ON THE SAME DAY.

THE SAINTS ALEXANDER, EVENTIUS AND THEODULUS.

ON this day suffered a venerable pope called ALEXANDER, with two mass-priests, EVENTIUS and THEODULUS, before the emperor named Aurelian, who martyred them. He was a bloodthirsty slayer of christian men, and many believing men deprived of life. Then he commanded the holy doctor to be sent for, and directly said to him with insidious mind," Alexander pope, I seek first from thee, that thou quickly tell me what the cause is that ye will voluntarily die for Christ rather than ever deny his faith." The pope answered the murderer thus, "That which thou askest is a very holy thing; but Christ forbade us to give that to the dogs." Then said Aurelian, "Do I seem a dog?" Alexander then wished, "Ah, if thou were a dog! A dog is soulless, and suffers not in hell. The man who despises his Creator in life, shall for ever suffer in eternal torments." The emperor then threatened to scourge him, if he told him not whatsoever he asked him. Alexander said, that he feared God, and none other, in the present life. "Thou errest, emperor, through temerity, if, without belief, thou desirest to learn from us the holy mysteries by hard stripes." Aurelian answered very proudly, "I alone hold sway over all the world, and thou speakest thus audaciously as to some judge; but thy soul shall, sorely tortured, depart from thy body before I leave thee." Alexander said, "What new wilt thou do now? They only escaped from thy cruel hands, who through thy torments denied their Lord. But I shall perish by death from thee, for I will never deny Christ.”

After these words the cruel tyrant commanded him to be hanged on a hard gibbet, and his sides to be burnt with hot flames, and to be a long while tormented on the gibbet; but

cwæð. pa befrán se árleasa casere, hwí he suwade. pa sæde se halga, þæt he spræce to Criste. Eft hine axode se ârleasa casere, Humeta he wolde his geogoðe amyrran, cwæð þæt he da wære geðuht prittig geara. pa wiscte se biscop þæt se walhreowa ne sceolde his sawle amyrran ðurh his mandædum. Da sende seo cwen dis ærende him to, "Beorh de ic bidde, and forlæt done biscop, elles du earma scealt yfelum deade sweltan, and ic beo forlæten wudewe on life." pa cwæð se casere, pæt hi wæron gesibbe, and forði spræce pillice word him fore. He het swa-peah-hwædere done halgan forlætan, and gelangian ða preostas to his laðan andwerdnysse, and befran done papan hwæt hî wæron gehæfde. pa sæde se biscop, þæt hi soðlice wæron halige mæssepreostas, dam Hælende deowigende. Pa axode se casere pone ænne preost, hu his nama wære, oððe hú gefyrn he gelyfde. He cwæð þæt he hatte Euentius fram iugede, and wære gefullod for hund-seofontig geara, and to mæssepreoste gehalgod for manegum gearum. Pa bet se casere hine Crist wiðsacan, and he moste beon mærlice mid him. Euentius him sæde da mid soore lare, pæt he sceolde behreowsian his redan dæda, and gelyfan on Crist, þæt he his miltse begeate. Pa het se wælhreowa him gelangian to done oderne preost, and him sona to cwæð, "Eart du peodolus, de mine hæse forsihst?" Da sæde Deodolus, þæt he forsawe his hæse, and eac hine sylfne for nahte tealde, forðan de he Godes halgan hynde mid witum. Aurelianus cwæd to dan arwurðan preoste, "Ne bist du orhlyte eallunge æra witena." peodolus sæde, pæt he truwode on God þæt he nære ascýred fram soðum martirdome pes halgan weres, his holdan papan. Đa hết se wælhreowa gewriðan done papan, and done oðerne preost to his hricge hindan, and wurpan hí begen into byrnendum ofne; and hết Đeodolum standau æt Nam muỒn, pat he for Sam ógan hin abúgan sceolde. Hi wurdon da aworpene, swa se

he said nothing. Then the impious emperor inquired why he was silent. Then said the saint, that he was speaking to Christ. Again the impious emperor asked him, Why he would sacrifice his youth, saying, that he then appeared to him to be thirty years old. Then the bishop wished that the bloodthirsty emperor might not sacrifice his soul through his wicked deeds. The queen then sent this errand to him, "Save thyself, I pray, and leave the bishop, else thou, miserable, shalt die an evil death, and I shall be left a widow for life." Then said the emperor that they were akin, and therefore she spake such words before him. He, nevertheless, commanded the saint to be left, and the priests to be sent for to his hateful presence, and questioned the pope who the prisoners were. Then said the bishop, that they were truly holy mass-priests, servants of Jesus. Then the emperor asked one of the priests what his name was, or how long he had believed. He said, that he was called Eventius from his youth, and had been baptized seventy years ago, and hallowed a mass-priest for many years. The emperor then commanded him to deny Christ, and he might be exalted with him. Eventius then said to him, with true instruction, that he should repent of his cruel deeds and believe in Christ, that he might obtain his mercy. Then the cruel tyrant commanded the other priest to be sent for, and directly said to him, "Art thou Theodulus, who despisest my behest?" Then said Theodulus, that he despised his behest, and himself also accounted as naught, because he afflicted God's saints with torments. Aurelian said to the venerable priest, "Thou shalt not be wholly exempt from those torments." Theodulus said, that he trusted in God that he should not be excluded from the true martyrdom of the holy man, his benign pope. Then the cruel tyrant ordered the pope to be bound, and the other priest behind his back, and both to be cast into a burning oven; and commanded Theodulus to stand at the mouth, that from fear he might submit to him.

