them, and they believed, they and
their chief, so that he tarried some while with them--they were thirty
in number--and he baptized them. But the robber-chief, as he was being
baptized, prayed in secret. Then said Alexander, "I saw thy lips move.
What was thy petition?" And he answered, "I have been a great sinner,
and I fear my old habits of evil resuming the mastery. I prayed God, if
it were His will, to let His servant depart in peace, now that mine eyes
have seen salvation." The prayer was heard, and the captain died within
eight days, whilst still in the white dress he wore for his baptism. But
Alexander remained with the robbers, and turned their den into a
monastery, and converted the robbers into monks, and they served God in
fasting and prayer. Now when he saw that they were established firmly in
the course of penitence, he appointed one of them to be their abbot, and
he went his way into Mesopotamia, and founded a monastery on the
Euphrates, where he dwelt twenty years, and had very many monks under
him. And after that he visited Antioch, Palmyra, and other cities,
taking with him one hundred and fifty of his monks, that they might
preach the Gospel to those who were yet in heathen darkness. The people
of Palmyra shut their gates against him, saying that such a host of
monks would devour all the produce in the market. Then Alexander and his
brethren halted outside the city for three days, and the heathen people
around brought them food, which they accepted with thanks. After that
Alexander took the Book of the Gospels, and stood in the way, and cried:
"Glory be to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards
men." This was the signal of departure, so the whole moving monastery
deserted their camp and went towards Antioch, where the brother of
Alexander, Peter by name, was superior of a large monastery. Alexander
and one companion went to the gate and knocked. Then the porter looked
forth, and said, "Wait without, till I go to the abbot, and ask
permission for you to enter and refresh yourselves." But Alexander
thrust in on the heels of the porter, and went after him to the abbot's
chamber, and there Peter knew him, and cast himself on his neck. But
Alexander said, "Our father Abraham went forth himself to receive
strangers, and invited them in, and our Lord Jesus Christ exhorted his
followers to show glad hospitality, but thou lettest a wayfaring man
stand without, and makest a favour of admitting him!" Then he turned,
and went away in a rage, and would not eat in the monastery of his
brother. And when they would enter into Antioch, the bishop, Theodotus,
being prejudiced against Alexander, ordered that he and his monks should
be refused admission. So they sat down all day in the heat outside, but
rising up to sing their psalms at midnight, they all went forward
chanting, and no man stayed them, through the streets of Antioch, and
they found an old bath-house, and lodged there. Then the Bishop feared
to disturb them, for all the people magnified them. There they stayed
some time and erected a large hospital, where they cherished the sick
and the poor.

But one Malchus, a sub-deacon, who was greatly offended with the monks,
went to the Bishop, and urged that they should be expelled. And when he
had been given license, he went with all the church sextons and drove
the monks from their lodgings, and he boxed Alexander on the ear,
saying, "Go forth, thou rascal!" But Alexander said nothing, save that
he quoted the words of S. John, "The servant's name was Malchus."
(xviii. 10.) Then the Governor of the city, finding that the people
would take part with the monks, and that a tumult would be made, came
with force, and drave the brethren without the walls. So Alexander and
his monks swarmed off to the Crithenian monastery, which he had founded,
and there he saw that the discipline was admirable.

Thence he went to Constantinople, taking with him from Crithene
twenty-four monks, and in all he was now followed by three hundred, and
they were Greeks, and Romans, and Syrians, and he settled them at Gomon,
on the Bosphorus, near Constantinople, and divided them into six choirs,
who should alternately sing the divine office, so that ceaselessly,
night and day, the praises of Christ might ascend. Thence his order was
called the Acoemeti, or the Sleepless Ones, for, in it, some were ever
watching for the coming of the Bridegroom. However, even in
Constantinople, he was not left in peace, but the civil powers
interfered and broke up the monastery, and the monks were imprisoned and
beaten, and ill-treated in divers ways, so that, for a while, the
incessant song was interrupted. But when the persecution was over, the
monks flowed together again, and the sleepless vigil recommenced.

S. Alexander died and was buried at Gomon.

S. JOHN THE CALYBITE, H.

(ABOUT 450.)

[Commemorated on the same day by Greeks and Latins. Some old
Western Martyrologies honoured him on Feb. 27th. Authority, his
life by Simeon Logotheta.[57]]

S. John the Calybite is the Eastern counterpart of the Western S.
Alexis. At an early age he met a monk of the Sleepless Ones, founded by
S. Alexander, as mentioned in the immediately preceding life; and he was
so struck with what he heard of the religious life, that he desired to
enter it. Returning home, he asked his parents, who were wealthy, to
make him a present of the Holy Gospels. They, surprised that the boy
desired a book, instead of some article of dress or of play, purchased
him a handsomely illuminated and illustrated book of the Gospels. The
boy read, "He that loveth father and mother more than me, is not worthy
of me." Then he ran away from home, and made his way to Gomon, where he
entered the Sleepless order. The archimandrite, or abbot, thinking him
too young, objected to receive him, but when the boy persisted, he made
him undergo the discipline of the monks. He remained there, however, six
years, and then a longing came over him to see his father and mother
again; so he told the superior, who said, "Did I not say to thee, thou
art too young. Go in peace to thy home." So John left the monastery. But
returning home, he did not make himself known to his parents, but,
changing clothes with a beggar, he crouched at the gate of his father's
house and begged. Then his father gave him daily food from his kitchen;
but after a while his mother, disliking the presence of a squalid beggar
at the door, bade the servants remove him to a little cot, and thence he
took his name of Calybite, or Cotter. Three years after, as he was
dying, he sent for his mother, and revealed himself to her.

He was buried beneath the hut, and his parents built a church over his
tomb.

Relics, in the church dedicated to him at Rome; his head at Besançon, in
the church of S. Stephen.

S. MAURUS, AB. OF GLANFEUIL.

(A.D. 584.)

[The life of S. Maurus, professing to be by S. Faustus, is not of
the date it pretends to. It was written by Odo of Glanfeuil (D.
868); it is, however, probable that he used a previous composition
of S. Faustus, monk of Cassino (D. 620), amplifying and altering in
style. Other authorities are S. Gregory the Great, Dialog. II., and
a metrical life, falsely attributed to Paulus Diaconus.]

A nobleman, named Eguitius, gave his little son Maurus, aged twelve, to
the holy patriarch Benedict, to be by him educated. The youth surpassed
all his fellow monks in the discharge of his monastic duties, and when
he was grown up, S. Benedict made him his coadjutor in the government of
Subiaco. Placidus, a fellow-monk, going one day to fetch water, fell
into the lake, and was carried about a bow-shot from the bank. S.
Benedict seeing this from his cell, sent Maurus to run and draw him out.
Maurus obeyed, walked upon the water, without perceiving it, and pulled
out Placidus by the hair, without himself sinking.

The fame of Benedict and his work had not been slow to cross the
frontiers of Italy; it resounded especially in Gaul. A year before the
death of the patriarch, two envoys arrived at Monte Cassino, from
Innocent, Bishop of Mans, who, not content with forty monasteries which
had arisen during his episcopate in the country over which he ruled,
still desired to see his diocese enriched by a colony formed by the
disciples of the new head and law-giver of the cenobites in Italy.
Benedict confided this mission to the dearest and most fervent of his
disciples, the young deacon Maurus. He gave him four companions, one of
whom, Faustus, is the supposed author of the history of the mission; and
bestowed on him a copy of the rule, written with his own hand, together
with the weights for the bread, and the measure for the wine, which
should be allotted to each monk every day, to serve as unchanging types
of that abstinence which was to be one of the strongest points of the
new institution.

At the head of this handful of missionaries, who went to sow afar the
seed destined to produce so great a harvest, Maurus came down from Monte
Cassino, crossed Italy and the Alps, paused beneath the precipices which
overhang the monastery of Agaunum now S. Maurice in the Valais, beside
the foaming Rhone, which the Burgundian king, Sigismund, had just raised
over the relics of the Theban Legion; then went into the Jura to visit
the colonies of Condate. Arrived upon the banks of the Loire, and
repulsed by the successor of the Bishop who had called him, he stopped
in Anjou, which was then governed by a viscount called Florus, in the
name of Theodebert, King of Austrasia. This viscount offered one of his
estates to the disciple of Benedict, that he might establish his colony
there, besides giving one of his sons to become a monk, and announcing
his own intention of consecrating himself to God. On this estate, bathed
by the waters of the Loire, Maurus founded the monastery of Glanfeuil,
which afterwards took his own name. The site of this monastery, now
lost among the vineyards of Anjou, merits the grateful glance of every
traveller who is not insensible to the advantages which flowed from that
first Benedictine colony over the whole of France.

The beloved son of S. Benedict spent forty years at the head of his
French colony; he saw as many as a hundred and forty monks officiate
there; and when he died, after having lived apart for two years in an
isolated cell, to prepare himself in silence for appearing before God,
he had dropped into the soil of Gaul, a germ which could neither perish
nor be exhausted.

In art, S. Maurus is represented holding the weights and measures given
him by S. Benedict.

S. CEOLWULF, K., MONK.

(A.D. 767.)

[Old English Martyrologies on March 14th; later ones on this day,
on which he is commemorated in the Roman Calendar. Authorities:
Bede, Florence of Worcester, William of Malmesbury, Henry
Huntingdon, Simeon of Durham, &c.]

Bede dedicated his "History of the English" to Ceolwulf, King of
Northumbria, whose tender solicitude for monastic interests made the
monk of Jarrow look to him as a patron. Ceolwulf was of the race of Ida
the Burner; after two obscure reigns, Ceolwulf was called to the throne,
and vainly attempted to struggle against the disorder and decay of his
country. He was vanquished and made captive by enemies whose names are
not recorded, and was shut up in a convent. He escaped, however,
regained the crown, and reigned for some time in a manner which gained
the applause of Bede. But after a reign of eight years, a regret, or an
unconquerable desire for that monastic life which had been formerly
forced upon him against his will, seized him. He made the best
provisions possible for the security of his country, and for a good
understanding between the spiritual and temporal authorities, nominating
as his successor a worthy prince of his race. Then, giving up the cares
of power, and showing himself truly the master of the wealth he
resigned, he cut his long beard, had his head shaved in the form of a
crown, and retired to bury himself anew in the holy island of
Lindisfarne, in the monastery beaten by the winds and waves of the
northern sea. There he passed the last thirty years of his life in study
and happiness. He had, while king, enriched this monastery with many
great gifts, and obtained permission for the use of wine and beer for
the monks, who, up to that time, according to the rigid rule of ancient
Keltic discipline, had been allowed no beverage but water and milk.

[Illustration: Decoration]

FOOTNOTES:

[52] For authorities for these statements, see Montalembert's
Monks of the West, I. p. 315.

[53] S. Jerome, Proef. in Reg. S. Pachomii, § 6.

[54] Pallad. Hist. Lausiaca, c. 7.

[55] S. John Chrysostom, in Matt., hom. VIII. The above account
of the life of the monks in Egypt is by the eloquent pen of the Count de
Montalembert.

[56] Rabbulus was afterwards consecrated Bishop of Edessa.

[57] Bollandus gives two lives; one is authentic, the other is
not. The first states that he lived at Constantinople, from which he
escaped to Gomon, threescore furlongs from the city, by water. The
second, mistaking new Rome for old Rome, makes him voyage from Italy to
Bithynia.

January 16.

S. PRISCILLA, _Matron, at Rome, 1st cent._
S. MARCELLUS, _Pope, M., at Rome, circ._ A.D. 309.
S. MELAS, _B. C., at Rhinoclusa, 4th cent._
S. HONORATUS, _B. C., of Arles, circ._ A.D. 430
S. JAMES, _B. C., of the Tarantaise, 5th cent._
S. VALERIUS, _B. C., of Sorrente, circ._ A.D. 600.
S. TATIAN, _B. C., at Underzo, in Italy, 7th cent._
S. FURSEY, _Ab., in France, circ._ A.D. 653.
S. TOSSA, _B. C., of Augsburg_, A.D. 661.
S. HENRY, _H., in Northumberland_, A.D. 1127.
SS. FRANCISCAN MARTYRS, _in Mauritania_, A.D. 1220.

S. PRISCILLA, MATRON, AT ROME.

(1ST CENT.)

[Roman Martyrology. This Priscilla is not to be confounded with the
wife of Aquila (Acts xviii. 26.) She was the mother of S. Pudens (2
Tim. iv. 21), who was the father of SS. Praxedes and Pudentiana,
the guests and disciples of S. Peter. Nothing more is known of
her.]

S. MARCELLUS, POPE, M.

(ABOUT A.D. 309.)

[The Greeks have confounded Marcellus with his predecessor,
Marcellinus, who is commemorated on April 26th. Roman Martyrology,
that of Bede, Ado, Notker, &c. The Acts are not to be trusted.]

Saint Marcellus succeeded Pope Marcellinus, in 308, after the see had
been vacant for three years and a half. An epitaph written on him by
Pope Damasus, says that by enforcing the penitential canons, he drew on
himself the hostility of lukewarm Christians. For his severity to an
apostate he was exiled by the tyrant Maxentius.

Relics, in the church of S. Marcellus at Rome; also at Mons and Namur,
in Belgium.

S. MELAS, B. C. OF RHINOCLUSA.

(4TH CENT.)

[Roman and German Martyrologies. Authority for his life, Sozomen.]

Rhinoclusa, or Rinocorurus, was near the river of Egypt, dividing Egypt
from Palestine; of this city and monastic settlement S. Melas was
Bishop. Sozomen, in his Ecclesiastical History, gives the following
account of him (lib. vi. c. 31):--

"Rinocorurus was celebrated at this period, on account of the holy men
who were born and flourished there. I have heard that the most eminent
among them were Melas, the Bishop of the country; Denis and Solon, the
brothers and successors of Melas. When the decree went forth for the
ejection of all bishops opposed to Arianism, the officers appointed to
execute the mandate found Melas engaged in trimming the lights of the
church, and clad in an old cloak soiled with oil, fastened by a girdle.
When they asked him for the Bishop, he replied that he was within, and
that he would conduct them to him. As they were fatigued with their
journey, he led them to the episcopal dwelling, made them sit down at
his table, and placed before them such things as he had. After the
repast, he supplied them with water to wash their hands, and then told
them who he was. Amazed at his conduct, they confessed the mission on
which they had arrived; but, from respect to him, gave him full liberty
to go wherever he would. He, however, replied that he would not shrink
from the sufferings to which the other bishops, who maintained the same
sentiments as himself, were exposed, and that he was ready to go into
exile. He had been accustomed, from his youth up, to practise all the
virtues of asceticism. The Church of Rinocorurus, having been thus, from
the beginning, under the guidance of such exemplary bishops, never
afterwards swerved from their doctrine. The clergy of this Church dwell
in one house, sit at the same table, and have all things in common."

S. HONORATUS, B. OF ARLES.

(ABOUT A.D. 430.)

[Honoratus, in French Honoré, is commemorated in almost all the
Western Kalendars. His life by his kinsman and successor, S.
Hilary. Another life of him is apocryphal. "A tissue," says
Bollandus, "of fables and crazes;" "which," says Baronius, "cannot
be read without nausea, except by those with iron stomachs, and
wits covered with the rust of ignorance." This life, therefore,
must be completely put aside, as worthless, and we must draw all
our information from that by S. Hilary, Bishop of Arles.]

The sailor who proceeds from the roadstead of Toulon towards Italy or
the East, passes among two or three islands, rocky and dry, surmounted
here and there by a slender cluster of pines. He looks at them with
indifference, and avoids them. However, one of these islands has been,
for the soul and for the mind, a centre purer and more fertile than any
famous isle of the Greek sea. It is Lerins, formerly occupied by a city,
which was already ruined in the time of Pliny, and where, at the
commencement of the fifth century, nothing more was to be seen than a
desert coast, rendered unapproachable by the number of serpents which
swarmed there.

[Illustration: S. HONORÉ. After Cahier. Jan. 16. ]

In 410 a man landed and remained there; he was called Honoratus.
Descended from a consular race, educated and eloquent, but devoted from
his youth to great piety; he desired to be made a monk. His father
charged his eldest brother, a gay and impetuous young man, to turn him
from the ascetic life; but, on the contrary, it was he who gained his
brother. After many difficulties, he at last found repose at Lerins; the
serpents yielded the place to him; a multitude of disciples gathered
round him. A community of austere monks and indefatigable labourers was
formed there. The face of the isle was changed, the desert became a
paradise; a country bordered with deep woods, watered by streams, rich
with verdure, enamelled with flowers, revealed the fertilizing presence
of a new race. Honoratus, whose fine face was radiant with a sweet and
attractive majesty,[58] opened the arms of his love to the sons of all
countries who desired to love Christ. A multitude of disciples of all
nations joined him.

There is, perhaps, nothing more touching in monastic annals than the
picture traced by S. Hilary, one of the most illustrious sons of Lerins,
of the paternal tenderness of Honoratus for the numerous family of monks
whom he had collected round him. He could reach the depths of their
souls to discover all their griefs. He neglected no effort to banish
every sadness, every painful recollection of the world. He watched their
sleep, their health, their food, their labours, that each might serve
God according to the measure of his strength. Thus he inspired them with
a love more than filial. "In him," they said, "we find not only a
father, but an entire family, a country, the whole world." When he wrote
to any of those who were absent, they said, on receiving his letter,
written according to the usage of the time, upon tablets of wax, "It is
honey which he has poured back into that wax, honey drawn from the
inexhaustible sweetness of his heart."

In that island paradise, and under the care of such a shepherd, the
perfume of life breathed everywhere. These monks, who had sought
happiness by renouncing secular life, felt and proclaimed that they had
found it; to see their serene and modest joy, their union, their
gentleness, and their firm hope, one would have believed one's self,
says S. Eucher, in the presence of a battalion of angels at rest.[59]
How S. Honoratus converted S. Hilary by his prayers, as told by S.
Hilary himself, shall be related when we speak of that Saint. Honoratus
was, by compulsion, made to assume the direction of the see of Arles,
and was consecrated Bishop in 426. He died in the arms of S. Hilary, who
succeeded him in 429.

Relics, at S. Honoré, formerly Lerins.

In art, he appears expelling serpents from the isle with his staff.

S. JAMES, B. OF THE TARANTAISE.

(5TH CENT.)

[Authority for his life, a fragmentary life of uncertain date,
published by Bollandus.]

James, of Asiatic origin, and a soldier, was one of the first disciples
of S. Honoratus in his monastic settlement at Lerins. When S. Honoratus
was appointed Archbishop of Arles, he called James to be the first
Bishop of the Tarantaise, the valleys of the Isère and Arc, of which
Moutiers is the modern capital, between the Graian and Pennine Alps. S.
James made Centronum, or Moutiers, the seat of the bishopric, and there
he laboured to convert the people still buried in heathenism. Of him is
related a story very similar to that told of other Saints, viz., that
as his monks were cutting down trees in the forest, for the construction
of his cathedral church, a bear killed one of the oxen which drew the
timber. Then the monks fled in consternation to S. James, who went
boldly to the bear and said, "I, James, the servant of Christ, command
thee, cruel beast, to bow thy stubborn neck to the yoke, in place of the
ox thou hast slain." Then the bear was obedient, and drew the timber to
the church.

S. James is also said to have taken an ass's load of pure snow of the
mountain in mid-summer, as a tribute to Gondecar, King of the
Burgundians, having nothing else to offer, when the king had ordered a
tax to be levied on all the produce of the land.

S. FURSEY, AB.

(ABOUT A.D. 653.)

[Roman, Donegal, and Scottish Martyrologies, but English on March
4th; Feb. 25th is noted in several Kalendars as the festival of the
translation of his relics, also Sept. 28. A very ancient life of S.
Fursey, of the date of Bede, exists; later and more prolix lives
exist, but are of less authority. Bede himself relates the
principal events of the life of this Saint in his history, and
quotes the above-mentioned life, lib. iii. c. 19.]

Fursey, son of Fintan, an Irish prince, was abbot of a monastery in the
diocese of Tuam. Afterwards, travelling with two of his brothers, Fullan
and Ultan, through England, he entered the province of Essex, and was
honourably received by the king, Sigebert, "and performing his usual
employment of preaching the Gospel," says Bede, "by the example of his
virtue, and the efficacy of his discourse, he converted many unbelievers
to Christ, and confirmed in faith and love those that already believed.
Here he fell into some infirmity of body, and was thought worthy to see
a vision from God; in which he was admonished diligently to proceed in
the ministry of the Word, and indefatigably to continue his usual vigils
and prayers. Being confirmed by this vision, he applied himself with all
speed to build a monastery on the ground which had been given him by
King Sigebert, and to establish regular discipline therein. The
monastery was pleasantly situated in the woods, and with the sea not far
off; it was built within the area of a castle called Cnobheresburg
(Burghcastle, in Suffolk.) There, falling sick, he fell into a trance,
and quitting his body from evening till cock-crow, he was found worthy
to behold the choirs of angels, and to hear the praises which are sung
in heaven."

The abbot Fursey, becoming desirous of ridding himself of all business
of this world, quitted his monastery, having first confided the care of
it to his brother Fullan; and resolved to end his life as a hermit. He
repaired to his brother Ultan, who had already adopted the life of a
solitary, and lived a whole year with him in prayer and hard labour.

Afterwards, the province being desolated by war, he crossed the sea to
France, and was there honourably entertained by Clovis, King of the
Franks, and then by the noble Erconwald. He built a monastery at Lagny,
about six miles north of Paris, on the Marne, and falling sick not long
after, departed this life.

Erconwald took his body, and deposited it in the porch of a church he
was building in his town of Peronne, till the church itself should be
dedicated. This happened twenty-seven days after, and the body being
taken from the porch to be re-buried, near the altar, was found as
entire as if he had but just died.

Fursey in _French_ is Fourcy, and in _Flemish_ Fro.

Patron of Lagny and Peronne.

Relics, at Peronne.

In art, (1), with oxen at his feet, because his body was placed on a
wagon, and the oxen allowed to conduct it without guide, and they went
to Peronne; or (2), making a fountain spring up at Lagny, by thrusting
his staff into the soil; or beholding a vision, (3), of angels, or (4),
of the flames of purgatory and hell, in reference to his remarkable
vision.[60]

S. HENRY, H. IN NORTHUMBERLAND.

(A.D. 1127.)

[English Martyrologies. His life in Capgrave.]

S. Henry was of Danish origin. Leaving his parents and wife, he resolved
to serve God in solitude, and escaped to Coquet Island, off the coast of
Northumberland. His relatives came after him, urging him to return to
his home; then, in an agony of doubt, he cast himself before his
crucifix, and implored God to reveal to him what was His will. Then it
seemed to him that the Saviour said to him, "Abide here, play the man,
and strengthen thine heart to resist. I have called thee in mine eternal
purpose."

So he remained, and laboured in the islet, and a few brethren joined
him, but lived in separate cells. And when he died, they heard the bell
of his little hovel ring violently, so they ran, and found him dead,
with the bell rope in his hand, and the candle by his side was alight.

His body was taken to Tynemouth, and was buried in the church of the
Blessed Virgin, near that of S. Oswin.

FOOTNOTES:

[58] S. Eucher, De laude Eremi, p. 342.

[59] So far Montalembert's Monks of the West, Vol. I., Book III.

[60] There is not space to give an account of S. Fursey's
vision, which seems to have been the original of Dante's Divina
Commedia.

January 17.

SS. BRETHREN, SPEUSIPPUS, ELEUSIPPUS, MELEUSIPPUS, AND COMPANIONS,
_MM. in Cappadocia_.
S. GENULPH, _B. in France, 3rd cent._
S. ANTONY THE GREAT, _Ab. in Egypt_, A.D. 356.
S. SABINE, _B. of Piacenza, in Italy, 4th cent._
S. NENN, _Ab. in Ulster, Ireland, 6th cent._
S. SULPICIUS, _B. of Bourges, in France, circ._ A.D. 647.
S. MILDGYTHA, _V. in Kent, circ._ A.D. 730.
S. RICMER, _Ab. at Le Mans, in France, circ._ A.D. 700.

SS. SPEUSIPPUS, ELEUSIPPUS, MELEUSIPPUS, LEONILLA, JONILLA, NEO AND
TURBO, MM.

(DATE UNCERTAIN.)

[Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea. The relics of these Saints
having been moved to Langres, in France, they are sometimes called
Martyrs of Langres, and are supposed to have suffered there; but
this is a mistake. A copy of the Acts of their martyrdom was sent
from Langres by one Varnahair to S. Ceraunus, Bishop of Paris, in
the beginning of the 7th century. The original Acts are said to
have been written by SS. Neo and Turbo, but they have not come down
to us without manifest corruption and interpolation.]

Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus were three sons at a birth of a
believing mother and a heathen father. They were instructed in the
Christian faith by their aunt, Leonilla, and then, in boyish enthusiasm,
they rushed from her knee, where they had been taught, to demolish the
idols in the temples of the city they inhabited. They were taken and
burnt in one pyre, and received the baptism of blood. Jonilla, a woman
standing by, with her little babe in her arms, cried out, "I also am a
Christian, I believe in Christ, my God and my King." Then the judge
ordered her hands to be bound behind her back, and that she should be
hung by her hair. Her husband, horrified at the sentence, implored her
to save her life for his sake and that of the babe; but she answered,
"True, that I gave life to this dear little one, but it is true also
that I owe my life to God, and I cannot set God after my child."
Leonilla, the aunt of the brothers, was executed. Then Neo, who wrote
these Acts, closing his tablets, in which he had inscribed what had
taken place, gave them to his colleague, Turbo, and ran to the image of
Nemesis, and cast it down, and stamped on the marble fragments. And when
the guardians of the temple saw this, they seized him and beat and
stoned him till he yielded up his soul to God. "Turbo also, who wrote
the victories of these confessors, not long afterwards suffered
martyrdom." With these words the Acts close.

These saintly brothers are called in France Les SS. _Jaumes_, that is to
say Gemelli, for Tergemini; sometimes _Geaumes_.

S. GENULPH, B. C.

(3RD CENT.)

[Commemorated on this day at Cahors, of which diocese he is
regarded as the Apostle and first Bishop. He is however mentioned
in several Martyrologies as Bishop of Bourges. It is probable that
he was a missionary Bishop without settled see. Called in the Roman
Martyrology, June 17th, Gundulph; same day and name the same in the
Bourges Breviary, that being the day of his translation, Jan. 17th,
of his death. His life was written by S. Sebastus, three years
after the death of S. Genulph, but this has not come down to us in
its original form. It has, however, doubtless formed the basis of a
life written about A.D. 910, published by Bollandus.]

Genitus and his wife, Aclia, were pious Christians at Rome, serving God
constantly, night and day, and happy in one another's love. But one
thing they lacked which grieved them sore, they had no child. Having
asked God to look upon them and give them a son, He heard their prayer,
and the wife of Genitus brought forth a man-child, and they called him
Genulph, or Gundulph. At the age of five, the parents gave him to S.
Sixtus, Bishop of Rome, to educate him in the knowledge and love of God.
On the breaking out of the Decian persecution, S. Sixtus ordained
Genulph bishop, bade him and his father go into Gaul, and preach the
Gospel there. S. Genulph ever wore a garment of camel's hair, "except
when he celebrated the Holy Mysteries, when he was arrayed in soft
linen, and such other shining vestments as pertain to so great a
mystery. But when the mystery was celebrated, he put on him again the
rough garb."[61] Having entered the territory of the Cadurci, now called
Cahors, he preached the word of God vehemently, and wrought many
miracles of healing. Then he and his father were denounced to the
Governor, and were beaten and scorched with fire, but remained constant
to the faith, witnessing a good profession, so that the Governor
marvelled, and questioned them about their faith, and so was brought to
a knowledge of the truth; and he released the confessors from prison,
and they preached boldly, and multitudes came and were baptized; so
mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. And afterwards he left
Cahors, and went north, till he came to the country of the Bituriges, or
Berry, and there he took up his residence in a haunted cell, which all
the people of the neighbourhood avoided, through fear. But Genulph
sprinkled it with holy water, and signed himself with the cross, and
boldly took up his residence therein, nor was he troubled by evil
spirits. Living in this cell, he laboured diligently with his hands,
cultivating the soil, and keeping very many cocks and hens. The fame of
his sanctity drew others to him, and he became the head of a community.
Also many sick came there to be nursed, and the peasants to be
instructed. Then Genulph fed them with the eggs, and with the hens,
which he killed and roasted. One day a fox came, and carried off a hen.
Hearing the noise in the poultry yard, Genulph ran out, and saw the fox
stealing away with his prey. Then he cried, "Reynard! that hen is not
thine. Wherefore dost thou rob the poor brothers, who have not injured
thee?" And the fox let go the hen unhurt.

When he was dying, he exhorted the brethren to wrap him in sack-cloth and
bury him outside the church, "for it seemed to him unfitting that the
prey of worms and corruption should be placed within the holy
tabernacle."

S. ANTONY THE GREAT, AB.

(A.D. 356.)

[S. Antony is famous in the East as in the West, and is named in
all Kalendars. His life was written by S. Athanasius, and is quite
genuine. S. Antony is also spoken of at length by Sozomen,
Socrates, S. Jerome, Ruffinus, Theodoret, Evagrius, &c. The
following account is a condensed translation of the life of the
great patriarch of monks, by S. Athanasius. It is necessarily very
much abbreviated.]

Antony was an Egyptian by race, born of noble parents,[62] who had a
sufficient property of their own: and as they were Christians, he too
was Christianly brought up, and when a boy was nourished in the house of
his parents, besides whom and his home he knew nought. But when he grew
older, he would not be taught letters,[63] not wishing to mix with other
boys; but all his longing was (according to what is written of Jacob) to
dwell simply in his own house. But when his parents took him into the
Lord's house he was not saucy, as a boy, nor inattentive as he grew
older; but was subject to his parents, and attentive to what was read,
turning it to his own account. Nor, again, did he trouble his parents
for various and expensive dainties; but was content with what he found,
and asked for nothing more. When his parents died, he was left alone
with a little sister, when he was about eighteen or twenty years of age,
and he took care both of his house and of her. But not six months after
their death, as he was going as usual to the Lord's house, and
collecting his thoughts, he meditated, as he walked, how the Apostles
had left all and followed the Saviour; and how those in the Acts brought
the price of what they had sold, and laid it at the Apostles' feet, to
be given away to the poor; and what, and how great, a hope was laid up
for them in heaven. With this in his mind he entered the church. And it
befell then that the Gospel was being read; and he heard how the Lord
had said to the rich man, "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell all that
thou hast, and give to the poor; and come, follow me, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven." Antony, therefore, as if the remembrance of
the saints had come to him from God, and as if the lesson had been read
on his account, went forth at once from the Lord's house, and gave away
to those of his own village the possessions he had inherited from his
ancestors (three hundred plough-lands, fertile and very fair), that they
might give no trouble either to him or his sister. All his moveables he
sold, and a considerable sum which he received for them he gave to the
poor. But having kept back a little for his sister, when he went again
into the Lord's house, he heard the Lord saying in the Gospel, "Take no
thought for the morrow;" and, unable to endure any more delay, he went
out and distributed that too to the needy. And having committed his
sister to known and faithful virgins, and given to her wherewith to be
educated in a nunnery, he himself thenceforth devoted himself, outside
his house, to training; taking heed to himself, and using himself
severely. For monasteries were not then common in Egypt, nor did any
monks know the wide desert; but each, who wished to take heed to
himself, exercised himself alone, not far from his own village. There
was then, in the next village, an old man who had trained himself in a
solitary life from his youth. When Antony saw him, he emulated him in
that which is noble. And first he began to stay outside the village; and
then, if he heard of any earnest man, he went to seek him, and did not
return till he had seen him. So dwelling there at first, he settled his
mind neither to look back towards his parents' wealth nor to recollect
his relations; but he put all his longing and all his earnestness on
training himself more intensely. For the rest he worked with his hands,
because he had heard, "If any man will not work, neither let him eat;"
and of his earnings he spent some on himself and some on the needy. He
prayed continually, because he knew that one ought to pray secretly,
without ceasing. He attended also so much to what was read, that with
him none of the Scriptures fell to the ground, but he retained them all,
and for the future his memory served him instead of books. Behaving
thus, Antony was beloved by all; and submitted truly to the earnest men
to whom he used to go. And from each of them he learnt some improvement
in his earnestness and his training: he contemplated the courtesy of
one, and another's assiduity in prayer; another's freedom from anger;
another's love of mankind: he took heed to one as he watched; to another
as he studied: one he admired for his endurance, another for his fasting
and sleeping on the ground; he laid to heart the meekness of one, and
the long-suffering of another; and stamped upon his memory the devotion
to Christ and the mutual love which all in common possessed. And thus
filled full, he returned to his own place of training, gathering to
himself what he had got from each, and striving to show all their
qualities in himself. He never emulated those of his own age, save in
what is best; and did that so as to pain no one, but make all rejoice
over him. And all in the village who loved good, seeing him thus, called
him the friend of God; and some embraced him as a son, some as a
brother.

But the devil, who hates and envies what is noble, would not endure such
a purpose in a youth: but attempted against him all that he is wont to
do; suggesting to him the remembrance of his wealth, care for his
sister, relation to his kindred, love of money, love of glory, the
various pleasures of luxury, and the other solaces of life; and then the
harshness of virtue, and its great toil; and the weakness of his body,
and the length of time; and altogether raised a great dust-cloud of
arguments in his mind, trying to turn him back from his righteous
choice. But when the enemy saw himself to be too weak for Antony's
determination, then he attacked him with the temptations which he is
wont to use against young men; but Antony protected his body with faith,
prayers, and fastings. At last, when the evil one could not overthrow
Antony even thus, as if beside himself he appeared to the sight as a
black child, and falling down before him, no longer tempted him to
argue, but using a human voice, said, "I have deceived many; I have cast
down many. But now I have been worsted in the battle." Then, when Antony
asked him, "Who art thou who speakest thus to me?" he forthwith replied
in a pitiable voice, "I am the spirit of impurity."

[Illustration: S. ANTHONY TORTURED BY DEMONS.
From the Design by Martin Schonguer.
Jan. 17.]

This was Antony's first struggle against the devil: or rather this
mighty deed in him was the Saviour's, who condemned sin in the flesh
that the righteousness of the Lord should be fulfilled in us, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. But neither did Antony,
because the evil one had fallen, grow careless and despise him; neither
did the enemy, when worsted by him, cease from lying in ambush against
him. Antony ate once a day, after the setting of the sun, and sometimes
only once in two days, often even in four; his food was bread with salt,
his drink nothing but water. When he slept he was content with a
rush-mat; but mostly he lay on the bare ground. He would not anoint
himself with oil, saying that it was more fit for young men to be
earnest in training than to seek things which softened the body; and
that they must accustom themselves to labour. So forgetting the past, he
daily, as if beginning afresh, took more pains to improve, saying over
to himself continually the Apostle's words, "Forgetting what is behind,
stretching forward to what is before." Antony then went to the tombs,
which happened to be some way from the village; and having bidden one of
his acquaintances bring him bread at intervals of many days, he entered
one of the tombs, and, shutting the door upon himself, remained there
alone. But Satan, terrified lest in a little while he should fill the
desert with his training, coming one night with a multitude of daemons,
beat him so much with stripes that he lay speechless from the torture.
But by the providence of God, the next day his acquaintance came,
bringing him the loaves. And having opened the door, and seeing him
lying on the ground for dead, he carried him to the Lord's house in the
village, and laid him on the ground; and many of his kinsfolk and the
villagers sat round him, as round a corpse. But about midnight, Antony
coming to himself, and waking up, saw them all sleeping, and only his
acquaintance awake, and, nodding to him to approach, begged him to carry
him back to the tomb, without waking any one. When that was done, the
door was shut, and he remained as before, alone inside. And because he
could not stand on account of the daemon's blows, he prayed prostrate.
And after his prayer, he said with a shout, "Here am I, Antony: I do not
fly from your stripes; yea, do your worst, nothing shall separate me
from the love of Christ." And then he sang, "Though an host were laid
against me, yet shall not my heart be afraid." So then, in the night,
the devils made such a crash, that the whole place seemed shaken, and
the daemons, as if breaking in the four walls of the room, seemed to
enter through them, changing themselves into the shapes of beasts and
creeping things; and the place was forthwith filled with shapes of
lions, bears, leopards, bulls and snakes, asps, scorpions and wolves,
and each of them moved according to his own fashion. The lion roared,
longing to attack; the bull seemed to toss; the serpent writhed, and the
wolf rushed upon him; and altogether the noises of all the apparitions
were dreadful. But Antony lay unshaken and awake in spirit. He groaned
at the pain of his body: but clear in intellect, and as it were mocking,
he said, "If there were any power in you, it were enough that one of you
should come on; but since the Lord has made you weak, therefore you try
to frighten me by mere numbers. And a proof of your weakness is, that
you imitate the shapes of brute animals." And taking courage, he said
again, "If ye can, and have received power against me, delay not, but
attack; but if ye cannot, why do ye disturb me in vain? For a seal to us
and a wall of safety is our faith in the Lord." The devils, having made
many efforts, gnashed their teeth at him, because he rather mocked at
them than they at him. But neither then did the Lord forget Antony's
wrestling, but appeared to help him. For, looking up, he saw the roof as
it were opened, and a ray of light coming down towards him. The devils
suddenly became invisible, and the pain of his body forthwith ceased,
and the building became quite whole. But Antony, feeling the succour,
and getting his breath again, and freed from pain, questioned the vision
which appeared, saying, "Where wert thou? Why didst thou not appear to
me from the first, to stop my pangs?" And a voice came to him, "Antony,
I was here, but I waited to see thy fight. Therefore, since thou hast
withstood, and hast not been worsted, I will be to thee always a
succour, and will make thee become famous everywhere." Hearing this, he
rose and prayed, and was so strong, that he felt that he had more power
in his body than he had before. He was then about thirty-and-five years
old. And on the morrow he went out, and was yet more eager for devotion
to God; and, going to that old man aforesaid, he asked him to dwell with
him in the desert. But when he declined, because of his age, and because
no such custom had yet arisen, he himself straightway set off to the
mountain. But the fiend cast in his way a great silver plate. But
Antony, perceiving the trick of him who hates what is noble, stopped.
And he judged the plate worthless; and said, "Whence comes a plate in
the desert? This is no beaten way. Had it fallen, it could not have been
unperceived, from its great size; and besides, he who lost it would have
turned back and found it, because the place is desert. This is a trick
of the devil. Thou shalt not hinder, devil, my determination by this:
let it go with thee into perdition." Then again he saw gold lying in the
way as he came up. Antony, wondering at the abundance of it, stepped
over it and never turned, but ran on in haste, until he had lost sight
of the place. And growing even more and more intense in his
determination, he rushed up the mountain, and finding an empty enclosure
full of creeping things, on account of its age, he dwelt in it. The
creeping things straightway left the place: but he blocked up the entry,
having taken with him loaves for six months (for the Thebans do this,
and they often remain a whole year fresh), and having water with him,
entering, as into a sanctuary, he remained alone, never going forth, and
never looking at any one who came. Thus he passed a long time there
training himself, and only twice a year received loaves, let down from
above through the roof. But those of his acquaintance who came to him,
as they often remained days and nights outside (for he did not allow any
one to enter), used to hear as it were crowds inside clamouring,
thundering, lamenting, crying, "Depart from our ground. What dost thou
even in the desert? Thou canst not abide our onset." At first those
without thought that there were some men fighting with him, and that
they had got in by ladders: but when, peeping in through a crack, they
saw no one, then they took for granted that they were devils. His
acquaintances came up continually, expecting to find him dead, and heard
him singing, "Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; let them
also that hate Him flee before Him. Like as the wax melteth at the fire,
so let the ungodly perish at the presence of God." And again, "All
nations compassed me round about, but in the name of the Lord will I
destroy them."

He endured this for twenty years, training himself alone; neither going
forth, nor being seen by any one for long periods of time. But after
this, when many longed for him, and wished to imitate his training, and
others who knew him came, and would have burst in the door by force,
Antony came forth, as from some inner shrine, initiated into the
mysteries of God. And when they saw him they wondered; for his body had
neither grown fat, nor waxed lean from fasting, but he was just such as
they had known him before his retirement. They wondered again at the
purity of his soul, because it was neither contracted, as if by grief,
nor relaxed by pleasure, nor possessed by laughter or by depression; for
he was neither troubled at beholding the crowd, nor over-joyful at
being saluted by too many; but was altogether equal, as being governed
by reason, and standing on that which is according to nature. Many
sufferers in body, who were present, did the Lord heal by him. And He
gave to Antony grace in speaking, so that he comforted many who grieved,
and reconciled others who were at variance, exhorting all to prefer
nothing in the world to the love of Christ, and persuading and exhorting
them to be mindful of the good things to come, and of the love of God
towards us, who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all.
He persuaded many to choose the solitary life; and so, thenceforth,
cells sprang up in the mountains, and the desert was colonized by monks.

But when he returned to the cell, he persisted in the noble labours of
his youth; and by continued exhortations he increased the willingness of
those who were already monks, and stirred to love of training the
greater number of the rest; and quickly, as his speech drew men on, the
cells became more numerous; and he governed them all as a father.

The cells in the mountains were like tents filled with divine choirs,
singing, discoursing, fasting, praying, rejoicing over the hope of the
future, working that they might give alms thereof, and having love and
concord with each other. And there was really to be seen, as it were, a
land by itself, of piety and justice; for there was none there who did
wrong, or suffered wrong; but a multitude of men training themselves,
and in all of them a mind set on virtue. After these things, the
persecution which happened under the Maximinus of that time,[64] laid
hold of the Church; and when the holy martyrs were brought to
Alexandria, Antony too followed, leaving his cell, and saying, "Let us
depart too, that we may wrestle if we be called, or see them wrestling."
And he longed to be a martyr himself, but, not choosing to give himself
up, he ministered to the confessors in the mines, and in the prisons.
And he was very earnest in the judgment-hall to excite the readiness of
those who were called upon to wrestle; and to receive and bring on their
way, till they were perfected, those of them who went to martyrdom. At
last the judge, seeing the fearlessness and earnestness of him and those
who were with him, commanded that none of the monks should appear in the
judgment-hall, or haunt at all in the city. So all the rest thought good
to hide themselves that day; but Antony cared so little for the order,
that he washed his cloak, and stood next day upon a high place, and
appeared to the Governor in shining white. Therefore, when all the rest
wondered, and the Governor saw him, and passed by with his array, he
stood fearless. He himself prayed to be a martyr, and was like one
grieved, because he had not borne his witness. But the Lord was
preserving him for our benefit, and that of the rest, that he might
become a teacher to many in the training which he had learnt from
Scripture. For many, when they only saw his manner of life, were eager
to emulate it. So he again ministered continually to the confessors;
and, as if bound with them, wearied himself in his services. And when at
last the persecution ceased, and the blessed Bishop Peter had been
martyred, he left the city, and went back to his cell. And he was there,
day by day, a martyr in his conscience, and wrestling in the conflict of
faith; for he imposed on himself a much more severe training than
before; and his garment was within of hair, without of skin, which he
kept till his end.

When, then, he retired, and had resolved neither to go forth himself,
nor to receive any one, one Martinian, a captain of soldiers, came
and gave trouble to Antony. For he had with him his daughter, who was
possessed by a devil. And while he remained a long time knocking at the
door, and expecting him to come to pray to God for the child, Antony
could not bear to open, but leaning from above, said, "Man, why criest
thou to me? I, too, am a man, as thou art. But if thou believest, pray
to God, and it shall come to pass." Forthwith, therefore, he believed,
and called on Christ; and went away, his daughter made whole. Most of
the sufferers, when he did not open the door, sat down outside the
cell, and praying, were cleansed. But when he saw himself troubled by
many, and not being permitted to retire, as he wished, being afraid
lest he himself should be puffed up by what the Lord was doing by him,
or lest others should count of him above what he was, he resolved to
go to the Upper Thebaid, to those who knew him not. And, in fact,
having taken loaves from the brethren, he sat down on the bank of the
river, watching for a boat to pass, that he might embark and go up in
it. And as he watched, a voice came to him: "Antony, whither art thou
going, and why?" And he, not terrified, but as one accustomed to be
often called thus, answered when he heard it, "Because the crowds will
not let me be at rest; therefore am I minded to go up to the Upper
Thebaid, on account of the many annoyances which befall me; and above
all, because they ask of me things beyond my strength." And the voice
said to him, "Even if thou goest up to the Thebaid, even if, as thou
art minded to do, thou goest down to the cattle pastures,[65] thou
wilt have to endure more; but if thou wilt really be at rest, go now
into the inner desert." And when Antony said, "Who will show me the
way, for I have not tried it?" forthwith he was shown Saracens who
were going to journey that road. So, going to them, and drawing near
them, Antony asked leave to depart with them into the desert. They
willingly received him; and, journeying three days and three nights
with them, he came to a very high mountain;[66] and there was water
under the mountain, clear, sweet, and very cold, and a plain outside;
and a few neglected date-palms. Then Antony, as if stirred by God,
loved the spot. Having received bread from those who journeyed with
him, he remained alone in the mount, no one else being with him. For
he recognized that place as his own home, and kept it thenceforth. And
the Saracens themselves seeing Antony's readiness, came that way on
purpose, and joyfully brought him loaves; and he had, too, the solace
of the dates, which were then small and paltry. But after this, the
brethren, having found out the spot, like children remembering their
father, were anxious to send things to him; but Antony saw that, in
bringing him bread, some were put to trouble and fatigue; so he asked
some who came to him to bring him a hoe and a hatchet, and a little
corn; and when these were brought, having gone over the land round the
mountain, he found a very narrow place which was suitable, and tilled
it; and, having plenty of water to irrigate it, he sowed; and, doing
this year by year, he got his bread from thence, rejoicing that he
should be burdensome to no one on that account. But after this, seeing
again some people coming, he planted also a very few pot-herbs, that
he who came might have some small solace, after the labour of that
hard journey. At first, however, the wild beasts in the desert, coming
on account of the water, often hurt his crops and his tillage; but
he, gently laying hold of one of them, said to them all, "Why do you
hurt me, who have not hurt you? Depart, and, in the name of the Lord,
never come near this place." And from that time forward, as if they
were afraid of his command, they never came near the place. So he was
there alone in the inner mountain, having leisure for prayer and for
training. But the brethren who ministered to him asked him that they
might bring him olives, and pulse, and oil every month; for, after all,
he was old.

Being once asked by the monks to come down to them, and to visit them
and their places, he journeyed with the monks who came for him. A camel
carried their loaves and their water, for that desert is all dry, and
there is no drinkable water except in that mountain where his cell is.
But when the water failed on the journey, and the heat was most intense,
they all began to be in danger; for finding no water, they could walk no
more, but lay down on the ground, and they let the camel go, and gave
themselves up. Then the old man, seeing them in danger, was grieved, and
departing a little way from them, he bent his knees, and stretching out
his hands, he prayed, and forthwith the Lord caused water to come out
where he had stopped and prayed. Thus all of them drinking, took breath
again; and having filled their skins, they sought the camel, and found
her; for it befell that the halter had been twisted round a stone, and
thus she had been stopped. So, having brought her back, and given her to
drink, they put the skins on her, and went through their journey
unharmed. And when they came to the outer cells, all embraced him,
looking on him as a father. And there was joy again in the mountains,
and comfort through their faith in each other. And he too rejoiced,
seeing the willingness of the monks, and his sister grown old in
maidenhood, and herself the leader of other virgins. And so, after
certain days, he went back again to his own mountain.

