with Cæfarius Bishop of Arles, and afterwards took to an Part II. hermitical life, till he was made Abbot of an abbey at Nifmes, which the king, who had found him in his cell by chance as he was hunting, and was pleased with his fanctity, built for his fake. He died in the year 795. fhop of Or §. 2. Eunurchus, otherwife called Evortius, was Bishop 7. Eunurof Orleans in France, being prefent at the council of Va-chus, Bilentia, A. D. 375. The circumftances of his election to leans. this fee were very ftrange. Being fent by the church of Rome into France, about redeeming fome captives, at the time when the people of Orleans were in the heat of an election of a Bishop; a Dove lighted upon his head, which he could not, without great difficulty, drive away. The people obferving this, took it for a fign of his great fanc-" tity, and immediately thought of choofing him Bishop: but not being willing to proceed to election, till they were affured that the lighting of the Dove was by the immediate direction of Providence, they prayed to God that, if he in his goodness defigned him for their Bifhop, the fame Dove might light upon him again, which immediately happening after their prayers, he was chofen Bishop by the unanimous fuffrages of the whole city. Befides this, feveral other miracles are attributed to him; as the quenching a fire in the city by his prayers; his directing the digging of the foundation of a church, in fuch a place, where the workmen found a pot of gold, almost fufficient to defray the charges of the building: his converting feven thousand infidels to Chriftianity within the space of three days and laftly, for foretelling his own death, and in a fort of prophetical manner naming Arianus for his. fucceffor. 8. 3. The eighth of this month is dedicated to the me- 8. Nativity mory of the blessed Virgin's Nativity, a confort of angels of the blefhaving been heard in the air to folemnize that day as her Mary. birth-day. Upon which account the day itfelf was not only kept holy in after-ages; but it was alfo honoured by Pope Innocent IV. with an octave, A. D. 1244, and by Gregory XI. with a vigil in the year 1370. §. 4. The fourteenth of this month is called Holy-cross 14. Holyday, a festival deriving its beginning about the year 615, cross-day. on this occafion: Cofroes King of Perfia having plundered Jerufalem, (after having made great ravages in other parts of the chriftian world,) took away from thence a great piece of the cross, which Helena had left there: and, at the times of his mirth, made sport with that and the holy Trinity. Heraclius the Emperor giving him battle, de F4 feated Chap. I. feated the enemy, and recovered the crofs: but bringing it back with triumph to Jerufalem, he found the gates fhut against him, and heard a voice from heaven, which told him, that the King of kings did not enter into that city in fo stately a manner, but meek and lowly, and riding upon an afs. With that the Emperor difmounted from his horfe, and went into the city not only afoot, but barefooted, and carrying the wood of the crofs himfelf. Which honour done to the crofs gave rise to this feftival. 17. Lam §. 5. Lambert was Bishop of Utrecht in the time of bert, Bishop King Pepin I. But reproving the King's grandfon for his and Martyr. lewd amours, he was, by the contrivance of one of his concubines, barbarously murdered. Being canonized, he at firft only obtained a commemoration in the calendar; till Robert Bishop of Leeds in a general chapter of the Ciftercian order procured a folemn feast to his honour, A. D. 1240. 26. Saint Cyprian, tyr. The Cyprian in the §. 6. St. Cyprian was by birth an African, of a good family and education. Before his converfion he taught rhetoric; but by the perfuafion of one Cæcilius, a Prieft, (from whom he had his furname,) he became a chriftian. And giving all his fubftance to the poor, he was elected Bishop of Carthage in the year, 248. He behaved himself with great prudence in the Decian perfecution, perfuading the people to conftancy and perfeverance; which fo enraged the heathen, that they made proclamation for his difcovery in the open theatre. He fuffered martyrdom September 14, A. D. 258, under Valerianus and Gallienus, having foretold that storm long before, and difpofed his flock to bear it accordingly. But the Cyprian in the Roman calendar celebrated on this day, as appears by the Roman Breviary, is not the Roman ca- fame with St. Cyprian of Carthage, but another Cyprian lendar a different perfon. of Antioch, who of a conjurer was made a chriftian, and afterwards a deacon and a martyr. He happened to be in love with one Juftina, a beautiful young chriftian; whom trying, without fuccefs, to debauch, he confulted the devil upon the matter, who frankly declared he had no power over good chriftians. Cyprian, not pleased with this anfwer of the devil, quitted his fervice, and turned christian. But as foon as it was known, both he and Juftina were accufed before the heathen Governor, who condemned them to be fried in a frying-pan with pitch and fat, in order to force them to renounce their religion, which they notwithstanding with conftancy perfifted in. After After their tortures they were beheaded, and their bodies Part II. thrown away unburied, till a kind mariner took them up, and conveyed them to Rome, where they were depofited in the church of Conftantine. They were martyred in the year 272. and Doctor. §. 7. St. Jerom was the fon of one Eufebius, born in a 30. St. Jetown called Stridon, in the confines of Pannonia and Dal- rom, Prieft, Confeffor, matia. Being a lad of pregnant parts, he was fent to Rome to learn rhetoric under Donatus and Victorinus, two famous Latin critics. There he got to be secretary to Pope Damafcus, and was afterwards baptized. He ftudied divinity with the principal divines of that age, viz. Gregory Nazianzen, Epiphanius, and Didymus. And to perfect his qualifications this way, he learned the Hebrew tongue from one Barraban a Jew. He fpent most of his time in a monaftery at Bethlehem, in great retirement and hard ftudy; where he tranflated the Bible. He died in the year 422, being fourfcore years old. SECT. X. Of the Romish Saints-days and Holy-days in October. REMIGIUS was born at Landen, where he kept him- October 1. felf fo close to his studies, that he was fuppofed to Remigius, have led a monastic life. After the death of Bennadius, Bishop of he was chofen Bishop of Rhemes, for his extraordinary learning and piety. He converted to chriftianity King Clodoveus, and good part of his kingdom; for which reafon he is by fome efteemed the apostle of France. After he had held his bifhopric feventy-four years, he died at ninety-fix years of age, A. D. 535. The cruife which he made ufe of is preferved in France to this day, their kings being usually anointed out of it at their coronation. §. 