CHAPTER CLXX.

The Threefold Plague is driven out of Hibernia by Saint Patrick.

And the most holy Patrick applied all his diligence unto the extirpation of this threefold plague; and at length by his salutary doctrine and fervent prayer he relieved Hibernia of the increasing mischief. Therefore he, the most excellent pastor, bore on his shoulder the staff of Jesus, and aided of the angelic aid, he by its comminatory elevation gathered together from all parts of the island all the poisonous creatures into one place; then compelled he them all unto a very high promontory, which then was called Cruachan-ailge, but now Cruachan-Phadruig; and by the power of his word he drove the whole pestilent swarm from the precipice of the mountain headlong into the ocean. O eminent sign! O illustrious miracle! even from the beginning of the world unheard, but now experienced by tribes, by peoples, and by tongues, known unto all nations, but to the dwellers in Hibernia especially needful! And at this marvellous yet most profitable sight, a numerous assembly was present; many of whom had flocked from all parts to behold miracles, many to receive the word of life.

Then turned he his face toward Mannia, and the other islands which he had imbued and blessed with the faith of Christ and with the holy sacraments; and by the power of his prayers he freed all these likewise from the plague of venomous reptiles. But other islands, the which had not believed at his preaching, still are cursed with the procreation of those poisonous creatures. And he converted innumerable evil-doers unto the faith; but many who continued obstinate, and hardened in their perverseness, he destroyed from the face of the earth (as we have already recorded); and from the men of Hibernia, whom he made servants unto the true and living God, prayed he of the Lord that the visions of the demons and their wonted injuries should be driven away; and he obtained his prayer.



CHAPTER CLXXI.

Without Earthly Food the Saint completeth a Fast of Forty Days.

And that in Hibernia or in the other islands which had received his blessing no poisonous animal should continue or revive, nor the wonted troop of demons therein abide, the saint completed without earthly food a fast of forty days. For he desired to imitate in his mystical fast Moses, who was then bound by the natural law, or rather Elias the prophet, appointed under the law; but most principally desiring to please the great Founder of nature, the Giver of the law and of grace, Jesus Christ, who in Himself had consecrated such a fast. Therefore he ascended the high mountain in Conactia, called Cruachan-ailge, that he might there more conveniently pass the Lent season before the Passion; and that there, desiring and contemplating the Lord, he might offer unto Him the holocaust of this fast. And he disposed there five stones, and placed himself in the midst; and therein, as well in the manner of his sitting as in the mortification of his abstinence, showed he himself the servant of the cross of Christ. And there he sat solitary, raising himself above himself; yet gloried he only in the cross, which constantly he bore in his heart and on his body, and ceaselessly he panted toward his holy Beloved; and he continued and hungered in his body, but his inward man was satisfied, and filled, and wounded with the sweetness of divine contemplation, the comfort of angelic visitation, and the sword of the love of God: "For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even unto the separation of the body and the spirit," wherewith the saint was wounded, even unto holy love.



CHAPTER CLXXII.

He banisheth the Demons forth of the Island.

And the demons grieved for their lost dominion, and assailing the saint they tormented him in his prayers and his fastings; and they fluttered around him like birds of the blackest hue, fearful in their form, their hugeness, and their multitude, and striving with horrible chatterings to prevent his prayer, long time they disturbed the man of God. But Patrick being armed with His grace, and aided by His protection, made the sign of the cross, and drove far from him those deadly birds; and by the continual sounding of his cymbal, utterly banished them forth of the island. And being so driven away, they fled beyond the sea, and being divided in troops among the islands which are alien unto the faith and love of God, there do they abide and practise their delusions. But from that time forward, even unto this time, all venomous creatures, all fantasies of demons, have through the merits and the prayers of the most holy father Patrick entirely ceased in Hibernia. And the cymbal of the saint, which from his frequent percussions thereof appeared in one part broken, was afterward repaired by an angel's hand; and the mark is beheld on it at this day. Likewise on the summit of this mountain many are wont to watch and to fast, conceiving that they will never after enter the gates of hell; the which benefit they account to be obtained to them of God through the merits and the prayers of Patrick. And some who have thereon passed the night relate them to have suffered grievous torments, whereby they think themselves purified of all their sins; and for such cause many call this place the Purgatory of Saint Patrick.



CHAPTER CLXXIII.

Troops of Angels appear unto the Saint.

And God, the ruler of all, who after darkness bringeth light, compassionated his servant; and so soon as the evil spirits were driven forth, a multitude of angels poured around the place with exceeding brightness, and with wondrous melody they comforted the saint. And he, having finished his fast of forty days, offered the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving unto God, who had vouchsafed to mortal man the virtue of so great abstinence, and had bestowed such mercies through the intercession of Him. And moreover he rejoiced in the angelic salutation. Then being led by the angels, he descended from the mountain, and smote his cymbal, the sound whereof the Lord caused to be heard through all parts of Hibernia. Thence, let none of the faithful doubt that every man even over the whole world will hear the sound of the last trumpet. And raising his hands, Saint Patrick blessed the island and all the dwellers therein, and commended them unto Christ.

