And now the Congregation Are waiting there in trembling prayer And terrible expectation. Emmelia and her Sisterhood Have taken there their seat: And Choristers and Monks and Priests, And Psalmists there, and Exorcists, Are stationed in order meet. In sackcloth clad, with ashes strewn Beside him Cyra stood, in weal Or woe, in good or ill, Not to be severed from his side, Dishevell'd were her raven locks, As one in mourner's guise; And pale she was, but faith and hope Had now relumed her eyes. At the altar Basil took his stand; Sure trust was seen, and conscious power, At his command the Chorister Ten thousand voices join'd to raise And hearts were thrill'd and eyes were fill'd And when they ceased, and Basil's hand The whole huge multitude was hush'd The Sun was high in a bright blue sky, But a chill came over the crowd, And the Church was suddenly darken'd, As if by a passing cloud. A sound as of a tempest rose, Though the day was calm as clear; Intrepid must the heart have been Which did not then feel fear. In the sound of the storm came the dreadful Form; Day-light had sickened at his sight; « The Deed is null, for it was framed A thing unlawful in itself; This were enough; but, more than this, The man, thou sayest, thy Bondsman is: A marriage with this Christian woman here, That act being publicly perform'd With thy full cognizance, Claim to him as thy Bondsman thou Canst never more advance. . Were they as scarlet red They should be white as wool; This is the All-mighty's Covenant, Who is All-merciful! . His Minister am I! In his All-mighty name To this repentant sinner God's pardon I proclaim! In token that against his soul The sin shall no longer stand, The writing is effaced, which there Thou holdest in thy hand! Angels that are in bliss above This triumph of Redeeming Love Will witness, and rejoice; And ye shall now in thunder hear Heaven's ratifying voice!. A peal of thunder shook the pile; The Church was fill'd with light, And when the flash was past, the Fiend Had vanished from their sight. He fled as he came, but in anger and shame, The pardon was complete, And the impious scroll was dropt, a blank, At Eleemon's feet. (9) NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. FROM THE LIFE OF S. BASIL THE GREAT, BY S. AMPHI- . HELLADIUS autem sanctæ recordationis, qui inspector et minister fuit miraculorum quæ ab eo patrata sunt, quique post obitum ejusdem Apostolicæ memoriæ Busilii sedem illius suscipere meruit, vir miraculis et clarus, atque omni virtute ornatus, retulit mihi, quia cùm senator quidam fidelis, nomine Proterius, pergeret ad sancta et percolenda loca, et ibidem filiam suam tondere, et in unum venerabilium monasteriorum mittere, et sacrificium Deo offerre voluisset; diabolus, qui ab initio homicida est, invidens ejus religioso proposito, commovit unum ex servis ejus, et hunc ad puellæ succendit amorem. Hic itaque cùm tanto voto esset indignus, et non auderet propositum saltem contingere, alloquitur unum ex detestandis maleficis, repromittens illi, ut si fortè arte suâ posset illam commovere, multam ei auri tribueret quantitatem. At verò veneficus dixit ad eum: O homo, ego ad hoc impos existo: sed si vis, mitto te ad provisorem meum diabolum, et ille faciet voluntatem tuam, si tu duntaxat feceris voluntatem ejus. Qui dixit ad eum: Quæcunque dixerit mihi, faciam. Ait ille: Abrenuntias, inquit, Christo in scriptis! Dicit ei: Etiam. Porrò iniquitatis operarius dicit ei: Si ad hoc paratus es, cooperator tibi efficiar. Ille autem ad ipsum: Paratus sum, tantùm ut consequar desiderium. Et factâ epistolâ, pessimæ operationis minister ad diabolum destinavit eam, habentem dictatum hujusmodi: Quoniam domino et provisori meo oportet me dare operam, quò à Christianorum religione discedant, et ad tuam societatem accedant, ut compleatur portio tua; misi tibi præsentem, meas deferentem litterulas, cupidine puellæ sauciatum. Et obsecro ut hujus voti compos existat, ut et in hoc glorior, et cum affluentiori alacritate colligam amatores tuos. Et datâ ei epistolâ, dixit: Vade tali horà noctis, et sta supra monumentum alicujus pagani, et erige chartam in aëra, et adstabunt tibi, qui te debent ducere ad diabolum. Qui hoc alacriter gesto, emisit