JOCELIN 's Life.
 

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THE PROEME OF JOCELIN.

It has been, from ancient times, the object and the design of most

writers to perpetuate, with a pen worthy of their virtues, the lives of

holy men, that the fervor of sanctity so deserving our veneration might

not be buried in oblivion, but rather that it might shine before all as

in a glass, to the end that posterity might imitate its brightness--as

was commanded from above, that in the breast-plate of the chief priest

the names of the twelve patriarchs, the sons of Israel, should be

engraven on twelve precious stones, so that by the sight thereof the

faithful might be moved to imitate the acts of the holy fathers; for it

is most fitting that of those in whose titles we glory, in whose

praises we delight, by whose patronage we are protected, we should

endeavor to conform to the manners, and be confirmed by the examples;

but since the dearth of literature has so much increased, and the

slothfulness to learning so much abounded, very many, fools and

ignorant persons, have ofttimes, lest they should perish from the

memory of the faithful, written the lives of the saints, certainly with

a pious intent, but in a most unhandsome style.  Wherefore, in reading

the lives and acts of the saints composed in a rude manner or barbarous

dialect, disgust is often excited, and not seldom tardiness of belief.

And hence it is that the life of the most glorious priest Patrick, the

patron and apostle of Ireland, so illustrious in signs and miracles,

being frequently written by illiterate persons, through the confusion

and obscurity of the style, is by most people neither liked nor

understood, but is held in weariness and contempt.  Charity therefore

urging us, we will endeavor, by reducing them to order, to collect what

are confused, when collected to compose them into a volume, and, when

composed, to season them, if not with all the excellence of our

language, at least with some of its elegance.  To this our endeavor the

instruction of the threefold instrument which is described to belong to

the candlestick of the tabernacle giveth aid; for we find therein the

tongs, the extinguisher, and the oil-cruse, which we must properly use,

if, in describing the lives of the saints, who shone in their

conversation and example like the candlestick before the Lord, we

should labor to clear away the superfluous, extinguish the false, and

illuminate the obscure, which, though by the devotion we have toward

St. Patrick we are bound to do, yet are we thereto enjoined by the

commands of the most reverend Thomas, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate

of all Ireland, and of Malachy, the Bishop of Down; and to these are

added the request of John de Courcy, the most illustrious Prince of

Ulidia, who is known to be the most especial admirer and honorer of St.

Patrick, and whom we think it most becoming to obey.  But if any snake

in the way, or serpent in the path, watching our steps, shall rashly

accuse us herein of presumption, and shall attack our hand with viper

tooth, yet do we, with the blessed Paul, collect the vine-twigs for the

fire, and cast the viper into the flame.  Wherefore, in describing the

saints that sleep, which were the branches of the true vine, so that

the minds of the faithful may be inflamed toward the love and belief of

Christ, we little regard the tongue of the scorner and of the

slanderer; for if we are to be judged of such, with the apostle setting

them at small account, we commit all to the divine judgment.

[Illustration: The Saint Patrick of Our Own Century.]

THE LIFE AND ACTS OF ST. PATRICK.

BY JOCELIN.

CHAPTER I.

There was once a man named Calphurnius, the son of Potitus, a

presbyter, by nation a Briton, living in the village Taburnia (that is,

the field of the tents, for that the Roman army had there pitched their

tents), near the town of Empthor, and his habitation was nigh unto the

Irish Sea.  This man married a French damsel named Conchessa, niece of

the blessed Martin, Archbishop of Tours; and the damsel was elegant in

her form and in her manners, for, having been brought from France with

her elder sister into the northern parts of Britain, and there sold at

the command of her father, Calphurnius, being pleased with her manners,

charmed with her attentions, and attracted with her beauty, very much

loved her, and, from the state of a serving-maid in his household,

raised her to be his companion in wedlock.  And her sister, having been

delivered unto another man, lived in the aforementioned town of Empthor.

And Calphurnius and his wife were both just before God, walking without

offence in the justifications of the Lord; and they were eminent in

their birth, and in their faith, and in their hope, and in their

religion.  And though in their outward habit and abiding they seemed to

serve under the yoke of Babylon, yet did they in their acts and in

their conversation show themselves to be citizens of Jerusalem.