Now understand ye how it was the custom of Patrick, as of the other ancient saints who abided in the islands, to have with them cymbals, for the expulsion of evil spirits, for their own bodily exercise, to proclaim the hours of the day and night, and for I know not what other causes. One thing, however, is certain, that many miracles are known to have been performed by the sound or the touch of these cymbals. Therefore at the Lord's Supper, the blessed Patrick going forth of his retirement into public view, rejoiced with his presence the whole church of the saints who were born of his preaching unto Christ. And there he discharged his episcopal office, the which he always joined with those sacred seasons; and thus went he forward in the work of salvation.



CHAPTER CLXXIV.

The Saint titheth Hibernia and the Dwellers therein.

Then at the Paschal tide, his accustomed devotions being finished, he went round the whole island with a holy multitude of his sons whom he had brought forth unto Christ; and everywhere teaching the way of the Lord, he converted to, or confirmed in, the faith the dwellers therein. And all the islanders, unto whom had come even the knowledge of his name, for this so strange and wondrous miracle surrendered themselves to him and to his doctrine, as to an angel of light, and devoutly they obeyed him for their peculiar apostle. Then this most excellent husbandman, seeing the hardness of the Lord's field to be softened, and the thorns, the thistles, and the tares rooted forth, labored to fertilize it so much the more abundantly with the increase of profitable seed, that it produced good fruit not only to the increase of thirty or sixty, but even of an hundred-fold. Therefore he caused the whole island to be divided with a measuring line, and all the inhabitants, both male and female, to be tithed; and every tenth head, as well of human kind as of cattle, commanded he to be set apart for the portion of the Lord. And making all the men monks, and the women nuns, he builded many monasteries, and assigned unto them for their support the tithe of the land and of the cattle. Wherefore in a short space so it was that no desert spot, nor even any corner of the island, nor any place therein, however remote, was unfilled with perfect monks and nuns; so that Hibernia was become rightly distinguished by the especial name of the Island of Saints. And these lived according to the rule of Saint Patrick, with a contempt of the world, a desire of heaven, a holy mortification of the flesh, and an abandonment of all pleasure; equalling the Egyptian monks in their merit and in their number, so that with their conversation and example they edified far distant countries. And in the days of Saint Patrick, and for many ages of his successors, no one was advanced unto the episcopal degree or the cure of souls, unless by the revelation of the divine Spirit or by some other evident sign he was proved worthy thereof.



CHAPTER CLXXV.

The different States of Hibernia are in a Heavenly Vision shown unto the Saint.

And the man of God anxiously desired and earnestly prayed that he might be certified of the present and the future state of Hibernia, to the end that he might be assured of the faith, or of the value that his labors bore in the sight of God. Then the Lord heard the desire of his heart, and manifested the same unto him by an evident revelation; for while he was engaged in prayer, and the heart of his mind was opened, he beheld the whole island as it were a flaming fire ascending unto heaven; and he heard the angel of God saying unto him: "Such at this time is Hibernia in the sight of the Lord." And after a little space he beheld in all parts of the island even as mountains of fire stretching unto the skies. And again after a little space he beheld as it were candles burning, and after a while darkness intervened; and then he beheld fainter lights, and at length he beheld coals lying hidden here and there, as reduced unto ashes, yet still burning. And the angel added: "What thou seest here shown, such shall be the people of Hibernia." Then the saint, exceedingly weeping, often repeated the words of the Psalmist, saying: "Whether will God turn himself away for ever, and will he be no more entreated? Shall his mercy come to an end from generation to generation? Shall God forget to be merciful, and shut up his mercy in his displeasure?" And the angel said, "Look toward the northern side, and on the right hand of a height shalt thou behold the darkness dispersed from the face of the light which thenceforth will arise." Then the saint raised his eyes, and behold, he at first saw a small light arising in Ulydia, the which a long time contended with the darkness, and at length dispersed it, and illumined with its rays the whole island. Nor ceased the light to increase and to prevail, even until it had restored to its former fiery state all Hibernia. Then was the heart of the saint filled with joy, and his heart with exultation, giving thanks for all these things which had been shown unto him: and he understood in the greatness of this fiery ardor of the Christian faith the devotion and the zeal of religion, wherewith those islanders burned. By the fiery mountains he understood the men who would be holy in their miracles and their virtues, eminent in their preachings and their examples; by the lessening of the light, the decrease of holiness; by the darkness that covered the land, the infidelity which would prevail therein; by the intervals of delay, the distances of the succeeding times. But the people think the period of darkness was that in which Gurmundus and Turgesius, heathen princes of Norwegia, conquered and ruled in Hibernia; and in those days, the saints, like coals covered with ashes, lay hidden in caves and dens from the face of the wicked, who pursued them like sheep unto the slaughter. Whence it happened that differing rites and new sacraments, which were contrary to the ecclesiastical institutes, were introduced into the church by many prelates who were ignorant of the divine law. But the light first arising from the north, and after long conflict exterminating the darkness, those people assert to be Saint Malachy, who presided first in Dunum, afterward in Ardmachia, and reduced the island unto the Christian law. On the other hand, the people of Britain ascribe this light to their coming, for that then the church seemed under their rule to be advanced unto a better state; and that then religion seemed to be planted and propagated, and the sacraments of the church and the institutes of the Christian law to be observed with more regular observance. But I propose not the end of this contention, neither do I prevent it, thinking that the discussion and the decision thereof should be left unto the divine judgment.



