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Biblioth(k?u'^, 
 
 Le Sem mane '-.i-- Qu^bea' 
 3, rue de 1' University, 
 Quebec 4, QUE. 
 
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 Wb approve of the publication of the Effe o( tt« »les»e1i VU^U\ i»ari. i«Bt|)«v ot 
 fKot. ami recommend it to <A« u«0 o/" the Faithful. 
 
 4. JOHN, 
 
 ArehbMop 0/ A'tw York, 
 
 H«w To»K. /"aoiil 0/ the AnnunHatinii of B. P. Har^ 
 Uarrb SAth. ISM 
 
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 PREFACE. 
 
 This b<v>k, which the public has Toucbsat'cd to receive favourably, is nol 
 an ambitious attempt to obtain celebrity ; it is a work of patience and of faith, 
 a flower laid on the altar of Mary, with the simple sincerity of a pilgrim of 
 the good old time. The Blessed Virgin was, doubtless, deserving of a better 
 historian, but she could find none more desirous of glorifying her name and 
 propagating the devotion which is her due. 
 
 The life of the Queen of Angels, of the mystical rose of the new law, 
 is, of itself, a theme so poetical that it naturally called forth all graceful and 
 touching ideas, as well as the noblest oppressions of our lang<iage. It is an 
 Eastern Tale, reflecting the customs, the pageants, and the scenery of Asia ; 
 is it, therefore, surprising that the style should be tinted with an Oriental 
 colouring? 
 
 We have studied the Fathers enough to know that they did not disdain 
 the graces of diction, and that, in this respect, they fought paganism with 
 equal arms. This is what the great St. Jerome called, in hia figurative 
 language, cutting off the head of Goliath with his own sword. What can 
 be more elevated, more poetical, than certain descriptions of St. John 
 Chryaostom? That sacred orator often chimes in with the Oriental poets, 
 and it is iu one of his homilies that we find the similitude of the earth 
 embalmed with the perfume of roses, which has since been reproduced by Soadi 
 in hia Gulistan. 
 
 The letters and the homilies of St. Basil the Great, replete with agreeable 
 pictures, imitated but not surpassed by Fcnelon, have all a poetical cast 
 very fit to frighten those timorous minds who, now-a-days, take poetry for 
 a spectre, and would fain exclude it from all manner of works. It is the 
 same with St Gregory of Nazianzen, that sublime Ohristian dreamer, who 
 questioned himself on the nature of his soul, under tfie shade of tfdck foliage, 
 whilst the zephyrs, mingled with the songs of the birds, shed from (lie iopmott 
 branches of the trees a su-fet and dreamy tranquillity ; whilst the grasshoppers, 
 hidden beneath the herbage, made all the woods resound, and a limpid stream 
 flowed past his feet, winding on m its refreshing course through the wood. If 
 that be not poetry, I know not what it ia. 
 
 
 
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 Pn£t AGE. 
 
 In order to convert the nations it is necessary, first of all, to obtain a 
 hearing; to confirm in the Roman faith masses long agitated by the suo- 
 cesaive shocks of revolutions, beaten by the wind of systems, indifferent 
 from weariness, and open to the attacks of an audacious sect which raises ita 
 head higher than ever, for 
 
 D^ja de sa faveur on adore le bruit ; 
 
 the first thing to be done is to induce them to read our works. The preacher 
 who would divest the sacred Word of all the ornaments of elocution would 
 soon have our churches deserted, and might say, like the Greek musician 
 left alone in a public place, " Ye temples, hear me !" The religious writer 
 who would affect a dull and arid style, in the midst of a nation which pridea 
 itself on its taste and literary skill, would assuredly fare no better; he woxUd 
 fall, with all his weight, into that oblivion where nothing floats, and h's 
 book, had it the intrinsic value of gold and pearls, would be, nevertheless, 
 the most useless thing in the world, for none would touch it. St. Basil waa 
 so persuaded of this truth that he strenuously urged the young orators of his 
 time to a profound study of human letters, so as to transfer their beauties 
 into the Catholic works. " Human letters," says that great doctor, " are like 
 leaves which serve to cover and to ornament the words of truth and wisdom. 
 If Moses and Daniel were the two most brilliant lights of the Synagogue, it 
 was because they had acquired all the arts of the Egyptians." St. Jerome 
 subjected to the anti-literary attacks of the priest Rufinus, who accused him 
 of mingling tJie filth of paganism with the word of the Lord, coolly sent him 
 word that being hipiself blind as a mole he ought not to mock those who had Vie 
 eyes of a goat. And, in fact, when the sumptuous decoration of altars and 
 of tabernacles was regarded, even in the most austere ages of the Church, as 
 a good and commendable practice, proper to heighten the majesty of 
 Christian worship, wherefore should we make of religious literature a barren 
 and dreary waste, whereon none would wish to enter for fear of sinking on 
 the way under a load of weariness ? Is it thus, then, that the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, which St. John Chrysostom declared full of pearls and diamonds, were 
 conceived? Are not all kinds of composition found in the Bible, from tlie 
 eclogue to the epopoeia? The saints of those remote times, which we, in our 
 courtesy, are wont to call barbarous, were far from wishing to despoil religious 
 works of all literary value. "What!" says an illustrious writer of the ninth 
 century, " we wrap up the ashes of the saints in gold and precious stones, 
 yet their actions are clothed but in rude and homely language I We adorn 
 our love-stories witli all th'3 graces of fiction, and we describe in the driest, 
 the dullest, and the most uninteresting manner, the immortiil deeds of the 
 heroes of Christianity I Is it, therefore, that elegance of style is only to bo 
 used for glossing over the turpitude of iniquity ?" 
 
PRSFAOE. 
 
 Ml 
 
 i 
 
 "Would,'' says a pious and learned author who, in 1722, dedicated the life 
 of a holy personage to the Bishop of Blois, " would that Catholics would 
 give to the admirable achievements of the saints those ornaments wherewith 
 sinners embellish their guilty passions, and thereby show that they know 
 better how to adorn virtue than those worldlings to adorn vice." 
 
 If it bo evT permitted to throw poetical flowers on a religious theme, it is, 
 assuredly, when treating of the Mystical Rose of the new law ; this is s« 
 true that the gravest doctors of other ages became poets without their 
 knowing or wishing it, when they spoke of that glorious creature, St. 
 Gregory of Neocesarea, that cold, austere thaumaturges, finds the most 
 charming appellations for the Mother of God, whom he styles source of light 
 and immaculate flower of life. St. Ephraim, that melancholy and enthusiastic 
 solitary, compares the Blessed Virgin to the golden censer exhaling the 
 siuectest perfumes. St. Epiphanius calls the Virgin a spiritual ocean coi. laining 
 the celestial pearl. St. Cyril of Alexandria, the inextinguishable lamp which 
 has brought forUi the Sun of Justice. " With what marvellous flowers of 
 eloquence shall we weave thee a crown, Mary !" says St. Basil of Selcmia ; 
 "from, Viee has budded the flower of Jesse, which embellishes ws tvith glory and 
 honour." St. Gregory the Great compares Mary, that virgin fair and adorned 
 with the ghry of her fruitfulness, to a very high mountain lohich soars above 
 Uie angelic choirs and reaches even to the throne of the Divinity. Alcuin, that 
 light of the court of Charlemagne, accustomed as he was to dry and arid 
 laboura, feecame a poet for Mary: " Thou art my beloved," said he, "thou art 
 my joy and glory, Virgin ! tJiou art tl ; life of heaven, the flower of Oie fielh 
 the lily of the world." Pope Innocent III. compares Mary to the dawn. Si 
 Thomas of Aquinas to the star of the ocean whicL guides and directs those ichc 
 navigate the ivatcrs. "Hail! noble daughter of Kings," cries the learned aim 
 mystical Erasmus, "thou art more brilliant than the dawn, milder than the 
 silvery moon, purer than the fresh-blovm lily, ivhiter than t/ie mountain- snoiv, 
 more graceful than the rose, more precious than the ruby, more cha-ste than t/ie 
 angels " 
 
 Impressed with these counsels, encouraged by these examples, we have 
 \ightly rubbed with the honey of Engaddi the edge of the cup which wo 
 present to the people of the world — those spoiled children who reject with 
 scorn all drinks which have not, like the sherbets of tlie East, the perfuiiia 
 of tlio violet and the rose. Some have, on this account, accused us of a 
 crime, and bitterly reproached us with having sacrificed to the false goda; 
 but when they set about giving quotations the result was rather unfortunate 
 for them, for ihcy have, without knowing it, found fault with Scriptural 
 idioms and plira.seology, that is to say, even tlie Word of God itself. "I do 
 not always quote my authority," says Montaigne, "because nothing is more 
 amu.-ing tliiui to see a thrust made through me at Virgil, Tacitus, Horace. Iti 
 
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 TREFAOE. 
 
 a word, at the greatest writers of antiquity, by some who are scarcely able 
 to read them." Precisely the same thing has happened to us, although we 
 had not intended to lay such a snare for the simplicaty of certain censors, 
 who are, alas I in the highest degree, ignorant of their own ignorance, which 
 is the worst ignorance of all, if the Orientals are to be believed. We have 
 heard the Prophets gravely descanted on by small critics, who are reputed to 
 know the whole Bible by heart. What could we do in such a case as that ? 
 
 All evil passions are up in arms against this book, and men who ought to 
 have sustained it, were it only for the sacred cause which it espouses, have 
 stealthily pursued it with a malignity truly Pharisaical. May God, who 
 lifts the seven-fold veil of malice from false hearts to penetrate to the 
 actuating motives of their works — may he forgive them, even as we do! 
 We have had such fair and honourable suffrages to console us, that we may 
 well afford to overlook these puny attempts. 
 
 The foreign press, namely, the Italian, the German, and the Spanish, 
 have taken much notice of this Life of the Blessed Virgin. Being unable 
 to quote all, we shall confine ourselves to this extract from a learned 
 article in La Cruz, {The Cross,) a Spanish journal, religious, political, and 
 literary, which is honoured with the patronage of the eminently Catholic 
 clergy of Spain : — 
 
 " The Abb6 Orsini, in tracing the aiinnis of the woreliip of the Blessed Virgin, which com- 
 menced with ChriBtianity, and in raking vip authorities, whicli, but for liim, might perchance 
 huTo remained in oblivion, presents to the reader tlie titles whereon hyperdulia and ttafe worship 
 of the Virgin are founded, a worship which ccrtoinly occupies a golden page in the calendar of 
 the world, and is connected with the most glorious associations. Nor is this all that the Ahh6 
 Orsini has done ; his book comprises the biography of Jesus, and, in some measure, the history 
 of ^he terrestrial globe, whidi dates from the fall of ma.i and the promise of a Redeemer. Id 
 this work we find profound theology, vast erudition, good literary taste, ond enchanting touches 
 of poetry 
 
 "Tlie translator. Dr. F. V. P., has added another jewel, in tlio name of the Spaniards, to tho 
 crown whcrowlth tho lilrrati of Europe have adorned the brow of tho author of Tlie Complett 
 Life of the Mother of Ood. Tliis book is one of the great works of the nineteetith century, an** 
 merits a place in the first rank." 
 
 We refer not to these eulogiums, ^whioh are certainly somewhat ex- 
 aggerated,) through a ridiculous vanity or self-laudation, but to demonstrate 
 that the Life of the Mother of God has been well received by Catholics 
 abroad, whose sympathy is exceedingly precious to us. It is no less con- 
 soling to see that it is also becoming po[)iilar in Germany, in England, i.i 
 Russia, and in Anieiiea, where it liius probably assisted in dispelling some 
 unjust prejudices amongst di.ssenting Ciiristians. 
 
 As for the French press, it has treated this book jnst as it pleased, for we 
 have never attempted to influence it cither by intrigue or solicitation of aijy 
 sort, notwithstanding which it has, in general, expressed itself in such a way 
 that we have only to return our best thanks. By u providen'ial chance it 
 
 % 
 
 3^^ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IZ 
 
 lias happened, that the most of those literary men inlao have taken cog- 
 nizance of our work were men of feeling, knowledge, and intellect, and have 
 acted generously by us. But great minds are usually indulgent and 
 lenient towards othera; lions, conscious of their own strength, often mag- 
 nnnimousiy spare the weaker prey ; it is not so with the vipers ym» hiss 
 and bite in the mire of their native marsh, by way of satisfying their 
 conscience. 
 
 Happy the author who fells into the hands of men able to appreciate a 
 book, to examine it without prejudice, and with the probity which becomes 
 the magistracy of thought Criticism is a trade in which many meddle, but 
 which very few understand ; to do it as it should be done, there is need of 
 learning, taste, and conscience, things which every one has not 
 
 A learned prelate, whose name was still unknown to us when we wrote 
 the preface to our first edition, the late Bishop Cotteret of Beauvais, a pro- 
 found theologian and a very distinguished writer, after having justified our 
 use of Oriental traditions— " Traditions" says the learned Bishop, " which 
 (he autJior has not giv^n as articles of faith" — goes on to say : " The Abb<5 
 Orsini is one of the writers of our time who has the most perfectly mastered 
 the language; he speaks like a true disciple of Chateaubriand." This was 
 conferring a high honour upon us, although it was far from being deserved ; 
 we have never had the presumption to follow, even afar oft^ in the gigantic 
 steps of that great master, and if our style have any, even a slight resem- 
 blance to his, we can only say, as did an humble poet of Kurdistan, on a 
 similar occasion, " I have come forth, like Antar, that famous poet, from 
 the garden of Nischabur ; but Antar was the rose of the garden, and I am 
 only a brier." 
 
 An observation has been made to us, to which we are now about to reply , 
 it relates to the use which we have made of the Hebrew customs in comj)let- 
 ing our Life of the Blessed Virgin. Any traveller who has visited the East 
 or any scholar who is at all acquainted with the history and condition of 
 Asia, will perceive that our work is based on long and laborious researches, 
 and not by any means on imagination ; we have not even presumed to invent 
 the common forms of fareweU or of wishing a good journey ; all has been 
 derived from respectable sources, which we have scrupulously acknowledged 
 whenever the thing was worth the trouble. Our work has been read, more- 
 over, by learned Orientalists, who have found it correct, and Israelites of the 
 highest rank have praised the exact fidelity wherewith we have restored the 
 faded splendour of Sion and the ancient customs of their fathers. The 
 historian, like the painter, now requires a profound study of the local 
 colouring. If an artist should attempt to introduce our Western customs 
 and our Northern landscapes in a painting, of which the subject was taken 
 from ancient Asia, he would by no means escape the just censure of the 
 
ram 
 
 '■^ ill- 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 
 MJ 
 
 eoniwisseurs : a literary work ia likewise a painting, wbich should reproduce 
 the hues of the sky, the aspect of the country, the historical costumes, the 
 habits and the customs of the groups represented in its pages In writing 
 the life of the descendant of the kings of Jnda, we have atudied the require- 
 ments of our theme ; we have remembered that it would not do to engraft 
 the manners of the Israelites on our own, or to wrap them up, as Strauss 
 says, in a Western disguise, but to paint them such as they were when Maiy 
 lived: that was the only way to adhere to probability, when tracing a 
 history of what occurred in Jewish society in the days of Herod. We meet, 
 in every page of the Gospel, the manners and customs of the Jews, to which 
 Jesus Christ himself vouchsafed to conform ; it can scarcely be doubted but 
 that the Virgin had anticipated the example of her divine Son. The Hebrew 
 customs were based upon Scripture and tradition, which made them sacred 
 things in the eyes of the whole nation; to deviate from received iisages 
 would have been regarded as a grave misdemeanour. There was not even 
 the nuptial garments of the bride that was not directed by the reminiscences 
 of the Bible and the antediluvian traditions of the temple. 
 
 We have received, from quarters not connected with the press, testimonies 
 of sympathy and good-will, which have descended upon us, from on high, 
 Hke the gifts of Providence. The Prince Orsini, who has deigned to accept 
 the dedication of our book, like a true Eoraan prince, and a friend of letters, 
 has done us the honour to write to us : — 
 
 "A work BO remarkable and so holy as yours eertainly deserved a more distinguished patron 
 than I am; I am penetrated with the liveliest gratitude, and no words of mine could convey to 
 j'ou ray sense of the obligation you have conferred upon me. Rome applauds your work ; and 
 the glory which you have given to the Mother of God already reflects on yourselC" 
 
 If we quote these flattering words, so characteristic of the graceful ur- 
 banity cf the higher Italian nobility, it is not that we deem ourselves worthy 
 of them ; we receive them as a generous encouragement to do better at 
 another time, and we lay them respectfully at the feet of the Blessed Virgin, 
 well knowing that such kind and honourable suffrage from a prince as 
 eminent for his piety as for his intelligence, proceeds from her and to her 
 belongs. 
 
 Another compliment, very precious to our heart, is from the Commander 
 Mouttinho-Lima, Mipister-Pleuipotentiary from the Emperor of Brazil, who, 
 with diplomatic talents of the highest order, has a refined and enlightened 
 taste for letters, which he has him.sclf cultivated with much success. 
 
 "Your new edition of the Life of the Blessed Virgin, only a few inonlhs after its first 
 appearance," writes his Excellency, " is sufficiently indicative of the fuvoiir wherewith the book 
 lias been received by the public. Permit uie, on the occasion of this second edition, to add my 
 humble testimony to those which you may have already received. 
 
 "Your work has contributed, and doubtless will yet contribute more ond more, to pruniotc in 
 Fiance the toucliing devotion to the Virgin, where of old it wue so fervently propugutcd by bt> 
 
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FREFAOE. 
 
 XX 
 
 i 
 
 Bernard. I am persuaded that whoreTer the children of the Church are (bond, the Life of th« 
 Mother of God will produce the same effect ; be my name the pledge." 
 
 But it is not only amongst the great ones of the earth that oar Life of the 
 Blessed Virgin has found favour; many learned doctors, both Italian and 
 Spanish, have also honoured it with their approbation. His Lordship the 
 Bisnop of Salamanca, a learned prelate, •well worthy of presiding over that 
 famous university which has, for many ages, ahed a brilliant light on 
 Europe, has deigned to protect it in Spain. His Eminence the Arch- 
 bi.shop of Malines, whose fame has spread far beyond the boundaries of his 
 own country, has given his formal approbation to the Belgian editions. 
 Finally, our own bishop ho,, from the first, taken it under his protection, as 
 became a man who has no need of the opinion of others to form his own, 
 and who waits not to see how the current of public opinion will go. 
 
 We shall here insert a portion of the letter of Monsgnr. Caatanelli 
 d'Istria, to the end that if this book should have any protracted existence, 
 it will prove, in days to come, that at a time when religious literature had 
 no sort of encouragement in France, it was protected and fostered by 
 Roman princes, ambassadors from remote regions, and by saintly and learned 
 prelates. 
 
 " It is somewhat late to timnk you for the present of your valuable work, and for the pleasure 
 it gave me to road a life doubly interesting, from the nature of tlie subject and the charming 
 stylo wherewith you have embellished it. I prize this gift the more highly as coming from the 
 author, and because that author is a lounti-ymnn and one of my own priests. Nor an ' ilone 
 in ray appreciation of the merits of your book. The o])inion of all those readers tj whom I 
 have lent it is quite in accordance with that of the journals of Paris. 
 
 "I am gratified to see that the first fruit« of your literary labours are dedicated to the Queen 
 of Angels. From such a commencement there is reason to hope for a career the most dio- 
 tinguished." 
 
 Since these encouraging letters were addressed to us, the Life of the 
 Mother of God has had (we may venture to say it, because the proof is 
 apparent) the most unbounded success, not only in France, but throughout 
 Europe, and even beyond its bounds. Three translations of it have been 
 made in Italy ; it has ^cen translated in Spain by two Spanish doctors ; in 
 Germany by an able ecclesiastic, and there has been published at Lcipsic a 
 second translation, magnificently illustrated; several editions have been 
 published in Belgium ; it has even penetrated the depth of Russia, and has 
 crossed the ocean to Mexico; finally, it has been favourably received at 
 Rome, where it is propagated by permission of the Sacred College. Thanks 
 to the powerful protection of Mary, the little grain of mustard-seed has 
 become a great tree, whose branches overspread the earth ; trifling as this 
 book may be. She has blessed it, because She knows it was written with no 
 other intention than that of promoting her glory. 
 
 Deeply grateful to that European public which has received our work so 
 
 m 
 
 
ITetters l^pstolic 
 
 OUB MOST HOLT LORD PIUS IX., 
 
 BT DITINS PEOVIDBNCIB POPK. 
 
 OONOERNING THE DOGMATIC DEFINITION OF THE IMMACULATI 
 OONOEPTION OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD. 
 
 [TRANSLATION.] 
 
 Fius^ Bishop^ Servant of the ServarUe of God: for the perpetuaJ 
 rememhrcmce of the thmg. 
 
 The Inefiable God, wlioae ways are mercy and truth, whose will 
 is omnipotence, and whose wisdom reaches powerfully from end to 
 end, and disposes all things sweetly, when he foresaw from all eter- 
 uity the most sorrowful ruin of the entire human race to follow 
 fi'om the transgression of Adam, and in a mystery hidden from ages 
 determined to complete, through the incarnation of the Word, in a 
 more hidden sacrament the first work of His goodness, so that man, 
 led into sin by the craft of diabolical iniquity, should not perish 
 contrary to his merciful design, and that what was about to befall in 
 the first Adam should be restored more happily in the second ; from 
 the beginning and before ages, chose and ordained a mother for His 
 only-begotten Son, of whoui, made flesh. He should be born in the 
 blessed plenitude of time, and followed her with so great love before 
 all creatures that in her alone He pleased Himself with a most 
 benign complacency. Wherefore, far before all the ang>ilic spirits 
 and all the Saints, He so wonderfully endowed her with the abun- 
 
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 XIV 
 
 UnTEBS APO8TOU0 OF OUR 
 
 dance of all heavenly gifts, drawn from the treasure of divinity, that 
 she might be ever free from evm-y stain of sin, and, all fair and per- 
 fect, would bear before her that plenitude of innocence and holiness 
 than which, under God, none greater is understood, and which, 
 except God, no one can rej'eh, even in thought. And, indeed, it was 
 most becoming that she should shine always adorned with the splen- 
 dor of the most perfect holiness, and, free even from the stain of 
 o: ginal sin, she should have the most complete triumph over the 
 ancient serpent — that Mother so venerable, to whom God the 
 Father willed to give his only Son, begotten of His heart, equal to 
 Himself, and whom He loves as Himself; and to give Him in such 
 a manner that He is by nature one and the same common Son 
 of God the Father and of the Virgin, and whom the Son chose sub- 
 stantially to be His Mother, and of whom the Holy Ghost willed 
 that, by His operation, He, from whom He Himself proceeds, should 
 be conceived and bom. 
 