And after that many came to him; and others, who suffered, dared also to
come. Now to all the monks who came to him he gave continually this
command: To trust in the Lord and love Him, and to keep themselves from
foul thoughts and fleshly pleasures; and not to be deceived by fulness
of bread; and to avoid vainglory; and to pray continually; and to sing
before sleep and after sleep; and to lay by in their hearts the
commandments of Scripture; and to remember the works of the Saints, in
order to have their souls attuned to emulate them. But especially he
counselled them to meditate continually on the Apostle's saying, "Let
not the sun go down upon your wrath;" and this he said was spoken of all
commandments in common, in order that, not on wrath alone, but on every
other sin, the sun should never go down; for it was noble and necessary
that the sun should never condemn us for a baseness by day, nor the moon
for a sin or even a thought by night; therefore, in order that that
which is noble may be preserved in us, it was good to hear and to keep
what the Apostle commanded: for he said, "Judge yourselves, and prove
yourselves." Let each then take account with himself, day by day, of his
daily and nightly deeds; and if he has not sinned, let him not boast,
but let him endure in what is good and not be negligent, neither condemn
his neighbour, neither justify himself until the Lord comes who searches
secret things. For we often deceive ourselves in what we do. Giving
therefore the judgment to Him, let us sympathize with each other; and
let us bear each other's burdens, and examine ourselves; and what we are
behind in, let us be eager to fill up. And let this, too, be our counsel
for safety against sinning. Let us each note and write down the deeds
and motions of the soul as if we were about to relate them to another;
and be confident that as we shall be utterly ashamed that they should
be known, we shall cease from sinning, and even from desiring anything
mean. As therefore, when in each other's sight we dare not commit a
crime, so if we write down our thoughts, and confess them, we shall keep
ourselves the more from foul thoughts, for shame lest they should be
known. And thus forming ourselves we shall be able to bring the body
into slavery, and please the Lord on the one hand, and on the other
trample on the snares of the enemy. This was his exhortation to those
who met him: but with those who suffered he suffered, and prayed with
them. And those who suffered he exhorted to keep up heart, and to know
that the power of cure was none of his, nor of any man's; but only
belonged to God, who works when and whatsoever He chooses. So the
sufferers received this as a remedy, learning not to despise the old
man's words, but rather to keep up heart; and those who were cured,
learned not to bless Antony, but God alone.

But when two brethren were coming to him, and water failed them on the
journey, one of them died, and the other was about to die. In fact,
being no longer able to walk, he too lay upon the ground expecting
death. But Antony, as he sat on the mountain, called two monks who
happened to be there, and hastened them, saying, "Take a pitcher of
water, and run on the road towards Egypt; for of two who are coming
hither one has just expired, and the other will do so if you do not
hasten. For this has been showed to me as I prayed." So the monks,
going, found the one lying dead, and buried him; and the other they
recovered with the water, and brought him to the old man. Now the
distance was a day's journey. But this alone in Antony was wonderful,
that sitting on the mountain he kept his heart watchful, and the Lord
showed him things afar off.

And concerning those who came to him, he often predicted some days, or
even a month, beforehand, and the cause why they were coming. For some
came only to see him, and others on account of sickness, and all thought
the labour of the journey no trouble, for each went back aware that he
had been benefited.

But how tolerant was his temper, and how humble his spirit! for though
he was so great, he wished to put every ecclesiastic before himself in
honour. For to the bishops and priests he bowed his head; and if a
deacon came to him, he discoursed with him on what was profitable, but
in prayer he gave place to him. He often asked questions, and deigned to
listen to all present, confessing that he was profited if any one said
aught that was useful. Moreover, his countenance had great and wonderful
grace; and this gift too he had from the Saviour. For if he was present
among the multitude of monks, and any one who did not previously know
him wished to see him, as soon as he came, he passed by all the rest,
and ran to Antony himself, as if attracted by his eyes. He did not
differ from the rest in stature or in stoutness, but in the steadiness
of his temper, and the purity of his soul; for as his soul was
undisturbed, his outward senses were undisturbed likewise, so that the
cheerfulness of his soul made his face cheerful. And he was altogether
wonderful in faith, and pious, for he never communicated with the
Meletian[67] schismatics, knowing their malice and apostasy from the
beginning; nor did he converse amicably with Manichaeans or any other
heretics, save only to exhort them to be converted to piety. For he held
that their friendship and converse was injury and ruin to the soul. So
also he detested the heresy of the Arians, and exhorted all not to
approach them, nor hold their misbelief.[68]

Being sent for by the bishops and all the brethren, he went down from
the mountain, and entering Alexandria, he denounced the Arians, teaching
the people that the Son of God was not a created thing, but that He is
the Eternal Word and Wisdom of the Essence of the Father. Wherefore he
said, "Do not have any communication with these most impious Arians; for
there is no communion between light and darkness. For you are pious
Christians: but they, when they say that the Son of God, who is from the
Father, is a created being, differ nought from the heathen, because they
worship the creature instead of the Creator." All the people therefore
rejoiced at hearing that heresy anathematized by such a man; and all
those in the city ran together to see Antony; and the Greeks,[69] and
those who are called their priests, came into the church, wishing to see
the man of God. And many heathens wished to touch the old man, believing
that it would be of use to them; and in fact as many became Christians
in those few days as would have been usually converted in a year. And
when some thought that the crowd troubled him, he quietly said that they
were not more numerous than the fiends with whom he wrestled on the
mountain. But when he left the city, and we were setting him on his
journey, when we came to the gate, a certain woman called to him: "Wait,
man of God, my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil; wait, I
beseech thee, lest I too harm myself with running after thee." The old
man hearing it, and being asked by us, waited willingly. But when the
woman drew near, the child dashed itself on the ground; and when Antony
prayed and called on the name of Christ, it rose up sound, the unclean
spirit having gone out; and the mother blessed God, and we all gave
thanks: and he himself rejoiced at leaving the city for the mountain, as
for his own home.

Now he was very prudent; and what was wonderful, though he had never
learnt letters, he was a shrewd and understanding man.

When some philosophers met him in the outer mountain, and thought to
mock him, because he had not learnt letters, Antony answered, "Which is
first, the sense or the letters? And, which is the cause of the other,
the sense of the letters, or the letters of the sense?" And when they
said that the sense came first, Antony replied, "If then the sense be
sound, the letters are not needed." So they went away wondering, when
they saw so much understanding in an unlearned man. For though he had
lived, and grown old, in the mountain, his manners were not rustic, but
graceful and courteous; and his speech was seasoned with the divine
salt.

The fame of Antony reached even the kings, for Constantine, and his
sons, Constantius and Constans, hearing of these things, wrote to him as
to a father, and begged to receive an answer from him. But he did not
make much of the letters, nor was puffed up by their messages; and he
was just the same as he was before the kings wrote to him. And he called
his monks and said, "Wonder not if a king writes to us, for he is but a
man: but wonder rather that God has written His law to man, and spoken
to us by His own Son." So he declined to receive their letters, saying
he did not know how to write an answer to such things; but being
admonished by the monks that the kings were Christians, and that they
must not be scandalized by being despised, he permitted the letters to
be read, and wrote an answer; accepting them because they worshipped
Christ, and counselling them, for their salvation, not to think the
present life great, but rather to remember judgment to come; and to know
that Christ was the only true and eternal king; and he begged them to
be merciful to men, and to think of justice and the poor. And they, when
they received the answer, rejoiced. Thus was he kindly towards all, and
all looked on him as their father. He then betook himself again into the
inner mountain, and continued his accustomed training. But often, when
he was sitting and walking with those who came unto him, he was
astounded, as is written in Daniel. And after the space of an hour, he
told what had befallen to the brethren who were with him, and they
perceived that he had seen some vision. Often he saw in the mountain
what was happening in Egypt, and once he told what he had seen, to
Serapion the Bishop, who saw him occupied with a vision. For as he sat,
he fell as it were into an ecstasy, and groaned much at what he saw.
Then, after an hour, turning to those who were with him, he fell into a
trembling, and rose up and prayed, and bending his knees, remained so a
long while; and then the old man rose up and wept. The bystanders,
therefore, trembling and altogether terrified, asked him to tell them
what had happened, and they tormented him so much, that he was forced to
speak. And he groaning greatly--"Ah! my children," he said, "it were
better to be dead than to live and behold the things that I have seen
shall come to pass." And when they asked him again, he said with tears,
that "Wrath will seize on the Church, and she will be given over to men
like unto brutes, which have no understanding; for I saw the table of
the Lord's house, and mules standing all around it in a ring and kicking
inwards, as a herd does when it leaps in confusion; and ye all perceived
how I groaned, for I heard a voice saying, 'My sanctuary shall be
defiled.'"

This the old man saw, and after two years there befell the present
inroad of the Arians,[70] and the plunder of the churches, when they
carried off the holy vessels by violence, and made the heathen carry
them: and when too they forced the heathens from the prisons to join
them, and in their presence did on the Holy Table what they would.[71]
Then we all perceived that the kicks of those mules foreshadowed to
Antony what the Arians are now doing, without understanding, as brute
beasts. But when Antony saw this sight, he exhorted those about him,
saying, "Lose not heart, children; for as the Lord has been angry, so
will He again be appeased, and the Church shall soon receive again her
own order and shine forth as she is wont; and ye shall see the
persecuted restored to their place, and impiety retreating again into
its own dens, and the pious faith speaking boldly everywhere with all
freedom. Only defile not yourselves with the Arians, for this teaching
is not of the Apostle, but of their father the devil; barren and
irrational like the deeds of those mules."

All the magistrates asked him to come down from the mountain, that they
might see him, because it was impossible for them to go in thither to
him. And when he declined, they insisted, and even sent to him prisoners
under the charge of soldiers, that at least on their account he might
come down. So being forced by necessity, and seeing them lamenting, he
came to the outer mountain. And his labour this time too was profitable
to many, and his coming for their good. To the magistrates, he was of
use, counselling them to prefer justice to all things, and to fear God,
and to know that with what judgment they judged they should be judged in
turn. But he loved best of all his life in the mountain. Once again,
when he was compelled in the same way to leave it, by those who were in
want, and by the general of the soldiers, who entreated him earnestly,
he came down, and having spoken to them somewhat of the things which
conduced to salvation, he was pressed also by those who were in need.
But being asked by the general to lengthen his stay, he refused, and
persuaded him by a graceful parable, saying, "Fishes, if they lie long
on the dry land, die; so monks who stay with you lose their strength. As
the fishes then hasten to the sea, so must we to the mountain, lest if
we delay we should forget what is within."

Another general, named Balacius, bitterly persecuted us Christians on
account of his affection for those abominable Arians. His cruelty was so
great that he even beat nuns, and stripped and scourged monks. Antony
sent him a letter to this effect:--"I see wrath coming upon thee. Cease,
therefore, to persecute the Christians, lest the wrath lay hold upon
thee, for it is near at hand." But Balacius, laughing, threw the letter
on the ground, and spat on it; and insulted those who brought it,
bidding them tell Antony, "Since thou carest for monks, I will soon come
after thee likewise." And not five days had passed, when the wrath laid
hold on him. For Balacius himself, and Nestorius, the Eparch of Egypt,
went out to the first station from Alexandria, which is called
Chaereas's. Both of them were riding on horses belonging to Balacius, and
the most gentle in all his stud: but before they had got to the place,
the horses began playing with each other, as is their wont, and suddenly
the more gentle of the two, on which Nestorius was riding, attacked
Balacius and pulled him off with his teeth, and so tore his thigh that
he was carried back to the city, and died in three days.

But the rest who came to Antony he so instructed that they gave up at
once their lawsuits, and blessed those who had retired from this life.
And those who had been unjustly used he so protected, that you would
think he, and not they, was the sufferer. And he was able to be of use
to all; so that many who were serving in the army, and many wealthy
men, laid aside the burdens of life and became thenceforth monks; and
altogether he was like a physician given by God to Egypt. For who met
him grieving, and did not go away rejoicing? Who came mourning over his
dead, and did not forthwith lay aside his grief? Who came wrathful, and
was not converted to friendship? What poor man came wearied out, and,
when he saw and heard him, did not despise wealth and comfort himself in
his poverty? What monk, who had grown remiss, was not strengthened by
coming to him? What young man coming to the mountain and looking upon
Antony, did not forthwith renounce pleasure and love temperance? Who
came to him tempted by devils, and did not get rest? Who came troubled
by doubts, and did not get peace of mind? For this was the great thing
in Antony's asceticism, that (as I have said before), having the gift of
discerning spirits, he understood their movements, and knew in what
direction each of them turned his endeavours and his attacks. And not
only he was not deceived by them himself, but he taught those who were
troubled in mind how they might turn aside the plots of devils, teaching
them the weakness and the craft of their enemies. How many maidens, too,
who had been already betrothed, and only saw Antony from afar, remained
unmarried for Christ's sake! Some, too, came from foreign parts to him,
and all, having gained some benefit, went back from him as from a
father. He was visiting, according to his wont, the monks in the outer
mountain, and having learned from Providence concerning his own end, he
said to the brethren, "This visit to you is my last, and I wonder if we
shall see each other again in this life. It is time for me to set sail,
for I am near a hundred and five years old." And when they heard that,
they wept, and kissed the old man. And he, as if he were setting out
from a foreign city to his own, spoke joyfully, and exhorted them not to
grow idle in their labours, or cowardly in their training, but to live
as those who died daily. And when the brethren tried to force him to
stay with them and make his end there, he would not endure it, on many
accounts, as he showed by his silence; and especially on this:--The
Egyptians are wont to wrap in linen the corpses of good persons, and
especially of the holy martyrs, but not to bury them underground, but to
lay them upon benches and keep them in their houses;[72] thinking that
by this they honour the departed. Now Antony had often asked the bishops
to exhort the people about this, and, in like manner, he himself rebuked
the laity and terrified the women; saying that it was a thing neither
lawful, nor in any way holy; for that the bodies of the patriarchs and
prophets are to this day preserved in sepulchres, and that the very body
of our Lord was laid in a sepulchre, and a stone placed over it to hide
it, till He rose the third day. And thus saying, he showed that those
broke the law who did not bury the corpses of the dead, even if they
were saints; for what is greater or more holy than the Lord's body?
Many, then, when they heard him, buried their dead thenceforth
underground; and blessed the Lord that they had been taught rightly.
Being then aware of this, and afraid lest they should do the same by his
body, he hurried himself, and bade farewell to the monks in the outer
mountain; and coming to the inner mountain, where he was wont to abide,
after a few months he grew sick, and calling those who were by--and
there were two of them who had remained there within fifteen years, he
said to them, "I indeed go the way of the fathers, as it is written, for
I perceive that I am called by the Lord. Promise to bury me secretly, so
that no one shall know the place, save you alone, for I shall receive my
body incorruptible from my Saviour at the resurrection of the dead. And
distribute my garments thus. To Athanasius, the bishop, give one of my
sheepskins, and the cloak under me, which was new when he gave it me,
and has grown old by me; and to Serapion, the bishop, give the other
sheepskin; and do you have the hair-cloth garment. And for the rest,
children, farewell, for Antony is going, and is with you no more."

Saying this, when they had embraced him, he stretched out his feet, and,
as if he saw friends coming to him, and grew joyful on their account
(for, as he lay, his countenance was bright), he departed and was
gathered to his fathers. And they forthwith, as he had commanded them,
preparing the body and wrapping it up, hid it under ground: and no one
knows to this day where it is hidden, save those two servants only.

In art, S. Antony appears (1), with a hog which has a bell attached to
its neck. Sometimes, however, S. Antony holds the bell. He was regarded
as the Patron of the Hospitallers; and when ordinances were passed
forbidding the poor from allowing their swine to run loose about the
streets, as they were often in the way of horses, an exception was made
in favour of the pigs of the hospitallers, on consideration of their
wearing a bell round their necks. But it is possible that this did not
originate the symbol, but that rather, on account of the hog being the
symbol of S. Antony, the Antonine Hospitallers were allowed to preserve
theirs, and that the hog represents the flesh which S. Antony
controlled, and the bell is a common symbol of hermits; (2), he is
represented with his peculiar cross. The cross of S. Antony is a
crutch, or the Egyptian cross, like the letter T.

S. SABINE, B. OF PIACENZA.

(END OF 4TH CENT.)

[Authorities: Roman Martyrology and the Dialogues of S. Gregory the
Great, lib. III., c. 10.]

S. Sabine or Savine, was of Roman origin; he was made Bishop of Piacenza
in Italy, and was present at the great Council of Nicaea, and also at
that of Aquileija. S. Gregory relates of him, that on one occasion the
river Po had overflowed its banks, and was devastating the church lands.
Then Sabine said to his deacon, "Go and say to the river, 'The Bishop
commands thee to abate thy rage, and return into thy bed.'" But the
deacon refused to go, thinking he was sent on a fool's errand. Therefore
Sabine said to his notary, "Write on a strip of parchment these words,
Sabine, servant of the Lord Jesus Christ to the river Po, greeting:--I
command thee, O river, to return into thy bed, and do no more injury to
the lands of the church, in the name of Jesus Christ, our common Lord."
And when the notary had thus written, the Bishop said, "Go, cast this
into the river." And he did so; then the flood abated, and the Po
returned within its banks, as aforetime. After having governed his
diocese forty-five years, he died on December 11th, and was buried in
the church of the Twelve Apostles, but now known as the church of S.
Savine, on Jan. 17th.

S. MILDGYTHA, V. (ABOUT A.D. 730.)

[Mildgytha, Mildwitha, Milgith or Milwith, as she is variously
called, is commemorated in the English Kalendars.]

Nothing more is known of S. Mildgytha than that she was the youngest
sister of S. Mildred and S. Milburgh, and daughter of S. Ermenburga and
Merewald, Prince of Mercia, who was the son of the terrible Penda, the
great enemy of Christianity in Mid-England. Mildgytha, like her sisters,
took the veil, and died a nun at Canterbury.

[Illustration: The Chair of S. Peter in the Vatican.]

[Illustration: S. PETER'S COMMISSION, "FEED MY FLOCK."]

[Illustration: THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. Jan. 18.]

FOOTNOTES:

[61] Vita, ex duobus veteribus MSS., Bolland. II. p. 83

[62] He is said to have been born at Coma, near Heracleia, in
Middle Egypt, A. D. 251.

[63] Seemingly the Greek language and literature.

[64] A.D. 301. Galerius Valerius Maximinus (his real name was
Daza) had been a shepherd-lad in Illyria, like his uncle Galerius
Valerius Maximianus; and rose, like him, through the various grades of
the army to be co-Emperor of Rome, over Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor; a
furious persecutor of the Christians, and a brutal and profligate
tyrant. Such were the "kings of the world" from whom those old monks
fled.

[65] The lonely alluvial flats at the mouths of the Nile.
"Below the cliffs, beside the sea," as one describes them.

[66] Now the monastery of Deir Antonios, over the Wady el
Arabah, between the Nile and the Red Sea, where Antony's monks endure to
this day.

[67] Meletius, Bishop of Lycopolis, was the author of an
obscure schism calling itself the "Church of the Martyrs," which refused
to communicate with the rest of the Eastern Church.

[68] Arius (whose most famous and successful opponent was
Athanasius, the writer of this biography) maintained that the Son of God
was not co-equal and co-eternal with the Father, but created by Him out
of nothing, and before the world. His opinions were condemned in the
famous Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325.

[69] _I.e._ those were still heathens.

[70] Probably that of A.D. 341, when Gregory of Cappadocia,
nominated by the Arian Bishops, who had assembled at the Council of
Antioch, expelled Athanasius from the see of Alexandria, and great
violence was committed by his followers and by Philagrius the Prefect.
Athanasius meanwhile fled to Rome.

[71] _I.e._ celebrated there their own Communion.

[72] Evidently the primaeval custom of embalming the dead, and
keeping mummies in the house, still lingered among the Egyptians.

January 18.

S. PETER'S CHAIR, _at Rome_, A.D. 43.
S. PRISCA, _V. M., at Rome, about_ A.D. 50.
SS. PAUL AND THIRTY-SIX COMPANIONS, _MM., in Egypt_.
SS. ARCHELAA, THECLA, AND SUSANNA, _V., MM., at Salerno, in Italy_,
A.D. 285.
S. VOLUSIAN,_ B. C. of Tours, in France, circ._ A.D. 400.
SS. LIBERATA AND FAUSTINA, _VV., at Como, in Italy, circ._ A.D. 580.
S. LEOBARD, _H., Marmoutier, France, circ._ A.D. 583.
S. DEICOLUS, _Ab. of Lure, in Burgundy, beginning of 7th cent._
S. FACE, C., _at Cremona, in Italy_, A.D. 1272.

S. PETER'S CHAIR.

(A.D. 43.)

[All ancient Latin Martyrologies. The commemoration having,
however, died out, it was restored by Pope Paul IV. The feast of
the Chair of S. Peter is found in a copy of the ancient
Martyrology, passing under the name of S. Jerome, made in the time
of S. Willibrod, in 720.]

It was an ancient custom observed by churches to keep an annual feast of
the consecration of their bishops, and especially of the founding of the
episcopate in them. The feast of S. Peter's Chair is the commemoration
of the institution of the patriarchal see of Rome by S. Peter, the
Prince of the Apostles. "This day," says S. Augustine (Serm. xv. de
Sanctis), "has received the name of the Chair from our predecessor,
because S. Peter, the first of the Apostles, is said on this to have
taken the throne of his episcopate. Rightly, therefore, do the churches
venerate the natal day of that chair which the Apostle received for the
good of the churches."

The ancient wooden seat of S. Peter is preserved in the Vatican. That S.
Peter founded the church at Rome by his preaching is expressly asserted
by Caius, an ecclesiastical writer born about A.D. 202,[73] who relates
that he and S. Paul suffered there. The same is affirmed by Dionysius,
Bishop of Corinth, in the second age.[74] S. Irenaeus, who lived in the
same age, calls the Church of Rome "the greatest and most ancient
church, founded by the two glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul."[75]
Eusebius says, "Peter, that powerful and great Apostle, like a noble
commander of God, fortified with divine armour, bore the precious
merchandise of the revealed light from the east to those in the west,
and came to Rome, announcing the light itself, and salutary doctrine of
the soul, the proclamation of the kingdom of God."[76] And he adds that
his first epistle was said to have been composed at Rome, and that he
shows this fact, by calling the city by an unusual trope, Babylon; thus,
"The Church of Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you." (1
Pet. v. 13.[77])

S. PRISCA, V. M., AT ROME.

(ABOUT A.D. 50.)

[Roman Martyrology. She is often confounded with S. Priscilla
mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, the wife of Aquila, but
called Prisca in the second epistle of Paul to Timothy. What adds
to the confusion is, that S. Prisca is said in her Acts to have
suffered under Claudius, but whether Claudius, who reigned from
41-54, or the second Claudius, who reigned from 263 to 270, is not
stated; but it seems probable that it was under the first
Claudius.[78] The Acts of S. Prisca are a forgery, and deserve no
confidence. The following account is taken from the Martyrologies.]

S. Prisca, a maiden of consular birth, being accused of Christianity,
at the age of thirteen, was ordered by the Emperor Claudius to
sacrifice to idols. On her steadfastly refusing, she was beaten with
the hand and cast into prison. On the morrow she was again urged to
sacrifice, but when she remained invincible, she was beaten with rods,
and then taken back to prison. The third day she was exposed to a lion,
which however crouched at her feet, doing her no injury. Then, having
been tortured on the little horse, with hooks and pincers, she was led
outside of the city, and was decapitated.

An eagle is said to have defended her body from dogs, till Christians
came and buried it.

SS. PAUL AND THIRTY-SIX COMPANIONS, MM. IN EGYPT.

(DATE UNCERTAIN.)

[From the ancient Acts in Bollandus and Ruinart.]

In Egypt thirty-seven Christian soldiers entered into a zealous
confederacy to spread the Gospel throughout the country. Their leader
was one Paul. They divided themselves into four companies. Paul and nine
others went eastwards. Recumbus, with eight more, went to the north;
Theonas, with the like number, to the south; and Popias, with the
remainder, to the west. The Governor of Egypt, alarmed at the report he
heard of this confederacy, sent troops to apprehend them, and when they
were brought before him he ordered them to instant execution; those who
went to the east and south, to be burnt; those who went to the north to
be beheaded, and those who travelled west to be crucified. They
suffered on the 18th January, but in what year is not mentioned.

SS. ARCHELAA, THECLA, AND SUSANNA, VV., MM. AT SALERNO.

(ABOUT A.D. 285.)

[The Acts of these martyrs constitute the lections for this day in
the Salerno Breviary.]

Archelaa, a virgin consecrated to God, during the persecution of
Diocletian, took refuge with two maidens, Thecla and Susanna, in a
private house outside the walls of Nola, in Campania, hoping to remain
unnoticed till the storm was passed. But Leontius, Governor of Salerno,
having heard that they were Christians, ordered them to be brought
before him. Archelaa was exposed to lions, but was unhurt; then the
inhuman judge ordered boiling oil and pitch to be poured over her naked
body. In her agony, she spread her hands to heaven, and cried: "Look, O
Lord, on us, and be mindful of thy servants. Extinguish the fire which
consumes me, and cool my tortured body, refreshing me after the wounds
the wicked one has dealt me!" Then a sudden sunbeam shot from between
the clouds upon her, and a voice was heard, "O Martyr, fear not! A crown
is laid up for thee in heaven. Fear not, I am with thee, and I will give
thee refreshment and succour." Then Leontius ordered Archelaa, Thecla,
and Susanna to have their heads smitten off with the executioner's
sword.

S. LEOBARD, H., AT MARMOUTIER.

(ABOUT A.D. 583.)

[Gallican Martyrologies. Authority: the life of S. Leobard, written
by his friend, S. Gregory of Tours.]

Leobard was the son of noble parents in Auvergne. The youth loved study
and prayer. On reaching his majority, his father urged him to marry, but
the young man, having no wish to take to himself a wife, refused. The
father, however, pressed him so strongly, that at last he consented to
be betrothed. "Then," says S. Gregory, "the ring, the kiss, and the shoe
were given, and the betrothal feast was kept." But Leobard lost his
father shortly after, and taking the betrothal gifts, he rode to his
brother's house, to make them over to him. He found his brother so drunk
that he did not even invite him to stay the night with him, so Leobard
tied up his horse, and crept into a hay loft and slept there. But in the
middle of the night he woke, and his mind turned to the importance of
saving his soul, and of striving to be like Christ. Then he resolved to
renounce the world wholly; but first to seek counsel at the tomb of S.
Martin at Tours. From Tours he went to Marmoutier, and joined himself to
a hermit named Alaric, who spent his time in making parchment and
writing out Holy Scripture. Leobard lived in a cave, which he dug out of
the rock, enlarging it and improving it as he saw fitting; and here he
spent twenty-two years in prayer and study and writing, and in labour
with his hands. He was frequently visited by S. Gregory of Tours, who
was his personal friend. On a Sunday, being very ill, he said to him who
ministered to him in his sickness, "Prepare me some food." "It is ready,
sir," answered the servant shortly after. "Go forth," said the hermit,
"and see if the people are returning from mass." And this he said
because he knew that his hour was come, and he desired to be alone with
God when he migrated. So the servant went out and looked towards the
church, and waited, and presently he returned to say that he saw the
congregation drifting homewards, then he saw his master lying dead upon
the ground, and he, too, was going home.

S. DEICOLUS, AB. OF LURE.

(BEGINNING OF 7TH CENT.)

[Deicolus, in Irish _Deichul_, in French _Déel_, _Dèlé_, _Dielf_,
_Dieu_, or _Diel_, is commemorated on this day in the Roman
Martyrology and in the Anglican Kalendars. His translation is
observed on Feb. 15th or Nov. 21st. His life was written by an
anonymous author about the year 700.]

Deicolus quitted Ireland, his native country, with S. Columbanus,
and lived with him, first in the kingdom of the East Angles, and
afterwards at Luxeuil, the great monastery he founded in France. When
S. Columbanus was expelled by the fierce Queen Brunehaut and her son
Thierri, King of Burgundy, Deicolus followed him, but his strength
failing him, he was unable to continue in the companionship of the
energetic and active Columbanus; therefore, falling at the feet of his
superior, he besought his permission to retire to some solitude where
he could serve God in tranquillity. Then Columbanus, compassionating
the exhaustion of his companion, said in a fatherly tone, "God
Almighty, out of love to whom thou didst leave thy country, and hast
ever obeyed me, make us together to rejoice in the presence of His
Majesty." And when they had long clasped each other, and had shed many
tears, then the abbot blessed his follower with these words, "The
Lord give thee blessing out of Zion, and make thee to see Jerusalem
in prosperity all thy life long." Then he hastily tore himself away
weeping, and Deicolus remained alone in Burgundy. And after he had
knelt down and commended himself to God, he turned and went through the
wild tangled thicket and waste lands, seeking where he might settle.
But the country was a wilderness without habitation. Then, by chance,
he lighted on a swineherd, who was feeding pigs on acorns in the
forest; who was much surprised to see a stranger. But Deicolus said,
"Fear not, my brother, I am a monk. And now I beseech thee, show me a
commodious spot where I may settle." Then the swineherd mused and said,
"There is no such place in this wilderness, save a little lake we call
Luthra, with fresh springs." And when Deicolus urged him to conduct him
thither, the swineherd said, "I cannot do so, for I shall lose my hogs
if I leave them without a keeper." But Deicolus took his staff, and
planted it in the ground, and said, "Be without fear, my staff shall
be thy substitute, and the swine will not stray till thou returnest."
Then the pigwarden believed the word of the man of God, and he left his
swine, and guided Deicolus to the place called Luthra; and there was
a little chapel, dedicated to S. Martin, built by a gentleman named
Weifhardt, where service was occasionally performed by his chaplain.[79]

Now Deicolus was pleased with the place, and he dwelt in the forest, and
every day he visited the little chapel and opened the door and went in,
and there he prayed. But the priest who served that chapel was very
wroth, and he spoke to the people, saying, "There is a man, a sort of
hermit, who haunts the woods, and he intrudes on this chapel, and uses
it, as if it were his own private property. If he be caught here by me,
I swear that I will beat him well."

Then the people choked the windows and door with brambles and thorns, to
prevent the ingress of the hermit. Nevertheless, regardless of the
impediment, he came as usual. So the priest complained to Weifhardt, who
flew into a rage, and ordered his servants to scour the woods for
Deicolus, and when they had caught him, savagely to maltreat him. All
which they obeyed. But shortly after, the gentleman fell sick of a most
painful disorder, and when his wife, Berthilda, thought that he must
die, she considered that perhaps the disease was sent in punishment for
the injury done to the hermit. Therefore she bade her servants find him
and bring to the sick-bed. Now when Deicolus heard that Weifhardt was
grievously tormented, mindful of the command of Christ, to return good
for evil, he hasted and went to the castle of the gentleman, and entered
the room. And as the day was hot, and he had walked fast, he plucked off
his mantle, for he was heated. Then the servants ran to take it from
him, but Deicolus exclaimed, "On him who serves God the elements attend,
and he needeth not the assistance of man." Then, seeing a sunbeam shot
through the window, he cast his mantle upon it, and it rested on the
sunbeam.[80]

And when he had prayed, the Lord healed the gentleman; and Berthilda
gave Deicolus the farm of Luthra, and the little chapel, and the wood
adjoining. Then the hermit walked round the land given him, and he
rejoiced and cried, "This shall be thy rest for ever; here shalt thou
dwell, for thou hast a delight therein."

Now it happened one day, as he sat reading in his cell, that King
Clothaire II. was hunting in the forest, and his dogs pursued a wild
boar, and when the beast was hard pressed, it rushed into the oratory of
Deicolus, covered with foam. Thereupon the hermit extended his hand, and
laid it on the boar, and said, "Believe me, because thou hast taken
refuge in the love of the brethren, thy life shall be spared to-day."
Then the hunters came up, with the hounds, and they found the boar lying
panting before the altar, and the man of God standing at the door to
protect the beast. So the King asked Deicolus who he was, and whence he
came, and when the hermit had told him that he was the disciple of
Columbanus, who had promised to him in old times that he should reign
over three kingdoms, which now had come to pass, he gave to Deicolus the
game in the wood and the fish in the waters, and some vineyards. So
Deicolus gathered brethren, and built a monastery. And after a time the
abbot Deicolus became desirous of visiting Rome, so he went with some of
his brethren, and obtained a charter from the Pope, conferring
privileges on his monastery. After his return he remained some years
governing his monks, ever cheerful and of amiable disposition; the joy
and peace of his soul beamed in his countenance. S. Columbanus once said
to him in his youth, "Deicolus, why art thou always smiling?" He
answered in simplicity, "Because no one can take my God from me."

The year of his death is not known with certainty. It was on the 18th
January that he heard God's call to depart. Then he took the Holy
Sacrament, and after having communicated himself, he kissed all the
brethren, and when he had kissed the last he fell asleep.

[Illustration: Baptism and Confirmation, from a Painting in the
Catacombs.]

FOOTNOTES:

[73] Euseb. Hist. Eccl., lib. II. c. 25.

[74] Euseb. lib. II. c. 25.

[75] Lib. III. c. 3.

[76] Euseb. lib. II. c. 14.

[77] Ibid. c. 15.

[78] That Claudius I. did persecute the Church appears from
Acts xviii. 2. Why Alban Butler should give S. Prisca the date 275,
after the death of the second Claudius, when all notices of her are
unanimous in saying she suffered under Claudius I., I am at a loss to
conjecture.

[79] Lure is in the diocese of Besançon, among the Vosges
mountains, between Vesoul and Belfort.

[80] A similar story is told of S. Goar (July 6th), S. Florence
(Nov. 7th), S. Amabilis (Oct. 19th), S. Cuthman (Feb. 8th), S. David,
abbot in Sweden (July 15th), S. Hildevert, B. of Meaux (May 27th), S.
Robert of Chaise-Dieu, S. Cunegunda, S. Odo of Urgel, S. Leonore, S.
Lucarus of Brixen, S. Bridget, B. Utho of Metten, and the Blessed Alruna
of Altaich. I give it for what it is worth. The story is traditional,
not having been consigned to writing for a hundred years after the death
of S. Deicolus.

January 19.

S. GERMANICUS, _M., at Smyrna, in Asia Minor_, A.D. 161.
SS. MARIS, MARTHA, AUDIFAX, AND HABAKKUK, _MM., near Rome_, A.D. 270.
S. BASSIAN, _B. of Lodi, in Italy, circ._ A.D. 409.
S. CATELLUS, _B. of Castellamare, in Italy_, A.D. 617.
S. LAUNOMAR, _P., Ab. of Corbion, in France_, A.D. 593.
S. REMIGIUS, _B. of Rouen, circ._ A.D. 771.
SS. BLAITHMAIC, _Ab._, AND COMPANIONS, _Monks and MM., at Iona, in
Scotland_, A.D. 824.
S. CANUTE, _K. M., in Denmark_, A.D. 1086. _See_ July 10.
S. WULSTAN, _B. of Worcester_, A.D. 1095.
S. HENRY, _B. M., at Upsala, in Sweden_, A.D. 1150.

S. GERMANICUS, M.

(A.D. 161.)

[Roman Martyrology, and those of Usuardus, Ado, Notker and that
attributed to Bede, also the later ones of Maurolycus, Bellinus and
Galesinius, sometimes also on Feb. 18. Authority, the contemporary
Epistle of the Church of Smyrna to the Church of Pontus, describing
the martyrdom of SS. Germanicus, Polycarp, and others; quoted by
Eusebius, lib. IV. c. 15.]

The Epistle of the Church of Smyrna, narrating its sufferings under the
Emperors Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius, says:--"Germanicus, a
noble youth, was particularly pre-eminent as a martyr, for, strengthened
by divine grace, he overcame the natural dread of death implanted in us;
although the pro-consul was desirous of persuading him, and urged him
from consideration of his youth, that, as he was so young and blooming,
he should take compassion on himself. He, however, hesitated not, but
eagerly irritated the wild beast let loose upon him, that he might be
the sooner freed from this unjust and lawless generation."

The Acts of this martyr have been lost.

SS. MARIS, MARTHA, AUDIFAX AND HABAKKUK, MM.

(A.D. 270.)

[Modern Roman Martyrology, but the ancient Roman Martyrology
commemorated them on Jan. 20th, so did that attributed to S.
Jerome, and many others. Authority, the authentic Acts.]

In the time of the Emperor Claudius II., there came a man from Persia,
named Maris, with his wife Martha, and his two sons, Audifax and
Habakkuk, to Rome, where they sought out the Christians who were in
prison, and ministered to them.

At this time Claudius had given orders for the suppression of
Christianity. Two hundred and sixty Christians were condemned to work in
the sand-pits on the Salarian way; but were afterwards brought into the
amphitheatre, and were killed with arrows, and their bodies thrown on a
pyre. Maris and his sons withdrew the bodies from the fire, and with the
assistance of a priest, named John, they buried many of them in the
catacomb on the Salarian way. And in the evening, passing under a house,
they heard singing, and they knew that what they heard was a Christian
canticle. Then they struck at the door, and those who were within feared
to open, thinking it was the soldiers come to take them; but the bishop,
who was with the congregation, went boldly to the door and opened it;
then they knew that these were Christians who stood without; so they
fell on their necks and kissed them.

Now it fell out that Maris and his wife and sons were in the house of
Asterius, a new convert, on a certain occasion, with Valentine the
priest, when the soldiers entered the house and took all within before
the Emperor, who remanded them to Muscianus, the prefect, to be by him
sentenced according to their deserts.

Muscianus ordered Maris and his two sons to be beaten, and then to be
placed on the little horse and tortured with iron hooks and lighted
torches, but Martha to stand by, and see her husband and children
tormented. As they remained constant, he commanded their hands to be
struck off. Then Martha stooped and dipped her finger in their blood,
and signed her brow therewith. Exasperated to the last degree, the judge
ordered Maris and the two sons to be decapitated in a sand-pit, and
Martha to be drowned in a well, all which was carried into
execution.[81] A pious matron, named Felicitas, rescued the bodies, and
buried them in her farm.

S. BASSIAN, B. OF LODI.

(ABOUT A.D. 409.)

[Roman and many other Martyrologies. Double feast with octave at
Lodi. Authorities, his life by an anonymous author, of uncertain
date, also the lections for this day in the Lodi Breviary. S.
Ambrose, in his 60th letter, speaks of S. Bassian.]

Bassian was the son of Sergius, praefect of Syracuse, a heathen. As a
child he is said to have scrawled the sign of the cross in the dust, and
was rebuked for so doing by his nurse. This set him wondering, and his
mind turned to the religion of the Crucified, so that when sent to Rome,
at the age of twelve, to be educated in the liberal arts, he sought out
those who reverenced that sign which his nurse had forbidden him to
scribble. A priest, named Gordian, instructed the lad in the Christian
faith, and finally baptized him. As soon as his father heard of his
conversion, he sent orders to have him brought home at once. Then
Bassian, fearing the result, should he be re-conducted to Syracuse, ran
away to Ravenna. On his way occurred one of those simple and touching
incidents which abound in the lives of the saints, and which in spite of
repetition, must be related. A stag with her two fawns bounded into the
road, the hunters were in pursuit, the stag was not willing to desert
her little ones, and they were too young to make good their escape.
Seeing the distress of the mother, Bassian called to her, and she came
to him with her fawns, and licked his feet, as he caressed her dappled
hide. Soon after the hunters came up, and one more impetuous than the
rest, attempted to take the stag. Then Bassian threw his arms round her
neck, and called on God to protect her. Instantly the man, whose anger
had flamed up at the resistance offered him, fell in an apoplectic fit;
and when he recovered, withdrew in fear, without injuring the stag.

In the reign of Valerian, Bassian was elected Bishop of Lodi, and ruled
the diocese with zeal and discretion. He built in his Cathedral city the
church of the Twelve Apostles, and S. Ambrose assisted in its
dedication. Bassian was with S. Ambrose when he died.

S. LAUNOMAR, AB. OF CORBION.

(A.D. 593.)

[S. Launomar, called in French _Laumer_ or _Lomer_, is commemorated
in the Gallican Martyrologies. His life was written by one who
apparently knew him, as we may conclude from certain passages
therein.]

S. Laumer as a boy kept his father's sheep near Chartres; afterwards,
having learned his letters, he heard the call of God, and gave himself
up to his service. He was ordained priest, and entering a monastery, was
appointed steward. However, such a life did not suit him, and he retired
into the forest, escaping from the monastery one stormy night, when all
the brethren were asleep, taking in his hand nothing save his staff. He
took refuge in the depths of the forest, where he hoped none would find
him, but his sanctity becoming known, disciples flocked to him. Two
miracles occur in his forest life very similar to those related of other
saints. One night as he prayed, the Prince of the power of the Air,
hoping to frighten him, by leaving him in the dark, thrice extinguished
his light, and thrice was it rekindled. One day he saw a hind pursued by
wolves, he ordered the wolves to desist from pursuing the poor animal,
which came and crouched at his feet, whilst he patted it. Then he gave
the hind his blessing and dismissed it. When the number of his disciples
increased, so that he felt his solitude dissolved, Laumer fled away
again, and hid himself in the wood, where afterwards rose the monastery
of Corbion, near Dreux. But a city set on a hill cannot be hid, his cell
of green leaves and wattles soon became the centre of a colony of monks,
and a nobleman whose land this was, gave it to him, that he might build
thereon a monastery. One instance of the gentleness of S. Laumer
deserves not to be passed over. During the night, some robbers stole a
cow belonging to the monks. The brethren were in despair. The robbers
however, had lost their way in the tangled forest, as they drove the cow
away, and they wandered all night and the next day, unable to discover
the road; when, as evening settled in, they saw the forest lighten, and
they came out, driving the cow, upon the clearing of the monastery, and
S. Laumer himself stood before them. They at once fell at his feet,
asking his pardon, and imploring him to direct them aright; but he
raised them, and said, "I thank you, kind friends, for finding and
bringing back to me my strayed cow; you must be very tired and hungry,
follow me." Then he led them into his hut, and set before them such
things as he had, and they ate and were refreshed, and he set them on
their right road, but of course, without the cow.

SS. BLAITHMAC AND COMP. MONKS, M.M.

(A.D. 824)

[Irish Martyrologies. Authority:--The Acts of S. Blaithmac written
in verse by his contemporary Walafrid Strabo, and the Irish
Annals.]

S. Blaithmac was a native of Ireland, son of Flann, perhaps one of the
southern Niells, princes of Meath, the names of Flann and Blaithmac
having been common in that family. He was heir to a principality, but he
abandoned his prospects in this world to become a monk, and afterwards
an abbot. Blaithmac had an ardent desire to visit foreign parts, but he
was prevented by his friends and companions from leaving Ireland. At
length he passed over to Iona, which was shortly after invaded by a
party of Northmen. As he was anxious to receive the crown of martyrdom,
he determined to remain there whatever might happen, and by his example
induced some others to stay with him, advising those who feared death to
take refuge on the mainland. While he was celebrating mass the Danes
burst into the church, and having slaughtered the monks, demanded of the
abbot where was the precious shrine of S. Columba. This had been carried
off and concealed underground, where the abbot knew not. Accordingly he
answered that he was ignorant where it was, and added that even if he
had known, he would not have pointed out the spot to them. They then put
him to death. The Ulster Annals give his martyrdom in 825-828. The Irish
annals generally agree in fixing his death at 823 (A.D. 824). Mabillon
was wrong in supposing it took place in 793. Blaithmac is derived from
Blaith, a flower; hence his latinized name is Florigenius or Florus.

S. WULSTAN, B. OF WORCESTER.

(A.D. 1095.)

[Anglican and German and Roman Martyrologies. Authorities: his life
by Florence of Worcester (D. 1118),[82] and William of Malmesbury,
written 47 years after the death of S. Wulstan; another in Roger of
Wendover, and numerous notices in other old English historians. He
is called variously Wulstan and Wulfstan.]

S. Wulstan was born in Warwickshire of pious parents. His father's name
was Ealstan, and his mother's Wulfgeova. Both his parents were so
devoted to the religious life, that, by mutual consent, they retired
into monastic houses. Inspired by such examples, but chiefly by his
mother's persuasion, Wulfstan quitted the world whilst yet young, and
took the monastic habit in the same monastery in Worcester where his
father had devoted himself to the service of God. He was there ordained
deacon, and then priest, by the bishop. Observing a very strict course
of life, he soon became remarkable for his vigils, fasting and prayers.
In consequence of his discipline of himself, he was first appointed
master of the novices, and afterwards, on account of his acquaintance
with the ecclesiastical services, precentor and treasurer of the church.
Being now intrusted with the custody of the church, he embraced the
opportunities it afforded him for being almost perpetually in the sacred
edifice, spending whole nights before the altar in prayer; and when he
was exhausted with fatigue, he lay on one of the church benches, and
placed his prayer-book beneath his head as a pillow.

After some time, on the death of the prior, Bishop Aldred appointed
Wulstan to succeed him. As prior, he preached every Lord's Day to the
people, with so great unction, that they were moved to tears. One of the
monks grumbled, and said that Wulfstan forgot his place,--it was the
office of the bishop to preach, and that of the monk to hold his tongue.
Hearing this, Wulfstan said, "My brother, the Word of God is not bound."

Although very abstemious and moderate in his diet, he had not refrained
from meat, till one day that roast goose was being prepared for dinner,
the fragrance filled the church, and Wulstan, who was at the altar
celebrating mass, was so distracted with the delicious odour, for he was
very hungry, as it was the late choral mass, that he could not collect
his thoughts. Then, filled with shame, before he left the altar he vowed
never to touch meat again, and he kept this vow to his dying day.

On the elevation of Aldred, Bishop of Worcester, to the archbishopric of
York, by unanimous consent of the clergy and laity in the election of a
successor, Wulstan was chosen; the king having granted them permission
to elect whom they pleased.

It chanced that the legates from the Pope were present at the election,
but neither they nor the clergy and people could persuade Wulstan to
accept the charge, of which he declared himself to be unworthy. At last,
being sharply reproved for his obstinate willfulness by Wulfsi, a
hermit, and being strongly urged by S. Edward the Confessor, then king,
he yielded, and was consecrated on the Feast of the Nativity of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, 1062.

As bishop, Wulstan maintained the same severity towards himself; every
day he sang the late high mass; it being usual for the priests to take
the choral mass by weeks, in turns, it being very trying, as the
celebrant had to remain fasting till a late hour. Wulstan not only sang
the high mass daily, but also all the canonical hours, and when he rode
on journeys, he had his book open before him on the pommel of his
saddle, and he chanted aloud the psalms of David.

As the old church and monastic buildings reared by S. Oswald were being
demolished, to make way for more splendid edifices, Wulstan stood one
day, and looked at the roofless church, and the walls that were being
torn down, and his eyes filled with tears. "Why should you weep," said a
monk, standing by; "you should rather laugh, to see the meanness of the
first house swept away, to make room for a glorious second one." "No,"
answered Wulstan, "I see nothing to rejoice over in the demolition of
the work of our Saints. True, they knew not how to rear a stately
building; but under a mean roof, they offered the adorable sacrifice to
God with great devotion, and set saintly examples to their flock; and
we--we collect and carve the stones of the material temple, and neglect
the edification of that which is spiritual--the souls of men."

