XXX.
NOV. 2. PASSION OF ST. EUSTACE AND HIS COMPANIONS.
[See Gesta Romanorum; Tale CX.]
In the reigning days [days of the reign] of Trajan the Emperor there was a certain military tribune (who was) a worshipper of idols, whose name was Placidas; very nobly born as to this world, and greatly thriving in his works, and excelling all in honour. Truly he was greatly adorned with works of righteousness and with all good works; the oppressed he helped, and protected those who were condemned; and likewise he assisted very many who were unjustly sentenced by evil judges. The naked he clothed; and, as I truly tell, he distributed to every necessity of them that had need thereof; and his wife also practised the same good works. Nevertheless they both were as yet heathen, because no man had taught them the divine faith. They had two sons whom they educated to imitate them in good will. He was indeed very noble in righteousness, and strong in fight, so that the heathen were much subdued by him. He was also well skilled in hunting, and practised it continually every day. But the merciful and benign God, who always calleth to Himself those who are worthy of Him, did not despise his good works, nor would He that his benevolent disposition, very deserving in God's sight, should be let go without meed, and be covered over by the darkness of devil-worship; but according to that which is written, 'that in every nation he who worketh righteousness shall be acceptable with Him,' He condescended to this benevolent mercy, and healed him with a like measure (of it). It happened one day that he went out hunting with all his company and array; then he saw a great flock of harts, and disposed his company, as was customary to him, in order to take them by hunting. When they were all busied about the hunting, then there appeared to himself an immense hart, which was of exceeding bigness above all the others, and beautiful; and then he turned from the flock, and rushed into the wood where it was thickest. When Placidas saw that, he desired to take it and zealously went after it with a few companions; then at last they were all tired, and he alone, unweary, followed after it. Verily through God's predestination neither his horse nor himself was wearied, nor did he stop for the roughness of the way, but he went long after (it), and departed far from his companions. Then indeed the hart mounted up on a high rock and there stood. Then Placidas stood long and beheld the hart, and wondered at its size, and ceased his pursuit. Then God revealed to him that he should not fear such power, nor wonder at the greatness of his might. Behold, between the hart's horns glittered the likeness of Christ's holy rood, brighter than the sun's beam, and the image of our Lord Jesus Christ; and He sent human speech into the hart, and cried to Placidas, thus saying, ' Oh Placidas! why persecutest thou Me? Lo! for thy sake I am now come that I, by means of this beast, might show myself to thee. I am the Christ whom thou ignorantly worshippest; the alms which thou doest to the poor are before Me, and I came that I might reveal Myself to thee through this hart, and instead of it might hunt and take thee with the nets of My mercy. It is not right that my beloved servant, in requital for his good works, should serve unclean devils and the unreasoning idols; wherefore I came to the earth in this form, such as thou now seest Me, that I might heal mankind.' "When Placidas heard this, then was he affrighted with the utmost awe, and fell off his horse to the earth, and lay there for about an hour of the day, and then arose again and desired to know more certainly about the revelation which had appeared to him, and said to himself; ' What is this vision which has here appeared to me? Dear Lord, reveal to me what thou spakest to me, that I may believe on Thee.' Then said Christ to him, ' Listen now, Placidas; I am Jesus Christ, Who wrought heaven and earth out of nothing, and caused light to spring up, and divided the darkness; and I am He Who set days and seasons and years; and I am He Who formed man out of the earth, and for mankind's salvation I came to earth and took flesh, and was crucified and was buried, and the third day arose from the dead.'
When Placidas heard this, then fell he again immediately on the earth and said, ' I believe, Lord, that Thou art He Who wroughtest all things, and convertest the erring, and quickenest the dead.' Then said the Lord to him, ' If thou believest on Me, go to the city, to the bishop of Christian men, and pray him for baptism.' Then said Placidas, 'Dear Lord, may I make this known to my wife and to my children, that they may believe on Thee "?' Then said the Lord to him, ' Go now and bid them receive baptism, and ye shall then be cleansed from the pollution of idolatry; and come hither again, and I will show thee more fully, and make known to thee those things which are to be, and will reveal the holy mysteries.'
