ページの画像
PDF
ePub

deri; quare furgite, Dominam meam Mariam adite, atque ei in manfiunculam veftram deductæ fecretum veftrum revelate, fuppliciter il lum rogantes, ut veftrum mifereatur. Poftquam mulieres fermonem puellæ audiverant, propere Dominam divam Mariam adibant, et ad fefe introducebant, et coram ea confidentes flebant, et dicebant, O Domina noftra, diva Maria, miferere ancillarum tuarum; neque enim fenior nobis fupereft, aut familiæ princeps, neque pater aut frater, qui coram nobis intret et exeat; fed mulus hic, quem vides, frater nofter fuit, quem mulieres fascino talem, qualem cernis, effecerunt; te itaque rogamus, ut noftrum miferearis. Tunc fortem illarum dolens diva Maria, fublatum Dominum Jefum dorfo muli imponit, et filio fuo, Heus, inquit, Jefu Chrifte, fana hunc mulum eximia tua potentia, et formam illi humanam et rationalem, quali antea fuit præditus, reftitue. Vix egreffa erat vox ex ore Dominæ divæ Mariæ, cum immutatus fubito mulus in formam humanam tranfiret,

pable of relieving you under your diftrefs. Wherefore arife, go to my mistress Mary, and when you have brought her into your own parlour, difclofe to her the fecret, at the fame time earnestly befeeching him to compaffionate your cafe. As foon as the women had heard the girl's difcourfe, they haftened away to the Lady St. Mary, introduced themfelves to her, and fitting down before her, they wept, and faid, O our Lady St. Mary, pity your handmaids, for we have no head of our family, no one elder than us; no father or brother to go in and out before us; but this mule, which you fee, was our brother, which fome women by witchcraft have brought into this condition which you fee; we therefore intreat you to compaffionate us. Hereupon St. Mary was grieved at their cafe, and taking the Lord Jefus, put him upon the back of the mule, and said to her fon, O Jefus Chrift, restore (or heal) according to thy extraordinary power this mule, and grant him to have again the Shape of a man and a rational creature, as he had formerly. This was scarce faid

by the Lady St. Mary, but the mule immediately paffed into

a human

ac vir juvenis, et ab omni labe integer evaderet. Tunc ipfe, ac mater ejus, et forores, Dominam divam Mariam adorabant, ac puerum fuper capita fua elatum ofculabantur, dicentes, Beata eft genetrix tua, O Jefu, O Servator mundi! beati sunt oculi, qui felicitate afpectus tui fru

untur.

XXII. Dicebant porro ambæ forores matri fuæ, Equidem frater nofter auxilio Domini Jefu Chrifti, et benedictione puellæ iftius, quæ Mariæ et filii ejus indicium nobis fecit, in priftinam formam reftitutus eft. Nunc igitur, cum frater nofter fit cælebs, convenit ut puellam hanc, famulam illorum, nuptum ipfi demus. Hoc cum a diva Maria petiiffent, ipfaque annuiffet illis, fplendidas huic puellæ nuptias paraverunt'; et moerore in lætitiam, planctuque in rifum commutato, gaudere, lætari, exfultare et canere cœperunt, ob exceffum lætitiæ fplendidiffimis veftibus et monilibus ornatæ. Deinde Deum commemorantes et laudantes, dicebant, O Jefu, fili Davidis, qui mororem in lætitiam et lamenta

[blocks in formation]

XXII. Then both the fifters told their mother, faying, Of a truth our brother is restored to his former shape by the help of the Lord Jefus Chrift, and the kindness of that girl, who told us of Mary and her fon. And inasmuch as our brother is unmarried, it is fit that we marry him to this girl their fervant. When they had confulted St. Mary in this matter, and she had given her confent, they made a fplendid wedding for this girl, and fo their forrow being turned into gladness, and their mourning into mirth, they began to rejoice, and make merry, and fing, being dreffed in their richest attire, with bracelets. Afterwards they glorified and praised God, faying, O Jefus, fon of David, who changest forrow into gladness,

in rifum convertis! Manferuntque ibi Jofephus et Maria decem dies. Deinde profecti funt, magnis honoribus ab hifce hominibus, affecti; qui cum illis valedixiffent, et a valedicendo revertiffent, flebant, et præ cæteris puella.