CHAPTER CLXXVI.

The Answer of Saint Patrick to Secundinus.

And oftentimes the Saint Secundinus sat in the assembly of the holy men, conversing together of the acts and the virtues of Saint Patrick. And when one of them affirmed that Patrick was the most holy of all living men, Secundinus answered, "Verily, he would be the most holy, had he not too little of that brotherly charity which it becometh him to have." And this saying, uttered in the presence of so many of his disciples, was not long concealed from the saint. Therefore it came to pass that when Saint Patrick and Secundinus afterward met together, the master enquired of his disciple, the metropolitan of his suffragan, why he had spoken such a word of him, or rather against him. And Secundinus replied, "So did I say, because thou refusest the gifts offered unto thee of rich men, and wilt not accept farms and inheritances, wherewith thou mightest sustain the great multitude of the saints which are gathered unto thee." Then Saint Patrick answered and said, "For the increase of charity is it that I do not accept these works of charity; inasmuch as were I to receive all that are offered unto me, I should not leave even the pasturage of two horses for the saints which will come after us." Then Secundinus repenting of the word which he had spoken, entreated forgiveness of the saint; and he, with his wonted kindness, accorded it unto his penitence.



CHAPTER CLXXVII.

Secundinus composeth a Hymn in Honor of Saint Patrick.

And Secundinus, who was exceeding wise and learned, said unto Saint Patrick that he desired to compose a hymn in honor of a saint who was yet living. This he said, for that the saint of whom he purposed to write was Patrick himself; and therefore concealed he the name in silence. Then answered the saint: "Verily, it is worthy, and fit, and right, and profitable, that the people should tell the wisdom of the saints, and that the congregation should speak of their praise; but yet is it more becoming that the subject of our praise should not be praised until after his death. Praise thou therefore the clearness of the day, but not until the evening cometh; the courage of the soldier, but not until he hath triumphed; the fortune of the sailor, but not until he hath landed; for the Scripture saith, Thou shalt praise no man in his lifetime. Nevertheless, if so thy mind is fixed, what thou proposest to do, that do thou quickly; for death draweth nigh unto thee, and of all the bishops which are in Hibernia, shalt thou be the first to die." Therefore Secundinus composed a hymn in honor of Saint Patrick, and after a few days, according to the word of the saint, he died; and he was buried in his own church, in a place which he called Domnhach-Seachlainn, and by manifold miracles showeth himself to live in Christ. And this hymn are many of the islanders daily wont to sing, and from its repetition they affirm many and great wonders to have happened; for divers, while singing this hymn, have passed unseen through their enemies who were thirsting for their blood, and who were stricken with that sort of blindness which physicians term acrisia.



CHAPTER CLXXVIII.

The Soul of a Certain Sinner is by Saint Patrick freed from Demons.

And on a time a certain saint, named Kaennechus, saw in Hibernia troops of demons passing along, armed with infernal instruments; whom having adjured in the name of the Holy Trinity, he compelled to declare the cause of their coming thither. And they, thus adjured, confessed, though unwillingly, that they came to bear away the soul of a certain most wicked sinner, who for his sins deserved to be carried into hell. Then Kaennechus enjoined them in the name of the Lord to return unto him, and to tell him what they had done. And after some hours had passed, the demons returned with confusion, and declared that by the power of Patrick they had lost their expected prey; for that this man had in every year during his life celebrated with a great feast the festival of Saint Patrick, and had every day repeated certain chapters of the hymn which had been composed in his honor; and therefore, they said, had Saint Patrick snatched him from their hands, as his own proper right. Thus saying, the demons vanished into thin air; and Kaennechus rejoiced in these things, and by the relation excited many unto the frequent repetition of this hymn in honor of Saint Patrick.



CHAPTER CLXXIX.

How the Saint appeared unto Colmanus while singing his Hymn.

A certain abbot, a disciple of Saint Patrick, named Colmanus, was accustomed frequently to repeat this hymn; and when he was asked of the disciples why he would not rather sing the appointed offices and psalms, inasmuch as once to sing this hymn ought to suffice him, he continually beheld the face of his beloved father, Patrick, nor could he ever be satisfied with the contemplation thereof. This, though happening long after the death of Saint Patrick, we have written and recorded among his acts; that we may show how this hymn was esteemed among the people of Hibernia, and how ready was he in the hour of necessity and tribulation to aid those who honored him, and who frequently celebrated his memory.



CHAPTER CLXXX.

The Admirable Contemplations of the Saint.

As Saint Patrick, the preacher of truth, while yet living in the flesh, recalled and incited by his example and conversation many living men, who yet were dead, unto the true life, so did he by his prayers bring many who were buried unto the land of the living. For divers which were deceased, he by his powerful prayers snatched from the depths of eternal punishment, and from the roaring lions which were prepared for their food, and bringing them to the expiatory place, restored them unto salvation. And he, being often made the contemplator of the divine mysteries, beheld the heavens opened, and the Lord Jesus standing in the middle of the multitude of angels; and this, while he offered the holy immolation of the Son of God, and devoutly sang the Apocalypse of John, did Patrick merit to behold. For while in his meditations he admired these admirable visions, unto the sight of their similitude was he lifted up in the Lord. And the angel Victor, so often before named, thrice in each week appeared unto him, and comforted and consoled him with mutual colloquy.