 Which original innocence of the august Virgin agi'ceing com- 
 pletely with her admirable holiness, and with the most excellent 
 dignity of the Mother of God, the Catholic Church, which, ever taught 
 by the Holy Spirit, is the pillar and ground of truth, as possessing n 
 doctrine divinely received, and comprehended in the deposit of 
 heavenly revelation, has never ceased to lay down, to cherish, and 
 to illustrate continually by numerous proofs, and daily more and more 
 by conspicuous facts. For this doctrine, flourishing fi'om the most 
 ancient times, and implanted in the minds of the faithful, and by the 
 care and zeal of the Holy Pontiflfe wonderfully propagated, the 
 Church hei-self has most clearly pointed out when she did not hesi- 
 tate to propose the conception of tlie same Virgin for the public 
 devotion and veneration of the faithful. By which illustrious act 
 she pointed out the conception of the Virgin as singular, wonderful, 
 and very different 'from the origin of the rest of mankind, and 
 to be venerated as entirely holy, since the Church celebrates by 
 festivals only that which is holy. And, therefore, the very words in 
 which the Saci-ed Scriptures speak of uncreated Wisdom and rep- 
 resent His eternal origin, she has been accustomed to use not only 
 in the offices of the Church, but also in the holy liturgy, and to 
 transfer to the origin of that Virgin, which was pre-ordained by 
 

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 MOUT HOLT LOKD PIUS IX. 
 
 XV 
 
 ono and the same decree with the incarnation of Divine Wiadi)m. 
 
 But though all those things everywhere justly received amongst 
 the faithful show with what zeal the Roman Church, the mother and 
 mistress of all churches, has supported the doctrine of the Immacu 
 late Conception of the Virgin, yet the illustrious acts of this Church 
 are evidently worthy that they should be reviewed in detail ; since 
 so great is the dignity and authority of the same Church, so much 
 is due to her who is the centre of Catholic truth and unity, in whom 
 alone religion has been inviolably guarded, and from whom it is 
 right that all the Churches should receive the tradition of faith. 
 
 Thus the same Roman Church had nothing more at heart than to 
 assert, to protect, to promote, and to vindicate in the moat eloquent 
 manner the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, its devotion and 
 doctrine, which fact is attested and proclaimed by so many illus- 
 trious acts of the Roman Pontiflfe, Our predecessors, to whom, in the 
 person of the Prince of the Apostles, was divinely committed by 
 Christ Our Lord the supreme care and power of feeding lambs and 
 sheep, of confirming the brethren, and of ruling and governing 
 the Universal Church. 
 
 Indeed, Our predecessors have ever gloried in instituting in the 
 Roman Church by their own Apostolic authority the Feast of the 
 Conception, and to augment, ennoble, and promote with all their 
 power the devotion thus instituted, by a proper Office and a proper 
 Mass, by which the prerogative of immunity from hereditary stain 
 was most manifestly asserted ; to increase it either by indulgences 
 granted, or by leave given to states, provinces, and kingdoms, that 
 they might choose as their patron the Mother of God, under the 
 title of the Immaculate Conception ; or by approved sodalities, con- 
 gregations, and religious families iostituted to the honor of the Im- 
 maculate Conception ; or by praises given to the piety of those who 
 have erected monasteries,^ hospitals, or churches, under the title of 
 the Immaculate Conception, or who have bound themselves by a 
 religious vow to defend strenuously the Immaculate Conception of 
 the Mother of God, Above all, they were happy to ordain that the 
 Feast of the Conception should be celebrated through the whole 
 Church as that of the Nativity ; and, in fine, that it should be cele- 
 brated with an Octave in the Universal Church as it was placed in 
 
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 LSTTERS APOSTOLIC OF UUB 
 
 the rank of the festivals which ore commanded to be kept holy ; 
 nlso, that a Pontifical service in oar Patriarchal Liberian Basilica 
 should be performed yearly on the day sacred to the Conception of 
 the Virgin ; and desiring to cherish daily more and more in the 
 minds of the Faithful this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception 
 of the Mother of God, and to excite their piety in worshipping and 
 venerating the Virgin conceived without original sin, they have re- 
 joiced most freely to give leave that in the Litany of Loretto, and 
 in the Preface of the Mass itself, the Immaculate Conception of the 
 same Virgin should be proclaimed, and that thus the law of faith 
 should be established by the very law of supplication. We our- 
 selves, treading in the footsteps of so many predecessors, have not 
 only received and approved what had been most wisely and piously 
 established and appointed by them, but also mindful of the institu- 
 tion of Sixtus IV., We have appointed by Our authority a proper 
 Office for the Immaculate Conception, and with a most joyful mind 
 have granted the use of it to the Universal Church. 
 
 But since those things which pertain to worship are evidently 
 bound by an intimate chord to its object, and cannot remain fixed 
 and determined, if it be doubtful, and placed in uncertainty, there- 
 fore our predecessors, the Roman Pontiffs, increasing with all their 
 care the devotion of the Conception, studied most esspecially to de- 
 clare and inculcate its object and doctrine ; for they taught clearly 
 and openly that the festival was celebrated for the Conception of 
 the Virgin, and they proscribed as false and most foreign to the 
 intention of the Church the opinion of those who considered and 
 affirmed that it was not the Conception itself, but the sanctification, 
 to which devotion was paid by the Church. Nor did they think of 
 treating more indulgently those who, in order to weaken the doc- 
 trine of the Iram/iculate Conception, drawing a distinction between 
 the first and second instant and moment pf the Conception, asserted 
 that the Conception was indeed celebrated, but not for the firet 
 instant .vnd moment ; for Our predecessors themselves thought it 
 their duty to protect and defend with all zeal both the feast of the 
 Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin, and the Conception from 
 the firet instant as the true object of devotion. Hence the wrords, 
 evidently decretive, in which Alexander VII. declared the true in- 
 
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 MOST HOLT TiORO PIUS IZ. 
 
 XVII 
 
 teation of the Church, saying : " Certainly, it is the ancient piuty 
 of the faithful of Christ towards Ilis Most BlesHod Mother the 
 Virgin Mary, believing that her soul, in the first instant of creation, 
 and of infusion into the body, was by a special grace and privilege 
 of God, in virtue of the merits) of Jesus Christ her Son the Redeemer 
 of mankind, preserved free' from the stain of original sin, and in this 
 ^unse they keep and celebrate with solemn rites the Festival of her 
 Conception." 
 
 And to the same. Our predecessors, this also was most especially 
 a duty to preserve from contention the doctrine of the Immaculate 
 Conception of the Mother of God, guarded and protected with all 
 care and zeal. For not only have they never suffered that this doc- 
 tiine should ever be censured or traduced in any way, or by any 
 one, but they have gone much farther, and in clear declarations on 
 repeated occteions they have proclaimed that the doctrine in which 
 we confess the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin is, and by its 
 own merit, held evidently consistent with Ecclesiastical woi-ship, 
 that it is ancient and nearly universal, and of the same sort as that 
 which the Roman Church has undertaken to cherish and protect, 
 and, above all, worthy to be placed in its sacred liturgy and its 
 solemn prayers. Nor content with this, in order that the doctrine 
 of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin should remain inviolate, 
 they have most severely prohibited the opinion adverse to this doc- 
 trine to be defended either in public or in private, and they have 
 wished to crush it, as it were, by repeated blows. To which reiter- 
 ated and most clear declarations, lest they might appear empty, they 
 added 'a sanction ; all which things Our illustrious predecessor, 
 Alexander VII., embraced in these words :- - 
 
 " Considering that the Holy Roman Church solemnly celebrates 
 the festival of the Conception of the Immaculate and Ever-Blessed 
 Virgin, and has appointed for this a special and proper office accord- 
 ing to the pious, devout, and laudable institution which emanated 
 from Our predecessor, Sixtus IV., and wishing, after the example of 
 the Roman Pontiffs, Our predecessors, to favor this laudable piety, 
 devotion, and festival, and the reverence shown towards it, never 
 changed in the Roman Church since the institution of the worship 
 itself; also in order to protect the piety and devotion of venerating 
 
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 MCTTKIIS APOSTOUO OV OHH 
 
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 nnd colobratlng the Most Blessed Virgin, preserved from orig' J 
 Rill by tl>e preventing grace of the Holy Ghost, and desiring to pre- 
 serve in the flock of Christ unity of spirit in the bond of peace, 
 removing offences, and brawls, and scandak ; ".t the instance and 
 prayers of the said Bishops, with the Chapters of their churches, 
 and of King Philip and his kingdoms, — we renew the constitatioiu 
 and decrees isaaed by the Roman Pontiffe, Oar predecessors, and 
 eHpeciftlly by SLxtus IV., Paul V., and Gregory XV., in favor of 
 asserting the opinion that the soul of the Blessed Virsfin, ir it'i 
 creation and infusion into the body, was endowed with the ^rp •<. of 
 the Holy Ghost, and preserved from original sin ; likewioc, also, in 
 fiivor of the festival of the same Virgin Mother of CJod, ceieL.. . jd 
 according to that pious belief which is recited abov. , .id We com- 
 mand that it shall be observed under the censures and punishments 
 contained in the same constitutions. 
 
 " And against all and each of those who try to inteq^ret the ufure- 
 said constitutions or decrees so that they may frustrate the favor 
 shown through these to the said belief and to the fiwcival or worship 
 celebrated according to it, or who try to recall into dispute the same 
 belief, festival, or worship, or against these in any manner, either 
 directly or indirectly, and on any pretext, even that of examining 
 the grouuda of defining it, or of explaining or interpreting the 
 Sacred Scriptures or the Holy Fathers or Doctors ; id fine, who 
 should dare under any pretext or on any occasion whatsoever, to 
 say either in writing or in speech, to preach, to treat, to dispute, by 
 determining or asserting anything against these, or by bringing 
 arguments against them and leaving these arguments unanswered, 
 or by expressing dissent in any other possible manner ; besides the 
 punishments and censures contained in the constitutions of Sixtus 
 IV., to which we'desire to add, and by these presents do add, those: 
 We will that they should be deprived ipso facto, and without other 
 declaration, of the faculty of prftftcbing, ""f reading 'r public, or of 
 teaching and interpreting, anci • . > ■, t .ur voice, wliether active or 
 passive, in elections ; from which censures they cannot be absolved, 
 nor obtain dispensation, unless from Us, or Our successoi-s, the Ro- 
 man Pontiffs ; likewise We wish to subject, and We hereby do sub- 
 ject, the same pei-sons to other penalties to be inflicted at Our will. 
 
MOST IIOIiY LOUD VWH IX. 
 
 XIX 
 
 and nf that of the same Roman PontifiH, Our snccossors, renowing 
 the couMtitutioiis or decrees of Paul IV. and Gregory XV., above 
 retVi !<'d to. 
 
 " Aiul Wo prohibit, under the penalties and censures contained 
 ill tht) Index of Pi'olilbited UooIch, and Wo will and declare that 
 they should be esteemed prohibited I'pm f(Wto^ and without other 
 declaration, books in which the aforesaid belief and the festival nr 
 devotion celebrated according to it is recaued into dispute, or in 
 which anything whatever is written or read against these, or lec- 
 tures, sermons, treatises, and disputations against the same, ]> ib- 
 lished after the decree of Paul V. above mentioned, or to bo pub- 
 lished at any future time." 
 
 All are aware with how much zeal this doctrine of the Imtnacu 
 late Conception of the Mother of God has been handed down, 
 asserted and propagated by the most distinguished religions Orders, 
 the most celebrated theological academies, and the most eminent 
 doctors of the science of Divinity. All know likewise how anxious 
 have been the Bishops openly and publicly to profess, even in the 
 Ecclesiastical assemblies themselves, that the Most Holy Mother of 
 God, the Virgin Mary, by virtue of the merits of Christ Our Ijord, 
 the Saviour of mankind, never lay under original sin, but was pre- 
 served free from the original stain, and thus was redeemed in a 
 more sublime manner. To which, lastly, is added this fact, most 
 gi-avo, and, in an especi: manner, most important of all, that the 
 Council of Trent itself, when it promulgated the dogmatic decree 
 concerning original sin, in which, according to the testimonies of 
 tlie Sacred Scriptures, of the Holy Fathere, and of the most ap- 
 proved councils, it determined p.nd defined that all mankind are 
 born under original sin ; solemnly declared, however, that it was 
 not its intention to include in the decree itself, and in the amplitude 
 of its definition, the Blessed and Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother 
 of God. Indeed, by this declaration, the Tiidentine Fathers have 
 asserted, according to the times and the circumstances of affairs, that 
 the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from the original stain, and thus 
 clearly signified that nothing could be justly adduced from the 
 sacred writings, nor from the authority of the Fathei-s, which would 
 in any way gainsay so great a prei-ogative of the Virgin. 
 
 
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 ▲POSTOLIO LEXTEB OF OUB 
 
 And, in real truth, illustrious monuments of a veneraied antiquity 
 of the Eastern and of the Western Church most powerfully testify 
 that this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Most 
 Blessed Virgin, every day more and more so splendidly explained 
 and confirmed by the highest authority, teaching, zeal, science, and 
 wisdom of the Church, and so wonderfully propagated amongst all 
 the nations and peoples of the Catholic world, always existed in the 
 Church as received by Our ancestors, and stamped with the charac- 
 ter of a divine revelation. For the Church of Christ, careful guai*- 
 'lian and defender of the dogmas deposited with her, changes no- 
 thing in them, diminishes nothing, adds nothing, but, with all indus- 
 try, by faithfully and wisely treating ancient things, if they are 
 handed down from antiquity, so studios to eliminate, to clear them 
 up, that these ancient dogmas of heavenly faith may receive evi- 
 dence, light, distinction, but still may retain their fulness, integrity, 
 propriety, and may increase only in their own kind — that is, in the 
 same dogma, the same sense, and the same belief 
 
 The Fathei-s and writers of the Church, taught by the heavenly 
 writings, had nothing more at heart, in the books written to explain 
 the Scriptures, to vindicate the dogmas, and to instruct the faithful, 
 than emulously to declare and exhibit in many and wonderful ways 
 the Virgin's most high sanctity, dignity, and freedom from all stain 
 of original sin, and her renowned victory over the most foul enemy 
 of the human race. Wherefore, repeating the words in which, at 
 the beginning of the world, the Almighty, announcing the remedies 
 of his mercy, prepared for regenerating mankind, crushed the 
 audacity of the lying Serpent, and wonderfully raised up the hope 
 of our race, saying, "I will place enmity between thee and the 
 woman, thy seed and hers," they taught that in this divine oracle 
 was clearly and openly pointed out the merciful Redeemer of the 
 human race — the only-begotten Son of God, Christ Jesus, and that 
 his Most Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, was designated, and at 
 the same time that the enmity of both against the Serpent was sig- 
 nally expressed. Wherefore, as Christ, the mediator of God and 
 men, having assumed human nature, blotting out the handwriting 
 of the decree which stood against us, listened it triumphantly to 
 the Cross, so the Most Holy Virgin, bound by a most close an\ in 
 
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 dissoluble chain with Hira, exercising with Him and through Him 
 eternal enmity against the malignant Serpent, and triumphing most 
 amply over the same, has crushed his head with her Immaculate 
 foot. 
 
 This illustrious and singular triumph of the Virgin, and her most 
 exalted innocence, purity, and holiness, her freedom from all stain 
 of sin, and ineffable abundance and greatness of all heavenly graces, 
 virtues, and privileges, the same Fathei-s beheld in that ark of Noah, 
 which, divinely appointed, escaped safe and sound from the common 
 shipwreck of the whole world ; also in that ladder which Jacob 
 beheld reaching from earth to heaven, by whose steps the Angels 
 of God ascended and descended, on whose top leaned God himself; 
 also in that bush which, in the holy place, Moses beheld blaze on every 
 side, and amidst the crackling flames neither to be consumed nor to 
 suffer the least injury, but to grow green and to blossom fairly ; also 
 in that impregnable tower in front of the enemy, on which are 
 hung a thousand bucklers and all the armor of the brave ; also in 
 that garden fenced round about, which cannot be violated nor cor- 
 rupted by any schemes of fraud ; also in that brilliant city of God, 
 whose foundations are in the holy mounts ; also in that most august 
 temple of God, which, shining with divine splendor, is filled with 
 the glory of God ; likewise in many other things of this kind which 
 the Fathere have handed down, that the exalted dignity of the 
 Mother of God, and her spotless innocence, and her holiness, ol> 
 noxious to no blemish, have been signally pre-aiinounced. 
 
 To describe the same totality, as it were, of divine gifts, and the 
 original integrity of the Virgin of whom Jesus was born, the same 
 Fathers, using the eloquence of the Prophets, celebrate the august 
 Virgin as the spotless dove, the holy Jerusalem, the exalted throne 
 of God, the ark and house of sanctification, which Eteinal Wisdom 
 built for itself; and as that Quocmi who, abounding in d(>lio;}its and 
 leaning on her beloved, came forth entirely ])erfoct ^rom,tlie mouth 
 of the Most High, fair and most dear to God, and never stained 
 with tlie least spot. But when tlie same Fathers and the writers of 
 the Church revolved in their hearts and minds that the Most Blessed 
 Virgin, in the name and by the order of God himself, was proclaimed 
 full of grace by the Angel Gabriel, when announcing lier most sulv 
 
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LETTERS APOSTOLIC OF OUB 
 
 
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 llmc ilignity of the Mother of God, they taught that, by this singular 
 and solemn salutation, never heard on any other occasion, is shown 
 that the Mother of God is the seat of all divine graces, and 
 julDKiied with all the gifts of the Holy Ghost — yea, the infinite store- 
 hoiist! and inexhaustible abyss of the same gifts ; so that, never 
 bul'jocted to malediction, and alone with her Son partaker of per- 
 petual benediction, she deserved to hear from Elizabeth, inspired by 
 the Holy Ghost: " Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is 
 the tVuit of thy womb." 
 
 Hence it is the clear and unanimous opinion of the same that the 
 Most Glorious Virgin, for whom He who is powerful has done great 
 things, has shone with such a brilliancy of all heavenly gifts, such 
 fulness of grace, and such innocence, that she has been an inefiable 
 miracle of the Almighty, yea, the crown of all miracles, and worthy 
 Mother of God ; that she approaches as nearly to God as created 
 nature can do, and is far above the praise of men or angels. 
 
 And, therefore, to vindicate the original innocence and justice of 
 the Mother of God, they not only compared her to Eve, as yet virgin, 
 as yet innocent, as yet incorrupted, and not yet deceived by the 
 most deadly snar^is of the most treacherous serpent, but they have 
 preferred her with a wondeiful variety of thought and ex|')ression. 
 For Eve, miserably obeying the serpent, fell fi-om original innocence, 
 and became his slave, but the Most Blessed Virgin, ever increasing 
 lier original gift, not only never leant an ear to the serpent, but by 
 a virtue divinely received utterly broke his power. 
 
 Wherefore they have never ceased to call the Mother of God the 
 lily amongst the thorns, earth entirely untouched, virgin, undefiled, 
 immaculate, ever blessed, and free from all contagion of sin, from 
 which was formed the new Adam, a reproachless, most sweet para- 
 dise of innocence, immortality, and delights, planted by God himself, 
 and fenced fi'om all snares of the malignant Serpent, incorruptiljle 
 bivnnch that the worm of sin has never injured ; fountain ever clear, 
 and marked by the virtu.) of the Holy Ghost, a most divine temple, 
 or treasure of immortality, or the sole and only daughtei not of 
 death but of life, the seed not of enmity but of grace, which by the 
 singular providence of God hiis always flourished, springing from a 
 cori-npt and impei'fect root, contrary to the settled and common 
 
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MOST nOL' LORD PIUS IX. 
 
 laws. But if these encomiums, though most splendid, were not suffi- 
 cient, they proclaimed in proper and defined opinions that when sin 
 was to be treated of, no question should be entertained concerning 
 the Holy Virgin Mary, to whom an abundance of grace was given 
 to conquer sin completely. They also declared that the Most Glo- 
 rious Virgin was the reparatrix of her parents, the vivifier of pos- 
 terity, chosen from tho ages, prepared for himself by the Most High, 
 predicted by God when he said to the serpent, " I will place enmity 
 between thee and the woman," who undoubtedly has crushed the 
 poisonous head of the same serpent ; and therefore they affirm that 
 the same Blessed Virgin was through grace perfectly free from every 
 ■tain of sin, and from all contagion of body and soul and mind, and 
 always conversant with God, and united with him in an eternal 
 covenant, never was in darkness, but always in light, and therefore 
 was plainly a fit habitation for Christ, not on account of her bodily 
 state, but on account of her original grace. 
 
 To these things are added the noble words in which, speaking of 
 the Conception of the Virgin, they have testified that nature yielded 
 to grace and stood trembling, not being able to proceed further ; for 
 it was to be that the Virgin Mother of God should not be conceived 
 by Anna before grace should bear fruit. For she ought thus to be 
 conceived as the first born, from whom should be conceived the first 
 born of every creature. They have testified that the flesh of the 
 Virgin, taken from Adam, did not admit the stains of Adam, and 
 on this account that the Most Blessed Virgin was the tabernacle 
 created by God himself, formed by the Holy Spirit, truly enriched 
 with purple which that new Beseleel made, adorned and woven 
 with gold ; and that this same Virgin is, and deservedly is cele- 
 brated as she who was the first and the peculiar work of God, 
 escaped from the fiery weapons of evil, and fair by nature, and 
 entirely free from all stain, came, into the world all shining like the 
 morn in her Immaculate Conception ; nor, truly, was it right that 
 this vessel of election should be assailed by common injuries, since, 
 differing very much from others, she had community with them 
 only in their nature, not in their fault. 
 
 Moreover, it was right that, as the Only Begotten had a Father 
 in heaven, whom the seraphim proclaim thrice holy, so he should 
 
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 have a Mother on the earth, who should never want the splendor 
 of holiness. And this doctrine indeed, so filled the minds and souls 
 of our forefathers, that a marvellous and singular form of speech 
 prevailed with them, in which they very frequently called tho 
 Mother of God immaculate and entirely immaculate, innocent and 
 most innocent, spotless, holy, and most distant from every stain of 
 sin, all pure, all perfect, the type and model of purity and inno- 
 cence, more beautiful than beauty, more gracious than grace, more 
 holy than holiness, and alone holy, and most pure in soul and body, 
 who has surpassed all perfectitude and all virginity, and has become 
 the dwelling-place of all the graces of the Most Holy Spirit, and 
 who, God alone excepted, is superior to all, and by nature fairer, 
 more beautiful, and more holy than the cherubim and seraphim ; 
 she whom all the tongues of heaven and earth do not suffice to 
 extol. No one is ignorant that these forms of speech havo passed, 
 as it were, spontaneously into the monuments of the most holy 
 liturgy, and the Offices of the Church, and that they occur often in 
 them and abound amply ; and that the Mother of God is invoked 
 and named in them as a spotless dove of beauty, as a rose ever 
 blooming and perfectly pure, and evor spotless and ever blessed, 
 and is celebrated as innocence which was never wounded, and a 
 second Eve who brought forth Emmanuel. 
 
 It is no wonder, then, if the Pastors of the Church and the faith- 
 ful people have daily more and more gloried to profess with so 
 much piety and fervor this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception 
 of tlic Virgin Mother of God, pointed out in the Sacred Scriptures, 
 according to tho judgment of the Fathers, handed down in so many 
 mighty testimonies of the same, expressed and celebrated in so 
 many illustrious monuments of a revered antiquity, and proposed, 
 and with great piety confirmed, by the greatest and highest judg- 
 ment of the Church ; so that nothing would be more dear, more 
 pleasing to the same, than everywhere to worship, venerate, invoke, 
 and proclaim the Virgin Mother of God conceived without original 
 stain. Wherefore, from the ancient times, the Princes of the Church, 
 ^Ecclesiastics, and even emperors and kings themselves, have earn- 
 estly entreated of this Apostolic See that the Immaculate Concep 
 tion of the Most Holy Mother of God should be defined as a dogma 
 
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MOST HOLT LORD PITTS IX. 
 