Below him in church sat a curly-headed choir boy. One day the bishop
bent down, and laying his hand on the glossy curls, said, "All these
will fall off one day!" Then the boy in alarm, turned round and said,
"Oh, save my curls for me!" "My child, do not fear, as long as I live
you shall retain your abundant hair." And so he did, for many long
years, till Wulstan died, and then, says the chronicler who records this
strange little incident, his hair came off as the bishop had
foretold.[83]

When William the Conqueror established himself in England, he not only
gave the lands to his Norman nobles, but also the bishoprics to his
Norman clergy. "Wulstan is a fool, he cannot speak French!" said
William, and he ordered Lanfranc, his Norman Archbishop of Canterbury,
to depose the plain Saxon Bishop of Worcester, on the charge of
ignorance. A conclave was held in Westminster Abbey in 1074, to decide a
dispute between Robert, Archbishop of York, and Lanfranc, Archbishop of
Canterbury, as to the question whether the diocese of Worcester belonged
to the northern or the southern province, and at the same time to
deprive Wulstan. When called in question as to his slender attainments
in learning, he rose and said, "We have not sung Sext yet. Let us chant
the office first, and I will answer afterwards."

But those around him remonstrated, saying, "Let us do our business
first, and we can sing the service afterwards; we shall become objects
of ridicule to the king and nobles, if we keep them waiting till we have
done our office."

"No!" exclaimed Wulstan; "the duty to God must be done first, and then
we will consider the petty disputes of men." Having sung the service, he
directly proceeded to the council chamber. To his dependants, who were
desirous of withholding him, and who could not be persuaded that their
cause was not in danger, he said, "Know for certain, that I here see the
holy archbishops, Dunstan of Canterbury and Oswald of York, defending me
this day by their prayers, and they will darken the understandings of my
gainsayers." Then he gave his benediction to a monk who could speak
Norman French, but imperfectly at best, and ordered him to state his
case for him.[84]

There stood the grave long-bearded Saxon bishop arraigned for ignorance
before the Norman king, and his smooth-shaven[85] Norman prelates.
Wulstan, the representative of the people, Lanfranc of the nobles;
Wulstan, the bishop of the conquered, and Lanfranc of the conquerors.
When the poor Saxon peasants had come to him at Worcester, and had
complained that these Norman invaders trampled down their corn, and
robbed them of their cattle, and ground them down with taxes; "They are
God's scourge, these Normans, punishing us for our sins, my children,"
said Wulstan. And now he was to be deprived of his office by these
invaders, that a Norman might occupy his stool, and shepherd with his
crook the Saxon bondsmen. The council decided, in accordance with the
royal pleasure, that Wulstan was too ignorant to deserve to retain his
see, and that therefore he must resign his pastoral staff and ring. The
ring, the token that he was wedded to his diocese before God, that he
said he would never resign, in life or in death. "I received this ring
without coveting it, and I will bear it with me to my grave."[86] But
the staff, the token of jurisdiction, that he could be deprived of, so
rising from his place, with unruffled composure, and placid countenance,
holding his staff, he said, "Truly, my Lord Archbishop, truly I know
that I am unworthy of this honour, nor fit to bear this burden, nor
sufficient to endure the labour. I knew this when the clergy elected me,
and when the bishops urged me, and when my own master, King Edward,
invited me. He, with the authority of the apostolic see, laid this
burden on my shoulders, and ordered me to be invested with the
episcopate, by the token of this staff. Now thou desirest of me this
pastoral staff, which thou gavest me not; thou demandest of me the
surrender of the office thou laidest not on me. I, indeed, am well aware
of my ignorance, and yielding to the sentence of this holy conclave, I
resign my staff--not to thee, but to him who gave it me." Saying this he
went forth from the chapter house to the tomb of S. Edward the
Confessor, and standing before the stone, he cried, "Thou knowest, O my
Master! how reluctantly I received this burden, how often I fled away
from it; how, when sought, that it might be imposed on me, I secreted
myself. I confess that I am a fool, but thou didst constrain me. There
lacked not the election of the brethren, the entreaty of the people, the
will of the bishops, the favour of the nobles; but none of these things
weighed with me like thy authority; it was thy will that bent mine. And
now we have a new king, a new law, a new archbishop, who found new
rights and declare new sentences. They convince thee of error, who
commanded, and me of presumption, who obeyed. Therefore, not to them who
demand, but to thee who gavest; not to them, fallible, walking in
darkness, but to thee who hast been led forth into the clear light of
very truth, and hast escaped out of this region of error and ignorance,
to thee I resign my staff, to thee I surrender the cure of those thou
didst commend to me, to thee I commit them in confidence, knowing well
thy merits."

Having said this, he slowly raised his hand a little, and said, "My lord
and king, accept this, and surrender it to whom thou choosest!" Then he
struck the staff into the sepulchral stone, and laying aside his
pontifical habit, he seated himself, as a monk, among the monks.

Was there ever a grander incident in English Church history? Was there
ever a nobler speech uttered by an English bishop?

Then all, surprised, saw that the staff stood in the stone; and one ran
and told Lanfranc, but he believed it not, and bade Gundulf, Bishop of
Rochester, to whom he had promised the bishopric of Worcester, to go and
bring back the staff. So Gundulf went, but the staff was immovably
imbedded in the stone.

Then the archbishop and the king went to the tomb, and sought to wrench
the staff from where it stood, but they were unable. Lanfranc at once
turned, and coming straight down to where the monk sat, he bowed to him,
and said, "Verily God resisteth the proud and giveth grace unto the
humble. Thy simplicity was scorned by us, brother, but thy righteousness
is made clear as the light. Our wisdom has been brought to naught, and
thy ignorance has prevailed. Take then again that charge which we
unadvisedly deprived thee of, but which we, by our authority and the
judgment of God, commit to thee once more."

But Wulstan hesitated; however, being urged vehemently by those who
stood by, he went to the tomb again, and said:--"Now, my lord and king,
to whose judgment I commended myself, and to whom I resigned my staff,
show me what is thy pleasure. Thou hast preserved thine honour, thou
hast made manifest my innocence. If thine old sentence stands, restore
to me my staff; if not, yield it to whom thou wilt!" Then he put forth
his hand, and touched the staff, and he removed it at once with
ease.[87]

To Lanfranc and Wulstan, acting conjointly, is due the cessation of the
slave traffic in England. It was the custom of the English to sell
slaves to the Irish, and this was subject to a tax which passed into the
royal exchequer. "The credit of this action," says Malmesbury,[88] "I
know not whether to attribute to Lanfranc, or to Wulstan, who would
scarcely have induced the king, reluctant from the profit it produced to
him, to this measure, had not Lanfranc commended it, and Wulstan,
powerful through the sanctity of his character, commended it by
episcopal authority."

[Illustration: S. WULSTAN, BISHOP OF WORCESTER.
From a Design by A. Welby Pugin.
Jan. 19.]

Having taken the oath of allegiance to William, Wulstan remained
faithful. When, in the same year, 1074, some of the Saxon earls rose
against the Conqueror, Wulstan and the abbot of Evesham, supported by
the sheriff of Worcester and Walter de Lacy, prevented their junction,
by raising their vassals and occupying the ford of the Severn.[89]

In the Barons' revolt, 1088, "Bernard du Neuf-Marché, Roger de Lacy, who
had lately wrested Hereford from the king, and Ralph de Mortimer, with
the vassals of the Earl of Shrewsbury, having assembled a numerous army
of English, Normans and Welsh, burst into the province of Worcester,
declaring that they would burn the city of Worcester, plunder the Church
of God and S. Mary, and take summary vengeance on the inhabitants for
their loyalty to the king. On hearing this, the reverend father Wulstan,
Bishop of Worcester, a man of deep piety and dove-like simplicity,
beloved alike by God and the people he governed, faithful to the king as
his earthly lord, was in great tribulation; but soon rallying, by God's
mercy, prepared to stand manfully by his people and city. While they
armed themselves to repel the enemy, he poured forth supplications in
the impending danger, exhorting his people not to despair. Meanwhile,
the Normans, taking counsel, entreated the bishop to remove from the
church into the castle, saying that his presence there would give them
more security, if they were in great peril, for they loved him much.
Such was his extraordinary kindness of heart, that from duty to the
king, and regard for them, he assented to their request.

"Thereupon, the bishop's retainers made ready, and the garrison and the
whole body of citizens assembled, declaring that they would encounter
the enemy on the other side of the Severn, if the bishop would give them
leave. Taking their arms, and being arrayed for battle, they met the
bishop, as he was going to the castle, and besought him to grant their
desire, to which he freely assented. 'Go,' said he, 'My sons, go in
peace, go in confidence, with God's blessing and mine. Trusting in God,
I promise you that no sword shall hurt you this day. Be loyal, and do
valiantly for the safety of the people and the city.'" The victory was
complete. The rebels were routed, and the king's liege-men and the
bishop's retainers returned home in triumph, without the loss of a
single man.[90]

He died in the year 1095, on January the 19th, and was buried with his
ring on his finger. "God suffered no man to remove from his finger the
ring with which he had received episcopal consecration," says Florence
of Worcester; "that the holy man might not appear to forfeit his
engagement to his people, to whom he had often protested that he would
not part with it during his life, nor even on the day of his burial."

[Illustration: SS. Fabian and Sebastian. Jan. 20.]

FOOTNOTES:

[81] At Santa Ninfa, about thirteen miles from Rome.

[82] Florence knew S. Wulstan personally, as appears from his
account of his vigils. He says, "He sometimes went four days and nights
without sleep,--a thing we could hardly have believed, if we had not
heard it from his own mouth."

[83] S. Wulstan sometimes joked; but the specimen recorded by
Malmesbury is not striking for wit, nor for its reverence, wherefore I
give it in Latin. Being asked why he wore lamb's wool garments in
winter, instead of cat's skin like the other clergy he answered,
"Nunquam audivi cantari Cattus Dei, sed Agnus Dei; ideo non catto, sed
agno volo calefieri."

[84] So far William of Malmesbury, who abruptly closes, saying
that he will no longer torture the patience of his readers. What follows
is from Roger of Wendover.

[85] Dr. Rock: Church of our Fathers, II. p. 99, plate.

[86] Roger of Wendover, and Capgrave.

[87] This most striking incident is not mentioned by Florence
of Worcester, or William of Malmesbury, but occurs in Roger of Wendover
and Matthew of Westminster.

[88] Chronicle, lib. III.

[89] Florence of Worcester.

[90] Florence of Worcester.

January 20.

S. FABIAN, _Pope and M., at Rome_, A.D. 250.
S. SEBASTIAN, _M., at Rome_, A.D. 303.
S. EUTHYMIUS THE GREAT, _Ab. in Palestine_, A.D. 473.
S. FECHIN, _Ab., at Fore, in Ireland_, A.D. 665.
S. MAUR, _B. of Cesena, in Italy, middle of 7th cent._
S. BENEDICT, _H., near Fiesole, in Italy_.

S. FABIAN, POPE AND M., AT ROME.

(A.D. 250.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authorities: Eusebius, lib. vi. c. 29 and 39;
the Liber de Romanis Pontificibus; S. Jerome, lib. de Eccles.
Script. c. 54; a letter of S. Cyprian (55) to Cornelius, &c.]

Saint Fabian succeeded Anteros in the see of Rome. It is said that
Fabian had come to Rome out of the country, and, by divine grace, he was
singled out in a very remarkable manner to be bishop. For, when all the
brethren had assembled in the church for the purpose of ordaining him
that should succeed in the episcopate, though there were many eminent
and illustrious men present, yet no one thought of any but Fabian. They
relate that a dove, suddenly fluttering down, rested upon his head,
bringing up before their minds the scene when the Holy Spirit of old
came down on the Saviour. Thereupon the whole body exclaimed with one
voice, as if moved by the Spirit of God, "He is worthy!"[91] and without
delay they took him and placed him upon the episcopal throne.[92]

S. Fabian governed the Church of Rome for sixteen years. He is said by
some to have converted and baptized the Emperor Philip. "Philip, after a
reign of seven years," says Eusebius, "was succeeded by Decius, who, in
consequence of his hatred to Philip, raised a persecution against the
Church, in which Fabian suffered martyrdom, and was succeeded, as Bishop
of Rome, by Cornelius."[93]

Relics, in the churches of S. Martin de la Monte, S. Praxedes, a head
and an arm in that of S. Sebastian, in Rome.

In art, he appears with the pontifical tiara and a dove.

S. SEBASTIAN, M., AT ROME.

(A.D. 303.)

[All the ancient Latin Martyrologies. The Greeks commemorate him on
December 18th. The original Acts are not in our possession. What is
regarded as the Acts appears to be a panegyric, falsely attributed
to S. Ambrose, on S. Sebastian's Day. The incidents are no doubt
taken from the original Acts, but the long sermons and theological
instructions put into the mouths of S. Sebastian and Tranquillinus,
are certainly oratorical compositions of the author who passes for
S. Ambrose.]

S. Sebastian was born at Narbonne, in Gaul, but his parents were of
Milan, in Italy, and he was brought up in that city. He was a fervent
soldier of Christ at the same time that he served in the army of the
Emperor. He was so greatly regarded by the Emperors Diocletian and
Maximian, that he was elevated to the command of the first cohort, for
he was a man prudent, upright in word and act, faithful in business,
fervent in spirit. He was enabled, by his rank and office, to be of
service to those who were imprisoned for the faith of Christ. He
relieved their sufferings, and urged them to constancy.

Two brothers, Marcus and Marcellianus, had been accused of being
Christians, and were expecting execution in prison, when their friends,
admitted to see them, implored them with tears to save their lives by
apostasy. They seemed to waver; they promised to deliberate. Sebastian
heard of this, and rushed to save them. He was too well known to be
refused admittance, and he entered their gloomy prison as an angel of
light.

Tranquillinus, the father of the two youths, had obtained from Agrestius
Chromatius,[94] prefect of the city, a respite of thirty days for them,
to try their constancy; and, to second his efforts, they had been placed
in the house of Nicostratus, the keeper of the records (_primiscrinius_).

Sebastian's was a bold and perilous office. Besides the two Christian
captives, there were gathered in the place sixteen heathen prisoners;
there were the parents of the unfortunate youths weeping over them, to
allure them from their threatened fate; and there was the magistrate,
Nicostratus, with his wife Zoë, drawn thither by the compassionate wish
of seeing the youths snatched from their fate. Could Sebastian hope that
of this crowd not one would be found whom a sense of official duty, or a
hope of pardon, or hatred of Christianity, might impel to betray him, if
he avowed himself a Christian?

The room was illumined only by an opening in the roof, and Sebastian,
anxious to be seen by all, stood in the ray which shot through it;
strong and brilliant where it beat, but leaving the rest of the
apartment dark. It broke against the gold and jewels of his rich
tribune's armour, and as he moved, scattered itself in brilliant
reflections into the darkest recesses of the gloom; while it beamed with
serene steadiness on his uncovered head.[95]

"O most happy soldiers of Christ, valiant warriors in the fight! are ye
now, after having undergone so much that ye touch the palm, are ye now,
I ask, about to withdraw from the fight and lay aside the crown,
overcome by these blandishments? Let them see in you the fortitude of
Christian soldiers, sheathed rather in fortitude than in armour of iron.
Can it be that you will cast away the rewards of victory at the
instigation of a woman? Can it be that half-conquering already, you will
bow your necks to be trampled on by the deadly foe?" Words of reproach
and threatening and promise poured from his lips.[96]

The scene that followed baffles description. All were moved; all wept.
Marcus and Marcellianus were ashamed of their late hesitation.
Tranquillinus and his wife were convinced; the prisoners joined in the
tumult of these new affections; and Sebastian saw himself surrounded by
a group of men and women smitten by grace, softened by its influences,
and subdued by its power; yet all was lost if one remained behind. He
saw the danger, not to himself, but to the Church, if a sudden discovery
were made, and to those souls fluttering in uncertain faith.

Zoë knelt before Sebastian with a beseeching look and outstretched arm,
but she spoke not a word, for, six years before, her tongue had been
paralysed in a severe sickness, and she had not spoken since. Sebastian
looked at her earnestly, and read in her signs, and the expression of
her countenance, that she believed in her heart. Then he asked wherefore
she spoke not, and it was told him that she was dumb. Then, raising his
hand and signing her mouth with a cross, he said, "If I am the true
servant of Christ, and those things are true which I have spoken, and
thou O, woman, hast heard, may the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom I believe,
restore the use of thy tongue, and open thy mouth, as he opened the
mouth of his prophet Zachariah."

Then suddenly the woman cried out:--"Blessed art thou, and blessed is
the word of thy mouth, and blessed are they that believe in Jesus
Christ, the Son of the living God." And when Nicostratus saw the grace
of God revealed by the healing of his wife, he fell at the feet of
Sebastian, and offered to break the chains off the hands and feet of the
confessors, and let them go; but to this they would not consent. Then
Nicostratus transferred them all, with Tranquillinus and his wife, to
the full liberty of his house, after having obtained leave from Claudius
the keeper of the prisons (_Commentariensis_.) Sebastian lost no time in
putting them under the care of the priest Polycarp, of the title, or
parish of S. Pastor, who diligently instructed them, night and day. In
the meantime, Claudius, the gaoler, came to the house of Nicostratus,
and said, "The prefect is much disturbed at my having allowed the
prisoners to be in your house; and therefore he requires you to appear
before him and explain the reason."

Nicostratus at once went to the prefect, and told him that he had taken
the Christian prisoners into his own house, with the purpose of moving
them the more easily to apostasy. "You did well," said Chromatius, and
he dismissed him. On his way home, the keeper of the rolls told Claudius
the truth; and when he related how Sebastian had healed his wife,
Claudius exclaimed in an agony of eagerness:--"Send him to my house, I
have two lads, sons of my first wife, one dropsical, the other a poor
wretched cripple. If he cured your wife, he can heal my sons." Then
running home, he brought his two boys, one in each arm, to the house of
Nicostratus, and introduced them into the company of the neophytes, and
casting the boys in the midst, implored the disciples to recover his
poor children, and declaring that he believed with all his heart. Then
Polycarp, the priest, took the names of the whole company, they were
sixty-eight in all, and he baptized them. Now when the two boys rose
from the baptismal water, they were healed of their infirmities; and
Tranquillinus, who had suffered excruciating torments from the gout,
also felt that he was made whole.

Chromatius, the prefect, was afterwards converted, and having resigned
his office, retired into privacy.

The care which Sebastian took of the Christian prisoners, and the
efforts he made to stimulate their courage, could not long remain
secret; and he was denounced to the Emperor Diocletian, who sent for
him, and in a rage, exclaimed, "What! I have had thee about my person,
and thou hast conspired against my safety!"

S. Sebastian answered, "I pray daily for thy safety and for the
prosperity of the state, to the God of heaven, for I reckon no succour
can be got from gods of stone."

Then Diocletian ordered him to be taken out into a field, and be shot to
death with arrows. Therefore the soldiers placed him as their mark, and
left him for dead, bristling with arrows. But a certain woman, named
Irene, the widow of the martyr Castulus, finding that he still lived,
took him to her lodgings, at the head of the great staircase of the
palace, and there nursed him till he was convalescent. And one day, as
he began to walk, the Emperor passed. Then he started out to the head of
the stairs. He had heard the familiar trumpet notes, which told him of
the Emperor's approach, and he had risen, and crept to greet him.

[Illustration: S. SEBASTIAN.
From a Drawing by Lucas Schraudolf.
Jan. 20.]

"Diocletian!" he cried out, in a hollow but distinct voice; "False are
the words of thy idol priests, my sovereign, who say that we Christians
are adversaries to the state; who cease not to pray for thy welfare and
that of the realm."

"What!" exclaimed the Emperor; "Art thou Sebastian?" "I am Sebastian,
raised as from death to witness against thee for thy cruel persecution
of the servants of Christ."

Then the Emperor, in a rage, ordered him to be taken into the court-yard
of the palace, and to be beaten to death with clubs, and his body to be
cast into the sewer.

And when all this had been done, a devout woman, named Lucina, by night
rescued the body from the place where it had been cast, and buried it
reverently in her own garden.

A church was afterwards built over his relics by Pope Damasus.

Patron of Chiemsee, Mannheim, Oetting, Palma, Rome, Soissons; of makers
of military laces, of archers, makers of fencing foils.

Relics, at Soissons, the head at Eternach, in Luxemburg, portions at
Mantua, at Malaga, Seville, Toulouse, Munich, Paris, Tournai, in the
Cathedral; Antwerp, in the church of the Jesuits; and at Brussels, in
the Court Chapel.

In art, can always be recognized as a young man, transfixed with arrows.

S. EUTHYMIUS THE GREAT, AB.

(A.D. 473.)

[Greek and Latin, and Syriac Martyrologies. Authority, his life by
Cyrillus, monk of his monastery, in 543, sixty years after the
death of Euthymius; he derived much of his information from an old
monk who had been the disciple of the Saint.]

There was a man named Paul, with his wife Dionysia, at Melitene in
Armenia, good Christians, loving one another, but childless. Then, with
one consent, they entered into the church of the Martyr Polyeuctus, and
abode there many days instant in prayer, that they might be given a son.

And after this had continued some time, in a vision of the night, the
martyr appeared to them, and said, "Your prayer is heard, now therefore
depart in peace; and when the child is born, let him be named Euthymius,
or the 'Well disposed.'"

Now it fell out, that shortly after the child's birth, Paul died. Then
Dionysia, the widow, took her babe, and went to her brother Eudoxius,
the chaplain or confessor to the Bishop of Melitene, and gave the little
boy to him, as Hannah presented Samuel to Eli, that he should minister
before the Lord.

After that, Dionysia was ordained deaconess, and in due course Euthymius
received the sacred orders of lector, and sub-deacon, and finally was
made priest, and appointed to the oversight of all the monasteries in
the diocese.

Euthymius often visited the church of S. Polyeuctus, and loving
solitude, was wont to spend whole nights in prayer on a neighbouring
mountain. But the love of being alone with God grew upon him, so that he
could not rest, and at the age of twenty-nine, he secretly deserted his
native place, and went to Jerusalem, where he visited the holy places;
and then retired into the desert, near the Laura of Paran,[97] he found
a cell in every way convenient, and there he abode. Now there was a monk
near his cell, named Theoctistus, and him Euthymius loved greatly, for
he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost. "The love of the same
things," says his biographer; "and society in labour, united them so
closely in the bond of charity, and to such an extent were their spirits
blended in affection, that each was, as it were, planted in the heart of
the other."

After five years spent in Paran, Euthymius resolved, with his friend
Theoctistus, to fly into a solitude, more remote. So they went away into
the barren mountains, near the Dead Sea; and there, searching for a
place where they might dwell, they discovered a ravine, down which a
torrent poured, and in the face of the rock was a cave. Then they
entered into it and there they abode, living on vegetables, and drinking
the water of the brook. Now it fell out, one day, that some shepherds
came that way, and ascending to the cavern looked in, and were
frightened when they saw two men, very haggard, with long beards. But
Euthymius bade them be of good cheer, for they were hermits who dwelt
there on account of their sins. Then the shepherds noised it abroad, and
many disciples came to them, and they built a monastery, and Euthymius
appointed Theoctistus to rule over it; and then he retired, loving
solitude, into a remote hermitage, whence he issued forth only on the
Sabbath (Saturday) and the Sunday. He enjoined on the monks to be
diligent in work, and never to allow their hands to be idle. "For," said
he, "if men in the world labour to support themselves, their wives,
families and children, how much rather we, who have the poor depending
upon us."

Having cured Terebon, the son of Aspebetes, of paralysis, which
afflicted one side of his body, Aspebetes, chief of the Arabs in
Palestine, desired baptism, and took the name of Peter. Such multitudes
of Arabs followed his example, that Juvenal, patriarch of Jerusalem,
ordained him bishop of the wandering tribes, and he assisted at the
council of Ephesus against Nestorius, in 431.

He built S. Euthymius a Laura on the right hand of the road from
Jerusalem to Jericho, in the year 420. Euthymius could never be
prevailed upon to depart from his rule of strict solitude; but he
governed his monks by superiors to whom he gave directions on Sundays.

"Do not suppose," said he to his monks, "that you come into the desert
to leave temptation behind you." And then he related to them the
following story. There was in Egypt a man afflicted with a very violent
temper. So he ran away from his home into a monastery, where he thought
he would be free from incentives to anger. But there he was frequently
irritated by the other monks who, unintentionally, gave him annoyance.
So he determined to escape wholly from the society of men, and then said
he, I cannot give way, for I shall never be tempted. So he took with him
only an earthenware bowl, out of which to drink, and he hid himself in a
remote desert.

Now, one day, he was fetching water from the spring, and he upset the
bowl, and the water fell; then he dipped the vessel again, and as he was
going, his foot tripped, and again the water was spilt; he dipped it
once more, but his hand shook, and he overturned the basin a third time.
Then, flaming into a furious passion, he dashed the bowl against a
stone, and shivered it to fragments. And when his anger cooled down, he
looked at his shattered bowl, and said, "Oh fool that I am! how can I
escape the temptation which is in my nature! If I have not men to be
angry with I rage against an earthen pot!"

There was a man in the Laura, named Auxentius, whom the steward told to
attend upon the mules, for "he was apt at mule-grooming." But Auxentius
indignantly refused, saying, he came to the monastery to be a monk, and
not an ostler. And when he constantly refused, on the next Lord's Day,
the steward complained to Euthymius, who sent for the man. Then
Euthymius said, "My son, it is necessary that some one of the brethren
should attend to the stables. Why shouldst not thou do this?"

"Because," answered Auxentius, "I don't like it."

"Alas," exclaimed the abbot; "I see thou art not imitating Him who said,
I came not to do mine own will, I came not to be ministered to, but to
minister."

When the monk still refused, Euthymius said sadly, "Well, go thy way,
and see if self-will will make thee happy."

And presently the man fell ill, and in his sickness his conscience smote
him, and he sent for the abbot, and he said, "I was wrong, I will look
to the mules."

Then Euthymius healed him, and Auxentius did as was required of him.

S. Euthymius showed great zeal against the Nestorian and Eutychian
heretics. The turbulent Empress Eudocia, after the death of her husband,
Theodosius, retired into Palestine, and there continued to favour them
with her protection. Aroused by domestic affliction, the captivity of
her daughter and grand-daughters, and the plunder of Rome, she sent to
ask advice of S. Simeon Stylites. He answered that her misfortunes were
the consequence of her sins, and especially of her having persecuted the
orthodox faith; and ordered her to follow the direction of Euthymius. By
the advice of S. Euthymius, she renounced Eutychianism, and embraced the
Catholic communion. In 459, she sent word to Euthymius that she was
coming to see him, and that she designed settling on his Laura
sufficient revenues for its subsistence. He returned her answer that she
need not do so, and that she must prepare for death. She obeyed, and
died shortly after. One of the last disciples of our Saint was the young
S. Sabas, whom he dearly loved. In the year 473, on the 13th January,
Martyrius and Elias, two monks, to whom S. Euthymius had foretold that
they should become patriarchs of Jerusalem, came with several others to
visit him, and to conduct him to his Lent retreat in a solitary place.
He said that he would stay with them all that week, and leave them on
the Saturday following, meaning, by death. Three days after, he gave
orders that a general vigil should be observed on the eve of S.
Anthony's Day; on this he made a discourse to his spiritual children. He
appointed Elias to be his successor, and foretold that Domitian, a
beloved disciple, who had long ministered to him, should follow him out
of this world, on the seventh day, which happened accordingly. Euthymius
died on Saturday, the 20th of January, being ninety-five years old, of
which he had spent sixty-eight in his beloved deserts.

S. FECHIN, AB. OF FORE.

(A.D. 665.)

[Authority, a life written in the 12th century, from tradition.
Like so many of these Irish lives which were handed down from
generation to generation, it contains many improbabilities.]

S. Fechin was abbot of Foure, in West Meath, where he governed three
hundred monks. He is said to have pitied the monks engaged in grinding
their corn in querns, he therefore brought water from a marsh to the
monastery, by cutting a tunnel through the rock, and then established a
water mill. Of this Giraldus Cambrensis relates the following:--There is
a mill at Foure, which S. Fechin made most miraculously with his own
hands, in the side of a certain rock. No women are allowed to enter
either this mill or the church of the saint; and the mill is held in as
much reverence by the natives as any of the churches dedicated to
him.[98] The Saint finding a poor leper, full of sores one day, took
him to the Queen, and bade her minister to him as to Christ. She bravely
overcame her repugnance, and tended him with gentle care.[99] Fechin was
the son of Coelcharna, descendant of Eochad Fionn, brother to the famous
king Conn of the Hundred Battles, and his mother Lassair was of the
royal blood of Munster. When fit to be sent to school he was placed
under S. Nathy of Achonry. Having finished his studies he was ordained
priest, and retired to a solitary place at Fore in Westmeath, there to
live as a hermit. But he was followed by many disciples, and Fore became
a monastery of three hundred monks. He also established a religious
house in the island of Immagh, near the coast of Galway. The inhabitants
were then pagans, but Fechin and his monks converted them. His influence
was very great with the kings and princes of his age. He died of a
dreadful pestilence which swept Ireland in A.D. 665.

[Illustration: The Peacock as a Christian Emblem.]

FOOTNOTES:

[91] This was the common acclamation at the election of
bishops, of which we have many examples in Philostorgius, lib. ix. c.
10. And in the relation of things done at the election of Eradins
(recorded in S. Augustine's Epistles), we read that they cried out
twenty times, "He is worthy and just!" and five times, "He is deserving,
he is worthy!"

[92] Eusebius. lib. vi. c. 29.

[93] Ibid. c. 39.

[94] This name presents a difficulty, as it does not appear in
the lists of the prefects of the city. Bollandus suggests, not very
plausibly, that on account of his secession from the state religion, his
name was expunged.

[95] This is H. E. Cardinal Wiseman's elegant description of
the scene, which accords exactly with the Acts. This incident is not due
to his imagination, but occurs in the Acts in these words:--"Igitur, cum
haec Beatissimus Sebastianus, indutus chlamyde, succinctus baltheo, ex
suo ore proferret, subito per unam fere horam splendore nimio de coelo
veniente illuminatus est."

[96] In the version of the Acts by S. Ambrose, the whole
lengthy exhortation is given. This can hardly, however, be original, but
is the composition of the author who passes for S. Ambrose.

[97] A Laura was a colony of eremites dwelling in separate
hovels or caves, and differed in this particular from a monastery, where
all dwelt under one roof.

[98] Topography of Ireland, c. 52.

[99] Here occurs a very favourite incident in the lives of
these Irish saints; it shall be given in Latin. The same is told of S.
Mochua and others. "Leprosus ad Reginam dixit: Nares meas in ore tuo
suge, et phlegma inde extrahe. At illa viriliter agens, sicut imperavit
fecit, et phlegma in linteum posuit; iterum quoque ei mandavit, ut
similiter faceret, et id quod extraheret, S. Fechino reservaret." When
the Queen looked into the handkerchief, she found two clots of solid
gold, one of which she retained, the other she gave to S. Fechin. The
incident I give as characteristic, rather than edifying.

January 21.

SS. FRUCTUOSUS, _B.M._, AUGURIUS, AND EULOGIUS, _DD., MM., at
Tarragona,
in Spain_, A.D. 259.
S. PATROCLUS, _M., at Troyes, in France, circ._ A.D. 272.
S. AGNES, _V.M., at Rome, circ._ A.D. 303.
S. EPIPHANIUS, _B. of Pavia, in Italy_, A.D. 496.
S. MEINRAD, _H. M., at Einsiedeln, in Switzerland_, A.D. 861.

SS. FRUCTUOSUS, B. M., AUGURIUS AND EULOGIUS, DD., MM.

(A.D. 259.)

[Roman Martyrology, those of Usuardus, Bede, Notker, Ado, &c. The
perfectly genuine Acts, which are extant, were read in the Church
on this day, as S. Augustine testifies in his sermon for their
commemoration.]

Valerian and Gallienus being emperors,[100] Aemilian and Bassus consuls,
on January 16th, being the Lord's-day, Fructuosus, the Bishop, Augurius
and Eulogius, the deacons, were taken. Fructuosus was in bed, but
hearing the tramp of the officers, he rose at once and went out
barefoot.[101] To whom the soldiers said, "Come, the governor wants
thee and thy deacons." Fructuosus said, "Let us go, but please, let me
put on my shoes." The soldiers said, "As thou desirest, shoe thyself."
As soon as they were come, they were put into prison. Fructuosus,
certain and glorying in the crown of the Lord, to which he was called,
prayed without ceasing. There were also with him some of the brethren,
praying him to have them in remembrance. Next day, he baptized in the
prison our brother Rogatian. And they were six days in prison, and then
were brought forth. It was on the 21st January, and a Friday, that they
were heard. Aemilian, the governor, said, "Let Fructuosus, the Bishop,
Augurius and Eulogius be brought forward." According to custom it was
said, "They are here." Aemilian, the governor, said to Fructuosus, the
Bishop, "Hast thou heard what the Emperors have ordered!" Fructuosus,
the Bishop, said, "I do not know what their orders are; I am a
Christian." Aemilian said, "They have ordered that the gods be
worshipped." Fructuosus said, "I worship one God, who made heaven and
earth, the sea and all that therein is." Aemilian said, "Do you know that
there are many gods?" The Bishop said, "No, I do not." "Then thou soon
shalt," said the governor. Fructuosus, the Bishop, looked up to the
Lord, and began to pray within himself. Aemilian said, "Who will be
heard, who feared, who adored, if the gods and the countenance of the
Emperor are despised?" Then he said to Augurius, the deacon, "Don't
listen to the words of Fructuosus." Augurius answered, "I worship the
Almighty God." Aemilian, the governor, said to Eulogius, the deacon,
"Dost thou not worship Fructuosus?" "By no means," said Eulogius, "but I
worship the same God as does Fructuosus." Aemilian said to Fructuosus,
"Art thou a Bishop?" Fructuosus answered, "I am." "You were one," said
the Governor, and he ordered them to be burnt alive.

And when Fructuosus, the Bishop, and his deacons, were led into the
amphitheatre, the people began to mourn for Fructuosus, for he was
greatly beloved, not by the brethren only, but also by the heathen. For
he was a vessel of election and a teacher of the people. And when some,
in brotherly charity, offered them a spiced cup to drink, he said, "The
hour of breaking fast is not yet come." For it was the fourth hour,
though indeed they had solemnly celebrated the station (fast) on the
fourth day (Wednesday) in the prison. Therefore joyously on the sixth
day (Friday) they hastened to conclude this station (fast) with prophets
and martyrs in Paradise. And when they had come to the amphitheatre,
one, named Augustalis, a lector, ran to him, with tears, beseeching him
to suffer him to unloose his shoes. But the blessed martyr said, "Stand
aside, I can put off my own shoes." And when he had done so, our brother
and fellow-soldier, Felix, went up to him, and took his right hand,
asking him to remember him.[102] To him S. Fructuosus replied in a clear
voice, so that all heard, "It behoves me to hold in mind the whole
Catholic Church, extending from east to west." Then, as he was in the
gate of the amphitheatre, ready to advance to his unfading crown, rather
than to his pains, as the officers saw, and the brethren heard, and the
Holy Spirit urged and spake, Fructuosus the Bishop, exclaimed, "A pastor
will not be lacking to you, nor will the love and promises of the Lord
fail, now or hereafter. This which ye behold is the infirmity of one
hour." And when the bands wherewith their hands were tied had been burnt
through, rejoicing, they cast themselves on their knees, sure of the
resurrection, and having formed the sign of victory,[103] they poured
forth their souls, praying to the Lord.

The brethren, sad as if bereft of a shepherd, endured their solitude;
not that they lamented Fructuosus, but rather they desired to be mindful
of the faith and passion of each. When night came, they hastened to the
amphitheatre with wine, with which to extinguish the charred bodies,
which being done, they collected the ashes of the martyrs, and each
carried away a portion. But neither in this did the marvellous works of
the Lord fail; that the faith of the believers might be stimulated, and
an example might be given to the little ones. After his passion,
Fructuosus appeared to the brethren, and exhorted them to restore,
without delay, what each had carried off of the ashes, out of love, that
they might be laid altogether in one place.[104]

Fructuosus in Spanish _Frutos_, in French _Fruteux_.

Patron of Taragona.

Relics, in the Benedictine monastery, near the Porto Fino, at Genoa;
some portions, however, in the church of S. Montana, at Barcelona.

S. PATROCLUS, M.

(ABOUT A.D. 272.)

[From the Acts published by Bollandus, an early recension of the
original Acts.]

When the Emperor Aurelian was in Gaul, he came to Troyes, and hearing
that there was a Christian there, named Patroclus, he ordered him to be
brought before him, when the following examination was had of him:--

_Aurelian_--"What is thy name?" He answered, "I am called Patroclus."

_Aurelian_--"What is thy religion, or, what God dost thou worship?"

_Patroclus_--"I adore the living and true God, who inhabits heaven, and
regards the humble, and knows all things or ever they are done."

_Aurelian_--"Give up this nonsense, and adore and serve our Gods, from
whom you will derive honour and riches."

_Patroclus_--"I will adore only the true God, who made all things
visible and invisible."

_Aurelian_--"Dispute of those things which you say are true."

_Patroclus_--"Those things which I declare are true and probable; but I
know why falsehood hates the truth."

_Aurelian_--"I will burn you alive if you will not sacrifice to the
gods."

_Patroclus_--"I offer the sacrifice of praise, and myself as a living
victim to God who has deigned to call me to martyrdom."

Then Aurelian commanded--"Put fetters on his feet, and hot manacles on
his hands, and cudgel him on the back, and then shut him up in a privy
cell, until I make up my mind what is to be done with him."

Then Patroclus was given into custody to one Elegius until the third
day. And when he was brought forth again to be examined, Aurelian
greeted him with, "Well, despiser, hast thou thought better of it, and
art thou ready to sacrifice?"

_Patroclus_--"The Lord delivereth the souls of his servants, and will
not forsake them that hope in Him. If thou desirest anything out of my
treasures, I will freely give it thee, for, believe me, thou art poor."

_Aurelian_--"I, poor!"

_Patroclus_--"Thou hast earthly wealth, but art poor in faith of our
Lord Jesus Christ."

_Aurelian_--"Enough of this. Our gods are mighty."

_Patroclus_--"Who are they?"

_Aurelian_--"First Apollo, the chief;[105] then Jove, the great god; and
Diana, the mother of the gods."[106]

_Patroclus_--"Why, how can they be almighty, when Apollo kept sheep for
Admetus, and Jove died of a pain in his belly; and as for your Diana,
every one knows she is the noon-tide demon."

Then Aurelian, inflamed with rage, ordered Patroclus to be taken to a
marshy place, and to be there executed. But when the soldiers led him to
the bank of the Seine, which had overflowed, Patroclus escaped from them
across the river, and took refuge on a hill dedicated to idol worship.
Here a woman saw him, and she went straightway and told the soldiers.
Then they came upon him, and smote off his head.

[Illustration: S. AGNES.
From the Vienna Missal.
Jan. 21.]

S. Patroclus in France is called _S. Parre_. He is one of the Patrons of
Troyes.

S. AGNES, V. M.

(ABOUT A.D. 303.)

[Roman Martyrology, modern Anglican Kalendar, and Greek Menaea. The
Greeks commemorate her on Jan. 14th, 21st, and July 5th. Her Acts,
attributed to S. Ambrose, are a rhetorical recension of her genuine
Acts. S. Ambrose refers to S. Agnes in lib. I. De Virginibus, and
in his Commentary on Ps. civ., and in lib. I. c. 4 of his offices.
There is also a hymn of Prudentius, relating the Acts of this
famous martyr. The Acts are sufficiently elegant to be really by S.
Ambrose, and are far superior in style to those of S. Sebastian,
falsely attributed to him.]

S. Jerome says that the tongues and pens of all nations are employed in
the praises of this Saint, who overcame both the cruelty of the tyrant,
and the tenderness of her age, and crowned the glory of chastity with
that of martyrdom.[107] S. Augustine observes that her name signifies
chaste in Greek, and a lamb in Latin. She has been always looked upon in
the Church as a special patroness of purity. We learn from S. Ambrose
and S. Augustine, that she was only thirteen years old at the time of
her death. She suffered in the persecution of Diocletian. Her riches and
beauty excited one of the young nobles of Rome, the son of the prefect
of the city, to attempt to gain her hand in marriage. To him she
answered, "I am already engaged to one--to him alone I keep my
troth."[108] And when he asked further, her answer was, "He has already
pledged me to Him by his betrothal ring, and has adorned me with
precious jewels. He has placed a sign upon my brow that I should have no
other lover but he. He has showed me incomparable treasures, which he
has promised to give me if I persevere. Honey and milk have I drawn from
His lips, and I have partaken of His body, and with His blood has he
adorned my cheeks. His mother is a virgin, and His father knew not
woman. Him the angels serve, His beauty sun and moon admire; by His
fragrance the dead are raised, by His touch the sick are healed. His
wealth never fails, and His abundance never grows less. For Him alone do
I keep myself. To Him alone in true confidence do I commit myself. Whom
loving I am chaste, whom touching I am clean, whom receiving I am a
virgin."

The youth repulsed, and filled with jealousy against the unknown lover,
complained to the father of Agnes, who was much disturbed, doubting
whether she were mad, or had given her heart to some one without his
knowing it. By degrees it transpired that Agnes was a Christian.
Thereupon Symphronius,[109] the governor, sent for her parents, and
they, alarmed for her safety, urged her to submit, and marry the young
man. She, however, constantly refused, declaring that she desired to
remain a virgin. "Very well," said the Governor; "then become a vestal
virgin, and serve the goddess in celibacy."

"Do you think," answered Agnes, "that if I have refused your living son,
of flesh and blood, that I shall dedicate myself to gods of senseless
stone?"

"Be not headstrong," said Symphronius; "you are only a child, remember,
though forward for your age."

"I may be a child," replied Agnes; "but faith dwells not in years, but
in the heart."

"I will tell you how I shall deal with you," cried Symphronius. "You
shall be stripped, and driven naked into a house of ill-fame, to be
subjected to insult and outrage." Then the clothes were taken off the
slender body of the girl, and she was forced out into the street. In
shame she loosened the band that confined her abundant hair, and let it
flow over her body, and cover her. "You may expose my virtue to insult,"
said she to the prefect, "but I have the angel of God as my defence. For
the only-begotten Son of God, whom you know not, will be to me an
impenetrable wall, and a guardian never sleeping, and an unflagging
protector."

And so it was. For when she was placed in the brothel, the room was
filled with light, and an angel brought her a robe, white as snow, to
cover her nakedness. And also, when the governor's son burst in at the
door in tumultuous exultation, the angel smote him, that he fell
senseless on the ground.[110] Thereupon there was an uproar, and the
people said, she had slain him by her enchantments. But when he was come
to himself he was ashamed, and the governor feared. Therefore he
committed the sentencing of Agnes to the deputy, Aspasius, who ordered
that she should be immediately executed. And all the people rushed after
her, crying, "Away with the witch, away with her!"

Then a fire was kindled, and Agnes was placed upon the pyre. But she,
lifting up her hands in the midst of the fire, prayed, "O Father
Almighty, who alone art to be worshipped, feared, and adored, I give
Thee thanks for that through thy holy Son, I have escaped the threats of
the profane tyrant, and with unstained footstep have passed over the
filthy slough of lust; and now, behold, I come to Thee, whom I have
loved, have sought, and have always longed for. Thy name I bless, I
glorify, world without end."[111] And she continued, "So now I am
bedewed with the Holy Ghost from on high; the furnace grows cold about
me, the flame is divided asunder, and its heat is rolled back on them
that quickened it. I bless Thee, O Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who
permittest me, intrepid, to come to Thee through the fires. Lo! what I
have believed, that now I see; what I have hoped for, that now I hold;
what I have desired, that now I embrace. I confess Thee with my lips,
and with my heart, I altogether desire Thee. I come to Thee one and true
God, who with our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, and with the Holy Ghost,
livest and reignest through ages of ages. _Amen._" And when she had
finished praying, the fire became wholly extinct; then Aspasius, the
deputy, ordered a sword to be thrust into her throat. "But," said he
suddenly, "why is she not bound?" The executioner turned over a quantity
of manacles, and selected the smallest pair he could find, and placed
them round her wrists. Agnes with a smile, shook her hands, and they
fell, like S. Paul's viper, clattering at her feet.[112] Then she calmly
knelt down, and with her own hands drew forward her hair, so as to
expose her neck to the blow.[113] A pause ensued, for the executioner
was trembling with emotion, and could not wield his sword.[114]

As the child knelt alone, in her white robe, with her head inclined, her
arms crossed modestly upon her bosom, and her locks hanging to the
ground, and veiling her features, she might not inaptly have been
compared to some rare plant, of which the slender stalk, white as a
lily, bent with the luxuriance of its golden blossom. "And thus, bathed
in her rosy blood," said the author of the Acts, "Christ betrothed to
Himself his bride and martyr."

Then her parents, having no sorrow, but all joy, took her body, and
placed it in a tomb on their farm, not far from the city, on the
Numentan road. But there being a great crowd of Christians following,
the pagan mob and soldiers pursued them, and drove them away with stones
and weapons. But Emerentiana, who was the foster-sister of Agnes, a holy
virgin, though only a catechumen, stood intrepid and motionless by the
tomb, and there she was stoned to death.

After her death Agnes appeared in glory to her parents.

From the heavenly regions
Girt with heavenly legions,
Eight days past, her home she sought;
And a lamb, the whitest,
Loveliest, purest, brightest,
In her loving arms she brought.

"These thou seest, my mother
These, and many another,
Are my blest companions now."

Relics, in the church of S. Agnes, at Rome; portions at Utrecht; a few
small particles at Rouen, in the church of S. Ouen; at Melun; in the
Cathedral at Cologne; in the Court Chapel at Brussels; and in the Jesuit
Church at Antwerp.

In art, she appears (1) with a lamb, or (2) with an angel protecting
her, or (3) standing on a flaming pyre, or (4) with a sword.

S. MEINRAD, H. M.

(A.D. 861.)

[Authority, an ancient anonymous and perfectly authentic life in
the library of the monastery at Einsiedeln.]

About the year of grace 797, was born Meinrad, Count of Hohenzollern.
He was born in that part of Swabia, then called Sulichgau, which
comprised the valleys of Steinlach and Sturzel, and the towns of
Rottenburg and Sülchen.

Berthold, the father of Meinrad, had married the daughter of the Count
of Sülchen, and lived with his wife in the strong castle of Sülchen on
the Nekar.

Meinrad lived at home till he was ten or eleven years old. At that time
the island of Reichenau possessed a Benedictine monastery of great
reputation. This island is situated in the arm of the lake of Constance,
called the Zeller-see, and very fertile. The monks superintended two
schools in this island, connected with their monastery, one for the boys
who were in training to be monks, the other for the sons of nobles, who
desired to live in the world. At the time that Meinrad entered the
school, his kinsman, Hatto of Sülchen, was abbot.

At this period the great lesson that the monks had to teach the Germans
was, the dignity of labour. The Germans were a turbulent people, loving
war, harrying their neighbour's lands, hunting and fighting, despising
heartily the work of tilling the land, and tending cattle. The monks
began to labour with their hands, and by degrees they broke through the
prejudices of the time, and converted the Germans into an agricultural
people. In 818, when Meinrad was aged 21, the first vines were planted
in Reichenau, to become, to this day, the principal source of revenue to
those to whom it belongs. The position of Reichenau, on the main road to
Italy, gave it a special importance. Many foreign bishops, who, halting
there on their journeys, had carried away with them a pleasant memory of
that quiet isle in the blue lake, returned to it to spend their last
years in peace. Thus the Bishop Egino retired to Reichenau, and built
there, in 799, the church of Our Lady, at the western extremity of the
island, which still exists. At the time of the consecration of this
church, Meinrad was in the monastery school; this was in 816. Seven
hundred monks, a hundred novices, and four hundred scholars assisted at
the ceremony, and sang the grand psalms and _Coelestis urbs_ with
wondrous effect.