miserrimam illam vocem, invocans diaboli adjutorium : et continuò adstiterunt ei principes potestatis tenebrarum, spiritus nequitiæ, et suscepto qui fuerat deceptus, cum gaudio magno duxerunt eum ubi erat diabolus, quem et monstraverunt ei super excelsum solium sedentem, et in gyro ejus nequitia spiritus circumstantes; et susceptis venefici litteris, dixit ad infelicem illum: Credis in me? Qui dixit: Credo. Dixit ei diabolus: Tergiversatores estis vos Christiani, et quidem quando me opus habetis, venitis ad me; cùm autem consecuti fueritis affectum, abnegatis me, et acceditis ad Christum vestrum, qui, cùm sit bonus atque misericors, suscipit vos. Sed fac mihi in scriptis tam Christi tui et sancti baptismatis voluntariam abrenuntiationem, quàm in me per sæcula spontaneam repromissionem, et quia mecum eris in die judicii simul perfruiturus æternis suppliciis, quæ mihi sunt præparata. At ille exposuit propriæ manûs scriptum, quemadmodum fuerat expetitus. Rursusque ille corruptor animarum draco destinat dæmones fornicationi præpositos, et exardescere faciunt puellam ad amorem pueri, quæ projecit se in pavimentum, et cœpit clamare ad patrem : Miserere mei, miserere, quia atrociter torqueor propter talem puerum nostrum ! Compatere visceribus tuis; ostende in me unigenitam tuam paternum affectum, et junge me puero, quem elegi. Quòd si hæc agere nolueris, videbis me amarà morte post paululum mortuam, et rationem dabis Deo pro me in die judicii. Pater autem cum lachrymis dicebat: Heu mihi peccatori! quid est quod contigit miseræ filiæ meæ? quis thesaurum meum furatus est? quis filiæ meæ injuriam intulit? quis dulce oculorum meorum lumen exstinxit? ego te semper supercœlesti sponso conciliatus sum desponsare Christo, et Angelorum contubernio sociam constituere, et in psalmis et hymnis et canticis spiritualibus canere Deo accelerabam: tu autem in lasciviam petulantiæ insanîsti! Dimitte me, sicut volo, cum Deo contractum facere, ne deducas senectutem meam cum mærore in infernum, neque confusione nobilitatem parentum tuorum operias. Quæ in nihilum reputans, quæ à patre sibi dicebantur, perseverabat clamans: Pater mi, aut fac desiderium meum, aut priùs pauxillùm mortuam me videbis. Pater itaque ejus in magnâ dementatione constitutus, tam immensitate mœstitiæ absorptus, quàm amicorum consiliis acquiescens se admonentium, ac dicentium, expedire potiùs voluntatem puellæ fieri, quàm sese manibus interficere, consensit, et præcepit fieri desiderium puellæ potiùs, quàm eam exitiabili tradere morti. Et mox protulit puerum qui quærebatur, simul et propriam genitam, et dans eis omnia bona sua, dixit: Salve, nata verè misera; multùm lamentaberis te pœnitens in novissimis, quando nihil tibi proderit. Porrò nefandi matrimonii conjugio facto, et diabolicæ operationis completo facinore, et pauco tempore pretereunte, notatus est puer à quibusdam, quòd non ingrederetur ecclesiam, neque attrectaret immortalia et vivifica Sacramenta, et dicunt miserandæ uxori ejus : Noveris quia maritus tuus, quem elegisti, non est Christianus, sed extraneus est à fide, et ducere noctem, et deprecari voluntatem ipsius, ut non of St Basil in one part, but it is utterly unlike it in the vincat corruptor animarum. Quo protinus acto, et circumstances wherein he has supposed the resemblance promptissimè populo congregato, per totam noctem unà to exist. It appears to have been one of those fictions cum bono pastore deprecati sunt Deum, cum lacrymis which were composed honestly as works of imaginapro ipso clamantes, Kyrie, eleison. Et diluculò unà tion, not like the lives of St Benedict, St Francis, St cum omni multitudine populi assumit sanctus puerum, Dominic, St Ignatius Loyola, and so many of their reet tenens dexteram manum ejus, duxit eum in sanctam spective orders, with a fraudulent intent, to impose Deieccclesiam cum psalmis et hymnis. Et ecce diabolus, upon mankind. Like other such fictions, however, it qui vitæ nostræ semper invidit, si hanc sine tristitia has been adopted and legitimated, by credulity and viderit, cum totâ perniciosâ virtute suà venit, et puero fraud; and the blessed Mary, the Virgin of Antioch, has invisibiliter comprehenso, voluit rapere illum de manu her place accordingly