walhreowa hết, into dam byrnendum ofue, gebundene Dwyres ; ac se lig him ne mihte nateshwon derian. Da clypode se papa to dam oðrum preoste, "Brodor Deodole, gang hider in to ús se ylca is herinne de giú ær ahredde ða gelyfedan cnihtas wið Nabochodonosor, de hí gebundene wearp into byrnendum ofne." pa sceat Deodolus sona to dam papan, unforht on dam fyre, fægnigende mid sange, " Drihten, du afandodest ús on ðisum fyre, and nis on ús gemett ænig unrihtwisnys." pis wearð da gecyd þam casere sona, and he wearð geangsumod mid ormætum graman, and hết beheafdian ða halgan preostas, and dæs papan lima gelome prician, odpæt he swulte ðurh swylcum pinungum. Efter disum weard gehyred of heofonum clypung to dam casere, ðaða hé heora deaðes fægnode, “ Þu Aureliane, de is hell geopenod, and disum martyrum is myrco gegearcod." Da cwacode hê sona, and cwæð to his wife, "Sum mære iungling com mid gyrde to me, seo waes eal isen, and eac byrnende, and wearp hí ða to me, das word cwedende, Hafa de, Aureliane, swa du sylf gecure; and ic sidðan cwacode eal on fefore. Gebide nu for me pone God de du wurðast." pa andwyrde þæt wif, Seueriana gehâten, "Ic wille da halgan bebyrian, þy-læs de me swa getimige." And heo sona swa dyde mid soðum geleafan, and mid arwurðnysse hí ealle bebyrigde; efste ham siððan to dam earman casere. Ða læg se earming, his yrmde bemænende, and bất his tungan þæt heo on blode fleow. He gewat da of worulde to wælhreawum cwic-suslum; and Seueriana gecom to dæra halgena byrgenum, mid hæran gescrydd, and þær wunade swa, odpæt Sixtus biscop com fram Eastdæle, and þær be hire bene biscop gehádode, de mihte behwyrfan da halgan martiras mid gastlicum sangum, and Godes gerihtum. Seo stow hæfde siððan symle hire biscop, oð pisne andweardan dæg. Sy dam Ælmihtigan lof, seðe ána ricsað on ecnysse God. Amen.

They were then cast, as the tyrant commanded, into the burning oven, bound crosswise; but the flame might not at all hurt them. Then cried the pope to the other priest, "Brother Theodulus, come in hither to us: the same is herein who of yore delivered the believing youths from Nebuchadnezzar, who had cast them bound into a burning oven." Then Theodulus instantly darted to the pope fearless into the fire, rejoicing with song, "Lord, thou hast tried us in this fire, and there is not found in us any unrighteousness." This was then immediately announced to the emperor, and he became troubled with boundless anger, and commanded the holy priests to be beheaded, and the limbs of the pope to be repeatedly pricked, until he died through such tortures. After this was heard a calling from heaven to the emperor, while he was rejoicing at their death, "Thou Aurelian, for thee hell is opened, and for these martyrs joy is prepared." Then he instantly quaked, and said to his wife, “An illustrious youth came to me with a rod, which was all iron, and also burning, and cast it to me, saying these words, Have, Aurelian, that which thou thyself hast chosen; and I afterwards quaked all in a fever. Pray now for me to the God whom thou worshipst." Then answered the wife, called Severiana, "I will bury the saints, lest it so befall me." And she forthwith did so with true belief, and buried them all with reverence; she then hastened home to the miserable emperor. There lay the wretch bemoaning his misery, and bit his tongue so that it flowed with blood. He then departed from the world to cruel torments; and Severiana came to the graves of the saints, clad in hair-cloth, and there so continued, until bishop Sixtus came from the East, and there, at her prayer, ordained a bishop, who might minister to the holy martyrs with ghostly songs and divine rites. The place had constantly ever since its own bishop until this present day. Praise be to the Almighty, who alone reigneth God to eternity. Amen.