CHAPTER CLXXXI.

Saint Patrick beholdeth the Souls of the Rich and of the poor Man sent unto different Places.

Oftentimes did the saint behold the souls of men going forth of their bodies, some unto places of punishment, others unto places of reward; one instance whereof we think worthy to record, inasmuch as the saint was wont to relate it for the purpose of edification. There was a man who had a great name, according as names are in this world accounted great; and he had flocks of sheep, and herds of oxen, and his possessions increased on the earth. And this man died; and a long assembly of his children and his kindred celebrated his obsequies with much pomp and honor according to the estimation of men, and so committed him unto the common mother. And they who account blessed the man unto whom these things are given, declared him happy, whose life was so fortunate, and whose death so honorable; and they thought that he very much had pleased the Lord. But the other man was a beggar, who having lived all his life in wretchedness and in poverty, went the way of all flesh. And his body long time lay without the ministry of the funeral rites, unburied, and mangled by the birds of prey; and at length was it dragged by the feet into a pit-hole, and covered with turf; and they who judge according to outward show esteemed this man most miserable and unfortunate. But the saint pronounced the opinion of men to differ from the righteousness of Him who searcheth the reins and the heart, whose judgments are a deep abyss; and he declared that he saw the soul of that rich man plunged by the demons into hell; but the spirit of the poor man, whose life was accounted as foolishness, and his end without honor, was reckoned among the children of God, and his lot of blessedness was among the saints. "Truly," said he, "the sons of men are vain, and their judgments are false in the weight; but the just God loveth justice, and his countenance beholdeth righteousness; and in the balance of his righteousness weigheth he the pleasures and the riches of this evil man, and the sins of this poor man, haply whereby he hath merited the wrath and the misfortunes which he bore; and the one from his honor and his glory he adjudged unto present torment; and the other, which had atoned in the furnace of poverty and of affliction, mercifully sent he unto the heavenly joys." Nor did the saint behold this of these men only, but often of many others did he behold and relate such things. Thus what the word of truth had before told of the rich man clothed in purple and the poor man covered with sores did this friend of truth declare himself to have beheld of other.



CHAPTER CLXXXII.

Saint Vinvaloeus is miraculously stayed by Saint Patrick from his purposed Journey.

And in Lesser Britain lived a venerable man, named Vinvaloeus, who was even from his infancy renowned for signs and wonders; for as his acts are recorded, very many exceeding great miracles are attested to have been done by him. And he, the south wind so blowing that all his perfumes breathed forth, heard the holy name of Saint Patrick, and earnestly desired he to hasten unto the odor of his virtues. And long time he pondered and desired; and at length determined he to leave his country and his parents, and to go unto Hibernia to serve Christ under the discipulate and disciplinate of Saint Patrick; but when the night came, with the morrow whereof he purposed to begin his journey, he beheld in a vision that most illustrious man standing before him, clothed in his pontifical vestments; and then said he unto him: "Know thou me, beloved Vinvaloeus, to be the Patrick unto whom thou purposest to travel; yet weary thou not thyself, nor seek thou him whom thou canst not find; for the hour of my dissolution draweth nigh, when I shall go the way of all flesh. Therefore it is the will of God that thou leavest not this place; but by thy conversation and example shalt thou endeavor to gain over a people acceptable unto him, and which shall follow good works; forasmuch as the crown of life is yet to be seen, which he hath promised unto those who love him." Thus saying, the vision disappeared, and Vinvaloeus did as he was bidden of heaven. Now let the hearer admire his perfection, who by the spirit which was in him saw the desire of the holy man dwelling in Armorica, and thus wondrously changed him from the purpose of his intended journey.



CHAPTER CLXXXIII.

The Daily Prayers and Genuflexions of the Saint.

And now, the cloud of unbelief, by whose eclipse the people of Hibernia so long had wanted the warmth and the light of the true sun, being dispersed, now did the tongue, the life, the virtue of the blessed Patrick, so long as the breath and the Spirit of God were in his nostrils, avail unto the things which were begun, continued, and ended in the Lord; giving the knowledge of salvation, affording the example of holiness, extending the remedy of all diseases. And verily, this peculiar habit of life, which he exercised in secret, was daily and perpetual; inasmuch as every day was he wont diligently to sing the entire Psaltery, with many songs and hymns, and the Apocalypse of the Apostle John, and two hundred prayers before God; three hundred times did he bend his knees in adoration of the Lord; every canonical hour of the day did he one hundred times sign himself with the sign of the cross. Nevertheless did he not omit every day worthily and devoutly to offer up unto the Father the sacrifice of the Son; and never ceased he to teach the people or instruct his disciples.



CHAPTER CLXXXIV.

How he passed the Night Season.