Behold, then! Placidas went home thence at night, and told his wife all that he had seen. As soon as she heard it, then she said; ' My lord, thou sawest the God Who was crucified. Whom Christian men worship; He truly is the one true God Who by such signs calleth to Him those who believe on Him; and in this night I saw Him, and He said to me, " Now, to-morrow thou and thy husband, and thy sons shall come to Me." And now I have perceived that He Himself ever is the Saviour Christ. Verily He desired to show, under such a form, a wonderful spectacle by means of the hart, that thou mightest wonder the more at His might, and believe on Him. Let us now go this night and obtain for ourselves the holy baptism of Christian men, through which verily those who believe on Him are His own.' Then said Placidas to her, 'He Whom I saw said the same to me.' Then verily at midnight they went, so that their servants should not know it, to the Christian men's priest, and related to him all the things which had been shown them, and (said) that they believed on God, and entreated him to baptize them.
Then the bishop was filled with much bliss, and glorified God, Who willeth that all men should be whole and come to the way of truth; and he thereupon christened them all, and instructed them in the mysteries of the holy faith, and baptized them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and named Placidas Eustachius, and his wife Theophistis, and his first son Agapetus, and the second Theophistus, and gave them the holy sacrament of Christ's body and blood; and let them go, thus saying, ' The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, be with you and give you the eternal kingdom; truly I perceive that God's blessing is with you; enjoy ye God's paradise, and remember me, John, I pray you.' Then verily again in the early morning Eustace took a few companions and went to the place where he had before seen the vision, and dispersed his companions as if for the sake of hunting; and he alone remained, and approached the place, and saw the same vision which he had seen before, and fell down on his face, and said; 'I beseech Thee, Lord, and I acknowledge that Thou art the Saviour Christ, the Son of the living God; and now I have come hither, and pray Thy indivisible divinity that Thou wilt reveal to me that which Thou didst before promise me.' Then said the Saviour to him, ' Blessed art thou who hast received the washing of My grace, and hast clothed thyself with immortality; and now thou hast overcome the devil, and hast trodden under foot him that deceived thee; and now thou hast divested thyself of the corruptible man, and hast vested thyself with the incorruptible, who continueth ever world without end; now shall be manifested the works of thy faith, and the devil's envy will be stirred up against thee, because thou hast forsaken him, and he will hasten to do every evil concerning thee. It behoveth thee verily to suffer many things that thou mayest receive a crown of glory. Behold! thou wast until now exalted in this world's riches and transitory works; now it befitteth thee to be humbled from thine high vanity that thou mayest afterward be exalted in spiritual riches. Let not thy courage fail, neither look thou back to thy former glory; but even as thou hast desired to please men and the mortal king by thy victorious fight, so likewise it behoveth thee to hasten that thou mayest keep thy troth with Me, the immortal King, and at this time to be tried by sufferings and labour, even as my beloved servant Job, and (be) the devil's vanquisher through patience. Beware however that no cursing and murmuring arise in thy thought. Verily when thou shalt be humbled I will come to thee, and will bring thee again to thine own glory and honour.'
Then after this speech Christ ascended to heaven, and said to Eustace; ' Whether is dearer to thee to receive temptations now, or nearer thy end? ' Then said Eustace, ' I beseech (thee) Lord Jesus, unless it be unallowable to overcome the things which are predestined by Thee for us, let us receive the temptation now, and give us patience to endure, lest the accursed fiend provoke us to say and think anything against Thy will.'
The Lord said to him; ' Eustace, strive; verily My grace is with you and shall keep your souls.'
Then Eustace returned home, and related to his wife all that was said to him by the Lord, and they bowed their knees, and besought God, saying, ' Lord Jesus, be it as Thy will may be.' Then it happened after a few days that his household was attacked by a mortal disease and died, both his male and female servants. Then Eustace perceived that the aforesaid trial was then upon him, and thankfully received it, and besought his wife not to faint nor be too sorry. Then again after a little space all his horses and beasts of every kind were dead, and he joyfully received those trials, and secretly went away with his wife and with his two sons. When evil men had learned that they were so bereaved, then went they, and took their gold and silver, and all that was there; and so all their goods were lost through the devil's artifices. In those days it happened that all people were worshipping in solemn assembly with the Emperor for the victory which he had gained over the Persian nation. It was also the custom that Placidas should be foremost in this solemnity, because he was the master and leader of the soldiers. Then was he sought, and no man could find him. Then all men wondered that in so little space (i. e. at so short notice) no one could find him, nor anything which belonged to him; and the emperor and all his servants were very sorry for his sudden departure. Then said his wife to him, ' How long abide we here'? Let us take our two children and go hence, else we shall be a reproach and taunting to all that know us.' Then, at night, they took their two sons, and went to the Egyptians' land. Verily after they had travelled two days, they came to the sea, and there found a ship standing, and they went on it and rowed with them.