in the Acta Sanctorum, on the sancti: et cœpit puer clamans dicere: Sancte Dei, auxi- 29th of May. But as the legend evidently was not liare mihi, et adeò contra illum impudenti instantiâ ve- written when Antioch was a Christian city, and morenit, ut ipsum egregium Basilium simul cùm illum impel-over, as the legend itself contains nothing whatever by leret et subverteret. Conversus ergo sanctus ad diabolum which its age could be determined, Papebroche presents ait: Impudentissime, et animarum violator, pater tene-it as « eo habendam esse loco, quo multa in Vitis Sancbrarum et perditionis, non tibi sufficit tua perditio, torum Patrum, utilem quidem instructionem continenquam tibimet ipsi et his, qui sub te sunt, acquisisti; sed tia ad formandos mores, sed ad historicam certitudinem adhuc non quiescis, et Dei mei plasma tentando? Dia-parum aut nihil. Igitur istam quoque ut talem hie bolus verò dixit ad eum : Præjudicas mihi, Basili; ita ut damus; liberum lectori relinquentes, ut eam quo volet multi ex nobis audirent voces ejus. At verò sanctus gradu credibilitatis collocet.» Dei ad eum: Increpat, inquit, tibi Dominus, diabole. In this legend one of the chief persons in Antioch, At ille: Basili, præjudicium mihi facis. Non ivi ego ad Anthemius by name, failing to win the affections of cum, sed ille venit ad me, abrenuntiando Christum, Maria, who was the daughter of a poor widow, and had mecumque est sponsione pactuatus, et ecce scriptum resolved to lead a life of celibacy, applies to a Magician habeo, et in die judicii coram communi judice deferam to assist him. The Magician sends two demons to inillud. Sanctus autem Domini dixit: Benedictus Domi- fluence mother and daughter in their sleep, so as to nus Deus meus, non deponet populus iste manus ab ex- bring Maria to Anthemius's bed -chamber; but the tempcelso cœli, nisi reddideris scriptum. Et conversus dixit tations of worldly wealth, which are offered, have only plebi : Tollite manus vestras in cœlum, universi claman- the effect of alarming them; they rise in the middle tes cum lacrymis, Kyrie, eleison. Cùmque staret popu- of the night, and go toward the Church, there to pray lus horâ multâ extensas habentes manus in cœlum, ecce for protection and deliverance: and on the way thither scriptum pueri in aërem deportatum, et ab omnibus one Demon takes upon him Maria's form, while the visum venit, et positum est in manus egregii patris nos-other personates the mother, and thus decoys Maria tri pastoris Basilii. Suscepto autem illo, gratias egit Deo, gavisusque vehementer unà cum universâ plebe, dixit ad puerum: Recognoscis litterulas has, frater? At ille dixit ad eum: Etiam, sanete Dei; propriæ manus meæ scriptura est. Et diruptâ scripturà introduxit eum in ecclesiam, et dignus habitus est sacris interesse Missarum officiis, et participationi sacrorum mysteriorum, et muneribus Christi. Et factâ susceptione magnâ recreavit universum populum, et ducto puero et instructo, atque datâ ei decenti regulâ, tradidit eum uxori ejus, indesinenter glorificantem et laudantem Deum. Amen.. Baert, though he pronounces the life in which this legend appears to be apocryphal, does not deliver a decided opinion upon the legend itself. lle says, « Helladium Basilii in Episcopatu successorem fuisse, omnibus est indubitatum; vitam decessoris ab illo conscriptam, credimus (ut par est) St Joanni Damasceno, qui utinam ad nos tantum transmisisset thesaurum; eum enim videtur præ oculis habuisse, cùm locum inde unum descripsit in oratione pro sacris Imaginibus. An verò ea, quæ hic narrantur, ex Helladio sunt, lector judicet. Potuit enim fieri, ut eo quo Pseudo-Amphilochius scripsit tempore, fragmenta quædam Helladii extarent, quæ ipse retulerit in Basilium suum. Quod attinet ad Proterii filiam, a dæmone in amorem juvenis concitatam, simile quid contigisse B. Mariæ Antiochenæ referimus tomo 7 Maji, die 29, pag. 52. Mihi tamen verosimilius est, eumdem qui Amphilochium mentitus est, mentiri etiam Helladium potuisse.»-p. 952-3. JUN. t. 2. into the apartment where Anthemius is expecting her. She is however allowed to depart uninjured, upon a promise to return at the end of fifteen days, and live with him as a servant, provided he will offer her no violence.