Therefore, out of the earth of their flesh, being freed from the tares

of sin and from the noxious weeds of vice by the ploughshare of

evangelic and apostolic learning, and being fruitful in the growth of

all virtues, did they, as the best and richest fruit, bring forth a

son, whom, when he had at the holy font put off the old man, they

caused to be named Patricius, as being the future father and patron of

many nations; of whom, even at his baptism, the God which is three in

one was pleased, by the sign of a threefold miracle, to declare how

pure a vessel of election should he prove, and how devoted a worshipper

of the Holy Trinity.  But after a little while, this happy birth being

completed, they vowed themselves by mutual consent unto chastity, and

with an holy end rested in the Lord.  But Calphurnius first served God

a long time in the deaconship, and at length closed his days in the

priesthood.

CHAPTER II.

_How a Fountain burst forth, and how Sight and Learning were given to

the Blind._

A certain man named Gormas, who had been blind even from his mother's

womb, heard in a dream a voice commanding him that he should take the

hand of the boy Patrick, then lately baptized, and make on the ground

the sign of the cross--adding that at the touch a new fountain would

burst forth, with the water whereof, if he bathed his eyes, he would

forthwith receive his sight.  And the blind man, instructed by the

divine oracle, went to the little boy, made with his right hand on the

ground the sign of salvation, and immediately did a new fountain burst

forth.  And his darkened eyes, being bathed with this healing stream,

perceived the day poured in, and the virtue of Siloe renewed; and,

_that the mercies of the Lord might be acknowledged, and the wonders

that he doeth for the children of men_, while the outward blindness of

Gormas was enlightened, his inward sight received the revealing gift of

science; and he who was before unlearned, having experienced the power

of the Lord, read and understood the Scriptures, and as by the outward

mercy from being blind he became able to see, so by the inward grace

from unlearned he became learned.  But the fountain flowing forward

with a more abundant stream, even unto this day pouring forth its clear

waters, sweet to the draught and wholesome to the taste, is honored

with the name of Saint Patrick, and, as is said, gives health or relief

to many laboring with divers diseases; and it rises near the seaside,

and over it the devotion of posterity has erected an oratory, with an

altar built in the form of a cross.

CHAPTER III.

_Of the Stone of Saint Patrick._

Near this place is a stone which the inhabitants call Saint Patrick's

Rock; for some believe that he was born thereon, and others that on it

he celebrated Mass.  As often as any controversy arises between the

villagers or the neighbors which is thought fit to be determined by an

oath, it is brought to this stone, and there, the sacrament being

taken, the cause is decided.  But if any perjurer or false witness laid

his hand thereon, immediately it was wont to pour forth water, and the

holiness of Patrick openly showed unto all how accursed was the crime

of perjury or of false testimony; yet at any other time it did not use

to exude one drop, but always remained in its natural dryness.  Which

opinion of the people, however, as to this stone, is the more probable,

we know not, though the latter may seem the nearer unto the truth.  Let

it suffice, therefore, to record the miracle which the Bishop Saint Mel

testifies that he had oftentimes beheld.

CHAPTER IV.

_Of the Well dried up._

As he grew in age, he was seen also to grow in grace, and, as from the

full store of divine ointment flowing within him, he perfumed all

around with the abundance of his manifold miracles.  And Patrick, the

child of the Lord, was then nursed in the town of Empthor, in the house

of his mother's sister, with his own sister Lupita.  And it came to

pass in the winter season, the ice being thawed, that a well overflowed

and threatened to overturn many houses in the town; and the rising of

the waters filled the mansion wherein Patrick abided, and overturned

all the household stuff, and caused all the vessels to swim.  And the

little boy, being an hungered, asked in his infantine manner for bread;

yet found he not any who would break bread for him, but jeeringly was

he answered that he was nearer to being drowned than fed.  When the boy

dipped three of his fingers into the swelling water, and, standing on a

dry place, he thrice sprinkled the water in the form of a cross, and in

the name of the Holy Trinity commanded the well that forthwith it

should subside.  And behold a miracle!  Immediately all the flood

retired with a refluent course, and the dryness returned, nor was there

hurt or damage seen in the vessels or in the furniture of his dwelling.

And they who looked on saw that sparks of fire instead of drops of

water were sprinkled from the fingers of the holy child, and that the

waters were licked up and absorbed thereby; and the Lord, "who collects

the waters as in a heap, and lays up the depths in his treasury," who

had worked such great works through his beloved child Patrick, is

praised of all; and the child also is magnified who was so powerful in

Him, great and worthy of all praise.

CHAPTER V.