And in a wondrous manner dividing the night season, thus did this wakeful guardian and laborer in the Lord's vineyard distinguish that also. For in the earliest part thereof having with two hundred genuflexions and one hundred psalms praised God, then applied he unto study and in the latter part, he plunged himself into cold water, and raising his heart, his voice, his eyes, and his hands towards heaven, offered he one hundred and fifty prayers. Afterward he stretched himself on a bare stone, and of another stone making a pillow, he rested his most sanctified body with a short sleep; or, that more clearly we may speak, he refreshed himself unto the labor of his continual conflict. With such rest indulging, he girded his loins with roughest hair-cloth, the which had been dipped in cold water; lest haply the law of the flesh, warring in his members against the law of the Spirit, should excite any spark of the old leaven. Thus did Saint Patrick with spare and meagre food, and with the coarsest clothing, offer himself a holy and living sacrifice, acceptable unto God; nor suffered he the enemy to touch in him the walls of Jerusalem, but he inflicted on his own flesh the penance of perpetual barrenness; and that he should not bring forth children which might hereafter be worthy of death, made he his spirit fruitful of abundant fruit.



CHAPTER CLXXXV.

The Habit, the Bearing, and the Acts of Saint Patrick.

And until the five and fiftieth year of his age, wherein he was advanced in Hibernia unto the episcopal degree, did he after the manner of the apostles continually travel on foot; and thenceforth, by reason of the difficulty of the journey, he used a chariot, according to the manner of the country. And over his other garments he was clothed with a white cowl, so that in the form and the candid color of his habit he showed his profession, and proved himself the candidate of lowliness and purity. Whence it came to pass that the monks in Hibernia following his example, for many years were contented with the simple habit which the wool of the sheep afforded unto them, untinged with any foreign dye. And he kept his hands clear from any gift, ever accounting it more blessed to give than to receive; therefore when any gift was given unto him by any rich man, he hastened so soon as might be to give it unto the poor, lightening himself thereof as of a heavy burden. In his countenance, in his speech, in his gait, in all his members, in his whole body, did he edify the beholders; and his discourse was well seasoned, and suited unto every age, sex, rank, and condition. In four languages, the British, the Hibernian, the Gallic, and the Latin, was he thoroughly skilled; and the Greek language also did he partly understand. The little Book of Proverbs, which he composed in the Hibernian tongue, and which is full of edification, still existeth; and his great volume, called Canoin Phadruig, that is, the canons of Patrick, suiteth every person, be he secular, be he ecclesiastic, unto the exercise of justice and the salvation of souls. Whensoever he was addressed for the exposition of profound questions or difficult cases, always, according to the custom of his lowliness, did he answer: "I know not, God knoweth "; but when great necessity compelled him to certify the word of his mouth, he always confirmed it by attesting his Judge. So excellent was he in the spirit of prophecy that he foretold divers future things even as if they were present; things absent he well knew, and whatsoever fell from his lips, without even the smallest doubt did that come to pass. So evidently did he foretell of the saints which for an hundred years thereafter would be born in Hibernia, but chiefly in Momonia and Conactia; that he showed even their names, their characters, and the places of their dwelling. Whomsoever he bound, them did the divine justice bind; whosoever he loosed, them did the divine justice loose; with his right hand he blessed, with his left hand he cursed; and whom he blessed, on them came the blessing of the Lord; whom he cursed, on them came the heavenly malediction; and the sentence which issued from his lips, unshaken and fixed did it remain, even as had it gone forth of the eternal judgment-seat. Whence doth it plainly appear, that this holy man being faithful unto God, was with Him as one spirit. Yet though in his manifold virtues he equalled or excelled all other saints, in the virtue of lowliness did he excel even himself; for in his epistles he was wont to mention himself as the lowest, the least, and the vilest of all sinners; and little accounting the signs and the miracles which he had wrought, he thought himself to be compared not to any perfect man; and being but of small stature, he used often to call himself a dwarf. And not seldom, after the manner of the Apostle Paul, he toiled with manual labor, fishing, and tilling the ground; but chiefly in building churches, to the which employment he much urged his disciples, both by exhortation and example. Nevertheless, right earnestly did he apply himself unto baptizing the people and ordaining the ministers of the church. Three hundred bishops and fifty did he consecrate with his own hand; seven hundred churches did he endow; five thousand clerical men did he advance unto the priestly rank. But of the other ministers whom he appointed unto the inferior orders, of the monks and the nuns whom he dedicated unto the divine service, God alone knoweth the number.



CHAPTER CLXXXVI.

Of the Sick whom he healed, and the Dead whom he raised; and of his Disciples who recorded his Acts.

Therefore under this most sanctified rule of life did he shine in so many and so great miracles that he appeared second to no other saint. For the blind and the lame, the deaf and the dumb, the palsied, the lunatic, the leprous, the epileptic, all who labored under any disease, did he in the name of the Holy Trinity restore unto the power of their limbs and unto entire health; and in these good deeds was he daily practised. Thirty and three dead men, some of whom had many years been buried, did this great reviver raise from the dead, as above we have more fully recorded. And of all those things which so wondrously he did in the world, sixty and six books are said to have been written, whereof the greater part perished by fire in the reigns of Gurmundus and of Turgesius. But four books of his virtues and his miracles yet remain, written partly in the Hibernian, partly in the Latin language; and which at different times four of his disciples composed—namely, his successor, the blessed Benignus; the Bishop Saint Mel; the Bishop Saint Lumanus, who was his nephew; and his grand-nephew Saint Patricius, who after the decease of his uncle returned into Britain, and died in the church of Glascon. Likewise did Saint Evinus collect into one volume the acts of Saint Patrick, the which is written partly in the Hibernian and partly in the Latin tongue. From all which, whatsoever we could meet most worthy of belief, have we deemed right to transmit in this our work unto after-times.



