The Life of Vincent

Here beginneth the life of Saint Vincent. And. first of the interpretation of his name.

Vincent is as much to say as burning vices, or overcoming burnings and keeping victory, for he burnt and destroyed vices by mortification of his flesh, he vanquished the burnings of torments by stedfast sufferance, he held the victory of the world by despising of the same. He vanquished three things in the world, that is to wit, false errors, foul loves, and worldly dreads, which things he overcame by wisdom, by cleanness, and by constancy. Of whom Saint Austin saith that the martyrdoms of saints have enseigned that the world is overcome with all errors, loves and dreads. And some affirm that Saint Austin wrote and compiled his passion, which Prudentius set right clearly in verses.

Vincent was noble of lineage, but he was more noble by faith and religion, and was deacon to Saint Valerian bishop. He was in his childhood set to study, where by divine providence he flowered in double science most profoundly, that is to say in divinity and humanity; to whom Saint Valerian, because he was empeshed in his tongue, committed to him the faits and works of charge, and himself entended to prayer and contemplation. And by the commandment of Dacian the provost, Vincent and Valerian were drawn to Valence and there cast in prison. And when the provost had supposed they had been almost perished for hunger and pain, he commanded them to come tofore him. And when he saw them whole and joyful he, being wroth, began to cry much strongly and said: What sayest thou Valerian which under the name of thy religion dost against the decrees of princes? And as the blessed Valerian answered lightly, Saint Vincent said to him: Worshipful father answer him not so with a timorous heart, but put out thy voice and escry him freely, and father, if thou wilt command me, I shall go answer to the judge. To whom Valerian said: Right dear son, it is long since I hare committed to thee the charge of speaking, and now it behoveth thee to answer for the faith for which we be here. Then Saint Vincent turned to the judge, and said to Dacian: Thou hast holden unto now words to reny our faith, but know thou that it is great felony to the wisdom of christian men to blame and reny our christian faith. Then Dacian, being wroth, commanded that the bishop should be put in exile, and Vincent as a man presumptuous and despitous should be put to be tormented in the place named eculeus. And it was made like a cross thwart of which the two ends were fixed in the earth, and that his members should thereon be broken, for to fear the other. And when he was all thus tobroken, Dacian said to him: Say Vincent now seest thou thy body unhappy? And Vincent smiling said to him: This is all that I have desired. Then the provost being wroth began to say and menace with many torments, and Vincent said to him: O unhappy man, how weenest thou to anger me? the more grievously that thou tormentest me, so much more pity shall God have on me. Arise up thou unhappy man and cursed, and by thy wicked spirit thou shalt be vanquished, for thou shalt find me more stronger by the virtue of God to suffer thy torments, than thou hast power to torment me. Then the provost was angry and began to cry, and the butchers took scourges and rods, and began to smite and beat him with rods of iron. And Saint Vincent said: What sayest thou, Dacian? thou thyself avengest me of my torments. Then the provost was wood, and said to the butchers: Ye wretches what do ye, why fail and wax faint your hands? Ye have overcome murderers and adulterers, so that they could hide nothing among your torments, and this Vincent only shall more surmount your torments. Then the butchers took combs of iron, and began to comb him on the sides within the flesh, that the blood ran down over all his body and that the entrails and guts appeared by the jointures of his sides. And Dacian said to him: Vincent have pity on thyself in such wise that thou mayst recover thy fair youth, and win to spare the torments that be yet to come. And Vincent said to him: O venomous tongue of the devil, I doubt nothing of thy torments, but I fear sore that thou wilt fain to have mercy on me, for so much more as I see thee angry, so much more am I rejoiced, I will that thou in no wise minish ne lessen thy torments, so that thou know that thou be vanquished in all things. Then was he taken out of the torment, and was brought into a torment of fire, and he blamed and reproved the butchers of their long tarrying. Then with his goodwill he mounted upon the gridiron and there was roasted, broiled and burnt in all his members, and was slicked with small nails of Iron, and pricked with burning poinlers of iron. And when the blood ran into the fire and made wounds upon wounds, then they cast salt into the fire, that it should sparkle and spring in the wounds of his body, on all parts of the wounds that it should more cruelly burn, and do him more pain on his body by the flames, in such wise that the pricks of iron might not hold on his members, but on his entrails which hung out of his body, so that he might not move