_How he produced Fire from Ice._

Though Saint Patrick, in his childish years, sometimes thought as a

child and acted as a child, yet do his illustrious works declare how

precious was he in the eyes of Him who was for us born a child.  And on

a certain day, the winter then freezing everything, the boy Patrick,

being engaged in their sports with boys of his own age, gathered many

pieces of ice in his bosom, and bore them home, and cast them down in

the court-yard; but his nurse, seeing this, said to him that it were

better he had collected wood for the hearth than have played with

pieces of ice.  And the boy, speaking with the tongue of an aged man,

answered unto her: "It is easy for the Lord, who created all things,

even from these to supply the hearth; and at His nod, so that faith be

not wanting, it is easy for fire to prevail over water; and that thou

mayest know," said he, "how possible are all things to them who

believe, thy faith shall be an eye-witness of that which I say unto

thee."  And he heaped together the pieces of ice, like brands for the

fire, and he prayed, and, making the sign of the cross, he breathed on

them, and immediately fire went forth, and, lighting the ice, produced

long streams of flame; yet not only did the hearth give warmth to all

who came near, but it ministered much cause of admiration, for out of

the mouth of the boy Patrick was seen to issue flame instead of breath,

that he might plainly appear to be illuminated within by the infinite

light of the divine grace.  Nor does this miracle much fall short of

that ancient miracle which the Scripture records to have been performed

by Nehemias; for when he brought back into the land of Juda the people

of the Hebrews after their long captivity, restored to freedom by

Cyrus, the King of Persia, he commanded the place to be searched out

wherein their fathers had hidden the fire of the sacrifice; in which,

when discovered, the fire was not found, but thick water; the which

Nehemias commanded to be brought, and the sacrifice to be sprinkled

therewith; and immediately a great fire was kindled, and it consumed

the holocaust and burned the hard stones.  So was the congealed water

burned up by the power of the same fire which, proceeding from water,

did burn to ashes the sacrifice and the stones of the altar.  Therefore

is the strangeness of this miracle to be admired, the holiness of

Patrick to be venerated, and in all these things the power of the

omnipotent God to be adored; and herein by a most evident sign did the

Lord illustrate Saint Patrick, whose preaching afterward inflamed many

that had been frozen in unbelief with the fire of faith and of the

charity of God.

CHAPTER VI.

_How the Sister of St. Patrick was healed._

On a certain day the sister of Saint Patrick, the aforementioned

Lupita, being then of good stature, had run about the field, at the

command of her aunt, to separate the lambs from the ewes, for it was

then weaning time, when her foot slipped, and she fell down and smote

her head against a sharp flint, and her forehead was struck with a

grievous wound, and she lay even as dead; and many of the household ran

up, and her kindred and her friends gathered together to comfort the

maiden wounded and afflicted; and her brother came with the rest,

compassionating his sister, but confiding in the divine medicine; for,

drawing near, he raised her, and, touching with his spittle the thumb

of his right hand, he imprinted on her forehead, stained with blood,

the sign of the cross, and forthwith he healed her; yet the scar of the

wound remained as a sign, I think, of the miracle that was performed,

and a proof of the holiness of him who, by his faith in the cross of

Christ, had done this thing.

CHAPTER VII.

_How he restored to Life his Foster-Father._

The husband of Saint Patrick's nurse, who had often-times borne him an

infant in his arms, being seized with a sudden death, expired.  And his

wife, with many others of the household, ran thither, and to Patrick,

who was standing nigh, bursting into tears, she thus spake: "Behold, O

Patrick! thy foster-father, the bearer of thine infancy, lieth dead;

show now, therefore, on him thine enlivening virtue, even that which

hath been wont to heal others!"  And the boy of holy disposition,

compassionating the tears of his nurse and the miserable state of his

foster-father, approached him lying there lifeless, and he prayed over

him and blessed him, and signed him on his head and on his breast with

the sign of life, and he embraced him, and raised him up, and restored

him unto her alive and safe.  And all who beheld this miracle gave

praise to God, who worked such works in Patrick.

CHAPTER VIII.

_Of the Sheep released from the Wolf._

While Saint Patrick was a little boy, his aunt entrusted him with the

care of the sheep, and to these he diligently attended with his

aforementioned sister.  For in that age no reproach was attached to

such employments when the sons of the chief men discharged the duties

of a shepherd; as the patriarch Jacob and his sons truly declared

before Pharao, that they, like their forefathers, were keepers of

sheep; and as the lawgiver Moses and the illustrious King David long

time labored in the shepherd's occupation.  But as the boy Patrick was

one day in the fields with his flock, a wolf, rushing from the

neighboring wood, caught up a ewe-lamb, and carried it away.  Returning

home at evening from the fold, his aunt chided the boy for negligence

or for sloth; yet he, though blushing at the reproof, patiently bore

all her anger, and poured forth his prayers for the restoration of the

ewe-lamb.  In the next morning, when he brought the flock to the

pasture, the wolf ran up, carrying the lamb in his mouth, laid it at

Patrick's feet, and instantly returned to the wood.  And the boy gave

thanks to the Lord, who, as he preserved Daniel from the hungry lions,

so now for his comfort had saved his lamb uninjured from the jaws of

the wolf.