CHAPTER CLXXXVII.

The Angelic Voice showeth unto Saint Patrick of his Death and of the Place of his Burial.

And Patrick, the beloved of the Lord, being full of days and of good works, and now faithfully finishing the time of his appointed ministry, saw, as well by the divine revelation as by the dissolution of his earthly tabernacle, that the evening of his life was drawing near. And being then nigh unto Ulydia, he hastened his journey toward the metropolitan seat, Ardmachia; for earnestly he desired to lay in that place the remains of his sanctified body, and in the sight of his sons whom he had brought forth unto Christ to be consigned unto the common mother. But the event changed the purpose of the holy man; that all might know, according to the testimony of the Scriptures, that the way of man is not in his own power, but that his steps are directed of God. For the Angel Victor met him while on his journey, and said unto him: "Stay thou, O Patrick, thy feet from this thy purpose, since it is not the divine will that in Ardmachia thy life should be closed or thy body therein be sepultured; for in Ulydia, the first place of all Hibernia which thou didst convert, hath the Lord provided that thou shalt die, and that in the city of Dunum thou shall be honorably buried. And there shall be thy resurrection; but in Ardmachia, which thou so lovest, shall be the successive ministry of the grace which hath been on thee bestowed. Therefore remember thy word, wherewith thou gavest hope unto thy first converts, the sons of Dichu; when, instructed of heaven, thou didst foretell unto them that in their land thou wouldest die and be buried." And at the word of the angel the saint was grieved; but quickly returning unto himself, embraced he the divine Providence with much devotion and thanksgiving, and submitting his own will unto the will of God, he returned into Ulydia.



CHAPTER CLXXXVIII.

The Place of his Sepulture is foreshown by a Light from Heaven.

And after a few days Patrick, the most holy old man, rested on a place not far distant from the mother church of the city of Dunum; and with him was Brigida, the spotless Pearl of Hibernia, and no small assembly of religious and ecclesiastical persons. And while the saint discoursed unto them of the glory of the saints, a great light descended from heaven, and poured round a certain spot on the eastern side of the cemetery; at the which marvelling, they enquired of the saint what meant that light, and the holy prelate bade the blessed Brigida to explain to them the meaning thereof. Then the virgin openly declared that the so great light denoted and sanctified the burial-place of a certain saint most illustrious and dear unto God, who therein would shortly be buried. And the holy woman, Ethembria, who first of all the nuns in Hibernia had been consecrated by Patrick, privily enquired of Brigida who was the saint. And she answered that Saint Patrick himself, the father and apostle of Hibernia, would soon be buried in that place, but that in process of time he would be removed from thence; and further she pronounced that she would be happy if she might enshroud his most holy body in a linen cloth, which she had made with her own hands and woven for his obsequies. This said she secretly unto her sister nun, nor deemed she her words overheard of any. Then the light which appeared from heaven was taken up from their eyes, and foreshowed the ascension of the saint unto heaven.



CHAPTER CLXXXIX.

Saint Brigida bringeth unto Saint Patrick the Garment which was to enshroud his Body.

And Saint Patrick, being instructed of heaven, understood the desire of the heart of Brigida, and the words of her mouth, and her preparation of the garment, and that she would enshroud therewith his body, as the spiritual token of their mutual love in Christ. And he himself returned unto the monastery of Saballum, which he had filled with a fair assembly of monks; and there, down lying on the bed of sickness, awaited he with a happy hope the termination of his life, nay, rather of his pilgrimage, and his entrance into the life eternal. And the venerable virgin obeyed the word of her father and bishop; and she went unto the monastery, and took the garment, and with four virgins in her train hastened she to return unto the saint; but forasmuch as they were afflicted with too long abstinence and with the difficulty of the journey, for very weariness they stayed on their way, nor could they speed thereon as they had purposed. Yet the saint, while in Saballum, knew at the revelation of the Spirit the weariness of the virgin; and he commanded his charioteer to meet them on their way with four chariots, and the charioteer obeyed, and met them at the place exceeding wearied, and brought them unto the saint. And they offered unto him the garment, the which he kindly received; and kissing his feet and his hands, they obtained his benediction.



CHAPTER CXC.

The Death of Saint Patrick.