The time came for Meinrad to leave school and decide on his career. The
voice of his heart called him to the service of God, and he prepared for
Holy Orders. In 821 he was ordained deacon, and shortly afterwards
priest. He was fond of study; but the book that most charmed his
imagination was the account of the Fathers of the Desert, by Cassian.
The forms of these venerable hermits in their caves seemed to appear to
him and beckon him on. The voice which had called him to the priesthood
said to him, "Friend, go up higher," and he took vows as a monk in the
abbey of Reichenau, to his great-uncle Erlebald, now superior, on the
resignation of Hatto in 822. He was then aged twenty-five.

At the upper extremity of the Lake of Zürich was the little cloister of
Bollingen, dependant on that of Reichenau. It contained a prior and
twelve brethren, who had established themselves in this wild
neighbourhood, lost, as it were, among the mountains, to become the
teachers of a neighbourhood buried in darkness. They established a
school for the gentry and also for the serfs, in which they taught the
boys what was suitable for their different stations in life. Being in
want of a master for this school, they sent to the abbot of Reichenau
for one. His choice fell on Meinrad, who was at once despatched to the
humble priory, situated on the confines of civilization, to which the
mountains and dense forests seemed to say, "Thus far and no further
shalt thou go."

In his new situation, Meinrad drew upon himself general esteem and
affection. His prudence in the direction of souls, his learning, and his
modesty, endeared him to all.

Nevertheless, from the moment of his entering into the priory, Meinrad
had felt a yearning in his heart for a life more secluded, in which he
could pray and meditate without distraction. About two leagues off,
beyond the lake, rose Mount Etzel, covered with dense forest. Often from
the window of his cell did his eyes rest, with an invincible longing, on
the blue mountain. The desire became, at length, so uncontrollable, that
he resolved to visit the Etzel, and seek among its rocks for some place
where he might pass his days in repose. One day, accordingly, he took
with him one of his pupils, and, entering a boat, rowed to the foot of
the desired mount. A few hours after he was at the summit, and his heart
beat with a sweet joy at the sight of a place to which his yearning soul
had long turned. Behind him was a pathless forest of pines, inhabited by
wolves, but he feared them not. He descended the hill by the side of
Rapperschwyl, and arrived at the village, called afterwards Altendorf.
He rested at the house of a pious widow, who received him hospitably. To
her Meinrad confided his design, and asked her to minister to his
necessities on the Etzel, should he retire thither. She readily promised
to do so. Having thanked her, he returned full of joy to Bollingen. He
asked the prior to give him his benediction and permission to accomplish
his project. He, with regret, permitted him to respond to the call of
grace, and Meinrad at once tore himself from his companions and pupils,
and crossed the lake to the beloved mountain. This was in June, 828,
when Meinrad was aged thirty-one. He took nothing with him save his
missal, a book of instructions on the Gospels, the rule of S. Benedict,
and the works of Cassian. Burdened with these volumes, he climbed the
Etzel, and stood on a commanding point. At his feet and before him lay
the blue lake of Zürich, its waters sleeping in sunshine; behind him was
the gloomy horror of the forest. Beyond, the Alpine peaks wreathed in
glaciers, glittering in the light, and around him a solemn silence,
broken only by the distant scream of a magpie, or the creaking of the
pines in the breeze.

The first care of the new solitary was to provide himself with shelter
against rain and storm. He collected broken boughs, and interlaced them
between four pines that served as corner posts to his hovel, and roofed
it in with fern. This was his first house; but shortly after, the widow,
having heard that he had retired to the Etzel, built him a hut of pine
logs, and a little chapel, in which he might offer the Holy Sacrifice.
She attended to all his necessities, as she had promised, and Meinrad
was now at the summit of happiness.

Strange must have been those first evenings and nights in loneliness.
There is a sense of mystery which oppresses the spirit when alone among
the fragrant trees, that stand stiff and entranced, awaiting the coming
on of night. To persons unaccustomed to the woods, few moments of
greater solemnity could occur than those following the set of sun. A
shadow falls over the forest, and in the deep winding tunnels that
radiate among the grey, moss-hung trunks, the blackness of night
condenses apace.

Mysterious noises are heard; the rustling of large birds settling
themselves for the night, the click of falling cones, the cry of the
wild cat, or the howl of the wolf. The gold light, that all day has
flickered through the boughs and diapered the spine strewn soil, has
wholly disappeared, save that for a moment it lies a flake of fire on
the distant snowy peak. Patches of ash-grey sky, seen through the
interstices of the branches, diffuse no light. Perhaps an evening breeze
whispers secrets among the pine-tops and pipes between the trunks, or
hums an indistinct tune, pervading the whole air, among the green
needle-like leaves of the firs. And then, when night has settled in, the
moon shoots its fantastic silver among the moving branches, and draws
weird pictures over the brambles and uneven soil. Branches snap with a
report like a pistol, and voices of unseen birds and beasts sound
ghost-like among the dark aisles of the labyrinth of firs.

It is well to picture these surroundings, when we call up before us the
figures of the old hermits. Their trials were not only of hunger, and
thirst, and cold; there was the trial of nerve as well.

In the forest cell, Meinrad disciplined his body by rigorous fasts, and
his soul by constant prayer. By degrees, his cabin became a resort of
pilgrims, who arrived seeking ease to their troubled consciences, or
illumination to their dark understandings. Always united to God, always
penetrated with the sense of His presence, he strove to know the will of
God, and to submit his own will wholly to that.

Seven years passed, and the number of those who visited him increased
every day. Then, finding his solitude no more a solitude, he resolved to
leave the Etzel, and bury himself in some nook far from the habitations
of men.

Behind the Etzel extended a vast forest untrodden by man, whose savage
and gloomy loneliness attracted Meinrad. Whilst he was musing on his
projected flight, some of his old pupils at Bollingen came, as was their
wont occasionally, to visit their former master. Meinrad descended the
mountain with them to the point where the river Sihl, after numerous
windings in the forest, flows gently through an agreeable valley, and
empties itself into the lake. The pines on its banks were reflected in
the glassy water, and in its crystal depths could be seen multitudes of
trout. The young monks desiring to have a day's fishing, Meinrad crossed
the river, and entered the forest. He walked on silent and meditating,
looking around him, in hopes of discovering some place suitable for the
purpose that occupied his mind. After a walk of an hour and a half, in
a southerly direction, he reached the foot of a range of hills which
formed a semi-circle as far as the Alb. In this basin, enclosed within
the arms of the mountain, wound a little stream over a bed of moss, from
a spring beneath the roots of two large pines. To the south lay the
valley of the Alb, blocked by the rugged snow-topped crags of the
Mythen. This was just such a solitude as Meinrad had desired. He fell on
his knees, and thanked God for having brought him to so pleasant a spot,
and drinking for the first time from the fountain, he returned to his
companions, who, having caught a bag full of fish, went back with him to
his hermitage, and as evening fell, returned to Bollingen.

Meinrad now prepared to leave the Etzel. He went to Altendorf to thank
the widow who had provided for him, and then he departed, taking with
him one monk of Bollingen and a peasant, to carry such things as would
be necessary in the wilderness. As they descended the hill towards the
river, the brother saw a nest of ravens on a branch; he climbed the
tree, and taking the nest, brought it along with the two young birds it
contained to Meinrad, who kept them, to be the companions of his
solitude.

A few paces above the spring, where there was a gentle rise, he decided
should be the site of his habitation, and there accordingly he erected a
simple hut of logs. Providence did not desert him. The abbess Hedwig,
head of a small community of women at Zürich, undertook to minister to
his necessities, in place of the widow of Altendorf; and from time to
time she sent him food, and such things as be needed.

He was now left in complete solitude, and often the temptation came upon
him, as he lay shivering with cold in the winter nights, and the snow
drifted about his cabin, to give up this sort of life, and return to the
community at Bollingen or Reichenau. But he resisted these thoughts, as
temptations of the evil one, with redoubled prayer and fasting. In this
place he spent several years in perfect retirement, till a carpenter of
Wollerau, coming there one day in quest of some wood, discovered his
cell. After that, he was visited by hunters, and then, by degrees, a
current of pilgrims flowed towards his abode, as had been the case on
the Etzel. What added to this was the present of a statue of the Blessed
Virgin and Child, made to Meinrad by Hildegard, daughter of Louis the
German, who had been appointed by her father abbess of Zürich, in 853.
This image speedily acquired the credit of being miraculous, and thus
began that incessant pilgrimage which has continued for over a thousand
years to the venerated shrine where it is preserved.

Meinrad had spent twenty-five years in solitude; and his love for this
mortified and retired life had grown stronger in his heart as he grew
older. He was glad when winter, the frost, and the snow came to block
the paths, and diminish the concourse of pilgrims; yet in spite of the
rigour of the climate at that season, and the want of roads through the
forest, he still saw many visitors, who came to confide to him their
troubles, as children to a father, and to ask counsel of his prudence.
There were also days in which he was alone, and, shut up in his log-hut,
heard only the hissing of the wind among the trees, and the howling of
the wolves, pressed by hunger in the forest; all was sad around the
hermitage, the flowers, the grass, the little spring slept under the
snow, spread like a white pall over dead nature. The two ravens, perched
on a branch of pine which overhung the cabin door, uttered their
plaintive croak. Meinrad alone was happy. He celebrated the Divine
Mysteries, and holding in his hands the eternal Victim, offered himself,
in conjunction with the sacrifice of Calvary; desiring earnestly that he
might be found worthy to die the death of a martyr. His prayer was
heard.

During the last years of Meinrad's life, pilgrims laid presents at the
door of Meinrad, and before the image of Mary. Those that served to
adorn the chapel he kept, the rest he gave away to the poor. Two men,
one from the Grisons, named Peter, the other a Swabian, named Richard,
suspecting that he had a store of money collected from the pilgrims,
resolved on robbing him. They met in a tavern at Endigen, where now
stands Rapperschwyl, where they spent the night. Next day, January 21st,
861, long before daybreak, they took the road to the Etzel and entered
the forest. For a while they lost their way, for the paths were covered
with snow. However, at length they discovered the hermitage. The ravens
screamed at their approach, and fluttered with every token of alarm
about the hut, so that, as the murderers afterwards confessed, they were
somewhat startled at the evident tokens of alarm in the birds. The
assassins reached the chapel door. S. Meinrad had said his morning
prayers, and had celebrated mass. The murderers watched him through a
crack in the door, and when he had concluded the sacrifice, and had
turned from the altar, they knocked. Meinrad opened, and received them
cheerfully. "My friends," said he; "had you arrived a little earlier,
you might have assisted at the sacrifice. Enter and pray God and His
Saints to bless you; then come with me and I will give you such
refreshments as my poor cell affords." So saying he left them in the
chapel, and went to prepare food in his own hut.

The murderers rushed after him, and he turned and said, smiling, "I know
your intention. When I am dead, place one of these tapers at my head,
and the other at my feet, and escape as quickly as you can, so as not to
be overtaken."

He gave to one his cloak and to the other his tunic; and they beat him
about the head with their sticks, till he fell dead at their feet. Then
they threw his body on the bed of dried leaves whereon he was wont to
sleep, and cast a rush mat over it. They then searched the hut for
money, but found none. Before leaving, they remembered the request of
Meinrad, and placed one of the tapers at his head, the other they took
to the chapel, to light it at the ever-burning lamp. When they returned,
to their astonishment, they saw that the candle at the head of the body
was alight. Filled with a vague fear, they set down the other candle and
took to flight. But the two faithful ravens pursued them, screaming
harshly, and dashing against the heads of the murderers with their beaks
and claws, as though desirous of avenging their master's death.
Frightened more and more, and continually pursued and exposed to the
attack of the enraged birds, the murderers ran towards Wollerau, where
they met the carpenter who had discovered the retreat of Meinrad. This
man, recognizing the tame ravens of the hermit, and suspecting mischief,
hastily bade his brother not allow the two men to escape out of his
sight, and then ran to the hermitage, where he found the body of the
Saint. The candle at his feet had set fire to the mat, but the flame had
expired as soon as it had reached the corpse. The carpenter at once
returned to Wollerau, where he spread the news of the murder, and having
bade his wife and some friends take care of the body of S. Meinrad, he
went in pursuit of the assassins on the Zürich road. He soon overtook
them. The ravens were fluttering with shrill screams at the windows of a
house. He entered and denounced the murderers. They were taken, and
delivered over to justice. By their confession all the circumstances of
the martyrdom were made known.

Relics, at Einsiedeln, where, in 1861, the thousandth anniversary of
the Saint's death was celebrated with great pomp.

FOOTNOTES:

[100] This account is a translation of the Acts; it is a very
fair specimen of the original documents as written by the Church
notaries at the time. The style being too simple to please the taste of
later ages, too many of them were re-written in florid diction, and long
speeches were put in the martyrs' mouths.

[101] One reading is _insolutus_, another _in soleis_.

[102] That is, to intercede for him when he, the martyr, stood
in the presence of Christ in Paradise.

[103] That is, extending their arms, so that they formed the
symbol of the Cross.

[104] Slightly abbreviated from the Acts.

[105] Aurelian was a special votary of the sun.

[106] There is some blunder here.

[107] S. Hieron, Ep. 6.

[108] S. August. Serm. 274.

[109] Here a difficulty occurs. There is no such name in the
lists of the prefects of the city. According to this account, he
transferred to the deputy, Aspasius, the duty of sentencing her. In some
accounts he is called Aspasius Paternus. A Paternus was prefect of the
city in 264 and 265; an Ovinius Paternus in 281. Aspasius Paternus,
pro-consul of Africa, in or about 260, is mentioned by S. Cyprian. It is
probable that Symphronius was not prefect of the city, but a powerful
senator, and that Aspasius is the same as Ovinius Paternus. Transcribers
made havoc of the names in the Acts.

[110] Antiphon to Ps. cix. _Dixit Dominus_, for S. Agnes' Day,
and Greek Menaea.

[111] This is appointed as the antiphon to the Magnificat for
S. Agnes' Day.

[112] Prudentius.

[113] Ibid.

[114] S. Ambrose lib. I. _De Virgin._ c. 2.

January 22.

S. VINCENT, _D. M., at Saragossa, in Spain_, A.D. 304.
SS. VINCENT, ORONTIUS, VICTOR, AND AQUILINA, _MM., at Gerunda, in
Spain_, A.D. 304.
S. BLAESILLA, _W., at Rome_, A.D. 383.
S. GAUDENTIUS, _B. of Novara, in Italy, circ._ A.D. 418.
SS. ANASTASIUS AND LXX. COMPANIONS, _MM., in Assyria_, A.D. 628.
S. DOMINIC, _Ab. of Sora, in Italy_, A.D. 1031.
S. BRITHWALD, _B. of Wilton, in England_, A.D. 1045.
B. WALTER VAN BIERBEEKE, _Monk, at Hemmerode, in Belgium, circ._
A.D. 1220.

S. VINCENT, D. AND M.

(A.D. 304.)

[All Western Martyrologies, and by the Greeks on the same day, and
Nov. 11th. The Acts, very ancient, quoted by Metaphrastes, are a
very early recension of the original Acts by the notaries of the
Church. Also, a hymn of Prudentius.]

This most illustrious martyr of the Spanish Church was born at Saragossa
in Arragon, the mother of martyrs, as Prudentius calls it. His parents
are mentioned in his Acts, which are at least older than S. Augustine
(August 28), in whose time they were publicly read in the church of
Hippo. The name of his father was Eutychius; and his mother, Enola, was
a native of Osca, or Huesca, which sometimes claims the honour of his
birth. He was trained in the discipline of the Christian faith by
Valerius, Bishop of Saragossa, and was in due time ordained to the
office of deacon. The Bishop was a man of venerable piety, but laboured
under an impediment in his speech. He therefore devoted himself to
prayer and contemplation, and intrusted the care of teaching to S.
Vincent, whom he also appointed his principal or archdeacon. Dacian was
then Governor of Spain under Diocletian and Maximian, and had already
distinguished himself by his cruelty against the Christians. The
imperial edict for the seizure of the clergy had just been published in
the end of the year 303, in which the laity were not included until the
following year. Valerius and his deacons were accordingly loaded with
chains and carried to Valencia, where the Governor then was. The pains
of hunger were added to their sufferings, in the hope of subduing their
fortitude. When they were brought before Dacian he first tried the
effect of mild language and promises of reward if they would obey the
orders of the Emperors and sacrifice to the gods. He reminded Valerius
of the influence which his episcopal dignity gave him; and to Vincent he
represented the honour of his family, and the sweet joys of youth which
still lay before him. But the confessors of Christ were not to be thus
moved. Valerius, being unable from his infirmity to reply to the artful
persuasions of the tempter, Vincent made a noble profession of the faith
in the name of them both.

The Bishop was condemned to exile, where he seems afterwards to have
finished his course by martyrdom; and Vincent was remanded to prison,
thence to pass by a more painful but a speedier way to his crown. His
body was stretched upon the rack and cruelly torn with iron hooks, but
no torture could shake his resolution or disturb the calm which sat upon
his countenance. He defied the utmost efforts of his tormentors; and,
when they began to grow weary, Dacian ordered them to be beaten,
suspecting that they spared the martyr. But the Governor himself was at
last moved to a faint pity by the miserable spectacle, and entreated
Vincent to purchase his deliverance by at least giving up the Christian
books. Vincent, still continuing firm, was taken from the rack and led
to a more terrible torture called the _Question_. It was an iron frame
with bars running across it, sharp as scythes, and underneath a fire was
kindled, which made the whole frame red hot. To this fearful agony the
martyr walked with a willing step, and even went before the
executioners. And, as he lay bound upon the bed of torture, his eyes
were fixed on heaven, his lips moved as if in prayer, and a peaceful
smile would sometimes pass across his countenance. No cruelty was spared
that diabolical ingenuity could invent, but the love of Christ surpassed
the wrath of man and won the day. When the malice of his enemies could
do no more, he was carried back to prison, and laid in a dark dungeon
strewn with broken potsherds, which allowed his wounded body no rest.
His feet, too, were fastened in the stocks. But God was mindful of His
servant, and sent His angels to comfort him, bestowing a foretaste of
his reward while his trial was as yet unfinished. His cell was
illuminated with the light of heaven, his bonds were loosed, and the
floor of his prison seemed to be strewn with flowers. The martyr and his
celestial visitants sang hymns together, and the unwonted sound
astonished the jailer. He looked into the cell, and, overpowered by what
he saw and heard, confessed the power of God and the truth of the
Christian faith. When Dacian heard of it he shed tears of rage; but,
finding it was useless to continue his cruelty, he gave orders that some
repose should be allowed to the martyr. His motives for this act of
clemency are variously represented; perhaps he only meant to recruit the
strength of Vincent that he might endure further tortures; or perhaps he
feared that, if he expired under them, the Christian faith might be
exalted in the eyes of the people by his constancy. But, whatever was
the policy of Dacian, God overruled it to obtain for His blessed servant
an easy departure. The scattered remnant of Christians gathered round
him, and tended him with anxious care. They provided a soft bed, on
which he was no sooner laid than he yielded up his soul to the Lord, on
January 22, A.D. 304. The rage of the Governor followed his poor
remains. His body was cast out into a field to become the prey of wild
beasts and birds; but was defended by a raven. Then, to add further
indignities to it, it was taken out in a boat and thrown into the sea
with a mill-stone about the neck. During the night it was washed ashore,
and at last was privately buried by some good Christians in a humble
chapel near Valencia. When the fury of the persecution had ceased, it
was removed with great honour, and buried under the altar of the
principal church.

S. GAUDENTIUS, B. OF NOVARA.

(ABOUT A.D. 418.)

[From his life by an anonymous writer in, or about, 760; quite
trustworthy.]

Gaudentius was a native of Ivrea (Eporoedia), under the shadows of the
Alps; he was brought up as a Christian, and exhibited early indications
of piety. On reaching man's estate he went to Novara, was ordained
priest, and became so distinguished for his sanctity, that S. Ambrose
visited him. When Constantius, the Arian Emperor, exiled S. Eusebius,
the Catholic Bishop of Vercelli, Gaudentius went into exile with him; on
his return he was elected to the episcopal throne of Novara.

S. ANASTASIUS THE PERSIAN, AND LXX. COMPANIONS, MM. IN ASSYRIA.

(A.D. 628.)

[Commemorated by Greeks and Westerns. His Acts are genuine, having
been written either by the monk commissioned to attend him during
his passion, or from his dictation. These Acts were referred to in
the 7th General Council, 180 years after his death.]

There lived in Rages, in Persia, at the time when the true Cross fell
into the hands of Chosroës, King of Persia, A.D. 614, a young man, named
Magundat, the son of a Magian of rank. The capture of the Cross was
famed all through Persia, and Magundat was led by curiosity to enquire
about it of some Christians. Thus he learned the history of the Passion
of Jesus Christ, and the doctrine of the Redemption. It left a deep
impression on his mind. He was soon after called to serve in the army
that marched under Sarbar through the north of Asia Minor to Chalcedon,
but on his retreat, Magundat left the army, and visited Hierapolis in
Syria. In that city he lodged with a Persian Christian, a silversmith,
with whom he often went to the Christian Church. There he contemplated
the pictures of saints glorified on golden grounds, and martyrs in their
agonies, and asked about them. His curiosity was satisfied, and being
greatly moved by what he heard, he felt a desire to visit those holy
places where Christ had been born and where he had died, as he had seen
painted on the walls of the Church of the Martyrs in Hierapolis.
Therefore he went to Jerusalem, and he lodged there also in the house of
a smith, who was a Christian; and to him he opened his heart, and
related how he had been led to desire baptism, and a right to the
Resurrection of the Just. He was, therefore, placed under instruction,
and was afterwards baptized by Modestus, "vicar of the Apostolic seat,"
as he is called in the Acts, who governed Jerusalem, Zachary the
patriarch being in captivity. He prepared himself for the Holy Sacrament
with great devotion, and spent the octave after it--which persons
baptized passed in white garments--in continuous prayer. At his baptism
he took the name of Anastasius, thereby meaning, in Greek, his
resurrection to a new life.

After his baptism, the more perfectly to keep inviolably his baptismal
vows and obligations, he resolved on becoming a monk in a monastery
five miles from Jerusalem. Justin, the abbot, made him first learn the
Greek tongue and the psalter; then cutting off his hair, gave him the
monastic habit, in the year 620.

Anastasius was always most earnest in all spiritual duties, especially
in assisting at the celebration of the Divine Mysteries. His favourite
reading was the lives of the saints; and when he read the triumphs of
the martyrs, his eyes overflowed with tears, and he longed to be found
worthy to share their glory. Being tormented with the memory of the
superstitious and magical rites, which his father had taught him, he was
delivered from that troublesome temptation by discovering it to his
director, and by his advice and prayers. After seven years spent in
great perfection in this monastery, his desire of martyrdom daily
increasing, and having been assured by a revelation that his prayers for
that grace were heard, he left that house, and visited the places of
devotion in Palestine, at Diospolis, Gerizim, and Our Lady's church at
Caesarea, where he stayed two days. This city, with the greatest part of
Syria, was then subject to the Persians. The Saint, seeing certain
Persian soothsayers of the garrison occupied in their abominable
superstitions in the streets, boldly spoke to them, remonstrating
against the impiety of such practices. The Persian magistrates
apprehended him as a suspected spy; but he informed them that he had
once enjoyed the dignity of Magian amongst them, but had renounced it to
become a humble follower of Christ. Upon this confession he was thrown
into a dungeon, where he lay three days without eating or drinking, till
the return of Marzabanes, the governor, to the city. When interrogated
by him, he confessed his conversion to the faith. Marzabanes commanded
him to be chained by the foot to another criminal, and his neck and one
foot to be also linked together by a heavy chain, and condemned him, in
this condition, to carry stones. The Persians, especially those of his
own province, and his former acquaintance, upbraided him with having
disgraced his country, kicked and beat him, plucked his beard, and
loaded him with burdens above his strength.

The Governor sent for him a second time, but could not induce him to
pronounce the impious words which the Magians used in their
superstitions; "For," said he, "the wilful calling of them to
remembrance defiles the heart." The judge then threatened he would write
immediately to the king, if he did not comply. "Write what you please,"
said the Saint, "I am a Christian: I repeat it again, I am a Christian."
Marzabanes commanded him to be forthwith beaten with knotty clubs. The
executioners were preparing to bind him fast to the ground; but the
Saint told them it was unnecessary, for he had courage enough to lie
down under the punishment without moving, and he regarded it as his
greatest happiness to suffer for Christ. He only begged leave to put off
his monk's habit, lest it should be treated with that contempt which
only his body deserved. He therefore laid it aside respectfully, and
then stretched himself on the ground, and, without being bound, remained
all the time of the cruel torment, bearing it without changing his
posture.

The Governor again threatened him to acquaint the king with his
obstinacy. "Whom ought we rather to fear," said Anastasius, "a mortal
man, or God, who made all things out of nothing?" The judge pressed him
to sacrifice to fire, and to the sun and moon. The Saint answered, he
could never acknowledge as gods creatures which God had made only for
the use of man; upon which he was remanded to prison.

His old abbot, hearing of his sufferings, sent two monks to assist him,
and ordered prayers to be offered daily for him. The confessor, after
carrying stones all the day, spent the greatest part of the night in
prayer, to the surprise of his companions; one of whom, a Jew, saw and
showed him to others at prayer in the night, shining in brightness and
glory like a blessed spirit, and angels praying with him. As the
confessor was chained to a man condemned for a public crime, he prayed
always with his neck bowed downwards, keeping his chained foot near his
companion, not to disturb him.

Marzabanes, in the meantime, having informed Chosroës, and received his
orders, acquainted the martyr by a messenger, without seeing him, that
the king would be satisfied if he would by word of mouth abjure the
Christian faith: after which he might choose whether he would be an
officer in the king's service, or still remain a Christian and a monk;
adding he might in his heart always adhere to Christ, provided he would
but for once renounce Him in words privately, in his presence, "in which
there could be no harm, nor any great injury to his Christ," as he said.
Anastasius answered firmly, that he would never even seem to dissemble,
or to deny his God. Then the Governor told him that he had orders to
send him bound into Persia to the king. "There is no need of binding
me," said the Saint: "I go willingly and cheerfully to suffer for
Christ." The Governor put on him and on two other prisoners the mark,
and gave orders that they should set out after five days. In the
meantime, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the 14th of
September, at the request of the Commerciarius, or tax-gatherer for the
king, who was a Christian of distinction, Anastasius had leave to go to
the church and assist at the Divine Sacrifice. His presence and
exhortations encouraged the faithful, excited the lukewarm to fervour,
and moved all to tears. He dined that day with the Commerciarius, and
then returned with joy to his prison. On the day appointed, the martyr
left Caesarea in Palestine, with two other Christian prisoners, under a
strict guard, and was followed by one of the monks whom the abbot had
sent to assist and encourage him. The Acts of his martyrdom were written
by this monk, or at least from what he related by word of mouth. The
Saint received great marks of honour, much against his inclination, from
the Christians, wherever he came. This made him fear lest human applause
should rob him of his crown, by infecting his heart with pride. He wrote
from Hierapolis, and again from the river Tigris to his abbot, begging
the prayers of his brethren.

Having reached Barsaloe in Assyria, six miles from Discartha or
Dastagerde, near the Euphrates, where the king then was, the prisoners
were thrown into a dungeon, till his pleasure was known. An officer came
from Chosroës to interrogate the Saint, who made answer, touching his
magnificent promises: "My religious habit and poor clothes show that I
despise from my heart the gaudy pomp of the world. The honours and
riches of a king, who must shortly die himself, are no temptation to
me." Next day the officer returned to the prison, and endeavoured to
intimidate him by threats and reproaches. But the Saint said calmly, "My
lord judge, do not give yourself so much trouble about me. By the grace
of Christ I am not to be moved: so execute your pleasure without more
ado." The officer caused him to be unmercifully beaten with staves,
after the Persian manner, insulting him all the time, and often
repeating, that because he rejected the king's bounty, he should be
treated in that manner every day, as long as he lived. This punishment
was inflicted on him three days; on the third, the judge commanded him
to be laid on his back, and a heavy beam pressed down by the weight of
two men on his legs, crushing the flesh to the very bone. The martyr's
tranquility and patience astonished the officer, who went again to
acquaint the king with his behaviour. In his absence the jailer, a
Christian, gave every one free access to the martyr. The Christians
immediately filled the prison; every one sought to kiss his feet or
chains, and kept as relics whatever had been sanctified by their touch.
The Saint, with confusion and indignation, strove to hinder them, and
expressed his dissatisfaction at their proceedings. The officer,
returning from the king, caused him to be beaten again, which the
confessor bore rather as a statue than as flesh and blood. Then he was
hung up for two hours by one hand, with a great weight at his feet, and
tampered with by threats and promises. The judge, despairing to overcome
him, went back to the king for his last orders, which were, that
Anastasius and all the Christian captives should be put to death. He
returned speedily to put these orders into execution, and caused the two
companions of Anastasius, with threescore and eight other Christians, to
be strangled one after another, on the banks of the river, before his
face, the judge all the time pressing them to return to the Persian
worship, and to escape so disgraceful a death. Anastasius, with his eyes
lifted up to heaven, gave thanks to God for bringing his life to so
happy a conclusion; and said he expected that he should have met with a
more cruel death, by the torture of all his members; but seeing that God
granted him one so easy, he embraced it with joy. He was accordingly
strangled, and when dead, his head was struck off. This was in the year
628, the seventeenth of the Emperor Heraclius. His body, along with the
rest of the dead, was exposed to be devoured by dogs, but it was the
only one they left untouched.

It was afterwards redeemed by the Christians, who laid it in the
monastery of S. Sergius, a mile from his place of triumph, in the city
of Barsaloe, called afterwards from that monastery, Sergiopolis. The
monk that attended him brought back his _colobium_, or linen sleeveless
tunic. The Saint's body was afterwards brought into Palestine, thence it
was removed to Constantinople, and finally to Rome.

Relics, in the church of SS. Vincent and Anastasius at Rome, also in the
chapel of the Santa Scala, near S. John Lateran, at Rome.

In art, he figures with a hatchet. Often his head alone, on a plate; to
be distinguished from that of S. John Baptist, by the cowl that
accompanies it.

B. WALTER OF BIERBEEKE, MONK AT HEMMERODE.

(ABOUT A.D. 1220.)

[Authority, life in Caesarius of Heisterbach's "Dialogus
Miraculorum," Distinctio VII. c. xxxviii. ed. Strange. Caesarius
knew Walter, and some of the things he relates from what Walter
told him, or from some of the brethren who where eye-witnesses to
the events he describes. At the same time allowance must be made
for the great credulity of Caesarius.]

Walter of Bierbeeke, in Brabant, was a knight of noble blood, having
been related to Henry, Duke of Louvain. He fought against the Saracens
in the Holy Land, and was a brave and upright chevalier. He was also a
man of deep piety, and of a fervent devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Like
Sir Galahad he might have said:--

"---- all my heart is drawn above,
My knees are bowed in crypt and shrine;
I never felt the kiss of love,
Nor maiden's hand in mine.
More beauteous aspects on me beam,
Me mightier transports move and thrill;
So keep I fair through faith and prayer
A virgin heart in work and will."

The great German writer, Fouqué, seems to have had this Brabantine hero
in his mind's eye, when he wrote his "Aslauga's Knight." Like Froda, in
that exquisite story, Walter of Bierbeeke had fixed his heart on a
heavenly mistress, whose pure image haunted his dreams.

A story told by Caesarius, illustrative of this, must not be omitted,
though we may doubt its truth. Walter rode with a brilliant company of
knights to a tournament. On his way he passed a little chapel, and the
bell was tinkling for mass. It was a feast of Our Lady, and the good
knight, leaping from his horse, entered the chapel to hear the mass of
the Blessed Virgin. "You will be late for the tournament!" shouted his
companions. "My duty is first to Her," answered Walter, pointing to the
image of the Mother of God. Now when the mass was said, and the
beginning of the Gospel of S. John was read, then the knight rose from
his knees, remounted his horse, and rode towards the town.

As he neared the lists, he asked of some hurrying from it how matters
fared. "The tournament is well nigh over," was the answer, "Walter of
Bierbeeke has borne down all competitors. He has done marvellously." But
the knight understood not. He asked others, and the same answer was
given. Then he rode into the lists, but met with no distinguished
success. And when all was over, many knights came to him and said, "Deal
graciously by us." "What mean you?" he asked. "We were captured and
disarmed by thee in the lists, and we must ransom ourselves." "But I was
not there."

"Nay, but it was thou," they replied; "for we saw thy cognizance on helm
and shield, and heard thy cry, and knew thy voice." Then Walter knew
that his heavenly Mistress had sent an angel to fight for him, whilst he
worshipped at her humble shrine.

And after that, many a token did she show, that she had accepted Walter
as her knight. Then his love to her waxed daily stronger, and he said,
"I have been her knight, now will I be her slave." So he went into a
little chapel, dedicated to his dear Lady, and put a rope round his
neck, and offered himself at the altar to be her serf, and to pay to her
a yearly tax.

"And because out of honour to the heavenly queen he so humbled himself,"
says Caesarius; "therefore she, on the other hand, glorified him, whom
she loved, in many ways."

After a while he wearied of wearing coat of mail, and he cast his
weapons and harness aside, and donned the Cistercian habit in the
monastery of Hemmerode. There he was not allowed to live in such
retirement as he loved; being unskilled in Latin, he was made to serve
as a lay-brother instead of being in constant attendance in choir.
Several pretty stories are told of his cloister life. At dinner, as is
usual in monasteries, a monk read aloud from a Latin book. The abbot
noticed Walter during the meal, every day, to seem very intent on what
was being read; smiles came out on his face, and sometimes tears
trickled down his cheeks. At last the abbot sent for him, and asked him,
"What art thou attending to? Thou understandest not the Latin book."
"No, not that book," said Walter; "but I have another book open before
my mind's eye, full of sacred pictures, and I look at the first, and
there I see Gabriel announcing to Mary that Christ is coming. Then I
turn over the leaf, and I see the stable of Bethlehem, and the adoring
shepherds; and I see the Magi come; and the next picture is the
Presentation in the Temple; and so my book goes on, and I come at last
to Calvary and the grave. And that is a picture book of which I never
weary."

Once he was sent in a boat laden with wine to Zealand. And a storm arose
so that the vessel was in great danger, and she drave before the wind
all night. Thinking that they must all perish, Walter made his
confession to his servant, there being no priest on board, and then he
descended into the hold, after midnight, and placing his little ivory
statue of the Blessed Virgin before him, he knelt down and prayed,
expecting death. As he prayed he slept. Then, in a dream, he saw the
monastery of Hemmerode, and in it was an old monk, Arnold by name,
harping, and singing psalms, and praying for those who "go down to the
sea in ships and exercise their business in great waters." Then Walter
awoke, and went to the mariners and said, "Be of good cheer, we shall
not perish, Arnold at Hemmerode is not asleep to-night, but is harping
on his harp and singing to God for us."

Now when they had come safe to land, Walter returned to his monastery,
and told the abbot of his dream. Then the abbot sent for the monk
Arnold, and he said to him, "What wast thou doing on the vigil of S.
Nicholas?" For it was on that night that the vessel had been in danger.

"I could not sleep at all that night," answered the monk, "so I prayed
to, and praised God."

"But thou wast harping on a harp," said the abbot.

"Nay, my lord," answered the monk Arnold; "this is what I do. I play
with my fingers on an imaginary harp, under my habit, making music in my
soul; and this I do whenever my devotion flags."

Now Walter went with his superior, the abbot Eustace, to the monastery
of Villars, which was of the same Cistercian order. And in the evening
the abbot of Villars called all the monks before the abbot Eustace of
Hemmerode. And he said, "Are they all here?" He answered, "All are here
but two little French boys, who have communicated to-day, and on such
days as they communicate they love to remain in silence by themselves."

Now on the morrow, when the convent had gone to nones, and the elder of
these boys was waiting the sound of the bell, leaning on his spade
before the church door, he read the little nones of Our Lady, and
reading, he fell asleep. Then he thought he saw the Blessed Virgin, with
a great company enter the church, and she looked not towards him. And he
cried, "Oh wretched me! she calls me not!" Then the Mother of God
turning, looked at him, and signing to a monk, bade him go and call the
boy, and this the monk did, coming to him, and saying, "The Mistress
calleth thee."

When he woke, he told his fellow the dream; and when they went within,
he saw Walter, and he whispered to his companion, "If that monk had a
grey habit instead of a white one, I would say that it was he who
summoned me."

Now on the morrow, when Walter and the abbot Eustace were about to
depart, they stood in the door, and Walter wore his grey travelling
habit. Then the boy exclaimed, "Yes, that certainly is he." A few days
after, the blessed Walter of Bierbeeke died at Hemmerode, and strange to
say, within a day or two, the little French boy was called away also.

[Illustration: Decoration]

January 23.

S. PARMENAS, _one of the first Seven Deacons, end of 1st cent._
S. MESSALINA, _V. M., at Foligno, in Italy_, A.D. 250.
S. ASCLAS, _M., at Antinoë, in Egypt, circ._ A.D. 304.
S. EMERENTIANA, _V. M., at Rome_, A.D. 304. (_See p. 321._)
S. CLEMENT, _B. of Ancyra_, AND COMPANIONS, _MM., beginning of
4th cent._
S. AMASIUS, _B. C. of Teano, near Capua, circ._ A.D. 356.
S. EUSEBIUS, _Ab. in Syria, 4th cent._
S. MAUSIMAS, _P. in Syria, circ._ A.D. 400.
S. URBAN, _B. of Langres, 5th cent._
S. JOHN THE ALMSGIVER, _Patr. of Alexandria_, A.D. 616.
S. ILDEPHONSUS, _B. of Toledo_, A.D. 667.
S. BOISILUS, _of Melrose, circ._ A.D. 664.
S. MAIMBOD, _M., at Besançon._
S. BERNARD, _Ab. of Vienne, in France, 9th cent._
S. RAYMOND, _of Pennaforte, C. in Spain_, A.D. 1275.
S. MARGARET, _V., at Ravenna_, A.D. 1505.

S. ASCLAS, M.

(ABOUT A.D. 304)

[S. Asclas was martyred on Jan. 21st, but his body was found on
Jan. 23rd, and on this latter day he is usually commemorated. His
Acts, in a fragmentary condition, are genuine.]

Asclas, a native of Antinoë, was brought before the Roman governor,
Arrianus, when he visited Hermopolis, in the Thebaid, or Upper Egypt.
After a close interrogation, which is faithfully recorded in the Acts of
this martyr, the Governor exclaimed, "Come, now! sacrifice to the gods,
and consult thy safety. I have various instruments at hand, as thou
seest." "Try, now," said the martyr, boldly. "Try, now, which will
prevail, thou and thy instruments, or I and my Christ." The Governor
ordered him to be swung from the little horse, and his flesh to be torn
off in ribands. This was done. Then Arrianus said sullenly, "I see he is
as obdurate as ever." An orator, standing by, remarked, "The approach
of death has robbed him of his wits." Asclas turned his head, and said,
"No, I am robbed neither of my wits nor of my God."

Now this had taken place on the further side of the river, near Antinoë;
and as there were not sufficient conveniences for continuing the
torture, the Governor said, "We will return to Hermopolis." So he
ordered Asclas into one boat; and when he had been taken over the Nile,
then Arrianus entered his boat, and began to cross. Thereupon Asclas
cried out, "O Lord, for whose sake I have suffered, may Thy name be
glorified now, even by unwilling lips. Retain the vessel in the midst of
the river, till Arrianus confesses Thy power." Then suddenly the boat
stood, as though it had grounded on a sand-bank, and it could not be
moved, till the Governor wrote on a piece of parchment: "The Lord of
Asclas, He is God, and there is none other god save He." And when he had
sent this to the martyr, the boat floated, and was propelled to the
shore. Then the Governor, inflamed with rage, thinking that the captive
had used magical arts, tortured him by applying fire to his sides and
belly, till his body was one great sore. And after that he cast him,
with a stone attached to his neck, into the Nile.

S. CLEMENT, B. OF ANCYRA, AND HIS COMPANIONS, MM.

(BEGINNING OF 4TH CENT.)

[Commemorated by the Greeks. The Greek Acts of these martyrs are
not genuine.]

S. Clement, Bishop of Ancyra, was the son of a heathen father and a
Christian mother. When Clement was ten years old, his mother died.
Before her death, she summoned him to her side, and urged him not to
desert Christ, whatever sufferings he might be called on to endure for
His sake. Being possessed of private means, on coming of age, he adopted
a number of poor boys, and educated them in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. He was at length ordained Bishop of Ancyra, his native
city. In the persecution of Diocletian, he was taken and brought before
the governor. He was treated with great barbarity, being torn with
hooks, and his teeth and jaw broken with a large stone. As he lay among
other prisoners that night in the jail, a bright light filled it, and
the prisoners saw a man enter in dazzling garments, who held in his hand
the Holy Eucharist, and therewith he communicated the bishop. But
whether he were mortal priest, or an angel of God, no man knows. Along
with Clement, one Agathangelus and many others, men, women, and boys
suffered for Christ, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

S. JOHN THE ALMSGIVER, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA.

(A.D. 616.)

[S. John died on Nov. 11th. But as that is the feast of S. Mennas,
among the Greeks, they commemorate him on Nov. 12th; and as the
11th is the feast of S. Martin among the Latins, the commemoration
of S. John is transferred in some Martyrologies to Jan. 23rd, in
others to Feb. 3rd, and in others again to July 13th. Authority,
his life by Leontius, Bishop of Cyprus, and S. John Damascene,
Orat. 3; also a life in Metaphrastes. Leontius wrote from the
account of the priests of Alexandria, who had been under S. John.]

John the Eleemosynary, or the Almsgiver, was a very wealthy native of
Amathus in Cyprus, and a widower. Having buried all his children, he
employed his whole fortune in relieving the necessities of the poor.

On his election to the metropolitan see of Alexandria, he at once
ordered a list to be made of his masters. When asked what he meant, he
replied that he desired to know how many poor there were demanding his
services in the great city, for, like his Lord, he had come to minister
to their needs.

As many as 7,500 were found without a livelihood. John at once undertook
to relieve them. Finding that their poor little savings were wasted by
the fraud of tradesmen, who used unequal balances and unjust measures,
he at once began an attack on such dealings, and thereby stirred up no
small hostility against himself on the part of the petty shopkeepers.

Twice in the week he drew his chair outside the church door, and placed
two benches before it, that he might hear the complaints of the
oppressed, and remedy them, as far as lay in his power. One day he was
found softly crying. "Why these tears?" he was asked. "None seek my
assistance this day," he replied. "Thou shouldst rather rejoice that
there is no need," said his interlocutor. Then he raised his eyes to
heaven, with a joyous smile, and thanked God. He built hospitals for the
sick and visited them, "not as captives, but as brothers," says
Leontius. He was discreet in his charities. To women and girls he gave
twice as much as to men, because they are less able to earn a living.
But he would not allow anything to be given to those who were dressy and
adorned with trinkets. But it was not the poor alone that he assisted. A
merchantman, having been twice ruined by shipwrecks, had as often relief
from the good patriarch, who the third time gave him a ship belonging to
the church, laden with corn. This vessel was driven by a storm to
Britain, where raged a famine. He was therefore able to sell the corn at
a good price, and brought back a load of British silver.[115] A nobleman
having been greatly reduced, the patriarch ordered his treasurer to
give him fifteen pounds of gold. The treasurer thinking this too much,
reduced the gift to five. Almost directly after, a wealthy lady sent him
an order for five hundred pounds. The patriarch, who had expected more
from that quarter, asked her to come to him. "May it please your
Holiness," said she; "I wrote the order last night for fifteen hundred
pounds, but this morning I saw that the 10 on the cheque had
disappeared." S. John at once concluded that this was God's doing. He
turned to the treasurer and asked how much had been given the poor
nobleman. On the hesitation of this man, he sent for the gentleman, and
found that his liberal orders had not been complied with. "What is sown
to the Lord, the Lord restores an hundred fold," said the patriarch. "I
knew that five pounds alone could have been given, when He returned me
only five hundred."

Nicetas Patricius, sub-praetor of Africa, saw the lavish charity of the
patriarch with a jealous eye. The state exchequer was without funds, and
he thought to appropriate the wealth of the patriarch to such purposes
as the state required. Accordingly, one day he visited John the
Almsgiver, with his attendants, and peremptorily demanded his money.
"Here is my strong box," said the patriarch; "but the money belongs to
the church, not to the state. If you choose to take it, you may do so,
but I will not give it you, for it is not mine to give."

Nicetas, without more ado, ordered his servants to shoulder the money
chest, and take it away. As he opened the door to leave, he saw some
domestics bringing up a number of pots labelled "VIRGIN HONEY." "Hah!"
said the sub-praetor, "I wish you would give me a taste of your honey!"
"You shall have some," said the Patriarch. Now when the pots were
opened, it was found that they contained a contribution in money sent
to the Bishop; as indeed those who brought them announced.[116] When
John saw the amount thus supplied to his pillaged treasury, he ordered
one of his servants to take a pot, labelled as it was, to Nicetas, and
to put it on his table, saying, "All those pots you met coming upstairs,
as you went out, were full of the same sort of honey." And John wrote a
note, which he attached to the pot, to this effect: "I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee, said the Lord; and His word is true, and no lie.
Think not that mortal man can restrain the everlasting God. Farewell."

Now, Nicetas was sitting at table with friends at supper, when it was
announced that the patriarch's honey awaited him. He ordered it at once
to be set on the table, and said, "That patriarch is out of temper with
me, that I can see, or he would have sent me more than one miserable
little pot." But when he opened the jar, behold! it was full of money.
Then he felt compunction for what he had done, and he ordered his
servants to haste, and return to the patriarch his cash-box, and all the
contents of the honey-pot.

Nicetas, after this, became friendly to the patriarch, who, as a token
of response, stood godfather to his children. On one occasion this
friendship was clouded, and threatened dissolution. The governor had
imposed a tax, which fell with peculiar severity on the poor. John
complained, and back-biters were not slow to excite Nicetas against
John, by representing him as fomenting general discontent. The governor
rushed to the patriarch's lodgings, and exploded into a storm of angry
words, which left our Saint agitated and distressed. As evening drew on,
he wrote on a scroll the words, "_The sun is setting_," and sent it to
Nicetas, who, recalling the maxim of S. Paul, "Let not the sun go down
upon your wrath," was moved to regret his violence, and he sped with the
same celerity as before, but with different purpose, to the residence of
the patriarch, to ask his pardon, and heal their friendship.

The good prelate could ill bear to be at discord with another, though
the fault was none of his.

On one occasion he had excommunicated, for a few days, two clerks, who
had attacked each other with their fists. One bore the sentence in a
right spirit of compunction, but the other with resentment. Next Sunday,
the patriarch was at the altar celebrating. As the deacon was about to
remove the veil covering the sacred vessels, John remembered all at once
the hostility of the clerk, and the words of our Lord: "If thou bringest
thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought
against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;
first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
(Matt. v. 25, 24.) Then, bidding the deacon recite the general prayer
over and over again till his return, he left the altar, and, entering
the vestry, sent a minister to bring the clerk who was not in charity
with him. And when this man came, the patriarch fell before him on his
knees, and bowed his white head, and said, "Pardon me, my brother!" Then
the clerk, full of shame to see the patriarch, an aged man, in all his
splendid vestments, at his feet, flung himself down, weeping, confessed
his wrong, and asked forgiveness. Then the patriarch embraced him, and
returning to the altar, finished the sacrifice.