 XXV 
 
 
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 of Catholic faith. Which entreaties were renewed also in these Our 
 times, and especially were addressed to Gregory XVI., Our prede- 
 cessor of happy memory, and to Ourselves, not only by Bishops, 
 but by the secular clergy, religious Orders, by the greatest princes, 
 and by the faithful people. 
 
 Therefore, with singular joy of mind, well knowing all these 
 things, and seriously considering them, scarcely had We, though 
 unworthy, been raised by a mysterious dispensation of Divine Pro- 
 vidence to the exalted Chair of Peter, and undertaken the govern- 
 ment of the whole Church, than, following the veneration, the piety, 
 and love We had entertained for the Blessed Virgin from Our ten- 
 der years, We had nothing at heart more than to accomplish all 
 these things which as yet were amongst the ardent wishes of the 
 Church, that the honor of the Most Blessed Virgin should be in- 
 creased, and her prerogatives should shine with a fuller light. But 
 wishing to bring to this full maturity We appointed a special congre- 
 gation of our venerable brothers, the Cardinals of the Holy Roman 
 Church, illustrious by their piety, their wisdom, and their knowledge 
 of the sacred sciences, and We also selected Ecclesiastics, both secular 
 and regular, well trained in theological discipline, that they should 
 moat cai'efully weigh all those things which relate to the Immacu- 
 late Conception of the Virgin, and report to Us their opinion. And. 
 although from the entreaties lately received by Us for at length de- 
 fining the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, the opinions of most 
 of the Bishops of the Church were understood ; however, We sent 
 Encyclic Lettere, dated at Gaeta, the 2d day of February, in the year 
 1849, to all our Venerable Brethren the Bishops of all the Catholic 
 world, in order that Having offered prayers to God they might sig- 
 nify to Us, in writing, what was the piety and devotion of their 
 flocks towards the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, 
 and especially what the Bishops themselves thought about promul- 
 gating the definition, or what they desired in order that We might 
 pronounce Our supreme judgment as solemnly as possible. 
 
 Certainly we were filled with no slight consolation Avhen the re- 
 plies of our Venerable Brethren came to Us. For, with an incredible 
 joyfulness, gladness, and zeal, they not only confirmed their own 
 singular piety, and that of their clerg-y and faithful people, towards 
 
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XXVI 
 
 LETTERS >" /TOLIO OF OUB 
 
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 the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin, but they even 
 entreated of Us Avith a common voice that the Immaculate Concep- 
 tion of the Virgin should be defined by Our supreme judgment and 
 authority. Nor, indeed, were We filled with less joy when our 
 venerable brothers, the Cardinals of the Special Congregation afore- 
 said, and the consulting theologians chosen by Us, after a diligent 
 examination demanded from Us with equal alacrity and zeal this 
 definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. 
 
 Afterwards walking in the illustrious footsteps of Our predecessorH, 
 niid desiring to proceed duly and properly. We proclaimed and held 
 !i Consistory, in which We addressed Our Brethren, the Cardinals 
 (if the Holy Roman Church, and with the greatest consolation of 
 mind We heard them entreat of Us that We should promulgate the 
 dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin 
 ISIother of God. 
 
 Therefore having full trust in the Lord that the opportune time 
 had come for defining the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin 
 Mary Mother of God, which the Divine words, venerable tradition, 
 the perpetual opinion of the Church, the singular agreement of 
 Catholic Prelates and Faithful, and the signal acts and constitutions 
 of Our predecessors wonderfully illustrate and proclaim ; having 
 most diligently weighed all things, and poured forth to God assiduous 
 and fervent prayers. We resolved that We would no longer delay 
 to sanction and define, by Our supreme authority, the Immaculate 
 Conception of the Virgin, and thus to satisfy the most pious desires 
 • of the Catholic world and Our own piety towards the Most Holy 
 Virgin, and, at the same time, to honor more and more the only-be- 
 gotten Son Jesus Christ Our Lord, since whatever honor and praise 
 is given to the Mother redounds to the Son. 
 
 Wherefore, after We had unceasingly, in humility and fasting, 
 offered our own prayers and the public prayers of the Church to 
 ( rod the Father, through his Son, that He would deign to direct and 
 confirm Our mind by the power of the Holy Ghost, and implored 
 the aid of the entire heavenly host, and invoked the Paraclete with 
 sighs, and He thus inspiring, to the honor of the Holy and undivided 
 Trinity, to the glory and ornament of the Virgin Mother of God, to 
 the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Catholic 
 
 \1 
 
 i" ( 
 
i 
 
 MOST HOLT LOED PITJS IX. 
 
 XXVU 
 
 religion, by the authority of Jesus Christ Our Lord, of the Blessed 
 Apostles, Peter and Paul, We declare, pronounce, and define that 
 the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Vii'gin Mary, at the first 
 instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the 
 Omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour 
 of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, 
 has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and con- 
 stantly be believed by all the faithful. Wherefore, if any shall dare 
 — whioh God forbid — to think otherwise than as it has been defined 
 by Us, they should know and understand that they are condemned 
 by their own judgment, that they have suffered shipwreck of the 
 faith, and have revolted from the unity of the Church ; and besides, 
 by their own act they subject themselves to the penalties justly estab- 
 lished, if what they think they should dare to signify by word, writ- 
 ing, or any other outward means. 
 
 Our mouth is filled with joy, and Our tongue with exultation, and 
 We return, and shall ever return, the most humble and the greatest 
 thanks to Jesus Christ Our Lord, because through his singplar bene- 
 ficence He has gi'anted to Us, though unworthy, to offer and decree 
 this honor, glory, and praise, to His Most Holy Mother ; but We rest 
 in the most certain hope and confidence that this Most Blessed Virgin, 
 who, all fair and immaculate, has bruised the poisonous head of the 
 most malignant Serpent, and brought salvation to tlie world, who is 
 the i)raise of the Prophets and the Apostles, the honor of the Mar- 
 tj^rs, and the crown and joy of all the Saints — who is the safest 
 refuge and most faithful helper of all who are in danger, and the 
 most powerful mediatrix and conciliatrix with the only-begotten Son 
 of the whole world, and the most illustrious glory and ornament, 
 and most firm guardian of the Holy Church, who has destroyed all 
 heresies, and snatched from the greatest calamities of all kinds the 
 faithful peoples and nations, and delivered Us from so many threat- 
 ening dangers, will efi'ect by her most powerful patronage that, all 
 difficulties being removed, and all errors dissipated. Our Holy Mother 
 the Catholic Church may flourish dail'y more and more throughout 
 all nations and countries, i 
 
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 may reign 
 
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 of the earth, and may enjoy all peace, tranquillity, and liberty ; that 
 the sinner may obtain pardon, the sick healing, the weak strength 
 
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 of heart, the afflicted consolation, and tbat all who are in error, theii 
 spiritual blindness being dissipated, may return to the path of truth 
 and justice, and may become one flock and one shepherd. 
 
 Let all the children of the Catholic Church most dear to Us hear 
 these Our word? -ind, with a more ardent zeal of piety, religion, aud 
 love, proceed to worship, invoke, and pray to the Most Blessed Vii^ 
 gin Mary, Mother of God, conceived without original sin, and let 
 them fly with entire confidence to this most sweet Mother of Mercy 
 and Grace in all dangers, difficulties, doubts, and fears. For nothing 
 is to be feared, and nothing is to be despaired of under her guidance, 
 under her auspices, under her favor, under her protection, who, 
 beai'ing towards us a maternal affection, and taking up the business 
 of our salvation, is solicitous for the whole human race, and, appointed 
 by God the Queen of Heaven and Earth, and exalted above all the 
 choirs of Angels, and orders of Saints, standing at the right hand 
 of the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, intercedes most 
 powerfully, and obtains what she asks, and cannot be frustrated. 
 
 Finally, in order that this Our definition of the Immaculate Con- 
 ception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary may be brought to the 
 kno^v^ledge of the Universal Church, "We will these Letters Apostolic 
 to stand for a perpetual remembrance of the thing, commanding 
 that to transcripts or piinted copies, subscribed by the hand of some 
 notary public, and authenticated by the seal of a person of Ecclesias- 
 tical rank, appointed for the purpose, the same faith shall be paid 
 which would be paid to those presents if they were exhibited or 
 shown. 
 
 Let no man interfere with this Our declaration, pronunciation, and 
 definition, or oppose and contradict it with presumptuous rashness. 
 If any should presume to assail it, let him know that he will incur 
 the indignation of the Omnipotent God and of His blessed Apostles 
 Peter and Paul. 
 
 Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of the Incarnation of 
 Our Lord 1854, the sixth of the Ides of December, in the ninth year 
 of Our Pontificat/3. 
 
 PIUS IX., PoPB. 
 
 
 
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 i 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS i. .. PLACING THE PLATES 
 
 ai TU£ 
 
 icto lift flf t\t ^hssth Virgin. 
 
 Marriage of the B. Virgin and Illuminated Title on Title. 
 
 Approbation Plate next to Title page. 
 
 Mosea with the Law, 
 
 Jerusalem, 
 
 Annunciation, 
 
 Bethlehem, . 
 
 Good Shepherd, 
 
 Christ with the Doctors, 
 
 River Jordan, 
 
 Agony, 
 
 Ecce Homo, 
 
 Mary Magdalen, 
 
 Descent from the Cross, 
 
 Death of the Blessed Virgin, 
 
 Q>Aiair S1£(Q(IDH1ID. 
 Virgin and Child to face Title. 
 Council of Nice, 
 Ruins of Tyre, . 
 Immaculate Conception, 
 River Nile, 
 Pope Pius Vth, . 
 Family Record, 
 
 Salutation to face Title. 
 
 Redeemer of the World, .... Page 31 
 
 Our Lady of the Rosary, TT) 
 
 Assumption of the Blessad Virgin, . . .119 
 
 St. Augustine, 140 
 
 St. Stephen, 162 
 
 St. Joseph to face Title of St. Joseph. 
 
 Holy Family in Life of St. Joseph, . . .81 
 
 Family of Jerusalem. 110 
 
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 A FEW WORDS 
 
 TRANSLATOR TO THE READER. 
 
 This magnificent work of the Abbd Orsini was recommended to 
 ine by those whose judgment carries weight in such matters, as 
 the fullest and mo3t compendious Life of the Mother of God, 
 seeing that it does not break off, as most others do, at the 
 close of her mortal life, but follows the course of the uni- 
 versal devotion wherewith the Church has honoured, and does 
 still honour, this Queen of angels and of men. It shows how 
 from age to ago that devotion haa grown and prospered coequal 
 with Catholicity, and records the shrines and churches erected in 
 e>rery land under her invocation. It embodies the Eastern 
 traditions concerning her, with the conclusive testimony of the 
 Fathers; the little which is related of her in Scripture being 
 but a faint sketch of her life. 
 
 There haa been an (djvidgment of the first volume published 
 in Dublin and republished here; but, as all the second volume 
 was left out, the work in question is a small one, and has, 
 consequwitly, no interference with this. The second volume is, 
 
 m-i 
 
 irTm:^:m 
 
^•) f->(j|iy'Xc3 i'' l-'KOM niK TKANMLATOK TO TlIK HKAI)i;it. 
 
 iiidtiecl, the most intorostiiig, iw it oonfaiiis tho JiLse and Pro- 
 gvcsa of the Devotion to tho Hlesacd Vii-gln, and I trust it will m 
 
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 1)0 found a valuuhlo acquisition to our Catbolic literuturc It 
 is IV labour of love for n Catholic to celebnito tho praises and 
 publish tho renown of oui* mo^t dear Mother, and ujy only 
 regret la that the translation of this woik has not fallen into 
 better hands. Such as it is, however, it is done with the pury 
 intention of honouring tho gloiious Virgin, who obtains for every 
 one of us 8o many and so great blessings, and of inspiring the 
 heart of yvery reader with love and gratitude to her. 
 
 Montrea;., October, 1858. 
 
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 BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 
 
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 CHAPTER I. 
 
 0NITEB8AL EXPECTATION OF THE VIUOIN ANI) OF THE MESSIAH. 
 
 liV those reiuoto times whon the Avurhl Wii.-< still in its infancy, 
 when our first fathers, trembling and amazi-d, hoard, nnder the 
 majestic sliades of Eden,* the awful voice of Jihovah condemning 
 them to exile, to labour, and to death, in punishnunt of their mad 
 disobedience, a mysterious prediction, wherein the pitying kindness 
 of the Creator was manifested through the wrath of tlie offended 
 Deity, camo to raise the drooping sj)irlts of those two frail ereattu'es 
 who had, like Luelfer, sinned through pride. A daughter of Eve, 
 a womiin of vid'Sciiliiie eournge, was to crush the ln'ad of the ser- 
 pent beneath her feet, aiul to regenerate tor ever a guilty race; 
 that woman was ]\Iarv'. 
 
 Thenceforward, it was a tradition amongst the antediluvian 
 trilies that a woman should come to repair the evil which anntlicr 
 
 i 
 
 
 * Tln' wiinl fJJrn, umonjrst tin' Anilis as niiionust the Hebrews, is tho imme nf 
 tlio toi'ivstrinl |innulisr, and iil.-o ol' the pnniili.vc of tin- i loct. In Ili-hicw ii 
 ■igiiilics a plncu of delight ; iu Anilnc, a iiliuc jinijicr lur tlic grazing of (locks 
 
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LIFE OF TirE 
 
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 li;ul clone ; tliis consoling tradition, Avliicli kept up the hopes of a 
 fiillfn race, had not yet Leen effaced from the minds of men, at 
 the time of their grand disperjiion on the plains of Sonnaar ; they 
 carried with thorn, over seas and mountains, that sweet, though 
 distant hope, together with the religion of Koah, and the wreck 
 of art and science saved from the waters of the Deluge * In 
 after times, when the primitive religion faded away, and the 
 ancient traditions were shrouded in obscurity, that of the Virgm 
 and the ^lessiah resisted, almost alone, the action of time, and 
 reared itself up on the ruin of ancient creeds, swallowed up in 
 llie fahles of polytheism, like tlie evergreen which groAvs amid 
 •^iie ruins of Avhat was once Bahylon the great.f 
 
 Let us survey tho various I'ogious of the globe ; let us search, 
 from north to south, from east to west, the religious clu'onicles of 
 the nations, we shall find tlie Virgin promised and her dixdne 
 maternity at the basis of almost all theogonies. 
 
 In Thiliet, in Japan, and in a portion of the eastern pcLinsuIa 
 of India, it is the god Fo, wjio, to save mankind, became incarnate 
 in the womb of the yoimg betrothed of a king, the njinph 
 Lhamoghiu])rul, the fairest and holiest of women. In China, they 
 
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 * It is cci'tiiiii that the race of irhuitive men, which was rustic, hiit not savajre, 
 early attained a knowledge of the arts analogous to their wants and pleasures. 
 Si-arcely do the children of Adam form into little communities of men, when wc see 
 t'.icni estahlish a public worshlj), fabricate tents, l)uild towns, forge iron, run bronze, 
 invent instruments of nuisie, and follow the course of the stars. The history of 
 Astronomy must be traci d, according to Bailly, to nn antediluvian people, of whom 
 liie iiiemory is lost, but of whose astronomical knowledge some fragments eseapid 
 l!ic general revolution. I.ah;nde, fearing that this assertion might prove too nuich 
 h\ I'avour of the Sacred ]5ookp, refers to the Egy])tians the origin of this science ; 
 li'.it the Ilcl.irews, who, a.'i nciuhbours, eonteni])oraries, and ancient dwellers amongft 
 the Kgyptians, have a right to settle this dilTcrcnee, decide for Bailly, against his 
 iidvri'sary, by informing us that the Egyptians d.crlved their first nstrouoniical 
 kn'n\ie:!ge from tiie traditions saved from the Deluge. {Sir Josejih. An/. JiiJ.) 
 
 ■': 'I'h'Tc is but o..e single tree found amid the ruins of Bal)y!on ; the I'er.<ians 
 ■. • • J the name of AHc!c ; according to them, that tree existed in the ancient 
 eily. M^id was miraculously jireserved, to the end that their i;rnphct Ali, the soii-in-Iaw 
 of Muliomet, might f!i.>ti.'n his horse to it after liie baitle of Ililla. It is an ev.rgrcen 
 s-I.riii), and no rcre in those regions that there is only one other of tlie same kind, 
 found at Bassora (.Rich's .Vuinvii-.) 
 
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 BLESS-'iD VIKGIN MARY. 
 
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 reckon amongst tlie number of the sons of Heaven tlie Emperor 
 IIoang-Ti, whose mother conceived Ly a flash of lightning ; 
 another emperor, Yao, who lived at the time of the Deluge, 
 had for his mother a vii'gin who conceived from tlie beam of 
 a star; Yu, the head of the first Chinese dynasty, owed his life 
 tc a pearl, (the emblem of light tliroughout all the East,)*- wliich 
 fell from heaven into the chaste bosom of a young maiden. 
 Ileou-Tsi, chief of the dynasty of Tcheou, changed not, by his 
 birth, the virginity of his mother, wlio conceived him by divine 
 operation, one day as she was in prayer, and brought him fortli 
 without effort and without pain in a deserted grotto, where him1)S 
 and oxen warmed him witli their breath.f The most po]uilar 
 goddess of the Celestial Empire, Sching-Mou, conceived at the 
 simple touch of a water-fiowor ; her son, brought up under the 
 roof of a poor fisherman, 1>ecame a great man, and wrought 
 miracles. 
 
 The lamas say that Buddha is born of the virgin Maha-Maliai. 
 Sommonokhodom, the prince, the legislator, and the god of Siaiu, 
 likewise OAves his life to a virgin made fruitful by the rays of 
 the sun. Lao-Tseu took flesh in the v/omb of a black \'irgin, 
 wonde)ful and fair as the jasper. The zodiacal Isis of the 
 Egyptians is a virgin mother. The Isis of the Druids Avas to 
 bring forth the future Saviour.;); The Brahmins teach that, when 
 
 * "T!ie pearl," saj's Chardin, "has everywhere proper names: in the East, the 
 Turks and Tartars call it nuirdjuun, globe of light ; the Persians, mcrv'uJ, production 
 of \VM'' 
 
 f TlitTc are fonnd in C/d-k-iiif/ two fine odes on this marvcllons birth of IIcou-Tsi, 
 and the commt'nts and parapiinisrs of the learned, on these verses, agree in explaining 
 them in a way which renders the resemblance to the divine maternity of Mary still 
 more striking. " Every child who is born," says Ilo-son, " rends the womb of his 
 mother, and costs her the most cruel anguish. Kiang-Yuen brought forth hers 
 without rupture, hurt, or pain. It is that Tien, {Heaven) would thus display its 
 power, and show how the Holy One differs from men." " Having been comeived by 
 the operation of Tien," says another commentator, Tsou-Tsong-IIo, " who gave him 
 life liy a miracle, he must needs bo bora without wounding the virginity of his 
 mother." 
 
 X Ilinc Druidie statuam in intimis penetralibus orcxerunt, Isidi sen virgin! banc 
 dedicantes, ex qua fdins iile proditnrus crnt (ncmpe generis huniani Rcdemptor'l. 
 
 (Elias Schedius, dc Diis German is, cap. IS.) 
 
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 LIFE OF THE 
 
 a god assumes hnraan flesli, he is conceived in the womb of a 
 vii'gin, by divine operation; so also Jiigre7i'>.t, ihe mutihated 
 I'edeemer of the world,* Chriclma, bovn in a grotto where angels 
 and shepherds came to adore him in his cradle, each of these has 
 a virgin for his mother. 
 
 The Babylonian Dogdo sees in a dream a brilliant messenger 
 from Oromazos, who deposits at her feet the most mag- 
 nificent garments ; a celestial light falb upon the face of the 
 sleeper, ■<\'ho becomes fair as the day-stav ; Zerdhucht, Zoroas- 
 ter, or rather Ebrahim-Zer-Ateucht,f the famous prophet of 
 tlie IMagi, is the fruit of this nocturnal vision. The tyrant 
 Nirarod,J informed liy his astrologers that a child, still 
 
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 * Jdr/rendt, tlin seventh incnrnntion of Brahma, is represented in the form of a 
 ))yramiil, without hands and witlioiit feet. "He lost them," say the Brahmins, 
 " trying to carry tlic world, in order to save it." [See Kircher.) 
 
 f Zer-Ateni'ht signifies ;«'«//«/ ic//// ailver ; this surname was jriven to Zoroaster, 
 because tliat, as tlie (jhebers say, he proved hi.s mission, to a Salican prince who 
 persecuted liim, ))y iilunginj^ into a batli of molten silver, (^i*" Tavernier, vol. ii. 
 p. i)2.) 
 
 X This Ncmroud, whom Tavernier names Xeubront, is, according to some, 
 Nimrod, the famous hunter ; according to others, the tyrant Zholiac, of tlie Persians, 
 ii king of the first dynasty of i)rinces, wlio reigned immediately after the Deluge. 
 According to the author of the Jfi/aiih Alhlonm, Nemroud would be identical with 
 Caieaous, second king of the second dynasty of Persia, named the Cai'anides. The 
 Persian historians give him u reign of nearly two centuries, which iniist needs bo 
 rather long. By some he is represented as an impious man, who conceived the 
 strange fancy of ascending to heaven, in a chest drawn by four of those monstrous 
 birds called knles, mentioned by old Eastern writers in their romances. After 
 having wandered some time through the air, he fell so heavily on a inonntain, say 
 the ancient legends of Pirsia, that it was shaken to its very base. According to 
 the Persians, this Nimrod caused Zerdhucht, whom they confound with Abraliam, 
 to l)c cast into a fiery 4'urnace ; according to others, Ncmroud was a Saliean in 
 religion, and it was he who first established the worship of fire. (D'llerbelot, 
 BiliUotlihiiie Oricnialc, t. iii. p. :]2.) The Jews claim for Abraham, the father 
 and the founder of their ])eo]ili', this perseention, of which the honour is given y 
 the Persians to Zerdhni lit, their legislator. St. Jerome relates an nnciint tradition 
 of 'iie Jews, to the eflcct that Al raliani Ii:h1 been cast into the fire by order of the' 
 Chaldeans, because he would not adore him. ('Ilicroti., Qre.-:/ in (/('/(cs,) This 
 tradition is conllrnied by Jewi 
 inenti(.ins that Al)raliam, me( tii: 
 pieces ; a co'nplnint was immedii 
 Uicrcfore, adore the fire. Tli 
 
OlIAI'. I.] 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN JIARY. 
 
 unborn, menaces his gods and bis throne, causes all pregnant 
 women to be put to death; Zerdhucht, however, is saved througlt 
 ,the prudence and dexterity of his mother* The Maceniques, 
 who inhabit the shores of Lake Zarayixs, in Paraguay, relate that 
 at a very remote period a Avonian of rare T^eauty became a 
 mother, yet remained a virgin ; her son, after having wrought 
 many extraordinary miracles, ascended one day into the open 
 ail', in presence of his disciples, and transformed himself into 
 a sun. 
 