CHAPTER IX.

_Of the Cow freed from an Evil Spirit, and Five other Cows restored to

Health._

The aunt who had nursed Saint Patrick had many cows, one of which was

tormented with an evil spirit; and immediately the cow became mad, and

tore with her feet, and butted with her horns, and wounded five other

cows, and dispersed the rest of the herd.  And the owners of the herd

lamented the mishap, and the cattle fled from her fury as from the face

of a lion.  But the boy Patrick, being armed with faith, went forward,

and, making the sign of the cross, freed the cow from the vexation of

the evil spirit; then drawing near to the wounded and prostrate cows,

having first prayed, he blessed them and restored them all even to

their former health.  And the cow, being released from the evil spirit,

well knowing her deliverer, approached with bended head, licking the

feet and the hands of the boy, and turned every beholder to the praise

of God and the veneration of Patrick.

CHAPTER X.

_Of the Water turned into Honey, and of his Nurse restored to Health._

The nurse of Saint Patrick, being oppressed with illness, longed much

for honey, by the taste whereof she trusted that her health might be

restored.  It was sought by all who stood round her, but obtained not;

and when she was told thereof, she longed so much the more earnestly

for that which she could not have, and complained that she was

remembered and assisted of none.  But her young charge, the illustrious

boy Patrick, was grieved for her, and, putting his trust in the Lord,

he commanded that a vessel might be filled with fresh water from the

fountain, and brought unto him; and he bended his knees in prayer, and,

rising, blessed it with the sign of the cross, and gave it to the woman

desiring honey.  And immediately the water was changed into the best

honey; and the woman tasted, and her soul was satisfied, and she was

relieved from her infirmity.  Thus did Patrick change water into honey

in the name of Him who, at Cana in Galilee, changed water into wine.

CHAPTER XI.

_How the Fort was Cleansed._

On a certain promontory overhanging the aforementioned town of Empthor

was erected a fort, the ruins of whose walls may yet be traced.  And

the governor thereof had reduced the nurse of Saint Patrick under the

yoke of slavery, and compelled her to be a servant unto him.  And among

other servile works enjoined to her, he had commanded her to clean with

shovels all the offices within the fort, and to carry forth the soil

from the stables.  But the woman, having an ingenuous mind, and

understanding that all power was from God, and that all things were

ordained of God, made of her necessity a virtue, and patiently bore the

servitude imposed on her.  Then the boy Patrick, compassionating his

nurse's affliction, besought the Lord that he would vouchsafe to set

her free from the labor of this servile work; and behold, as he prayed,

all the dwelling-places therein were cleansed without an human hand,

and neither within nor without could any remains of the soil be found.

And the governor and all who saw or heard this miracle marvelled; and

the nurse was released from slavery through the merits of her

foster-child.  Nor is this miracle beheld only at stated seasons, or

once in every year; for even to this day does it appear to be

continued.  And the dwellers and the neighbors bear witness that if

within the precincts of the fort as many cattle as the place could hold

were gathered to abide there together, not even the least portion of

soil could therein be found.  And the place, being in the Valley of

Clud, is called in the language of that people Dunbreatan--that is, the

Mountain of the Britons; and the miracle cannot be unknown to those who

desire to be informed thereof, inasmuch as so often it is published

abroad by all the dwellers in that country.

CHAPTER XII.

_Of the Religious Conversation of Saint Patrick._

And the boy Patrick grew up precious in the sight of the Lord, in the

old age of wisdom, and in the ripeness of virtue.  And the number of

his merits multiplied beyond the number of his years; the affluence of

all holy charities overflowed in the breast of the boy, and all the

virtues met together made their dwelling in his youthful body.

