Vita

The Life of Saint Germanus, Bishop of Paris, by Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers, diligently revised from manuscript codices. I. The blessed Germanus, then, bishop of the Parisians, a native of the territory of Autun, was born of Eleutherius his father and Eusebia his mother, parents who were honorable and of noble rank. His mother, because she had conceived him in her womb within a short space of time after another child, moved by womanly shame, wished to destroy the infant before birth; and having taken a potion to cast out the abortive child, when she could not harm him by that means, she lay upon her belly, so as to suffocate by weight the one whom poisons could not injure. The mother struggled with the little one; the infant resisted from the womb: thus there was a battle between the woman and her entrails. The matron was injured, but the infant was not harmed; the burden fought back, lest the mother become a murderess of her own child. It came to pass that he was preserved unharmed, came forth uninjured, and rendered his mother innocent. From this it was possible to foresee the future: he had already performed a deed of virtue before he happened to be born.

II. Then, while he was a boy running to the schools with his kinsman Stratidius at the castle of Avallon, his mother, in order to acquire the property of his parent, plotted the death of the young man by treachery. She prepared a poisoned draught in a small flask, and wine also in another, instructing a servant girl to give the wine to the two when they came, and the poison to the other. But the servant, not knowing, exchanged the flasks and the cups: she gave the wine to Saint Germanus, and the poison to Stratidius; and while destruction was prepared for the innocent one, the author fell into the snare. When his mother learned of this, she rebuked the servant girl with weeping, saying that she had killed her son. For Stratidius, though with diligent care and various remedies applied from the poisons themselves, although death did not take his life, yet it fixed a mark of death upon him. III. Then, betaking himself to his relative, the holy Scopilio, at Lausia, he was nourished and instructed in honorable habits. When they were living about a mile from the village, they constantly ran to the morning offices, led by the warmth of their faith, through storm and through winter. Within the space of fifteen years, he was made deacon by the blessed Agrippinus, and in the following three years he was ordained priest. Then, by the bishop Nectarius, he was summoned as abbot at Saint Symphorian's, worthy of the honor by his merit. How great was the abstinence with which he lived there, with how many vigils he persevered continuously, with what alms he abounded, one thing bears witness: when, after all other goods had been distributed to the poor, not even bread remained with which the brothers might be refreshed.

Because of this, when the monks rose up against him, he shut himself in his cell, weeping bitterly and grieving. While he was praying, a certain matron named Anna sent him the loads of two packhorses with bread. On the following day, she also sent full cartloads of grain, so that from then on the monks were both sated with food and terrified by the miracle. And so, while he was intently engaged in these celebrated duties, he did not cease to be made manifest by his preaching of miracles. IV. Therefore, on one occasion, when he was wearily taking food, as the monk Amandus was entering the hayloft with a light, a coal fell, the flame caught the hay, and the voracious fire licked at the dry tinder. The rest ran together, but did not rush in; he himself came out more slowly, snatched a pot from the hearth, climbed up onto the structure, singing Alleluia, and pouring a little water in the shape of a cross, he extinguished the flames. And by the hand of the Saint, the wave of fire was quenched by a shower, which rivers could scarcely have put out. On the following day, the enemy himself confessed by whose treachery it had been done.

V. A certain Frank named Chariulfus had obstinately invaded the property of the basilica. When the Man of God admonished him to some extent to restore it, yet did not prevail, he turned to prayer, and faith did not delay vengeance. Immediately a fierce bear from the vicinity came forth and killed three of his horses. Not even thus did he relent from his hardness. On the following night, the avenger doubled the destruction. It killed six beasts of burden, nor even then was the punishment sufficient. On the third night, it struck down nine vehicles, with a threefold carcass: thus the loss increased into ruin. Thereafter, he belatedly sent a boy to the blessed Man; he restored the invaded field, and the calamity was checked. This was done so that, with the beast chastising, the man might come to his senses, and the unreasoning beast might give reason to one who did not understand. VI. Thereafter, the blessed Agricola, bishop of Chalon-sur-Saône, having a chamberlain grievously weakened by a fever, who with fixed purpose was wholly hanging in suspense at the point of death, sent to the holy Man to seek his intercessory aid. Then, having received the letters, he proceeded under the portico of the basilica to the tomb of Saint Symphorianus. Meanwhile, the just man applied himself to prayer, pressing the earth with his body and transcending the stars with his mind; and as if having the presence of the Lord before him, he approached as a suppliant intercessor for the petitioner's wish.

Soon the neighbor is heard by the Redeemer's ears, and while he still lies in the dust, the remedy bathes the sick man; and while the just man lies on the pavement, the languishing man rises from his bed, the cure running ahead before the suppliant finishes his prayer: so that the boy, for whom the funeral was being prepared, runs to meet the returning doorkeeper; so that there is no doubt that at the same hour the languishing man was restored to health, when the most blessed man is found to have prayed prostrate. VII. Nor should it be omitted what was conferred at the house of Ebro for the sake of the Just man's faith. As he entered the house, the matron Anna declares that she sees a wonderful thing. Asked by her husband what it was she was looking at, she says: Behold, the blessed Germanus seems to me to walk with a horned face: which I can scarcely either look upon with my eyes or express in speech, the holy man radiant with horns in a new manner. And, confounded, the woman marveled that she could behold a man in our time in the figure of Moses. It is to be believed that he too, after his conversation with the Lord, could be recognized by a woman as exalted with a horn. Because of the fear of this matter, Ebro on that same day did not at all presume to sit near the Saint, with a double merit, both grief and terror.

It happened that he met King Theodebertus at Cabillonum on behalf of the estates of the Church of Augustodunum. Mindful of Saint Symphorianus at the entrance of the palace, he spoke so abundantly with the Spirit of God that the king assented before the petitioner had even explained his request. To him he also declared with a prophetic mouth the end of his passing. And when within a few days he returned to Rhemi, the king failed in his final lot on that very journey, as if the holy man's word had been spoken by an angel. And since it was customary for the most blessed one to keep vigils alone in the basilica of Saint Symphorianus, the monk Sylvester follows him as he goes. And having entered together at the tomb of the holy martyr, around the middle of the night they hear noises of a commotion from the altar, as if a multitude had gathered for plunder. For the man of God, believing it to be an incursion of thieves, orders the monk to chant the psalter before the tomb. He himself approaches the altar. Then that crowd hastens eagerly to the monk who was chanting. Having struck him severely and thrown him to the ground and left him half-dead, they flee swiftly. He, scarcely able to recount his disaster in a tearful voice, confessed that he had been beaten by demons in a grievous assault.

