XXIX.
OCT. 9. PASSION OF SAINT DENIS AND HIS COMPANIONS.
Paul, the doctor of the Gentiles, as he journeyed through the land
preaching the faith, even as the Saviour commanded him,
came on a certain day to a great city
hight Athens, illustrious and great,
the capital city of the Greeks, dwelling in heathenism.
There was Dionysius, the noble martyr,
the leader of the heathen in their unbelief,
until that Paul converted him from error to right.
He, Dionysius, had seen, with some other philosophers,
in the land of the Egyptians, where they were studying,
how the sun grew dim unto swart night
from midday to nones ( 3 p.m.) when our Lord was suffering
for mankind's redemption, and they greatly wondered thereat.
Then said Dionysius, ' This dark night betokeneth
a great light to come upon all the earth
which God Himself will verily manifest to mankind.'
He was then a young man, when that this happened,
and that light came to him through Paul's lore afterward,
even as we shall here say in this true reading.
Paul then went prudently and beheld their gods
all in their order, and eke the altars,
until he found an altar whereon stood this inscription,
Deo ignoto; that is in English, ' To the unknown god
is this altar holy.' Then Paul turned him
to Dionysius the Lord's servant, and said,
' What is this unknown god whom ye worship thus?'
Then said Dionysius, 'He is yet hidden from men,
and is to come into the world, and shall rule all things,
the heavens and the earth; and His kingdom shall continue
ever without end.' Then answered Paul,
'What think ye of that god, will he be spirit or man?'
Dionysius answered the venerable Paul thus,
' He will be verily God and verily man,
and He Himself shall renew this old world;
but He is yet unknown, because He, living, dwelleth
with God in Heaven.' Then said the holy Paul,
'That God I preach to you Whom ye call unknown;
He is born of Mary the illustrious virgin,
and He suffered death of His own will for men,
and arose from death by His divine power.
He ascended also to Heaven to His holy Father,
and sitteth on His right hand, very God and very man,
by Whom are made all things in the world,
and He shall come to judge every [man] according to his deeds,
in the end of this world with glorious angels.'
When Paul had preached the faith there long in the day,
then Dionysius believed on the living God,
and acknowledged that his gods were horrible devils.
Then he besought Paul earnestly to pray for him
to the merciful Lord that he might be His disciple.
Again, on the second day, Paul went along the street,
and met a blind man who was so born;
he begged importunately of the great Paul,
that he would heal him in the name of Jesus,
and the blessed apostle marked his eyes
with the holy cross, praying to the Saviour
that He would give him sight, and he saw immediately,
he who was born blind; and Paul commanded him thus,
'Go to Dionysius, now God hath enlightened thee,
and tell him to hasten, even as he before promised,
to be baptized from his former sins.'
Then went the healed man, obedient to the apostle,
and announced his best boldly to Dionysius.
Then Dionysius asked the messenger, being astonished,
'What! art thou the blind man who was so born?
He straightway answered the venerable man,
'I am the same of whom thou speakest,
who was born blind, and the bright sun
never shone on my eyes until this present day;
but the blessed Paul enlightened mine eyes
through his Lord's might, concerning whom he preacheth to men.'
Dionysius thereupon arose, and quickly hastened to Paul
with all his household to the holy baptism,
and was baptized, and followed Paul
three years together whithersoever he journeyed,
and deeply received the divine lore from him,
until the holy apostle consecrated him as bishop
of the Athenian city where he was born,
and bade him preach boldly the faith,
and the holy gospel to the heathen nations.
Dionysius then continued, deeply learned,
in the aforesaid city at his episcopal see,
and diligently preached God's lore to the people of the land
to whom he was before a leader in their unbelief.
So he converted the citizens to God,
and the most part of the men to the faith,
and wrote many books concerning the true faith,
and concerning the orders of angels with wondrous reasoning,
and sent the books to other bishops,
those whom Paul had consecrated and the holy John.
One of these was called Titus, another Timotheus,
another Polycarp, and several others.
Likewise to John, the holy evangelist,
he sent wiitings when he (John) was in exile
in the island of Patmos, when the wicked emperor
Domitian adjudged him thither.
Then Dionysius comforted him by prophesying,
and said that he knew it certainly, through God,
that John should return from that island
back to the land of Asia, even as it befell afterward,
and there write a gospel, even as was done thereafter.
Then Dionysius journeyed through many cities in every direction,
and through the land, boldly preaching the faith,
and greatly converted men to God,
and healed the infirm in the Saviour's name,
until he heard that the venerable apostles
Peter and Paul were in prison
in the city of the Romans, under the cruel Nero.
Then desired Dionysius, if so it might be,
to suffer martyrdom with the apostles,
and thereupon returned home with wondrous haste,
forthwith committed his episcopal see to another bishop,
and journeyed from the Grecian land with companions to Rome
by a long way, ever preaching the faith.