Entering, therefore, and going forward in the slippery paths of youth,

he held his feet from falling, and the garment that nature had woven

for him, unknowing of a stain, he preserved whole, abiding a virgin in

the flesh and in the spirit.  And although the divine unction had

taught him above all, the fit time being now come, he was sent from his

parents to be instructed in sacred learning.  Therefore he applied his

mind to the study of letters, but chiefly to psalms and to hymns and to

spiritual songs, and retaining them in his memory, and continually

singing them to the Lord; so that even from the flower of his first

youth he was daily wont to sing devoutly unto God the whole psaltery,

and from the vial of his most pure heart to pour forth the odor of many

prayers.  Thus wearing out his tender body in fastings, in many

watchings, and in the pious exercise of holy labors, he offered up

himself a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God; and thus

passing his days in the flesh, against the flesh, and above the flesh,

in his conversation he represented an angel.

CHAPTER XIII.

_How Saint Patrick was Carried into Ireland._

As, according to the testimony of Holy Writ, the furnace tries gold and

the fire of tribulation proves the just, so did the hour of his trial

draw near to Patrick, that he might the more provedly receive the crown

of life.  For when the illustrious boy had perlustrated three lustres,

already attaining his sixteenth year, he was, with many of his

countrymen, seized by the pirates who were ravaging those borders, and

was made captive and carried into Ireland, and was there sold as a

slave to a certain pagan prince named Milcho, who reigned in the

northern part of the island, even at the same age in which Joseph is

recorded to have been sold into Egypt.  But Joseph, being sold as a

slave, and being after his humiliation exalted, received power and

dominion over all Egypt.  Patrick, after his servitude and his

affliction, obtained the primacy of the especial and spiritual dominion

of Ireland.  Joseph refreshed with corn the Egyptians oppressed by

famine; Patrick, in process of time, fed with the salutary food of the

Christian faith the Irish perishing under idolatry.  To each was

affliction sent for the profit of his soul, as is the flail to the

grain, the furnace to the gold, the file to the iron, the wine-press to

the grape, and the oil-press to the olive.  Therefore it was that

Patrick, at the command of the forementioned prince, was appointed to

the care of the swine, and under his care the herd became fruitful and

exceedingly multiplied.  From whence it may well be learned that as the

master's substance is often increased and improved by the attention of

a diligent and fortunate servant or steward, so, on the other hand, is

it reduced and injured under an idle or unprosperous hand.  But the

holy youth, heartily embracing in his soul the judgments of the Lord,

made of his necessity a virtue, and, having in his office of a

swineherd obtained solitude, worked out his own salvation.  For he

abode in the mountains, and in the woods, and in the caves of the

wilderness, and having leisure for prayer, and knowing how kind was the

Lord, freely and more freely did he pour forth the incense of his

supplications in the presence of the Most High; and an hundred times in

the day and an hundred times in the night did he on his bended knees

adore his Creator, and often did he pray for a long time fasting, and,

nourishing himself with the roots of herbs and with the lightest food,

did he mortify his members which were stretched upon the earth.  Nor

him could heat, nor cold, nor snow, nor hail, nor ice, nor any other

inclemency of the air compel from his spiritual exercises.  Therefore

went he forward daily increasing and confirming himself more strong in

the faith and love of Christ Jesus; and the more weak and infirm he

appeared, so much the steadier and more powerful was he in fulfilling

the commands of the Lord.

CHAPTER XIV.

_Of Milcho's Dream, and of its Interpretation._

And Milcho beheld a vision in the night; and behold, Patrick entered

his palace as all on fire, and the flames issuing from his mouth, and

from his nose, and from his eyes, and from his ears, seemed to burn

him.  But Milcho repelled from himself the flaming hair of the boy, nor

did it prevail to touch him any nearer; but the flame, being spread,

turned aside to the right, and, catching on his two little daughters

who were lying in one bed, burned them even to ashes; then the south

wind, blowing strongly, dispersed their ashes over many parts of

Ireland.  And Milcho, awaking, meditated with himself on his couch what

prodigy might this remote vision portend.  On the morrow, Patrick being

called before him, he declared unto him his dream, entreating and

abjuring him that if he knew he would unfold its interpretation.  And

Patrick, being filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, answered unto

Milcho: "The fire which thou sawest to issue from me is the faith of

the Holy Trinity, with which I am entirely illumined, and which I shall

endeavor to preach unto thee; but my speech will find in thee no place,

for thou wilt, in the blindness of thine heart, repel from thee the

light of the divine grace, and thou wilt die in the darkness of thy

unbelief; but thy daughters shall at my preaching believe in the true

God, and, all the days of their lives serving God in holiness and in

justice, shall, in a pious end, rest in the Lord; and their ashes, that

is, their relics, the Lord revealing them and making of them signs,

shall be carried into many places through Ireland, and shall give the

blessing of health to many who are infirm; and thy dream is true, and

its interpretation is true, and all shall be fulfilled in due time."

