When his adversaries had hardly granted that, a blind man of English kin
was led forth: he was first led to the bishops of the Britons, and he
received no health nor comfort through their ministry. Then at last
Augustine was constrained by righteous need, arose and bowed his knees,
[and] prayed God the Almighty Father that he would give sight to the
blind man, that he through one man's bodily enlightening might kindle
the gift of ghostly light in the hearts of many faithful Then soon,
without delay, the blind man was enlightened, and received sight; and
the true preacher of the heavenly light, Augustine, was proclaimed and
praised by all. Then the Britons also acknowledged with shame that they
understood that it was the way of truth which Augustine preached; they
said, however, that they could not, without consent and leave of their
people, shun and forsake their old customs. They begged that again
another synod should be [assembled], and they then would attend it with
more counsellors.
When that accordingly was set, seven bishops of the Britons came, and
all the most learned men, who were chiefly from the city Bangor: at that
time the abbot of that monastery was named Dinoth. When they then were
going to the meeting, they first came to a [certain] hermit, who was
with them holy and wise. They interrogated and asked him whether they
should for Augustine's lore forsake their own institutions and customs.
Then answered he them, "If he be a man of God, follow him." Quoth they
to him, "How may we know whether he be so?" Quoth he: "[Our] Lord
himself hath said in his gospel, Take ye my yoke upon you, and learn
from me that I am mild and of lowly heart. And now if Augustine is mild
and of lowly heart, then it is [to be] believed that he bears Christ's
yoke and teaches you to bear it. If he then is unmild and haughty, then
it is known that he is not from God, nor [should] ye mind his words."
Quoth they again, "How may we know that distinctly?" Quoth he, "See ye
that he come first to the synod with his fellows, and sit; and, if he
rises toward you when ye come, then wit ye that he is Christ's servant,
and ye shall humbly hear his words and his lore. But if he despise you,
and will not rise toward you since there are more of you, be he then
despised by you." Well, they did so as he said.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account