2. Faith, a young woman fo called, was born at Pais 5. Faith, de Gavre in France. She fuffered martyrdom and very Virgin and cruel torments under the presidentship of Dacianus, about Martyr. the Martyr. §. 3. St. Denys, or Dionyfius the Areopagite, was con- 9.St. Denys verted to chriftianity by St. Paul, as is recorded in the fe- Areop. Biventeenth of the Acts. He was at first one of the judges hop and of the famous court of the Areopagus, but was afterwards made Bishop of Athens, where he fuffered martyrdom for the fake of the Gofpel. There are feveral books which bear his name; but they feem all of them to have been the product of the fixth century. He is claimed by the French as their tutelar faint, by reason that, as they say, he Chap. I. he was the firft that preached the Gofpel to them. But it is plain that christianity was not preached in that nation till long after St. Dionyfius's death. Among feveral foolith and incoherent ftories, which they relate of him, this is one that, after feveral grievous torments undergone,, he was beheaded by Fefcennius the Roman Governor at Paris; at which time he took up his head, after it was fevered from his body, and walked two miles with it in. his hands, to a place called the Martyrs-hill, and there, laid down to reft. 13. Tranflation of §. 4. The thirteenth of this month is dedicated to the King Ed- memory of King Edward the Confeffor's Translation. He ward the was the youngest fon of King Ethelred; but, all his elder Confeffor. brothers being dead, or fled away, he came to the crown, 17. Ethel gin. of England in the year 1042. His principal excellency, was his gathering together a body of all the most useful laws, which had been made by the Saxon and Danish kings. The name of Confeffor is supposed to have been given him by the Pope, for fettling what was then called Rome-Scot; but is now better known by the name of Peter-Pence. The monks have attributed fo many miracles to him, that even his vestments are by them reputed holy. His crown, chair, staff, fpurs, &c. are still made ufe of in the coronation of our English Kings. 4 §. 5. Etheldred was daughter of Anna, a King of the. dred, Vir- Eaft-Angles, who was first married to one Tonbert, a great Lord in Lincolnshire, &c. and after him to King Egfrid about the year 671. with both which hufbands the ftill continued a Virgin, upon pretence of great fanctity. And ftaying at court twelve years, and continuing this morofeness, the got leave to depart to Coldingham Abbey, where fhe was a Nun under Ebba, the daughter of King Ethelfrida, who was Abbefs. Afterward the built an abbey at Ely, which he was Abbefs of herfelf, and there died and was buried, being recorded to pofterity by the name of St. Audry. 25. Crifpin, Martyr. §. 6. Crifpinus and Crifpianus were brethren, and born at Rome: from whence they travelled to Soiffons in France, about the year 303, in order to propagate the christian religion. But because they would not be charge-, able to others for their maintenance, they exercised the, trade of Shoemakers. But the Governor of the town difcovering them to be chriftians, ordered them to be beheaded about the year 303. From which time the Shoemakers made choice of them for their tutelar faints. SECT. SECT. XI. Of the Romish Saints-days and Holy-days in November. Part II. THE fecond of this month is called All-Souls day, Nov. 2. being obferved in the church of Rome upon this oc- All-Souls cafion. A monk having vifited Jerufalem, and paffing day. through Sicily as he returned home, had a mind to fee mount Etna, which is continually belching out fire and smoke, and upon that account by fome thought to be the mouth of hell. Being there, he heard the devils within complain, that many departed fouls were taken out of their hands by the prayers of the Cluniac monks. This, when he came home, he related to his Abbot Odilo, as a true story; who thereupon appointed the fecond of November to be annually kept in his monaftery, and prayers to be made there for all departed fouls: and in a little time afterwards the monks got it to be made a generalholy-day by the appointment of the Pope; till in ours and other reformed churches it was defervedly abrogated. §. 2. Leonard was born at Le Nans, a town in France, 6. Leonard, bred up in divinity under Remigius Bishop of Rhemes, Confeffor. and afterwards made Bishop of Limofin. He obtained of King Clodoveus a favour, that all prisoners whom he went to fee fhould be fet free. And therefore whenever he heard of any perfons being prifoners for the fake of religion, or any other good cause, he presently procured their liberty this way. But the monks have improved this story, telling us, that if any one in prifon had called upon his name, his fetters would immediately drop off, and the prifon doors fly open: infomuch that many came from far countries, brought their fetters and chains, which had fallen off by his interceffion, and presented them before him in token of gratitude. He died in the year 500, and has always been implored by prisoners as their faint. §. 3. St. Martin's account has already been given on 11. St.MarJuly 4. tin, Bishop and Copfeffor. §. 4. Britius, or St. Brice, was fucceffor to St. Martin in the bishopric of Tours. About the year 432, a great 13. Britius, trouble befel him: for his laundrefs proving with child, Bishop. the uncharitable people of the town fathered it upon Brice. After the child was born, the cenfures of the people increased, who were then ready to ftone their Bithop. But the Bishop having ordered the infant to be brought to him, adjured him by Jefus the Son of the living God, to tell him whofe child he was. The child being then but |