Then it so befell, by reason of his long journey,
that the holy apostles, even as the Saviour willed,
were martyred by the wicked Nero
before Dionysius could come to Rome.
Then he came at last after the Emperor Nero
had ended his life by a miserable death;
and Clement was then Pope in Peter's chair.
He received the noble bishop with honour,
and treated him lovingly for his holy service.
Then the bishop dwelt within the city of Rome
with Pope Clement familiarly some time,
until Clement said to him, even as Christ commanded him,
'Seest thou, my dear brother, how many lands remain
yet in heathenism; and our Saviour's harvest
is manifold among mankind, and few are the workmen thereto;
and thou art learned in the faith through God,
and greatly resplendent in holy virtues?
Go now in God's name to the Franks' kingdom
like Christ's champion with bold faith,
and be it given thee to bind and to loose,
even as I received from my predecessor,
the holy Peter, even as the Saviour committed to him.
I ordain that thou receive the whole Frankish kingdom
to thy preaching, and may Christ Himself be with thee,
wheresoever thou turnest, even as He verily was
with the blessed Peter and Paul in their lives.
Flinch not in any wise on account of the savage people;
by how much the more a man toileth, so much the better reward shall he receive.'
Then he provided himself with companions, and he went courageous
through the Holy Ghost, preaching to the heathen
Christianity and baptism, until he came to a city
called Paris, amidst the heathen
in the Franks' kingdom, and the Saviour succoured him
with signs and wonders, so that he subdued the heathen,
and very speedily converted the citizens to the faith.
Then he bought land of a believing man,
and there quickly raised a church by his skill,
and consecrated God's servants, that they might serve
the heavenly God in monastic life.
Then Dionysius daily converted
many to the faith by his fair lore,
and subjected to his Lord those whom he snatched from the devil,
and men sought the church eagerly with faith.
So many wonders wrought the allwielding God
by the holy man, that the wonders converted
the opposing heathen to the Saviour's faith
quite as much as his preaching, as books tell us.
He sent some of his companions to Spain,
and to other lands, to sow God's lore,
and he himself continued fearlessly with the Franks,
who especially erred in the devil's worship.
Often the idolaters who were there the fiercest
assembled their congregations and stirred up a tumult,
and came armed to the venerable man.
But as soon as they saw his shining countenance
with its heavenly light, then the heathen laid
their weapons down, and, with wondering, prostrated themselves
to the holy bishop, entreating forgiveness.
Or if any of them would not even then believe,
then was he terrified and fled away.
Wondrous (is) God's grace, that these savage men
could not withstand with weapons the weaponless man;
but the Franks and distant Northmen bowed themselves
to the winsome yoke of the King of glory.
Then were broken in pieces, widely throughout the land,
the houses and images of the gods of the heathen
by the hands of those men who had made and founded them;
and God's church waxed exceedingly in the faith.
The old devil who is filled with envy
took great wrath against the man of God
for the people's conversion from his foul worship,
and considered how he might in some manner extinguish
the wide-spread Christianity by his stratagems.
Then at last the savage idolaters
were stirred with anger, even as the devil incited them,
and sent to Domitian, the diabolic emperor,
who after Nero oppressed the Christians,
making known in letters about the holy man,
how through his lore the country folk were turned,
and all the citizens, to Christ's worship,
and prayed him privately that he would find some plan
on behalf of his venerable gods, that the rather their remembrance
might not be put out through Dionysius' teaching.
This writing came to the Caesar in Rome,
and he was verily soon stirred up,
so that he bade kill all the Christians
whom he could hear of, in all lands,
desiring that no man who was a Christian should be left.
He sent also immediately a certain prefect
called Sisinnius [Fescenninus?], an exceeding fierce devil,
with many companions, to the Franks' kingdom,
that they should kill Dionysius, God's servant, with weapons,
unless he would bow to the shameful gods.
Whereupon Sisinnius journeyed with great array
until he came to the city wherein was the bishop
teaching the lay folk zealously in the faith.
Then the cruel prefect bade men bind the holy man
and a mass-priest whom he found with him,
named Rusticus, and a certain arch-deacon
called Eleutherius, (all) together with hard knots.
These holy men had ever lived with the bishop,
until they all departed to God together.
Then Sisinnius immediately asked the holy man
with a great threat what God he worshipped.
Then said they all three as if with one mouth;
'We confess with mouth and believe in mind
in the Holy Trinity, Who is heavenly God,
that is Father and Son, and the Comforting Spirit,
and we preach to men the world's redemption
through the holy Son whom the Heavenly Father
of His own will sent to be slain for us.'
Then said Sisinnius, ' Say if ye will
obey the Caesar, and believe on his gods;
if then ye will not, I will not longer by words,
but by hard stripes, make known his bests to you.'