 Let all these scattered fragments of corrupted creeds be brought 
 together, and they Avill make up, in nearly all its details, the 
 history of the Vii-gin and her divine Son. The Virgin, 
 notwithstanding the royal blood which flows through her veins, 
 is of oT)scure condition, like the mother of Zoroaster; like her, 
 too, she receives the visit of an angel bearing a message from 
 Heaven. The tyrant Nemroud, who was the progenitor of a line 
 of very wicked princes, may pass for the type of Herod, and is as 
 anxious to compass the death of the young flre-worshipper as the 
 sanguinary spouse of Mariamne to accomplish that of the infant 
 Jesus ; both miss their prey. Born of a virgin avIio conceivee 
 him during fervent prayer, and brings him forth without hurt or 
 pain in a poor stable, like the first-born of the noble and pious 
 Kiang-Yuen, our divine Saviour dwelt amongst the lower classes, 
 like the son of the Chinese goddess ; angels and shepherds come 
 to render Him homage, as to Chrichna, on the verj^ night of his 
 birth ; then, after having stilled the tempest, walked on the Avater, 
 exj)elled demons, raised the dead to life, he ascends triumphantly 
 into heaven in the presence of five hundred disciples, Avhose dazzled 
 eyes lost him in the clouds, precisely as is related by the savage 
 tribes of Paraguay. 
 
 It is assuredly v-ery strange that these marvellous legends, which 
 
 uiorc imt'\rni to worship water, wliich fxtiiiofiiislies lire, tlin rlouds wlioncc tlie 
 ffutcr proiifods, tlie wind wliicli pjiitlicrs tlio cUnids, ami innn who h t, being much 
 more (icrfcct than tlie wind. Xeninnid, irritati'd ))v this cntting rebuke, cast 
 Abraliani into the fire, which, however, did not hnrra him. 
 ♦ »S<(; Tavernicr. at.the place quoted 
 
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 Ii;i\e not Ijceti copied from the evangelical facts, since they are 
 incontestaWy more ancient, yet form, Avjien taken together, the 
 real life of the Son of God. Can truMi, then, spring from error?, 
 What are we to think of these fan<, -^tic arisoeiations ? Shall we 
 say, with thi scottmg philosophers o; the Voltairian school, and 
 some GerinaL visionaries of a somewhat more recent date, that 
 the. Apostles borrowed these fa1)les trom the various creeds of 
 Asia ? But without speaking of the jealous care with which tliey 
 hid the Looks reputed divine in the impenetrable darkness of the 
 sanctuary ; not to mention the profound horror wherewitli the 
 Jews regarded idoLitrous legends, and their supreme contempt for 
 foreign leai-ning ; how coidd poor, illiterate men, ihe extent of whose 
 knowledge was to steer a liark over the waters of Genesareth, 
 and v.'hose nets were still di-i])ping Avith its living waters when 
 'hey were promoted to the Apostleship — hoAV could lahorioui 
 artisans, forced to toil for their daily hread during the intervals 
 of their preaching — how could such as they have ransacked the 
 siicrod hooks of the Indias, the Chinese, the Baetrians, the 
 l^iienicians, and the Persians? What appearance is there that 
 Simon Peter, the sons of ZeLedee, or the austere disciple of 
 Gamaliel, Avho Loldly said to Corinth, that rich and learned 
 Grecian city, J'})r myself^ I litoio hvt one tldnfj^ Jem(-9^ and Ilhn 
 cnicijied^ that these should have snatched from idolatry, whicli 
 (heir mission was to destroy, some of its old tatters to sew upon 
 llie life of Jesus Clirist — a life so simple and so grand ! Still, if 
 +he question had only heen of loans made from the fabulous 
 li^gends of nations bordering on Palestine, such as the Egyptians 
 and Phenicians, however unjust might have been the accusation, 
 it M-ould have had, at Jeast, a show of probability; but no! these 
 brilliant ])oints, winch detach themselves from the dark shades 
 I if idolati'v to form, like so many little staiv, the aureola of the 
 Son of the Mrgin, come from places the most distart and the 
 least known. Xot to speak of that Gaul, whose impenetra])l(-; 
 forests hid, at tlu; extremity of Western Europe, its mystei'ious 
 creed under the shadow of giant oaks; of the great Indie>*, so 
 imjierfectly known in the time of Tiberias; of that Sereca of the 
 porci'lain towers, whose distant provinces did not tem])t even tlie 
 
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 /isC^) OUAP. I. 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN SIAUY. 
 
 covetous Romans;* how could the Apostles have contrived to 
 cominnuicate Avith far Ameiicn, separated from the old continent ^ 
 by her green belt of waves, and lost like a pearl amid the watcu's i 
 But, gi-anting that the Apostles had known, no matter liow, 
 these ancient myths, disseminated over all the globe — nay, I Avill 
 go fiirther still, and, laying aside native simplicity, the sealed 
 testimony of blood, the high sanctity of these divine men, cai-riml 
 away, as Rousseau says, with zeid for their Master's glory, T will 
 suppose that the idea had occurred to them to embroider some 
 fabulous circumstances on the evangelical tissue — Avhy, the thing 
 would have passed their '^)ower. With what face, for instance, 
 could they have attributed to that Herod, whom all Jerusalem 
 had known, whose reign, so glorious and yet so tragical, each one 
 knew by heart, aji atrocious and improbal)le fact, renewed fi'om 
 I know not what king of Persia, who, perhaps, never existed save 
 hi the dreams of the Magi? If the massacre of the Inr.oconts 
 had been a story fabricated o.- copied l)y the Apostles, is it to be 
 believed that the Bethlehemites, so likely to know what was 
 passing in the Holy City, whose lofty towers darkened their 
 hoiTzon, would not have openly protested against that auda(;ious 
 falsehood ; or that those cunning Phansces, who would fain have 
 confounded Jesus himself, would have let such a story become 
 current without attempting to refute it; or that the Herodians 
 would have tamely suffered a stain so foul to be falsely inij)i'inted 
 on the fame of a prince whom they regarded almost as a god,f 
 and who had loaded thorn with wealth "".d honoui-s? If ;dl were 
 silent, it is l)ecause the fact was tou veil accredited, too public, 
 too recent, to leave any pLnisible pretence for denial; it is because 
 that, within two hours' walk of Jerusalem, Avere the mothoi'.- 
 
 * It was under tlio rriy;n of Aiip:usliis tlint tlio Ilonv.iii pcoj)le rcccivid thi^ fnvt 
 ambassiidor from the Scri's, wiiom we now call CIuiil'so. Tlic ambassadors iircteiidc 
 that it had taken them tliree years to make tlie journey. 
 
 f Thi' flatterers of ITeroil the First, iln/./.led with the crealneps and iiiacruifieciico 
 of tliat j)riiioe, maintained that he was the Jfcssiah. llei.ec arose the suet of tiic 
 Uerodians, so often mentioned in tlie Gospel, and even known to tlie Pajrans, since 
 Persus and his selinhast inform us tliat, from tiie days of Nero, tlie hirlh of Kin;,' 
 Ilerod was celebrated l)v his soetaries witii tlie same solemnity as the Sabbath. 
 
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 tJio martyrs avIio h.'ul piircliiisud with their young lives the honour 
 of being born with Christ; it is because that whole towns had 
 seen the glitter of the murderous steel, and heard the wail of 
 death ; it is because that, at the first denial given to the Christians, 
 a whole nation would have risen and shouted, Hut we were there !* 
 
 So it is with the di\ ine child-bearing of Mary — the visit of the 
 shepherds sent by the angels — the glorious resurrection — and, in 
 short, with all the protligies which marked the coming of ChrL't. 
 The Apostles Avrote during the lifetime of those who had figured 
 in the scenes they related ; and, before even they consigned these 
 prodigies to writing, they had openly preached them in the very 
 temple of Jehovah, before that immense assemblage of Hebrews 
 fi'om all the provinces, who repaired thither either to offer sacrifice 
 or to l)ring first-fruits ; the most dangerous auditory in the world, 
 if they had promulgated falsehood. 
 
 Far from fearing contradictions, which in case of imposture must 
 needs have followed, St. Peter speaks to that vast multitude as 
 one sure of the general assent; he boldly appeals to the yet 
 recent remembrance of those who hear him ; he asserts the miracles 
 which stamped as divine the mission of the Son of jMary, and that 
 even before the gi'fat council of the nation, which had oxei-ted 
 all its i)Ower to have Jesus crucified. And the senators of Israel, 
 frightened and furious, cause St. Peter and St. John to be beaten 
 with rods, in order to make them keeji silence ; but yet they deny 
 
 * " Ni'illicr Josoplius nor the Ralibins speak of the massacro of the Tniiocents," 
 sn3-s Strauss ; " ]SIacrol)iis, who lived in tlie fourth century, is t'lC only writer wlio 
 says a word of the iiuissaire decreed liy Tlerod." Strauss is in error ; tlin Toldos, 
 from wliom Ciisus lins tal<en some of the facts prrjndicial to Christianity, which he 
 lias interspersed throujah his writings, do speak positively on the subject, and the 
 fnct, is in the Talmud. This is the way in which Bossuet answers those who deny 
 the evangelical fact, and never was answer more definitive. "Where are those," 
 siiys he, "who, in order to conlirni their faith, would wish that the jirofr.ne historians 
 of that aire had mentioned this cruelty of Herod, as well as all the others ? Just 
 as thouudi our faith ouirht to depend on what the neniifjencc or aflbcted ])oliey of 
 worldly historians has made them record or omit in their histories ! Far from ns bo 
 such weak imapininpjs ; even in a human point of view, the Evangelist would have 
 been very careful not to compromise the character of bis narrative by recording a 
 fact which was not well authenticated." 
 
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 ULKSSED VHUJIN MAUr. 
 
 tic, as the Talmud shows, those prodigies which they stn])idly 
 attriliiite to magic. Tims it is that they say not to the Apostles 
 brought before thera by the guards of the Temple, "Ye are 
 liars or visionaries !" they only tell them, with an agitation which 
 T)lainly indicates their secret fears, " Be silent ! will ye that we be 
 stoned T)y the people?" Whereupon those two men, simple in 
 heart, but great in soul, made answer: "We cannot be silent! 
 God commands us to speak, and Him must we obey rather than 
 men." Impctsture is not so bold or confident. 
 
 After having examined the acts, the charrtfcter, and the position 
 of the Apostles, every impartial mind will be forced to admit 
 that they were neither deceiving nor deceived, and that they 
 have nothing to do with the conformities remarked between the 
 evangelical facts and the traditions, more or less fabulous, of the 
 ancient nations. 
 
 But, then, how to exjAain these analogies ? Is it a mere game 
 of chance, a lucky coincidence ? 
 
 Ko, it is not by chance that the mystery of the incarnation of 
 a Gc "" in the womb of a virgin is one of the fundamental doctrineB 
 of Asia. It is not by chance that the privileged women who bear 
 in their womb that emanation of the Divinity are always chaste, 
 beautiful, and holy; that they have glorious and mysterious 
 names, which signify, in all these ancient tongues, expected leauf}/, 
 immaculate virgin, faithful vinjin, Jelight of manl-iml, polar 
 star; and that they are all so much alike that one would say 
 they were moulded on a far-off type hidden from us by the 
 darkness of time. Finally, it is not by chance that a luminous 
 ray unites the divine and human nature. 
 
 These notions, wherein the stamp of a primitive time is so 
 plainly visible, evidently ascend to the birth of the world. The 
 antedihu-ian patriarchs, that chain of old men Avho lived the a"-e 
 of cedars, wishing to form for themselves an idea of the woman 
 blessed amongst all others, wh se miraculous maternity was to 
 sa,\e mankind, represented her to themselves under the likeness 
 of Eve before her fall; tliey gave hei' a majestic and saintly 
 beauty, which could awake in the minds of men no other feelin<' 
 
 they made lier a mild and 
 
 save that of religious -^^eneration ; 
 
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 veiled star, whose dawn Avas to precede that of the Sun of 
 Justice. 
 
 Tlio means wlioreby God gave fecundity to tliat virginal womb 
 are strikingly alike, amongst the ditlerent nations of the world. 
 Cast a glance over all the old religiouj^, and you will there find a 
 Bacred lire. But the fire was^, for the Pereiaus?, the terrestrial em- 
 blem of the sun, and the sun himself was but the dwelling of the 
 Most High, the glorious tent of the Goi of Heaven* 
 
 The Hebrews, who shared in this belief, recognised the divine 
 presence, or the scJt^lina^ in the radiant cloud which overhung 
 the cherubim of the mercy-seat. They beheved that God clothed 
 himself with light as with a garment, when mar.ifesting himself to 
 men, on solcnm occasions. It was the opinion of the Synagogue, 
 supported by the +radition of the Temple, that in the midst of 
 the wild rose-l)u.sh, which burned without being consumed, when 
 Moses, that great fe*liei)herd of men, Avas tending, on Mount Horeb. 
 the flocks of his Arab father-in-law, there was seen a very lovely 
 face, resembling nothing that is seen here below; and that this 
 celestial image, clearer than the ilame and more brilliant than 
 the lightning, was, without doubt, the image of the Eternal God.f 
 With this premise, it is not difficult to understand the drift of the 
 oi)inion, so generally di^lused, that .a luminous ray was to im})ai't 
 fecundity to the womb of the favoured virgin who was the 
 expectation of all people. 
 
 With this graceful tradition of a pure virgin admitted to a 
 divine union, surrounded by impenetrable mystery, was connected 
 that of a Saviour God, born of her womb, who was to suffer and 
 die for the salvation of the world. J This tradition was not 
 perpetuated, like the other, by nuians of brilliant and poetical 
 images, but by terror, which makes an imjiression far more indelible 
 than poetry. The bloody sacrifice, which we find established 
 
 * "Tlio Pcrsiiins suppose tlmt tho throne of God is in the gun," says Fanway, 
 " ami hence tliuir vpncratioti for that star." 
 
 f PhiKiM, Vk (Ic Moisc {Life of Motes). 
 
 X Tills tradition is found iu the sacred ))ooks of Ciiina. {See Fatlicr Prcinarc's 
 worlc, entitled, Selecla qnmlam vestigia pnecipw/rum Christianas rcliyionis dogmalum 
 ex aniiquis libris eruta.) 
 
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 from the earliest times, amongst ueaily nil uationg, was solely 
 iiit((nJed to preserve uiriongst men the remembrance of the 
 promised immolation of Calvaiy. This is easily proved. 
 
 Woi-ship, that demonst ation of love, that homage of gratitude 
 wliieh Adam and Eve were to render to God immediately after 
 their creation, was, in Eden, doubtless composed of only innocent 
 prayei-s and oblations of fruits and flowers.* But when they — 
 ungrat(3ful that they were — had infringed upon the precept, so 
 easy in observance, which the Lord had imposed, like a sweet 
 yoke, upon them, merely to make tlieni feel that they had a 
 naster ; when they had lost, with the immortalizing fruits of the 
 !:r(!0 of life,f their talisman against death,;}; and descended from 
 file charming hills of Eden to a land bristling with briers and 
 Ihorns, to a land whose virgin bosom they must open to nourish 
 
 * I'orjjliyr. de Abal., lib. ii. 
 
 f God might nnnox to the ijlnnts certnin nntiiriii virtues for tlio suko of our 
 bodies, and it is easy to believe that the fruit of the tree of life had the virtue 
 of restoring the body, by nn iilinieut so proportionate nad so cflicneions that none 
 could ever die while using it. (Bossnet, b'lev. siir les Mijst., t. i. p. 231.) 
 
 I Man was never immortal, in this world, as the jmro spirits are, for a boiiy 
 .'"ormcd of dust must needs return to dust ; he was so only by a favour, without 
 precedent, and conditionally granted, whereby he was elevated to, and maintained in. 
 a position fur above his proper sphere. Immortality here below never yet belonged 
 to man ns a birthright. Every earthly body is to perish through the dissolution of 
 its parts, unless prevented by a sjiccial decree of the Creator ; this divinj will was 
 manifested in favour of our first parents. God jilanted, in the delicious ganlen 
 where ho had placeu morti'l man, the tree of life, a plant of celestial origin, which 
 had the property of repelling I'euth, as the laurel, according to the ancients, keeps 
 olf the thunder. To that mysterious tree was attached the inunortality of the human 
 i<peeics , away from that protecting tree, death again seized his prey, and man was 
 'juried from the height of heaven into his miserable tenement of cUy. (Aug., 
 Qhxs:. Vet. et Nov. Test., q. 19, ji. 430.) No one will question, I fancy, that God 
 Ir.id an undoubted right to expel Adam from the garden after his disobedience ; but 
 the expulsion involved the sentence of death for man and his i)03terity ; without the 
 tree of life, ho was nothing more than a frail and perishable creature, subject to the 
 laws which govern created bodies : when the antidote is wanting, it is very evident 
 *hal the poison kills. Having again become mortal, Adaui begot sons mortal like 
 limself. The condition into which the father had fallen must needs be that of the 
 children. In that, God did no wrong to the human race ; we are, by nature, mortal; 
 He has left us as wo were. To withdraw a gratuitous favour, when the oh'yoX of 
 that favour tears with his own iiands the deed of gift, is assuredly not severity, but 
 crdy justice. 
 
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 tlieniselves ; they added to the fruits and wild flowers prodncca 
 by tlie land of exile, the first fruits of tlicir flocks. This merita 
 attention. Adam, who joined to the perfection of the human 
 form an intelligent and elevated mind, wherein the Lord had 
 planted the germ of all virtue and of all knowledge, could not 
 be void of humanity. His fatal complaisance to Eve shows him 
 loving even to weakness, and therefore susceptible, in the highest 
 degi-ee, of all kindly feelings and aft'octions. How could it, then, 
 occur to him that the Creator would take pleasure in the violent 
 death of his creature, or that an act of destruction Avas in act 
 of piety ? 
 
 Tlie immolation of animals, which has not the slightest connection 
 with the vows and prayers of man, and Avhich the purely vegetable 
 food of the first patriarchs left v/ithout other object than that of 
 murder, must needs have excited a tho-sand feelings of disgust 
 and repugnance in" the mind of our common father. Long had 
 these poor, dumb creatures, devoid of reason, but very capable of 
 attachment, composed, in Eden, the court of that solitary king. 
 He then seated himself at the same table, slept on the same mossy 
 hillock, quenched his thiret at the same spring, and his prayer 
 ascended to heaven, at early dawn and evening's close, with the 
 warbling of the birds, who seemed to sing, in their turn, the 
 morning or evening hymn. Tliose companions of his happier 
 days, involved in his misfortune, now shared his exile :* some. 
 
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 * Tlio time that Adum and Eve rcnmined in the tprrestrinl paradise is not 
 exactly known ; it mnst, nevertlielcss, have been of some duration, and so it was 
 understood I)y Milton, whom we do not here quote as a ])oet, but as a profound 
 Oriental scholar. Moreover, if we remember that it was in Eden that Adam lean.ed 
 to distinguish and to call by name all the birds of the air, the beasts of the earth, 
 and the fishes of the water ; that he there learned the virtues of plants, and what God 
 ehosc to teach him regarding the course of the stars ; we must then coneludo that all 
 this wna not the work of a day. The Persians and the Chinese have it that the 
 first man was in Paradise for many ages. The Arabs and the Kabliins say that he 
 was there only half a day ; but, according to them, that half day in Paradise was 
 equivalent to five hundred years ; for a day there was equal to a thousand years. 
 According to our views, that period of time is much too loni;, It is commonly 
 believed that Cain, whose birth, in Genesis, follows closely upon the expulsion of 
 his parents, w .s born in the year of the world 13, which would leave the stay In 
 Paradise in or about twelve years. Tliat tenr, although somewhat short, would 
 
OIUP. l.J 
 
 BLKHUKU VIKom MAKY. 
 
 13 
 
 giving way to the ferocious instinct which in rnradiao lind 
 remained undeveloped, fled to the depth of the wilderness or the 
 secret caverns of the mountains, whence they soon waged deadly 
 warfare against their former miwter. Others, mild and inotfensive 
 by nature, establish themselves ai*oimd the grotto of their lord, 
 to whom they offered, to satisfy' his wants and soothe his cares, 
 their milk, their labour, their fleece, and their melodious concerts. 
 Well, it was from the ranks — thin they were, too — of these huml)le 
 friends, faithful in misfortune, that Adam selected, counted, and 
 marked his victims; it was into the throat of the heifer who had 
 given him milk, of the dove who had flown to his bosom for 
 shelter when the vulture hovered in the air, of the lamb that 
 quitted its flowery pasture to lick his hand, that ho had the 
 heart to plunge his knife. Ah! when man, yet unpractised in 
 killing, struck down at his feet a poor, timid creature, and 
 saw it bleeding and struggling in the agony of death, he 
 must have stood pale and horror-stricken like the assassin who 
 has just committed his fii-st murder 1 That thought never 
 occurred to him; it was not an act of choice, but of painful 
 obedience. Who imposed it upon him? He to whom alone 
 it belongs to dispose of life and death — God I 
 
 Adam committed a sin so enormous by its aggravating 
 circumstances and its disastrous conseqtiences, that, in order to 
 express its full extent, the Hebrew tradition relates that the sun 
 hid his face in horror.* Satan attacked him in his strength, at a 
 time when, as yet, he knew naught but good, in the fairest of 
 earth's scenes, under the recent impression of the immense benefit 
 of creation, free, happy, tranquil, immortal, and capalile of resisting, 
 if he had chosen to do so. It was from this height that he fell 
 
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 have, nevertheless, enabled the first man to establish his supremacy over the animals 
 subject to him, and to attach him to his humble dependants by the ties of habit. 
 
 * It is in remembrance of the sin of Eve, at sight of which, according to the 
 Jews, the snn hid his light, that the Jewish women arc sprcially charged to light the 
 lamps which bum in every house during the Sabbath niglit. " It is just," sny the, 
 Hebrew doctors, "that women should rekindle the flame which they have extiu 
 guished, and that they be charged with that trouble, in expiation of thei- sin." 
 (Basn., lib. vii. ch. 13.) 
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 into tlie t'oiitful iihyss of disohedu'iH'O und in^'nititud*'. Th») justice 
 of (!od di'iuiiiidtMl ti imnisluucnt proportioniito to the oIUmico; man 
 wa.H coiidoiiuicd to dio u douMn dciitli, and it was all ovi-r with the 
 liuiuan HjH'i'icH, had not ii l)ivint( IJrin^', prtMlcstiiii'd heforo tlio 
 Itiilli of tiuK! to tlu! woik of our r('di'nii)tion, taken it upon 
 hiiuHt'lf U) mako satisfaction for \in all. TlH-nrrforward ho was 
 called tho Messiah, and rtivealed an n Saviour, at the very moment 
 when tho voice of God — that voice which rendu the cedars^ — 
 pronounced the sentence of the three criniinals. " I^'cauHo thou 
 ha.st done tliis tliin«,f," naid (jod to the serpent, who showed himself 
 nroud of (Uir ruin, "tlu; seed of the wonmn — that is to say, her 
 nll'spring — shall crush thy head." 
 
