6. (4) From this time onwards the Levite[205] of the Lord publicly girded himself to every work of piety, but more especially to those things in which there seemed some indignity. In fact it was his greatest care to attend to the burial of the dead poor,[206] because that savoured not less of humility than of humanity. Nor did _temptation_ fail to test our modern Tobit,[207] and, as in the old story, it came from a woman,[208] or rather from the serpent through a woman.[209] His sister,[210] abhorring the indignity (as it seemed to her) of his office, said: "What are you doing, madman? _Let the dead bury their dead._"[211] And she attacked him daily with this _reproach_.[212] But he _answered the foolish_ woman _according to her folly_,[213] "Wretched woman, you preserve the sound of the _pure word_,[214] but you are ignorant of its force." So he maintained with devotion, and exercised unweariedly the ministry which he had undertaken under compulsion. For that reason also they[215] deemed that the office of the priesthood should be conferred upon him. And this was done. But when he was ordained priest he was about twenty-five years old.[216] And if in both his ordinations the rule of the Canons seems to have been somewhat disregarded--as indeed does seem to have been the case, for he received the Levitical ministry before his twenty-fifth, and the dignity of the priesthood before his thirtieth year[217]--it may well be ascribed to the zeal of the ordainer and the merits of him who was ordained.[218] But for my part, I consider that such irregularity should neither be condemned in the case of a saint, nor deliberately claimed by him who is not a saint. Not content with this the bishop also committed to him his own authority[219] _to sow the_ holy _seed_[220] in a _nation_ which was not _holy_,[221] and to give to a people rude and living _without law_,[222] the law of life and of discipline. He received the command with all alacrity, even as he was _fervent in spirit_,[223] not hoarding up his talents, but eager for profit from them.[224] And behold he began to _root out_ with the hoe of the tongue, _to destroy_, _to scatter_,[225] day by day making _the crooked straight and the rough places plain_.[226] _He rejoiced as a giant to run_ everywhere.[227] You might call him a consuming _fire_ burning _the briers_ of crimes.[228] You might call him _an axe_ or _a mattock casting down_[229] evil plantings.[230] He extirpated barbaric rites, he planted those of the Church. All out-worn superstitions (for not a few of them were discovered) he abolished, and, wheresoever he found it, every sort of malign influence _sent by evil angels_.[231]