X. It happened that a servant of Sabaricus, named Aesarius, having suffered an injury at the hands of the man of whom we speak, fled to him, begging that he be freed from the service of his insolent master by any price. Indignant at this, Sabaricus demanded for Aesarius, his wife, and his only son the sum of eighty solidi as the price, lest he release the servants from servile bondage. Yet the mercy of the Just One did not hesitate either to seek out or to bestow this sum. When this price was paid, it happened that the aforementioned Sabaricus passed before the basilica, yet did not stop even for prayer. Entering his own house, he was immediately stricken, bound, and, fettered with chains, was brought to the Saint. Not even then was mercy withdrawn from him by the pious Man, but immediately, through the intercession of his prayer, he was cleansed by the faith obtained. Then Sabaricus added another twenty aurei to the price he had received, and from the hundred solidi a cross was hung by him at the tomb of the blessed Symphorianus: which thing remains as a testimony to this day. By this occasion, his sons and daughters lived so holily that they now rule over companies of monks in monasteries. This cause, in a wondrous manner, benefited the father and his offspring, so that the small transgression of the parent passed into grief for his descendants.

XI. This event took place in the pagus of Alisiense. The wife of the illustrious man Vulfarius, named Destasia, deprived of the comforts of vital hope, lacking the functions of speech, having been mute for a period of two years, was lying prostrate with her spirit failing, and with funeral preparations already made, she was gasping, half-dead. When the eulogiae were sent to her through her presbyter and, with her pre-dead teeth forcibly pried open, were placed in her mouth, as soon as the liquor of blessing entered her half-dead throat, immediately the pre-dead woman began to draw breath with gasps, her eyes, closed by death, began to seek the light of day, so that after the pallor of death her face turned to redness, until, to the astonishment of all, she was revived and rose up, and those standing around proclaimed the grace of the author of the gift. She pays the tribute of life each year as the price. XII. Moreover, let any investigator of his revelations enter, for whom, four years before, the very cause of his episcopacy was not hidden. Thus, placed in sleep, he saw a certain old man offering him the keys of the gate of Paris. Asking what this meant, he received the answer that he should keep them safe. Later, when the bishop of that city died, as he was meeting the most excellent King Childebert, that voice earned its effect in his election. And once ordained pontiff, what sort and how great he conducted himself, mortal tongue is not sufficient to express, because everything he produced was beyond human. Finally, having attained the rank of pastoral care, he persisted as a monk in the remainder.

From this he wore himself out with constant vigils, from that he wasted away with continual fasts. His aged cold endured the night through winter, bearing a double chill—that of years and of season—which even wanton youths could not tolerate; almost forgetful of himself for the victory of the body, as if dignity and necessity had come together. But what alms were given through the hands of the Saint, whether from the resources of the church or from the offerings of the people or from royal gifts, only He who knows all things knows and counts. XIII. Finally, on one occasion, the most excellent King Childebert had sent him six thousand solidi to be distributed to the poor. After spending three thousand, he returned to the palace. Asked by the king whether any still remained to be given to the needy, he replied that half remained, and that he had found no poor to whom to expend the whole. To this the king said: "Lord, give what remains; for with Christ providing, what is given will not fail," and he cut up gilded serving dishes, broke silver vessels, giving whatever he first had to the priest so that he would not lose it. Thus a contest between priest and prince was to be expected.

At the see they waged a battle of mercy and a contest of piety, that they might scatter treasures, and that the needy might grow rich from their talents, hastening toward future gains: that they might sow seed of cloth of gold, and afterwards the reapers might approach the gilded harvest: that the priest might be enriched by royal treasures, and that the grace of the priest might flourish in the king, who believed that only what he received naked or needy was his own. XIV. But let us return to the order. A certain man in the village of Exona (Essone, near Corbeil), one of the fiscal servants named Gildomeris, when he had worked on the Lord's Day, had his fingers so contracted that the point of the nails passed into the other side. He met the holy man in Paris at the oratory; and after a prayer was given and his hand anointed with oil, the nails were drawn back from the palm. The organ of the fingers was restored, and the web of sinews was rewoven in its ancient function. After he was made a cleric, and in order to keep him whole and safe, he freed him from plague and from crime.

XV. Again, a certain woman named Favonia in the city of Paris, for nine days taking nothing but a little porridge, with mouth open and gaping, came to the holy Man with an offering. She, as if a sword were placed against it, could by no law join her teeth or lips. Anointing her in the sacred oratory with oil, and having felt all around her head, he restored her to health without delay. XVI. It happened that a certain girl from the household of Medardus of Moglidon, spinning on the Lord's Day, was condemned to punishment with a contracted hand. Upon being touched with oil, the virtue infused a remedy. Hence the astonished fingers regain their former strength. The forgotten art of the craft, the restored joints practice, the branched hand is stretched out, and the right hand, cleansed of the defect, is restored to health. XVII. It is rightly believed that this miracle also should be inserted. A certain Bobolinus from the town of Noviomum (Noyon, in Picardy), violently seized by the snares of an enemy, was brought bound in chains to the Man of God, was shaken and thrown about by a rebellious spirit, but was not wearied. He, with the holy Man praying, as if from a long journey, returned to his own senses and mind on the seventh day. Thus doubly freed, while the shadow flees from his senses, the chain falls from his hands, and he is returned both sane and unbound.

XVIII. This, moreover, ought to be handed down by perpetual right of memory. A certain man from the household of Nanterre, with the joints of his jaws separated from each other, with mouth open, was led to the holy Man. He, having impressed the sign of the cross, was restored to health, and was forbidden to take drink of wine or food of flesh. Having set aside the precept, he was immediately reduced to the state of his former affliction. But lest the negligence of the transgressor should unjustly withdraw glory, he was again presented to him in the villa of Spedotenus. The holy Man, anointing the places of his jaws with oil, and with his blessed hands drawing together the chin and lips, having invoked the name of Christ, the joint, struck by his holy fingers, returned to itself, and by the merit of his faith he was led home safe. XIX. Likewise a smith, named Ligerius, seized by the madness of a turbulent demon, had burst forth with such bestial ferocity that, bound with chains on his neck and hands, he was scarcely dragged into the presence of the blessed Man. Thence more pitiable, as he who endured violence from the enemy had another punishment added to himself through the chains. Yet the Priest ordered him to be detained with him; and, just as on the seventh day God rested from work, so after a week the work of God was snatched from the demon; and thus he merited to return safe into his own, freed from the enemy.