 And tlie Ilehrew tradition adds that (jod, touched by the 
 rej)entanco of om* first j)arents, liud it revealed to them by an 
 anije], that from tlieir race should arise a just man who would 
 annihilate the pernicious efVecta of the tree of knowledge,* by 
 means of a voluntary oblation, and would be the salvation of 
 those who put their trust in IIim.f On tho other side, we learn 
 from the Arab traditions that God, who is merciful and indulgent, 
 \M)uld vouchsafe to ])()int oiit to man the way to implore his 
 foi'f^nvenc.vs. That worship, revealed by God, was muloubtedly 
 sacrifice, a ceremony at once commemorative, expiatory, and 
 syinl)olical, whereby man acknowledged that he had deserved 
 death, and, substituting for himself innocent victims, kept per- 
 petually ])efore his mind the great victim of Calvary. 
 
 Thus, then, tin; institution of the bloody sacriiice, which was 
 not of human invention, rested, at bottom, on a conception of 
 Divine mercy, since it perpetuated, amongst all nations, that 
 
 I 
 
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 * It is frononilly consiilercd, nraongst CbrLstians, that, tho tree of kiiowlodf^o wns 
 111 niiiiletrtH! ; tho Persians innintnin, on tlic contrary, that this fatul tree was a 
 liu-lroo. In our ilays, tiie German Eiehhorn makes it out to have boon a species of 
 niaiielimc-el. "A dciluetion made from tho wor.dera attending on the fall of man," 
 -ays thiit nationalist writer, " the fact is evident that the constitution of the hnnmn 
 1 ody has licen, from the beginning, vitiated by the use of a poisonous fruit." 
 C iMchhorn's Anjeschkhte.) 
 
 t IJasnage, lib. vi ch. 25, p. 417. 
 
I 
 
 CTIAl'. I.) 
 
 1U.I>4.SK1) VIIUH.V MAKY. 
 
 1.1 
 
 tmditiitii «)f tlio Mt\sj<lali, withont which tlit5 work of tho Rcdenii>- 
 tiou would h)iv« l)een r t'uvour thrown ftway. 
 
 (Jod ripens his councils J»y aj^'es, tor a thoiisiuul yoars nro fo 
 lliin hut as oiio day; l»ut man is onj,'er to obtain, for man Insls 
 hut a short time. It appcai-s that Eve hud conchidod, from tlic 
 words of tl»! angel, that >*hy woh to be the mother of the promis('(l 
 Hcdi-emer, and that this was the reason why kIio testified such 
 tniusports of joy on the ])irth of Cain,* whom she took for her 
 Haviour. Undeceived Ity the dcvehipment of his ])ervers(> inclina- 
 tions, she transferred her lio])os to Ahel, that sou ho fondly lov > J, 
 whose nam(j recalls the mourning and tears of his mother ; f- then 
 to Seth ;J hut all in vain, for the gates of Paradise novcr opened 
 again for her. Tlie just of the race of Seth, those pure, solitary, 
 aiul contemplative men called in Scripture tlie cliildren of (Jod, 
 and in the Assyrian legends genii, they long flattered themselves 
 M-itli a similar hopt;; and the Jewish tradition represents them 
 as wandering on thi licighta around the garden of EJen,§ whoso 
 
 * Cain is called Cttbd by all tho Arab writers ; tliat rmme, wliich incniis the 
 /irst, is jK'i'linps his jiroprr iiniiip. Tlio siiriiainc of Cain, wliidi Kij^nilios traitor, 
 must liiivc l)t'Oii suljsequcntly p;i\iii him (Savury, note to C'/i. V. of the Koran.) 
 
 f Abel, by the Arabs written Ilabel, is, according to thorn, only tho siiriiaiiio 
 of tliut young fihoplitrd who was tlic lirst tyjic of Jesus Clirist. In fuet, it rcenlls 
 tlic snd event which tlirew tlic family of Adam into mowrniiip-, " and properly 
 signifies," ^ays Savory (place quoted), His death has left a mother in team. 
 Josephus, too, says that the name of Abel signifies mourning. (Antlq. Jud., 
 p. 4.) 
 
 J See Rasnage, lib. vi. ch. 25. 
 
 § The Arabian traditions jilaco tho tcrrcstrinl paradise in that fair valley of 
 Damascus which the Eastern poets df' ,nate as the emerald of tho desert. This 
 idea ii justified by its admirable situaiion, its beauty, and its fertility ; and a 
 learned conuucntator on Genesis has not hesitated io set down this fair sit" us 
 tliat of tlic garden of Kdcn, althouuh tlic names of tho Euphrates and the Tigris 
 indicate a i)Ositiou somewhat different. In support of this Arab tradition tliere 
 is shown, about half a day's journey from Damascus, a lofly mountain of wliite 
 marble, shaded witli beautifid trees, and therein is a cavern, pointed out ns tlie 
 al>odc of Adam, of Abel, and of Cain ; there is also seen tho sepulchre of Abel, 
 which is much respected liy the Turks. The spot whereon tho fratricide was 
 committed is uiarhed by four i)iilnrs. (U'Hcrbclot, Bihliothrque Orientak, j) 773 
 and 780 — Pere Paeificiiie, in liis Commentaries on the Bilk.) 
 
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 16 
 
 LIFE OF TER 
 
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 gigantic cedara they wistfully admired,* and Sattered themselves 
 the while that from amongst themselves should arise a just man 
 n'ho would obtain admission for them. But it was not the name 
 of a virgin of the primitive times that was written in the immuta- 
 ble decrees of the Eternal ; and the earth, still quivering under the 
 divine malediction, had need of being washed as by the ablution 
 of a baptism, before the foot of Him who was to bring the glad 
 tidings should leave its sacred impress on the mountains. 
 
 When the earth had absorbed the waters of the Deluge, and 
 the winds had dried it up, the new human family, springing into 
 life under favourable auspices, hastened to re-establish the worship 
 of Enos. Noah joined thereto the seven precepts which bear his 
 name, not forgetting the historical and religious traditions which 
 his long existence prior to the Deluge had enabled him to gather. 
 He told how man was formed of clay, his rebellion, his fall, and 
 ♦lis future reparation, which the world was to owe to the mii-aculous 
 maternity of a new Eve. At sight of the bloody sacrifice offered 
 for the unexpiated crime of their first parents, he taught his 
 descendants to raise their eyes to a more august victim, seated 
 at the right hand of Jehovah, in the starry depths of heaven — 
 a victim whereof the oblation of lambs and heifers was but the 
 figure.f 
 
 These primitive notions were at first faithfully retained by the 
 nations, and are found at the basis of all creeds.J Altai's were 
 
 * The lofty cedars of Eden have remained traditionally in tlie memory of the 
 Hebrews, who have made the terrestrial paradise their Heaven. In most of their 
 epitaphs we read these words : " He is gone dowu to the garden of Eden to those 
 wiio are amongst the cedars." (Basnage, t. v. lib. vii.) 
 
 f All the ancient law bears an aspect of blood and death in figure of the new 
 law established and confirmed by the blood of Jesus Christ. (Bossuet, Jiliv. mr 
 Ips Myst., t. i. p. 428. 
 
 X The Indians, the Chinese, the Peruvians, and even the Hurons, acknowledge 
 that the first man was formed of clay. Tiic Brahmins, who make deliglitful rcpre- 
 Bontations of tlit-ir choraim (paradise), place therein a tree wiiose fruit would confer 
 immortality if it could be eaten. The Persians relate that the genius of evil, 
 Ahriman, seduced our first parents under the form of a snake. The story of the 
 woman seduced at the foot of a tree, the anger of God, and the first fratricide, was 
 traditionally told amongst the Iroquois. The Tartars attribute our fall to a plant 
 
 cT^l 
 
'i(::'i^-\-',fi'^y!K' 
 
 CHAP. l.J 
 
 BLESSED VIKGIN MARY. 
 
 17 
 
 erected at the confluence of rivers, in the shade of forests, on the 
 summits of mountains, by the green sea-wave, and on the sandy 
 moor where the wormwood-tree spreads its leaves to the desei-t-wind. 
 The soft moon light illumined, from the first, those rural temples 
 which had no other bounds than the horizon, no other roof than the 
 flrmament with all its stars. At that remote period, God was 
 worshipped in a manner worthy of Him, and with ideas so clear, 
 so sublime, so uniform and so simple, that they had evidently 
 emanated from Himself 
 
 Nevertheless, there glided, like a destroying principle, into the 
 postdiluvian worship, an element of superstitious terror founded 
 on the fresh and drear remembrance of the submersion of the globe, 
 a remembrance of which traces are found in most of the religious 
 festivals of antiquity.* Congregated together on the lofty table- 
 lands of Caucasus, and the mountains of Armenia, the descendants 
 of Noah had long refused, even at the command of the patriarch 
 himself, to go down again into the plains, so great was their fear 
 of a second deluge ! In vain did the rainbow span the clouds- — 
 as it were to encourage the childi'en of men — with its soft, 
 mellow hues, where the green of the emerald united with the 
 blue of the sapphire. That auspicious omen, thr.t radiant sign of 
 an appeased God, lessened, but could not dispel, a rooted terror. 
 The tower of Babel is proof of this. That gigantic monument 
 of human pride concealed, beneath its insolent boast, an over- 
 whelming fear. It was as a fortress of refuge against the con- 
 tmgency of a new deluge which tliat race of men, already 
 corrupt, could not but feel that they deserved. And when the 
 confusion of tongues, that terrible stroke of divine wrath, forced 
 the builders to disperae ; when they saw their precaution, injurious 
 as it was to the sworn clemency of the Lord, result in their dis- 
 grace ; they were the more disposed to give way to new feara. 
 
 sweet as honey and of wondrous beauty ; the Thibetans, to tlio crime of liavin<r 
 tasted of the daugerous plant ichimce, mild and sweet as su<!,ar : the knowledge of the 
 state of nakedness was revealed by this fruit. The tradition of the woman and the 
 serpent was likewise known in Mexico &c. (See le Christ devanl le Steele, by M. 
 Roselly de Lorgues, ch. 9.) 
 * See Boulanger, Antiq. Devoilit 
 
 Y 
 
 ^« 
 
 k) 
 
 4j 
 
 
 \^\ 
 
V;:) 
 
 'Ml IS 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 It must, however, be admitted, in extenuation of their fault, 
 tliiit the spectacle then preserted by the earth was far from 
 cheering. The whole economy of the creation was upset, ilie 
 rivers, diverted from their channels, formed immense ponds and 
 putrid marshes* in those vast plains, adorned, before the Deluge, 
 with the graceful tents of the shepherds. The cedaiB lay prostrate 
 on the searshore, whilst the spoils of the ocean were found amongst 
 the eternal snows of the loftiest mountains. On every side were 
 seen towers levelled to the ground,f and cities silent and in 
 ruins. The ploughshare everywhere notched on bones and rubbish. 
 The avenging hand of an angry God had fallen so crushingly that 
 man, whose heart still palpitated with fear, remembering the risk 
 he had run, was more disposed to fear his Sovereign Master with a 
 mighty fear than to love him with confiding love ; he had learned 
 to fear God! He doubted his promisv^b and his goodness. Like 
 the drowning mariner, he eagerly sought, f xound him, some helping 
 object, which might interpose between thfm, and ward ofl^ at need, 
 that just but terrible wrath, Noah had spoken to them of an 
 influential and divine Being whose tenderness for men was infinite, 
 and who was to plead their cause before the Eternal, and take upon 
 himself their crimes ; but who was that privileged mediator, that 
 powerful advocate? They knew not. The descendants of Shera 
 Ijelieved that they liad found him in the stars which cheered their 
 solitary watch, and which they supposed inhabited by celestial 
 
 
 ■ '1 
 
 >=r"4«--._- 
 
 '^vhi^^ 
 
 L*%^ 
 
 * History 1ms preserved us proofs of this displacing of rivers after the Deluge. 
 We rciid in Strabo, book II., that the Araxes, which waters Armenia, was still 
 without a vent, and inundated the country, when Jason, chief of the Aeronauts, 
 opened a subterraneous channel, whereby the Araxes flowed into the Caspian sea 
 In the famous CIvou-King of Confucius, the Emperor Yao says that the waters, 
 whicli had once risen to heaven, still bathed the feet of the hift'hest mountains, and 
 rcndiTcd the plains impassable. — (Froret, Chron. dcs Cfn'nois, 1st part.) 
 
 f The tower of Babel, so immediately after the great Deluge, may furnish an idea 
 of the antediluvian architecture. Brick and pitch were the materials used. If this 
 immense tower, as there is every reason to believe, resembled the ancient and famous 
 tower of Bel in Babylon, it was surrounded by an exterior staircase, on a gentle 
 slope, which wound up to the flat roof, and gave the building the appearance of seven 
 succe.ssivo towers. 
 
 l«7i;^,A"v\\"" 
 
^jiLilt^a^uai^^ 
 
 ^£>a:: 
 
 CUAP. 1.] 
 
 BLES'JED VIKGIK MARY. 
 
 spirits;* they engaged those spirits to protect them, and 
 kindled iires in their honour on the mountain-top8.f 
 
 This was the origin of Sabeism, -which degenerated into idolatry 
 vvhen the accursed race of Cham, attaching themselves to the 
 material object, adored the fire, the water, the earth, the rustling 
 breeze ; and in scornful mockery of the primitive worship, which 
 knew not the use of images, they consecrated to the moon statues 
 of silver, and to the sun statues of gold.J 
 
 In the lapse of time the shades thickened, religions became 
 burdened with rites, the worship of the true God was gradually 
 intermixed with that of the stara and the elements ; the invention 
 of hieroglyphics completed the confusion, and the few truths which 
 escaped the overthrow of creeds were mysteriously buried in the 
 depth of the idolatrous fanes, like those sepulchral lamps which 
 burii but for the dead. Tliey were carefully concealed from the 
 multitude,§ which lavished its senseless adoration on stones, 
 
 Y 
 
 * It is a very ancient notion in the East that the stars are animated ; the Jewish 
 doctors had fallen into this error, although it dated much earlier than their people. 
 Philo said that ths stars were intelligent creatures, who had never done, and were 
 incapable of doing, harm. According to the Maimonides, the stars know God, their 
 Alakcr, and also themselves, and their actions are alwaj'S good and \\o\\ (Philo, de 
 Mundi opificio, de Giffant., de Somniis. — Maimonides, More nevochim, part II., ch. 4, 
 p. 194, et de Fiindam, legis, ch. 3, § 11.) The modern Persians still sacrifice to the 
 Angel of the Moon. 
 
 f According to 11. Bechai, the Saboans did not adore the sun ; they merely 
 kindled fires on the earth to thank God for the luminary which he lit for them in tlie 
 lieavens ; and, looking at the stars, they begged of the angels, whom God had placed 
 therein to keep them in motion, that they miglit bo favourable to them. (11. Bechai, 
 Comm. in Ocnes., ch. 1.) The fires wliich are lit in almost every country of Europe, 
 commonly called St. John's fires, or Midsummer fires, are a relic of Sabeism. 
 
 J The ancient Arabs, descendants of Cham, regarded Noah with contempt, because 
 he did not make use of images ; they consecrated to the moon statues of silver, and 
 others of gold to the sun ; they divided metals and climates amongst the stars ; and 
 believed that they have great Influence on the things consigned to them, and on the 
 images consecrated to them. (Maimonides, More nevochim, part III., ch. 2, p. 423.) 
 
 § Plato, speaking of the God who formed the universe, says that it is forbidden to 
 make him known to the people. The books of Nuina, written on birch-baik and 
 found in his tomb many nsc'-s after his death, were secretly burned ns dangerous to 
 polytheism. The Brahmins, who, if some travellers are to bo credited, have a sublime 
 idea of the Divinity, do, nevertheless, make the Hindoos adore the most hideous 
 idols. It is only the true religion that treats men as rational and immortal bcini^s. 
 
 ;^) 
 
 <r^% 
 
^^^ 
 
 TJ' 
 
 
 -m 
 
 ¥L 
 
 
 20 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [CIIAP. I. 
 
 trees, rivers, moontains, and on animals — a worship more degrading 
 still — and which ended at last by deifying the very vices and pas- 
 sions. It waa then that impostors, speculating on human credulity, 
 either entangled or deliberately broke the slight thread of the 
 patriarchal traditions, and, audaciously substituting memory for 
 hope, grouper' around the cradles of their fabulous lings, their 
 false prophets, or their powerless divinities, the wonders of the 
 incai-nation of the Word, and the primitive revelations of his high 
 ar.^ tragical destiny. 
 
 Thii, we thinlr, is the explanation of those analogies which are, 
 at fii-st sight, incomprehensible. 
 
 Nevertheless, all the heathen nations did not take the mystery 
 of the Messiah as a fact accomplished. The Druids, just before 
 the Christian era, were still raising, altars, in the gloomy forests 
 of Gaul, to the Virgin who is to hHng forth. The Chinese — ^in- 
 structed by Confucius, whc had himself found that oracle in old 
 traditions — expected the Holy One, horn of c Virgin, and Son 
 of God, who wa<t to die for the salvation of the world* in the 
 western regions of Asia, and sent to seek him, by solemn embassy, 
 less than half a century after the death of the Man-God. The 
 Magi, on the faith of Zerdhucht, studied the const'^llations in 
 quest of the star of Jacob, which was to guide them to the ci adle 
 of Christf The Brahmins sighed for the glorious avatar'^ of 
 him who was to purge the world of sin, and begged it of Wichnou, 
 laying on his jewelled altar odorous stuffs of sweet basil, a plant 
 beloved by the Indian god. The haughty children of llomfilus. 
 
 
 * "According to the ancient sages of China," says the learned Schmitt, " the Ho'y 
 One, the miraculous man, will renew the universe, change its morals, expiate the sina 
 of tiie world, die overwhelmed with sorrow and opprobrium, and open the gates of 
 heaven." (Sue Redemption of Mankind, by that author.) 
 
 f Abulfiirages {Historia Dynastarium) says that Zerdhucht prophesied to the Magi 
 tlie birth of the Messiah, sprung from a virgin. He added that at the time of his 
 birtii there should arise an unknown star to guide them to his cradle, and he cora- 
 ratinded them to brin)^ presents with them when they Went. Sharistani, a Mussulman 
 author, also relates a prediction of Zerdhucht respecting a great prophet who was to 
 reform tlie world as well in religion as in justice, and to whom kings and princes 
 were to be submissive. 
 
 J Avatar, the fabulous incarnation of a Hindoo deity. 
 
 i%m 
 
 >T>;'!^'^ 
 
 
CHA1». I.l 
 
 BLESSED VlHGrN MAUY. 
 
 21 
 
 those idolaters by excellence, who had created whole legions of 
 gods, read in the books so jealously and so wisely kept by the 
 sibyl of Cumes^ a contemporary of Achilles and Hactor, the virgin, 
 the divine infant^ the adoration of the sliepherde^ the serpent crushed, 
 and the golden age restored to the earth. Finally, about the time of 
 the Messiah, all the nations of the East were in expectation of a 
 future Saviour; and Boulanger, (who was better inspired on his 
 death -bed,) after having shown how generally that hope was dif- 
 fused, illogically calls it a universal chimera.* 
 
 But what were those glimmering rays, p-^werless to dispel the 
 darkness of idolatry, when compared with the blaze of light which 
 illumined the chosen people ? We are struck with amazement at 
 sighC of that prophetic chain of which the first link was fixed to 
 the cradle of the world, and the last settles down at the sepulchre 
 of Christ.f 'The threat of Jehovah to the serpent contains, as 
 we have already said, the first prediction of the Messiah. We 
 have further said, and the Jewish traditions confirm it, that this 
 prediction was more fully explained, in after times, to the exiles 
 of Eden, when they had conciliated heaven by penance.J Noah, 
 who was adopted by God as inheritor of the faith,§ transmitted 
 to Shem h*3 revelations, and Shem, whose life was nearly as long as 
 that of his ancestors, might repeat them to the father of the faith- 
 ful. Then it was that a mysterious benediction, wherein the pro- 
 mise of the Messiah was contained, made it manifest that the 
 blessed seed promised to Eve should be also, the seed and the 
 oflfepring of Abraham. The pnmitive traditions were very soon 
 succeeded by the great prediction of Jaccb. The expiring patri- 
 arch, who has seen in spirit the state of the twelve tribes, when in 
 Palestine, announces to his sons, assembled round his death-bed, 
 
 k) 
 
 
 * "A unanimous tostiraony is of the greatest weight," says Bcrnardine de St. Pierre, 
 " for all the earth cannot be in one universat error." {£tudes de la Nature, etude 8, 
 p. 398.) 
 
 t It is a tradition tanght in the Synagogue, and recognised by the Church, that 
 nil the prophets, without any exception, have prophesied only for the time of the 
 Messiah." (St. Cypr., de Vanit. Idol.) 
 
 X Basnajie, t. iv. lib. vii. 
 
 § A'pist. S. P. ad Hcbr.. 2. 
 
 cr^2 
 
'.'fT'yrr'^y, 
 
 '^VV^I'ff- 
 
 Y 
 
 tliat Juda has been chosen, from amongst his Brethren, to le the 
 root of the kings of Israel, and the father of that Schilo so long 
 promised, who was to be the King of kings wd the Lord of lords. 
 The coming of Christ is pointeu out in a precise manner : he shall 
 arise from amid che ruins of his country, when the schSet (the 
 sceptre, the legislative power) shall r»ist in the hand of strangers.* 
 
 The prophet saved from the waters, who was divinely called to 
 gather and consign to writing the history of the first ages and the 
 ancient traditions of mankind — traditions whose remembrance 
 was still vivid amongst the nations — he fails not to lend the 
 weight of his imposing testimony to the prophecy of Jacob. " A 
 prophet," says he, speaking to the people of God, " shall the Lord 
 your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me : him 
 you shall hear according to all things, whatsoever he shall speak to 
 you. And it shall be, that even some which will not hear that 
 prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people."f 
 
 Then it is of the Messiah that the synagogue has always under- 
 
 * The Clristians apply this revelation of Jacob to the Messiah, and. thereby prove 
 to the Jews that i c must have come long ago, seeing that for upwards of eighteen 
 hundred yeors their tribes have been mixed up together, their sacrifice abolished, their 
 (Tovernmcnt extinct ; that they have no longer either territory or princes, and that, 
 wherever they are found, they have to submit to the lawa of foreign nations. To 
 evade the force of this argument, the Jews now pretend that the word sckebet, which 
 AC translate by sceptre, also signifies the rod which chastises the slave ; and they take 
 ,{ occasion from that to maintain that, even if this oracle did regard the Messiah, all 
 that they could infer from it is, that their cha^jtisement ^os to last till his coming, 
 which was to be the signal of their delivery. 7^'inally, they deu/ that the word Schilo 
 can be translated by Messiah. But their old .looks give tliem the lie ; this prophecy 
 is understood of the Messiah In the Talmud ; and hera is how the Paraphrase of 
 Onkclos expounds this passage: "Jndas shali not be without a supreme raler, nor 
 without scribes of the sons of her children, till the Messiah come." Jonathan, to 
 whom the Jews assign the first place amongst the disciples of Hillel, and whom tbcy 
 venerate almost as they do Moses, also translates schcbet by principality, and Schilo 
 by Messiah. The Paraphrase of Jerusalem is likewise on that side. Thus the most 
 ancient Commentaries, the most authentic, and the most respected amongst the Jews, 
 furnish weapons for their own defeat. 
 
 f Hence comes that hope of a new law which the Jews expect with the Messiah, 
 a law which they place far above that of Moses. The law which man studies in this 
 world is but vanity, say their doctors, in comparison to that of the Messiah, f Mo- 
 drash-Rabba, in Eeel., xi. 8.) 
 