him. And for all this he was unmovable, but he prayed our Lord Jesu Christ with joined hands up to heaven. And when the ministers had said this to Dacian, he said: Alas! we be all vanquished; and he liveth yet, and because he may yet live longer, shut ye him in a much dark prison, and gather together all the sharp shells and prick them in his feet, and let him be stretched on them without any human comfort, and when he shall be dead come and tell me. And these right cruel ministers obeyed him as to their lord right cruel, but the king for whom he suffered the pain so inhuman, changed to him all this into joy, for the darknesses were all chased away out of the prison by great light, and the sharpness of the shells were turned into softness and sweetness of all manner of flowers, his feet were unbound, and he used the comfort of the honour of angels, and like as he had gone on the flowers singing with angels, the sweet sound of the song, and the sweetness and odour of the flowers, which was marvellous, was smelled out of the prison. And when the keepers had seen through the crevices of the prison this that they saw within, they were converted and turned to the faith. And when Dacian heard this he was wood, and said: What shall we do to him more? we be overcome. Now then let him be borne into a right soft bed, with soft clothes, so that he be not made more glorious, and to the end that he die not yet, but that he be made strong again, and be kempt again in new torments. And when he was brought in a soft bed, and had therein rested a while he rendered and gave up his spirit unto God in the year of our Lord two hundred and eighty eight under Diocletian and Maximian Emperors. And when Dacian heard say that he was dead, he was much sorrowful, and said that in that wise he was also vanquished: But sith I might not overcome him living I shall punish him dead, and if I may not have victory I shall be fulfilled of the pain. Then the body of Saint Vincent was cast in a field for to be devoured of the beasts and fowls, by the commandment of Dacian, but it was kept by angels from touching of any beasts, and after came a raven which drove away all other birds and fowls, greater than he was, and chased away also a wolf with his bill and beak, and then turned his head towards the body as he that marvelled of the keeping of the angels. And when Dacian heard this thing: I trow, said he, that I may not surmount him when he is dead. Then commanded he that he should be cast into the sea with a mill stone bound to his neck, to the end that he that might not be destroyed upon the earth of beasts, should be devoured in the sea of belues and great fishes. Then the mariners that led the body in to the sea, cast it therein, but the body was sooner arrived aland than the mariners were, and was found of a lady and of some others by the revelation of Jesu Christ, and was honourably buried of them. And Saint Austin saith of this holy blessed martyr, Saint Vincent, that he vanquished so in words, he vanquished in pains, he vanquished in confession, he vanquished in tribulation, he overcame the fire, he overcame the water, he vanquished death and vanquished life. This Vincent was tormented for to dwell with God, he was scourged for to be introduced, he was beaten for to be enstrengthened, he burnt to be purged, he was gladder of the dread of God than of the world, and had liefer die to the world than to God. Also Saint Austin saith in another place that a marvellous thing is set tofore our eyes, that is: a wicked judge, a cruel tormentor, and a martyr not overcome. And Prudentius wrote of cruelty and pity, saying that Vincent said to Dacian: The torments of the prison, the nails, the ongles, the straining combs of iron, with the flames of fire, and death which is last end of the pains, all these be plays and japes to christian men. Then Dacian said as overcome: Bind him and draw his arms out of their joints, and break ye all the bones in such wise that all the members be departed, to the end that the breath of him spring out by the holes of his members so torn. And the knight of God laughed at these things, and blamed the bloody hands because they put not the hooks and nails deeper in his members. And when he was in the prison the angel of God said to him: Arise up noble martyr, surely arise up, for thou shalt be our fellow, and be accompanied with saints. O knight invincible, strongest of all strong, now these aspre torments and cruel, doubt thee now a vanquisher. And Prudentius saith: Thou art only noble of the world, thou bearest only the victory of double battle, thou hast deserved two crowns together. Pray we then to him that he impetre grace of our Lord Jesu Christ that we may deserve to come unto his bliss and joy in heaven where he reigneth. Amen.

The Life of Basil

Here followeth the Life of Saint Basil, Bishop. And first of the interpretation of his name.

Basil is said of basis in Greek, which is as much to say as a foundement, and leos, that is people, for he was foundement of them that would go to their maker. Or else it is said of basilico a serpent, for he overcame the serpent, enemy of mankind.