Thus having said, Patrick departed to his accustomed labor; and all

these things happened unto Milcho and unto his daughters even as

Patrick had foretold.

CHAPTER XV.

_Of the Angel Victor appearing to Saint Patrick._

And six years had now passed when, under the direction of the Lord, he

had thoroughly learned the Irish tongue, and with prayers and with

tears he unceasingly besought of God that he might be released from

slavery and restored to his country.  And on a certain day appeared

unto him, while praying, an angel of the Lord, standing on the crag of

an overhanging rock, and announcing that his prayers and his fastings

had ascended as a memorial before God; and the angel added thereto that

he should soon cast from his neck the yoke of servitude, and, after a

prosperous voyage, return to his own parents.  And the servant of God

looked on the angel of God, and, conversing with him face to face

familiarly, even as with a friend, asked who he was, and by what name

was he called.  And the heavenly messenger answered that he was the

ministering spirit of the Lord, sent into the world to minister unto

them who have the heritage of salvation; that he was called Victor, and

especially deputed to the care of him, and he promised to be his

helpmate and his assistant in doing all things.  And although it is not

needful that heavenly spirits should be called by human names, yet the

angel, being beautifully clothed with an human form composed of the

air, called himself Victor, for that he had received from Christ, the

most victorious King, the power of vanquishing and binding the powers

of the air and the princes of darkness; who had also given to his

servants made of the potter's clay the power of treading on serpents

and scorpions, and of vanquishing and bruising Satan.  And in their

mutual colloquy the angel showed unto Patrick an opening in the ground

that had been delved up by the swine, and therein he directed him to

look for gold with which he might redeem himself from the hands of his

cruel master; and he added that a ship to carry him over to Britain was

ready in a harbor two hundred miles distant, and which, by the divine

will, could not have a favorable wind until he should arrive.  And the

vision of the angel, thus saying, disappeared, and his speech ended;

and, as the inhabitants assert, the marks of his feet appear even to

this day imprinted on the rock in the Mountain Mis, in the borders of

Dalnardia; and an oratory is erected there in honor of St. Patrick,

wherein the devotion of the faithful is wont to watch and pray.

CHAPTER XVI.

_How St. Patrick was Redeemed from Slavery._

And Patrick went to the place which the angel had pointed out unto him,

and he found therein no small weight of gold.  Wherefore he addressed

for his ransom his hard and cruel master, and with the offering of the

yellow metal induced his mind, greedy of gold, to grant unto him his

freedom.  Therefore, being by the aid of Mammon solemnly released from

his servitude, he went his way rejoicing, and hastened toward the sea,

desiring to return to his own country.  But Milcho repented that he had

dismissed a servant so very necessary unto him, and, falsifying his

agreement, pursued Patrick that he might bring him back and reduce him

to his former slavery, as Pharao pursued the Hebrews.  But by the

divine will, wandering both in his mind and in his course, he found not

him whom he sought.  Foiled, therefore, in his attempt, he returned

with grief and with shame.  And his sorrow was much increased, for that

not only Patrick, having obtained his freedom, had escaped, but the

gold which was the price of his freedom, on returning home, he found

not.  And with this the law accords; for to him who has served six

years in slavery, the law directs that in the seventh year shall his

freedom be restored.

CHAPTER XVII.

_How he Relieved those who were Perishing of Hunger._

And Saint Patrick, guided by his angelic guide, came unto the sea, and

he there found the ship that was to carry him to Britain, and a crew of

heathens who were in the ship freely received him, and, hoisting their

sails with a favorable wind, after three days they made land.  And

being come out of the ship, they found a region desert and inhabited of

none, and they began to travel over the whole country for the space of

twenty-four days; and for the want of food in that fearful and wide

solitude were they perishing of hunger.  And Patrick, through their

whole journey, was preaching unto those pagans the Word of God, and

disputing with them and persuading them unto the faith of the Holy

Trinity and the kingdom of heaven; but they, even as the deaf adder

that listens not to the voice of the charmer charming wisely, closed

their ears against the Word of God until misery gave them understanding

to hear.  For hunger yet more heavily assailing and oppressing them,

the greater part are said to have thus spoken: "Behold, O worshipper of

Christ! how wretched are we with want and misery, and our eyes fail us

for every need; now, therefore, implore for us thy God, whom thou

describes! and exaltest as all-powerful, that His bounty may relieve

us, and we will adore and glorify His greatness."  And Saint Patrick

answered unto them: "Believe in and confess the God who giveth food

unto all flesh, and by whom, when He openeth His hand, ye shall be

satisfied from His goodness."  And he prayed earnestly, and behold, as

he prayed for them, suddenly an herd of swine appeared, and they saw

wild honey, and therewith they were sufficed even to fulness, nor from

that day through their whole journey did ever a supply of food fail

unto them.  And this great miracle being seen, they all gave thanks

unto God and held Saint Patrick in the highest reverence.