When the ship-master saw that Eustace's wife was very fair, he desired to have her, and demanded the ship-toll; but, as they had nothing to offer, he demanded the wife for the toll.
When Eustace knew that, he would not let her go; then the ship-master beckoned to his men that they should throw him overboard. When Eustace perceived their artifices, then he left the woman and took his two children, and went lamenting and saying — ' Woe to me and to you! for your mother is delivered over to a foreign man.' And he went thus, sighing, until he came to a certain river, and durst not, on account of the great size of the river, go in with the two children; but bare one child first, and set it on the other side of the bank, and went again to fetch the second. When he was in the midst of the water, he saw that a lion took the child and went to the wood with it. Then he despaired of the child, and returned patiently, having hope of the other; but when he was (turned) thitherward, he saw that a wolf took it. Then he tare his locks, lamenting, and desired to drown himself in the water; but heavenly virtue fortified him with patience, so that he did it not. Of a truth the lion kept the child unharmed, by God's ordinance; the shepherds of the country, seeing that the lion bare the child thus alive, ran after and rescued it; and also the husbandmen rescued the other child from the wolf. Verily, both the herdsmen and the husbandmen were of one district, and they fed the children with them; but Eustace their father supposed that they had been devoured by the wild beasts; so he went lamenting, and saying; ' Well away! How did I but now grow like the tree which is beautifully adorned with fruits, and am now like the twig that is cut off the tree and cast away in a great storm, and buffeted on all sides. Alas! in how great abundance I once was, and am now bereaved like an enslaved captive; formerly I was master of the soldiers, and compassed about with a great company; now I am left alone, nor have I even my children. But Thou, Lord, forsake me not, nor despise my tears; I remember, dear Lord, that Thou saidest that I should be tried, even as Job, but in some things I suffer more than he. He, verily, although his goods were lost to him, nevertheless his dunghill was left to him that he might sit thereupon; I, indeed, suffer anguish in exile. He had friends who comforted him and sorrowed with him, but I verily have wild beasts in this wilderness, that have taken away my bairns; he had his wife with him who refreshed him, though he suffered (the loss of) his bairns. I verily on all sides am unhappy, being without offspring, nor even a spark of my kindred is left to me, but I am like the boughs which in the desert are beaten on all sides by storms. Dear Lord, reject Thou not Thy servant's manifold words; I, indeed, sorrow in such wise that I speak more than is fit. Set, Lord, a guard on my mouth that my heart yield not to evil words, lest I be cast away from Thy countenance. Dear Lord, give me now rest from my manifold tribulations.'
And with these words he went weeping into the town which is called Dadissus, and there dwelt, and procured for himself food by his work. Then after a great time he prayed the lords of the town that lie might occupy their fields and earn him meed; and he lived there fifteen years. His sons then were nurtured in another town; and neither of them knew that they were brothers. Truly the heathen ship-master, he who took Eustace's wife, led her to his country; and God's grace shielded her that he defiled her not while she was with him, even as she desired of God; and after he was dead, she was his heir. After this there was made a great invasion of the country wherein Eustace had been at first, and they wasted many of the Romans' lands. Then was the emperor exceeding troubled on account of the invasion, and remembered Placidas, and sorely lamented for his sudden departure; he assembled then all his army to him, .and diligently asked about him, and commanded that men should go as widely as his dominion was, and enquire earnestly for him; and he also promised to those who should find him great honour and benefit. Then went two soldiers who were named Antiochus and Achaius, who formerly were under Eustace's hands, and went through all the lands which obeyed Rome until they came where he dwelt. Then truly Eustace beholding them afar, recognized them by their accustomed gait; and being troubled in his mind, he prayed and said — ' Lord our God, Who deliverest from every affliction those who hope in Thee, help me that I may yet see Thy servant my spouse, as I now see at hand those who once served me. Of a surety I know that my bairns on account of my sins are devoured by wild beasts. Grant to me. Lord, that I may at least see them in the day of resurrection,' To him then, thus speaking, came a voice from above, saying to him; 'Trust, Eustace; truly in this present time thou shalt return to thy former dignity, and thou shalt receive both thy wife and thy children; verily, at the resurrection thou shalt see much greater things, and thou shalt receive the delights of the eternal good things, and thy name shall eternally be praised.'