Saint Basil was a venerable bishop and a solemn doctor, of whom Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium wrote the life. And it was showed in a vision to an hermit, named Effrem how much holy he was. On a time as the said Effrem was in a trance he saw a pillar of fire, whose head reached heaven and a voice thereupon saying: Such is Basil, like unto this pillar that thou seest. And after this the hermit came to the city for to see at the day of Epiphany so noble a man, and when he saw him, he was clad with a white vesture going honourably with the clergy, then the hermit said to himself; I see well that I have laboured in vain, and for nought, he that is set in such honour may not be such as I have seen, we that have borne the burden and labour of the heat of the day in great pain, we had never such thing, and he here which is set in such honour, and also thus accompanied, is a column of fire, now I have great marvel what this may be. And Saint Basil that saw this in spirit, made him to be brought to him, and when he was come he saw a tongue of fire speaking in his mouth. Then said Effrem: Truly Basil is great, truly Basil is the pillar of fire, and verily the Holy Ghost speaketh in his mouth. And Effrem said to Saint Basil: Sire, I pray thee that thou impetre of God that I may speak Greek, to whom Saint Basil said: Thou hast demanded a hard thing, nevertheless he prayed for him, and he spake Greek. Another hermit saw Saint Basil, how he went in the habit of a bishop and deemed evilly in his thought, how he delighted in this estate in vain glory, and anon there came a voice that said to him: Thou delightest thee more in playing with and handling thy cat, than Basil doth in all his array and adornments.

Valens the emperor which sustained the Arian heretics, took away a church from the christian men, and gave it to the Arians, to whom Saint Basil said: O thou emperor, it is written: Honor regis judicium diligit. The honour of the king requireth true judgment, and the doom of a king is justice, and wherefore then hast thou commanded that the catholic christian men be put out of holy church? And the emperor said to him: Yet returnest thou to say villainy to me? it appertaineth not to thee. To whom Saint Basil said: It appertaineth well to me, and also to die for justice. Then Demosthenes, provost of the meats of the emperor, upholder of the Arians, spake for them, and made an answer corrupted in language for to make satisfaction. And Saint Basil said to him: It appertaineth to thee to ordain for the meats of the emperor and not to enquire of the teachings divine; the which, as confused, held him still, and said not. And the emperor said to Saint Basil: Now go thou forth and judge thou between them, and not for favour ne over great love that thou hast to that one party, ne for hate that thou hast to that other.

Then Saint Basil went to them and said tofore the Arians and to the Catholics that the doors of the church should be shut fast, and sealed with the seals of either party, and that every one should pray to God for his right, and that the church should be delivered to them at whose prayer it should open. And thus they accorded. The Arians put them to prayer three days and three nights, and when they came to the doors they opened not. Then Saint Basil ordained a procession, and came to the church, and knocked a stroke with his crook, saying: Attollite portas principes vestras, etc., and anon as he had said the verse the doors opened, and they entered in and gave laud and praisings to God, and so was their church rendered to them again. And after, the emperor did promise to Saint Basil much good and honour if he would consent to him. And Saint Basil said that was a demand to make to children, for they that be fulfilled with divine words will not suffer that one only syllable of the divine science be corrupted. Then the emperor had great indignation of him, and took a pen for to write the sentence on him that he should be exiled, and the first pen brake, and the second, and also the third, and his hand began to tremble for fear; then in great indignation he all to-rent the schedule.

There was an honest worshipful man named Heradius which had but one daughter, whom he disposed to consecrate to God, but the fiend, enemy to mankind, inflamed and made one of the servants of the same to burn in the love of this maid. And when he remembered that he was but a servant, him thought it not possible, that ever he should attain to come to his desire of so noble a virgin. He went to an enchanter to whom he promised great quantity of money if he would help him, to whom the enchanter answered that he could not do it; But I shall send thee to the devil which is my master and lord, and if thou do that he shall say to thee, thou shalt have thy desire; and the young man said he would so do. And this enchanter sent a letter by him to the devil, this containing:

My lord and master, because that I must hastily and busily draw all them that I may from the religion of christendom, and bring them to thy will, to the end that thy party alway grow and multiply, I send to thee this young man, esprised in the love of the maid, and demandeth that his desires may be acomplished, that herein I have glory and honour, and that from now forthon I may gather to thee and draw more. Then he gave him his letter, and bad him go, and at midnight stand upon the tomb of a paynim, and call the devil, and hold up this letter in the air, and anon he shall come to thee. And he anon went forth and did as he was bidden, and held the letter in the air, and forthwith came the prince of darkness fellowshipped with a great multitude of fiends, and when he had read the schedule he said to the young man: Wilt thou believe in me if I accomplish thy desire? And he answered that he would so do. Then the devil said to him: Reny then Jesu Christ, which said: I reny him. And the devil said to him: Ye christian men, ye be all false and untrue, for when ye have to do ye come to me, and when ye have that ye demand, anon after ye reny me, and return to your Jesu Christ, and he receiveth you because he is right debonair; but if thou wilt that I do thy will, make a bond of thine own handwriting and deliver it to me, and let it contain that thou hast forsaken Jesu Christ, thy baptism, and the profession of christian religion, and that thou be my servant and with me at the judgment to be damned; and anon all this he wrote and took it to the devil, and put him in his servitude; and anon the devil took with him fiends that served for fornication, and commanded them that they should go and inflame the heart of that maid in the love of that young man. The which came to her and so inflamed her in the love of that young man that she fell down to the ground tofore her father crying piteously and saying: Father have pity on me, for cruelly I am tormented for the love of your servant; have mercy on me, and show to me your fatherly love that ye owe to me, that ye give to me in marriage the young man that I desire, and if ye do not, ye shall see anon that I shall die, and thereof shall ye answer at the day of doom. And the father weeping said: Alas! wretched that I am; what is to me befallen, God have mercy on my daughter that thus taketh away my treasure and quencheth the light of mine eyes, I would have given thee to the spouse of heaven, and weened to have saved thee, and thou art demeasured in worldly love and fleshly. Abide daughter and tarry that I may marry thee to him that I had purposed, and bring not me my last days in sorrow. And she cried and said: Father, do as I have said, or anon thou shalt see me dead. And so as she wept bitterly as out of her wit, the father in great desolation of heart moved by the counsel of his friends, and deceived, did her pleasure and married her to the young man and gave to her all his substance, saying: Go forth my daughter, very caitiff that thou art, and forth she went and took him to her husband and they dwelled together. The husband went not to church, ne he blessed him not, ne recommended him not to God, whereof many of the neighbours noted it, and said to the wife: This young man that thou hast taken is not christened, ne he goeth not to the church. And when she heard that she was much abashed, and for sorrow fell down to the ground, and with her nails began to scratch her face, and beat her breast and said: Alas! most miserable wretch that I am, whereto was I born? I would I had perished in my birth. And then she told her husband what she had heard of him. and he answered that it was nothing so; then said she: If thou wilt that I believe thee, thou and I shall to-morn go to church, and then shall I know if it be true that thou sayest. Then he yielded him, confused, and saw well that he might not deny but it was so, and told to her all that he had done. And when she had heard all the case how he had done, she began to wail and to weep strongly, and forthwith went to Saint Basil and rehearsed to him all that she had heard of her husband. And Saint Basil sent for the husband and said to him: My son, wilt thou return again to God? Sire, said he, yea, but I may not, for I have bound myself to the devil, and renied Jesu Christ, and thereof I have made a writing of my hand and delivered it to him. And Saint Basil said to him: Thereof no force; our Lord is debonair and merciful, and shall receive thee if thou repentest thee. And anon took the young man and made the sign of the cross on his forehead, and shut him in a chamber three days. After, he went to see him, and demanded saying: My son, how is it with thee? And he answered: Sire, I am in great pain, and in great anguish, in such ways that I may not bear the clamours, the terrors, and the lapidiments that the fiends do to me, for they hold in their hands my writing in accusing me, and saying I came to them and not they to me. Then said Basil: My son, be not afeard, but put firmly thy belief in Jesu Christ. And Saint Basil gave to him a little meat for to comfort him and marked him with the sign of the cross, and closed him again, and he went and prayed for him. After certain days passed, he went and visited him again, and asked how it was with him, and he answered much better than tofore. I hear their clamours and their menaces, but I see them not. Saint Basil gave him meat and closed the door and blessed him, and went and prayed God for him, and forty days after he returned and said to him: My son, how is it with thee? He answered: Holy father, it is well with me this day for I have seen thee fight for me, and overcome the devil. Then he took him out, and called all the clergy, the religiouses, and the people, and warned them that they should pray all for him, and led the young man by the hand to the church. And anon the devil with a great multitude of fiends, without seeing of any man, took the young man and pained them to take him out of the hand of Saint Basil. And the young man began to cry; Holy saint of God, help me. And the fiends enforced them so greatly that they made Saint Basil to move in holding the young man. Saint Basil said: Thou cursed and cruel fiend, sufficeth not to thee enough thy perdition proper, but thou must tempt the creatures of my God for to have them lost? The devil then said, hearing many, O Basil, thou grievest and annoyest me much. Then all the people cried, Kyrie eleison, and Saint Basil said to the devil: Our Lord God blame and reprove thee, cursed fiend. And the devil said to him, Basil, thou grieves and annoyest me much; I went not to him, but he came to me, he hath renied his God and hath confessed me to be his lord, lo! here in my hand the writing that he gave to me. And Saint Basil said to him: We shall not cease to pray for him unto the time that thou shalt deliver his writing. And thus as Saint Basil prayed holding the hand of the young man, the schedule which he had made was brought in the air in the sight of all, and was laid in the hand of Saint Basil, the which received it and said to the child; Brother, knowest thou these letters? And he answered him: I know them well, for they were written with my hand. Then Saint Basil brake them, and led the child to the church, and so ordained and disposed him, that he was worthy to receive the holy sacrament and after, he being enseigned and taught, delivered to him a rule how he should keep him, and delivered him to his wife.