XX. Waddo, a man of illustrious rank, a participant in the king's counsels, having incurred a twofold affliction of fever and chill, is presented to the gaze of the holy Man, spitting. Meanwhile, at the accustomed hour, struck by a most severe fever, he urgently demands water, that he might be cooled. When this is denied him, he grows insolent in injury against the holy pontiff. Yet the Man of God, content to obtain the victory, having completed a prayer, giving him a drink in warm water, recalled the man to his former health, and cured the imminent danger with such an antidote, healing the fever through warm water. XII. Nor is that miracle of a similar cause to be passed over. Ulfus by name, a servant of Queen Chrodosinta, was very severely afflicted with a periodic fever. Seeking the aid of a remedy, he went to the pontiff. The Man of God steadfastly leads him to the baptistery. But while the Saint was praying, he began to be afflicted more severely, being on the verge of being freed. Burning and feverish, he asks for a little water, but it is denied. Roused most bitterly by the bitterness of gall, he threw his belt at the Saint's feet, crying out: "You, lord, are killing me, when you ought to have healed me. But let this be known to you, that I die by your hand. My life will be demanded of you by the king or by my parents." Meanwhile, from the heat, he rolls about on the floor of the baptistery. While the blessed Man was praying, he is turned into a sleep, and after a little while, awakened from sleep, the sick man is restored by him to complete health.

XXI. Asked by the bishop why he had spoken so much to the injury of the priest, he replied, merely thanking him, confessing that he remembered nothing of his own words. XXII. The most excellent King Childebertus, having given a horse necessary for the saddle of the blessed man as a vehicle, asked the one to whom he had given it to keep it for himself and not to bestow it upon anyone. Meanwhile, the blessed man, at the request of a captive, gave the horse as payment, because with the bishop the voice of the poor was more than that of the king. He therefore ordered that it be sold for fifteen solidi. When the poor man himself was leading it, a merchant met him and bought the aforesaid horse for twelve gold pieces. Having bought it, the merchant led it to the stable. But because he had given less than the man of God had commanded, the horse died during the night, so that the Saint's word would not go in vain. Hence, on the following day, the buyer, with oxen yoked, dragged the dead vehicle from the stable. And he, in turn, was led out with a halter tied not to his head, but to his feet.

XXIII. It is worthwhile to commit to memory how the priest of Christ was accustomed to triumph even over kings themselves. Therefore, when he had met the glorious King Chlotarius as usual, yet was not announced to him as the holy man stood before the palace, after a delay before the vestibule without being presented, he returned home. The following night was spent in vigils in the oratory; the king was tormented by pain and the onslaught of fever. At the first light of dawn, the nobles rushed to the church house; the king’s punishment was set forth, and they begged that by his visitation he might mitigate the force of the king’s pain. Soon, out of compassion, the cause of the injury was set aside; he who previously was not even announced entered the palace honored and entreated. The king barely rose from his bed, complaining that he was struck by the divine scourge. He licked the holy man’s pallium, and drew the priest’s garment over the places of pain. Having confessed the guilt of his crime, all pain was immediately put to flight; and this was done, that he who had incurred danger from contempt might feel a remedy through touch.

XXIV. In the Parisian district of Vico Novo (below, no. 40) a deed was done. A certain man in that same place, torn by the attack of a rabid wolf and rendered senseless, was piteously brought to the blessed Priest. He, recurring to the aids of his art, soon having the arm anointed around with the liquid of blessed oil and medicinally touched by his sacred fingers, that plague which, raging with pain, had invaded the vitals, fled the besieged places, and, the flesh already dissolved by putrefaction, with its former vigor restored, without delay, as if awakened from sleep, the pain departed, the mind returned. XXV. Likewise, from the village of Mantola, a maidservant of a certain Waldullus, struck for a year and ten months with severe blindness, was admonished in a dream that if she were to touch the fringe of the Saint, she would soon recover her sight. On a certain day she met the priest; but, surrounded by much night, her eyes were so constricted that, where he might pour in blessed oil, they offered no access for light. Nevertheless, having anointed the eyelids from above and the remaining parts of the head, after a prayer was given, with bread and salt signed, he commanded the woman to betake herself to her lodging. He himself, from the first sleep keeping vigil in the oratory, around the middle of the night the woman cries out that her host is weeping profusely. Then, a light having been kindled, she discerns blood flowing from the structure of her eyes. When she returned with that same blood to the Saint in the morning, he, bathing and washing the eyelids with water, with prayers added, one eye was opened; then, the other having been anointed, the woman returns home.

Then, that same night, with blood flowing profusely, as day approached, he presented himself to the Priest. When the latter, returning home from meeting the king, entered the oratory, immediately the other eye of the woman is opened, and, by the Lord’s grace, she rejoices to see with twin light. XVI. A girl from Magnofledis, being deceived by such snares that she was mocked, so that whenever she wished to approach the church, she could not take a step, was presented to the man of God at the villa of Savara. As soon as the Saint’s hand was placed upon the head of the trembling girl, by such investigation the hidden guest [or, enemy] is detected, and he confesses with much groaning that he had long lain hidden, and declares that in the presence of the King he cannot conceal himself by his own trickery. Therefore, he complains with grievous heat that he is thus betrayed and will depart. Meanwhile, as the priest did not cease to trace the sign of the cross with his hand, while all were waiting, the enemy burst forth in the likeness of a fly, with blood from the woman’s nostrils. Restored to health, she, having changed to a monastic habit..., was handed over to the service of God, and he made her triumph twice, with the enemy vanquished and the world.

XXXVII. What of the fact that he promptly healed a crippled right hand? When he had come to Tours for the feast of Saint Martin, as he was leaving the monastery, a barbarian woman presented herself, her hand contracted with sinews, seeking a cure. Having received her under his cowl, he moistened it with his own spittle, like scattered flour gathered and kneaded. Then, as the hand sweated again, she stretches and bends her fingers, restoring the old numbness to liveliness. And before he came to the door of blessed Martin, he restored her right hand, extended and sound, with her fingers. As soon as she felt it was straightened, he dismissed the woman from himself, and entered the basilica. XXVIII. Next, as he was coming out of the aforesaid basilica, when the servant of God was returning to his lodging, another woman presented herself, with her palm fixed to her fingers, which, first touched with saliva, then anointed with oil, was restored to its former health on the spot. For the cause of the infirmities was this: for the holy Man to cure was to touch.