Eustace then, hearing this, was struck with great awe, so that he could not stand, but sat down; then he arose up again, and looked along the way, and saw that the men were coming towards him; and he knew them well, but they did not know him. Then said they to him, 'Hail to thee, brother!' He answered them, 'Peace be with you, brothers!' Then said they again, 'Tell us. oh master! whether thou know here any stranger who is called Placidas, with his wife and his two sons; truly, if thou makest him known to us, we will give thee good meed.' Then said he, 'For what reasons seek ye him? They said, 'He was to us a very dear friend; now would we see him, if we could have intelligence of him after so many years.' Then said he, 'I know not here any such man; truly, I myself am a stranger.' Eustace then led them into his guest-house, and going out bought wine for them, and gave them to drink on account of their great fatigue.
Then said he to the master of the house, ' These men are known to me, and therefore they came to me; give me now meats and wine, and I will pay thee afterward out of my hire.' And he thereupon gladly granted it to him, and he then, Eustace, served them; and remembered how they had before served him, and could not forbear to weep, but went out and washed his eyes, and came again in, and served them. They then earnestly regarded him and partly recognised him and said, ' This man is like the man whom we seek, it might easily be he.' Then said the other, ' I know that he had a scar on his neck that chanced to him in fight; let us observe now whether he hath the token of that wound.' When they looked at him carefully, then saw they the scar on him, and they immediately embraced and kissed him, and wept for bliss, and asked him whether it were he who formerly was the teacher of their soldiers; he then denied that it. was he. Then they in return made him manifest by the mark on his neck, that it was he, and asked him concerning his wife and his children, how they had fared. He then said that it was he, and that his wife and his children were dead. Then this soon became known to all in the land, and they came thither with great wondering; and the men who had gone after him related to all men concerning his former glory. When they heard this, they all wept, saying, 'Alas! that so great excellence of such a man should have served us.' The soldiers then made known to him the emperors command, and clothed him with the best garment, and led him forth with them; and the people of the country brought him further, and he dismissed them in peace. Eustace then, on the way, related to them how Christ had appeared to him, and how he in baptism was named Eustace, and how it had all happened to him about his wife and his children. Then in about fifteen days they came to the emperor and the soldiers; they then related all to him, how they had found him; and the emperor went to meet him, and kissed him and asked why he had willed to go so far from his country. He then related in order to him and to all his nobility, all his journey, and his wife's, and his children's. Then the emperor, and all, were very blithe at his return, and besought him that he would again assume the authority which he had formerly; and he did so. He then bade men assemble an army; and when he reviewed the army, he then perceived that there was not a sufficient army to meet their enemies. Then he bade men collect from every city and town more soldiers. Then it happened that they commanded the council of the town in which his sons had been brought up, that they should equip two soldiers for the army. Then they chose the two youths because they were bold, and handsome, and foreigners, for the military service. So all the army was assembled before him, and he arrayed them in order, and disposed them, as his custom was. Then he saw among others the young knights, that they were fair in countenance and tall in stature; so he placed them the foremost in his service, and became inflamed with love of them; and after he had disposed all his host as his custom was, he went to the fight and overran the lands which the heathen had taken away, and subjected them to the emperor. Then he went forth over the river which was named Idispis in the inner lands of the heathen, and overcame them, and wasted their country; moreover he desired to penetrate it further. Then, by God's fore-ordaining, he came to the land where his wife was; she had taken up her abode in a garden-enclosure, and she was, as we said above, unharmed, through God's protection, by the heathen society.