 7^ 
 
^S: 
 
 to 
 le 
 ue 
 le 
 A 
 rd 
 m 
 to 
 at 
 
 3ve 
 
 pen 
 eir 
 at, 
 To 
 icli 
 ko 
 aU 
 
 >g. 
 ilo 
 cy 
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 or 
 to 
 ey 
 h 
 hi 
 
 " u 
 
i 
 
 m I 
 
 H r 1 
 
OHAP. 
 
 UMi5.SKD VIUGIX IIAIIY. 
 
 23 
 
 stooil this text so clear ; St. Pliilip, without any hesitation, a])plie(l 
 it to our lietloeracr, -wlieu he said to Nathaniel, " We have found 
 Ilini who Avas foretold Ly the prophets, and of whom Moses spoke 
 in the law — Jesus of Nazareth." 
 
 Towards the end of the mission of Moses, and while Israel was 
 still encamped in the desert, lialaam, who had Leen biibed Ity 
 a Moahitish prhice to curse them in th" valley of Willows,* came 
 to strengthen, in his turn, the expectation of the Messiah, nr.d to 
 point out, in a clear and precise manner, the period of his coming. 
 Standing on the precipitous height of Phogor, surrounded by 
 victims slain for an oblation of liate, in view of the accursed lake 
 and the barren mountains of Arabia, the conjurer from the shores 
 of the Euphrates, actuated by the spirit of God, perceives, as with 
 a di'oaming eye,f an admirable vision ; his phrases, interrupted by 
 solemn i)!iuses, arc flung, without order or art, to the mountain- 
 wind, like fragments of a mysterious dialogue kept up in a whisper 
 
 with invisible powei's. I shall see him hut not nou\ I shall 
 
 oontemjylate him.... hut not near. A star shall come forth from 
 
 Jacob a shoo,, shall arise from Israel ; he shall rule ove. many 
 
 nations. To these incoherent words succeeds a magnificent, but 
 gloomy picture of the conquests of the great King. It is not 
 without a purpose that the prophetic \nsiou shows Rome at the 
 lioight of her colossal power ; it is then that Christ is to visit the 
 earth, and immolate himself for us on the infamous tree;. The 
 prophet gives a bold sketch of that bloody period ; one Avould say 
 that cities and empires yet to be, arise before his view on the mirage 
 of the desert. lie sees the fleet of the Caesars leave the ports of 
 
 * The plain of Babylon, intersected b}' rivers and canals, and consequently very 
 marsliy, abounded in willows. Hence it is that it is called in Scripture the Vallr;/ of 
 WiUoivs. 
 
 f Even if the prophecy of Balaam were not known to be ancient, yet the manner 
 of its delivery would be sulTicient to jjrovc its antiquity. Balaam, the Chaldeai) 
 astrolo>rer, prophesies not like the seers of Juda ; for hira is required a vast horizon, 
 whence ho di;-;covers at onee earth, sea, and sky: he speaks as a man who details to 
 himself thinj!:s which 'le sees at the moment, ar.d which impress themselves deeply ou 
 his mind. This species of prophecy is somcv.'hat like that which the Scotch IliRhland- 
 crs call necond dnht. 
 
 m 
 
 
 1^^ 
 

 1 
 
 T*.' 
 
 •24 
 
 LlIK Ul-' TIIK 
 
 [chap. I. 
 
 Italy and direct their conquering prows towurda the level coasts 
 of tbe Syrians ; ho beholds the ruin of that Judoa wliich was not 
 yet in existence, and where the people of God then possessed ordy a 
 few graves; finally, his eye marks the fall of the Roman eagle, 
 seven hundred years before the birth of the sons of Ilia, and 
 whilst the wild goats of Latium were still browsing in peace on 
 •"ihe woo<ly slopes of the seven hills. 
 
 Ages and ages then roll away without any further promise from 
 Jehovah ; but the prophecies are either confided to tratlition, which 
 faithfully preserves them, or else consigned to the sacred books 
 Israel maintains an obscure, but ceaseless and infuriate struggle 
 against the idolatrous nations which surround and press in upon 
 its tribes ; at times it gives way *to the strange infatuation which 
 attracts it to idolatry, and then the fatal sword of the Amorrhean 
 and the Moabite is unwittingly drawn on behalf of the Lord, and 
 wenges, though uudesignedly, the insult offered to the Goa of 
 Jacob. But through all these vicissitudes, the people forget not 
 the coming of Christ ; they live in the faith of the Messiah ; in 
 default of new revelations, their very life becomes prophetic. Poli- 
 tical and religious institutions, local customs and privajo habits, 
 all tend to the same end, all flow from the same source ; all is linked 
 to the generation of the Saviour born of a virgin of Juda. It was 
 the coming of the Messiah that was asked by the prophet Samuel, 
 kneeling in the Holy of Holies, before the &cI/eMna, his luminous 
 and divine emblem, and by all the high-priests who succeeded him 
 in the temple of Solomon. It was to the expectation of the Messiah 
 that the law of Deuteronomy referred, which decreed that the 
 brother should raise up an heir to liis brother who died childless, 
 to the end that his name might be perpetuated in Israel. It was 
 the blighting of the hope of belonging one day, sooner or later, to 
 the celestial ambassador, that drew tears from the eyes of that fair 
 young virgin of Galaad, who sank but with that one sorrow inio 
 the bliody tomb which was to close on the last of her father's rac 
 
 • Some Rabbins pretend that the daughter of Jephta was not sacrificed, but only 
 sondemned to perpetual celibacy. That assertion is nullified by tlio text of Scripture 
 which says : Let the daughters of Isrcul assemble once it the year to mourn four days 
 
 ■yc^ _^ ^ 
 
 ,U 
 
CIIAl'. I.J 
 
 ULh>48EJ> VIK(»1N MAIIY. 
 
 25 
 
 
 It is to this })elief, so geueral amongst the Hebrews, that the woman 
 of Thecua has refereuco, when, denouncing lo king David the secret 
 intrigues which were warping the mind of the only son who 
 remained to lior, she signalizes her fears as a mother and a Jewish 
 matron by the poetical complaint, " Mi/ lord, they woiUd eoctinguuih 
 my last spark /" 
 
 There is nothing but the present incredulity of the Jews to 
 equal in depth the faith of their fathei-s. The grand busUi'^ss with 
 the men of those days was the coming of the Messiah ; they wl:o 
 died at a period remote from that which was to see the fulfilment 
 of the divine promises, departed in the firm persuasion that they 
 should one day be fulfilled ; standing on the threshold of eternity, 
 they hailed from afar that consoling hope, even as the great pro- 
 phet, Moses, saluted, with a sigh, that land of milk and honey which 
 the Lord did not permit him to enter. 
 
 From the time of David, and under the kings of his race, tne 
 thread of prophecy is renewed, and the mystery of the Virgin and 
 the Alessiah is made more manifest than ever by magnificent predio 
 . tions clearer than the sun. 
 
 The holy king whom the God of Israel had preferred before the 
 house of Saul, saw the virginity of Mary and the extraordinary 
 birth of the Son of God. " Thy birth,"" said he, " unsullied by sin, 
 shall be pure o-? the vwrning dewP Then, raising his eyes higher, 
 he beholds Him whom God has given him for a son, according to 
 the flesh, seated at the right hand of Jeiiova i, on a throne more 
 lasting than sky or stary. 
 
 In the earlier prophecies, the blessed Virgin, though always 
 j)ointed out, was yet left somewhat in the shade, and, S( to speak, 
 on the verge of the i)icture; but, from the time of David, the 
 radiant figure of Mary is no longer undefined, and she who was to 
 tran6fus(i into the veins of the Man-God the blood of Abraham, of 
 Jacob, and of Jesse the Just, begins to be dearly defined. David 
 had spoken of her \drginal maternity; Solomon took delight in 
 
 for the daughter of Jephia of Oalaadf {Judic, ch. xi. ver. 40.) People do nol 
 mourn for one who is livini,'. — Flavius Joseplins also affirms the immolation of tbe 
 ilancfhter of Jephta. {Ant. Jud., t. ii. lib. v. ch. 9.) 
 
 Y 
 
 
 c^" 
 
;';/ 
 
 mm 
 
 'in 
 
 rifc 
 
 LIKE Ol" TUB 
 
 [OIIAP. L 
 
 tracing Iht itimgo in ooloum ho enchnnfmg as to fur outstrip tho 
 grucct'ul (Icsci'iptions of tlm Ejwtern Perw, tboso Hiniling nnd vii- 
 poury (livinitlcs which virtit the druaius of Anvhiau hhe})hor<lti. 
 lie sccH her rise ainiil thtt (laiight(!i"H of Jiuhi ///t« u lily ammig 
 t/iorns ; her eyoH aro soft uml miUl </.y (hone of (he dove ; from her 
 lips, red (W a Jilld of scarle(, coiiioh a voice chiar and nielodiouH 
 an the sound of the harp whicli inspires Israel in tho battle ; her 
 step is ethereal as iJu} breath of jwfumes; and her beauty is 
 I'adiant an that of the rising mom. Her tasttw are simple and 
 poetical ; she loves to wander in tho fresh valleys wheii the vines 
 are in bloamni and the figs hang like clustei-s of emeralds from 
 the leafless branches ; her look-n seek out the red roses of the pome- 
 granate, the tree of paradise,* and she hears with delight tho 
 plaintive song of the ♦urtle. Silent and collected, she shrinks 
 frv)m every eye, and conceals herself within Lor dwelling like tho 
 dove which makes her nest in, the vhfts of the roch. She is 
 chosen for a mystical marriug*-, ])referably to all the virgins and 
 queens of the nations ; a crown is promised her by Ilim whom her 
 soul lovcth; and the blissful tie whereby she is united to her royal 
 spouse vi stronger than death.} 
 
 Elias, praying on Mount Carmel for the cessation of that long 
 drought which, for three years, parched the earth and dried up \ 
 every spring, discovers the promised virgin under tho form of a 
 trimsparent cloud arising from tho bosom of the waters to announce 
 the return of rain. The acclamations of the people salute this 
 j)ropitious omen,:j: and the prophet, who pi iietrates divine things, 
 builds a chapel to the future Queen of IIeaven.§ Isaiah declares 
 
 ^^ 
 
 * 111 tho East tho pomofrrannfo is called the fruit of paradise. 
 
 ■j- It is agreed by all the holy Fathers that tho Canticle of Canticles is but one coi^ 
 tinned allegory of the Mother of God. 
 
 \ AV'hcn rain fulls in Palestine, there is a general rejoicing amongst the people ; 
 they assembled in tho streets, sing, caper, and cry aloud, Oh God ! oh Blessed ! 
 (Volney, Voyage en L'jrie.) 
 
 § The chapel built by E'ias on Mount Carmel was dedicoted by him to tho Virgin 
 who WQS to bring forth, Virgini jmntura. This elmpel was called Semnceum, wliicb 
 means a place consecrated to an impiricre (empress), which can only refer to Mary, 
 empress of heaven and earth. {Histoire du Mont Carmel, succegsioH du Saint Pro- 
 yfiile, ch. 31."/ 
 
 }) -I 
 
 |/'//V|i'\\V> 
 
 a 
 
^g^t>Mli.- 
 
 JIIAI». I.] 
 
 HM-^SHKl) VIUdIN MAUY. 
 
 27 
 
 to tho house of Dnvid, wlioso chiof, Achiih, troml)lt's hpiioath tlio 
 thrt'iits of thu BtniiiK«>r like a forest k'ateti hj the tempeM^ that Oo<l 
 shall j^ive it an eucoiini<?inj,' wij^i with rogurd to tho fiituro o»* 
 ,|,„lea — a futiiro lou;,' uiul glori(MiH Mtill. " A virgin .thiill conceive ;* 
 Hh») hIuiU bring forth ii hou whoso nmnc shall bo Junnuinnel, or God 
 
 with us That chiUl, miraculously givwii to tho earth, shall bo a 
 
 scion from the stock of Jesse, a flower spi-inging from his root.f 
 llo shall be called God tho mighty, the Father of tho world to 
 come, the Piince of peace. He shidl be raised iw a standard before 
 the world; all nations shall pray unto him, nnd his sepulchre shall 
 be glorious." 
 
 The mystery of the Messiah is clearly foreshown to the proi>het9 
 Some see Be' ilehera made illustrious by his birth ; others predict 
 his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and indicate tho peaceful 
 and unpretending stylo ihereof. They see him enter into his 
 temi)le, that sac. ed ponlJ accort, ig to the order of Melchisod'ek ; 
 
 * This grand prophecy of Isatah lios boon the olti t of n long and thorny contro- 
 versy hot ween the Jews und ; 'Jliristians. Tim . "»l)ina ivlio liave conimontv-d on 
 tlio text Binco tlio time of CI ist, • iahing to ix-rvert tiio proofs wliich condemn tluMn, 
 and to mystify tiio words di' tiio propiict, Imvc pretended thut U.o word hnlmn, 
 whicli is found iu tho Hebrew text, signillcs a Him|)Io young wonmii, oltiioiiuli tlio 
 Si'ptuagint has rendered it by virr/in. Tlu! Fathers Imvo triumphantly refuted this 
 objection. " The interpreters of tho Septuagint," says St. John Clirysostom, " are 
 the most deserving of credit ; they made their version more than a century before 
 Jesus Christ ; they were man) in number ; the tinu^ in which they wrote, their nunil)er 
 and their union, render tiiem much more wortliy of belief than tiio Jews of our days, 
 who have maliciously corrupted many jiassagcs of tho Sacred Seripturcs." (S. Joan. 
 Chrya. Serin. 4, ch. 1.) St. Jerome, the most profound Hebrew scholar of all the 
 interpreters and commentators, jironounees, without fear, ho says, of being contradicted 
 by the Jews, that halma, everywhere that tho word occurs in the Sacred Serijitures, 
 signifies simply a virgin in all her purity, nnd never a married woman. {Coinm. S. 
 Jlicron. in Is. ''> iii.) Lnther, who made such lamentable use of much real learning, 
 exclaims, wit'^ i' (cteristic petulance nnd impatience, " If there be Jew or Jlebrow 
 scholar who can show me tho 2>l<"'i'- wliere halma means a tvomnii, and not a vif(fin, 
 lie shall be entitled to 100 florins IVoin me — tlnit is, providing that I have them." 
 (Luther's vorks, vol. viii. p. 12'.).) .Mahomet himself has testilied ..o tho virginity of 
 tlio Motner of God. "And Afary, daughter of Imrani, who has preserved her vir- 
 gi'iit ' ; and we have sent into her our .-ipirit, and she has believed in the words of the 
 Lord and in hia Scriptures." (Koran, Surate (it).) 
 
 t Jesse, called olso Isaie, was son of Olied and father of David. His memory is in 
 bigl* veneration amongst tlio Hebrews, who regard him as a perfect ly Just man 
 
 "if/ 
 
 m'^^ 
 
^<lf^ 
 
 
 TJ 
 
 28 
 
 LIF£ Oi" THE 
 
 f OnAP. I. 
 
 MMi. 
 
 they know the number of the pieces of silver which the perse- 
 cuting rulers of the Synagogue shall drop into the hands of the 
 wretch who is to sell his Master ;* they see the ignominious execu- 
 tion, the draught of vinegar and gall offered in insolent mockery 
 duiing the agony of a God, and the garment, woven by the hands 
 of a mother, disposed of by lot amongst the rude soldiers ; they 
 hear the sound of the nails which rend the bleeding hands, and 
 sink with a dry, crackling sound into the accursed wood. And 
 then the scene changes, like those paintings of Raphael where the 
 subject, begun on eai"th, extends itself beyond the clouds. The 
 man of sorrows, the humble Messiah, whom even his own kindred 
 despised, whom his people have not known, looks down in triumph 
 from the highest heavens on his prostrate enemies ; and the nations 
 of the earth ai"e all at length mindful of their God, forgotten for so 
 many ages ! The nations rally round the standard of the cross, 
 and the empire of Christ shall have no bounds but those of the 
 univei-se. Nothing is wanting to complete the prophecies. Jacob 
 pointed out the coming cf Schilo at the precise moment when the 
 Jews shall cease to be governed by theii* o^v"n laws, which involves, 
 of course, the ruin of a state ; Balaam adds that that destruction 
 shall be effected by a people from Italy, and the satrap Daniel 
 counts exactly the weeks which are to elapse before the appointed 
 time. 
 
 " Every thing that happens in this world has its preceding sign," 
 said a man of genius, who is now lonely and dreaded under his 
 tent. " "VVTien the sun is about to rise, the horizon is coloured with 
 a thousand hues, and the East appears all on fire. When the tem- 
 pest is coming, there is heard on the shore a rumbling noise, and 
 the waves are agitated, as it were, of themselves." The figm-es of 
 the Old Testament, according to the Fathers of the Church, are the 
 signs which announce the rising of the Sim of Justice and of the Star 
 of the Sea. To Christ, the Son of God, belongs strength and power; 
 
 II 
 
 * This passage, wherein God himself declares the number of silver pieces given ii» 
 that infamous bargain, is impressed with a bitter and a dreadful irony. "And the Lord 
 said to me : Cast it to the statuary, a handsome price, that I was priced at by them. 
 And I took the thirty pieces of silver," &c. {Zach. xi. 18.) 
 
-}'?C'?fi?^|sr*ms^*^-'' 
 
 en u> 
 Lord 
 (hem. 
 
 OIIAP. I.J 
 
 BLES8BP VIRGlIf MARY. 
 
 'i5» 
 
 to Mary, grace and pitying kindness. • She is the tree of life planted 
 in the abodes of men by the hands of God himself, and the pledgt 
 of happiness far beyond that which our first parents enjoyed in 
 Eden ; the dove from the ark, bearing to earth the olive branch ; 
 the sealed fountain whose waters have never been troubled witli 
 aught of impurity ; the fleece which receives the dew of heaven ; 
 finally, the delicate and odoriferous rose-bush through which Moses 
 perceived the Divinity — a bush which, veiy far from being con- 
 sumed by the fire, which destroys all things else, was in some sort 
 preserved thereby, and lost, in its contact with the celestial flame, 
 neither a leaf nor a flower.* 
 
 Like that enchanting figure which an ancient painter composed 
 by borrowing a thousand detached beauties from the loveliest 
 women of Greece, so the chaste spouse of the Holy Ghost united, 
 in her own person, all that had been most admirable in the cele- 
 brated women of the old law. Fair as Rachel and Sarah, she 
 united to the prudence of Abigail the heroic courage of Esther ; 
 Susannah, chaste as the flower whose name she bears ;f Judith, 
 whose crown of lilies was sprinkled with the blood of Holofemes ;"!(, 
 Axa, whose hand was the ransom of a conquered city ; and that 
 mc'her, so illustrious in her misfortunes, who beheld all her sons die 
 for the law ; these were but faint images of Her who was to unite 
 within herself all the perfections of the woman and the angel. 
 
 After an expectation of four thousand years, the time marked out 
 by so many prophecies at length arrives ; the shadows of the ancient 
 law disappear, and Mary arises on the horizon of Judea like the, 
 star which heralds the approach of day. 
 
 * Philo, wlio has made this remark, and who discovers iu this burning bush a 
 mysterious allegory, falsely applies it to the Jewish nation by a forced conjunetiou. 
 Josepluis, who also tried to penetrate this mystery, has succeeded no better. Tiiose 
 wild roses, emblematical of modest maidens who shed their sweet perfume in solitude, 
 and who are made resplendent by contact with the Deity, without having their spot- 
 less wiiitc and delicate blush anywise tainted thereby, those are the most striking 
 image of Mary, that mystical rose of the new law. 
 
 t The name Susannah signifies lihj. (Fabyn. ii. 2.) 
 
 X The ancients attribute to the lily the power of nullifying enchantments and 
 warding off danger. " Judith encircled her brows," say the lla'ibins, " with a garland 
 of liliis, so as to nmke her way without fear into the tent of Holofemes." (Comm 
 R. R. in Judith.) 
 
 /i^ 
 
 «^feS 
 
30 
 
 Y 
 
 LIl'K OV THE 
 
 CHAFrEK II. 
 
 THE IMMACULATK CON'CKrTlON. 
 
 ^) 
 
 
 A wosiAN destined from all eternity to save the world by deify- 
 ing our nature, and to bear in her cliaste worab Him who,se t^nt is ih« 
 ■■^■iiii, and wJiose -steps are over the Mglieti lieavens ; a woman expected 
 from the beginning of the world, revealed by God even in Paradise, 
 .iiid the acknowledged end of all the holy generations who sue- 
 '•(.'oded each other from the days of the patriarchs ;* she can be no 
 Didiuary creature, and must needs have superhuman prerogatives. 
 The pious belief of the immaculate conception of Mary is the result 
 of that sentiment of respect. Ileii-s of an unfortunate parent, 
 degraded by our rebellious father, blighted by the sentence which 
 condemns him, so far from receiving from him the life of grace, we 
 have received from him the death of sin, and, by a fearful doom, 
 are condemned even before our birth. This misfortune, inherent in 
 the human race, accursed as one man in its very origin, is common 
 to all, and the kScripturo makes no excxjption in favour of any son of 
 Adam. But the j)iety of the foithful cannot bear the idea that the 
 Mother of God should be submitted to the scathing condemnation 
 whereby we are stamped with the seal of hell even in our mother's 
 womlj ; they have believed that the Sovereign Judge must have 
 suspended the general efiect of his rigorous law in favour of her 
 who Avas brought into the world only to contril)ut(} to the accom- 
 plishment of the most secret, the most incomprehensi])le of the 
 decree J of God — the Incarnation of the Messiah. Xotwithstandhig 
 tlic silence of the Gospel, it has, therefore, been generally supposed 
 that the Virgin, in anticipation of her divine maternity, has i>epn 
 
 ^ Afi'i'i'tling to St. Augustine, the issue to wliirh all the patriarchs aspired was 
 ) .;us Christ, and Josua Christ in Mary, through whom alone tliey could expect liiiu. 
 "And in fact," says he, 'if nature, in all her efforts, tends to Jesus Christ, who is the 
 Lord or Ag-es, it is not that she flatters herself that she can reach the Son of God by 
 herself ; the extent of her power slops nt the humble Mary, who was to engcndii 
 the blessed seed, not by virtu(; of her ancestors, but by that of the Most Ui;j;h.' 
 'St. Au^instine. 5, Contr. Jul. !).^ 
 
 i 
 
 ?t^^ 
 
cnAr. ii.J 
 
 BLESS"' 
 
 IRGHf MAIl^. 
 
 81 
 
 restrained, so to sj)eak, on the verg» of the dread abyss lioUowed 
 nnder our feet by the fatal disobedience of our fii-st parents, and 
 that her conception is immaculate as her life. 
 