XXIX. It was indeed remarkable that, whenever the servant of God wished to go to Augustodunum, the demons would soon announce it at Saint Symphorian's. And running to meet him through Murvinus (Num. 32), they would cry out with weeping and groaning: "Holy man, if you inconsiderately drive us from these places or forbid us to dwell here, grant us the solitude of the forests, so that we wretches may be allowed to wander safely through the deserts. Before your eyes, neither bodies nor groves conceal us." These weeping ones, unable to endure the presence of the Saint, were put to flight far and wide from the possessed bodies by the application of his right hand, and the expelled demons lamented over the salvation of the people. XXX. Let that noble miracle be brought forth. When the pontiff was returning from Saint Symphorian's, he made his way to the castle of Avallon (Supra num. 1), where a multitude of prisoners was held in the dungeon. There, invited to a meal by Count Nicasius, the Man of God began a conversation about mercy: that, with sureties given, they might be released from their chains, and that the penalty of their crime might yield to the consideration of piety. The count, with an obstinate spirit, put off doing this. Hence, before he had finished dining, the Saint tore himself from the table, and, lying prostrate over the subterranean prison, prayed long with tears, that divine aid might be granted for what had not been obtained from the temporal judge. Thus that stream of tears rose through the air into heaven, and the groaning reached its desired end. Accordingly, an angel was dispatched to bring it about. Thereafter, the venerable man, promising hope, encouraged the imprisoned.

Nor does the word lose what it speaks: faith is fulfilled in deeds. As he departed, the links of the chains were soon broken, the bound doors were unbarred, the one who had been led back into prison was brought out, the condemned proceeded from darkness into light, and the punishment no longer held those it had tormented. Thus rescued, those who had been in peril while confined came to meet the bishop at Paris. But to confer something more upon the guilty, he obtained from the king whatever was owed to the treasury on their behalf. XXXI. Thereafter, when the holy man Nicasius wished to meet the saint, and had already been presented, he was immediately thrown to the ground by a very severe fall, and, almost bereft of all aids to health, through the intercession of the saint himself, strength and sensation returned to the despairing man. Soon he handed over to the blessed Germanus the belt with which he was girded and his sword as a gift: which he himself later redeemed by paying a price for them. This was done so that what he had previously delayed granting to the imprisoned, he might here compensate as a debtor with double interest, and with an increased dowry make good the loss, having earlier delayed for them, and later redeeming even himself. Not previously merciful to them, now even fearful for himself, he learned by his own misfortune to succor the afflicted.

CHAPTER XXXII. Let this marvel be fully set forth on the page. As the holy man was proceeding to meet the blessed martyr Symphorianus, while he was traveling from the village of Cervodunum to Murvinum, the inhabitants of the place came to meet him and suggested that he should order a visit to the crop of Panitia [or Pistoficia], a poor widow who had nothing left, which was being ravaged by bears, so that by his holy arrival the attack might be repelled. He was quickly led to the place, with the servants mocking, and after offering a prayer he made the sign over it. Then, by divine instinct, a ferocious anger was kindled in the parent beasts, hatred arose in their affection, and a battle was joined in peace. The beasts armed themselves with fury, and immediately one bear was strangled by the other, and the one that remained, when it tried to go out, was pierced by a stake of the fence. Thus both ravagers were killed in one moment, and they themselves instantly became the instruments of death for each other. Afterwards, on his return, the woman offered him the bearskins out of devotion, presenting the spoils to him as to her victor; yet he absolutely refused to accept them. And those who had previously mocked began to repent, seeing the miracle.

CHAPTER XXXIII. And since there should be no aversion concerning a gift from God, we also briefly set forth this matter for explanation. A certain woman, Beretrudis, a matron of Munsunthus, while during the time of the litanies she could not go with the people because of her blinded eyes, hearing the choir of psalm-singers, with tears implores the aid of lord Germanus. On the third following night, in a dream, the most blessed man appeared to her standing near the bed and, as it were, made the sign of the cross over her blind eyes. Waking, the woman tells her husband what had happened. Soon, with blood dripping, sight is restored to her eyes, and after a long-lasting cloud, her pupils shone with a clear ray. Also, as the day brightened, the woman proceeds to Mass with the people in the procession, so that the image of the holy man seen in sleep was the remedy. CHAPTER XXXIV. There follows a no less praiseworthy restoration of life to an infant girl. When in the territory of Tours, the matron of the illustrious man Pientius was lamenting the final moments of her exposed daughter, and with eyes closed and no moving breath did the infant breathe, she entrusts all her hopes to the presence of the holy man. Invited by a messenger, he hastens as much as he is able to the corpse of the girl given up for dead. Received with many tears from the weeping household, he approaches the bench on which the infant was already stiff. He moves heaven with his lamentations. After nearly the space of one hour had passed in these things, with a moving sob the breath of the girl is restored, and the vital warmth of her innards is diffused through her limbs. Then, gradually revived, she asked for a drink to drink.

Then, after the blessed man had tasted the signed bread and the cup, the little girls were recalled from the funeral, and everything turned to their health. She later ended her life’s term more happily in the monastery of the blessed Radegundis. XXXV. A certain cleric from near the monastery of the blessed Sylvester in Ternoderinse, when on the Lord’s day, as we say from custom, he had gone about in boots, incurred a weakness of the hands or feet. But by the blessed Sylvester he received back the use of his step; admonished in sleep, he came to Saint Germanus, seeking a remedy for his health. Asked by him, he confessed the cause of his fault. Then he ordered the cleric to cry out among the people, that no one should rashly work on the Lord’s day. When the fifth day had passed, the crippled palm was straightened with oil poured over it, and he was sent off with freedom to go to his own. XXXVI. In the pagus of Amoniense (Mosny in Brie), let what was done be repeated. At Rotegiacum [Rozoy], a villa of the Parisian Church, seven men raging were brought to him. When they were cured, one who was weighed down by a more grievous spirit, as he was forced to leave, professed to the man of God that, once expelled from that place, he would make a grievous lamentation for the Parisians. Then the plague, put to flight, spread a report among the peoples about the passing of the holy man Germanus, and the shepherd’s death moved the flock to weeping. Yet that possessed man, even if he sowed a lie, once expelled did not defend the one he had besieged.

CHAPTER XXXVII. And because the works of the just were compelled to increase miracles, again in the aforementioned place a paralytic man, with limbs dissolved, conveyed by a cart, destitute of step and motion, is brought to him. When he was anointed with the liquid of sanctified oil and the surface of the skin had been touched, vigor entered the marrow. Then the revived hands return to mobile use: the vital impulse of the chest becomes stronger, the weakness of the knee columns is strengthened, the soles are raised on solidified bases. Amid these things, the entire structure of the limbs is restored: he, having received health, meets the holy man on the road as he returns, offering a prepared gift, giving thanks to Christ for the restoration of his little body. CHAPTER XXXVIII. Nor should this be passed over, how with similar merit the power shone in another. Then Emmegesilus from the village of Bucciacum, a certain very small boy, paralytic in his limbs, was carried in a chair to Paris to the holy man by the hands of those bearing him. Neither the right hand vigorous in motion, nor the foot rising stable, nor the tongue sounding fluent, captive in the decay of total weakness, as it were poured forth in the order of nature without the order of nature. Whom the Saint, anointing continuously for three days with sacred oil, restored to health in a single moment with voice, hand, and footstep. Astonishment embraces all, a cry is raised to heaven that Saint Germanus has surpassed all medical art.