Then came Eustace with his army to the town wherein she was. Her dwelling there was very winsome to encamp in, and his tents were pitched nigh at hand to her dwelling. Then it happened also that the two youths, her sons, chose to abide with their mother, nor knew they that she was their mother; neither knew she that they were her sons. Then one morning time they spake betwixt themselves therein about their childhood, and their mother sat earnestly listening to their tale. Then said the elder brother, ' The earliest thing that I can remember is, that my father was the tribune of the soldiers, and my mother was very fair of countenance; and they had two sons, me and another younger one; and one night they went out, and took us too, and went to sea and rowed out; when we came up [i.e. landed], then our mother was not with us, I know not wherefore; then our father took us two, and bare us forth weeping on his way; then we came to a river, and he went into the water and bare my younger brother and left me. When he returned, wishing to fetch me, there came a wolf and seized my brother; and before he could come to me, suddenly there came from the wood a lion, and gripped me, and ran to the wood; and the shepherds who were there at hand rescued me, and I was there reared in the town, even as thou knowest, and I knew not how my father and my brother had fared.'
When the younger brother had heard all this from the elder brother, then he arose and caught him by the neck, and kissed and embraced him, and said, ' By the God whom Christians worship I am thy brother by thy tale, because those who reared me told me that they had saved me from the wolf.' When their mother heard these words, then all her heart and all her inward thoughts were stirred, and she thought whether it could be her sons, because he had said that their father was a military tribune, and eke that their mother was left behind in the ship. Then the next day she sought the tribune of the soldiers, thus saying, 'I pray thee, dear lord, that thou wilt bring me to my country. I am truly a Roman, and I was brought hither in captivity.' Then in the meanwhile she looked at him very earnestly, and recognised the signs which were on his neck, and she was thereupon affrighted, and could not bear to conceal it longer, but fell at his feet, and said, ' I beseech thee, dear lord, that thou be not wrath with thy servant; but, for thy clemency, hear me and tell me what thou art. I ween, master, that thou art Placidas, tribune of the soldiers, and wert afterwards in baptism named Eustace, whom likewise the Saviour Himself vouchsafed, by means of the hart, to call to His mercy so that he believed on Him; and he then, because of manifold trials which came to him, took his wife, who I am, and his two sons, Agapitus and Theodistus, and journeyed to the land of Egypt; and, as we rowed, then the ship-master took me by compulsion from him, because he was heathen, and he held me captive in his country; and Christ is my witness that neither he nor any man hath defiled me unto this day; but Christ the Living one preserved my chastity. Now that I have said all this as it happened, now I pray thee, by the great power of our Lord, that thou tell me whether thou know this.'
When Eustace had heard this, then he beheld her and recognised her by her beauty, and for great bliss wept and kissed her, and thanked God Who comforteth all those that trust in Him, and delivereth from all anguish. Then said she to him, ' Lord, where are the sons of us two?' He answered, ' Wild beasts caught them.' And then he related to her how they were taken. Then said she, 'Let us give thanks to Christ; I believe verily, that like as God hath granted us that we two should find each other, that He likewise will grant that we two may discover our bairns.'
Then said Eustace, ' But did I not tell thee, that the wild beasts caught them? ' Then said she, ' Yesterday I sat within my hall, when I heard how two young knights spake betwixt themselves about their childhood; now know I, of a truth, that they are our bairns; neither knew they themselves that they were brothers save through the narrative which the elder brother related to the younger. Understand now how great is God's mercy, which granted them to know that they are brothers.' Then bade Eustace to call them to him, and asked who they were; and they immediately related to him even as we said above; and he then knew that they were his sons, and took them to him, and embraced and kissed them, and they then all bowed their knees to Christ, and with weeping and fervour made thanksgiving for their meeting from the second hour of the day until the sixth hour.