XXIII. Hinc digreffi cum in terram defertam perveniffent, eamque latrociniis infeftam effe audirent, Jofephus et diva Maria regionem hanc noctu trajicere parabant. At inter eundum, ecce! duos in via latrones confpiciunt dormientes, et cum illis multitudinem latronum, qui illorum focii erant, itidem ftertentium. Erantque duo ifti latrones, in quos incidebant, Titus et Dumachus; dicebatque Titus Dumacho, Rogo te, ut iftos libere finas abire, ne focii noftri illos animadvertant; recufante autem Dumacho, rurfus Titus, Cape tibi, inquit, a me quadraginta drachmas, et pignus habe zonam hanc meam, quam dicto citius illi porrigebat, ut ne hifceret, aut loqueretur. Videnfque Domina diva Maria hunc latronem ipfis bene

gladness, and mourning into mirth! After this Jofeph and Mary tarried there ten days, then went away, having received great respect from those people; who, when they took their leave of them, and returned home, cried, but efpecially the girl.

XXIII. In their journey from hence they came into a defert country, and were told it was infefted with robbers; fo Jofeph and St. Mary prepared to pass through it in the night: and as they were going along, behold they faw two robbers asleep in the road, and with them a great number of robbers, who were their confederates alfo, afleep. The names of those two were Titus and Dumachus; and Titus faid to Dumachus, I beseech thee let those perfons go along quietly, that our company may not perceive any thing of them; but Dumachus refufing, Titus again faid, I will give thee forty. groats, and as a pledge take my girdle, which he gave him before he had done speaking, that he might not open his mouth, or make a noise. When the Lady St. Mary faw the kindness which this robber

facere, ait illi, Dominus Deus te ad dextram fuam recipiet, et remiffionem peccatorum tibi largietur. Et refpondit Dominus Jefus, et dixit matri suæ, Post triginta annos, O mater, crucifigent me Judæi Hierofolymis, et duo ifti la

trones mecum una in crucem

tollentur, Titus ad dextram meam, et Dumachus ad finiftram; et ab illo die præcedet me Titus in Paradifum. Cumque dixiffet illa, Avertat hoc a te Deus, mi fili! Abierunt illinc ad urbem idolorum, quæ, poftquam illi appropinquaffent, in colles arenarum fuit mutata.

robber did fhew them, she faid to him, The Lord God will receive thee to his righthand, and grant thee the pardon of thy fins. Then the Lord Jefus answered, and said to his mother, When thirty years are expired, O mother, the Jews will crucify me at Jerufalem; and these two thieves fhall be with me at the fame time upon the cross, Titus on my right-hand, and Dumachus on my left, and from that time Titus fhall go before me into Paradife; and when she had faid, God forbid this should be thy lot, O my fon, they went on to a city, in which were feveral idols; which, as foon

as they came near to it, was turned into hills of fand.

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

XXVI. Exacto vero triennio, rediit ex Egypto, et reverfus eft, cumque Judæam attigiffent, timuit Jofephus illam intrare; audiens enim deceffiffe Herodem, et Archelaum filium in locum ejus fucceffiffe, metuit, et in Judæam abiit, apparuitque illi Angelus Dei, et dixit, O Josephe, abi in urbem Nazareth, atque ibi fubfifte. (Mirum fane geftari fic, et circumferri per regiones Dominum regionum!)

XXVII. Ingreffi deinde urbem Bethlehemum, videbant ibi morbos plurimos et difficiles, oculos infantum infeftantes, ita ut plerique morerentur. Aderat ibi mulier, ægrotum habens filium, quem morti jam vicinum ad Dominam divam Mariam adduxit;

ceeded to Memphis, and faw Pharaoh, and abode three years in Egypt, and the Lord Jefus did very many miracles in Egypt, which are neither to be found in the Gospel of the Infancy, nor in the Gospel of Perfection.

XXVI. At the end of three years he returned out of Egypt, and when he came near to Judea, Jofeph was afraid to enter; for hearing that Herod was dead, and that Archelaus his fon reigned in his ftead, he was afraid; and when he went to Judea, an Angel of God appeared to him, and faid, O Jofeph, go into the city Nazareth, and abide there. (It is ftrange indeed, that he, who is the Lord of all countries, fhould be thus carried backward and forward through so many countries.)

[ocr errors]

XXVII. When they came afterwards into the city Bethlehem, they found there feveral very defperate diftempers, which became fo troublesome to children by feeing them, that most of them died. There was there a woman who had a fick son, whom she brought, when he was at the point of

death, to the Lady St. Mary, who faw her when she was

washing

« 前へ次へ »