CHAPTER XXXIX. Likewise from the same village of Bucciacum, a certain woman came to Paris with her hand so contracted that the point of her nails pierced the palm to the quick. She, drawing saliva with her thumb from her own mouth, restores the image of the hand, the stretching of the sinews. CHAPTER XL. The territory of the Bituriges also retains his laurels. Therefore, when the good Shepherd, from the village of Novigeotum, had come to the Vicus Novus for his customary care of visiting the king, a certain old woman, bearing in blindness a course of twice four years, presents herself. The Priest, placing the sign of our redemption over her eyes, commands that she should go following where the Pontiff would proceed. On the following day also, when she met him unexpectedly, blood flowing from her eye in a copious stream, her eyes wept their own health. She is seen among the rest standing before the holy man. He, rising from the assembly, draws the woman, still blind, into a lodging, where his own chamber was. Washing her eyes with tepid water with his own hands, he pours back the day into her eyes. She soon beholds the light, plunges the fingers of the holy man into her mouth with insatiable joy, and likewise the attendants, with compunction, say that they see a man who dispenses light to the blind for money in the house. But these things were done in the chamber in my presence.

CHAPTER XLI. When the priest was approaching the church's estate called Inethe (or in Æthe), a certain man met him, complaining that he alone was unharmed in the whole village, while all the other inhabitants were suffering from a grievous illness. When his blessed bread was brought to the sick, immediately every ailment was driven from the ailing, and with the first taste of the blessed bread the disease was consumed along with the bread. Thus health was eaten with the food by that crowd! CHAPTER XLII. Likewise, when the man of God was proceeding to Paris to the basilica of the Holy Cross, a woman placed before the Saint a little child in white garments, gasping with his last breath and about to depart, saying: "Merciful Father, if you would deign to look upon a lamenting woman, a weeping mother would not be bereaved. Nor would you prefer to depart from here, leaving me emptied of my fruit and full of grief. Unless you hasten to help, you see an unhappy child snatched from the breast by wrenching death. Either restore him to me, or obtain for me that I be buried together with him. Indulge, Shepherd, a wretched woman whom her own grief makes bold." As she was tearfully pleading, as soon as the Blessed one's right hand impressed the sign of the cross upon the dying child, he, as if waking from sleep, sought his mother's milk—he who was already growing cold for burial. Thus in a moment of time the son was snatched from the jaws of death, and the mother from her sorrow. Thereupon the surrounding crowd was shaken with amazement, a clamor arose on all sides, and they gave thanks to the Creator for the extraordinary gift of the priest's time, by whom diseases and deaths are continually held in check.

CHAPTER XLIII. Next, when he arrived at the village of Bradeia (Brie-Comte-Robert, in Bria), in the territory of the Parisii, after Mass was celebrated, a paralytic woman, condemned to bear the functions of all her limbs without any vigor remaining in her foot or right hand, was brought to him on a chair carried into the sacristy. Immediately, having confidence in him who bestowed abundant gifts upon her, he anointed her with the blessing of life-giving oil; at once the disease was expelled, healthy strength flowed in; and with her organs restored, she was reborn better to health than to birth, acquiring more from the gift than she had received from her origin. So much so that afterwards she made a tunic for the Saint with her own hands, as a tribute for the medicine she had acquired. CHAPTER XLIV. He committed to memory what is helpful in praise. And so, when Audegisilus, the mayor of the royal household, was gravely afflicted with a quartan fever, he came to the blessed man, (seeking a benefit). The man of God assigned him to his cell and ordered him to remain shut in with one deacon. Then the anxious and fasting attendant wondered anxiously what he might do to cure the sick man. Therefore, wrapping the feverish man in the servant of God’s cloak from all sides, he placed him on his bed. On that same day, by the touch of the noble garment, as if by the force of a river, all the fire of the quartan fever was extinguished. And when he returned from the meal, with the chamber unlocked, the man rose healthy from his bed, while the attendant rejoiced at the reward of health, his fast then broken. Thus, by the touch of the Blessed One’s garment, he worked a cure while absent.

CHAPTER XLV. Let us continue the journey we have undertaken. And so, when the man of God was traveling to Poitiers to visit the blessed confessor Hilarius, a certain woman named Baudo Feifa, from Secorbi (Secorbi), a village between the two, was brought before him, barely conveyed there, who was mute, lame, and crippled. Her tongue was stiff and immobile, her breath was gasping, and her whole body was like a corpse, so that to the eyes of onlookers she was nothing but a cadaver. When he mercifully made the sign of the holy cross over her, immediately all strength spread through her limbs, the flowing channels of her veins were revived, the weak numbness of her nerves was shaken off, and the entire fabric of her body was renewed for the vital use of natural movements. Soon the plectrum of her tongue was loosened, the knots of her fingers were stretched out, the bases of her feet were strengthened, and for the whole mass of her viscera, to touch was to bring to life, as it was for the saint. And as she recovered, on the third day she went to the city, giving thanks to the saint, meeting him on her own feet.

CHAPTER XLVI. It is also considered worthwhile to insert this proclamation of healing. While the blessed man was passing through the district of Vendôme (Le Verdomois), he turned aside at Hansidonium (Ranscé) for the sake of staying overnight. There the power of the blessing of the blessed man so prevailed that whoever faithfully carried away a straw from the bed on which the holy man had rested bore away a gift of healing, and from the seed of the chaff reaped the fruit of medicine. CHAPTER XLVII. Let the city of Nantes (Nantes in Armorica) here bear witness to a noble deed. When the man of God approached, received with very devout respect, Tecla Damiani, a matron of a man engaged in business, met him, begging that either the pastor himself or his messengers should seek out her husband. Since access to him was difficult for him, he sent his deacon with his chrismaries. The deacon, hastening to the man as he had been ordered, touched the sick man's vitals. The next day, the priest himself, upon being entreated, approached the invalid, who was being tormented under a double torment—on one side oppressed by illness, on the other by the wound of gout—a man miserably and insolently suffering. Then the priest of the Most High anointed the sick man with blessed oil. At that moment, the invalid, with his hands immediately straightened and his step strengthened from his long-standing weakness, leaped up.