Now, the sickness of his body increasing, age pressing on, or rather the Lord calling him unto his crown, the blessed Patrick perceived he was hastening unto the tomb; and much he rejoiced to arrive at the port of death and the portal of life. Therefore, being so admonished by the angel, his guardian, he fortified himself with the divine mysteries from the hand of his disciple, the Bishop Saint Thasach, and lifting up his eyes he beheld the heavens opened, and Jesus standing in the multitude of angels. Then raising his hands, and blessing his people, and giving thanks, passed he forth of this world, from the faith unto the proof, from his pilgrimage unto his country, from transitory pain unto eternal glory. Oh! how blessed Patrick. Oh! how blessed he, who beheld God face to face, whose soul is secured in salvation! Happy, I say, is the man, unto whom the heavens opened, who penetrated into the sanctuary, who found eternal redemption, whom the blessed Mary with the spotless choirs of virgins welcomed, whom the bands of angels admitted into their fellowship! Him the wise assembly of prophets attendeth, the venerable senate of apostles embraceth, the laurelled army of martyrs exalteth, the white-robed company of confessors accepteth, and the innumerable number of the elect receiveth with all honor and with all glory. Nor wondrous was it, nor undeserved; seeing that he was the angel of God, though not by his birth, yet by his virtue and by his office—he, whose lips were the guard of knowledge, and declared unto the people the law of life which was required of God. Rightly is he called the prophet of the Most Highest, who knew so many things absent, who foretold so many and such things future, as seldom have any of the prophets prophesied! Rightly is he called, and is, the apostle of Hibernia, seeing that all the people thereof, and the other islanders, are the signs of his apostolate! Rightly is he called a martyr, who, bearing continually in his heart and in his body the name of Christ, showed himself a living sacrifice unto God; who having suffered so many snares, so many conflicts, from magicians, from idolaters, from rulers, and from evil spirits, held his heart always prepared to undergo any and every death! Rightly is he called the confessor of God, who continually preached the name of Christ, and who by his words, his examples, and his miracles excited peoples, tribes, and tongues unto the confession of his name, of human sin, and of divine promise! Rightly is he called a virgin, who abided a virgin in his body, in his heart, and in his faith; and by this threefold virginity pleaseth he the Spouse of virgins and the Virgin of virgins! Rightly is he numbered among the angelic choirs and the assemblies of all saints, who was the sharer in all holy acts and all virtues!



CHAPTER CXCI.

The Number of the Years of his Life.

On the seventeenth day of March, in the one hundredth and twentieth and third year of his age, departed he forth of this world; and thus the years of his life are reckoned. Ere he was carried into Hibernia by the pirates, he had attained his sixteenth year; oppressed beneath a most cruel servitude, six years did he feed swine; four years did he feed with the sweet food of the Gospel those who before were swine, but who, casting away the filth of their idolatry, became his flock of unspotted lambs; eighteen years did he study under Saint Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerres. When he had reached his fiftieth and third year, he was invested with the episcopal dignity, and returned unto Hibernia, therein to preach; in the space of thirty and five years converted he unto Christ all that country and many other islands; and during the thirty and three years which remained unto him, leading a life of contemplation, abided he chiefly in Saballum, or in the monastery which he had founded in Ardmachia. Nor did he willingly leave those holy places, unless some cause of inevitable urgency called him forth; nevertheless, once in every year did he celebrate a council, that he might bring back unto the right rule those things which he knew to need reformation.



CHAPTER CXCII.

The Funeral Honors which Men and Angels paid unto the Body of the Saint.

And as Saint Patrick expired, the surrounding circle of monks commended his spirit unto God, and enwrapped his body in the linen cloth which Saint Brigida had prepared. And the multitude of the people and of the clergy gathered together, and mourned with tears and with sighs the dissolution of Patrick, their patron, even as the desolation of their country, and paid in psalms and in hymns the rites which unto his funeral were due. But on the following night a light-streaming choir of angels kept their heavenly watch, and waked around the body; and illumining the place and all therein with their radiance, delighting with their odor, charming with the modulation of their soft-flowing psalmody, poured they all around their spiritual sweetness. Then came the sleep of the Lord on all who had thither collected, and while the angelic rites were performed, held them in their slumber even until the morning. And when the morning came, the company of angels reascended into heaven, leaving behind them the sweet odor which excelled all perfumes; the which, when the sleepers awakened, they and all who came unto the place experienced even for twelve succeeding days. For during that time was the sanctified body preserved unsepultured, inasmuch as the controversies of the people with the clergy permitted it not to be buried in that holy place.



CHAPTER CXCIII.

The Light continueth for Twelve Days.

And this was the reason of the controversy. A great and wondrous light appeared, such as never in any time preceding had been beheld. Over that whole country the light continued for twelve days, without any intervention of night; for the night was illuminated, and shone even as the day. Whereby was it plainly given to be understood that the darkness of night obscured not Patrick, the son of life, the inhabiter of eternal brightness, while the night was to him the illumination of his joys, while he ascended unto the light without spot, the day without night, the sun without eclipse. And this miracle seemeth like unto that ancient miracle which was wrought by Joshua in Gibeon, though much extended in its duration. For the sun, as is written, stood still over Gibeon, and the moon stood still over the valley of Ajalon, one day for the space of two days, gave by the divine virtue the victory unto a faithful people; and by the same power the continued shining of twelve days' light showed the merit of Patrick, triumphant over this world and the prince of this world.



CHAPTER CXCIV.

The Miraculous Rising of the Sea between the Contending People.

And at the sight of such a miracle, the people could not be restrained from their contention, for the fury of their wrath and the violence of their minds which governed them they imputed to their devotion toward the saint. And on the twelfth day a deadly and perilous contention arose between the two people of Ulydia and Ardmachia about the sacred body. And while arrayed in armor they rose unto arms, they heard a voice from heaven, which seemed as the voice of Saint Patrick, staying their violence; and the sea, rising above its wonted bounds, reared itself as a wall, and separated the contending people, so that they could neither behold nor attack one the other; and thus corporeally separated, united them unto the concord of mutual peace. Then the people being restrained from their fury, the waters surceased from their fury also.



CHAPTER CXCV.