Then he bade men strip the holy bishop,
and scourge him unmercifully, and he sang his prayers
amidst the tortures, glorifying his Lord,
Who could easily have delivered him from those wicked men;
but the Saint was, in these short torments,
to imitate his Lord, and suffer death for Him,
even as Christ Himself did. Who gave Himself for us.
Afterwards Sisinnius bade scourge the mass-priest,
and also the deacon, Dionysius' companions,
and then commanded them to be led, in chains, together
to a lightless prison, for their fidelity.
He bade scourge them again, and afterward stretched
the bishop on an iron bed, and placed burning coals
under his naked body, as they did to Laurence;
but the Saint prayed on that bed to God.
Then the savage prefect commanded men to cast him to beasts
which were an-hungered, that they might devour the holy man;
but the fierce beasts, as soon as they came to him,
lay at his feet as if they were affrighted.
Then the judge bade men throw the Lord's servant
into a burning oven, but his prayers extinguished
all the flame, and he was left there sound.
Yet the bloodthirsty judge commanded men to make a cross,
and bade men hang the bishop ignominiously thereon;
and he, so hanging, preached the Saviour
to all bystanders, even as Andrew did.
Then after that the judge commanded men to take him from the cross .
and to take them all three to the lightless dungeon,
and many other Christians to the house of execution;
whereupon the bishop blithely allured
the Christians by teaching, in the dungeon, to God,
and celebrated mass in presence of them all. Then, as he was dividing
the holy housel, there came a heavenly light
over all the multitude, such as they had never before seen.
There came likewise the Saviour with the heavenly light,
and many angels with Him, where they were looking on,
and took the housel which was there consecrated,
and said to the bishop with blithe aspect,
'My beloved, receive this, and I with my Father
will for thee fulfil these mysteries with perfection,
because with Me there is a great reward to thyself,
and to those who hear (thee) there is salvation in My kingdom.
Now do valiantly, and thy memory shall remain in (men's) praise;
and as for the love and benignity which dwell in thy breast,
for whomsoever they plead, they shall always obtain (their boon).'
And after these words He returned to heaven.
Then soon after, Sisinnius commanded in the morning
the Saints to be fetched out of the foul dungeon,
and ordered (them) to offer their sacrifices to the lifeless gods,
if they recked of their life or were reasonable.
But the Saints continued in the Saviour's faith,
and the infuriated judge desired yet again to try,
if he might, to turn them from God's worship;
he commanded men to scourge them all again severely with rods,
and afterward to behead them for the Saviour's faith.
Then the heathen led the Saints to death,
and Dionysius thanked his Lord with praise
for all the wonders which He had wrought through him;
and they were beheaded, as the savage prefect had ordered,
with sharp axes; and there God manifested
a very great wonder through the illustrious bishop.
For there came a great light to the martyrs' bodies,
and the bishop's body arose with that light,
and took his own head, which was hewn off
upon the hill, and went him forth thence
over two miles, while the men were looking on,
praising his Lord with holy hymns;
and a company of angels also there winsomely sung
until the body came to where it desired to lie
with the head and all, and the holy angels
continually sung, as books tell us.
Then the heathen, those that heard the song
and saw the wonder, cast away their error
and believed in Christ, and likewise some of the executioners;
and none was left there who would not believe,
but turned them away, terrified at the wonder.
That was such a strange wonder, that the righteous martyr
could walk headless, praising God Almighty,
and moreover run with troops of angels;
but God desired to declare through that strange sign
that his soul lived, though the body might be slain,
and would manifest to men how great faith
the holy man had in the Saviour in life.
Sisinnius, notwithstanding, the unhappy judge,
would not believe in Christ, but bade men kill all
who, through Dionysius' lore, believed in God,
with divers tortures very savagely;
and their souls departed to the true life.
The holy priest's body and that of the faithful deacon,
Rusticus and Eleutherius, lay upon the hill,
where they were beheaded with the holy bishop,
when his body went away, even as we wrote before.
Then the heathen executioners bare the Saints' bodies
presently to ship, desiring to sink them in the flood,
but the Almighty Creator brought to naught that evil counsel.
There was a certain noble lady who knew their evil counsel,
and invited the executioners to her, as if for friendship,
and made them drunk with wine, and bade men go secretly
meanwhile to the ship and steal away the bodies;
and she kept them reverently till the persecution ceased,
and Christianity revived after that destruction.
Afterward, after some space, the Christian folk
took and built a great minster over the Martyrs' bodies,
where they all three lie, in especial veneration.
There are many wonders wrought frequently
through the holy martyrs, to the comfort of men;
there the blind receive, through their prayers, sight,
and the deaf hearing, and the halt power of motion,
and the mad are there made sane through them,
and unnumbered miracles are effected there very often;
to the praise of the Almighty Who liveth ever in eternity.
AMEN.