Having in vain exhorted a certain nobleman to forgive one with whom he
was at variance, he invited him to his private chapel, to assist at his
mass. Now as they were reciting the Lord's Prayer, the patriarch kept
silence after he had said, "Give us this day our daily bread;" and the
server, at a signal from him, ceased also; but the nobleman continued,
"And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against
us,"--and then noticed that he had made that one petition alone, so he
paused. Then the patriarch turned round at the altar and said, "What
hast thou now asked?--to be forgiven by God as thou forgivest others."
The nobleman was pricked at the heart, and fell down and promised to
forget the wrong that had been done him.

Observing that as soon as the Gospel was read at Mass, a portion of the
congregation retired and stood outside the church, talking among
themselves, the patriarch went forth and seated himself amongst them,
saying, "Where the sheep are, there the shepherd must also be," and they
with shame came into church. Thus he broke through a pernicious custom.

The patriarch, one day, took a bishop named Troilus, then visiting
Alexandria, to see his poor in a certain quarter, where he had erected
for their accommodation a number of domed huts, supplied with beds,
mattrasses, and blankets for the winter. Now Troilus had seen a handsome
chased silver drinking cup in the town, and had set his heart upon it;
it cost thirty pounds, and he had brought this sum with him, intending
to buy the cup on his return, and when he had shaken himself free from
the charitable patriarch. "I see," said John, "you have some money with
you--many pounds, if I mistake not; distribute it among these my poor."

Troilus was unable to refuse; and so, most reluctantly, his gold went
into the pocket of the beggars instead of into that of the silversmith.
He was so greatly put out about this that he fretted himself into a
fever. The patriarch, not seeing him, or hearing of him, for some days,
sent a servant to invite him to dinner; but the Bishop declined, saying
that he suffered from a bad cold and fever. Then S. John hastened to his
house to sympathize with the sick man, but soon discovering that there
was more of temper than malady in the case, he guessed the cause, and
said, "By the way, I borrowed of you thirty pounds the other day, for my
poor; if you are so disposed, I will at once repay the sum."

Then--says the writer of the life of S. John--when the Bishop saw the
money in the hand of the patriarch, all at once his fever vanished, his
cold flew away, and his colour and vigour came back; so that any one
might have seen what was the real cause of his indisposition. "And now,
if you are well enough, you will dine with me," said the patriarch. "I
am ready," answered Bishop Troilus, jumping off his bed, on which he had
cast himself in his fever of vexation.

Now it fell out that after dinner the Bishop dropped asleep with his
head on the table, and in a dream he saw himself in a wondrous land of
rare beauty; and there he beheld a glorious house of unearthly beauty,
over the door of which was inscribed, "THE ETERNAL MANSION AND PLACE OF
REPOSE OF TROILUS, THE BISHOP." Having read this, he was glad. But there
came by a certain One, with many attendants in robes of white, and He
looked up and read the title, and said: "Not so, change the
superscription." Then the attendants removed the writing, and replaced
it with this, "THE ETERNAL MANSION AND PLACE OF REPOSE OF JOHN,
ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, PURCHASED FOR THIRTY POUNDS."

One of his domestic servants having fallen into great difficulties, the
patriarch privately helped him, by giving him two pounds. "I do not know
how I can sufficiently thank your excellence and angelic holiness," said
the servant. "No thanks," said the patriarch, "Humble John"--so he was
wont to call himself--"has not yet shed his blood for you, as his Master
taught him."

There was a certain man, named Theopentus, greatly given to charity, who
died leaving an only son. And on his death-bed, he called the boy, and
said to him, "I have ten pounds, and that is all that remains to me;
shall I give it to you or to the Virgin Mother of God?" And when the boy
said, "It shall be her's;" then the father said, "Go and spend it among
the poor."

Now when the patriarch heard of this, and that the orphan was left
destitute, and was in great want; knowing that it would hurt him to
offer him charity, he devised an innocent deception. He bade a scribe
draw up a false pedigree, making himself and the deceased to be cousins,
and he bade him show it to the youth, and bring him to the residence of
the patriarch. And when this was done, the holy man ran to the lad and
kissed him, and said, "How is this! that the child of my dear kinsman is
in poverty. I must provide for thee, my dear son." So he made him an
allowance, and married and settled him comfortably in Alexandria.

When the Persians devastated the Holy Land and sacked Jerusalem, S. John
entertained all who fled into Egypt, and nursed the wounded. He also
sent to Jerusalem, for the use of the poor there, a large sum of money,
and a thousand sacks of corn, as many of pulse, one thousand barrels of
wine, and one thousand Egyptian workmen to assist in rebuilding the
churches. He moreover despatched two bishops and an abbot to ransom the
captives.

S. John lived a simple life, his apparel, the furniture of his house,
his diet, were all of the meanest. A person of distinction in the city,
being informed that he had only an old tattered blanket on his bed, sent
him a very handsome one. "Humble John" wore it over him for one night,
but sold it next day, and gave the price to the poor; for, during the
night, he thought of some poor wretches who had no blankets at all. The
friend, being informed of this, bought the blanket, and sent it to him
again. It met with the same fate as before, and he again and again
re-purchased it. "We shall see who will be tired first," said the
patriarch; "he of buying, or I of selling, the blanket."

There was one class of men to whom it was peculiarly difficult to offer
assistance, and that was the slaves, placed at the almost complete
disposal of their masters. But the watchful care of S. John did not
forget them. To the masters he spoke noble words: "These men are made in
the image of God. What constitutes you different from them? You and your
slaves have legs and arms, and eyes and mouths, and a soul alike. S.
Paul said, 'Whosoever is baptised into Christ hath put on Christ--ye are
all one in Christ.' In Christ master and slave are equal. Christ took on
Him the form of a servant, teaching us to respect our servants. God
regardeth the humble, we are taught; He says not, the lofty ones, but
those who are least esteemed. For the sake of the poor slave were the
heavens made, for him the earth, for him the stars, for him the sun, for
him the sea and all that therein is. For him Christ abased Himself to
wash His servants' feet, for him He suffered, for him He died. Shall we
purchase with money such an one, so honoured, redeemed with such
precious blood? You ill-treat a servant, as though he were not of like
nature with you, yet is he highly honoured by God."

A monk arrived in Alexandria with a young Jewess in his company, whom he
had converted and baptized; this caused great scandal, and by order of
the patriarch, he was severely beaten. The monk bore his chastisement
meekly, without exculpating himself. Next day it was made so evident
that the monk was without the least blame, that the patriarch sent for
him to ask his forgiveness, and ever after he was most careful not to
judge rashly. "My sons," said he, when he heard people blame others; "be
not hasty to judge and condemn. We see often the sin of fornication, but
we see not the hidden repentance. We see the crime of a theft, but we
see not the sighs and tears of contrition. We severely blame the
fornicator, the thief, or the perjurer, but God receives his hidden
confessions, and bitter sorrow, and holds it as very precious."

[Illustration: THE VIRGIN APPEARING TO S. ILDEPHONSUS.
After a Painting by Murillo in the Museum at Madrid.
Jan. 23.]

Nicetas, the governor, persuaded the Saint to accompany
him to Constantinople, to pay a visit to the Emperor. S.
John was admonished from heaven, whilst he was on his way,
at Rhodes, that his death drew near; so he said to Nicetas,
"You invite me to the king of the earth; but the King of
heaven calls me to Himself." He therefore sailed to his
native island of Cyprus, and soon after died at Amanthus,
the home of his boyhood and married life, and where he had
laid his wife and children, and there he fell asleep in Christ
at the age of sixty-four, after having ruled the patriarchal see
of Alexandria ten years.

S. RAYMUND, OF PENNAFORTE, O.S.D.

(A.D. 1275.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authorities: The bull of his canonization, by
Clement VIII., in 1601, and a life by Leander Albertus.]

S. Raymund was born in 1175, at Pennaforte, a castle in Catalonia. At
the age of thirty he went to Bologna, in Italy, to perfect himself in
the study of canon and civil law. In 1219 the Bishop of Barcelona, who
had been at Rome, took Raymund home with him and made him archdeacon
of Barcelona. In 1222 he took the religious habit of S. Dominic,
eight months after the founder had died. James, King of Arragon, had
married Eleonora of Castile within the prohibited degrees, without a
dispensation. A legate of Pope Gregory IX., in a council of bishops
held at Tarragona, declared the marriage null. Acting on the mind of
the prince, by his great sanctity and earnestness, Raymund persuaded
him to introduce the inquisition into the kingdom to suppress the
Waldenses and Albigenses, who had made many converts to their
pernicious doctrines. The object of S. Raymund doubtless was that it
should serve as a check to the diffusion of heresy, and be a protection
to simple souls against the poison which the ministers of Antichrist
strove to infuse into them. The inquisitors were to be the dogs
protecting the sheep from the wolves. S. Raymund laboured diligently,
by exhortation and example, to convert the Moors and heretics, and his
efforts were attended with extraordinary success.

Pope Gregory IX., having called S. Raymund to Rome, made him his
confessor. In 1235 he was named to the archbishopric of Tarragona, but,
by his tears, he persuaded the Pope not to enforce his acceptance of
the responsible charge. In 1238 he was chosen general of the Dominican
order. He made the visitation of the order on foot, and reduced the
constitution to a more complete system than heretofore. Being in
Majorca with the king, he discovered that King James was living in
adultery with a lady of his court. As the king would not dissolve the
sinful union, the Saint implored leave to depart; the king refused,
and forbade any shipper taking him into his vessel. Thereupon Raymund
boldly spread his cloak on the water, and standing on it, was wafted
across to Barcelona. This miracle so alarmed the king, that he became
a sincere penitent. Raymund died on Jan. 6th, 1275, at the age of a
hundred.

FOOTNOTES:

[115] From the mines in the Cassiterides, Devon and Cornwall.

[116] We see here an instance of the manner in which some stories of
miracles were formed. Leontius, who heard the story from the clergy
acquainted with all the circumstances, says that the bearer of the pots
told the Patriarch that they contained money; but that, for greater
security, they were labelled honey. But Metaphrastes, in telling the
story, says that, miraculously, the honey was converted into gold.

January 24.

S. TIMOTHY, _B. M. at Ephesus_, A.D. 97.
SS. BABYLUS, _B._, and COMPANIONS, _MM., at Antioch, 3rd cent._
S. FELICIAN, _B. M. of Foligni, in Italy_, A.D. 250.
S. MACEDONIUS, _H., in Syria, beginning of 5th cent._
S. EUSEBIA, _V., at Mylasa, in Caria (Asia Minor), 5th cent._
S. CADOC, _Ab., in Wales, and M., 6th cent._
S. ZOSIMUS, _B. of Babylon, in Egypt, 6th cent._

S. TIMOTHY, B. OF EPHESUS.

(A.D. 97.)

[By almost all the ancient Latin Martyrologies, S. Timothy is
commemorated on this day, but by the Greeks on Jan. 22. The
Martyrology called by the name of S. Jerome on Sept. 27. That of
Wandelbert on May 16, possibly because of some translation of
relics. Authorities: the Epistles of S. Paul, and the Acts of S.
Timothy, by Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus (210), which, however, we
have not in their original form, but in a recension of the 5th or
6th century; other Acts of S. Timothy, also in Greek, and a life in
Metaphrastes.]

Saint Timothy, the beloved disciple of S. Paul, was born at Lystra in
Lycaonia. His father was a Gentile, but his mother, Eunice, was a
Jewess. She, with Lois, his grandmother, embraced Christianity, and S.
Paul commends their faith. S. Timothy had made the writings of the Old
Testament his study from infancy.[117] S. Paul took the young man as the
companion of his labours,[118] but first he had him circumcised at
Lystra, as a condescension to the prejudices of the Jews. He would not
suffer S. Titus, born of Gentile parents, to be brought under the law,
but Timothy, on account of his Jewish mother, to avoid scandal to the
Jews, he submitted to circumcision.

When S. Paul was compelled to quit Beraea, he left Timothy behind him to
confirm the new converts. But on his arrival at Athens S. Paul sent for
him, and sent him to Thessalonica where the Christians were suffering
persecution. Thence he returned to S. Paul, who was then at Corinth, to
give an account of his mission.[119] From Corinth S. Paul went to
Jerusalem, and thence to Ephesus. Here he formed the resolution of
returning into Greece, and he sent Timothy and Erastus before him
through Macedonia, to apprize the faithful in those parts of his
intention of visiting them. Timothy had a special charge to go
afterwards to Corinth, to correct certain abuses there. S. Paul awaited
his return, in Asia, and then went with him into Macedonia and Achaia.

During the subsequent imprisonment of S. Paul, Timothy appears to have
been with him. He was ordained Bishop of Ephesus, probably in the year
64. S. Paul wrote his first Epistle to Timothy from Macedonia, in 64;
and his second in 65, from Rome, while there in chains, to press him to
come to Rome, that he might see him again before he died.

S. Timothy was afterwards associated with S. John; and in the Apocalypse
he is the Angel, or Bishop, of the Church of Ephesus, to whom Christ
sends His message by S. John.[120] During the great annual feast of the
Catagogii, which consisted of processions bearing idols, with women
lewdly dancing before them, and ending in bloodshed, S. Timothy moved by
righteous zeal, rushed into the portico of the temple, and exhorted the
frenzied revellers to decency; but this so enraged them, that they fell
upon him with sticks and stones, and killed him.

[Illustration: S. TIMOTHY.
From a Window of the Eleventh Century at Neuweiler.
Jan. 24.]

SS. BABYLUS, B., AND COMPANIONS, MM.

(3RD CENT.)

[Latin Martyrologies Jan. 24; Greek Menaea Sept. 4. Authorities:
Eusebius, Sozomen, Philostorgius; and his Acts, written by
Leontius, patriarch of Antioch, A.D. 348, which exist only in a
fragmentary condition; also S. Chrysostom: Contra Gentiles de S.
Babyla, and Hom. de S. Babyla; the latter written in 387.]

On the death of Zebinus, patriarch of Antioch, in the year 237, S.
Babylus was elected to the patriarchal throne. The Emperor Philip,
passing through Antioch in 244, and being, as is supposed, a catechumen,
desired to visit the church. Babylus, informed of his approach, went to
meet him at the gate, and forbade his ingress, because he was stained
with the blood of his predecessor, Gordian, who had associated him in
the empire, and whom he had basely murdered.

According to S. Chrysostom, who relates this anecdote, the Emperor
withdrew in confusion. But according to the Acts it was not the Emperor
Philip, but the governor, Numerian, who attempted to enter the church,
but was repulsed as being an idolator and stained with murder, by the
dauntless Bishop; and Nicephorus Callistus, and Philostorgius say the
same. Certain it is that S. Babylus suffered under this governor
Numerian, son of Carus, who was afterwards, for eight months, emperor,
conjointly with his brother Carinus. Babylus, and three little boys,
aged respectively twelve, nine, and seven, orphans, whom he brought up
in his house, were so cruelly handled by the torturers before the
governor, that the boys died, and Babylus expired shortly after in
prison. In order to put a stop to the abominations of the famous temple
and oracle of Daphne, the zealous Emperor Gallus, brother of Julian,
buried the body of S. Babylus opposite the temple gate. From that day
the oracle ceased to speak. The apostate Emperor Julian ordered its
removal, in hopes of restoring liberty to the demon who uttered the
oracles, and the Christians translated the sacred relics to the city,
"singing psalms along the road," says Sozomen. "The best singers went
first, and the multitude chanted in chorus, and this was the burden of
their song: _Confounded are all they that worship carved images, and
delight in vain gods._"[121]

S. MACEDONIUS, H.

(BEGINNING OF 5TH CENT.)

[Greek Menaea. Authorities: Theodoret in his Philotheus, c. 13, and
his Ecclesiastical Hist. lib. v. c. 20; Nicephorus Callistus, lib.
xii. 44. Theodoret's mother was under the direction of S.
Macedonius.]

S. Macedonius lived a life of great austerity on barley and water. For
forty-five years he inhabited a dry ditch, after that he spent
twenty-five in a rude cabin.

A sedition having broken out in Antioch, and the people having
overthrown the statue of the Empress Flacilla, Theodosius, the Emperor,
in a fit of rage, ordered the city to be set on fire and reduced to the
condition of a village. Blood would also have been infallibly shed, had
not S. Ambrose obtained from Theodosius, shortly before, the passing of
the law that no sentence against a city should take effect till thirty
days had expired. The Emperor sent his chamberlain, Eleutherius, to
Antioch to execute his severe sentence against the city and its
inhabitants. As he entered the streets lined with trembling citizens, a
ragged hermit, it was Macedonius, plucked him by the cloak and said: "Go
to the Emperor, and say to him from me, You are not only an Emperor,
but a man; and you ought not only to remember what is due to an empire,
but also to human nature. Man was made in the image and likeness of God.
Do not then order the image of God to be destroyed. You pass this cruel
sentence, because an image of bronze has been overthrown. And for that
will you slay living men, the hair of whose head you cannot make to
grow?" When this speech was reported to the Emperor, he regretted his
angry sentence, and sent to withdraw it.

S. CADOC, AB.

(BETWEEN A.D. 522 AND 590.)

[English and Gallican Martyrologies. Through a strange confusion,
S. Cadoc of Wales has been identified with S. Sophias of Beneventum
in Italy; because S. Cadoc appears in the Martyrologies as S.
Cadoc, at Benavenna (Weedon), and S. Sophias or Sophius Bishop of
Beneventum being commemorated the same day, the life given by
Bollandus, with hesitation, is a confused jumble of these two
saints into one. The best account of S. Cadoc is in Rees "Lives of
the Cambro-British Saints;" and in La Ville-marqué's La Légende
Celtique. There is also a poem composed in honour of S. Cadoc, by
Richard ap Rhys of Llancarvan, between 1450 and 1480, published in
the Iolo MSS., p. 301, and the sentences, proverbs and aphorisms of
S. Cadoc are to be found in Myvrian Archaeology, iii. p. 10. The
following epitome of his life is from M. de Montalembert's Monks of
the West, with additions from M. de Ville-marqué and corrections
from Rees.]

Immediately after the period occupied in the annals of Wales by King
Arthur and the monk-bishop David, appears S. Cadoc, a personage
regarding whom it is difficult to make a distinction between history and
legend, but whose life has left a profound impression upon the Keltic
races. His father Gwynllyw Filwr, surnamed the Warrior, one of the petty
kings of South Wales, having heard much of the beauty of the daughter of
a neighbouring chief, had her carried off by a band of three hundred
vassals, from the midst of her sisters, and from the door of her own
chamber, in her father's castle. The father hastened to the rescue of
his daughter with all his vassals and allies, and soon overtook
Gwynllyw, who rode with the young princess at the croup, going softly
not to fatigue her. It was not an encounter favourable for the lover:
two hundred of his followers perished, but he, himself, succeeded in
escaping safely with the lady. Of this rude warrior and this beautiful
princess was to be born the saint who has been called the Doctor of the
Welsh, and who founded the great monastic establishment of Llancarvan.
The very night of his birth, the soldiers, or, to speak more justly, the
robber-followers of the king, his father, who had been sent to pillage
the neighbours right and left, stole the milch cow of a holy Irish monk,
who had no sustenance, he nor his twelve disciples, except the abundant
milk of this cow. When informed of this nocturnal theft, the monk got
up, put on his shoes in all haste, and hurried to reclaim his cow from
the king, who was still asleep. The latter took advantage of the
occasion to have his new-born son baptized by the pious solitary, and
made him promise to undertake the education and future vocation of the
infant. The Irishman gave him the name of Cadoc, (Cattwg,) which means
warlike; and then, having recovered his cow, went back to his cell to
await the king's son, who was sent to him at the age of seven, having
already learned to hunt and fight. The young prince passed twelve years
with the Irish monk, whom he served, lighting his fire and cooking his
food, and who taught him the rudiments of Latin grammar. Preferring the
life of a recluse to the throne of his father, he went to Ireland for
three years, to carry on his education at Lismore, a celebrated
monastery school, after which he returned to Wales, and continued his
studies under a famous Roman rhetorician, newly arrived from Italy. This
doctor had more pupils than money; famine reigned in his school. One
day poor Cadoc, who fasted continually, was learning his lesson in his
cell, seated before a little table, and leaning his head on his hands,
when suddenly a white mouse, coming out of a hole in the wall, jumped on
the table, and put down a grain of corn; then Cadoc rising, followed the
mouse into a cellar, one of those old Keltic subterranean granaries,
remains of which are found to this day in Wales and Cornwall. There
Cadoc found a large heap of corn, which served to feed the master and
his pupils for many days.

Having early decided to embrace monastic life, he hid himself in a wood,
where, after making a narrow escape from assassination by an armed
swineherd of a neighbouring chief, he saw, near a forgotten fountain,
where a white swan floated, an enormous wild boar, white with age,
coming out of his den, and make three bounds, one after another,
stopping each time, and turning round to stare furiously at the stranger
who had disturbed him in his resting place. Cadoc marked with three
branches the three bounds of the wild boar, which afterwards became the
site of the church, dormitories, and refectory of the great abbey of
Llancarvan. The abbey took its name, "The Church of the Stags," from the
legend that two deers from the neighbouring wood came one day to replace
two idle and disobedient monks who had refused to perform the necessary
labour for the construction of the monastery, saying, "Are we oxen, that
we should be yoked to carts, and compelled to drag timber?"

The rushes were torn up, the briars and thorns were cut down, and S.
Cadoc dug deep trenches to drain the morass formed about the fountain he
had discovered. One day, when the chapel he was building was nearly
completed, a monk came that way, bearing on his back a leather pouch
containing tools for working metal, and some specimens of his
handicraft. His name was Gildas. He was the son of a chief in
Westmoreland, and his brother, Aneurin, was one day famous among the
bards of Britain.[122] Gildas opened his bag and produced a bell. Its
form was that of a tall square cap, and it was made of a mixture of
silver and copper, not molten, but hammered.

Cadoc took the bell and sounded it, and the note was so sweet that he
greatly desired the bell, and asked Gildas to give it him. "No," said
the bell-maker; "I have destined it for the altar of S. Peter at Rome."
But when Gildas offered the bell to the Pope, the holy father was unable
to sound it; then Gildas knew he must give it to the Welsh monk; so he
returned to Britain, and offered it to Cadoc, and when he held it, the
bell rang sweetly as heretofore.

Llancarvan became a great workshop, where numerous monks, subject to a
very severe rule, bowed their bodies under the yoke of continual
fatigue, clearing the forests, and cultivating the fields when cleared;
it was besides, a great literary and religious school, in which the
study of the Holy Scriptures held the van, and was followed by that of
the ancient authors, and their more modern commentators. Cadoc loved to
sum up, chiefly under the form of sentences in verse and poetical
aphorisms, the instructions given to his pupils of the Llancarvan
cloister. A great number of such utterances have been preserved. We
instance a few. "Truth is the elder daughter of God. Without light
nothing is good. Without light there is no piety. Without light there is
no religion. Without light there is no faith. The sight of God, that is
light." "Without knowledge, no power. Without knowledge, no wisdom.
Without knowledge, no freedom. Without knowledge, no beauty. Without
knowledge, no nobility. Without knowledge, no victory. Without
knowledge, no honour. Without knowledge, no God." "The best of attitudes
is humility. The best of occupations is work. The best of sentiments,
pity. The best of cares, justice. The best of pains, peacemaking. The
best of sorrows, contrition. The best of characters, generosity." When
one of his disciples asked him to define love, he answered, "Love, it is
Heaven." "And hate?" asked his disciple. "Hate is hell." "And
conscience?" "It is the eye of God in the soul of man." "The best of
patriots," said S. Cadoc, "is he who tills the soil."

When a chief at the head of a band of robbers, came to pillage
Llancarvan, S. Cadoc went against him with his monks armed with their
harps, chanting and striking the strings. Then the chief recoiled, and
left them unmolested. Another chief, enraged at Cadoc receiving his son
into his monastery, came with a force to reclaim the youth and destroy
the cloister. Cadoc went to meet him, bathed in sunshine, and found the
chief and his men groping in darkness. He gave them light, and they
returned ashamed to their homes.

Cadoc had the happiness of assisting in the conversion of his father. In
the depths of his cloister he groaned over the rapines and sins of the
old robber from whom he derived his life. Accordingly he sent to his
father's house three of his monks, to preach repentance. His mother, the
beautiful Gwladys, was the first to be touched, and it was not long
before she persuaded her husband to agree with her. They called their
son to make to him a public confession of their sins, and then, father
and son chanted together the psalm, "Exaudiat te Dominus"--"The Lord
hear thee in the day of trouble." When this was ended, the king and
queen retired into solitude, establishing themselves in two cabins on
the bank of a river, where they worked for their livelihood, and were
often visited by their son.

The invasion of the Saxons obliged S. Cadoc to fly, first to the island
of Flat-holmes in the Bristol Channel, and then into Brittany, where he
founded a new monastery, on a little desert island of the archipelago of
Morbihan, which is still shown from the peninsula of Rhuys; and to make
his school accessible to the children of the district, who had to cross
to the isle and back again in a boat, he threw a stone bridge four
hundred and fifty feet long across this arm of the sea. In this modest
retreat the Welsh prince resumed his monastic life, adapting it
especially to his ancient scholarly habits. He made his scholars learn
Virgil by heart: and one day, while walking with his friend and
companion, the famous historian Gildas, with his Virgil under his arm,
the abbot began to weep at the thought that the poet, whom he loved so
much, might be even then perhaps in hell. At the moment when Gildas
reprimanded him severely for that "perhaps," protesting that without any
doubt Virgil must be damned, a sudden gust of wind tossed Cadoc's book
into the sea. He was much moved by this accident, and, returning to his
cell, said to himself, "I will not eat a mouthful of bread, nor drink a
drop of water, till I know truly what fate God has allotted to one who
sang upon earth as the angels sing in heaven." After this, he fell
asleep, and soon after, dreaming, he heard a soft voice addressing him,
"Pray for me, pray for me," said the voice, "never be weary of praying;
I shall yet sing eternally the mercy of the Lord."

The next morning a fisherman brought him a salmon, and the Saint found
in the fish the book which the wind had snatched out of his hands.

After a sojourn of several years in Brittany, Cadoc left his new
community flourishing under the government of another pastor, and
to put in practice that maxim which he loved to repeat to his
followers:--"Wouldst thou find glory? march to the grave." He returned
to Britain, not to find again the ancient peace and prosperity of his
beloved retreat of Llancarvan, but to establish himself in the very
centre of the Saxon settlements, and console the numerous Christians
who had survived the massacres of the Conquest, and lived under the
yoke of a foreign and heathen race. He settled at Weedon, in the county
of Northampton;[123] and it was there that he awaited his martyrdom.
One morning, when vested in the ornaments of his priestly office, as he
was celebrating the Divine Sacrifice, a furious band of Saxon cavalry,
chasing the Christians before them, entered pell-mell into the church,
and crowded towards the altar. The Saint continued the sacrifice as
calmly as he had begun it. A Saxon chief, urging on his horse, and
brandishing his lance, went up to him and struck him to the heart.
Cadoc fell on his knees; and his last desire, his last thought, were
still for his dear countrymen. "Lord," he said, while dying, "invisible
King, Saviour Jesus, grant me one grace,--protect the Christians of my
country!"

[Illustration: S. Paul, after a Bronze in Christian Museum in the
Vatican.]

FOOTNOTES:

[117] 2 Tim. iii. 14.

[118] 1 Thess. iii. 2; 1 Cor. iv. 17.

[119] Acts xviii.

[120] Rev. ii. 1, 7.

[121] Hist. Eccl. v. c. 19: also Socrates, Eccl. Hist. iii. 19.

[122] The Gododdin, a poem descriptive of the massacre of the
British chiefs at Stonehenge by Hengest, was composed by Aneurin whilst
in prison.

[123] The ancient name of Weedon having been Benavenna, this
has helped to cause the confusion which arose between S. Cadoc and S.
Sophias of Benevento in Italy.

January 25.

CONVERSION OF S. PAUL.
S. ARTEMAS, _M., at Puteoli_.
SS. JUVENTINE AND MAXIMUS, _MM., at Antioch_, A.D. 362.
S. PUBLIUS, _Ab. of Zeugma, in Syria, 4th cent._
S. APOLLO, _Ab. in Egypt, circ._ A.D. 395.
S. MARES, _Ab. in Syria, 5th cent._
S. PRAEJECTUS, _B._, AND COMPANIONS, _at Clermont_, A.D. 674.
S. POPPO, _Ab. of Stavelot, in Belgium_, A.D. 1048.
B. HENRY OF SUSO, _O.S.D., at Ulm, in Germany_, A.D. 1365.

THE CONVERSION OF S. PAUL.

[The circumstances of the Conversion of S. Paul are so fully
recorded in the Acts of the Holy Apostles, chaps. xix., xxii.,
xxvi., as not to need repetition here, being familiar to all. Among
the Greeks, S. Ananias, who baptized S. Paul, is commemorated on
this day.]

S. ARTEMAS, M.

[Commemorated at Puteoli and Naples under the name of Artemas, but
in the ancient Martyrology attributed to S. Jerome, he is called
Antimasius, a mistake of copyists for Artimasius or Artemas. The
Acts are those preserved by the Church of Puteoli, and seem to be
founded on others of great antiquity; they exist only in a
fragmentary condition, and give no clue to the date of the
martyrdom.]

Artemas was a pious Christian boy in Puteoli, in the south of Italy. He
was sent to school to one Cathageta, a heathen. Out of the abundance of
the heart the mouth speaketh, and the boy, filled with faith, spoke of
his belief to some of his fellow-scholars. It was soon known among the
boys that Artemas was a Christian, and it came to the master's ears.
Cathageta lectured and browbeat the little scholar, and threatened him
with the rod. "You may whip," said the brave boy; "but you will only
whip my faith deeper into me." Then the master, in a rage, shouted to
the boys to punish him, and the cruel tiger-cubs, educated to bloodshed
by the atrocities of the arena, fell upon him with their iron pens,
used for scratching on wax tablets, and stabbed him to death.

[Illustration: THE CONVERSION OF S. PAUL.
After the Cartoon by Raphael.
Jan. 25.]

SS. JUVENTINE AND MAXIMUS, MM., AT ANTIOCH.

(A.D. 362.)

[Authorities: the 40th Homily of S. John Chrysostom; Theodoret,
Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c. 15; Nicephorus Callistus, lib. x. c. 12.]

Theodoret says:--"The Emperor Julian continued to oppose religion with
greater and greater boldness, while he assumed the specious appearance
of clemency, in order to lay snares to entrap men, and seduce them into
irreligion. He cast things offered to idols into the fountains of the
city of Antioch, so that no one could drink of the streams without
partaking of the hateful sacrifices. He defiled in the same way
everything that was sold in the market-place; for he had water which had
been offered to idols sprinkled on the bread, meat, fruit, herbs, and
all other articles of food. The Christians lamented these abominations,
yet partook of the food according to the precept of the Apostle. (1 Cor.
x. 25.) Two of the Emperor's guards, who were his shield-bearers and
companions in arms, vehemently deplored, at a certain convivial meeting,
the perpetration of such odious deeds. One of those who had been present
acquainted the Emperor with this speech. The Emperor sent for these two
men, and asked what it was that they had said. This question they
answered thus, in the warmth of their zeal: 'O Emperor, having been
brought up in the true religion, and having been accustomed to the
admirable laws of Constantine, we cannot but be deeply grieved at
witnessing the very food contaminated by being mixed with idol
offerings. We lamented this privately, and now, publicly, we express our
regret. This is the only cause of sorrow which we experience under your
government.' On hearing these words the Emperor threw off the mask of
clemency. Such excruciating tortures were, by his orders, inflicted on
these two men, that they expired under them. The Church of Antioch
honoured them as defenders of religion, and interred them in a
magnificent tomb; and even to this day an annual festival is celebrated
in their honour. Their names were Juventius (Juventinus) and Maximus."

S. APOLLO, AB. IN THE THEBAID.

(ABOUT A.D. 395.)

[Commemorated on this day by Greeks and Latins alike, though some
Latin Martyrologies note him on the 18th April. Authorities: his
life by Palladius in the Hist. Lausiaca; and Sozomen, lib. iii. c.
14, who calls him Apollonius. Palladius is an excellent authority,
for during his residence among the hermits of the Thebaid, he was
personally acquainted with Apollo.]

This illustrious hermit began his discipline of himself by a solitary
life in the desert, at the age of fifteen. He spent forty years by
himself, and then, called by God to guide the souls of others, he became
head of a congregation of monks in Upper Egypt. In the reign of Julian
the Apostate, hearing that his brother, who was in the army, was
imprisoned for his religion, he went at the head of his monks to visit
him. The tribune entering the prison shortly after, and seeing so many
monks within, ordered the gates to be closed, and vowed he would enlist
them all as soldiers. But in the night an angel came, bearing a lamp,
and opened the doors of the prison and led them forth, and they escaped
with great joy to their beloved desert. About fifty monks obeyed him;
but he did not confine his sympathies to them. Hearing that the country
people were about to fight one another about some trifling subject of
contention, Apollo rushed from his rocks, and flinging himself amongst
them, conjured them not to shed one another's blood. One party promised
to retire, but the other, headed by a redoubted robber, confident in his
powers, held out. Then Apollo turned to the chief and said, "My son, lay
down thine arms, and I will pray God to pardon thy many offences." The
man cast away his weapons, and threw himself at the feet of the abbot.
On another occasion he heard that a village procession of a famous
wooden idol was about to take place; he went down, and kneeling, prayed
God to prevent it. Then the image became immovable, so that neither
priest nor people could take it from its place in the temple. The
priests said, "A Christian has done this." "Yes," said Apollo, "I have
done it by my prayers," and he exhorted the people to forsake the
worship of such vain gods.

One Easter day the community had only some old stale loaves and a few
dried olives, and they lamented that on so great a day they must fast,
as in Lent. "Be of good cheer," said the abbot, "let each ask for what
he likes best, and on such a day the loving God will give it him." But
they would not ask, thinking themselves unworthy of such a favour. But
he said, "Fear not, I will pray." Then they all knelt down, and Apollo
asked, and they said Amen. Now as this response came, behold there
arrived men and asses bringing a present to the monks, and it consisted
of fresh loaves, pomegranates, citrons, honey in the comb, nuts, and a
pitcher of fresh milk, grapes and figs, and large luscious dates
(_nicolai_).

The monks of Apollo communicated every day, and some ate nothing from
communion to communion, living only on this heavenly food. These were
some of the pieces of advice Apollo gave to his monks:--"It behoves us
to be ever joyous, for we ought not to be sad about our salvation. The
Gentiles are sad, the Jews weep, and sinners mourn, all those whose
affections are fixed on earthly things have cause to be agitated in
mind, but not we." And it was so, that the monks were always cheerful
and gay, and if any appeared sad, the abbot knew the cause must be sin,
and he sent for him. "Let the monks communicate every day, for those who
withdraw from the Sacraments, from them God withdraws Himself. But he
who approaches them assiduously receives the Saviour. That is a salutary
saying, 'He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in Me,
and I in him.' Daily, therefore, let the monks prepare themselves, and
daily let them receive it." "Let asceticism," he added, "be secret. I do
not like those who put chains on their necks,--they do it to be seen of
men; let them rather fast in their cells, where no one will know
anything about it."

S. MARES, AB. IN SYRIA.

(5TH CENT.)

[From the Philotheus of Theodoret, cap. 20.]

S. Mares spent thirty-seven years in a small damp cell, constant in
prayer. Theodoret says that towards his end, "I went to his door, and he
bade me open. He was aged ninety, and wore common goat's hair garments.
All his food was bread and salt. As, for long, he had desired to see the
Holy Sacrifice offered, but was not able, he asked that the oblation of
the Divine Gift might be made there. I willingly obeyed, and having
ordered the sacred vessels to be brought from the village, and using for
an altar the hands of the deacons, I offered the mystic, divine, and
salutary Sacrifice. But he was filled with all spiritual delight, and
thought that he saw heaven, and declared he had never had such joy. I
was greatly pleased with him, and I should be doing him and myself a
wrong, if after his death I did not praise him."

S. PRAEJECTUS, B., AND OTHERS, MM., AT CLERMONT.

(A.D. 674.)

[S. Praejectus, in French _S. Priest_, _Priets_, _Prie_, or _Prix_,
is commemorated in the Gallican, Belgic, Sarum, and other
Martyrologies. Authority: his life by two contemporary writers.]

S. Praejectus, Bishop of Clermont in Auvergne, severely rebuked one
Hector, a noble of Marseilles, for having ravished a young lady of
Auvergne, and seized on her estates. His remonstrances having been
disregarded, he hastened to King Childeric II. to lay his complaint
before him, and the king gave orders for the execution of Hector. On the
return of the Saint to his see, some friends of Hector waylaid him at a
place called Volvic, near Clermont, and murdered him.

S. POPPO, AB. OF STAVELOT.

(A.D. 1048.)

[Modern Roman Martyrology. The name occurs in no ancient
Martyrologies; it owes its insertion to Baronius. His life was
written by Everhelm, abbot of Hautmont, his contemporary, in 1069.]

The blessed Poppo, born in Flanders in 978, as a youth served in arms.
He made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and, on his return, engaged
himself to the daughter of his friend Frumhold. When the time of his
marriage drew nigh, Poppo mounted his horse one night, together with
some retainers, to ride to fetch his bride. He had not gone far before a
dazzling flash of light illumined him within, in his soul, and bathed
his body in a blaze of glory. As it faded away, he spurred on his horse,
and then noticed that a flame burnt on the point of his spear; it was as
though he rode bearing a tall church taper in his hand. Astounded at
this marvel, he reined in his steed, and turning to his companions said,
"God calls me to another life."

Then he left home and went, with the light still illuminating his soul,
and served in a hospital for the sick. One day a miserable leper was
brought in so covered with sores that he could not be placed with the
other inmates. Thinking that the poor creature was cold in the night,
Poppo went to him with his own coverlid, and laid it over him. Next
morning the leper was whole, the charity of Poppo had healed him.
Richard, abbot of Verdun, appointed Poppo to rule the abbey of S.
Vedast, which had fallen into scandalous disorder. When the Emperor
Henry II. was in the Betawe, between the two branches of the Rhine,
Poppo, having to visit him about some affairs concerning his monastery,
found the prince enjoying a favourite pastime of his; a naked man was
smeared with honey and exposed to bears; and the sport consisted in the
bears trying to lick the man, and he eluding their embraces. As this
sport not unfrequently ended in the man being injured, and sometimes
killed, Poppo rebuked the king, and brought him to a sense of the
impropriety of encouraging such coarse and dangerous amusements. That
this sport was popular, appears from Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims,
being obliged to forbid his clergy and monks attending either it or
bear-bating.

On another occasion, when Poppo was on his way to the Emperor, then at
Strasburg, as he passed through the Ellisgau, with some of his monks,
they saw a wolf carry off a man by the neck into a marsh. Poppo at once
called his monks to the rescue. They were unable, on account of the
loose texture of the swamp, to go direct to where the man lay, but they
surrounded the marsh, and following the bloody traces, recovered the
man, who was much mangled; they bound up his wounds, and he finally
recovered. What became of the wolf they saw not, and hoped, and hoping
believed, he was smothered in the marsh.

Poppo was afterwards created abbot of Stavelot, where the monks had
fallen into grave disorders. His efforts to reform them so irritated
some of the worst, that they attempted to poison him, but failed. Having
thoroughly reformed the monastery, he rebuilt and beautified the church,
and died on the feast of the Conversion of S. Paul, after having
received extreme unction from the hands of the abbot Everhelm, who is
his biographer.

[Illustration: Alpha and Omega; the first and the Last.]

January 26.

S. POLYCARP, _B. M. of Smyrna_, A.D. 167.
S. SIMEON THE OLD, _Ab. in Syria, end of 4th cent._
S. PAULA, _W., at Bethlehem_, A.D. 404.
S. XENOPHON, HIS WIFE AND SONS, _5th cent._
S. BATHILD, _Q., in France, circ._ A.D. 670.
S. THEORITGITHA, _V., at Barking, in Essex, 7th cent._
S. GOBERT, _C., at Foss, in Belgium_. S. ALBERIC, _Ab. of Citeaux,
beginning of 12th cent._ B. HASEKA, _R., in Westphalia_, A.D. 1261.

S. POLYCARP, B. M. OF SMYRNA.

(A.D. 167.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authorities: His Acts, written by the Church of
Smyrna immediately after his martyrdom, Eusebius, &c.]

Saint Polycarp was converted to Christianity in the year 80, when quite
young, and he had the privilege of accompanying those who had seen Jesus
Christ. S. John, whose special disciple he was, consecrated him Bishop
of Smyrna in the year 96. He is supposed to be the Angel or Bishop of
the Church of Smyrna, to whom alone, in the messages recorded in the
Apocalypse, did Jesus Christ address praise unmixed with blame.[124] "I
know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich), and I
know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are
the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt
suffer; behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye
may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful
unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

In the year 158, S. Polycarp visited Rome. The cause of his visit is not
exactly declared; but he had a conference with Pope Anicetus concerning
the time of celebrating the Paschal Feast; and the disputes upon this
subject were carried on so warmly, in the second century, that perhaps
we are to seek no other reason for Polycarp undertaking so long a
journey. The first day of the week, or Sunday, appears to have been held
sacred, on account of our Lord's Resurrection, from the very beginning
of the Church. The eastern and western Christians agreed in keeping a
solemn fast for some time preceding the feast of the Resurrection. There
was, however, one important difference between them. The Asiatic
Christians kept a feast on the true Passover, as well as observing the
great Easter festival. The western Christians kept the Paschal feast on
Easter Day. By separating the Passover feast from the feast of the
Resurrection, the Easterns had a burst of festivity interrupting
discordantly the hush of the great fast, which caused great offence to
the western sense of propriety. Both parties laid claims to apostolic
authority for their respective customs. The eastern Christians asserted
that SS. John and Philip had sanctioned their custom; while the brethren
at Rome defended themselves by the authority of SS. Peter and Paul. This
being the case, and neither of the parties being willing to concede, a
conference between an Asiatic Bishop and the Bishop of Rome seemed a
very desirable measure. Polycarp had been personally known to S. John,
and had been appointed by him to his bishopric. Anicetus was, singularly
enough, the seventh Bishop of Rome since the beginning of the century,
but Polycarp had occupied the see of Smyrna during the whole of that
time. S. Irenaeus, who relates the conference between Anicetus and
Polycarp, states that neither could convince the other. The meeting was,
however, conducted and terminated in perfect amity. The two bishops
were firm, and wedded to their respective customs; but the bond of peace
was not broken between them; and as proof of their mutual goodwill,
they received together the supersubstantial food, the Pope allowing
Polycarp, out of respect for his age and character, to celebrate.

In the sixth year of the reign of Marcus Aurelius, an exhibition of
games in Smyrna kept the city in excitement for some days, and the
Christians were made to fight with wild beasts for the amusement of the
populace. Polycarp himself was advised to withdraw from the storm, and
he concealed himself for some time at a short distance from the city.
His retreat was betrayed by a boy, who was threatened with the rack
unless he discovered him. Herod, the magistrate, whose office it was to
prevent misdemeanours, sent horsemen by night to beset his lodgings. The
Saint was above stairs in bed, but refused to make his escape, saying,
"God's will be done." He went down, met them at the door, ordered them a
handsome supper, and desired only some time for prayer before he went
with them. This granted, he began his prayer standing, and continued it
in that posture for two hours, recommending to God his own flock and the
whole Church, with so much earnestness and devotion, that several of
those that were come to seize him, repented having undertaken the
commission. They set him on an ass, and were conducting him towards the
city, when he was met on the road by Herod and his father, Nicetes, who
took him into their chariot, and endeavoured to persuade him to a little
compliance, saying, "What harm is there in sacrificing, to escape
death?" The bishop at first was silent, in imitation of our Saviour: but
being pressed, he gave them this resolute answer, "I shall never do what
you desire of me." At these words, they thrust him out of the chariot
with such violence, that his leg was bruised by the fall. The holy man
went forward cheerfully to the place where the people were assembled.
Upon his entering it, a voice from heaven was heard by many: "Polycarp,
be courageous, and play the man." He was led directly to the tribunal of
the pro-consul, who exhorted him to respect his own age, to swear by the
genius of the Emperor, and blaspheme Christ. Polycarp replied, "I have
served Him these fourscore and six years, and He never did me any harm,
but much good. How can I then blaspheme my King and my Saviour? If you
require of me to swear by the genius of Caesar, as you call it, hear my
free confession; I am a Christian: but if you desire to learn the
Christian religion, appoint a time, and hear me."

The pro-consul then, assuming a tone of severity, said, "I have wild
beasts." "Call for them," replied the Saint: "for we are unalterably
resolved not to change from good to evil. It is only good to pass from
evil to good." The pro-consul said, "If you despise the beasts, I will
cause you to be burnt to ashes." Polycarp answered, "You threaten me
with a fire which burns for a short time, and then goes out; but are,
yourself, ignorant of the judgment to come, and of the fire prepared for
the wicked. Why do you delay? Bring against me what you please." Whilst
he said this his countenance shone with a certain heavenly grace,
insomuch that the pro-consul was struck with admiration. However, he
ordered a crier to make public proclamation three times, "Polycarp has
confessed himself a Christian." At this proclamation the whole multitude
of Jews and Gentiles gave a great shout. They unanimously demanded that
he should be burnt alive. Their request was no sooner granted than every
one ran, with all speed, to fetch wood from the baths and shops. The
Jews were particularly active and busy on this occasion. The pile being
prepared, Polycarp put off his garments, untied his girdle, and began to
take off his shoes. The wood and other combustibles were heaped around
him. The executioners would have attached him to the stake; but he said
to them, "Suffer me to be as I am. He who gives me grace to endure this
fire, will enable me to stand still without that precaution." They,
therefore, contented themselves with tying his hands behind his back,
and in this posture, looking up towards heaven, he prayed as follows: "O
Almighty Lord God, Father of Thy beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ,
by whom we have received the knowledge of Thee, God of angels, powers,
and every creature, and of all the race of the just that live in Thy
presence! I bless Thee for having been pleased in Thy goodness to bring
me to this hour, that I may receive a portion in the number of Thy
martyrs, and partake of the chalice of Thy Christ, for the resurrection
to eternal life, in the incorruptibleness of the Holy Spirit. Grant me
to be received this day as a pleasing sacrifice, such an one as thou
Thyself hast prepared, that so Thou mayest accomplish what Thou, O true
and faithful God! hast foreshown. Wherefore, for all things I praise,
bless, and glorify Thee, through the eternal high priest Jesus Christ,
Thy beloved Son, with whom, to Thee, and the Holy Ghost, be glory now
and for ever. Amen." He had scarce said Amen, when fire was set to the
pile, and increased to a mighty flame. "But behold a wonder seen by us,"
say the authors of these Acts. "The flames forming themselves into an
arch, like the sails of a ship swelled with the wind, gently encircled
the body of the martyr; which stood in the middle, like purified gold or
silver, appearing bright through the flames; and his body sending forth
such a fragrance, that we seemed to smell precious spices." The heathen
were exasperated to see that his body could not be consumed, and ordered
a spearman to pierce him through, which he did, and such a quantity of
blood issued out of his left side as to quench the fire. The malice of
the devil ended not here: he endeavoured to obstruct the relics of the
martyr being carried off by the Christians; for many desired to do it,
to show their respect to his body. Therefore, by the suggestion of
Satan, Nicetes advised the pro-consul not to bestow it on the
Christians, lest, said he, abandoning the crucified man, they should
adore Polycarp: the Jews suggested this, "Not knowing," say the authors
of these Acts, "that we can never forsake Christ, nor adore any other,
though we love the martyrs, as his disciples and imitators, for the
great love they bore their King and Master." The centurion then cast the
body into the midst of the fire, and burnt it to ashes. "We afterwards
took up the bones," say the writers of the Acts, "more precious than the
richest jewels or gold, and deposited them decently in a place at which,
may God grant us to assemble with joy, to celebrate the birthday of the
martyr."