Two Wains appear, the which are sent by a Miracle.

Then, the swelling waves of the sea being reduced and returned unto themselves, two oxen appear, seeming to draw toward Dunum a wain laden with a noble burden, the holy body; the which the people and clergy of Ultonia followed with exceeding devotion, with psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs. And plainly it showed that vehicle which formerly bore the ark of the covenant from Acharon unto Getht. But by all these wonders the fury of the Ardmachians is not appeased; for still is their hand prepared unto battle, that the body of their prelate, their primate, their patron, might not be riven from them. Nevertheless, the divine Providence took heed that occasion of contest should not any more be ministered; for another wain appearing, drawn by two oxen, went before the Ardmachians, even like the former wain which had borne the sacred body unto Dunum; and they stayed not to follow its track, believing that it carried the precious burden, until it came within the borders of Ardmachia, unto a certain river which is named Caucune. Then the visionary wain disappeared; and the people, frustrated of their hope, unsatisfied and sad, returned unto their dwellings.



CHAPTER CXCVI.

The Sepulture of Saint Patrick in the City of Dunum.

And the people of Ultonia, having entered Dunum, celebrated the solemnities of the Mass, and in the place foreshown by the heavenly light buried the venerable body with all due veneration, and this desirable treasure, this most precious jewel, they deposited beneath a stone, five cubits deep in the heart of the earth, lest haply by stealth it might be conveyed thence. But by how many and how great miracles the bones of this most holy saint were graced therein, we find not recorded; either because the pen of the negligent preserved them not, or being written, they were destroyed by some of the many heathen princes who ruled in Hibernia. Now, Saint Patrick died in the four hundredth and ninetieth and third year of Christ's incarnation, Felix being then pope, in the first year of the reign of Anastasius the emperor, Aurelius Ambrosius ruling in Britain, Forchernus in Hibernia, Jesus Christ reigning in all things and over all things.

Now unto Him be glory, and praise, and honor, and empire, through infinite ages, for ever and ever! Amen!



HERE END THE ACTS OF SAINT PATRICK.



A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE

TO THE

LIVES OF ST. PATRICK.

A.D.

1. St. Patrick was born in North Britain, near the Clyde, . . . 376 or thereabouts.

2. In the sixteenth year of his age he and Lupita, his sister, were made captive by Scotch marauders, and, being led into Ireland, were sold to Milcho in Dalaradia, now Ulster, . . 392

3. After six years' captivity, and being twenty-one years old, he returns to his home in Britain, . . . . . . . . . . 397

4. After three months he went to Aremorica with his parents, and was taken by the Picts two months into captivity. He was taken captive a third time, and taken to Bordeaux, where he was set at liberty, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

5. Passing thence to Tours, he became a monk in the Monastery of St. Martin, and after four years of monastic life returned to the Island of Temar, which is supposed to be the same as Ireland, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

6. St. Patrick was called by visions into Gaul, and proceeded into Italy, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

7. According to the customs of monks at that time, he spent seven years in wanderings over mountains and through islands, and, obeying the admonition of an angel, was ordained priest by Bishop S. Senior, . . . . . . . . . . . 410

8. Having studied three years, St. Patrick is called by visions into Ireland to preach the Gospel, . . . . . . . . 413

9. St. Patrick, through love of solitude, returns into Britain to Valle Rosina, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

10. Being received at Antissiodorum by St. Amator, A.D. 414, he remains there four years, and passes to St. Germanus in the forty-second year of his age, . . . . . 418

11. Having spent nearly four years with St. Germanus, St. Patrick departed for the Isle of Lerina, . . . . . . . 421

12. St. Patrick spent nine years in the Island of Lerina, opposite Norbonne, and, knowing that the time for his mission to Ireland was at hand, returned to Germanus at Aries, now Orleans, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

13. Palladius returned from Ireland, his mission having failed, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431

14. St. Patrick is sent by St. Celestine in Ireland, . . . . . 432

15. Being consecrated bishop by the Bishop of Tours, he bids farewell to St. Germanus in passing through Gaul, and, having landed on the shore of Leinster, baptizes Sinellum in the autumn of the same year, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432

16. St. Patrick proceeds to Ulster, preaches the faith to Milcho, and makes many converts, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

17. St. Patrick preaches to King Leary at Tara, . . . . . . . . 436

18. St. Patrick returned to Rome, and sent St. Kranie and his five companions to preach the Gospel, . . . . . . . . . . . 445

19. St. Patrick gives St. Bridget the veil in the fourteenth year of her age, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450

20. Armagh is made a metropolitan see, and councils are celebrated, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454

21. St. Patrick again visits Rome, probably for the confirmation of his council, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455

22. St. Patrick dies, the eighty-second year of his age, at Down, attended by St. Bridget, who had, he was conscious, foreknown the time of his death, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458

Some chronologies extend the life of St. Patrick by forty or forty-five years.

23. The Confession of St. Patrick was written, . . . . . . . . 455

24. The Epistle to Coroticus, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456

25. The Metrical Life of St. Patrick by St. Fiech, . . . . . . 493

26. The Tripartite Life of St. Patrick by St. McEvin, . . . . 510

27. The Life of St. Patrick by Jocelyn, . . . . . . . . . . . 1185

THE END