The Lives of the Saints, Volume 01 (of 16): JanuaryBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Religion
The Lives of the Saints, Volume 01 (of 16): January
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Christian saints
The Arian King, Totila, drove S. Datius from his see, and he escaped to
Constantinople. On his way occurred that incident recorded by S. Gregory
the Great, by which he is chiefly known. Arriving at Corinth, and
looking about for a large house, which would lodge him and his
companions, he saw a mansion, which seemed exactly suited to his
purpose, and was apparently unoccupied. Having instituted inquiries, he
was told that the house was haunted, and that it was impossible for any
man to spend the night in it. "Ghost and devil will not scare a servant
of God!" said S. Datius, and he ordered beds to be made in the haunted
house. He said his prayers as usual, and then retired to rest. About
midnight he was aroused by a hideous rout, like the braying of asses,
the grunting of swine, the squeaking of rats, and the hissing of
serpents. Then Datius, raising himself in bed, shouted, "Oh, Satan! thou
who saidst in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God: I will be like the most High! (Isa. xiv.
13, 14.) Well done, I say, Satan. Thou, who wouldst be like God, art
reduced to bray like a jackass, and grunt like a hog." Instantly there
was dead silence, and S. Datius was no more troubled with unearthly
noises.
B. ORDORICO, O.S.F.
(A.D. 1331.)
[His life, by several writers on the Franciscan Saints. His travels
were dictated by him to Friar Guglielmo, who wrote them down, and
added an account of his death. No copy of his original Latin MS.
exists, and the Italian and Latin copies we have vary so much from
one another that it is difficult to know which is the most correct.
Copyists, not considering the things related in his travels as
sufficiently marvellous, have supplied by their fancy what Ordorico
never dictated. Although no copy of the original MS. exists, we can
trace the progress of amplification and error by comparing the
oldest and best account of the travels extant, with some of the
later narratives of Friar Ordorico's life and adventure.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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