His tomb is still shown near Smyrna.

S. SIMEON THE OLD, AB.

(END OF 4TH CENT.)

[Greek Menaea. Authority, Theodoret, in his Philotheus, c. 6.]

Simeon the Old dwelt a life of solitude in a cave, feeding on
vegetables. One day some travellers arrived at his cell, having lost
their way and asked the old hermit to direct them to a certain fort for
which they were bound. The hermit called two lions from the desert, and
gave them to the travellers as guides. This incident was related to
Theodoret by one who was present on the occasion. When a large number of
disciples assembled under his direction, the aged Simeon went away to
mount Amanus, near Antioch, and there built a monastery. But afterwards,
being desirous of ending his days on Sinai, he went into the desert of
that mountain. And there he saw one day two hands raised from the mouth
of a cave. Thinking it might be a snare of the devil, he approached with
caution. At the sound of his footsteps the supplicating hands were drawn
in, and he saw no man; then he cried to the dweller of the cave to come
forth, and there issued out of it an old hermit dressed in palm leaves,
who said that he and a brother hermit had come to establish themselves
on Sinai, and they had promised each other never to separate. Now before
they reached the holy mount the brother hermit died; so the survivor
buried his corpse, and, faithful to his promise, tarried by his grave
till the Lord should call him; and every day a lion brought him a bunch
of dates. Now when Simeon had partaken of his dates, and they had sung
together the matin office, he went on, and reaching Sinai with his
monks, established on the mountain two monasteries, one at the summit,
and the other at the foot.

S. PAULA, W., AT BETHLEHEM.

(A.D. 404.)

[Roman Martyrology. S. Paula died on Jan. 26th, after sunset,
consequently some commemorate her on Jan. 27th. Authority: her life
written by S. Jerome, her director, in a letter to her daughter
Eustochium.]

[Illustration: S. PAULA.
Jan. 26.]

[Illustration: S. PRISCA.
From a Window at Winchester.
Jan. 18.]

[Illustration: S. PAUL.
After Vischer.
Jan. 18.]

The blessed Paula was born at Rome in the year 347. Her father was
Rogatus, of noble Grecian origin. Her mother, Blesilla, reckoned the
Gracchi, the Scipios and Paulus Aemilius among her ancestors. This
illustrious birth was made more honourable by her union with Toxotius,
of the Julian race, and very wealthy. Her virtues endeared her to the
people of Rome, and her modesty, gravity, and prudence caused her to be
generally respected. Her husband died when she was aged twenty-three,
and grief for his loss nearly brought her to the grave as well. Toxotius
left behind him four daughters, Blesilla, Paulina, Eustochium, Julia,
and Ruffina; the youngest child was a boy, and he bore the name of his
father.

The heart-broken widow at length found repose in submission to the will
of God. Filled with a sense of the vanity of all earthly things, she
strove to detach her affections daily from all save God. After the death
of her husband she would not sit down to table with any man, not even
with the bishops, whose advice she sought, and who were most hospitably
entertained in her house. By degrees she accustomed herself to plain
food, and inexpensive clothing. Instead of a downy couch, she made her
bed on the hard floor. "Hitherto all my care has been how I might please
my husband," said she, "now I will care for naught save how I may best
serve Jesus Christ."

She was now called on to bewail the death of her eldest daughter
Blesilla, who died shortly after her husband, to whom she had been
married only for a short time. S. Jerome wrote on this occasion to S.
Paula from Bethlehem. After having tenderly recalled the pale and gentle
face, bowed with exhaustion after fever on the slender neck, the angelic
form, of the departed daughter, S. Jerome adds; "But what am I doing? I
would dry the tears of a mother and mingle mine with hers. I do not
conceal my emotion. I write weeping. But Jesus wept over Lazarus,
because He loved him. It is difficult to console another when one is
also overwhelmed with grief, and when the broken heart can find no
words. O Paula, I take Jesus Christ to witness, whose Majesty Blesilla
now sees; I take the holy angels to witness, whose companion she now is;
that I suffer the same anguish of heart as you, for I, having been her
spiritual father, had learned to love her dearly."

Paula saw also her second daughter Paulina die, who had been married to
Tammachius, a man of noble consular birth, as illustrious for his piety
as for his descent, "the first of monks in the first of cities," S.
Jerome called him in after years, when he had embraced the monastic life
in Rome. She also survived her fourth daughter Ruffina, married to the
patrician Aletheus, but this affliction fell upon her when she was no
longer in Rome.

Her daughters had grown up, and her son Toxotius, having been secured a
careful bringing up, by his sister Ruffina, S. Paula felt that she might
now follow at liberty the bent of her desire. The stirring life in Rome
gave her no rest. Her noble birth and great wealth made her in great
request, and the time, which she desired to devote to God alone, was
broken up by the petty business and formalities of social life, which
could not be dispensed with in the great city. She therefore resolved to
abandon Rome, her palace, her crowds of servants, her numerous
acquaintances, many friends, and dear children.

She desired to visit the holy scenes consecrated by Christ, and then to
settle quietly down near her old confessor and director Jerome, then
inhabiting a cell at Bethlehem. It was no light matter parting with her
relations and children, but she had this consolation, Eustochium, her
unmarried daughter, accompanied her, one in heart with her mother,
desirous of consecrating her virginity, as Paula desired to dedicate her
widowhood, to Jesus Christ.

When they left Rome, the kinsmen accompanied them to the port. It was a
heart-breaking scene. Paula took her place on the deck of the vessel
that was to bear her away for ever. The anchor was drawn up, the
moorings cast loose, and the rowers bowed to their task. Then the grief
of Toxotius became incontrollable; he stretched forth his arms to her,
sobbing, "Mother, mother! do not leave me." The grief of the others was
silent, manifesting itself in copious tears. But Paula, raising her dry
eyes to heaven, turned her face from the shore, and conquered by a
superhuman effort the agony caused by the rending of so many dear ties.
On reaching Jerusalem she found that a palace had been furnished for her
reception by the governor, with every comfort and even luxury. She,
however, chose the meanest chamber therein, in which to lodge, and spent
her time in visiting the holy sites. She prayed long and earnestly
before the true Cross, kissed the stones on which the body of Jesus had
lain, and watered with her tears the dust of the Dolorous Way along
which He had borne His Cross.

She then journeyed to Bethlehem, and adored Christ in the cave of the
Nativity. Overwhelmed with awe she exclaimed, "Oh, how dare I, a poor
sinner, kiss the crib where the Lord wailed as a little babe? How dare I
offer my prayer, where the Virgin brought the Word into the world in the
substance of our flesh! Let the home of my Redeemer be henceforth my
resting place, here will I dwell where He walked the earth as man."

Having settled at Bethlehem into a poor little house, she engaged
workpeople to erect on the road to Jerusalem a spacious hospital for
pilgrims and sick persons, and also a monastery for S. Jerome and his
monks. She then erected three convents for women, with one church in
which all the inmates of the three houses assembled for the divine
office. There they met to sing prime, tierce, sext, nones, vespers,
compline, and the midnight lauds; thus they daily sang the whole
psalter, which every sister was required to learn by heart. On Sundays
they went to the neighbouring church where the Divine Sacrifice was
offered, and where they communicated.

All the sisters worked with their hands, and made clothes for themselves
and for the poor. No man was ever suffered to set foot within their
doors. Paula governed them with great charity and discretion, animating
them by her own example. Neither she nor her daughter, Eustochium,
refused to perform the most menial offices in the sisterhood. If any of
the sisters proved talkative she was separated from the rest, and made
to walk last and to eat alone.

She was gladdened to hear in her retreat of the marriage of her son
Toxotius to a pious maiden, named Leta, to whom S. Jerome addressed the
first treatise on the education of women which the Christian spirit had
inspired, and which prepared for cloistral life the young Paula, her
daughter, devoted to the Lord from the cradle, and a nun, like her
grandmother and her aunt. He offered with the candour of genius, to
educate the child himself, and "old as I am," said he, "I shall accustom
myself to infantine lispings, more honoured in this than was Aristotle,
for I shall instruct not a king of Macedon, destined to perish by poison
of Babylon, but a servant and spouse of Christ, to be presented to Him
in the heavens."

But Toxotius and his wife seem to have thought that an aged monk,
immersed in study, would not prove so suitable for the nurture of the
little maiden as a woman, and they therefore sent her to S. Paula, her
grandmother. S. Paula lived to the age of fifty-six years and eight
months, of which she had spent in her widowhood five at Rome, and almost
twenty at Bethlehem. In her last illness she repeated almost incessantly
the verses of the psalms, which express the ardour of the soul to see
Jerusalem which is above, and there to be united to her God. When she
was no longer able to speak, she formed the sign of the Cross on her
lips, and expired in perfect peace, on Jan. 26th, A.D. 404. Her body,
borne by bishops, attended by acolytes holding lighted tapers, was
buried on the 28th of the same month, in the church of the Holy Manger
at Bethlehem.

S. XENOPHON, HIS WIFE, AND SONS.

(5TH CENT.)

[Commemorated by the Greeks on this day, and introduced into the
Roman Martyrology by Clement the VIII. Authority: a life in Simeon
Metaphrastes of uncertain date.]

In the Court of Constantine the Great at Byzantium was a senator named
Xenophon, a devout Christian, whose wife's name was Mary. They had two
sons whom they loved as the apples of their eyes, John and Arcadius.
These sons were destined for the law, and after they had finished their
education in Greek at home, Xenophon sent them in a ship destined for
Berytus, to be there instructed in law, that being then a great legal
school. At the time of their departure, Xenophon was sick nigh unto
death, and he bade them farewell from his bed. The young men had not
been many days at sea before a violent tempest burst upon them, and the
vessel was speedily reduced to a wreck. The brothers cast their arms
round each other's necks and kissing, bade one another farewell. Then
the wreck broke up on a reef, and in the havoc of the waves rending the
fragile ship, they lost sight of one another. However, it fell out that
both reached the land on broken pieces of the vessel, but they were cast
up so far apart that each supposed that he alone was saved. John came
ashore not far from a monastery, into which he was hospitably received,
and where he was well cared for till he had recovered the exhaustion
consequent on battling with the waves for life. In the monastery John
found a calm and cheerfulness such as he had not experienced in the
world; it seemed to him a peaceful refuge for the storm-tossed soul as
well as for the shipwrecked body, and he resolved to remain there as a
monk.

Arcadius had also come ashore; he made his way to Jerusalem, in great
trouble of mind, having lost in the vessel all the money his father had
given him wherewith to prosecute his studies, and above all, his
brother. Now alone and poor, he knew not whither to go, and what to do.
Then one day he came to a monastery governed by an aged abbot, who
comforted him, and urged him to despise the world, and seek rest in God.
Arcadius remembered how, as a little boy, he had heard his father
descant on the peace of the cloister and the happiness of monastic life.
He therefore gladly assumed the habit, and bent his head for the
tonsure.

Now at Byzantium, Xenophon had recovered of his malady, and he and his
wife often communed together of their absent sons. Not hearing any news
of them, he sent a servant to Berytus to make enquiries. The servant
returned one day when Xenophon was at court, so that the mother, Mary,
was the first to hear of the loss of the vessel. The servant said that
it was feared at Berytus that all on board had perished. "The Lord gave,
and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord," said
she.

Evening came, and with it returned her husband from the court, with a
crowd of servants and torch-bearers. He found supper spread, and his
wife awaiting him. He sat down, but noticing that she was grieved in
spirit, and that her eyes were full of tears, he asked the reason. She
changed the subject, and after a while, so as gently to break the news
to him, she said that the servant was on his way home. Xenophon started
from the table in agitation, and asked where he was. "How do you know
that he is here? he may have been delayed through sickness on the way,"
said Mary, restraining her grief with an effort. "But the letters, where
are the letters?" asked her husband, white with emotion. "Surely you can
delay reading them till tomorrow," said the wife; "eat your supper now,
at least, with a glad mind." Then her tears streamed down her cheeks.
Xenophon looked steadily at her, and asked in a low voice, "Is it well
with the boys?" Then she told him all. And Xenophon said, "The Lord's
name be praised who has given me such a prudent and self-constrained
wife," and instead of giving way, went to Mary and kissed her and
comforted her, for now that the need for control was removed, all her
mother's heart gave way in a passion of tears and sobs.

Xenophon and his wife had no rest. Were their children dead or alive?
That they must know; so they resolved to go together to Palestine to
find them alive or dead. On arriving at Jerusalem they visited the holy
places, and prayed everywhere that if it were the Lord's will, they
might see again once more the faces of their sons. One day in the street
they saw a servant they had given to the youths now wearing the monastic
habit; Xenophon fell down reverently before him, and when the man, full
of shame, implored him not to do so, "It is not you I reverence, but
your habit," said the nobleman. Then the man told him how the ship had
been wrecked, and how nearly all had perished, but he, escaping to land,
had taken the monastic profession upon him.

Three years had passed since John and Arcadius had sailed from
Byzantium, and the parents began to despair of hearing any tidings of
them, when one day they visited the monastery of the abbot who had
received Arcadius. The old man having heard their story, knew at once
that one of their sons was with him, and from what he had learned, he
conjectured that the other was alive in another house. He therefore bade
them be of good cheer, assuring them that their sons lived, and he bade
them meet him on a certain day upon Mount Calvary, by which time he
would be supplied with further information.

Now it fell out that John was then in Jerusalem visiting the scenes of
the Passion. The aged abbot sent for him and spake with him, and soon
learned that his suspicions were correct, and that he was the brother of
his monk. Arcadius at this moment arrived. The abbot said to John,
"Brother, what is thy history, I pray thee relate it to me." So John
began, "I am the son of wealthy parents in Byzantium, who sent me with
my brother to Berytus, to study law; I loved my brother as my own soul.
He was dearer to me than my life. On our voyage a storm fell on us, and
the vessel was wrecked, then my brother Arcadius and I"--hereat Arcadius
trembled, and extended his hands, and fell at the feet of the abbot, and
stammered forth, "It is my brother, my brother!" And when John heard his
voice, he knew him; but they knew each other not before, for they were
both cowled, and greatly altered through fasting. And the brothers
lifted up their voices and wept, and embraced each other with exceeding
joy. Then the abbot said, "My sons, I bid you be silent and restrain
yourselves. Your parents come this way, and too great joy falling too
suddenly upon them may be more than they can bear, therefore I say unto
you, refrain yourselves awhile." Hardly had he done speaking, and the
two monks had fallen behind, before Xenophon came up Calvary, leading
Mary.

They were much aged by care. They came on with their wistful eyes fixed
on the old abbot; and scarce regarded the monks who followed him, for
their thoughts were on what he had to tell them. They cried, "Where are
our dear sons, father?" Then the abbot said, "Rejoice, my children,
rejoice and praise the Lord! your sons are found. Now go and prepare a
feast, and I will come shortly with my two disciples whom you see here,
and when we have eaten, I will bring your sons to your arms."

Now when Xenophon and Mary heard this, they were filled with joy, and
they hasted and made ready a feast, and the abbot came, he and his two
disciples, and they sat down and did eat. But all the while, as Arcadius
and John heard the dear voices of father and mother, they shook with
suppressed emotion, and turned their heads aside, and bowed them on
their breasts, that the tears might trickle unseen. And as they ate, the
conversation turned to the holy lives of the ascetics in the monasteries
and lauras of Palestine. "Oh" said Xenophon; "how peaceful and glad of
heart are all there; methinks there the word of the prophet is
fulfilled, that the desert should bloom as a rose. Right glad should I
be, were my dear boys to seek such blessed places of heavenly
consolation, and lying down in those green pastures, there find rest."
"But if they were to do this, thou wouldst be deprived of their
society," said the abbot.

"That matters not," said Xenophon; "If I could but see their faces
again, and know that they had set their hearts on God alone, I should be
comforted."

"And now," said the abbot; "let one of these monks speak, and say why he
has entered on the monastic life." Thereupon Arcadius began with
faltering voice: "I and my brother here present were born at Byzantium,
of good Christian parents, and the name of the one was Xenophon, and the
name of the other was Mary."

Upon this the father and mother uttered a cry, and ran, and they were
locked in the embrace of their children.

The abbot stood by and saw with joy their tears and kisses; and after a
while he said, "Give glory to God!" so they raised their hands and eyes
to heaven, and praised Him who had brought them together again.

But now that Xenophon and his wife had found their children, they felt
that there was nothing more for which they cared on earth, and they also
went into solitude, and served God in fasting and prayers night and day.
Thus the whole family laboured with one heart for one end, the salvation
of their souls and the glory of God; and though separated in body, they
were united in heart, and now they dwell together in the Paradise of
God.

S. BATHILD, Q.

(ABOUT A.D. 670.)

[Roman and other Martyrologies. In some, however, on Jan. 27th; at
Paris on Jan. 30th. Authorities: her life by two contemporary
writers. The first is in plain unpolished style. Its date appears
from allusions such as this:--"The venerable Theudofred, who is now
bishop, was then abbot." "The illustrious offspring of Bathild, now
reigning, &c." The writer of the other expressly states that he had
seen and known the virtues of her whom he describes.]

Archimbold, mayor of the palace, in the reign of Dagobert, King of
France, bought a slender fair-haired English slave girl. The name of
this girl was Bathild, given her probably because of her work, for the
name signifies "the damsel of the lady's bower."[125] In service she
grew up to woman's estate, and was very beautiful, but, withal, adorned
with a meek and quiet spirit.

She is thus described by one of her biographers:--"Her pious and
admirable conversation attracted the admiration of the prince, and all
his ministers. For she was of a benignant spirit and sober manners,
prudent and shy, never scheming evil, never light in talk, or pert in
speech; but in all her actions upright. She was of Saxon race, in shape
graceful and pleasing, with a bright face and a staid gait, and as such,
she found favour with the prince, so that he constituted her his
cup-bearer, and as such, dealing honestly, she stood often by him
ministering to him. But so far from being lifted up by her position, she
showed the utmost humility to her fellow-servants, cheerfully obeying
them, ministering reverently to her elders, often taking their shoes off
for them, scraping and cleaning them, and bringing them their washing
water, and mending their clothes also. All this she did without a
murmur, with gentle and pious alacrity."

Now it fell out that Archimbold lost his wife, and he looked about for
one to fill her place. Then his glance rested on the fair-haired,
blue-eyed Saxon maid, so kindly and so obliging. But when he announced
that it was his intention to make her his wife, she was so alarmed that
she hid herself among the under maids of the kitchen, dishevelled her
light hair, begrimed her face, and worked in rags, so that the mayor
supposed she had gone clean away, and after a while forgot her, and
possibly thinking that such a match might have been after all a mistake,
he married some one else. Then Bathild shook her tatters off, braided
her flaxen hair, washed her sunny face, and shone forth in her
accustomed place. But she had fled the mayor to catch the king. How
Clovis became attached to her is not recorded; possibly he had long
noticed the meek maiden at the mayor's elbow filling his wine goblet,
and her disappearance had made him aware of the strength of his passion.
Certain it is that shortly after, he asked her to be his lawful wife,
and to sit at his side on the throne of France. There was no escaping a
king; and at the age of nineteen, in 649, she was married accordingly to
Clovis II. As queen she exercised a most salutary influence over the
mind of her husband, and persuaded him to enact many salutary laws. She
became a nursing mother to the Church in France, and exerted herself to
the utmost of her power to relieve the necessities of the poor, and
ameliorate the condition of the serfs. She bore her husband three sons,
who all successively wore the crown, Clothaire III., Childeric II., and
Thierry I. After six years of married life, in 655, Bathild was left a
widow, when her eldest son was only five years old. She then became
regent of the kingdom. The gentle queen remembered her sorrows as a
slave, and resolved to become the benefactress of the slave. Slavery was
universally and firmly established in France. To root out such an
institution at once was impossible; it could only be done with caution,
lest it should alarm and rouse to opposition the great slave owners. She
had sufficient penetration to discover the great cause of slavery in
France. The old Gallic population was crushed beneath an enormous tax,
to pay which mothers were obliged to sell their children, and which
reduced into bondage those unfortunates who could not pay. This impost
she abolished, and thereby cut off the source of slavery. She also
forbade the retention or purchase of Christian slaves; but, to save
vested interests, this law did not emancipate those already in bonds,
but was of future operation only. She employed, moreover, all the money
she could spare in the purchase out of bondage of such children as
mothers had sold, out of dire necessity. She also sent ambassadors to
all the European courts, to announce that the sale of French subjects
was strictly forbidden, and that any slave who should set foot on French
soil would be held from that moment to be free.

Bathild also founded a large number of religious houses. France was then
overspread with forests; vast districts were pathless wildernesses,
uninhabited by men. Old cities which had thriven under the Roman empire
had fallen into ruins, and the wolf made his lair in the deserted
chambers. How was all this desolation to be remedied, this waste land
to be reclaimed? A number of men must be gathered together at certain
spots, and these must become civilizing centres, diffusing knowledge
amongst the people, and cultivating the soil. Such were the monasteries.
They were dotted about in the wildest parts of the vast woods, and
little by little the trees were cleared away about them, and pastures
and corn land usurped their place, and with the advance of agriculture,
civilization spread. Bathild founded Corbie, Chelles, and Jumièges,
besides others of less note. Towards the close of her days, when her son
Clothaire was of an age to govern, she retired into the monastery of
Chelles, where she finished her days in peace, dying at the age of
fifty, in 680.

S. THEORITGITHA, V., AT BARKING.

(7TH CENT.)

[Anglican Martyrologies, but new Anglo-Roman Martyrology, Jan. 23.
Authority: Bede's Eccl. Hist. lib. 4. c. 9.]

Theoritgitha was a holy sister in the convent of Barking on the Thames,
under the rule of the abbess Ethelberga. "She had always endeavoured to
serve God in all humility and sincerity," says Bede, "and she took care
to assist this same mother in keeping up regular discipline, by
instructing and reproving the younger ones." She suffered nine years
from a cruel distemper, which purified her soul. She saw in a vision a
sign of the approaching death of S. Ethelberga.

[Illustration: Decoration]

FOOTNOTES:

[124] Rev. ii. 9.

[125] _Bath-hildr_ in Norse, meaning the maiden (_hildr_) of
the _Bath-stofa_, the female apartment in a Norse, Saxon or Frankish
house. She is sometimes called Bathildes, sometimes Baltidis.

January 27.

S. JULIAN, _B., of Mans, in France_.
S. JULIAN, _M., at Atina, in Italy, circ._ A.D. 133.
S. DEVOTA, _M., in Corsica, circ._ A.D. 303.
S. PETER THE EGYPTIAN, _H., in Syria, circ._ A.D. 400.
S. CHRYSOSTOM, _B. D., at Constantinople_, A.D. 407.
S. DOMITIAN, _Monk and Deacon in Judea_, A.D. 473.
S. MARIUS, _Ab. of La-val-benoit, near Sisteron, in France,
6th cent._
S. LUPUS, _B., of Chalons-sur-Saone, in France, beginning of
7th cent._
S. VITALIAN, _Pope of Rome_, A.D. 671.
S. EMERIUS, _Ab., and his mother_, S. CANDIDA, _at Banoles, in Spain,
end of 8th cent._
S. GAMELBERT, _P., in Bavaria, end of 8th cent._
S. SULPICIUS, _B., of S. Ghislain in Belgium_.
S. THEODORIC II., _B, of Orleans_, A.D. 1022.
S. GILDWIN, _Can. of Dol, in Brittany_, A.D. 1077.
S. JOHN, _B. of French Flanders_, A.D. 1130.

S. JULIAN, B. OF MANS.

(DATE UNCERTAIN.)

[Called the Apostle of Celtic Gaul; he is commemorated on this day
in the Roman Martyrology. In the Paris Martyrology on the 28th
Jan., others on the 31st; that of Cologne on 26th Jan. In the Roman
Martyrology he is said to have been sent by S. Peter into Gaul; but
as Bollandus has shown, this is an error. His life was written by
one Brother Lethald in, or about, A.D. 990.]

Saint Julian was the first to carry the light of the Gospel into that
portion of France of which Le Mans is the capital. There he laboured
with great success, destroyed the idol which the people worshipped, and
persuaded great numbers to be baptized. His life, written several
hundreds of years after his death, is of small authority, and contains
little of interest. His relics were given to Paderborn in Westphalia,
in 1143.

S. DEVOTA, V. M., IN CORSICA.

(ABOUT A.D. 303.)

[Deivota seems to have been the correct form of her name, but she
is usually called Devota. Authority: her Acts.]

Deivota, or Devota was brought up from childhood in the Christian faith;
when she was quite young, she was taken into the house of Eutyches, a
senator, and probably a relation.

Eutyches was not a Christian, but he was a kindly disposed man, who
disliked persecution. On the publication of the edict of Diocletian
against Christianity, he sacrificed along with the other senators; but
the governor, being told that he sheltered in his house a little
Christian maiden, ordered him to be poisoned, and Devota to be executed
with great barbarity. Her feet were tied together, and she was dragged
over rough ground till her limbs were dislocated, and she was cut and
bruised over her entire person. When, after this, she was stretched on
the rack, she besought Jesus Christ to release her. Her prayer was
heard, and with a gentle sigh she expired. At the same moment a white
dove was seen fluttering over her; it expanded its pure wings, and
mounting, was lost in the deep blue of the sky. During the night a
devout priest, named Benenatus, a deacon, Apollinarius, and a believing
boatman, Gratian by name, removed her body, and placing it amidst spices
in the little skiff, rowed out to sea. Then a white dove appeared,
skimming over the water, then waiting, and hovering before them, then
darting forward; and they, remembering the apparition at her death,
followed the guidance of the dove, and reached Monaco, where they laid
her.

S. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, B. D.

(A.D. 407.)

[Authorities: Socrates, Sozomen, life by Palladius, and his own
writings, &c.]

John Chrysostom was the son of Secundus, a military officer, born about
347, at Antioch, and on his father's death, soon afterwards, he became
indebted for a careful and Christian training to his pious mother,
Anthusa. He studied rhetoric under the accomplished pagan teacher
Libanius, who afterwards, on being asked to name his own successor,
replied, "John would be the fittest, if the Christians had not stolen
him."

He was baptized by Meletius, patriarch of Antioch; his chief friend was
S. Basil, and Anthusa's earnest pleadings were required to counteract
Basil's proposal that they should both retire into monastic life.
Chrysostom, as we may most conveniently call him, could not resist his
mother's appeal; he continued to live at home, but in the practice of
monastic asceticism and the diligent reading of Scripture. He studied
theology under Diodore, the companion of Flavian, who had been the
champions of orthodoxy against Arianism, first as laymen, and afterwards
as priests, in Antioch. Meletius, who had baptized John Chrysostom, was
himself a confessor. It was probably about 372-374 that Chrysostom and
Basil were spoken of as likely to be made bishops; and Chrysostom, by a
singular artifice--the justification of which forms the least pleasing
portion of his treatise "On the Priesthood,"--procured Basil's
consecration while evading the burden himself.

For several years he carried out the plan which, during his mother's
lifetime he had abandoned, living first in cenobitic "tabernacles," and
afterwards as a hermit in a cave, until his health, never robust, gave
way, and he was obliged to return to Antioch, where he entered the
ministry.

Early in 387, an increase of taxes provoked the people of Antioch to
sedition. They threw down the brazen statues of the Emperor Theodosius,
and his deceased wife, the pious and charitable Flacilla. Flavian, who
had been elected and consecrated patriarch, on the death of Meletius,
set forth a little before Lent, to appease the emperor, and met the
officers of the empire, sent from court to avenge the insult. His
absence was well supplied by Chrysostom, who had recently received
priest's orders, and who began to turn this trouble to account by a
course of "Sermons on the Statues," as they are called. In these he
endeavoured to allay the people's terror, and to convince them of their
besetting sins--of which swearing was the chief--and so far succeeded,
that the churches were thronged all day. The people of Antioch were
pardoned by the emperor at the intercession of the patriarch.

S. Chrysostom had been five years deacon, and twelve years priest, when
Nectarius, bishop of Constantinople died, in 397, after an episcopate
which had relaxed the general tone of the clergy. "Then," says the
biographer of S. Chrysostom, "there came together some who were not
wanted, priests unworthy of the priesthood, besetting the palace gates,
resorting to bribery, falling on their knees even, before the people."
Disgusted by this scandalous eagerness for an office which saints were
wont to dread, the faithful entreated Arcadius, the Emperor, to look out
for one who could administer it worthily. Eutropius, the emperor's
chamberlain, had learned by visiting Antioch to admire the character of
Chrysostom. He made Arcadius write to the military commander at Antioch,
desiring him to send the priest John to Constantinople, without causing
any public excitement. The commander sent a message to Chrysostom,
asking him to meet him "at the Church of the Martyrs, near the Roman
Gate." Chrysostom complied; was placed in a public conveyance, and
hurried away from the scene of his early life and priestly labours.
Several bishops were summoned for the consecration. Theophilus of
Alexandria had come to Constantinople to solicit the appointment for his
priest Isidore. He was required to consecrate Chrysostom, but
endeavoured to withdraw, reading the decision and earnestness of
Chrysostom in his face, and disliking him, for he was a thoroughly
worldly, self-seeking prelate. Eutropius showed him some papers,
however, saying, "Choose between consecrating John, and undergoing a
trial on the charges made against you in these documents." Theophilus
could make no reply. He consecrated Chrysostom on Feb. 26th, A.D. 398;
but he never forgave him for having been the cause of this severe
mortification.

Over a city in which intrigue and adulation were practised as the royal
road to honour, John Chrysostom, straight forward and outspoken, was set
as patriarch. He came to be chief shepherd over a clergy given up to
ease and sycophancy, flattering the rich and powerful, fawning on the
emperor for place, and betraying their charge, the poor.

Chrysostom set to work at once as a reformer of abuses. He forbad the
clergy frequenting the banquets of great men; he struggled against the
practice of entertaining "spiritual sisters." Several clergy were
deprived; Chrysostom drew upon himself the bitter dislike of many
members of their body. He examined the accounts of the church-stewards,
cut off superfluous expenses, and ordered the sum thus saved to be
applied to the maintenance of hospitals. He scrutinized the lives of the
widows receiving pension from the Church; he earnestly besought
contributions to a fund for the poor; he exhorted the faithful to attend
the nocturnal services, but to leave their wives at home with the
children. He rebuked the rich for their pride and selfishness. So great
was the charm of his "golden tongued" eloquence, and of the
unmistakeable nobleness and sincerity of his character, that "the city
put on a new aspect of piety;" and the worship of the Catholics became
more real, and their lives more earnest and pure.

Among those of the higher classes in Constantinople who were offended by
the uncompromising character of their new archbishop, was Eutropius, the
chamberlain, who had raised him to the see. He desired to see the Church
respectable and subservient, the patriarch pious and obedient, to the
state. The Church, in his view, was a portion of the state organization,
the clergy the moral police, always to be under the direction of the
crown. But under Chrysostom's government it was becoming unmanageable
and independent. To curtail its liberties, he procured a law to annul
the right of asylum in the churches, which had been growing up during
the century. But he was soon driven himself, by a revolution in the
emperor's counsels, to clasp the altar as the safeguard of his life.
Chrysostom violated the new law in defence of its author; and while
Eutropius lay cowering in the sanctuary, bade the people take home this
new lesson on the vanity of vanities. "The altar," said he, "is more
awful than ever, now that it holds the lion chained." He called on his
hearers to beg the emperor's clemency, or rather, to ask the God of
mercy to save Eutropius from threatened death, and enable him to put
away his many crimes. He bravely withstood the court in the cause of
Christian humanity; but Eutropius himself quitted the church, and was
condemned to exile.

At this time the Origenist controversy was raging with great acrimony.
It is difficult to pronounce an opinion upon it. Origen had
unquestionably published some heretical opinions, but some were also
attributed to him which he did not hold. Theophilus of Alexandria had
leaned strongly towards the Origenists, but he was not a man of
principle, and he adopted that view which suited his purposes at the
time. Finding it would answer his ends better to oppose Origenism, he
denounced it in his Paschal letters, in 401. The monks and hermits of
Egypt had been regarded with an evil eye by heathens, Arians, and
insincere Christians. All the learned, the philosophers, and men of
letters, among the pagans, were emulous in their protest. The
impassioned activity of the monks against idolatry, their efforts, more
and more successful, to extirpate it from the heart of the rural
population, naturally exasperated the last defenders of the idols. The
Arians were still more implacable than the Pagans. The tendency of these
enemies of the Divinity of Christ was in everything to abuse, degrade,
and restrain the spirit of Christianity. How should the monastic life,
which was its most magnificent development escape their fury? The war
between them and the monks was therefore long and cruel. The persecution
which Paganism had scarcely time to light up to its own advantage under
Julian, was pitiless under the Arian Constantius, and more skilful,
without being more successful, under the Arian Valens. In the time of
Constantius, entire monasteries, with the monks they contained, were
burnt in Egypt, and in the frightful persecution under the Arian
patriarch Lucius, raised in Alexandria, a troop of imperial soldiers
ravaged the solitude of Nitria, and massacred its inhabitants. And now
Lucius was succeeded by the worldly, ambitious, and utterly unspiritual
Theophilus, who hated the poor monks of the desert as a living reproach
upon his own self-seeking, and his aim to accommodate Christianity to
worldliness. He soon quarrelled with S. Isidore the hospitaller, who had
suffered under the Arian Lucius, and whom he now drove from Alexandria,
hating him, as those holding to mammon always will hate those who hold
to Christ. Isidore fled to Nitria. Theophilus brought the charge of
Origenism against the monks there. The chief Nitrian monks were
Dioscorus, Bishop of Nitria, Ammonius, Eusebius, and Euthymius; they
were known as the "Tall Brothers." Theophilus ordered them to be
expelled; when they came to remonstrate, his eyes flashed, his face
became livid, he threw his episcopal pall round the neck of Ammonius,
struck him on the face with open palm and clenched fist, and cried,
"Heretic, anathematize Origen!" They returned to Nitria; the patriarch,
in a synod, condemned them unheard, and proceeded by night to attack
their monasteries, at the head of a drunken band. Dioscorus was dragged
from his throne; the cells of the other three were burned, together with
copies of both Testaments, and even the reserved portions of the Holy
Eucharist. It was said that a boy perished in the flames. The brothers,
with many of their companions, fled to Scythopolis in Palestine, hoping
to support themselves in a place famous for palms, by their occupation
of weaving palm-baskets. The enmity of Theophilus hunted them out of
this refuge; they reached Constantinople, and fell at Chrysostom's feet,
"Who is it," asked he with tears, "that has injured you?" They answered,
"Pope Theophilus; prevail upon him, father, to let us live in Egypt, for
we have never done aught against him or against our Saviour's law."

He lodged them in the church called Anastasia; allowed them to attend
the service, but prudently, to avoid, if possible, a breach with their
persecutor, debarred them from the communion. They had been condemned by
their own patriarch, and it was not for him to admit them to communion
without a fair investigation and authoritative exculpation. He wrote to
Theophilus, in the tone of a "son and brother," praying him to be
reconciled to the fugitives; but Theophilus, who disclaimed his right to
interfere, defamed them as sorcerers and heretics. The Tall Brothers now
appealed to the emperor and empress, who ordered Theophilus to be
summoned, and the accusations against the brothers made by him to be
examined. The accusations were soon proved to be groundless. Theophilus,
who openly said he was "going to court in order to depose John," arrived
in Constantinople in June, 402, with a load of gifts for the emperor,
the empress, and the court, from Egypt and India. He at once assumed a
tone of contumelious hostility towards S. Chrysostom. He would not visit
or speak to him; he even abstained from entering the church.

While Chrysostom declined to hear judicially the complaints of the Tall
Brothers, Theophilus was concocting a scheme for his deposition. All the
courtiers among the bishops, and the worldly among the clergy desired
it, for their tempers rebelled against godly discipline, and the example
of his own self-denial was a standing protest against their
self-indulgence. Acacius, Bishop of Berrhoea, had been provided with so
homely a lodging by Chrysostom that he joined the malcontents, venting
his spleen in the curious menace, "I will cook a dish for him!" Eudoxia,
the empress, who had heard of a sermon in which Chrysostom had lashed
the pride of women, took the side of his enemies, who determined to hold
a council at a suburb of Chalcedon, called "The Oak." The bishops who
attended were thirty-six. Twenty-nine charges were advanced against the
patriarch. Some were of open violence; that he had beaten and chained a
monk, had struck a man in church so as to draw blood, and then had
offered the sacrifice. Others were of evil speaking; he had said his
clergy "were not worth three-pence;" he had accused three deacons of
having stolen his pall. He was also charged with misconduct in his
office; he sold church furniture, had been careless in conferring
orders; he was unsociable, gave women private interviews, was irreverent
in church, and ate wafers while sitting on his throne. Some of these
charges were gross exaggerations of that plain-spoken severity which
knew no respect of persons. Others were inventions more or less
malignant. One of the basest was the charge about disposing of church
ornaments. Like other saints, he had done so for the sake of the
suffering poor.

While these charges were being read at the Oak, he sat in his palace
with forty bishops, and consoled them by quoting texts of Scripture. "I
am now ready to be offered. Do not weep and break my heart! To me to
live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Now entered two young bishops from the council at the Oak citing "John"
to appear, with other clergy. The forty bishops sent a deputation to
remonstrate with Theophilus. Chrysostom, for himself, sent word that he
objected to Theophilus and three others as disqualified, by avowed
hostility, to be his judges. A bishop, named Isaac, produced a new list
of charges, three of which were remarkable. He had used strong language
about fervour of rapturous devotion. He had been emphatic in his
assurances of Divine long-suffering. This was denounced as an
encouragement of sinners in their sins; but it was forgotten that he had
warned men against presuming thereon. "He had eaten before administering
baptism," that is the Paschal baptism which was followed immediately by
a celebration of the Holy Eucharist, and which therefore implied
non-fasting performance of the sacrifice; and "he had given the
Eucharist to persons who were not fasting;" two charges which he
vehemently denied. "If I have done this, may my name be effaced from the
roll of bishops," he said. The council pronounced him contumacious, and
deposed him, requesting the emperor, Arcadius, also to punish him for
insolence towards Eudoxia. This was in 403.

Appealing in vain to a more just tribunal, Chrysostom was dragged from
his church, and hurried by night into Bithynia. That night an earthquake
shook the palace; Eudoxia, frightened at the omen, wrote to the exile,
entreating him to return. He was escorted to the city by a joyous
multitude, bearing tapers and chanting psalms, who forced him, in spite
of the irregularity of such a proceeding, to ascend his throne, before
the sentence of the council of the Oak could be annulled. This was,
however, speedily done by a synod of sixty bishops; the hostile assembly
could not stand its ground, and Theophilus, after meanly forcing the two
surviving brothers, on the ground of their monastic obedience, to ask
his pardon, consulted his safety by flight to Alexandria.

New troubles soon began. In September of the same year 403, a silver
statue of the Empress Eudoxia was erected near the cathedral, and the
Manichean governor of the city encouraged wild and heathenish dancing in
its honour, which interrupted the church service. Chrysostom spoke
strongly on the subject, and was said to have begun a sermon with the
words, "Again Herodias rages, again she demands the head of John." The
foes of the archbishop seized the opportunity. His old enemy Theophilus
sent three bishops to Constantinople. The feeble Emperor Arcadius was
persuaded to order that Chrysostom should be refused the use of the
churches. Easter-eve came, April 16. Arcadius said to the chief
adversaries of Chrysostom, "See to it, that you are not giving me wrong
counsel." "On our heads," they answered, "be the deposition of John!"
One of the forty faithful bishops bade the haughty empress fear God, and
have pity on her own children. As the churches were closed to S. John
Chrysostom, he held the solemn services of the day in the Baths of
Constantine. Thither the people thronged, abandoning the churches. The
courtier bishops complained, and it was resolved to break up this
assembly. A band of soldiers was sent together with four hundred
barbarian recruits to clear the bath, about 9 p.m. They pressed onwards
to the font, dispersed the catechumens, for on that day it was customary
to baptize great numbers, struck the priests on the head until their
blood was mingled with the baptismal water, rushed up to the altar where
the sacred Body and Blood were reserved for communicating the newly
baptized, and overthrew them, so that as S. Chrysostom says in his
letter to Pope Innocent of Rome, "the most holy Blood of Christ, as
might be expected in so great a tumult, was spilled on the clothes of
the soldiers." Thus were the Arian horrors renewed. On Easter-day,
Arcadius, riding out of the city, saw some three thousand newly baptized
in their white robes. "Who are those persons?" he asked. "They are
heretics," was the answer; and a new onslaught was made upon them.
During the paschal season, those who would not disown S. Chrysostom were
cast into prison. Within the churches, instead of the joyful worship of
the season, were heard the sounds of torture, and the terrible oaths by
which men were commanded to anathematize the archbishop. His life was
twice attempted; his people guarded his house; he wrote an account of
what had happened to the Bishops of Rome, Milan and Aquileia. Pope
Innocent, who had already heard Theophilus' version of the story,
continued his communion for the present to both parties, but summoned
Theophilus to attend a council.

Towards the end of Whitsun-week, Arcadius was prevailed upon to send
another mandate to Chrysostom--"Commend your affairs to God, and
depart." Chrysostom was persuaded to depart secretly; he called his
friends to prayer; kissed them, bade farewell in the baptistry to the
deaconesses, and desired them to submit to a new bishop, if he were
ordained without having solicited the see. "The Church cannot be without
a bishop." Whilst the people waited for him to mount his horse at the
great western door, he went out at the eastern; repeating to himself the
words of Job, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked I return
thither!"

This was his final expulsion, June 20th, 404; he crossed over to
Bithynia, while a fire broke out which consumed the cathedral and the
palace of the senate. Some ascribed it to incendiaries; others called it
a sign of divine wrath. Several of Chrysostom's friends, the
"Joannites," as they were called, were cruelly treated, as if guilty of
the fire.[126]

The place of his exile was Cucusus, in Armenia; and there, after a
journey, the pain of which was only alleviated by marks of sympathy and
reverence, he arrived in the middle of September. The bishop of Cucusus
offered to resign his see in his favour; and Dioscorus, a man of rank,
entreated him as a favour to occupy his own house, which he fitted up
for the exile's convenience, with a liberality against which Chrysostom
writes, "I am continually exclaiming." Very soon after he reached
Cucusus, the Empress Eudoxia bore a dead child and expired.

Pope Innocent wrote to the exile, exhorting him to patience by
Scriptural examples. "A good man can be exercised, but he cannot be
overcome, while the Divine Scriptures fortify his mind. Venerable
brother, let your conscience comfort you." He also wrote to the clergy
and laity of Constantinople, declaring his intention of holding a
General Council for the composing of these miserable quarrels.

The saintly exile in Cucusus, while suffering from illness and intense
cold, and in constant peril from freebooters, continued to discharge the
office of a good shepherd. He wrote letter after letter to the faithful
lady Olympias in Constantinople, exhorting her to remember that the only
trial really terrible was sin. He lamented that faithful bishops were
suffering for adherence to his communion; he exhorted them and their
clergy to be of good courage. His pastoral thoughtfulness extended far
beyond a merely general care for his brethren's welfare. We find him
rebuking two priests of Constantinople, one of whom had only preached
five times between his expulsion and October, while the other had not
preached once; setting on foot a mission to the pagans of Phoenicia;
anxious to have a good bishop consecrated for the Goths; drawing tighter
the old ties which bound him to the clergy of Antioch, and employing
part of his friend's contributions in the redemption of captives, and
the relief of the poor.

Pope Innocent now boldly espoused his cause, as that of a confessor for
righteousness' sake. He assembled a synod, and persuaded Honorius,
Emperor of the West, who had already remonstrated with Arcadius, Emperor
of the East, to write in a more peremptory tone, demanding a council at
Thessalonica, and pointing out Theophilus of Alexandria as the reputed
author of the present evils.

Towards the end of the year, the furious incursions of the Isaurian
robbers, filling the country with rapine and bloodshed, compelled S.
Chrysostom to take shelter in the castle of Arabiscus. The winter was
again a time of discomfort; he could not obtain a sufficiency of
medicines; and the snow-drifts prevented him from receiving his friend's
letters. About this time the western delegates sent from Rome with four
eastern bishops who had gone thither to plead the cause of Chrysostom,
were intercepted on their way to Constantinople, and confined in a
fortress, their credentials were violently wrung from them, and instead
of being allowed to see Arcadius, the westerns were sent back to Italy,
the easterns banished to the frontiers of the empire. On their way they
were cruelly harassed, robbed of their money, wearied by prolonged days'
journeys, and compelled to lodge in the lowest haunts of profligacy. One
of them consoled his brethren by observing that their presence recalled
the wretched women to thoughts of God, which might result in their
salvation, and His glory. That the persecution was in great measure a
systematic revenge on Chrysostom as the representative of clerical
strictness, is evidenced by such a fact as that a venerable man named
Hilary was scourged, not by a judge, but by the clergy. Chrysostom wrote
to thank his western friends for their sympathy, and sent a second
letter to Pope Innocent, assuring him that "in the third year of exile,
amid famine, pestilence, war, sieges, indescribable solitude, and daily
peril from Isaurian swords, he was greatly consoled and delighted by
Innocent's genuine, stedfast, and abundant charity."

The winter of 406-7 was severe, but Chrysostom preserved his health by
never stirring out of a close and well-warmed chamber. In the summer his
enemies, dreading his influence on the people of Antioch, who went to
visit him, procured an order for his removal to Pityus on the shores of
the Black Sea, the last fortress of the empire. His guards were ordered
to exhaust him by long journeys. Through scorching heat and drenching
rains, he was hurried on, and never allowed the refreshment of the bath;
one only of the guards being disposed to show him furtive kindnesses.
For three months this painful journey lasted; at length they halted at
the Church of S. Basiliscus, a short distance from Comana, in Pontus.
That night, the sufferer had a foreboding that his release was at hand.
The martyr Basiliscus appeared to him and said, "Courage, brother John,
tomorrow we shall be together." In the morning, Sept 14, 407, he begged
to be allowed to stay in the church until eleven o'clock in the
forenoon. It could not be; he was forced to proceed, but after
travelling about four miles, he was so evidently dying, that they
returned to the church. There he asked for white garments, and exchanged
for them those which he wore. He was still fasting; he received the Holy
Communion, doubtless from the priest of the church, offered up his last
prayer, added his usual thanksgiving, "Glory to God for all things," and
sealed it with a final, Amen. "Then he stretched out his feet, which had
run so beauteously for the salvation of the penitent, and the rebuke of
the habitual sinners," and calmly expired, in about the sixtieth year of
his age, and in the tenth of his episcopate. He was buried beside the
martyr Basiliscus, the funeral being attended by a throng of virgins and
monks from Syria, Cilicia, Pontus, and Armenia. No comment on his
glorious life could be so expressive as the doxology with which it
closed, and which, gathering into one view all its contrasts, recognised
not only in success and honour, but in cruel outrage, and homeless
desolation, the gracious presence of a never-changing Love.[127]

S. LUPUS, B. OF CHALONS.

(7TH CENT.)

[Called in France _Loup_, _Leul_, or _Leu_. He was canonized by
Pope John VIII, in 879; he is commemorated on this day at Châlons;
also there on April 30th, the day of his canonization. His life is
by an anonymous writer, who says that he wrote it from the
remembrance of those who had read the Acts of S. Lupus which had
been destroyed by fire.]