 This belief, which the Greeks borrowed from Palestine, and 
 adopted with enthusiasm,* gave rise to the institution of the feast 
 of the Immaculate Conception, which was celebrated with gi'eat 
 pomp in Constantinople, from the sixth century .f In the West, on 
 the contrary, this doctrine met opponents, and powerful opponents ; 
 for St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure, St. Thomas d'Acjuinas, 
 Albertus Magnus, and many other pious and learned doctors, all 
 great theologians, and, moreover, devoted to the service of Muiy, 
 have maintained that she was conceived in sin and sulyected to the 
 common law,;]: although she was very soon entirely purified therefrom 
 })y a special and excellent grace Avhich commenced her gloi-ious state 
 of Mother of God. 
 
 But the belief in the Immaculate Conception of the blessed Virgin 
 prevailed, at length, over the opinion of the great doctors of the 
 middle ages'; what the eagles of the school had not seen -was revealed 
 to the simple. The writings of the doctora and of the apostles were 
 again searched ; a more careful examination w;xs made of what has 
 been handed down to us regarding the greatness and glory oi ]\Iary, 
 and that investigation served to throw a more vivid light on that 
 doul^tful point in the life of the Mother of Christ. 
 
 And in fact, going back even to the Apostles, we already see the 
 
 w? 
 
 * Wc find in the Menks {Secret Practices), so ancient in use among the Greeks, 
 these woi'ds, which clearly prove their belief in the Immaculate Conception : "By a 
 special dispensation, the Lord decreed that the blessed Virgin should be as pure, from 
 the first moment of her exlKtencc, as was suitable and becoming- for her who was to 
 conceive and to bring forth Jesus Christ, the Word made JlcshP 
 
 f St. Andrew, of Crete, makes mention of this feast of the Immaculate Conception, 
 the office of which St. Sal)a3 had comjioscd, and to which St. Gerraanus, patri'sirrh of 
 Constantinoi)lc, had added an anthem. 
 
 \ The opponents of the Immaculate Conception are wont to boast of having in their 
 ranks St. Anselm, St. IJernard, St. Bonaventure, St. Tliomas, Albertus Magnus, &c' 
 However great these names may be, yet we must not be dazzled by them ; for, 
 eonfrciiting these doctors with themselves, we find that they have po.sitively maintaii.ed 
 the yea and nai/, whicli shows either that their opinions on this subject were not fixed, 
 or that they had singular distractions. 
 
 ;0 
 
 J 
 
 U-r,^ 
 
 
 ^"1 
 
 cr-^ 
 
!■ 
 
 >3l J 
 
 
 ■^"^A 
 
 82, 
 
 LIFE OF TILE 
 
 [ouAP. n 
 
 title of hissed and immaculate applied to Mary * The apostle St 
 Andrew, quoted hj the Babylonian Abdiaa, expresses himself in 
 these terms : " Even Jis the first Adam was made of the earth beforo 
 it was cursed, so was the second Adam formed of a pure virgin who 
 was never under the ban." 
 
 The saints and maiiyi-s who lived in the third century, St. 
 HippfH tus, martyr,f Origen,J St. Denis of Alexandria,§ all give to 
 the b^es?ed Virgin the qualiiication of pure and irnmaeulaie. St. 
 Cypi' iu| ",i more precise, and says clearly that "there is a great 
 difference between the rest of mortals and the Virgin, and that she 
 has nothing in common with them but nature, — not sin." 
 
 In the fourth century, St. Ambrose, who compares the Vii'gin "to 
 a bright and luminous stem, whereon has never been either the knot 
 of original sin or the bark of actual sin ;"^ St. John Chrysostom,** 
 who proclaims her most holy, immaculate, blessed above all creatures ; 
 St. Jerome,f f who poetically calls her the day-cloud which never 
 knew darkness ; St. Basil,;];:}: whom the defenders of the Immaculate 
 Conception are proud to regard as their leader ; these have never 
 varied regarding that stainless purity which so well becomes the 
 Queen of Angels. 
 
 In the fifth ceutuiy, St. Augustine §§ cannot endure to have the 
 name of Mary mentioned when there is question of sin, and St. Peter 
 Chrysologusjll affirnxs that " in the Virgin all were saved." 
 
 * St. James the Major, and St. Murk, in their Liturgies. 
 
 f S. Ilipp. in nn oration on the Conmmmation (f the World. 
 
 X Orig. !io7n. in S. Matth. 
 
 § S. Pen. in nn epistle given in the Bihlioth. des PP. 
 
 |] S. Cypr., de Kat. Virg. 
 
 ^ "Virgo in qua nee uodus originaliis, uoc corte.x aetualis culpiB fult." S. Ambr. 
 de Inst. Virr;., ch. 5. 
 
 ** S. Chrysostom, in his Liturgy. 
 
 f "f St. Jerome's Commentaries on the LXXVIL Psalm. " Dirla.xit eos in nnbe diei : 
 nubcB est bcata Tirgo, qme pulchre dicitur nubcs diei, quia non fuit in t«nebiis, aed 
 ■Hcmper in hice." 
 
 X\ St. Basil, in hi.s Liturgy. 
 
 §§ It must be observed that St AugusMno was then defending tie doctrine of 
 Original Sin against the Pelagians. 
 
 nil S. Peter Chrysol. de Annonciat., sermon 140, 
 
 .!»..: 
 
 ''''M:rm'^ 
 
 ^^1 
 
 ^'^i 
 
t'llAP. 
 
 nj 
 
 BLESSED VmaiN MAUY. 
 
 'J3 
 
 St. FiJgentios, who lived in the beginning of the sixtli century, 
 Hays, thftt " the blessed Virgin v.as entirely excluded from the fii-st 
 de ree."* "It is very wrong," says St. Ildefonsus,f archbishop of 
 Toledo, who flourished in the same century, "lb is very wrong to 
 think of subjecting the Mother of God to the laws of nature ; it is 
 constant that she was free and exempt from all original sin, and that 
 she has removed the curae of Eve." St. John Damascene, J speaking 
 expressly of her conception. Hays that she was " pure and immaculate^ 
 In the ninth century, Theophanes, Abbot of Grandchamp ; in the 
 tenth, St. Fulbert, bishop of Chartres ; towards the middle of the 
 eleventh, Yves of Chartre9,§ one of the most brilliant lights of that 
 period, and a little later, St. Bruno, | founder of the Carthusians, are 
 evidently in favour of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed 
 Virgin. 
 
 Islamism itself, declares for the Immaculate Conception, and 
 the Arab commentators on the Koran have adopted, in their own 
 way, the opinion of the Catholic theologians who ? ave pronounced 
 in favour of that doctrine. " Every descendant of Adam," says 
 Cottada, " from the moment that he comes into the world, is touched 
 on the side by Satan ; Jesus and Mary are alone excepted ; for God 
 interposed between them and Satan a veil which preserved them 
 from his fatal touch." 
 
 Tliese testimonies in favour of the Immaculate Conception becomt 
 weaker and less abundant in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries ; 
 few writers of any note then took this view of the subject, and 
 several men of eminent piety and learning maintained the contrary 
 
 * S. Fulg., Sermon on the Glories of M^ry. — Sermon on the Two Natxtra ;n JesuA 
 Christ. 
 
 f St. Ildefoisus, in tlie book on th4 Virgiuitij of irary. 
 
 X St. John Damnseenc, de Nativ. Mar., or. 1. 
 
 § The two holy bishops .f Chartres, Fulbert and Yve.s, declared for the d vtrme 
 of the Immacuhite Conception. Yves maintained it in the pnlpit, and FuH ort says 
 in his pataplu'aso on the Angel's salutation to Mary ; "Ave, Maria, electa it insigiiis 
 inter filia«, oure imniaculata semper extitisti ab e.\ordis tuiE creationis, quia paritura 
 eras Creatorem totius saiictitatis." 
 
 II St. Bruno, in his explanation of those words of the 101st Psalm : Dominus de 
 rnxlo in terram aspexit, which tie applies to the blessed Virgia. 
 
 y 
 
 h) 
 
 J 
 
 M^ 
 
^^d> ,4 
 
 LIFi: Oi: THE 
 
 ,f/ 
 
 to 
 
 ,J»-^ 
 
 M 
 
 .n 
 
 [cuAP. n. 
 
 opinioii In compensation the feast of the Conception of the Virgin 
 was t'itaLlished in many kingdoms. 
 
 William the Conqueror established this festival in Normandy as 
 early as the year 1074; and, from the roii'ii "f Ins son, Henry the 
 First, King of England and Dake of Norruani!) , i' 'vas ..clehrated at 
 Rouen with extniordinary solemnity , 'VH .yas kistitu- <;(!," say the 
 ancient chroniclers, "because of ti .^ holy apparitior ^ .ri by an 
 ficlesiatiic worthy of credit, who '' unci I'^jsui- rq.^ ^ to the 
 perils of vhe sea dv.iing % storiu.'" An *Id history of the aatiquities 
 of Rouen, adds that "even at t'«^ time oi the institution of tho feast, 
 there was f M.rided a.'? a ociatiou of the most notable persons of the 
 city, who till annually elect one of their numbe'^ to b ' prirje of the 
 confraternit}-, who holdiiig- tho pnij (or stage) opei. to all orators, 
 in fvery language, gives excellent ;ml valuablt ^ ."iztfi »c those who 
 phiil! best and most faithfully celebrate the praises ot' the Virgin 
 Mary, in her holy conception, by hymns, odes, sonnets, baUads, royal 
 
 Tiiiis the Virgin full of grace presided at the revival of poetry, 
 and he.' Immaculate Conception furnished pious themes to the land 
 of minstrels. 
 
 From Normandy, the feast of tlu- C'onception passed over to the 
 English. The firet council of Oxford, held by Stephen Langton, 
 arohl)ishop of Canterbury, in the year 1222, placed it in the numbei 
 of holidays to be observed. In France, in the year 1288, a bishop 
 of Paris, Renoul de Hombiere, bequeathed a considerable sum to 
 found the office of that feast of the blessed Virgin, which was about 
 the same time introduced into the Ly5nnais. Finally, a manuscript 
 mai-tyi'ology of the thii'teenth century, found in the library of the 
 Dominicans of Dijon, fixes the festival of the Conception of our 
 Lady on the 8th of December : " which also shows," say the 
 learned Benedictines who deciphered that ancient manuscript, " that 
 in St. Dominick's time, this foast wjis already celebrated in nearly 
 all the Church." 
 
 The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception had been banished 
 
 * Antiquitis et Sinyularites de la Ville de Rouen. By N. Taillcpied, Doctor of 
 Theolojjy. 
 
 1^ 
 
 iii'*^- 
 
 r-r 
 
 ^>.T 
 
CHAP, 
 
 BLKtsSEU VIUOIN JIARY. 
 
 from pulpits and from schoola for a very long period of time, when 
 Bome theologians, perceiving that this belief ascended back to the 
 highest and purest* sources of Christianity, undertook to revive it. 
 The Franciscans, who first began to make a public profession of it, 
 in speaking,* and in writing, supported it by reasons so strong and 
 ec» convincing, that not only the miiss of the faithful, but the most 
 learned body in Europe, clung to it with enthusiasm. The Sorbonne, 
 which wa.s then called tlie finnanient of science^ the pro}) of truth and 
 piety ill the church of God^ decreed that all those who should be 
 promoted to the degree of doctor were to engage themselves by 
 oatli to maintain this pious belief.f So, in succession, did the 
 universities of Mayence, of Cologne, of Valentia, of Alcala, of 
 Coiml)r;i, of Salamanca, and of Naples. 
 
 Amongst those religious orders in whom Irance has gloried 
 luring so many ages, the Dominicans alone, or nearly alone, showed 
 themselves hostile to the pious doctrine of the spotless Conception ; 
 but the learned Benedictines, venerated even by Protestants for 
 their immense scientific labours, the Carthusians, the Carmelites, 
 the order of St. Augustine, in Cluny, in Citeaux, in Premontre, and 
 a host of othei-s whom it would be fiistidious to enumerate here, all 
 adhered with an enlightened piety, an ardent zeal, and a profound 
 conviction, to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. 
 
 Councils, too, have been ftxvourable to this belief. That of Bale, 
 m its session of 27th September, 1429, declares that the doctrine 
 which teaches that the glorious Virgin Mary was conceived without 
 sin is a pious doctrine, conforraal)le to ecclesiastical worship, to 
 Catholic faith, to right reason, and to Holy Writ.;}; The Council of 
 
 * Montfanwn, who j jurneycd through Italy about the year 1C98, liavinn; visited at 
 Pavia the library of the Signer Beleridus, reiiownod for his piety, wa.s miicli surprised 
 to see that his inimenso collection of liooks was composed solely of the treatises written 
 l)y the Franciscans in defence of the Immaculate Conception. 
 
 ■\ This is the decree of the Sorl)onnc : " We rc.-olve and declare that no one shall 
 be admitted for the future into our Faculty, until he swears to maintain all his life 
 this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception." ".Statucntes ut nemo deinceps huic 
 nostro collegio adscribatur, nisi so liujiis doctrinie assctorura semper pro viribu« 
 futurum, simiii juramcnto, proiiteatur." 
 
 t "There has arisen in this Council (tluit of I5;lle) a difficult question on the Cou- 
 cepliou of th(^ iirior'ous^ Virgin ^lary, ^Mother of God, and on the beginnin;; of her 
 
 m) 
 
 
 ^<ir 
 
 W^l 
 
 ^' 
 
30 
 
 LIFK OF TIIK 
 
 Y 
 
 Avignon confirmed, in 145Y, the decree of the Council of B&h?, and 
 iu their session of 1564* the Fatliera of the Council of Trent 
 declared that, in their decree of 1540, on original sin, they did nol 
 pretend to include the blessed and immaculate Mother of God. 
 
 Notwithstanding the prudent reserve maintained by the Holy 
 See in an affair wherein figured, for and against, famous doctors and 
 illustrious theologians, it yet could not help showing, at times, which 
 l)arty had its sympathy. In the year 1483, Pope Sixtus IV. had 
 expressly forbidden that the subject of the Conception of Our Ladyf 
 should be discussed in pulpits or in schools. This might be taken 
 for a mere act of neutrality, had not this pontiff approved of the 
 Ofiice of the Conception composed by a monk of Verona, and granted 
 
 i 
 
 sniictifioation ; s'/iue saying that hor soul was, for somo time, or at least for somo 
 moiiicnts, siilijccted to the fact of original sin ; others maintaining, on the coi trary, 
 that the love of God for her extended even to the first instant of her creation tiiai; 
 the Most High, who created her, and the Son wiio formed her to bo his mother on 
 earth, have endowed her with singnlar and extraordinary graces ; that Jesna Ciirisl 
 has redeemed her in a superior and particular manner, preserving her from tte 
 original stain, and sanctifying her in the very first moment of her conception. 
 
 "Having, therefore, carefully examined the reasons and the authorities which, f )r 
 several years, have been brought forward, on both sides, in the public acts of this h<' y 
 Council ; having, moreover, given our attention lo many other things on the san j 
 subject ; all weighed and maturely considered, we decide and declare that the doctrine 
 wh'ch teaches that the glorious Virgin Mary, Mother of God, by a special favour, and 
 by a prcveT.ting and operating grace, has never been actually subjeeied to original 
 s'n, but that she has ever been holy, immaculate and exempt from all sin, original and 
 ictual ; we declare that the doctrine which teaches all that, is a pious doctrine, con- 
 formable to ecclesiastical worship, to Catholic faith, to right reason, and to Holy 
 Writ, and that, as such, it is to be approved, held, and followed by all Catholics, so 
 that no one shall be hereafter permitted to preach n leach the contrary. Renewing, 
 besides the institution of the feast of the holy Conception, which, by an ancient and 
 praiseworthy custom, is solemnized on the 8th day of December, at Rome, as in all the 
 other cliurehes, we will and ordain that tliis festival be celebrated on the day before 
 mentioned, under the name of the Conceptiou of the Virgin, in all the churches, 
 monasteries, and communities of the Catliolic religion, and that it be observed with (ill 
 manner of jn'aisc and gladness, and canticles of joy." Tlie Council even attaelics 
 indulgences to this .solemnity. 
 
 * " Declerat liiec saneta synodus non esse intentionis sunj coraiirehendero in hoc 
 decreto, ubi de peecato originali agitur, beatam et Immacli.atam Dei Genitricem." 
 (Cone. Trid. ,sex. 1564.) 
 
 t See the constitution of Sixtus IV., which couunences with Orave nimu. 
 
ClIAl*. 
 
 n.J 
 
 IlLliSSKD VIUOIX JIAUY. 
 
 :j7 
 
 a hundred days' indulgence to those who shouhl assist thereat.* 
 The successors of that great pope walked unitbnnly in the way 
 which he had marked out and followed. In 1500, Cardinal Ximenes 
 established in Spain, with the consent of Pope Julius II., a con- 
 fraternity of the Conception. The same po})e confirmed, by a 
 brief, dated the 17tli of September, 1511, an order of nuns founded 
 under the same title by Innocent Vlll.f In the hymns which 
 Zachary, bishop of Gordia, composed by order of Leo X. and 
 Clement VII., it is said that Our Lady was created in the state 
 of grace. In l.'iGO, Pope Pius V. gave the Franciscans permission 
 to celebrate the office of the Immaculate Conception, attaching 
 thereto the same indulgences as to the feast of the Holy Sacrament. 
 Paul v., by a bull of the year 1010, forbade any one to maintain, 
 in public instructions, the opinion contrary to the Immaculate Con- 
 ception ; and Gregory XV., in 1022, extended that prohibition even 
 to discourses and privat(i convereations. It only remained for the 
 popes to celebri.te this festival in Home itself, and this was done by 
 Alexander VII. in 1001. It is evident, from this uniform conduct 
 of the Holy See, that all its sympathies were with the doctrine of 
 the spotless conception. Nevertheless, it never chose to censure the 
 contrary opinion, doubtless through respect for high and holy 
 names. 
 
 A voice whose weight is immense, the great voice of Bossuet. 
 made itself heard in this cause ; the fshield of religion nobly took 
 his stand before the blessed Virgin. " The opinion of tlie immacu 
 late conception," says he, " has, I know not what, force which per- 
 suades pious souls. After the articles of faith, I see but few things 
 better assured. Hence I am not surprised that the Paiis school of 
 tlieology obliges all its members *o defend this doctrine. For my 
 own i)art, I am delighted now to follow its intentions. After 
 
 \^ 
 
 a) 
 
 * )SV« the constitution of Sixtus IV., which begins, Cum prce excelsa Extravag. 
 
 Commun. 
 
 f In this ordor of the Immnciilate Conception, each Sister ronserraterl herself 
 
 expressly to this mystery by those uneciuivocnl words, " I, Sister N , for the love 
 
 and service of Jesns Chrisi, our Lord, and the Immaculate Conception of his blessed 
 Mot) cr, do promise," &c. 
 
 \i(fl 
 
At 
 
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 LCKAI'. n 
 
 lm\ iiig Ir'cu nursed on its milk, I willingly submit to its ordinance, 
 till! more so an tliis sci'ms to mo to l)c also the will of the Church; 
 she hiis a very great veneration for tlio conoefitioii of Mnry; she 
 does not, it is true, ohligo us to believe it iturnaculafe ; but she 
 makes us underistand that that belief is very ])leasing to her. There 
 arp things whiih she connnands, and by them we manifest our 
 obedience ; there are others which she insinuates, and by them wo 
 may testify our affection. It is for our l>iety, if we are true children 
 of the Church, not only to obey the commandments, ])ut to ])o\v to 
 the slightest indications of the will of a mother so good and so 
 holy."* 
 
 It is certain that the devotion to the blessed Virgin has been 
 common in Western Europe from the raediicval times; and, since 
 then, it has made an immens(! pi'ogress; but, without meaning to 
 disparage France and Italy, those two nations so eminently devoted 
 to the Virgin, it must be acknowledged that it is S])ain whicli has 
 lal)oured the most zealously and ardently for the propagation of 
 that doctrine. 
 
 The Sj)ani.sh Church, protesting against the pretensions of the 
 Church of Kormaudy, which attributes to itself the instituticm of 
 the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady in the West, 
 will have it that it has been observed in S])ain ever since the 
 seventh century.f It is certain that, in 1304, Don Juan I. t)f 
 Anngon, who instituted it, in the name of the king, in the several 
 piovinces of Spain which had shaken off the yoke of Islamism, 
 aftirms that a great number of his predecessors had celcbi-ated this 
 festival ])efore him. J We shall not decide between tin; two 
 
 * I'ossiR't, Siriiwhon the Cunccption. 
 
 f " La lulesia cspunola fiie la prinicra que celcbro la Iniinnciilaila ("oncoi)ciou do 
 Mi:itisiiiiii Vir^'-Pii ; (■ii3'a licstii tuvo liigor cii ella desilc el si^^lio sc'iitinis." (Kl maestro 
 Villiidos, (Ml (■! t!a]i. etc los Fc^t'iv. Eclcs., t. i., part ii. 
 
 J Tliis is the decree of Don Juan I. of Arrngoii: " We, Don .Iiiaii, hy (he graee of 
 (iod, KiiiLC of Arrajroii and Valencia, &c. AVliy is it that some persons are amazed 
 to lienr that the cvcr-bles.sed Mary, Mother of God, was eoneeived without orijrinal 
 sin, whilst ti <•)• donht not that St. John the Hajitist was sanctilied in his niotlicr's 
 wouili liy til'- same (Jod, who, eoming down from the highest heavens and from tho 
 throne of the Most Holy Trinity, was made flesh in the Messed womb of a viririii ? 
 What graees do we think eoidd tiie Lord withhold from the woman who lirofdit liini 
 
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 m-iissjii) viumx JiAuy. 
 
 chunrhcM ; ])ut if Spuin hiivo but ii doubtt'iil cluim to the itiHtitution 
 of that foativttl of Mary, which is calUitl in Franco and in Enghuul 
 (he ft'U\t of (he iVonnans', hIio cannot l)o deprived of the honour of 
 lirtving l)ucu the lirst to erect churches and altai"!* under tlie title of 
 
 forth liy tlu! spliMidid miraclo of lier fruitful virL?inity ? Loviiip; liis inothor ns ho loves 
 her, he niuHt have itivcstud with tho most (^'lorioiis prlvili'gt'S her coiiucption, her nati- 
 vity, and tho othur |ihusc» of her holy life. 
 