CHAPTER XVIII.

_Of his Fast continued for Twenty Days._

And all things succeeding prosperously, and their provision much

abounding, these men soon forgot the Lord who had saved them from the

straitness of hunger, and, ungrateful for the benefits extended unto

them by the divine bounty, they sacrificed of their food to devils, and

not unto God, imitating herein those Samaritans whom the Book of Kings

records to have worshipped God, yet not to have the service of their

idols.  Wherefore it seemed good to Saint Patrick to eat no earthly

food for twenty continual days, and, albeit he was much entreated

thereto, he would in no wise join with them in their meals, lest he

should appear to be contaminated with their sacrifices.  And the power

to endure this abstinence was given unto Patrick by the Lord, who had

theretofore enabled Elias the prophet to fast forty days.

CHAPTER XIX.

_How he Overcame the Temptation of the Enemy._

The wonderful Ruler of all things, the more he exalts with signs and

with wonders his elect whom he loveth, the more does he, according to

the Apostle, suffer them to fall into divers temptations, that they may

learn and know how to preserve their strength in God, who is their

maker, and trust to nothing in themselves or of themselves.  Wherefore

Patrick, the beloved and the elect of God, is suffered by the divine

will to be grievously tempted of Satan, to increase the confusion of

the tempter and the glory of him who was tempted, and lest he should be

lifted up by the greatness of his miracles or his fastings.  For in the

night season the prince of darkness rushed on him, and oppressed him as

with the weight of a huge stone, and, falling on him, the tempter took

from him all sense and motion, causing to him darkness and heaviness,

and for the space of three days ceased not to torment and lash him

beyond human power to endure.  But the saint in his tribulation cried

unto the Lord, thrice in His name invoking Elias, the prince of

prophets, unto his aid.  And Elias, being sent of the Lord with a great

brightness, freed him from the pressure of the enemy that hemmed him

round, and, wonderfully illumining him both within and without,

refreshed the powers of his limbs and his senses.  And the enemy of

mankind, being put to confusion, was compelled to own himself

vanquished by Patrick, and that ever after he could have no power to

prevail against him.

CHAPTER XX.

_How he was again made Captive, and released by the Miracle of the

Kettle._

But Patrick, departing from the company of his fellow-travellers that

he might prove how many are the tribulations of the just through which

they must enter into the kingdom of heaven, fell into the hands of

strangers, by whom he was taken and detained; and while his spirit was

afflicted within him, the Father of mercies and God of all consolation

sent the angel Victor in the wonted manner to comfort him, promising

that in a short time he should be released from the hands of his

captors; and how truly was made the angelic promise did its speedy

fulfilment show, which followed even in the space of two months; for

the barbarians sold him to a certain man in the neighborhood for a

kettle--how small a purchase for so precious a merchandise!  But when

the vessel that had been bought with such a price was filled with

water, and placed as usual on the hearth to dress their victual, behold

it received no heat; and so much the hotter the fire burned, so much

the colder did it become; and fuel being heaped thereon, the flame

raged without, but the water within was frozen, as if ice had been

placed under instead of fire.  And they labored exceedingly thereat;

but their labor was vain, and the rumor went everywhere through the

country; and the purchaser, thinking it to have been done by

enchantment, returned his kettle to the seller, and took Patrick again

into his own power.  And the vessel thereon received the heat, and did

its accustomed office even naturally, and showed to all that this

miracle happened because Patrick had been unjustly oppressed; and

forthwith they who had taken him let him go free.  Thus, by the

heavenly power being released from the hands of strange children, was

he, after his long captivity, restored to his parents; and they,

beholding him, rejoiced with exceeding great joy, and at the return of

their son did their spirits revive as the spirits of one awakening from

a heavy sleep, and they besought of him, with entreaty of many prayers

and the abundance of many tears, that he would not again bereave them

of his presence.  Therefore, that he might show the honor and the

submission due unto his parents, he abided with them certain days.

CHAPTER XXI.