S. Lupus, Bishop of Cabilinum, or Châlons sur Saone, flourished about
the year 610. He was the son of honourable parents, and he commended
himself to the people by his abundant charity, his self-denial, and his
tenderness to the sick. Châlons being ill-provided with drinking water,
and the soil dry and sandy, he miraculously provided it with an abundant
spring which flows to the present day. The story is thus told. He stood
one day with his ivory pastoral staff in hand watching the hay makers;
the sun was hot, and the labourers were exhausted. Moved with
compassion, and knowing that the turbid waters of the river were unfit
to drink, he struck his staff into the sand, and a limpid spring bubbled
up. When dying he sent for the governor of Châlons, and begged him to
pardon the unfortunate wretches who languished in the prison under
sentence of death. The governor roughly refused. After Lupus was dead,
his funeral passed the city prison, and the bier was set down at that
place. The prisoners stretched their hands through the bars of their
windows crying piteously. Instantly their chains fell off, the doors
flew open, and they were set at liberty.

S. THEODORIC II, B. C. OF ORLEANS.

(A.D. 1022.)

[Called in France _Thierry_. Authority: an ancient life in
Bollandus.]

S. Thierry was born at Château Thierry, so called from an ancestor of
the saint, whose family was noble and wealthy. He was taken to court and
gained the confidence of King Robert the Good. On the death of Bishop
Arnulf of Orleans, Thierry was elected, with the consent of the king, to
fill the vacant see. His appointment was opposed by a priest named
Adalric who had desired the throne for himself, and who had the
indecency to burst into the church with a band of armed men, and thrust
up to the very altar, uttering violent menaces, when Thierry was being
consecrated, in the hopes of terrifying the consecrating bishops from
what they were doing. Afterwards the priest at the head of a party of
ruffians waylaid the Bishop by night, in a lane, and throwing him from
his horse, ran him through, as they believed, with a sword. The weapon
providentially cut through his garments without wounding him; and when
the would-be assassins had fled, he rose and regained the city. Adalric,
fearing the consequences, threw himself on the compassion of the Bishop,
and asked his pardon, which Thierry frankly accorded him. Thierry died
on a journey at Tonnerre, where his kinsman Count Milo built the church
of S. Michael over his body. He was succeeded on the throne of Orleans
by the priest Adalric.

S. JOHN, B. OF FRENCH FLANDERS.

(A.D. 1130.)

This saint was forced into the episcopate by Pope Urban against his
desire. He was a most meek and gentle-spirited man, full of thought for
others, but severe upon himself, as was evidenced by one little fact
noticed by his biographer. He was wont to rise very early to his
prayers, and when he did so, he took the greatest care not to disturb
others in the room and house. When he was dying, crowds of people came
to see his loved face for the last time, and he gave them his
benediction, and died in so doing.

FOOTNOTES:

[126] See concerning the fire and subsequent persecution in the
account of SS. Eutropius and Tygris, Jan. 12th; p. 163.

[127] This life is, for the most part, taken from the Rev.
Canon Bright's "Hist. of the Church from A.D. 313 to A.D. 451." London,
1863.

January 28.

SS. THYRSUS, LEUCIUS AND OTHERS, _MM., in Asia_, A.D. 250.
SS. EMILIAN, _B._, HILARIAN, _Mk._, AND OTHERS, _MM., at Trevi, in
Umbria_, A.D. 303.
S. VALERIUS, _B. of Saragossa, beginning of 4th cent._
S. PALLADIUS, _H., in Syria, end of 4th cent._
S. CYRIL, _Pat. of Alexandria_, A.D. 444.
S. JOHN, _Ab. of Reomay, circ._ A.D. 545.
S. JAMES, _H., in Palestine, 6th cent._
S. PAULINUS, _Patr. of Aquileia_, A.D. 804.
B. CHARLEMAGNE, _Emp._, A.D. 814.
S. RICHARD, _Ab. of Valcelles, in France, 12th cent._
S. JULIAN, _B. of Cuenca, in Spain_, A.D. 1207.
B. MARGARET, _of Hungary, V.O.S.D._; A.D. 1271.
B. GENTILE, _W., Ravenna_, A.D. 1530.

SS. THYRSUS, LEUCIUS, CALLINICUS, AND OTHERS, MM.

(A.D. 250.)

[Roman Kalendar on Jan. 28th; Greek Menaea on Dec. 14th; Mart.
attributed to S. Jerome on Jan. 20th. The martyrs not having all
suffered the same day or in the same places, has led to
considerable variety in the days of their commemoration. Their Acts
are extant in three forms, agreeing together in most particulars,
and evidently amplifications by different hands of the original
Acts. They are not to be implicitly relied upon.]

In the reign of the Emperor Decius, Combritius, the governor of
Bithynia, made the circuit of the province, to carry into execution the
severe imperial edict against the Christians. Being a man of a naturally
cruel disposition he subjected those brought before him to the most
exquisite torments his ingenuity could devise. Thyrsus had his eyelids
pierced, and rings put through them, and molten lead was poured down his
back. His arms and legs were broken. He died in prison. Leucius was hung
up, and torn with iron hooks, and then decapitated; Callinicus and
several others suffered in this persecution by various deaths.

S. VALERIUS, B. OF SARAGOSSA.

(BEGINNING OF 4TH CENT.)

[Roman Martyrology, but in others on Jan. 19th, 22th, 23rd, or
29th.]

Of this saint little is known, except that he associated with him S.
Vincent, to speak for him, he having an impediment in his speech. When
Dacian persecuted the Church, S. Valerius was taken to Valentia and
there imprisoned. When brought forth and interrogated, his nervousness
prevented him from articulating a word, therefore Vincent, the deacon,
spoke for him. Vincent was ordered to execution, but Valerius was
banished.

S. PALLADIUS, H. IN SYRIA.

(END OF 4TH CENT.)

[This Palladius is not to be confounded with the author of the
Historia Lausiaca. He is mentioned by Theodoret, who relates of him
all that is known.]

Palladius was a friend of Simeon the Ancient; they often met to
encourage one another in the practice of self-denial and prayer. One
incident in the life of this hermit has been alone transmitted to us.
Not far from his cell was a frequented market. A merchant who had been
at it was waylaid, robbed and murdered by a man who, after having done
the deed, cast the body by the door of the hermit's cell. Next day a
crowd assembled, instigated by the murderer, and with threatening looks
and words, they broke open the hermit's door, and drew him forth,
charging him with the murder. Then Palladius raised his hands and eyes
to heaven and prayed. And when his prayer was concluded, he turned to
the corpse and said, "Young man, designate the murderer!" Thereupon the
dead man partly rose, raised his hand and pointed at him who had killed
him; and when he was apprehended, articles belonging to the deceased
were discovered upon him.

S. CYRIL, PATR. OF ALEXANDRIA.

(A.D. 444.)

[Roman Martyrology. The Greeks celebrate the memory of S. Cyril on
June 9th, and commemorate him together with S. Athanasius on June
18th. Authorities: Socrates, Sozomen, Marius Mercator, the Acts of
the council of Ephesus, and his own letters and treatises &c.]

This great champion of the faith has been attacked by modern writers as
passionate and intolerant; it is true that he was guilty of several
errors in administrating his patriarchate, and that his impetuosity gave
the impulse which led to serious violation of justice. But we must
remember that no man, not the greatest of saints, is without
imperfection of character, and that the greatest of saints are they who,
having serious natural defects, have mastered them by their faith and
self-control. S. Cyril began his patriarchate under disadvantageous
circumstances. He was the nephew of Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria,
Chrysostom's worst enemy, a man devoid of principle, wholly given up to
pride of station; on October 15th, 412, he closed his episcopate of
twenty-seven years; a melancholy instance of great powers rendered
baneful to the Church by a worldly spirit and a violent temper. He was
succeeded by his nephew Cyril. The evil of his uncle's example hung
about him for some time, obscuring the nobleness which was to shine out
afterwards. He desired above all things the ascendancy of the Church; as
to the means of obtaining which, he had fewer scruples than became a
minister of Him who rebuked the attack on Malchus. He closed the
Novatian church, took away its sacred ornaments, and deprived its Bishop
of his property. The Jews of Alexandria--a powerful body during many
centuries--had procured the disgrace and punishment of Hierax, an
admirer of Cyril's sermons. Cyril, naturally indignant, menaced the
chief of their community; the Jews' revenge was to raise a cry at
midnight, "The Church of S. Alexander is on fire!" and to massacre those
Christians who rushed out to save their church. Cyril appears to have
made up his mind that the Christians must right them, without expecting
justice from the praefect Orestes, and he organized at daybreak a force
which attacked the synagogues, expelled the Jews from Alexandria, and
treated their property as rightful spoil. Orestes, exasperated at this
hasty and lawless vengeance, would not listen to the explanations which
Cyril offered; and the archbishop, after vainly holding out the Gospels
to enforce his attempts at a reconciliation, gave up all hopes of peace.
Five hundred monks of Nitria, inflamed by a furious partisanship,
entered the city and reviled the praefect as a pagan. "I am a Christian,"
he exclaimed; "Atticus of Constantinople baptized me." A monk named
Ammonius disproved his own Christianity by throwing a stone at the
praefect, which inflicted a ghastly wound. He was seized, and expired
under tortures; but Cyril so miserably forgot himself as to call this
ruffian an "admirable" martyr, a proceeding of which he was afterwards
heartily ashamed. Then followed a darker tragedy. Hypatia, a learned
lady, and teacher of philosophy, and a heathen, who had great influence
in the city in opposing Christianity, was supposed to have embittered
Orestes against Cyril; and some fiery zealots, headed by a reader of the
church, named Peter, dragged her from her house and tore her to pieces,
limb from limb. Cyril was no party to this hideous deed,[128] but it was
the work of men whose passions he had originally called out. Had there
been no onslaught on the synagogues, there would have been no murder of
Hypatia. The people of Alexandria were singularly fiery and given to
civil contensions. Gibbon says of them, "The most trifling occasion, a
transient scarcity of flesh or lentils, the neglect of an accustomed
salutation, a mistake of precedency in the public baths, or even a
religious dispute, were at any time sufficient to kindle a sedition
among that vast multitude, whose resentments were furious and
implacable."[129] A ferocious civil war which lasted twelve years, and
raged within the city, till a considerable portion had been reduced to
ruins in the reign of Valerian, had originated in a dispute between a
soldier and a townsman about a pair of shoes.

Cyril had inherited all his uncle's violent prejudice against S. John
Chrysostom. Pope Innocent had not been able to procure the vindication
of his memory at Constantinople. But soon after his death, Atticus his
successor, a good man, but weak and timid, and a declared enemy to
Chrysostom, who had resisted the Pope's exhortation, yielded to the
popular feeling, and to the advice of the Emperor Theodosius, who
thought that "for peace and unity there would be no harm in writing a
dead man's name on a diptych," _i.e._, on the table of names of the
departed prayed for at the Mass. Atticus excused himself for this
compliance in a letter to Cyril, in which he observed that, in these
Eucharistic commemorations, laymen as well as bishops were included. The
nephew of Theophilus was not likely to be thus appeased; and he
extracted from the messengers of Atticus the confession that Chrysostom
was now commemorated as a Bishop. In his view, Chrysostom was simply a
man who had forfeited the episcopate; and he called upon Atticus to
"expunge from the sacerdotal catalogue the name of one who was no
minister," distinctly intimating that unless he resolved to uphold the
authority of the Council of the Oak,[130] he would forfeit the communion
of the patriarchate of Alexandria.

But as time passed, Cyril thought better of this, and regretted his
violence and prejudice. Isidore of Pelusium, a pious abbot, wrote to
him, "Put an end to these dissensions, lest you incur the judgment of
God," and urged him not to make a perpetual schism in the Church by
refusing to commemorate Chrysostom. He placed the name of Chrysostom on
his diptychs, and immediately was received into communion with Rome from
which he had been estranged by his adherence to the prejudices of his
uncle.

Atticus, patriarch of Constantinople, was succeeded in 426, by Sisinius,
who died on Christmas Eve, 427. Nestorius, a Syrian bred in Antioch, of
high reputation and great powers as a speaker, ascetic and studious in
his habits, was consecrated to the see on April 10th, 428. His first
sermon indicated a feverish polemical zeal. "Give me," he exclaimed,
addressing the Emperor, "give me the earth clear of heretics, and I will
give you heaven in return! Help me to overthrow the heretics, and I will
help you to overthrow the Persians." He began his episcopate by
attacking an Arian meeting-house; the Arians set fire to it in their
despair; the flames caught other buildings, and the new patriarch
received the ominous name of "the Incendiary." The early violence of
Cyril ought neither to be extenuated nor exaggerated; but there was
somewhat less of provocation for the persecuting zeal of Nestorius.
Shortly before Christmas, 428, a priest named Anastasius, whom the new
archbishop had brought from Antioch, was preaching in S. Sophia. In the
sermon he said, "Let no one call Mary the Mother of God; for she was a
human creature, of whom God could not be born." Nestorius was present
and approved; and on Christmas Day he himself began a short course of
sermons, in which he called the title heathenish, and spoke of Mary's
Son as a mere man, the instrument employed, and the vesture worn by God.
Eusebius, a lawyer in the city, stood up in full church, and proclaimed
that the Eternal Word Himself was born after the flesh. Nestorius
denounced this doctrine; "It was not the Word that was born," said he;
"It was only the _man_ Jesus."

Soon after, on a festival in honour of the Virgin, probably the
Annunciation, a certain Bishop Proclus preached in the great church
before Nestorius. After speaking of S. Mary in glowing language, as the
bush burning and unconsumed, the cloud that bore the cherub-throne,
Gideon's fleece filled with heavenly dew, he passed to the practical
bearings of the Catholic doctrine. "If the Word had not dwelt in the
womb, Flesh had never sat down on the holy throne. It was necessary,
either that the doom of death should be executed on all, for all have
sinned, or that such a price should be paid in exchange as could fully
claim the release. Man could not save, for he was under the pressure of
the debt of sin. An angel could not redeem humanity, for he had lacked
such a ransom as was needed. One only course remained, that the sinless
God should die for sinners. It was God who out of His compassion became
Man. We do not proclaim a man deified, but we confess a God Incarnate.
The Self-same was in the Father's bosom, and in the Virgin's womb; in a
mother's arms, and on the wings of the wind. He was adored by angels,
while He sat at meat with publicans. The servant buffeted Him, and
creation shuddered. He was laid in the tomb, and he spread out the
heavens as a curtain. O the mystery! I see the miracles, and I proclaim
the Godhead; I see the sufferings and I declare the Manhood." Nestorius
rose from his throne and rebuked the preacher. He said that to speak of
God as virgin-born was erroneous, and in after sermons he argued that
God who "held the circle of the earth" could not be wrapt in
grave-clothes; that the Sustainer of all things could not rise from the
dead. Christ, he said, was a sinless man, the image of the Godhead
through His goodness; and that as a child was of the same nature as its
mother, therefore that Christ could not be divine as Mary was not
divine. He allowed to Christ _a_ divinity, but not _the_ divinity,
placing Him rather as chiefest of saints than as God. It was Arianism
under another form.

His sermons caused a great excitement at home as well as abroad. Men saw
that the question was no strife of words; laymen who felt that Catholic
truth was their inheritance, no less than that of the clergy, shrank
from the communion of a bishop who made void the Incarnation. Clergy
began to preach against him, "They are croaking frogs," said Nestorius,
and he obtained an imperial order to silence them. A priest began to
celebrate in private, an abbot and a monk told Nestorius to his face
that he was in error, and were savagely beaten and imprisoned for so
doing. A monk who dared to denounce him as a heretic was scourged and
exiled. Among his supporters a bishop named Dorotheus was the chief.
When he preached his heresy, the congregation uttering a cry of
indignation, rushed out of church, but Nestorius proceeded with the
service, and administered Communion to the preacher.

The careful circulation of the archbishop's sermons brought them into
the hands of the Egyptian monks. Cyril strove to undo their effect by a
letter addressed to the monks, about the end of April, 429. They would
have done better, he said, by abstaining from the controversy; but it
was necessary as things stood, to impress on them the positive truth.
Since Christ was Emmanuel, since He who was in the form of God assumed
the form of a servant, since the Son of Man was adorable, since the Lord
of glory was crucified, it was impossible to divide the persons, and
separate the manhood from the Godhead. To sum up all in one simple
formula; "If our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how can His Mother, the holy
Virgin, be _not_ Mother of God?" He guarded himself from
misrepresentation by clearly confessing that it was from Mary that
Christ derived His human nature, but that it was not from her that He
derived His divine nature. He was God, from her He received His
humanity, but to her He was not indebted for His Godhead.

About Midsummer he wrote his first letter to Nestorius, urging him not
to produce scandal and a schism by asserting that God dwelt in Christ
instead of proclaiming the Catholic doctrine that Christ was God. In
February, 430, S. Cyril wrote his second letter to Nestorius--the great
Epistle which received in subsequent councils a formal sanction from the
Church. He set forth his faith in the clearest terms, insisting on a
real, not a merely moral union of God and Man in Christ. Nestorius
replied, showing a strange confusion of mind in the matter, which
contrasts painfully with the bright, crisp, and lucid style of Cyril. He
was ready to allow that Christ was an association of God with the man,
Jesus; but he would not admit that God and man made one Christ.

Now it was that Cyril shone as a bright star in the firmament of the
Church, proved a pillar in the house of God, sustaining the truth. For
this God had raised him up, to maintain in the face of heresy, the Unity
of the Person in our Blessed Lord. What S. Athanasius had done for the
Church when assailed by Arianism, Cyril was called to perform when she
was beaten by Nestorianism. "I care not for distress, or insult, or
bitterest revilings," said he in a letter to his clergy, "Only let the
faith be kept safe."

[Illustration: S. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA.
After the Picture by Dominiquin in the Church of Grotto
Ferrata, Rome.
Jan. 28.]

Early in August a council met at Rome. Pope Celestine
quoted a stanza from the Christmas hymn of S. Ambrose:--

"Redeemer of Earth's tribes forlorn.
Come, show Thyself the Virgin-born;
Let every age the marvel greet--
No common birth for God were meet."

"Thus," he added, "Our brother Cyril's meaning, when he calls Mary, the
mother of God, entirely agrees with _Talis decet partus Deum_." He cited
S. Hilary and S. Damasus as teaching the same doctrine of One Christ;
and the council pronounced Nestorius guilty of heresy. On August 11th,
he wrote to Cyril, accepting his doctrinal statements, and giving him an
important commission. "Join the authority of our see to your own, and
freely occupying our place, execute this sentence with strictness and
rigour; so that, unless in ten days time from this monition, he condemns
in writing his unholy doctrine, and assures us that he holds that faith
concerning the birth of Christ our God, which is held by the Roman
Church, and by your Holiness' Church, and by all who belong to our
religion, your Holiness may provide for his Church, and let him know
that he must needs be cut off from our body."

On the 19th of November, the emperor Theodosius, at the request of
Nestorius and his opponents, summoned a general council to meet at
Ephesus at the ensuing Pentecost. Besides the circular letter, Cyril
received a private one, angry in tone, from the emperor, asking, "Why
have you despised us, and raised all this agitation, as if a rash
impetuosity were more befitting than accurate inquiry, or audacity and
versatility more pleasing to us than good taste and simple dealing." In
a council held at Alexandria, Nestorius was declared heretical, and was
excommunicated.

On Sunday, December 7th, four bishops entered the cathedral of
Constantinople, during the time of service, and presented to Nestorius
the letters of Celestine and Cyril excommunicating him.

About four or five days before Whit-sunday, which in 431, fell on June
7th, Cyril reached Ephesus, accompanied by fifty bishops, and found that
Nestorius had arrived with sixteen before him. The Roman legates,
Arcadius and Projectus, bishops, with Philip, a priest, were on their
way. Pope Celestine had already expressed to Cyril his opinion, that if
Nestorius were minded to repent, he should by all means be received,
notwithstanding the sentence already pronounced by Rome and Alexandria.
The bishops of the patriarchate of Antioch had not yet arrived. The
church of Africa devastated by the Vandals could send no prelate; but
Capreolus of Carthage wrote, entreating the bishops to maintain the
ancient doctrine.

Hostilities were, in one sense, commenced between the parties before the
opening of the council. Memnon, bishop of Ephesus, excluded the
Nestorians from the churches, so that they had no place wherein to
celebrate Pentecost, or to say matins and vespers.

Acacius, bishop of Melitene, endeavoured to convert Nestorius. A bishop
of the Nestorian party said to him, "The Son who suffered is one, God
the Word is another." Acacius withdrew in horror; but another saying
that fell from Nestorius impressed itself yet more indelibly upon every
Catholic heart. On June 19th, some prelates were arguing with him on the
divinity of Jesus. "For my part," said he, several times over, "I cannot
say that a child of two or three months old was God." Thus he declared
his disbelief in the foundation doctrine of Christianity.

On Sunday, June 21st, a fortnight had elapsed from the time fixed for
the meeting of the council. The Bishops were weary of waiting; illness
and even death, had appeared among them; and John, patriarch of Antioch
had not arrived. The majority therefore sent a message to Nestorius,
telling him that the council should begin, next day. On Monday, June
22nd, when 198 Bishops assembled in S. Mary's Church, he personally
remonstrated against the council being opened till the Bishops of the
patriarchate of Antioch had arrived. It was in vain; Cyril and the
majority absolutely refused to delay. On the episcopal throne, in the
centre of the assembly, were laid the Gospels; the Bishops sat on each
side; Cyril, as highest in rank, and as holding the proxy of Coelestine,
until the arrival of the Roman legates, presided in the assembly. It
would have been better if some other bishop had discharged this office;
but it appears that Cyril's part in the proceedings was mainly that of a
producer of evidence, and that he called on the council to judge between
himself and Nestorius. A second citation was then directed to Nestorius;
but soldiers with clubs denied the deputies access to his presence, and
he sent out word that he would attend when all the bishops had reached
the city.

A third message was then dispatched to him; care being taken to treat
him simply as an accused bishop, not as a condemned heretic. Again the
rude sentinels thrust back the deputies. "If you stand here all night,
you will get no satisfaction; Nestorius has ordered that no one from
your council shall enter." They returned to S. Mary's. "Nestorius," said
the Bishop of Jerusalem, "shows a bad conscience. Let us now proceed to
compare all recent statements with the creed of Nicaea."

When the great confession had been read, then the second letter of
Cyril to Nestorius, and extracts from the sermons of the accused, the
fathers proceeded to depose and excommunicate Nestorius, in the name of
"our Lord Jesus Christ whom he has blasphemed." The sentence was signed
by all the bishops; the first signature being, "I, Cyril, Bishop of
Alexandria, subscribed to the judgment of the council." It was now late
in the summer evening. The bishops, on issuing from the church, were
welcomed with loud applause by the people, who had thronged the streets
all day. Torches and perfumes were burnt before them, as they proceeded
to their several abodes; and thus ended the memorable first session of
the council of Ephesus. It is interesting to think that while the
bishops were going home that night, after a day of intense excitement,
Paulinus of Nola was calmly giving up his soul. His last words, breathed
forth in a low chant at the hour of vespers, were those of Psalm cxxxi.
17, (cxxxii.) _Paravi lucernam Christo meo_. "I have prepared a lamp for
my Christ."

On Saturday, June 27th, John of Antioch arrived with fifteen Bishops.
The council sent deputies to his lodging: he consented to see them, but
permitted Count Irenaeus, a friend of Nestorius, to beat them cruelly.
Dusty and travel-stained as he was, John proceeded to assemble a
conclave of the partisans of Nestorius, numbering forty-three Bishops,
and deposed Cyril of Alexandria, and Memnon of Ephesus.

Theodosius, the emperor, prejudiced in favour of Nestorius, and
thinking, perhaps not without reason, that the prelates of Antioch
should have been awaited before the opening of the council, wrote on
June 29th, in severe terms, ordering that no bishop should leave Ephesus
until the doctrinal question had been fairly scrutinized, and declaring
the proceedings null.

And now the Roman legates arrived, and the second session was held in
Memnon's house, July 10th. Celestine's letter to the council, dated May
8, expressed full confidence that the council would join with the
legates in executing what Rome had already decided was good. The bishops
answered by applause, "One Coelestine, one Cyril, one faith of the
council, one faith of the world!"

Next day, in the third session, the council wrote to the emperor that
the whole Church was against Nestorius; and in a fourth session John,
patriarch of Antioch, who supported the heretic, was deposed and
excommunicated. The emperor then sent his high-treasurer, Count John, to
compose the differences in a summary manner. On his arrival he at once
arrested Cyril, Memnon, and Nestorius, and soldiers were stationed at
the doors of their bed-rooms, to keep them close prisoners.

The bishops of the council, in a letter to the clergy of Constantinople,
described the distress which they were enduring. "We are killed with the
heat, the air is unhealthy, there is a funeral nearly every day, the
servants are all gone home sick; but if they make us die here, we will
not alter what Christ has through us ordained." Many of the bishops were
very ill; some had been obliged to sell all that they had, in order to
pay their expenses. Cyril wrote also, but there was a difficulty in
getting these letters carried to their destination. The Nestorians of
Constantinople beset the ships and the roads, and would allow no
ordinary messenger to enter the city. It was determined to give them
into the care of a beggar, who might carry them in the hollow of a cane
on which he leant. This ingenious device succeeded. The clergy of
Constantinople received the sentence of deposition pronounced on their
patriarch, and the letters of Cyril and the council. The clergy openly
addressed the emperor on behalf of Cyril. There was a great stir among
the monks, who were for the most part determined enemies of
Nestorianism. The aged abbot Dalmatius had not left his monastery for
nearly fifty years. The emperor had vainly striven to make him take a
part in the processional services during earthquakes. But now he felt,
as he expressed it, that in a cause which so truly belonged to God he
could not be inactive. He issued forth, at the head of a solemn train of
monks and abbots, chanting in two choirs, which moved towards the
palace; the abbots were at once admitted to the presence of Theodosius,
and he having read the letter of the council, said, "If these things are
so, let the Bishops come hither." "They are prevented," said Dalmatius.
"No they are not," said the emperor. "They are under arrest," persisted
the abbot. The conference ended to the satisfaction of the abbots; they
came forth, and directed the multitude without to proceed to a large
church at the extremity of the city. Again the procession swept onwards;
monks, bearing wax tapers, led the psalmody, without which in those days
no great religious movement was conceivable; and the inspiring, "O
praise God in His holiness," was thundered forth as they approached
their destination. The church was thronged with eager listeners;
Dalmatius caused the letter of the council to be read, and then
described the interview with Theodosius. Dalmatius might well write to
the council, "I have not neglected your wishes." His interposition was a
great event; he had proved too many for the Nestorians. By his simple
devotion and impressive firmness, the old recluse had given force and
unity to a great mass of public feeling, and broken the spell by which a
party had bound the emperor.

It is unnecessary to follow the tangled threads of party strife much
further. Theodosius confirmed the decree of the council, and on Sunday,
Oct. 25th, 431, a new patriarch was consecrated to fill the room of
Nestorius. John of Antioch had been led astray by party feeling, and in
faith he had not been really heretical; his mind like that of other
supporters of Nestorius was bewildered, and fearing lest Cyril should
fall in the opposite error, that of Apollinaris, which lost one nature
in the other, making of Christ but one nature, he had adopted the side
of Nestorius. Now he was reconciled to Cyril, who gladly met him
halfway, and by mutual explanation blew away the dust of strife, and
found that their faith was identical. John sent Paul, Bishop of Emesa,
to Alexandria with this confession, "We confess our Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God, to be perfect God and perfect Man, of a
reasonable soul and a body; before the ages begotten of the Father
according to His Godhead, but for us and for our salvation, in the
latter days, born of the Virgin Mary according to His Manhood; of one
essence with the Father as to Godhead, of one essence with us as to
Manhood. For there took place an union of two natures; wherefore we
confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. According to this notion of the
union without confusion, we confess Holy Mary to be Mother of God,
because God the Word was incarnate and made man, and from His very
conception united to Himself the temple taken from her."

This formulary Cyril gladly accepted as orthodox, and then, and not till
then, Paul of Emesa was permitted to attend the church service, and
invited to preach, as a Catholic Bishop, on Christmas Day. The scene
that ensued was a very striking one. He began with the angelic hymn,
proceeded to Isaiah vii. 14, and then pronounced the momentous words,
"Thus Mary, Mother of God, brings forth Emmanuel!" The church rang with
joyful cries; "Lo, this is the faith! 'Tis God's gift, orthodox Cyril!
This is what we wanted to hear!" Paul resumed, and presently enforced
both sides of the great verity. "A combination of two perfect natures, I
mean Godhead and Manhood, constitutes for us the one Son, the one
Christ, the one Lord." Again the people shouted applause; "Welcome,
orthodox Bishop, the worthy to the worthy!"

S. Cyril died in June, 444, after a pontificate of thirty-two years,
during the last fifteen of which he may be said to have as truly lived
for the truth of the unity of the two natures in Christ, as his
mightiest predecessor, S. Athanasius, had lived for the truth of the
Divinity of Christ. Doubtless, the fiery spirit, which Cyril could not
always restrain, impelled him, during this great controversy, into some
steps which show that he was not an Athanasius. But modern critics of
his character have said more than enough on this point, and too little
on points of a different kind. Historical justice can never demand that
we should take the hardest possible view of his conduct at the opening
of the council of Ephesus, and ignore the noble unselfishness, the
patience in explaining over and over again his own statements, the
readiness in welcoming substantial agreement on the part of others, in a
word, the "power, and love, and command" which made him a true minister
of peace in the reunion of 433. We need not dwell on other instances in
which he showed a remarkable forbearance, as when he bore without
irritation the schooling of S. Isidore; on his care for the due
probation of aspirants to the priesthood, his depth and acuteness as a
dogmatic theologian, his faith and thankfulness when treated as a
deposed prisoner. The way _not_ to understand him is to substitute a
haughty and heartless dogmatist for the ardent, anxious, often the
deeply suffering man, who, against an opponent strong in sophistry, in
court influence, and in church power, persevered in defending the simple
truth of the Scriptural and Nicene mystery, that "the one Lord Jesus
Christ was very God of very God, who for us men and for our salvation
came down from heaven, and was incarnate, and was made Man."[131]

[Illustration: S. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. After Cahier.
Jan. 28.]

S. JAMES, THE PENITENT, H.

(6TH CENT.)

[Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea, but by the Gallo-Belgic
Martyrology on Jan. 29th. Authority: a life written apparently not
long after the death of S. James. There are so many saints, and
even hermit saints of this name, that some confusion would have
arisen but for the remarkable peculiarity of the life of this man.]

The story of this hermit is a painful and very sad one; it is that of a
great fall and bitter repentance. As a warning to all those who are
living lives near to God, to be not high-minded but fear, the Church has
placed it in her sacred Kalendar, but not only as a lesson to such, but
also as an encouragement to the poor wretch who has fallen, to look up,
not to despair, for great as may be his sin, greater is the mercy of
God.

Near the city of Porphyrio in Samaria lived a hermit in a cave. He was
not old, but in the bloom of manhood. Some wicked men, desirous of
disgracing the anchorite, suborned a harlot to bewitch him. She
therefore went to his cave one evening, and knocked at the door. He
opened the door, and, seeing a woman, slammed it in her face. But she
continued knocking and imploring to be admitted. Night fell, and the
howl of the wolf and the snarl of the hyaena sounded dolefully without;
then the hermit, fearing lest the woman should become prey to wild
beasts, opened the door, and asked her who she was. She replied that she
was a religious woman on her road from one convent to another, who
sought shelter for the night. Then he admitted her to the outer chamber
of his cave, where burnt his fire, and there he bade her rest, whilst he
retired into the inner chamber, and closed the door. But, during the
night, he heard her moaning and sobbing, then he looked through the
little window in the door, and saw her rolling on the ground, as if in
great pain. He asked what ailed her, and she answered that she had cramp
of the heart, and implored him to relieve her, by signing her bosom and
heart with holy oil. Then she tore open her garment, and exposed her
breast; and he, entering, took oil and anointed her bosom; but fearing
temptation, he prayed to God with great devotion, and at the same time
placed his left hand in the fire, whilst with his right he continued
doing as she demanded, till suddenly, she was aware that his left hand
was so burned that the fingers were completely charred through. Then,
horror-struck, and filled with compunction, she threw herself at his
feet, and sobbing confessed her evil design. So he bade her go and sin
no more, and the woman was converted from her evil life, and she went
and lived the rest of her days in the exercise of penitence.

Now, after this, James was of good confidence that he had completely
mastered the lust of the flesh, and he was less on his guard against the
wiles of Satan than before. And people saw his maimed hand, and they
praised his great continence, so his heart was lifted up within him, and
he was filled with spiritual pride. After many years, when he was over
sixty, there came to his cell a father bringing his daughter, a very
beautiful girl, who was possessed with an evil spirit, and he besought
the pious hermit to cast forth the demon. And when he had prayed, the
evil spirit went out of her, but left her almost inanimate. Then the
father, thinking her too much exhausted to be at once removed, or
fearing another access of her disorder, left her in the cell of the
God-fearing recluse. And when she was there some days, and he saw her
beauty, he was overcome with a violent passion of love, and he lost all
control over himself, and forgot God, and deceived the unfortunate girl,
and in madness he savagely murdered her, and threw the body into a
river.

And now, as the sun set on that day of passion and crime, and the dark
night settled down on the wilderness, the horror of remorse came upon
him, and he writhed in his cave in an agony of shame and despair, lying
with his face on the ground. Then, at last, haggard and hopeless, he
rushed forth, resolving to confess his crime and then to return into the
world, as one unworthy to aspire to a close walk with God. And when he
had come to the nearest monastery, he called the monks together, and
casting himself at their feet, sobbed forth his story of shame. The good
brothers raised him, and mingled their tears with his, and prayed God to
have mercy on the poor sinner, and to pluck him as a brand from the
burning. After that, finding no rest, he went forth, and lighted, as
evening fell, on an old hermit sitting in his cave, who offered him a
lodging, and spread for him such food as he had to offer. But James
would eat nothing. Then the hermit said, "Dear Christian brother, give
me some good advice, how I may escape evil thoughts." And when James
heard that, he uttered a piercing cry, staggered to his feet and fell on
the ground, burying his face in his hands. He told all his sin to the
hermit, and said that now he was about to return into the world, being
unworthy to wear the habit of a monk, and live a life demanding such
holiness. "When I was young, then I controlled my passions, now that I
am old, my passions have conquered me. I cannot raise my eyes," he said;
"I despair of salvation. I cannot name the Saving Name; fire will fall
from heaven to consume me, I am lost!"

Then the good old hermit cast his arms round his neck and kissed him,
and said, "Brother, despair not of God's forbearance, but believe that
there is a place for repentance. A broken and a contrite heart God will
not despise. Great is God's mercy, ever following us, therefore despair
not, brother!"

He ceased not from speaking, till the black cloud of despair was rolled
away, and the fallen monk had the courage to hope. Then he led him on
his way for many miles, earnestly dissuading him from going into the
world; and so they parted, with many tears.

So James sought out a doleful cave which had been used as an old
sepulchre, and he hid himself there, and spent in it ten years,
bewailing his crime, only opening the door twice in the week, to collect
a few olives on which to sustain life, and esteeming himself viler than
the dust. And when ten years were accomplished, he felt that God was
about to call him, therefore he went to the nearest city, and to the
Bishop there, and besought him, when he was dead, to bury him in the old
sepulchre in which he had undergone his penance, and in the soil he had
moistened with his many tears. After that he returned to his cave, and
there died, at the age of seventy-five.

S. PAULINUS, PATR. OF AQUILEIA.

(A.D. 804.)

[S. Paulinus died on Jan. 11th, but his festival is observed on
Jan. 28th. Authorities: various histories of his time, and the
writings of himself and Alcuin.]

S. Paulinus, born about 726, was one of the most illustrious of the
patriarchs who sat in the throne of Aquileia, which he ascended, about
the year 776. He assisted at the council of Aix-la-Chapelle in 782, of
Ratisbon in 792, and of Frankfort in 794; and he held one himself, at
Friuli, in 791 or 796. He combated a form of Nestorianism propagated by
Felix, Bishop of Urgel, and Elipandus, Bishop of Toledo, with such
success that their heresy made no headway in the West. In 802, S.
Paulinus assembled a council at Altino. He died on the 11th Jan., 804.

[Illustration: CHARLEMAGNE AND S. LOUIS.
After a Picture in the Palais de Justice, Paris,
wrongly attributed to Van Eyck.
Jan. 28.]

B. CHARLEMAGNE, EMP.

(A.D. 814.)

[Inserted in many French, German, and Belgian Martyrologies. He was
canonized by the Anti-pope Paschal III. The life of this emperor,
written by his secretary Eginhart, together with the numerous
historical accounts of his transactions, supply abundant material
for his life.]

The public life of the Emperor Charlemagne belongs to the domain of
secular history, rather than to hagiology. We shall confine ourselves,
in this notice, to those acts which have obtained for him a place in the
Kalendar of the Church.

Charlemagne, son of King Pepin, was born in 742, and was crowned king of
France in 768. In the early years of his reign he was guilty of grave
moral faults, which he deeply deplored in his after life. He comes
before us as a man penetrated with a strong sense of religious
responsibility, and of faith in the divine mission of the Church. In the
midst of his wars, the spread of the true faith, and the advancement of
learning, were never absent from his mind. He was zealous in reforming
the monasteries, and for the sake of uniformity, he introduced into them
the rule of S. Benedict. For the discipline of the clergy, he procured
the convention of many synods, in which were drawn up his famous
Capitulars. He meditated assiduously on the Scriptures, assisted at the
divine office, even that of midnight, if possible; had good books read
to him at table, and took but one meal a day. He died at the age of
seventy-two, at Aix-la-Chapelle, in 814, and was there buried. His tomb
was opened in 1165. The body was found, not reclining in his coffin, as
is the usual fashion of the dead, but seated on his throne as one alive,
clothed in the imperial robes, bearing the sceptre in his hand, and on
his knees a copy of the Gospels. On his fleshless brow was the crown,
the imperial mantle covered his shoulders, the sword Joyeuse was by his
side, and the pilgrim's pouch, which he had borne always while living,
was still fastened to his girdle. His skull and throne and hunting
horn are preserved in the sacristy at Aix.

[Illustration: Baptism of Vanquished Saxons by command of Charlemagne.
From a Miniature of the 15th Century in the Burgundy
Library at Brussels.]

FOOTNOTES:

[128] "That Cyril had any share in this atrocity," says Canon
Robertson, i. 401, "appears to be an unsupported calumny."

[129] Decline and Fall, Ed. Bohn, i. p. 348.

[130] See p. 406.

[131] Chiefly from Bright's Church History.

January 29.

S. VALERIUS, _B. of Trèves, end of 1st. cent._
S. CONSTANTIUS, _B.M. at Perugia, between_ A.D. 161-8.
SS. SABINIAN, _M._, AND SABINA, V., _at Troyes, in France, circ._
A.D. 275.
SS. PAPIAS AND MAURUS, _MM., at Rome, circ._ A.D. 303.
S. GILDAS THE WISE, _Ab. in Brittany, 6th cent._
S. SULPICIUS SEVERUS, _B. of Bourges_, A.D. 591.
S. BACULUS, _B. of Sorrento, circ._ A.D. 679.
S. PETER THOMASIUS, _Latin Patr. of Constantinople_, A.D. 1366.
S. FRANCIS OF SALES, _B. of Geneva_, A.D. 1622.

S. VALERIUS, B. OF TREVES.

(END OF 1ST CENT.)

[There are many Saints of this name. This S. Valerius appears in
very many of the most ancient Martyrologies. His Acts, together
with those of SS. Eucher and Maternus, his companions, was written
by a certain Goldscher, of uncertain date, but ancient; for it is
quoted by Heriger, Ab. Lobie, who died 1007. Goldscher says that he
collected the accounts he found of Valerius and his companions from
various ancient chronicles.]

Eucher, Valerius, and Maternus, according to legend wholly unreliable,
were three disciples of S. Peter, and were sent by him to preach the
Gospel in Gaul. The first was consecrated by him bishop, the second,
deacon, and Maternus, sub-deacon. S. Eucher fixed his see at Trèves,
then an important city. After his death Valerius was elevated to the
episcopate, and preached the word of God with so much zeal, that many
were added to the Church. On his death, he was succeeded by S. Maternus.

SS. SABINIAN, M., AND SABINA, V.

(ABOUT A.D. 275.)

[Commemorated in some churches on Jan. 25th, in others on Jan.
29th, June 8th, Aug. 29th, Sept. 5th; sometimes together, and
sometimes severally. Authorities: two ancient lives of S. Sabinian,
and one of S. Sabina, published by Bollandus.]

SS. Sabinian and Sabina were brother and sister, natives of Samos.
Sabinian's soul having been touched by Christian teaching, he left his
native island, and coming to Gaul reached Troyes, where he fell in with
Christians, and he was there baptized in the river Seine. It is said
that his staff, which he had driven into the bank, as he went down into
the water, on his return put forth leaves and flowered.

In the reign of Aurelian he was brought before the emperor, then at
Vienne in Gaul, and was cruelly tormented, by being seated on a heated
bench of iron, and a red-hot helmet was placed on his head. He was
afterwards executed with the sword. His sister Sabina, who had followed
him, arrived at Troyes after his martyrdom. She was there baptized,
spent a holy life, and died a virgin.

S. GILDAS THE WISE, AB., IN BRITTANY.

(6TH CENT.)

[There are said to have been several British saints of this name.
But that commemorated on this day is the famous author, whose
writings are extant. It is probable that Gildas, having been born
in Scotland, bred in Wales, and a monastic founder in Brittany, has
been divided into three, and some of the incidents have attached
themselves to S. Gildas the Scotchman, others to S. Gildas the
Welshman, and others again to him of Brittany. Yet these are all
easily reducible into a consecutive history, and belong, in fact,
to one man. His life was written by Caradoc of Llancarvan, about
1150; another life is by an anonymous monk of Rhys.]

S. Gildas, surnamed the Wise, was born in North-Britain near the Clyde,
in the kingdom of which Dumbarton was the capital. His father was of
princely birth; his eldest son, Howel, was a great warrior, who,
succeeding his father in the principality, was slain by King Arthur.
Mailoc, another son, was brought up to the religious life. Two other
brothers, and their sister, Peteona, in like manner left the world, and
choosing a retired place in the furthest extremity of that country,
built themselves separate oratories, where, by watching, fasting, and
fervent prayer, they continually strove to reach their heavenly country.
As to Gildas, we learn from his own writings, that he was born in the
year of the famous victory, gained (as some say, by Ambrose; or, as
others say, by Arthur,) over the Saxons at Mount Badon, near Bath, about
A.D. 520. He was, when a child, committed by his parents to the care of
S. Iltut, who brought him up in his monastery of Llan-Iltut in
Glamorganshire, instructing him in the divine Scriptures, and in the
liberal arts. These divine meditations wonderfully increased his faith
and love of heavenly things, and influenced in such a manner the whole
conduct of his life, that from his very youth he attained to great
perfection and was favoured with the gift of miracles. From S. Iltut's
school, where he had for companions S. Samson and S. Paul of Leon, both
of whom were afterwards illustrious prelates, he went over into Ireland,
for his further improvement in virtue and learning, among the disciples
of S. Patrick. There he frequented the most celebrated masters of divine
and human learning; and like the industrious bee, gathered honey from
every flower--the honey of virtue and of knowledge. In the meantime, he
failed not to chastise his body and bring it into subjection, lest, with
all his learning and preaching to others, he himself might become a
cast-away. Therefore he fasted much, and often watched whole nights,
employing that silent time in prayer.

After Gildas was ordained priest, he preached the Gospel in the northern
parts of Britain; where a great part of the inhabitants were heathen,
and those calling themselves Christians were infected with the Pelagian
heresy. God blessed his labours there with such success, that great
numbers of heathen and heretics were by his means converted to Christ;
and many miracles were wrought through him in the cure of the sick, in
confirmation of his doctrine. The reputation of his success having
reached Ireland, the king, Ainmeric, invited him over. Gildas accepted
the call, and there, by his preaching and miracles, he mightily advanced
the kingdom of God. He built churches and monasteries, established
Christian discipline, regulated the liturgy, taught for some time in the
famous school of Armagh, and was, in a word, another S. Patrick to that
nation, by which he has been ever since gratefully honoured among their
most illustrious Saints.

After these things, leaving Ireland and Britain, he sailed over into
Armorica or Brittany, and there founded the monastery of Rhys. But as he
was desirous of solitude and undisturbed contemplation, he made himself
an oratory, at some distance from that monastery, under a rock upon the
bank of the river Blavet, where he devoted his solitary hours to
prayer.[132] The exact date of his death is uncertain.

S. SULPICIUS SEVERUS, B. OF BOURGES.

(A.D. 591.)

[There is great confusion caused by there having been so many
archbishops of this name. There was a Sulpicius the Pious,
Archbishop of Bourges about 644; commemorated on Jan. 17th. There
was also Sulpicius Severus, the disciple of S. Martin, whose life
Butler gives on this day, and who is the famous historian, but
there seems to be no authority for numbering him with the Saints.
Butler also says that there were four Sulpicii, Archbishops of
Bourges, but this seems to be a mistake, for Bollandus gives only
two, Sulpicius the Pious and Sulpicius Severus.]

Little of the acts of this Saint is known, and he is here mentioned
solely to enable the reader to distinguish the Saint of this name from
the historian, and also from his successor Sulpicius the Pious.

S. FRANCIS OF SALES, B.C. OF GENEVA.

(A.D. 1622.)

[Roman Martyrology. Beatified, A.D. 1661, canonized, A.D. 1665.
Jan. 29th, is the day of the translation of his body to Annecy; he
died on Holy Innocents' Day. Authorities: authentic lives by his
nephew, Charles Augustus de Sales, also by F. Goulu, general of the
Feuillans, also by Henry de Maupas du Tour, Bishop of Puys, and
afterward of Evreux; also by Madame de Bussi-Rabutin, nun of the
Visitation; also anecdotes of him collected by his friend Camus,
Bishop of Belley; and finally, his own writings.[133]]

S. Francis of Sales was the eldest son of one of the principal nobles of
Savoy,--John, Lord of Sales, of Boisy, of Balleyson, and of Ville-Roget,
usually styled by the second of these titles. His mother Frances,
daughter of the Lord of La Thuille and of Vallieres, came of no less
noble stock. He had many brothers and sisters, of whom Louis, Lord of La
Thuille, was the father of Charles Augustus, the pious biographer of the
Saint. Francis was born, Aug. 21st, 1567.

He was sent in early childhood to the college of Annecy, where he was
trained in all the accomplishments which in those days were considered
essential to the rank of a young noble. He was five years at the college
of Annecy. At the age of eleven, he entreated permission of his father
to take the tonsure, having at that early age decided to adopt the
ecclesiastical life. M. de Boisy by no means desired this, for his
ambition was, that his eldest son should succeed him as the head of the
family, and distinguish himself in political life; but, with that sort
of management which men of great experience often prefer to violent
measures, he permitted him to do as he pleased. The old lord knew that
the tonsure did not bind his son finally to become an ecclesiastic; and
he depended on the changes to which a young man's mind is subject, to
dissipate this predilection.