-Nothing can be more unlike the story of Proterius's daughter.-Having extorted an oath from her that she would return according to this promise, Anthemius remains, wondering at the great power of the Magician. Certes, thought he, one who can do what he hath done in this matter, is greater than all men; why, then, should I not offer him all I am worth if he will make me equal to himself? And, being inflamed with this desire, he said within himself, ⚫ If I were such as he is, whatever I might wish for would be within my reach. This thought came into his mind as if it were by Divine Providence, to the end that he might willingly let the Virgin depart, and that she might not be bound by the nefarious oath which she had taken, and that the Devil, who was the instigator of his evil desires, might be confounded in his designs both upon the Virgin herself, and upon him who was at this time the Virgin's enemy. As soon, therefore, as it was day, Anthemius went out to seek for the Sorcerer, and to give him thanks Having found him and saluted him, he delivered to him, with many thanks, the gold which he had promised; and then falling at his feet, earnestly intreated, that he might be made such as the Sorcerer himself was, promising that, if this could be effected through his means, he would requite him with whatever sum he might demand. But the Sorcerer replied, that it was not The story, to which Baert refers, resembles the legend possible for him to be made a sorcerer also, because he all this in writing, and in his own hand, I will not admit him.' Say now, then, what wilt thou that I should do for thee?" The wretched Anthemius answered and said, 'Master, I am ready to do this also.' And with that he seated himself, and wrote thus. I, Anthemius, abjure Christ and his faith. I abjure also his baptism, and the cross, and the Christian name, and promise that I will never again use them, or invoke them.' But, while he was thus writing, a copious sweat ran from him, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, so that his whole inner garment was wet therewith, as he himself afterwards, with continual tears, confessed. He nevertheless went on writing, and, when it was finished, he gave the writing to the Sorcerer to read, who, when he had perused it, said, this is well; go thy way again, and he will now certainly receive thee. And when he shall have admitted thee, say to him reverently, I be was a Christian, having been made such by his baptism. But Anthemius answered, then I renounce my baptism and Christian name, if I may be made a sorcerer.' Still the Sorcerer replied, thou canst not be made a sorcerer, neither canst thou keep the laws of the sorcerers, the which, if thou wert not to keep, thou wouldest then fall from a place which could never again be recovered.' But Anthemius, again embracing his feet, promised that he would perform whatever should be enjoined him: then the Sorcerer, seeing his perseverance, asked for paper, and having written therein what he thought good, gave it to Anthemius, and said, take this writing; and in the dead of the night go out of the city, supperless, and stand upon yonder little bridge. A huge multitude will pass over it about midnight, with a mighty uproar, and with their Prince seated in a chariot: yet fear not thou, for thou wilt not be hurt, having with thee this my writing; but hold up the writing, so that it may be perceived; and if thou shouldest beseech thee, Lord, assign to me those who may be at my asked what thou doest there at that hour, or who thou art, say the Great Master sent me to my Lord the Prince, with this letter, that I might deliver it unto him.' But take heed neither to sign thyself as a Christian, nor to call upon Christ, for in either case thy desire would then be frustrated.' Anthemius therefore having received the letter, went his way, and when night came he went out of the city, and took his stand upon the little bridge, holding up the writing in his hand. About midnight a great multitude came there, and horsemen in great numbers, and the Prince himself sitting in a chariot; and they who went first surrounded him, saying, 'who is this that standeth here?" To whom