_Of Saint Patrick's Vision._

And a short space of time being passed, the while he was settled in his

lather's house, he beheld in a vision of the night a man of comely garb

and countenance, bearing many letters as if from Ireland, and holding

out to him one of them for him to read--which taking, he read, and

found therein thus written: "THIS IS THE VOICE OF THE IRISH."  But when

he would have continued to read, he seemed in the spirit to hear the

Irish infants which were yet unborn crying unto him with a loud voice,

"O holy youth Patrick! we beseech thee come unto us, and abide with us,

and release us!"  And Patrick, being pierced therewith in his heart,

could not finish the letter; but awaking, he gave infinite thanks to

God, for he was assured by the vision that the Lord had set him apart,

even from his mother's womb, had by His grace called him to convert and

to save the Irish nation, which seemed to desire his presence among

them.  And on this he consulted the angel of great counsel, and through

the angel Victor he received the divine command that, quitting his

father and his country, he should go unto France, there to learn the

doctrine and the discipline of the Christian faith.

CHAPTER XXII.

_How he dwelt with the blessed Germanus, and how he received the Habit

from Saint Martin._

Being thus instructed and directed of heaven, though both his parents

resisted and would have detained him, he, with the faithful Abraham,

quitted his country, his kindred, and his father's house, and, passing

through his native Britain, he went into France.  And lest his labor

should be fruitless, or that he might not attempt to teach what he had

not thoroughly learned, he attached himself to the blessed Bishop

Germanus, and, for his greater progress in the Christian faith and

learning, abided with him for the space of eighteen years, reading and

imbibing the Holy Scriptures (as in the acts of the blessed Germanus is

recorded).  And each had received the divine command--Patrick that he

should abide with Germanus, and the holy bishop that he should retain

and instruct the youth.  For he was a prelate, in his descent, in his

nobility, in his life, in his learning, in his office, and in his

miracles most illustrious; and from him the several degrees of the holy

orders, and at length the sacerdotal dignity according to the canons,

did Patrick receive.  With the like purpose did he some time abide with

the blessed Martin, Archbishop of Tours, who was the uncle of his

mother, Conquessa.  And as this holy luminary of the priesthood was a

monk, he gave to his nephew, Patrick, the monastic habits and rules,

the which he most devoutly assumed, and adorned by his life, and

persevered therein.  And bidding farewell, they departed the one from

the other, forasmuch as Martin was enjoined by the angel to go into a

certain island.  And Saint Patrick, returning to the blessed Germanus,

remained with him many days.

CHAPTER XXIII.

_Of the Flesh-meat changed into Fishes._

But Patrick, having now become a monk, forgetting all things that were

past, applied to the future, and, as if little accounting his former

conversation, hastened to the height of perfection.  For by incredible

abstinence, by his lengthened fasts, and by the exercise of his other

virtues, he afflicted himself, and continually bore in his heart and on

his body the mortification of that cross which his habit displayed.

But the most high Pastor, who intended to raise him to the head of the

holy Church, that he might learn to think humbly of himself, to walk

with the lowly, and to bear with the weak, permitting him to feel his

own inferiority; so that the more deeply he was fixed on the foundation

of true humility, the more firmly he might stand in the height of

perfection.  For a desire of eating meat came upon him, until, being

ensnared and carried away by his desire, he obtained swine's flesh, and

concealed it in a certain vessel, thinking rightly that he might thus

satisfy his appetite privily, which should he openly do he would become

to his brethren a stone of offence and a stumbling-block of reproach.

And he had not long quitted the place when, lo! one stood before him

having eyes before and eyes behind, whom when Patrick beheld, having

his eyes so wonderfully, even so monstrously, placed, he marvelled who

he was, and what meant his eyes fixed before and fixed behind, did

earnestly ask; and he answered, I am the servant of God.  With the eyes

fixed in my forehead I behold the things that are open to view, and

with the eyes that are fixed in the hinder part of my head I behold a

monk hiding flesh-meat in a vessel, that he may satisfy his appetite

privily.  This he said, and immediately disappeared.  But Patrick,

striking his breast with many strokes, cast himself to the earth, and

watered it with such a shower of tears as if he had been guilty of all

crimes; and while he thus lay on the ground, mourning and weeping, the

angel Victor, so often before mentioned, appeared to him in his wonted

form, saying, Arise, let thine heart be comforted; for the Lord hath

put away thine offence, and henceforward avoid backsliding.  Then St.

Patrick, rising from the earth, utterly renounced and abjured the

eating of flesh-meat, even through the rest of his life; and he humbly

besought the Lord that He would manifest unto him His pardon by some

evident sign.  Then the ange