The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick: Including the Life by Jocelin, Hitherto Unpublished in America, and His Extant Writings
History
The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick: Including the Life by Jocelin, Hitherto Unpublished in America, and His Extant Writings
Patrick, Saint, 373?-463?
One day as Diarmaid went in his boat past the shore of Cluainmic-Nois,
Ciaran heard the noise and motion of the craft, and called him ashore,
and Ciaran said, "Come to me, for thou art a king's son, and mark out the
Redes [a church] and the Eclais-bec [a little church], and grant the
place to me." He said, "I am not a king." To whom Ciaran said, "You
will be a king to-morrow." In that day, the king, Tuathal, came with
great bands to banish Diarmaid, when Maelmor (of the Conaille),
Diarmaid's foster-brother, killed him; and Maelmor was immediately slain.
Hence the old saying, "the feat of Maelmor." Diarmaid afterwards assumed
the sovereignty of Erinn, through Ciaran's blessing when Diarmaid was
marking the site of Eclais-bec, and bowed down thrice. He went to Tara,
and gave Ciaran an offering for every _tairlim_, along with Druimraithe.
Ocurrit nobis hic virtus etsi per ancificatione [_recte_ anticipationein].
Another time Patrick heard, through the malice of the vulgar, that Bishop
Mel had sinned with his sister, for they were wont to be in the same
house, praying to the Lord. When Bishop Mel saw Patrick coming towards
him to Ard-Achadh [Ardagh] to reprove him, Bishop Mel went out to a hill
to fish in the pools and furrows. When it was told to Patrick that he
had caught a salmon in this way, Patrick uttered the famous saying:
"Seorsim viri et seorsim foeminae ne occasionem dare intirmis inveniantur
et ne nomen Domini per nos blasphemetur, quid absit a nobis," for God
does not assist any unjust, false man; _i.e._, non temptabis Dominum Deum
tuum. Bishop Mel's sister then went with fire in her _casula_, Patrick
then knew there was no sin between them, dicens, "Seorsum feminis ne
occasione dare infirmis inveniamur et ne non Domini per nos blasfemaretur
quod absit a nobis, et sic reliquit eos," _i.e._, Bri-Leith between them:
she in Druim-Cheu to the west of Bri-Leith; he (Bishop Mel) to the east
of it, in Ard-Achadh.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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