Then verily the fame spread over all the household, and they all wondered together, and rejoiced for their meeting, and that much the more blithely because they had overcome the heathen. Then the next day they made a very great feast, and thanked God for His great mercy. After they had subdued all their enemies' land, and they, with great victory, had returned home, and carried with them great plunder and many captives, then it happened that the Emperor Trajan was dead before Eustace came from the fight, and there was appointed another king, called Adrian, who was heathen, and worse in ferocity. "When Eustace came again from the fight, then went the emperor to meet him, as is the custom with the Romans, and proclaimed a great solemnity for the victory which he had gained, and asked him about the fight and about his wife and his sons, how he had heard of them. Then the next day the emperor went to the temple of the idols, and Eustace would not go in with him, but stood there outside. Then the emperor called him, and asked why he would not offer sacrifice to the gods for his victory, and especially because he had found his wife and his children.
Then said he, ' I worship and pray to my Lord Jesus Christ; unceasingly I offer supplications to Him, "Who had pity on my lowliness and brought me from captivity, and gave me back my wife and my children; verily I know no other God, nor worship any save the Heavenly God, Who created all creatures, both the heavenly and the earthly, and worketh many wonders.'
Then the emperor became filled with great rage, and commanded men to ungird and disarm him, and that he should stand up before his face with his wife and his children as being a transgressor of his lord's commands; and he, however, in no wise would turn from his faith and the true God. When the emperor saw that he could by no means turn him from Christ's Faith, then he commanded him to be led with his wife and his children into a den, and bade a strong lioness to be let in to them, that she should devour them. Then ran the lioness, and stood by the blessed man Eustace, and bowed down her head, and fell at his feet, and humbled herself to him, and arose again, and went out of the house. Earnestly the emperor saw this wonderful spectacle, that the lioness touched them not; then bade he fetch a brazen ox and heat it and put the saints therein. Then came thither countless folk, both of Christians and heathens, to this spectacle; for they desired to see how the saints would suffer. Then besought Eustace that they would allow them time to commend themselves to God, and they stretched up their hands to God, saying, ' Lord God, Creator of all creatures, visible and invisible, Thou Who to all art invisible in Thy Majesty, by us verily Thou wast seen as Thy will was; hear us now, dear Lord, praying to Thee; behold now our desire is fulfilled, that we might come together, and merit to receive the fellowship of the saints, even as the three youths who were tried by fire and yet denied Thee not. Let us now. Lord, end (our lives) by this fire; and give to those who on earth shall be mindful of us the meed in Heaven of Thy Glory with us; and give them sufficiency on earth; and if they, either on the sea or on the land, are endangered, and they call on Thee through our name, may they be delivered from every danger; and if they fall into sins, and they then adjure Thee by our humility, give them, Lord, forgiveness of their sins; and to all those who make memorial of us, and glorify Thee, give them aid and help them; grant. Lord, that this fire's heat may be turned to wet dew, and let us end (our lives) in it; and may it please Thee, as to our bodies, that they be not separated, but let them be here laid together.'
When they had said this, then came a voice from heaven thus speaking: ' It shall be as ye pray, and much more, because ye were striving in good life, and ye were enduring manifold temptations, and nevertheless were not overcome. Come now in peace, and receive the crown of glory of your victory; and, in exchange for these transitory evils, enjoy the eternal goods to ages of ages.' When the blessed saints heard this, then gave they themselves to the fire, and straightway the heat of the fire cooled, and they then praised the glorious and laudable Trinity, and sung a psalm to God, and gave up their souls in peace to Christ; and the fire touched them not, not even a hair of their heads. Verily after three days came the wicked emperor to the place, and bade men open the brazen engine, that he might see to what those saints' bodies had turned. When he saw them sound, then weened he that they yet lived, and bade them to be thrown out on the earth. Then wondered all those who were there, that the fire had not touched even a hair of them, but their bodies were whiter than snow. Then was the emperor afraid, and went thence to his hall; and the multitude who stood there cried, ' Great and exalted is the God of Christian men and the one true God Jesus Christ, and there is none other but He; Who caused the fire not to consume a single thread of their hair.'
And the Christians took their bodies secretly, and buried them; and built a chapel after the persecution was stilled; and celebrated their memory on the day of the Kalends of November. This is the life of the Blessed martyrs, and here is the ending of their glorious strife. Verily all those who are worthy, and glorify their memory, and call them to their assistance, such men shall obtain the good things which are promised to the Saints through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory and power to ages of ages, ever in eternity. AMEN.