CHAPTER XLVIII. But so that the mystery might be doubled in one household, and the healing which had preceded in the father might reach the offspring, they had a daughter, whom they brought to him, named Mary, blind, deaf, and mute. They set the living corpse before the Saint’s feet, saying: “Good shepherd, still bestow upon this sick one what remains of medicine. For we believe it is reserved for you, whereby you might hold the proclamation, so that the restored family may acquire from the priest what it lost from its offspring.” Then his renowned compassion is summoned to tears; soon he turns to his warlike arms of his warfare, and the strong orator offers prayers to obtain victory. Then the blessed man, rising from prayer, anointing the places of the head with blessed oil, in the name of the Trinity, with a threefold expulsion of the affliction, immediately, with the passages of the ears and eyes opened, to the applause of all, the mute became talkative. When this was done, the merchants of the city of Nantes, each according to his means, either offered or sent money for the remedy, to be distributed by the holy man to the poor, out of devotion.

CHAPTER XLIX. Leudegesilus, a man of illustrious rank, as he himself professed, when someone in his household fell into a fit of any fever or chill, would wash those letters which the Saint had traced with his hand in the subscription, and restored many of his people to health by this remedy. CHAPTER L. Having briefly touched upon these matters, let us proceed with the rest. A certain Chusinus, while improperly tending to his horse on the Lord’s Day, put his hand into a wound, and his finger swelled. Then, as the fever spread, the entire part of his arm was loosened by putrefaction. He obtained, by pouring forth prayers, that the Saint, while traveling through Belsa (La Beauce), would turn aside to his house. Soon the man of God bathed his arm with warm water; moreover, anointing it with blessed oil, he bound it with cabbage leaves placed on top, a wondrous physician. Thus whatever ulcer was within, the precious remedy extinguished. Afterwards, the man, giving thanks, met the holy man, cured by such a poultice.

CHAPTER LI. Likewise, a servant of the church, Libanius by name, while heedlessly closing a fence on the Lord's Day, had his hands contracted by an immediate vengeance. He hastened to the holy man in Paris, chastened by his affliction. The saint, having anointed him with the oil of blessed unction and sprinkled him rather with the balm of the mystery, restored him to health by a prayer added. CHAPTER LII. Let the miracles of things run through the compendia of each. For Andulfus, a cleric of the Parisian church, while on the day of the Resurrection [that is, on the Lord's Day] shaking nuts from a tree into his bonds, because he had labored on the day of illumination, was struck with blindness and remained with a darkened face for the space of a year. Thereafter, presented to the Pontiff and anointed with holy unction, he was restored again to the light, and the priest's serenity cleared the cleric's cloud. Thus whatever the minister lost, the healing prelate obtained. CHAPTER LIII. And because the kinds of miracles increase over time: when the blessed man was hastening to be presented to the king at the villa of Roteiacum, a cleric vexed by a spirit of wickedness was brought to him. Whence, with the adversary expelled before the eyes of those standing by, like a small bird from the head of the energumen, the shadow put to flight, it departed. And while the rest pursued it fluttering through the house, the Saint himself crushed it under his feet; and when it was pressed by his foot, the deceitful thing was suddenly turned into blood, with a twofold proclamation, so that it might neither be trampled, and the blood, guilty of bloodshed, became a manifold artificer by the evidence of its own fall.

CHAPTER LIV. Let the district of Oximum bring forth what is its own among our accounts, lest a matter of divine power be hidden in obscurity from posterity. For when the most holy man had turned aside on his journey to the estate of Tasiliacum (Ville-Taillac), a woman was brought to him who was afflicted with a twofold malady: on the one hand, old age; on the other, blindness. With trembling words she began to beseech him for healing. Moved by the supplication of the aged and feeble woman, and with a prayer preceding, he poured oil over her, and the lamps of her eyes restored the rays of light; and with the coverings given, the darkness fled. When she was illuminated, those present, giving glory to God through whom Christ works, proclaimed the merits of Saint Germanus. CHAPTER LV. The diseases are to be enumerated, so that the source of the physician may be proclaimed. Daningus, son of Ardulf, was so swollen in head, eyes, and all his viscera with the disease of dropsy that his entire belly seemed like a wineskin, and his internal organs, penetrated, made the infected skin shine through from within like glass. Despaired of by physicians, he fled as a last resort to the blessed man for a remedy. As soon as he was stripped of his garments and anointed by the holy hands, the imprisoned fluid of the dropsy was consumed by the liquid, and the water was dried up by the infusion of oil. Thus, in a wondrous manner, neither did the humor escape outwardly, nor was the disease retained inwardly; by a praiseworthy art, moisture was dried by moisture.

CHAPTER LVI. Likewise, when he was about to keep vigil at the basilica of the most blessed Gervasius and Protasius, a certain blind man insisted, begging for mercy. The man of God commanded him to lie down between the altar and the relics of the saints. When this was done, at first light, he immediately made the sign of the cross over his eyes, and light shone forth. And the entire labor of the physician, the care of the cross, accomplished. CHAPTER LVII. A woman from the district of Oximum sought redemption from the holy man, but by what lot she deserved to receive nothing. Thereafter, a British presbyter, on account of the infirmity of the ruler of his own country, sought the blessing and relics of the aforesaid man. He set out on his journey and obtained lodging in the village where the aforementioned woman dwelt. Her husband addressed her, that just as others, so too she should go to the relics of Germanus’s house. She scorned this because the holy man had not given her redemption. But immediately, in the place where she stood, as if fixed to a stake, she could not move her step; and with her hands contracted, she was carried to the relics of the saint, carried by her husband’s hand. Amid these words, repenting, by the pity of the holy man she was restored to health, confessing that from her contempt a sudden peril had come upon her.

CHAPTER LVIII. And because by his own merit seeds of salvation were scattered through every place, it happened that the venerable Abbot Flameris of Cadon (Chinon, on the Loire) in the territory of Tours had received a letter subscribed by the hand of blessed Germanus. When he visited his monk, who had been lying in bed with fevers for two years, the sick man asked whence the page had come. The abbot replied that it had been sent to him by Lord Germanus. He asked that it be handed to him. Wiping the letter from its subscription with his tongue, health descended into his vitals, and the picture of ink conquered all ointments. Hence it was confirmed, with the recovered invalid, that we may say commonly that he licked health from the saint’s subscription. CHAPTER LIX. Thereafter, when he approached the fortress of Carnona (Charoy, in the Wastinensian region), a certain man with a contracted hand, disabled because he had been working on the Lord’s Day, thrust himself upon him. He ordered him to hasten after him to the villa of Cariacum (Chevry). When he arrived, as he anointed his fingers with holy oil, suddenly the dry palm revived on the other side. The constricted joints, with moisture flowing between the bones, relaxed the articulations. The nearly dislocated joints stretched back into fingers, the long-standing dryness, suffused, blossomed into health, and immediately the closed wound on the right hand was restored sound and stretched out between the hands of the physician.