Also there was a woman that had committed many sins, the which she all wrote, and at the end there was one more grievous than the other, which in the writing she delivered to Saint Basil, praying him to pray for her, and that by his prayers her sins might be forgiven. And then he prayed for her, and the woman opened the bill, wherein she found all the sins defaced and put out except the grievous sin. And she came to Saint Basil and said: Thou holy saint of God, have mercy on me, and get me forgiveness for this, like as thou hast done for the other, and Saint Basil said to the woman: Leave and go from me, woman, for I am a man, sinful as thou art, which have need of pardon as much as thou. And as that she was busy and grievous to him, he said to her: Go unto the holy man that is named Effrem, and demand of him that he may get pardon for thee. And when she came to the holy man Effrem, and had told to him where fore she was sent to him from Saint Basil, he said to her: Go from me, for I am a sinful man, but go again to Saint Basil, and it is he that may get thee forgiveness for this sin like as he did for the other; and haste thee to the end that thou mayst find him alive. And when she came into the city, Saint Basil was borne to the church for to be buried, and she began to cry, saying: God be judge between me and thee, for thou mayst well appease God for me, and thou hast sent me to another, and anon she threw the bill upon the covering of the bier. And anon after she took it again, and opened it, and found it all plain, and out clean of the bill, and then with others she gave thankings to God. Tofore or Saint Basil died, he being in the malady that he died, he did do come a Jew to him which was much expert in physic, and he loved him because he saw that he should be converted to the faith. And when he was come, he felt his pulse, and saw that he was nigh his end, and said to his meiny: Make ye ready such thing as behoveth for his sepulture, for he shall die anon. Which word Saint Basil heard and said to him: Thou wottest not what thou sayest; and the Jew, named Joseph, said to him: This day shalt thou die when the sun shall go down in the west. To whom Saint Basil said : What shalt thou say if I die not this day? To whom Joseph said: Sire, it is not otherwise possible. Then said Saint Basil: if I live unto the morrow noon what shalt thou do? And Joseph said: If thou live until the morrow that hour I shall die; and Saint Basil said: thou sayst truth, thou shalt die, that is, sin shall die in thee to the end that thou shalt live in Jesu Christ. And Joseph said: I wot well what thou sayest, and if thou live unto that time I shall do that thou sayest. Then Saint Basil said, how well that by nature he should have died anon forthwith, yet he gat and impetred of God space that he should not then die, and lived unto the morn at noon, which thing seeing, Joseph marvelled much and believed in Jesu Christ.

Saint Basil then took heart. and overcame the feebleness of the body, and arose out of his bed, and went to the church, and with his proper hands baptized the Jew, and after returned to his bed, and anon gave up his spirit, and rendered his soul unto God about the year of our Lord three hundred and seventy. Then let us pray to him that he get us grace of our Lord Jesu Christ, that he will forgive us all our sins.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 476