Gesta Romanorum Vol. II (1871)/Of the Soul, which being infected with the Leprosy of Sin, cannot recover its ancient Beauty, except by penitential Sighs and Tears

Gesta Romanorum Vol. II (1871)
Anonymous, translated by Charles Swan
Of the Soul, which being infected with the Leprosy of Sin, cannot recover its ancient Beauty, except by penitential Sighs and Tears
Anonymous2271816Gesta Romanorum Vol. II — Of the Soul, which being infected with the Leprosy of Sin, cannot recover its ancient Beauty, except by penitential Sighs and Tears1871Charles Swan

TALE XIV.

OF THE SOUL, WHICH BEING INFECTED WITH THE LEPROSY OF SIN, CANNOT RECOVER ITS ANCIENT BEAUTY, EXCEPT BY PENITENTIAL SIGHS AND TEARS.

A king being desirous of visiting foreign countries, and possessing an only daughter of great beauty, indeed infinitely brighter than the sun, knew not into whose custody he might fearlessly consign her. At last, he put her under the charge of his secretary, for whom he had the greatest regard. He commanded him to take every precaution, and especially to guard against her drinking of a singular fountain which sprang up in that country. For it had the property, although of a most exquisite flavour, of infecting with leprosy whosoever tasted it. The secretary, therefore, in order to restore her to her father as beautiful as when he departed, reflected much upon his precarious employment; remembering, at the same time, that if she were at all injured he should lose his office, and be unable to meet his master. For a while he watched his charge with extreme vigilance; but the lady having discovered the fountain, went so cunningly to work, that she drank of it, and was consequently infected with a loathsome disease. The secretary perceiving this, was filled with the most poignant grief, and carried her away to a desert region. There he found a hermit; and beating with his hands upon the door of his cell, related to him all that had happened, beseeching him to point out how she might be healed. "Go," said the hermit, "to a mountain which I will shew you: in that place, you will discover a certain stone, and a peculiar kind of rod. Take this rod, and strike the stone pretty smartly, until a moisture exudes from it. Smear the affected parts with this liquid, and she will be presently restored to her original beauty." The secretary strictly followed the hermit's injunctions, and the lady became as she was before.


APPLICATION.

My beloved, the king is Christ; the daughter is the soul, originally brighter than the sun. The fountain is the world, which infects it with sin. The recluse is the Church; the rod, penitence; and the moisture, the tears of a contrite heart.