Anthemius made answer, 'the Great Master hath sent me to my Lord the Prince with this letter.' And they took the letter from him, and delivered it to the Prince who sat in the chariot, and he, having received and read the same, wrote something in the same paper, and gave it to Anthemius, that he should carry it to the Sorcerer. So in the morning Anthemius, having returned, delivered it to the Sorcerer, who, having perused it, said, 'wouldest thou know what he hath written to us? even just as I before said to thee, to wit, 'knowest thou not that this man is a Christian? such a one I can in no wise admit, unless, according to our manner, he performeth all things, and renounceth and abhorreth his faith.' When Anthemius heard this, he replied, Master, now as elsewhile I abjure the name of Christian, and the faith, and the baptism.' Then the Sorcerer wrote again and giving the writing to Anthemius, said, ‘go again, and take thy stand at night at the same place, and when he shall come, give him this, and attend to what he shall say.' Accordingly he went his way, and took his stand at the time and place appointed. Behold at the same hour the same company appeared again, and they said unto him, 'wherefore hast thou returned hither? Anthemius answered and said, 'Lord, the Great Master hath sent me back with this writing.' The Prince then received it, and read, and again wrote in it, and gave it again to be returned to the Sorcerer. To whom Anthemius went again in the morning, and he, having read the writing, said unto him, 'knowest thou what he hath written unto me in reply? I wrote to him, saying, all these things, Lord, he hath abjured before me; admit him, therefore, if it pleaseth thee.' But he hath written back, 'unless he abjureth · bidding; and he will assign unto thee as many as thou wilt have. But this I advise thee, not to take more than one or two familiars, inasmuch as more would perplex thee, and would be perpetually disturbing thee night and day, that thou mightest give them what to do.' Then Anthemius returned to the same place as before, and awaited there, and the same company came there again at midnight, and the leader of them, having incontinently recognised Anthemius, began to cry out, 'Lord, the Great Master hath again sent hither this man with his commands:' and the Prince made him draw nigh. And Anthemins, drawing nigh, gave unto him his profession of abjuration, full of calamity and woe. He having received and read it, raised it on high in his hand, and began to exclaim, Christ, behold Anthemius, who heretofore was thine, hath by this writing abjured and execrated thee! I am not the author of this his deed; but he, offering himself to my service with many intreaties, hath of his own accord written this his profession of abjuration, and delivered it to me. Have thou then therefore no care of him from this time forth! And he repeated these words a second time, and again a third. « But when Anthemius heard that dreadful voice, he trembled from head to foot, and began at the same time to cry aloud, and to say, give me back the writing! I am a Christian! I beseech thee, I adjure thee! I will be a Christian! give me back the profession which I have wickedly written!" But when the miserable man was proceeding thus to exclaim, the Prince said unto him, never again mayest thou have this thy profession, which I shall produce in the terrible day of judgment. From this moment thou art mine, and I have thee in my power at will, unless an outrage be done to justice.' With these words he departed, leaving Anthemius. But Anthemius lay prostrate on his face upon the bridge till it was dawn, weeping and lamenting his condition. As soon as it was daylight he rose and returned to his own house, where he remained weeping and lamenting, not knowing what he should do. Now there was another city, some eighteen miles off, where there was said to be a Bishop, who was a man of God. To him, therefore, he resolved to repair, that he might obtain his intercession, and having confessed the whole matter even as it had taken place, to be again by him baptized: for in his own city he was ashamed to confess what he had done. Having then cut off his hair, and clad him |