CHAPTER LX. It happened that the holy man, returning from Nantes, graced the house and footsteps of the illustrious Nunnichus. From his garment a matrona, having faithfully snatched a thread, stored it in an oratory; when she fell into illness, after vigils solemnly celebrated in honor of the saint and a Mass offered, she was cured on the spot. Thus the Most Blessed one not only healed with his hand what he touched, but also scattered cures by his name. CHAPTER LXI. Attila, a man of illustrious rank and a domestic of the royal court, having collapsed in a bath, with his arm severely injured, the whole hand itself from the shoulder had putrefied. When a physician was summoned and wished to apply treatment, a vein of the internal organs burst, and almost all the lifeblood was poured out in a moment. It was announced to the Pontiff that the man was at the point of death. Moved by piety, the elder hurried to him. He found him, lamented with tears, without any hope, with eyes closed, prostrate and laid out. When he had barely opened his jaws with the handle of a knife, having first given a prayer, he introduced into his mouth a little cold water once, twice, or thrice. Meanwhile, waiting to see what the outcome of the matter would be, he sat down near the bed. After nearly an hour had passed, the lifeless man was shaken by a revived sob, and a gentle motion of breath was summoned and brought back. The passage of the throat was opened, the internal organs relaxed, and with breath flowing through, he was gradually restored, life returning from death. Then, as if awakened from sleep, he asked who was at his head. It was said by those standing around that Lord Germanus was present.

He asks that the hand of the Saint be deigned to him, beginning to address him thus: "Lord, you have recalled me going on a long journey." And immediately he offered a purse full of money and a belt of great weight, which he might distribute to the poor as a reward for life or grace. CHAPTER LXII. Going to Augustodunum, when the holy man arrived at Rotagiacum (Rozoy, in Brie), he learned from Abbo that certain men had been thrust into prison. Therefore, as a suppliant, he suggests to the tribune that they be absolved; but that harsh man does not agree. Then, by a prudent plan, while he says he is going around the field, he runs devoutly to the prison. And so, to entreat, he prostrates himself, and there in the nighttime the chains were shaken off, the strong force of the torment was reduced to fragments, the heavy bar was dashed, the hinge of the post was torn out, the deadly prison was unclosed, and the condemned returned as if from the tomb to the vital airs. Thus it happened that they met him entering Rotagiacum in the morning; and the tribune, who did not grant the release of the prisoners to the Saint, was himself made guilty.

LXIII. Therefore, ever zealous and solicitous for the salvation of all, when he had come to Bourges for the ordination of Bishop Felix, while a certain priest named Sigerius was preaching, a certain Jew, having received the sacrament of faith, was converted, having in Judaism a wife named Mammona. She, when she would receive no mention of conversion, and, admonished through the messengers of the Blessed one, fled, the Doctor himself set out after keeping a vigil over her. When she would not even deign to look upon the blessed man, the Pontiff, after the singing of the course of Terce, graciously moved his hand to the woman's forehead, out of a work of piety. Immediately, a smoking fire, with sparks, was seen to issue from the woman's nostrils by those standing around, so that it became clear to all that, the insidious enemy having been expelled, the woman had until then opposed her own salvation through a hostage. Then, relieved of the enemy's burden, breathing again, she confessed that she had never before been able to behold the face of the blessed man. At her request and entreaty, she merited to become a Christian together with her own household, and, as if with a leader set over them, by her example many Jews were converted.

LXIV. It is fitting to insert here how the light of a little eye was restored. And so, while traveling to Autun for the ordination of Bishop Syagrius, among the other citizens the illustrious Florentinus was brought there for consent, having a blemish on his eye that somewhat detracted from his comeliness, so that he was not considered blooming in countenance. Meanwhile, while acclamations were being shouted to the bishop, he was struck unexpectedly by some unknowing person in the same eye, and, torn from its place, it began to hang over his cheek, his vision doubtful. He hastened with swift step to the blessed Germanus with a clamor, reproaching him greatly, as calamity is wont to speak. Then by the hand of Saint Germanus the light was led back into its place, and he was directed by him to the blessed Symphorianus. He persisted in vigils for him until the lost eye, cleansed of its former blemish and with the added benefit, was restored more whole, and returned better after the wound than what had been born by nature. This Florentinus was afterwards ordained bishop of Mâcon.

LXV. How great indeed was the power of his sign, the following matter, which is brought forth in what comes next, stands as testimony among the rest. When he was returning from the basilica of Saint Martin to the estate of the holy church at Sivray, he encountered on the way a certain young man named Amantius, whom he found being led bound in iron chains by Jews. He asked what he had done. The boy truthfully replied that he was being led in chains for this reason: because he refused to submit to Jewish laws. Then the Jews pretended to unlock the iron chains with a key. When the holy man made the sign of the cross over them, the lock of the iron was immediately torn away. LXVI. Likewise, when he was proceeding to Paris to the basilica of Saints Gervasius and Protasius for the sake of prayer, with the doors bolted, entry was denied him. Then, when the keys were requested, and they themselves did not open the doors, he unfastened the bolt by making the sign of the cross. Astonishment seized the minds of those present at this miracle, that something which a key could not open was opened by virtue. These venerable events also took place in my presence.

LXVII. And because no metal withstood the blessed man, since wood, stones, and iron implements were loosened before him, it happened one day in Paris that, when he was giving a prayer at the door of the prison, on the following night a light appeared to the confined men in the prison. They seemed to be admonished to dig so that they might go outside. Saying to one another that they had seen Lord Germanus, they each report the signs. Having found a rib from a beast, digging, they remove a stone, and they meet the aforementioned friend of God at the church at the morning hour, when he was returning to his rest. Thus the image of the Pontiff was the cause of salvation for many, and in place of blessed Peter, the very figure of our Priest gave remedies. LXVIII. After those men were rescued, the tribune of the city began to rage against the soldiers, deeming that their negligence had been the cause, whereas it is ascribed to the glory of the most holy man. The judge's anger turned against the guards, who were accustomed to keep watch; he handed them over to be kept in the prison, and with the keys removed, the judge becomes the keeper of the keepers. Meanwhile, the blessed man summons the tribune to a meal. And while they were sitting together at the same banquet, at the table of the holy man there also appear those who had been sent for the prisoners in fetters. With the keys in his hands, when the tribune could scarcely believe what he saw concerning the rescued men, recognizing that he had thus guarded similarly to how the soldiers had guarded the prison, pardon is given in turn, and blame passes into grace.