In 1580, he was sent to pursue his studies in the University of Paris.
At Paris one of the most critical events of his life took place, a
terrible temptation to despair, which came on suddenly, and lasted for a
considerable time, but from which he was released in a wonderful manner.
He was about the age of seventeen, when the idea took possession of his
mind, that he was not in a state of grace, and that the face of God was
turned away from him. In his agony of mental distress he prayed, "Lord
if I may not see Thee hereafter, yet, oh grant, that I may never
blaspheme Thee!" He seems, if it were possible, to have suffered the
very anguish of hell, without the loss of the love of God. During the
six weeks this shadow lay upon him, he could hardly eat or sleep, he
wasted to a skeleton and his friends became greatly alarmed for his
health. At length, this great cross disappeared as suddenly as it came.
He one day entered the church of S. Etienne des Grés and knelt down
before an image of the Blessed Virgin. His eye was caught by a tablet on
the wall, on which was inscribed the famous prayer of S. Bernard, called
the _Memorare_. He repeated it with great emotion; and implored that,
through the intercession of Mary, it might please God to restore his
peace of mind. He also made a vow of perpetual chastity. The dark
thoughts which had brooded over his soul for many weeks now sped away,
and the sun of God's favour shone on it and warmed it once more. He came
out of the church in that sweet and profound calmness of mind which he
never afterwards lost. Considering what he was to become in after life,
the guide and comforter of such a multitude of souls, it was necessary,
in order to give him his tender overflowing sympathy, that he should
have sounded the most unusual depths of human agony.

After having spent five years at Paris, he was sent to finish his
education at the university of Padua, and there he remained till he was
twenty-four years of age, when, in 1591, he took his degree of doctor of
laws. Soon after his return home, his father sent him to Chambéry, to
take the office of senator in the court, and the young Francis took the
opportunity of conferring with the Bishop on the steps which it would be
most advisable for him to take, in order to ensure the consent of his
family to his embracing the ecclesiastical state, on which his heart had
long been set. The Bishop advised him to wait a little, before declaring
this intention; and, in the mean time he obtained a bull from Rome
authorizing the appointment of Francis to the deanery of the cathedral,
knowing that the attainment of this dignity would soften the feelings of
the family towards the purposed steps. The hopes of Francis, however,
seemed destined to be frustrated altogether by the extreme anxiety of
his father, both that he should accept the post offered him, and also
that he should marry a rich, amiable, and beautiful girl, the daughter
of one of their oldest friends. But Francis, to the surprise and despair
of his parents, refused both offers. Not long after, the suspense
becoming intolerable to him, and his vocation day by day stronger, he
resolved to reveal the cause to his father and mother, and taking with
him his cousin, Louis of Sales, he implored their consent to his
becoming a priest. M. de Boisy was stupified at his son's proposal,
which took him completely by surprise, and at first flatly refused his
consent. But after combating the resolution of Francis for a long time,
he yielded to the entreaties of his wife, who warned him that, should he
oppose so decided a vocation, it would be refusing him permission to
follow the voice of God. Armed with his father's consent and blessing,
Francis lost no time in hastening back to the Bishop of Geneva, from
whom he received minor orders on June 8th, 1593. The Bishop, who had the
highest opinion of his power, told him that he expected him to preach on
the following Thursday, which was the Feast of Corpus Christi. When the
morning came, Francis was seized with a sudden panic, and he cast
himself on his bed when the bells were ringing for service. But,
overcoming his bashfulness, he rose and went to the cathedral, where he
preached on the Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist, a sermon which
flowed from a heart which had long loved and adored that Presence. The
Bishop was much moved by this discourse, and three leading Calvinist
gentlemen who had come out of sheer curiosity to hear the new preacher
were convinced, and shortly after were received into the Church of God.

On the 18th December of the same year, Francis was promoted to priests'
orders, on which occasion his ecstatic devotion amazed the assistants.

At this time the Bishop received an appeal from the Duke of Savoy to
send missionaries into the Chablais. This is a portion of Savoy to the
south of the lake of Geneva, which had been forced into heresy by the
canton of Berne in Switzerland. The circumstances were as follows.
During the wars between the canton of Berne, supporting insurgent Geneva
against the Duke of Savoy, Charles III, who was thus engaged in war with
Francis I., King of France, the troops of Berne had invaded the province
of Chablais, and has wrested it from him. Not content with this
usurpation, the senate of Berne determined to undermine the Catholic
religion in this canton, and for this purpose divided the conquered
province into townships, of which the principal was fixed at Thonon, on
the borders of the lake. There were two large churches in the town,
those of S. Hippolytus, and S. Augustine. The authorities of Berne drove
out the Catholic clergy, and sent two violent reformers, Farel and
Lambertet to preach during Lent in 1536, and try to prevail on the
people to disbelieve the majority of those truths which the Church had
taught them. This they accordingly did, but when Lambertet began to
preach in the pulpit of the church of S. Hippolytus, a scene of
confusion ensued; he was absolutely refused a hearing, and one of the
citizens forced him to come down from the pulpit. The government of
Berne, to punish this tumult, sent six commissioners, who, on the 4th of
June, destroyed and defaced the sacred images, burnt the crosses,
forbade the exercise of the Catholic religion, and drove away all the
priests and religious; and by edict forbade the exercise of any Catholic
rite under a penalty of ten florins for each offence. In a few years, to
all intents and purposes, Catholicism was banished from the land.
Fifty-seven years had passed, and by means of rigid suppression of
Catholicism, the people had grown up in heresy or total unbelief. Now,
the Chablais was returned to the Duke of Savoy, and he wrote to the
Bishop of Geneva, entreating him to send some holy priest to Thonon to
inaugurate the work of leading the people out of the darkness of error
into the clear light of the Gospel of Christ. The Bishop sent a virtuous
priest, but the following year the castle of Thonon was betrayed and
destroyed by the Bernese troops, and the poor priest, fearing for his
life, and utterly despairing of effecting any conversions among the
Protestants, quitted his post, and returned to report his failure to the
Bishop at Annecy. But the Duke, no way disheartened by this state of
things, rebuilt and fortified the castle of Allinges not far from
Thonon, placed it in a garrison, and wrote again to the Bishop,
imploring for fresh workers in the neglected spiritual vineyard.

The Bishop summoned a meeting of the Cathedral Chapter, and made a
moving discourse before them on the subject of the Duke's letter, which
he first read to the assembly. A profound and chilling silence followed
the Bishop's appeal, but all turned to look at the young dean, whose
face seemed radiant with joy and emotion. He rose, and said simply and
earnestly, "My Lord, if you think me capable and worthy of this mission,
I undertake it with joy. At thy word will I let down my net!" The Bishop
gratefully accepted the generous offer, and prepared to do all for
Francis that lay in his power to ensure his success.

Far different, however, was the scene in the castle of Sales, when the
fatal news became known. M. de Boisy flew to Annecy, and overwhelmed
Francis with entreaties and reproaches. "Wist ye not that I must be
about my Father's business," was the reply of the Saint; then throwing
himself at his father's feet, he besought his consent and his blessing.
M. de Boisy replied, "As to consenting to this mad undertaking, I cannot
do it. It is of no use asking me;" and so saying, the poor old man left
the palace, and returned in tears to his castle, there to be soothed,
but not consoled, by the stronger faith of his wife.

[Illustration: François de Sales Euesque et Prince de Geneue]

On Sept. 9th, 1594, Francis, accompanied by his cousin, Louis, started
on his evangelical mission. It was necessary to pass by the castle of
Sales, when Frances had a fresh battle to fight with his family. "The
Château of Sales," writes a contemporary of our Saint, "was at that time
one of the most beautiful in Savoy, situated at the foot of mount
Ferreo, and surrounded with lovely gardens and shrubberies. A fountain
in the centre, and a lake on one side, added to its charms." Yet all
this Francis seems to have left without a thought or even a regret.
During their visit, the cousins determined to spend a couple of days in
retreat. The evening of the second day, Francis went to take leave of
his mother. Her conduct throughout had been admirable. This terrible
parting over, Francis went back to the chapel, where, as a child, he had
so often knelt with that tender mother before the altar and repeated,
evening after evening, his childish prayers, and there the noble
sacrifice of his whole future life to God was consummated and accepted.
His natural sorrow quenched in the Sacred Presence, Francis spent the
rest of the night in prayer, for the success of his mission; and the
next morning the cousins started at break of day, avoiding all further
leave-takings; and without either servants or provisions; his father
having expressly forbidden any assistance being given to them, hoping
thereby to disgust them of their enterprise. So, in poverty, S. Francis
left his ancestral home. Nine years afterwards, writing to the Pope, he
says, "On arriving in the Chablais, nothing but heart-breaking sights
met our eyes. Out of sixty-five parishes, excepting a few officers of
the Duke's garrisons, there were scarcely fifty Catholics. The churches
were desecrated or destroyed, and the cross everywhere broken down."

It would be impossible to give an idea of the fury of the Protestants of
Thonon when they heard of the mission of the two cousins. The news flew
to Geneva, where a public meeting was instantly held to declare that any
one was at liberty to take the lives of the two Papists who had dared to
undertake the mission; some of the Protestants present went so far as to
swear that they themselves would be their assassins. M. de Boisy was
alarmed when news reached him that the life of his son was menaced, and
he sent his old and faithful servant, George Roland, with positive
orders to bring Francis back; but the Saint was not to be moved; he,
however, persuaded his cousin, Louis, to go back for a short while, in
order to calm the anxiety of his family, whilst he himself remained to
prosecute his great work. Louis obeyed, but soon returned, and the two
earnest missioners laboured indefatigably together to advance the
Gospel. Francis went on foot among the villages, his stick, his
breviary, and his Bible being his sole companions; Louis being sent into
other parts of the province.

One night, on the 12th December, being on an expedition of this kind,
night came on suddenly; the earth was covered with snow, and he found
himself alone in a large wood infested with wolves. Afraid of being
devoured, he climbed up into a tree to pass the night; and then, lest he
should fall asleep and drop from the branch, he tied himself with his
leathern girdle to the stem. The next morning some peasants from a
neighbouring village found him there, nearly frozen with cold, and
unable to move. They carried him to their home, gently chafed his numbed
limbs, and brought him back to warmth and consciousness. Their charity
was not without its reward, for the Saint profited by the occasion to
speak to them on things concerning their eternal salvation. His gentle,
loving voice and manner effected even more than his words, and the zeal
he had shown in braving every kind of peril and suffering for the sake
of bringing back a few stray sheep to the fold, spoke more forcibly to
their hearts than a thousand sermons. These poor peasants were moved and
touched, and S. Francis numbered them among his first converts. M. de
Boisy sent George Roland back to Francis at the beginning of the year
1595, and to the records of this faithful servant, who from that hour
never left him, we are mainly indebted for the details of the most
interesting personal adventures which befell the Saint. But God Himself
interposed on several occasions to save His servant from dangers of
which even George Roland knew nothing. There was one bigoted Protestant,
who in the height of fanatical fury, swore that he would murder Francis
and carry his head to Geneva. This man was afterwards converted, and
declared on oath that he had thrice waylaid the Saint to accomplish
his purpose, and that each time his gun missed fire, and that he had
posted various other persons to kill him, but on each occasion God had
rendered His apostle invisible. The instigator of this diabolical design
was at last touched by the wonderful way in which providence shielded
Francis from harm; he abjured his heresy, and became afterwards one of
the Saint's most devoted followers.

At the beginning of the year 1595, Francis began a short, clear, and
simple exposition of Catholic doctrine, written on loose sheets for
distribution among Protestants, with an answer to the principal
objections raised against the Faith. Every one read and discussed these
fly-leaves--and the Protestants were beyond measure surprised at the way
in which all their favourite arguments were disproved, while some among
them were equally startled at finding how their prejudices regarding the
Catholic faith melted away before the sunshine of God's truth.

The winter, always severe in Savoy, was this year one of unusual rigour.
The roads were one sheet of ice, and Francis was obliged to put iron
clamps on his shoes, in order to prevent himself from slipping. As he
suffered terribly from broken chilblains, his heels became in such a
state that the blood stained the snow as he walked along, penetrating
through his stockings and gaiters. One night he arrived, with his
cousin, Louis, at a village where all the doors were closed against him.
In vain they knocked and entreated for admission; the inhabitants, who
had been prejudiced against them, refused to give them shelter; they
crept into the village oven, which was still warm, and there slept.

On the 17th July, he preached a wonderful sermon at Thonon on the
mediation of Jesus Christ. He showed his hearers that the Catholic
Church, so far from destroying this doctrine, as the Protestant
asserted, based her whole system upon it. The Calvinist ministers were
exasperated at the effect of the sermon, and held a public meeting, in
which it was resolved to charge him with sorcery and magic. They even
suborned a man to swear that he had seen Francis in communication with
devils at a witch's festival. As he was walking through a wood at dusk
immediately after this, two men rushed upon him with swords, uttering
horrid imprecations. Francis met them with such composure, that they
were overcome, and casting themselves at his feet, implored his pardon,
alleging as their excuse the orders they had received from the
Protestant clergy. The Saint forgave and blessed them, and pursued his
road, unmolested. The Calvinists, more furious than ever, hired a body
of assassins who came secretly, in the dead of the night to the house in
which he lodged. Francis had not yet gone to bed. He was watching and
praying in his room, when he heard the tramp of armed men in the street,
and their whispered consultation at the door. He quietly slipped into a
secret chamber, cleverly concealed by a panel in the wall which had been
provided in case of any such emergency, and the assassins hunted through
the house from garret to cellar without being able to find him. What
promoted the Catholic faith far more than his sermons, was his daily
life of never-failing charity. Madame de Boisy at last brought her
husband to see and feel the beauty and reality of the mission in which
their son was engaged. This was an untold relief to Francis; and from
that time, father and mother worked together in forwarding to the utmost
of their power the apostolic labours of their son. They gave shelter in
the castle of Sales to such of the converts as were compelled to resort
to flight in order to escape the fury of the heretics; and it is
impossible to exaggerate the tender zeal with which Madame de Boisy
looked after their temporal and spiritual wants. The Saint, in the
meanwhile, continued without intermission his pastoral work. As he could
not carry the Blessed Sacrament publicly through the streets of Thonon
to the sick, he used to take a Host in a little silver pyx in the shape
of a triangle, suspended by three little silver chains round his neck,
and thus bear our Lord on his breast. Then wrapping himself up in a
large cloak, he would walk along very gravely, looking on the ground,
without speaking to any one, or raising his hat. This was the sign he
had given to the faithful, who no sooner saw him passing in that manner
than they left their occupations and silently followed, though at a
little distance, so as not to excite hostile observation. It was an
intense joy to him to carry the Blessed Sacrament in that way: his flock
often remarked that his face on such occasions positively shone with the
fire of his love. As prudence still forbade the public sacrifice of the
Mass in Thonon, S. Francis used to celebrate it in the little village of
Marin, on the other side of the river Drance, in the old church of S.
Stephen.

On one occasion he went to preach in an old parish church near Allinges;
it was S. Stephen's Day, 1595, and he summoned the inhabitants as usual
by ringing a bell, but, as it was very bad weather, only seven people
came. Some one said to him that it was not worth while his preaching to
so small an audience. He replied, "One soul is as precious to me as a
thousand;" and he began a most eloquent discourse on the Invocation of
Saints, of which he explained the doctrine, and refuted the Protestant
objections with great clearness. Among his seven hearers was a
magistrate of Thonon who had lately joined the Church, but had been
beset by the ministers, who had succeeded in shaking his feeble faith.
After the sermon, he threw himself at the feet of S. Francis and
exclaimed, "You have saved my soul this day!" He then declared that he
had meditated abjuring his new Catholicism next Thursday; that having
heard the bell ring, and seen only half-a-dozen poor peasants obey the
summons, and come to the church, he had thought that, if S. Francis were
to preach, it would be a proof that he loved souls, but if he did not
preach, then he would be convinced that he sought applause. He went on
to say that the pains taken by S. Francis to explain to those half-dozen
peasants the doctrine of the Communion of Saints, had cleared away his
difficulties, and had convinced him of the grand and unutterable truth
of the Catholic Church, of which he would ever remain a member. Little
by little the work advanced; Francis was given three energetic
assistants; for some time the progress was very small, but the great
mass of the people were like an avalanche, slowly undermined, to fall in
a body at the foot of the Cross.

It would exceed our limits to detail the steps by which S. Francis
advanced the cause. Let us turn to the crowning of his labour. In 1597,
he celebrated the "Forty Hours" Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at
Thonon. The churches of S. Augustine and S. Hippolytus had been given up
to the Catholics, and the Bishop arrived to consecrate them anew, and to
administer the Sacraments of Confirmation and Ordination for the first
time for sixty-three years. An enormous crowd assembled from all
quarters. After the Blessed Sacrament had been carried in procession
through the town, it was placed in an oratory erected for the purpose.
Very soon a crowd came up, consisting of three hundred people,
inhabitants of Bellevaux, all begging to be admitted into the Church.
The inhabitants of S. Cergue arrived next, bearing with them a cross
which had been concealed by them between two walls during the Calvinist
persecution, and which cross remains in the hamlet to this day. Some of
these poor people arrived barefoot bearing other emblems of the Passion
of our Lord, the spear, the nails, the crown of thorns. Then came the
people of Bonneville, with the nobility of the Chablais. One portion of
the procession arrived later than the rest, and that was from the
village of Ternier. They had been attacked by the fanatics of Geneva on
their way. During the "Forty Hours" of Adoration, prayers, meditations,
catechizings, and sermons succeeded each other without intermission. The
personal love which all the people felt for S. Francis, together with
his tender and touching exhortations, gave an additional impulse to the
devotion of the spectators. Whole villages took the opportunity of
returning to the faith of their fathers; and when the Exposition was
over, the Bishop and S. Francis had several hard days' work in receiving
such numberless abjurations and administering to them the rites of
conditional baptism and confirmation.

On September 30th, the Duke of Savoy visited Thonon, and the Chablais
ceased to be Protestant. Few heretics now remained, and the Duke ordered
them to cross the lake to the land of Vaud, as the Calvinists before had
expelled those who would not submit to the abolition of their religion.
The spiritual conquest achieved by Francis has been commonly reckoned to
have amounted to 72,000 souls.

In 1599, S. Francis was appointed coadjutor bishop of Geneva. The
continual disputes between France and Savoy were at length adjusted by a
treaty contracted at Lyons, by which the latter government yielded to
the former the province of Gex to the north of the lake of Geneva,
containing thirty-seven parishes, with about 30,000 inhabitants. S.
Francis visited Paris in 1602, and persuaded Henry IV. to re-establish
the exercise of the Catholic religion throughout Gex, wherever there
were a sufficient number of Catholics; only the king stipulated that
this should be done gradually, so as to avoid giving alarm to the
Protestants.

Francis now returned to Savoy, where the failing health of the aged
Bishop of Geneva made it necessary for him to be present. Some time
previous to his death, he had the consolation of celebrating the jubilee
at Thonon, by which the history of the conversion of the Chablais was
wound up. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims of all ranks, in companies
preceded by cross and banner, poured from all the country round, making
the Alpine valleys resound with their pious chants, as they thanked God
for having brought them out of darkness into the glorious liberty of the
children of God. More than a hundred confessors were engaged continually
at the tribunal of penance; and altogether 62,000 communions were made
in the church of Thonon. On Dec. 8th, 1702, Francis was consecrated
bishop, and appointed to the see of Geneva, in the parish church of
Thonon.

The first business which Francis undertook after he was settled at
Annecy, the seat of the Bishops of Geneva, after their expulsion by the
Calvinists from the city of Geneva, was to establish a confraternity of
Christian Doctrine, and to make catechetical instruction his strongest
point. He heard the classes himself every Sunday. A more interesting
sight there could not be than to behold him, seated in front of the
altar, teaching the little ones, the girls on one side, and the boys on
the other. Twice in the year he made a festival for the children, and
went through the city with them processionally, singing Litanies. The
influence of his kindness over them was so great, that he never came
forth, without the children running out from every nook and corner of
the streets to ask his blessing or kiss his robe. When some friends
complained of the troops of them who followed him, he said gently,
"Suffer them to come, they are my own dear little people."

In 1603, when he was preaching the Lent course of sermons at Dijon, by
invitation of the magistrates, he made the acquaintance of Jane Frances
of Chantal, in combination with whom he afterwards founded the Order of
the Visitation. In 1605 and 1606, he made a general visitation of his
whole diocese, undergoing great fatigue, and often danger, in traversing
the Alpine districts, which formed the greatest part of it, and
everywhere preaching, catechizing, and hearing confessions. In 1618,
Francis was chosen by the Duke of Savoy to accompany an embassy to Paris
to negotiate the marriage of his son with the daughter of Henry IV., and
sister of Louis XIII. The negotiations of the embassy lasted for nearly
a year, during which Francis received incessant invitations to preach,
which he did almost daily; the people never tiring of listening to him.
The secret of his power lay in the exquisite charm of divine grace which
radiated from him. The churches were so crowded, that it more than once
happened that a ladder had to be brought for the preacher to enter by
the window, the doors being completely blocked up. People ran to gaze at
him, or to touch his robe as he passed in the streets. Cardinal de Retz,
Bishop of Paris, had set his heart on having him as his coadjutor, and
offered him a rich pension, the entire control of his diocese, and the
appointment of his brother, John Francis, to succeed him at Geneva, if
he would consent to come; but all was in vain.

By degrees the whole of the territory of Gex was catholicized, and
Francis had the felicity of continually organizing fresh parishes which
had submitted to the Gospel of Christ. Towards the close of 1622, he was
invited to attend the Duke of Savoy at Avignon, where he was to meet
Louis XIII. Francis had a presentiment that this journey would be his
last; but he did not think it right to decline the invitation of his
sovereign. Accordingly he made preparation, with the utmost calmness, as
if to return no more. He made his will, and gave directions concerning
his funeral, which he desired should be modest. On November 8th he bade
farewell to his friends and started next day. At Lyons a trifling
incident happened, which is worth relating, as an example of his sweet
and gentle demeanour. As he was going on board the boat, the ferryman
refused to receive him without his passport. When his attendants were
angry at the delay, the bishop remarked, "Let him alone, he knows the
duties of a boatman; we have forgotten that of a traveller." He had to
wait an hour for the passport in a bitterly cold wind. When at last they
got on board, he went and sat by the boatman, observing, "I wish to make
friends with this good man, and to talk to him a little of our Blessed
Lord."

At Avignon he held aloof from all the magnificence which the reunion of
two courts in that splendid age so lavishly displayed, and spent his
time in prayer, and in conference with religious persons. On his way
home he remained at Lyons, very ill. Nevertheless he said his midnight
Mass on Christmas morning and preached on the day with great fervour. He
then heard confessions, and said his third Mass shortly before noon,
after which he broke his fast. Then he gave the habit to two novices,
preached, received a number of visitors, and waited on the Queen Marie
de Medicis, who was to leave Lyons next day. Yet he was actually a dying
man when he thus crowded such astonishing exertions into one day. Next
day, the Feast of S. Stephen, he bade his last farewell to the nuns of
the Visitation, the order he had founded. On the following morning he
confessed, said Mass, and gave the Holy Communion to the nuns. The
Superioress noticed his altered looks. Outside the church he was
detained talking to some noblemen. It was cold and foggy, and he felt a
chill. By the time he got home he was excessively fatigued and ill; but
he sat down to write letters, and received several visitors. On their
departure his servant came in, and began to tell him about a sermon he
had heard, in which the preacher exhorted the Queen to love her
servants. Francis said, "And you, do you love me?" The good servant
could not speak for weeping, seeing how deadly ill he looked. The saint
continued: "And I, too, love you well; but let us love God above all,"
As he said these words he sank back in a fit. Next day the physicians
resorted to all the expedients used in the barbarous surgery of the age,
blisters on the head, the application of a hot iron to the nape of the
neck, and a red-hot ball pressed on the crown till it burnt to the bone.
He gradually sank after these operations, and his lips moving in prayer,
when unable to utter words, those in attendance knelt and recited the
"Recommendation for a departing soul," during which his gentle spirit
departed to its rest.

The body, after having been embalmed, was removed to Annecy, and reposes
in the Church of the Visitation.

[Illustration: Decoration]

FOOTNOTES:

[132] He is said to have glazed the east window of his oratory
with a pane of an hitherto unheard of size.

[133] The following life is epitomized from Mr. Ormsby's "Life
of S. Francis of Sales," and "The Mission of S. Francis of Sales in the
Chablais" by Lady Herbert. See also Addenda at end of this volume.

January 30.

S. SERENA, _M., at Metz_, A.D. 303.
S. SABINA OR SAVINA, _W., in the Milanese, beginning 4th cent._
S. BARSAS, _B.C., of Edessa, circ._ A.D. 371.
S. FELIX, _Pope_, A.D. 530.
S. ALDEGUND, _V., at Maubeuge in France, circ._ A.D. 680.
S. ADELELM, _Ab., Burgos, circ._ A.D. 1100.
S. HYACINTHA, _V., at Viterbo_, A.D. 1640.

S. BARSAS, B.C. OF EDESSA.

(ABOUT A.D. 371.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority: Theodoret, Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c.
16.]

Barses or Barsas, Bishop of Edessa was banished by the Arian Emperor
Valens to the Isle of Aradus; but when it was found that multitudes
resorted to him, for he was filled with apostolic gifts, the emperor
sent him to Oxyrynchus, a city of Egypt But as his fame still attracted
attention, he was banished to a greater distance; and this old man, "who
was worthy of heaven, was then conveyed to the fortress called Philae,
situated on the frontier of the barbarian nations."

S. ALDEGUND, V.

(A.D. 680.)

[Roman and many ancient Martyrologies; by others on Jan. 27th, or
Nov. 13th, but these were probably days of translation of relics.
Authorities; a life by a contemporary quoted in an anonymous life
compiled from already existing notices; another by one Hugbald, and
another by a monk of S. Ghislain.]

[Illustration: S. ALDEGUND. After Cahier.
Jan. 30.]

The blessed Aldegund was the daughter of Waldbert, Count of Hainault.
Her whole heart was given to Christ whom she chose as her heavenly
bridegroom. Her parents, moved by her example, renounced the world, and
distributed their wealth among the poor. After their death, in the year
661, Aldegund took the veil, and retired into the forest of Maubeuge
where she built a convent, and became the first abbess. When her fair
fame was attacked by wicked slanders, so that she suffered agonies of
grief, she struggled hard to submit to the hand of God, and at last,
bowing completely to His will, she desired that He would try her with
ever keener sufferings, to perfect her by affliction. She was shortly
after attacked with cancer in the breast, from which she died on Jan.
30th, A.D. 680.

S. ADELELM, AB. OF BURGOS.

(ABOUT A.D. 1100.)

[Authority: his life by Rudolf the monk, who died 1137. S. Adelelm
is called also _Elesmo_ or _Elmo_; and is not to be confounded with
another Adelelm or Elmo, who is only beatified.]

S. Adelelm was a noble of Lyons in France, and served in the army, till
God called him to a higher walk, then he renounced the world, and became
a monk in the Abbey of Chaise-Dieu, after a visit to Rome. He was
ordained priest by Ranco, Bishop of the Auvergne, but when he heard that
the bishop had been suspended for having simonically obtained the see,
he refused to execute the priestly office, till a successor was
appointed. To see him, Adelelm started one stormy night. The way was
dark, and the tempest raged with such fury that, but that it was
necessary, he would not have started then. However, he took a candle,
lighted it, and gave it to his comrade, and bade him lead the way.
Notwithstanding the violence of the gale, the flame burnt steady,
though not enclosed in a lantern, and illumined their road. From this,
the electric lights seen at mastheads are called by sailors in the
Mediterranean S. Elmo's lights. He was afterwards invited to Spain, and
he was chosen abbot of his order in the monastery of Burgos, where he
died.

S. HYACINTHA, V.

(A.D. 1640.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority: the Bull of her Canonization.]

S. Hyacintha was the daughter of Mark Anthony Mariscotti, Count of
Vignanello, and of Octavia Orsini; she was born in 1588, and received in
baptism the name of Clarissa, which she exchanged for that of Hyacintha
on entering the cloister.

In her earliest childhood she was remarkable for her piety, but as she
grew older she became giddy and frivolous. In her 17th year she was, one
day, playing with the rope of a well at Vignanello, when she slipped
over the edge, and hung, entangled in the rope, which held her some
minutes suspended above the horrible pit, till a servant, observing her
peril, from the castle window, ran to her assistance, and rescued her.
The shock of this accident seemed for a while to steady her. She shortly
after fell in love, and a marriage was projected, but when, through
family circumstances, it was broken off, Clarissa would hear of nothing
but of taking the veil, and burying her broken heart in a convent. Her
father refused at first, but yielding at length to her sentimental
vehemence, which he mistook for real vocation, allowed her to take the
veil in the convent of S. Bernardine at Viterbo.

In the convent her heart soon healed, and she became an annoyance to
the whole sisterhood by her vanity and frivolity. After ten years, she
fell ill, and sent for her confessor. He, knowing her character, and
wearied with her shallowness, sharply rebuked her with, "Beware,
Hyacintha, heaven is no place for giddy-pates!" His words startled her,
and she cried out, "Am I then lost for ever."

"No," he answered, "not if you seek pardon for your sins of the just and
merciful God, with sincere resolution of amendment, and cease to be a
scandal and worry to the poor sisters of this house, by your emptiness
and light talk, and worldly ways." Bursting into a flood of tears, she
promised amendment, sent for all the sisters, and humbly asked their
pardon, and prayers. Then she cast herself at her confessor's feet, and
made a sincere confession. She now completely changed her life; she
would not wear shoes, and only put on the meanest dress. She strove
manfully to overcome the purposelessness of her life and the feebleness
of her will; and as she gradually mastered herself and her vanity, there
broke on that soul, so long entangled in a fog of petty cares and
pleasures, the burning sun of the love of Jesus, filling her with
reality, earnestness, and devotion. In after years her character was
completely the reverse of what it had been, was full of dignity and
meekness, and above all, had a _purpose_ in it. In a time of want, she
founded two institutions, one for the secret relief of decayed
gentlefolks, suffering, but too proud to ask alms, or display their
misery; the other a hospital for old people. Both societies, known under
the name of the Oblates of S. Mary, exist to this day at Viterbo.

The mercy of God rewarded this poor servant, and she was given singular
privileges, a remarkable gift of prayer, and a discernment of spirits,
that is, she could read the troubles of hearts. She died in the year
1640, calling on the sacred names of Jesus and Mary, in the 55th year
of her age.

She was beatified by Benedict XIII., in 1726, and canonized by Pius
VII., on May 24th, 1807.

This is one of those instances of the love and fore-thought of the
Church in holding up to every class of mind and sort of temptation, an
example of salvation in it. We have seen her fearlessness in exhibiting
S. James the hermit to the fallen religious, here she shows to the
thoughtless and giddy female mind, that for it Jesus thirsts in spite of
its emptiness, and that for it there is sanctity if it will try to seek
it.

[Illustration: Virgin in Crescent, after Albert Durer.]

January 31.

S.S. CYRUS, JOHN, ATHANASIA AND OTHERS, _MM. in Egypt_ A.D. 250.
S. GEMINIAN, _B. of Modena, in Italy_.
S. JULIUS _P._, AND JULIAN _D._, _at Novara, in Italy, beginning
of 5th cent._
S. MARCELLA, _W., at Rome_, A.D. 410.
S. PATROCLUS, _B.M. in France_.
S. GAUD, _B., of Evreux in Normandy, circ._ A.D. 531.
S. AIDAN OR MAIDOC, _B., of Ferns, in Ireland, beginning of
7th cent._
S. ADAMNAN, _P., of Coldingham, end of 7th cent._
S. ULPHIA, _V., at Amiens, 8th cent._
S. ATHANASIUS, _B., of Methone in the Peloponesus, 9th cent._
S. EUSEBIUS, _Monk of S. Gall in Switzerland_, A.D. 884.
S. MARTIN, _P., of Soure near Coimbra, in Portugal_, A.D. 1147.
S. SERAPION, _M., among the Moors_, A.D. 1240.
S. PETER NOLASCO, _C., in Spain_, A.D. 1256.

S.S. CYRUS, JOHN AND OTHERS, MM., IN EGYPT.

(A.D. 250.)

[Commemorated by Greeks, Latins, and Copts on the same day.
Authority: ancient Greek Acts.]

Cyrus, a physician of Alexandria, who, by the opportunities which his
profession gave him, had converted many sick persons to the faith; and
John, an Arabian, hearing that a lady, called Athanasia, and her three
daughters, Theodosia, Theoctista and Eudoxia, of whom the eldest was
only fifteen years of age, had suffered torments at Canope in Egypt for
the name of Christ, went thither to console them. They were themselves
apprehended and cruelly beaten; their sides were burnt with torches, and
salt and vinegar were poured into their wounds in the presence of
Anastasia and her daughters, who were also tortured after them. At
length the four ladies, and a few days after, Cyrus and John, were
beheaded, the two latter on this day.

S. MARCELLA, W.

(A.D. 410.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority: the Letters of S. Jerome.]

Marcella, a young widow, whose name alone is enough to recall the best
days of the Roman republic, and whose rare beauty, enhanced by the long
and illustrious line of her ancestors, drew around her numerous suitors,
rejected the suit of Cerealtis, the consul, and resolved to imitate the
lives of the ascetics of the East. Afterwards, when S. Jerome came to
Rome to renew the instructions and narratives of those holy men by
adding to them the living commentary of his own life, Marcella, with her
mother Albinia, and her sister Asella, placed herself at the head of
that select number of illustrious matrons who took him as their guide
and oracle. She astonished the holy doctor by her knowledge of the
Divine Scriptures; she fatigued him by her thirst always to know more of
them than he could teach her; she made him afraid to find in her a judge
rather than a disciple. In her palace on Mount Aventine, she collected,
under the presidency of Jerome, the most pious among the noble ladies,
for mutual strength and enlightenment. After having thus first given to
Rome the true model of a Christian widow, she passed the last thirty
years of her life in her suburban villa transformed into a monastery.
The Goths under Alaric plundered Rome in 410. S. Marcella was scourged
by them to deliver up her treasures, which however she had long before
distributed among the poor. All the while she was in anguish of soul for
her dear spiritual child Principia, and falling at the feet of the cruel
soldiers, she tearfully implored them to spare her insult. They
conducted them both to the Church of S. Paul, to which Alaric had
granted the right of sanctuary, and suffered the beautiful young nun
Principia to remain unmolested. S. Marcella did not survive this long,
but died peacefully in the arms of Principia, about the end of August,
410, but her name occurs in the Roman Martyrology on Jan. 31st.

[Illustration: S. MARCELLA.
After an Engraving of the Seventeenth Century.
Jan. 31.]

S. AIDAN OR MAIDOC, B., OF FERNS.

(ABOUT A.D. 632.)

[S. Aidan of Ferns is not to be confounded with the illustrious S.
Aidan of Lindisfarne, the apostle of Northumbria, who is
commemorated on Aug. 31st. The name seems to have been a very
common one in Ireland, for Colgan asserts that there are in the
ancient Irish Martyrologies as many as thirty-five Saints of this
name. Authority: an ancient life from Kilkenny, but certainly not
more ancient than the 12th cent.]

S. Maidoc or Aidan was the son of Setna, a noble of Connaught, by his
wife Edna; who, having for a long time no heir, sought that blessing
from God by alms-deeds and prayers; which was at last granted. This
child of prayer was born in the island called Innis-Breagh-muigh, in a
lake in the diocese of Kilmore, and from his childhood declined evil and
followed that which is good. After having learnt the first rudiments of
piety in his own country, he left home, and sailed into Britain, to
place himself under the discipline of the great S. David of Menevia.
With that holy man he remained many years, and was one of his favourite
disciples. A remarkable instance of his prompt obedience is related.
Being called by a superior from reading his book in the field near the
monastery, to follow a pair of oxen at the plough, he made such haste to
obey, that he left his book open in the field, a heavy shower of rain
fell, but when he recovered the book it was not wet. S. David had seen
him leave the volume open before the rain fell, and calling him to him,
bade him prostrate himself as a punishment for having, as he supposed,
by his carelessness, spoiled a valuable book. S. Maidoc at once obeyed,
and S. David went about his work and forgat him. After some hours, when
the office was being said, he observed that Maidoc was not present. Then
he sent in quest of him, and he was found prostrate on the sea shore,
where his master had bidden him lie, and he had not risen, because S.
David had not removed his penance.

At length, with the blessing of his master, taking with him other
religious of Menevia, he returned to Ireland, where he founded many
churches and monasteries; of which the chief was Ferns to which he was
consecrated first Bishop. The prodigies related of him, are like so many
in the lives of the Irish Saints, quite incredible, as for instance, his
having driven to Rome and back in twenty-four hours, his having fed six
wolves with six sheep and then restored the sheep whole; his having
brought a sea-cow out of the ocean to draw his plough, and having
returned from a visit to S. David in Wales on the back of a sea-monster;
his having called his bell, which he had left behind him Wales, and it
came over the waves with promptitude.

All these are fables, which accumulated in process of time about the
lives of the Irish Saints, before they were committed to writing.

S. ULPHIA V.

(8TH CENT.)

[From the life of S. Domitius, October 23rd; and from an ancient
life of the Saint.]

[Illustration: S. ULPHIA. From Cahier.
Jan 31.]

The blessed Ulphia was the daughter of noble parents in Gaul, she was
singularly beautiful in face and graceful in person; consequently she
was sought by many suitors, but, with her father's consent she vowed to
observe perpetual chastity. At the age of twenty-five she received the
veil from the hands of the Bishop of Amiens, and then she retired to S.
Acheuil at some little distance from the city, where she ministered to
S. Domitius, an aged hermit and canon of Amiens. The old man was wont to
knock at the door of her little hut as he passed on his way to matins,
and she rose and accompanied him. Now the place was marshy and many
frogs inhabited the pools. One night they sang so shrilly that Ulphia
could not sleep, but tossed on her couch, and drew her serge-habit about
her ears, without being able to stop their voices from penetrating her
brain and keeping her awake. After many hours she fell asleep. Shortly
after, Domitius came by and rapped with his stick at the door. There was
no answer, so he called, "Ulphia, my child, get up!" Then he rapped
louder than before. Still there was no answer, so he called, "Ulphia, my
child, the second watch of the night is past." As he received no answer,
he supposed she had gone on before. But when he reached the church, he
looked round, and he saw her not. And when matins was over, he returned
in haste and fear, thinking something had befallen his dear child. But
when he came to the cell, Ulphia stood in the door. Then she reproached
him for not having called her. "I did call thee, I knocked loud," said
the old man. "It was the frogs' doing!" exclaimed Ulphia, and she told
him how they had kept her awake half the night. Then casting herself on
the ground, she prayed to God to quiet the noisy frogs; and Domitius
knelt beside her and said, Amen. After that the reptiles troubled her no
more.

When she was dying she prayed, "Saviour! sanctify, confirm, keep, rule,
strengthen, comfort me; and in the end bring me to Thy sempiternal
joys." And when the two virgins who had watched by her had said Amen,
she fell asleep, and they left her. At dawn, one of them looked in and
saw that she was dead, and in dying she had crossed her hands upon her
breast, her face was bright and her lips as though she smiled.

S. SERAPION, M.

(A.D. 1240.)

He was an Englishman, whom S. Peter Nolasco received into his Order at
Barcelona. He made two journeys among the Moors for the ransoming of
captives, in 1240. The first was to Murcia, in which he purchased the
liberty of ninety-eight slaves; the second to Algiers, in which he
redeemed eighty-seven, but remained himself a hostage for the full
payment of the money. He boldly preached Christ to the Mahometans, and
baptised several, for which he was cruelly tortured, scourged, cut and
mangled, at length fastened to a cross, and was thereon stabbed and
quartered alive in the same year, 1240.

[Illustration: S. PETER NOLASCO, FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF OUR LADY OF
MERCY
FOR THE REDEMPTION OF CAPTIVES.
From Cahier.
Jan. 31.]

S. PETER NOLASCO, C.

(A.D. 1256.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority: life by Franciscus Zumel.]

Peter Nolasco sprang from one of the first families of Languedoc. He was
born in the year 1189, in the village of Mas des Saintes Pucelles. His
pious parents took pains to give him a good education, and to cultivate
the germs of virtue which appeared early in his soul. They saw with
gladness his compassion for the poor, and his love of prayer. The child
was wont to distribute his pocket-money in alms, and he went regularly
to the matin office sung shortly after midnight. When he was aged 15, he
lost his father, who left him heir to a large estate, but he remained
with his mother, a pious woman, who laboured to strengthen and confirm
in him those graces which grew and expanded daily. Being solicited to
marry, he remained some little while in hesitation, but at last, rising
one night he cast himself before his crucifix in prayer, and remained
till day broke in the east, imploring God's guidance, and then feeling a
clear call, he resolved to devote his patrimony to the honour and glory
of God, and himself to celibacy. He followed Simon de Montfort, in the
crusade against the Albigenses, an heretical, or rather heathen sect,
holding two Gods, one good, the other evil, and who had devastated
Navarre, burning churches and massacring priests and monks. The crusade
was conducted with too much of worldly ambition, and without that
compassionate love which should seek to win by gentleness rather than
force by the sword. But the cruel massacres which took place were not
the work of the crusaders, but of a mixed multitude of camp-followers,
who obeyed no officers but such as they chose to appoint, as appears
from the contemporary accounts of that war. However, Peter Nolasco was
in no way responsible for the barbarities which sullied this terrible
war. In the battle of Muset, the King of Aragon, who headed the
Albigenses, was killed, and his son, aged six, fell into the hands of
Simon de Montfort, who appointed Peter Nolasco, then aged twenty-five,
to be his tutor, and sent both together into Spain. In the court of the
King of Barcelona, where the Kings of Aragon resided, Peter led the life
of a recluse. The Moors at that time were possessed of a considerable
portion of Spain, and great numbers of Christians groaned under their
tyranny in miserable slavery both there and in Africa. Whenever Peter
saw a Christian slave, he was moved with sorrow; and he resolved to
devote his life to the redemption of captives. He endeavoured to found a
religious order for a constant supply of men and means whereby to carry
on so charitable an undertaking. This design met with great obstacles in
the execution; but the Blessed Virgin appearing to the king, S. Raymund
of Pennaforte, and S. Peter Nolasco, the same night, in visions,
encouraged the prosecution of this charitable scheme.

In the year 1223 S. Peter took the vows before the Bishop of Barcelona,
and he became first general of the new order, which was entitled "the
Order of Our Lady of Mercy for the redemption of captives." It was
confirmed by Pope Gregory IX. in 1225. The habit is white, with a white
scapular, and the arms of Aragon were worn on the breast, by desire of
the king.

S. Peter, after his religious profession, renounced all his business at
court, and no entreaties of the king could prevail on him to appear
there again, except once, when called to reconcile two powerful nobles,
who by their dissension had kindled a civil war.

He made several journeys along the coasts, and to Algiers to purchase
captives; on one of these expeditions he underwent imprisonment for the
faith. He died on Christmas day, 1286. Almost his last words were those
of the Psalmist, which summed up the efforts of his life, "The Lord hath
sent redemption unto His people; He hath commanded His covenant for
ever."

ADDENDA

_Page 443, S. Francis of Sales, B.C._

When he wrote this biography the author had not access to the original
materials, as the Acta Sanctorum for January did not include S. Francis.
He was therefore obliged to have recourse to two modern biographies,
those of Mr. Ormsby and Lady Herbert, based on the "Vie de S. François
de Sales," by M. Hamon, that has gone through a good number of editions.
In 1878 appeared an article, "Two Sides to a Saint--S. Francis de
Sales," by the Rev. L. Woolsey Bacon, which was published in
_Macmillan's Magazine_ for September; it was founded on the Lives of S.
Francis by Marsollier and Loyau d'Amboise, and M. Gabriel, the
Protestant historian of Geneva. Marsollier did not write till 1700, and
he quoted Cotolandi, who composed his Notice of the Saint in 1687.
D'Amboise is unworthy of consideration, as his work was mere romance.
Hamon's Life is, on the other hand, based on the letters of the Saint,
and on the sworn depositions of eye-witnesses at his canonization. These
latter are of very little value, as any unpartial reader who wades
through such documents can assure himself. Anyhow they may contain, and
do contain, fact along with some romance. In "Bulls of Canonization"
much fable is introduced that will not endure serious examination. Where
biographers disagree and mutually vituperate one another as false
witnesses, our only resource is to go to the original letters of the
Saint. Canon Mackey has written four essays to clear the character of
Francis of Sales (London: Burns and Oates. 1883), and again in
_Christian Literature_, 1896, and it must be admitted that he shows a
good reason for mistrusting the charges brought against the Saint. Mr.
Bacon had, for instance, accused S. Francis of addressing a female
friend as "my dearest girl of my heart," whereas the original is "Ma
très chère fille de mon coeur." At the time S. Francis was a bishop of
fifty-one, and although the expression is not at all to the taste of an
Englishman, has no more meaning than the gushing and fulsome words which
close a French letter, or than our "My dear So-and-So," and "Yours
sincerely." Mr. Bacon also charges the Saint with having played fast and
loose with the affections of the young lady to whom he was engaged. But
the evidence goes no further than to show that at the time he was moved
by conflicting considerations--submission to the will of his parents and
his own strong reluctance to enter the marriage state. Mr. Bacon,
moreover, accuses the Saint of having carried on the conversion of the
Chablais under the cover of the soldiers of the Duke of Savoy. The
circumstances seem to have been these. In 1536 the Bernese, taking
advantage of a rupture between France and Savoy, treacherously and
without declaring war entered the territory of the latter power and
occupied Gex and a portion of the Chablais. They then wrecked the
churches, drove out the priests, and forbade the exercise of the
Catholic religion. In 1564 Savoy recovered the country, and engaged to
allow therein the exercise of the Protestant religion. This agreement
was faithfully observed for twenty-five years, but in 1589 the Genevese
and Bernese combined to reoccupy the country. It was recovered by the
Duke of Savoy, who considered, and justly, that by this violation of the
treaty by the Bernese he was freed from his obligation to tolerate
Protestantism. The mission of S. Francis lasted for four years from
September 1597, and unquestionably he had the power of the Duke of Savoy
at his back, and did not scruple to invoke it. But that was the way of
proselytising at the time. Protestants and Catholics alike leaned on the
arm of flesh, and each was equally ready to employ the sword against the
other.

But certainly at first S. Francis was not supported by the Duke in the
manner he had expected and desired, and also no doubt can exist that
when the sword was used he employed his best endeavours to prevent its
being wantonly and cruelly wielded. His letters show plainly that his
success in convincing the people of the Chablais was almost _nil_ till
their fears were excited, and they were afforded other reasons for
renouncing Protestantism than conviction that Romanism was better.

The real difficulty S. Francis encountered at first was that the people
would not listen to him. The attitude of the people he thus describes:
"One party do not wish to hear; the other excuse themselves on the risk
they would run if the truce were broken, should they have shown any
approval of Catholicism; ... others again are persuaded of the faith,
but we cannot induce them to confess it, not knowing what will be the
end of the truce" (Letter 9). In Letter 32 he asked the Duke to allow a
senator to call the citizens together, and in his magisterial robes
invite them to listen to his sermons.

At last conviction was supposed to be obtained, and a profession of
submission to the Catholic faith extorted, when the inhabitants who were
contumacious were threatened with expulsion. But it must be remembered
that the Protestant cantons of Switzerland were equally intolerant, and
determined to expel recalcitrant Catholics.

END OF VOL. 1.

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
Edinburgh & London

Transcriber's notes:

- Difference in spelling of 'Ken-tiern' and 'Kentiern' is caused by
usage of words.
- Difference in spelling of 'Münster' and 'Munster' is caused by
different meanings.
- Ligatures '[ae]' converted - as used/possible in latin texts - to 'ae'.
- Inserted 'S.' (for Saint) Theoritgitha in alphabetical list (toc) of
Saints.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Lives of the Saints, Volume 1 (of 16)" ***

Home