LXIX. Let the noble praise of the man be brought forth at Aurelianis (Orléans). From that city, as the holy man was departing, he heard the voices of the condemned in a prison, which was certainly an underground dungeon. Ascending upon it and lying prostrate, he gave a prayer, the friend of Christ, with tears. By the efficacy of his prayer, in the following night the prison was opened and they fled to the basilica of Saint Anianus. And thus the blessed Pontiff, although passing by, left behind his aid. LXX. Let it not be wearisome to hear what Christ grants to the faithful, while the power and number of miracles grow together. And so, a certain man from Paris met the Most Holy one, whose eye had swollen out like a fist, so that it was said to be verging on ruin after wounds. At his request, the man of God, anointing the eye with saliva from his own mouth, restored healing to the light and grace. LXXI. A certain woman from Paris, having a pustule on her arm, tormented by pains, meeting the blessed man, was cured by the same remedy, the touch of saliva.

LXXII. But if we were to pursue each of the miracles that flourished in his deeds during his present life, these would have been begun without end, and there would be no limit to the page. For wherever the presence of the Pontiff turned, no kind of disease lacked a remedy, and as many wounds of the suffering as presented themselves, he poured forth so many seeds of health. For let us pursue either the first or the last deeds of the Pontiff: since through the saliva of his mouth many ulcers were healed, and many possessed were cleansed. Before him, however secretly the malice of the enemy had come, the fraudulent deceit immediately revealed itself: and because they could not be hidden from the sight of the holy man, nor could they endure his presence, they groaned with terrible howling at their own torments, flying about here and there through the places, and they exposed their crimes, suspended in the air: frequently, even without being questioned, they confessed both their deeds and their names. Often, driven by his own impulse, the demons would run to the holy man to be tormented. In whatever place his minister held the holy man’s javelin, there the possessed man hung, bound by a chain of air, and was held fixed to the spot as if by a nail.

LXXIII. And because snares were often laid for the holy man by enemies, so that either a horse would stumble, or a tree branch would strike him, or the water of a valley or ice would create danger; soon whoever, however many, and in whatever manner, all who were possessed confessed the whole deed and the number. But when he set foot from the house or church, you would see the destruction of demons before the gaze of so great a Pontiff and Triumphator. They fell around the Saint's footsteps in crowds, poured forth in various ways: some mute, others crying out; some fixed, others slippery. And as if they were reporting their own deeds to a judge, they did not escape torments. But for the Saint's renown, how great is this praise, when ineffably many and stupendous things were done by him in a moment. LXXIV. Moreover, how prodigal he was in alms cannot be explained, not even if the voice of the whole people were to unite in one. He, often content with a chasuble or tunic, would clothe the naked poor with whatever was left over, so that the needy might be warmed by the generous giver. How great also was the outpouring of ransom will by no means be explained, either by place or by number. Hence neighboring peoples bear witness: the Spaniard, the Scot, the Briton, the Basque, the Saxon, the Burgundian, when they flocked from everywhere to the name of the Blessed One to be freed from the yoke of servitude. But when there was nothing at all at hand, he would sit sad and anxious, more severe in countenance, and harsh in speech.

If by chance he were invited by someone to a meal, he would compel the guests or his own attendants to contribute together so that they might free at least one captive from servitude, and thus the Priest’s spirit might breathe a little from its grief. But if the Lord were to send something from somewhere to be dispensed through the Saint’s hands, he, foreseeing in spirit, was accustomed to say: “Let us give thanks to divine Clemency, for the means of ransom has drawn near.” Immediately, without ambiguity, the present effect was proven. When he had received it in his hands, the old man’s brow would relax, his face would bloom, his step would become more cheerful, his tongue would flow more pleasantly: so that you would believe that the man, in redeeming others, was himself being freed from the bond of servitude. LXXV. But who might worthily recount how great a power of words rolled from his mouth when he preached to the people, so that astonishment arose at all learning, and compunction was generated in the common crowd, and you would believe that words were being formed by an angel from the speaker’s mouth, while he, more than a man, spoke, transported in an ecstasy of mind, when, with the stains scraped away, by the sincerity of his teaching he compelled the breasts of the people to exude divine perfumes.

LXXVI. When riding on a journey, he always either conversed with God in word or sang, reciting the Office with uncovered head, even if snow or rain pressed upon him. When he came to the table, the minister immediately presented divine discourses, so that amid the courses of food, the guest's spiritual nourishment might be more fully satisfied. He let no time pass without either being of use to others or making progress himself. LXXVII. But who could recount how great a care for vigils he always devoted? Or proclaim the cold he endured with the ardor of faith? For often, before he roused the others from sleep, he would rise from his bed and, untiring, sing fifty psalms or more to the Lord in the temple of his own heart. But who has perceived that blessed theft by hearing or detected it by sight, when he often went from his bed to the oratory without his boots, lest he be noticed by anyone, taking no witness for that theft except Christ, who came to meet him? After celebrating the vigil, he would return to his bed as if he had done nothing, and only then would he rouse the others. How great was his constancy in psalmody, when his flesh stood firm as if clad in iron's hardness, while frost stripped the stones of their crust and turned waters to ice! He struggled with his own vitals and conquered, almost forgetting himself, so that, having overcome his body by domestic torment, he might gain a triumph in peace, becoming a martyr: so that, while the clerics took turns, he himself, without change, would not end the melodies of chanting.

It is almost unbelievable what follows: that entering the church at the third hour of the night, he did not depart from the order of psalmody until, with the day dawning, the entire solemn course of the Office had been completed according to the canon. When he returned home, worn out by age or cold, either the importunity of various persons disturbed him, or he himself was asked where he might provide assistance; so that even when reclining for rest, the cross was prepared for him on his bed by the complaints of the afflicted or the poor who came to him; setting aside his own injuries, lest the necessity brought upon the petitioner should oppress him. Always ready for mercy, ever running for pardon, father and shepherd of the people, he transferred to himself the causes and complaints of others, and either alleviated their sorrows by sharing them, or, as far as he could, wholly cared for them by coming to their aid with all his heart. LXXVIII. Moreover, so greatly advanced in sacred progress, he even foretold the day of his own blessed passing, as we subjoin. For some days before, calling his notary to him, he ordered him to write in the chamber above his bed only this (the fifth Kalends of June), with all being unaware what this was; after his holy departure, it revealed his passing from the world; for the Lord did not permit this to be hidden from the soul familiar to him. Finally, on that same day, after the battle was completed, the Blessed one migrated to Christ.

Occupied and always intent on these and similar pursuits, nearly an octogenarian, to be summoned by wondrous deeds throughout the world, to be joined to the martyrs and apostles, to be glorified by his merits, to be crowned among the peoples, freed from the bodily bond, with an immaculate spirit and the blessed endowments of faith, to live perpetually, a victor he flew to the heavens, our Lord Jesus Christ reigning, to whom is glory, honor, and power for ever and ever. Amen.