 " Why raise np a doui)t as to tho glorious conception of a Virgin so privileged, and 
 of whom we are obliged, by Ciitholic fuith, to believe wonders and greatness beyond 
 the reai'h of our imagination? Is it not, for all Christians, a mneh greater sutiject of 
 admiration to see tinit a creature 1ms begotten her Creator, and become a motlier 
 without ceasing to bo a virgin 'i How, tln'ii, can tho huumn mind give ndetiuato 
 praise to tiuit glorious Virgin, destined by tlio Almighty to jmssess, without tho 
 Blightest corruplion, the advantugi's of divine maternity, conjointly with the glory of 
 tho purest virginity, and to bo placed over all tho prnphcls, over all tho saints, and 
 over all tho choirs of angels, as their queen ? Couhl the stain of original sin have 
 bix'u imputed to her even for an instant, there would then have been some delieieney 
 of grace and of purity in that excellent Virgin, to whom tho angel of the Lord, tho 
 ambassador of heaven, addressed these words : Jfail, Mary, full of grace ; the Lord 
 is with thee ; hUsml art thou, amoni/st women ! Let those persons who speak so 
 unreasonably be now silent ; let those who have only vuiu aud frivolous arguments to 
 propose against the Innnuculato Conccjjtion, so privileged and so pure, of tho blessett 
 Virgin, bo ashamed to publish them, because it was expedient that she should bo 
 endowed with so great purity, that after that of God there could bo none such 
 imagined. It is likewise most fitting that she who became the Mother of the Creator 
 anil Father of all things should have been ever and always purest, fairest, and most 
 perfect, having been eliosen from the Iteginning and before all nges, by an eternal 
 deereo of God, to bear in her womb Ilim whom the whole world and all the immensity 
 of tho heavens cannot contain. 
 
 " But we who, of nil Catholic kings, have received, from this Mother of mercy, so 
 many graces and benelits undeserved by ns, wo lirudy believe that the concei)tiuM of 
 this blessed Virgin, in whoso womb the Son of God vouchsafed to become man, was 
 indeed holy and immiiculate. 
 
 " Hence, wo honour with a i)uro heart the mystery of that Immaculate and Blessed 
 Conception of the most blessed Virgin, Mother of God ; and we, with all tlie royal 
 bouse, do annually .ol'ianiso the feast thereof, even as our most illustrious predeees 
 Bors, of glorious nn^moi'y, did celebrate the same, having established a perpetual 
 ocnrrateruity thereof. Wherefore, we do hereby ordain tliat this festival of tliL 
 Immaculate Conee|)tion bo celebrated every year in perpetuity, with great solemnity 
 and rei-peet, throughout all the kingdoms subject unto us, by all faithful Catholics, 
 whether religious or secular, priests and laity, of whatsoever state or condition they 
 may be ; and that, hcneelbrward, it is not permitted, but expressly forbiddeft, to nil 
 pieachers, and to all tliose who publicly cxjiound the Gospel, to say, to advance, or 
 to publish anything that might, in any way whatsoever, be prejudicial or hurtful to 
 
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 ^^ 
 
^^er 10 
 
 v<1 
 
 Lll'K OF ^'1^ 
 
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 tlio Mystery of the Iinnmculato Concoption. In llie yoar ir»25, tho 
 Spnniiinls of Mexico jHiici'il tlu! splendid cathedral (jf I'uehhi de hfi 
 Aiujelo-H under the invocation of tlie immaculate Virp;in, whoso 
 wcred image stood sparkling with jewels over nn altar of massive 
 silver, surrounded by a multitude of elegant pillars, Avith plinths 
 and capitals of burnished gold. The faithful of Mexico raised in 
 her honour, in their metropolitan church, an altar and a statue of 
 miUHsive silver, aduriu'd with a magnificence truly Peruvian. A little 
 later, the Mexican cathedrals of Merida, Maraca'ibo, and Nabana 
 were founded under the invocation of the immaculate Virgin ; nor 
 did Peru remain behind. This splendid accession to the doctrine 
 of the conception without sin, did not suffice for the zeal of the 
 nations subject to the Spanish domination. In 1018, the vice-king 
 of Naples, his court and liis array, made a voav, in the Church of 
 Our Lady the (Jreat, to believe and to defend the immaculate con- (?M 
 ception of the Virgin. A commemorative pillar, surrounded by a ^^ 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 the purity niul holiness of that Blessed Conception ; but, on tho contrary, we ordnln 
 that preachers, and other persons who Jinvo had opposite sentiments, shall keep silent, 
 eince the Catholic faith does not in any way oblige ns to maintain and profess the 
 contrary opinion ; and tlwt others, who cherish in their hearts our own holy and salu- 
 tary opinion, may publish it in their discourses, and hasten to manifest their devotion 
 by celebrating, through tho praises of the Most High, tho glory and honour of his 
 holy mother, who is the queen of heaven, the gate of paradise, the protectress of 
 our souls, the sure port of salvation, and tho anchor of hope for sinners who have 
 confidence in her. We now hereby expressly establish, in perpetuity, that if it happen 
 that any preacher, or any other of our subjects, of any state or condition, do not 
 observe this ordinance, without being necessary from some of our other edicts, that 
 they be expelled from their convents and houses, and, whilst they retain that contrary 
 opinion, they shall be driven, as our enemies, from all parts of our dominions. Com- 
 manding likewise, and decreeing, in our knowledge and mature deliberation, that all 
 and each of our officers, whether at home or abroad, present or future, shall observe, 
 and cause to be observed, with great diligence and respect, our present edict, as soon 
 ns they are made cognizant thereof ; and that each, in his district, shall have ii pub. 
 lished exactly, solemnly, and with the sound of the trumpet in all the accuston'cd 
 places, to the end that no one may plead ignorance, and that the devotion of <It. 
 Immaculate Conception of the blessed Virgin, so long preserved in the hearts of C^'iriiV 
 tians, may increase more and more, and that no one may ever again be heard t«. 
 express a contrary opinion. In faith whereof we command that these present acta be 
 dispatched everywhere, duly authorized by our sign and seal, hereto attached.— Given 
 at Valencia, on the 2d of February, being the feast of the purification of that over- 
 blessed Virgin, the year of our Lord 1384, and the eighth of our reign." 
 
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 m,l>WKU VIIKIIN MARY. 
 
 liK 
 
 41 
 
 of 
 
 Htatuo of Our Lady, with tho Hyraholical ciuM*' 
 luT victory over ori^'iual win, wu.s raini-cl in teHtinioiiy of tliat i)\il)ii(« 
 engagcfhiout so chivalrously contracted. 
 
 Tho Spnni.sh people, who hav(5 at all times especially Hignalised 
 thenwelves in this devotion, I.'«ve adopted it so far that not a Hiiiglo 
 prea(^her ascends a pulpit without prefacing his sermon by a j)rofes- 
 sion of faith in the s]»otless conception,* and it htvs even been intro- 
 duced into tho familiar ])hiiises used in greeting.f 
 
 Finally, in 1771, whilst the destroying wind of philosophy wiw 
 vioh'ntly shaking religious belief in Franco and several other coun- 
 tries of Europe, the King of Spain, Charles III., instituted an order 
 in honour of tho Virgin conceived without sin, and solemnly de- 
 clared her, with the tussembled Cortes and a brief of the Holy See, 
 Uiui^ei'sal patroua de Kspana t Indiufi.^ 
 
 In France, notwithstanding tho license and the incredulity which 
 the flood of revolution has left after it, when retiring, this doctrine 
 is gaining gi'ound, and penetrating (!ven to the most distant hamlets 
 The Diocese of Paris is particularly distinguished for its zeal in pro- 
 pagating this pious belief, which ilourishes there under the pi-otect 
 ing shadow of its archbishops,§ confirmed by tho supernatural 
 tilings related oF the miraculous medal struck in honour of the 
 mystery of the spotless Conception. 
 
 If the tradition of the Apostles, the inclination of tho Chnrch, 
 
 i( 
 
 to 
 
 * Alabado sea el santisimo Sacrniiiciito del altar, y la Immaculuda Concepeioii do 
 la Virfjccu Maria, coiiccblda m\ pccado original en el primer instauto do su scr 
 natural. 
 
 f On entering a Spanish house, tho first words spoken by the visitor, even before 
 wishing good day, arc these : "Ave, Maria pnrisiina ;" the people of the house initne- 
 diati'ly answer : " Sin pecado coneebidn, santisiiim," (holiest, conceived without sin.) 
 
 \ " Por la devoeion ((Ue desde uuestra infancia hemos tenido a Maria santisiinacn su 
 misterio do la Iiumaculada Concepcion, deseunios poner bajo los divinos auspicios 
 
 dc esta celestial protectora la Nueva Ordcn, y niandaraos que sea roconociMa en 
 
 ella por patrona " (if/?. 12, t. iii,, 1. vi. Noviss. Rrc.) 
 
 § " It is a fact we would wish to establish, and to luako known in even tlio most 
 remote parts of the Catholic world : in our Diocese, Ihis devotion has been rooteil 
 deeper and deeper with {)assiiig time, and misfortunes have come in plenty to confirm, 
 increase, and extend it with marvellous rapidity." (*'fc the mandamus of His Graro 
 tho Archbishop of Poria on the ocoasion of the consecration of the Church of Out 
 Tiady of Lorctto ^ 
 
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 '2^1, 
 
 42 LIFE OF THE [ciIAl'. Hi. 
 
 the authority of Councils, the adhesion of universities anil religious 
 orders, the assent of kings and nations, tlie dedication of temples 
 and altars, the foundation of offices, the institution of confraternities 
 and royal orders have any weight in a controversy which has aston- 
 ished the Pagans Ihemselves,* then the cause of the Inimacuh.te 
 Conception of Mary, so long pending "before the tribunal of Catholic 
 opinion, appears to us gained ; and we do not think it rash to sup- 
 pose that God, preserving his divine Mother from the oi-iginal stain, 
 has said to her, as Assuerus did to Esther, " This law is not made for 
 thee, but for all others." 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 m 
 
 THK BIRTH OF MART. 
 
 '■'i.'.i 
 
 Ih- 
 
 '4 
 
 
 About the time when the religion and prosperity of the Hebrews 
 was on the decline, at the period i)ointed out by the pri^phets, and 
 when the royal sceptre was in stranger hands, accoj'ding to the great 
 prediction of Jacob, there was in Nazareth, a city of Lower Galilee, 
 not far from Mount Carniel, a just man named Joachim.f of the 
 ti'ibe of Juda and the race of David| by Xathj-n; his wife, who, 
 according to the opinion of St. Augustine, wivs of the sacerdotal 
 
 * " How !'' cxclaiuiecl Julian the Apo.stato, addressing himself to a bisliop who 
 ..aintiiiiicd the univcrsiility of original sin; " llow ! dost thou, then, suhjeet the 
 liirth of Mary to the empire of the Devil !'' (St. Augustine, 1. iv.. Op. imperf.) 
 
 f A liiographcr of Mary, Christopher de Castro, discovered, aeeordiiig to tlio 
 Ral)ljins, St. Hilary and other Fathers of the Chnrcli, tiiat the father of Mary had 
 two names, Heli and .Joachim, The Arah.s and the Mussidmans know liim under that 
 of Amrani, sou of Miitheus, and distinguish him from anntiicr Aniram, father of ^lary, 
 (he si.-;ter of Closes. (D'Hcrbelot, Btbliotha/na Oriaihih\ t. ii.) 
 
 \ According to th« Jjroto-Gosjiel of -St. .James and tlie Oo«i)cl of the nativity of 
 Mary, Joachim was of the race of David. .Justin, who llourisiied only fifty years 
 after the death of St. John the Apostle, who was born in I'.'.lcstine, and was in a 
 position to collect traditions still quite recent, likewi.se says that ^[ary was descended 
 in a direct line from David 
 
 ^GJ^ 
 
lit: ' V 
 
 CIIAl'. III.J 
 
 ULESSED VIKGIjr MARY. 
 
 43 \X7>ii^ 
 
 tribe,* wag called Anne, a name which, in Hebrew, signifies ^jrace- 
 
 They Avere both just before Jehovah, and walked in the way of 
 His commandments with a perfect heart \\ but the Lord seemed to 
 have turned away his face from them, for a great blessing was 
 wauting unto them; they were childless, and therefore son'owfid, 
 because in Israel l)arrenness was a disgrace. 
 
 Joachim, Avho loved his wife for her exceeding mildness and her 
 aminent virtues, would not increase her misfortune by giving her 
 those letters of divorce Avhich the law then granted so easily ;§ he 
 kept her Avith him, and that pious pair, humbly resigned to the 
 divine behest, passed their days in labour, prayer, and alms-deeds. 
 
 So many virtu(!S could not go unrewarded ; after twenty years of 
 barrenness, Anne conceived, as it were by a miracle, and Iji'ouglit 
 forth that favoured creature Avho was more i)erfect, more holy, and 
 more aijrceable to the Lord than all the elect taken too-ether. 
 
 It was about the beginning of the month Tisri,|| which is the fii-st 
 of the civil year of the Jews, whilst the smoke of holocausts was 
 
 * St. Aui^ust., Be consols. Efam/cl. 
 
 f The Maliomctaiis, iiihcrUors of tlio Arabian traditions, know the blo.<seil mollier 
 of tlie Virgin uiulrr lier own name, \vliii:h is llannali ; slie was, acconliiiir to them, 
 ;iie daughtiT of Makhor and wife of Aiiiram. {I)"IIcrbch)t, Bihliothcijue Oi-iciitol<\ 
 t. ii.) 
 
 X St. Anno and St. .Toacliim wore pnbliely lionoiircd in theChun'h in the first a^es. 
 St. John Damaseene highly extols their virtue. Tiie Emperor Justinian ]. had a 
 ehureh built in Constantinoiile under the invocation of St. Anne, about the year r),">0 
 'Pile l>ody of the saint was removed, it is saiil, from Palestine to Constaiitliio|ile in 
 710. (Sir Oodeseard, t. v. p. ^^'9.) Luther iiad a g-reat devotion for St. Anne 
 previous to his heresy ; it was to iuat saint that he promised to embiaee tli' nionastie 
 slate, iii presence of the corpse of a eonu'ade killed by lighlnini^ before his eyes. 
 
 § It was the I'harisoes who had introilui-iHl this abuse of divorce, so loudly oensuriMl 
 bv our Lord {Mutlh. eh. xix. v. S) ; lle^y taujrhf that a wife mii^ht be [lut away for 
 tlu! most trilling ea\iso ; for instanci', for having cooked hi'r laasli r'a meal over luuili, 
 or even for not being sullirieiilly handsome. Tliis was the opinion of Ilillel and of 
 .Vkiba. (Hasnage, 1. vii. (h. ±1.) 
 
 II The Stli of September, according to the teaching of the Church. Inirouius has 
 it that Mary was born in the year of lloun' 7',Jl!, I » iity-one years before the vulgar 
 era, (Ui the Sih of September, being Salur ay, al the dawn of day. Ijc Xaiii de 
 'riUeinont says that the Virgin was born in the' year 7lii of the iloiuan era. Th's 
 oiiinioii is tlu' luosl generally fullovvd 
 
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 nseending to heaven for the expiation of the sins of tlie people, that 
 the promised V^irgin Avas horn — she who Avas to rei)air the primitive 
 fault;* her Lirth Avas humble, like that of her diAine Son; her 
 parents were of the people, although descended fi'om a long line of 
 kings, and led, to all appearance, an obscure life ; that mystical 
 rose, whom St. John aftcrAvards belujld clothed Avith the sun as Avith 
 a radiant garment, Avas to blossom, in the scorchmg Aviud of adver- 
 sity, on a Avithered and leafless stem.f 
 
 Tlie cradle of the Queen of Angels Avas neither adorned Avith 
 gold nor covered Avith the richly-embroidered quilts of Egypt, 
 neither perfumed Avith spikenard, myrrh, nor aloes, like those of the 
 IlebrcAV princes ; it Avas formed of ilexil^lt! branches, and bauds of 
 coarse linen confined the little arms Avhich a\ ere one day to cradle 
 the SaA'iour of the world. The children of kings, " whilst still 
 Avrapped up in their sumptuous swaddling-clothes, behold the great 
 ones of the land humbling themselves before them, and calling 
 them by high-sounding titles. The AAOman Avho Avas to be the 
 spouse and the mother of God bestowed her first smile on poor 
 humble Avomen, Avho j)erhaps said Avithiu themselv(;s, as they 
 remembered the obsc "ity and hardship of their lot, "Another 
 slave is born !" 
 
 It Avas the custom amongst tlie Israelites to jossemble the family 
 on the ninth day, in order to give the neA\--born child its name. 
 The daughter of Joachim received from her father the name of 
 Miriam (Mnry), Avhich means, in the Syriac language, /<'«;///, ■soven/tjii, 
 ■//^MT'/'t.vy, and in IlebrcAv, -star of tlie ■m/. 
 
 " And assuredly," says St. Bernard, " the ]Mother of God could 
 
 . "•■ Hero is wiiat the Turks relate rcijrardiiig the birth of the blessed Yirjriri. Tlie 
 wifr of Aiuriim {Joarlihii) said to God, " Lord, 1 have eonseorated to tlice the fruit 
 nf iiiv womb ; vouchsal'e to reeeive it, Thou wlio knowcst and hcarest all." AVhen 
 she had lirought forth, she added, " Lord, 1 Jiave bronj^lit a dauiihter into the world ; I 
 have called her Miriam (Mary) ; I jjlaee her under thy protection, she and her jiosterlly, 
 to the end that thou mayst preserve them from the snares of Satan." (Koran, eh. iil.) 
 f Isaias had foretold it, sayinp : I'fiov shall come forth a rod out of the root of 
 Jixxc, and a Jhnrcr shall rise nj> ovt of his root ; for this word root siprnifics, in Hebrew, 
 us ^t. Jerome observes (in Is. c. xi.) a. stein without branches and without leaves, to 
 denote, eoiitiimes this holy dcictor, that the aiiirust Mary was to be Itorn of the raco 
 of David, when that, family sliould have lust its s|ilendour ami its royalty. 
 
 i 
 
 VSfffiY 
 
 m 
 
 
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 7ii 
 
'IIAI*. MI. 
 
 BLKSSED VIRGlIf MARY. 
 
 45 
 
 m&i^ 
 
 not liJive 0, name more appropriate, nor more expressive of her high 
 dignity. Maiy is, in fact, that fair and himinous star Avhich shines 
 over the vast and stormy sea of this world." 
 
 There is hidden in that divine name a spell so potent, and of such 
 marvellous sweetness, that merely to pronounce it softens the heart, 
 merely to write it beautifies the style. " The name of Mary," says 
 St. Anthony of Padua, " is sweeter to the lips than honey,* more 
 grateful to the ear than the sweetest music, more delicious to the 
 heart than the purest joy." 
 
 Eighty days after the l)irtli of a daughter, the Jewish woman 
 was solemnly purified in the temple where she oftered her first-Lorn 
 child. Conformably to the law of Moses, she then oftered to the 
 [jord a lamb or two doves ; the latter was the holy ottering of the 
 poor, and was that of Joachim's Avife. 
 
 But the gratitude of the pious mother went still farther than the 
 customary sacrifice; worthy imitator of Anna, the wife of Elcana, 
 she oftered to the Lord a victim more pure, a dove more innocent 
 than those which fell bleeding and palpitating under the sacrificing 
 knife. She had no votive crown of purest gold Avherewith to ailorn 
 the walls of the temple ;f slu; hud at the ft'ct of the Most High the 
 crown of her old age, the child whom He had given hei-, and 
 solemnly promised to bring back her daughter to the Temple, and 
 to consecrate her to the service of the hoi}' place as soon as her 
 mind was capable of knowing good from evil. Mary's father ratified 
 this vow, whii'h then became binding.^ 
 
 Tiio cere:", =ny being finished, the holy couple took their way bacK 
 to tiieir own country, to that country so barren in regard to great 
 
 
 aHIV 
 
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 3 
 
 I 
 
 
 1 
 
 * .\'ii:ne)> Viii/!ii!.i ^f^lri(T, mi! in ore, mclos in aure,jubilum in cordr, is the iiocticn. 
 cxpi'i'ssion of St. Aiitlmn}' of f';Kliin. 
 
 t .\ricL lil). i. ,';ip. 4. 
 
 I 'I'lirri: wrrc luiioiig^t tlic .)ows t«'o sorts of vows ; tlio first, ncrfcy, was a simjile 
 vow, tifior wliirli nii'ii rould piiiviiase a (li>p('nsation ot what they hail vowed to the 
 liOnl (of thU kiml wns tho vow of Anno, mother of >[ary) ; the sncoud, chercm, was 
 ii vow iiidisponsahly bimliiifr whiroliy all rijrlit and titK' to the thinjr promised was 
 irrrvocahly jrivcn up. Every Jsraelite could thus louseeratc whatever licloiin-i'd to 
 iiiiu lioiiv-:, lauds, catlle, eliildreu, slaves, &e. ; and the thiiiLjs so eonseeratej eould 
 HI tier lie sold ni>r redeemed at uny price whatsoever 
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 men tliat Isi-aol was far from oxpocting a piopliet to arise there,* 
 and they returned to their hiim1)lc dwelling, whieh was ever the 
 a.s}lum of the ])oor and the stranger. There it was that the child 
 of ))enediction, the child of grace and of miracle, passed her early 
 years, tlie delight of her family, growing up like on(! of those lilies 
 wliose loveliness is praised l)y Jesus Christ himself, and which have, 
 as St. Bernard poetically says, "the odonr of hope," luihcns odorem 
 (tpC'K Ainie Avas herself to nurse the child, according to the custom 
 )f lier peo])le.f 
 
 Mary's un(Urstanding, like the day in son^e favoured regions, had 
 scarcely a dawn, and slione cleai'ly out from her earliest days. Her 
 precocious fci'xour and the Avisdom of lier discourse, at a peiiod of 
 life Avhen other children still enjoy hut a purely j)hysic.".l existence, 
 made the parents judge that the time of tlnnr separation Avas come; 
 and Avhen Joachim had offered to the Lord, for the third time since 
 the hirth of his daughter, the iirsL-fruits of the cro]")s and fruits of 
 his small inheritance, the nusl)and and Avife, irrateful and resicrtied, 
 set out for Jerusalem, in n'der to de])osit Avithin the sacred pre- 
 cincts of the tem])l(' the trcasui'c Avhich they had received fi'om the 
 IIoi.Y O.m; of Israel. 
 
 * " Can anyfliiiiu; <;ood romp i'm'tli from Xnzari'th ?'' asked Xutlianicl of ilioso who 
 sjioko til liim of CiHiisT. " Bcciuisc tlio placf was small and coiiti'iiiptililc,'' says St. 
 Joliii Clinsostom, "and not only that partii'iilar phii.-i', but the, whole of Galilee." 
 (Sir»i. 0, in S. Ma till ) 
 
 f In Judca, tlio wimirii did iioL often dispense with r,nrsiii!>- their ehildreii ; there 
 fU'; 01. !7 lliree nurses inentioaed in Serijiture ; they arc those of Kebeeea, of Minlii- 
 bosetli, and of Joas ; then it is to he olis.irved that Rebecca was a forei;;'ner, and tlin 
 Others royal persoiia}<es. 
 
 s-^^^^^^j^ 
 
a'S 
 
 THE PRESKNTATION. 
 
 Til 10 Cison colled majostieally on, iti reddish waves swelled b)' 
 the equinoctial rains,* and the greeu mountains of Galilee were 
 l)ef'innin2; to put on their snc^.vy covering-, when Mary's parents 
 undertook the journey to Je^'usalem. There is no knoAving the 
 motive Avhicli induced them to leave their native province daring 
 tlic rainy season. It might be that they wished to assist at the ■ 
 grand solemnities of the feast of the Dedication ; or }>crhaps it was 
 that they simply regulated their departure by the period of 
 Zaehary's service in the temple, which only took place at regular 
 intervjds.f 
 
 Having before them a, journey of several days, in the midst of the 
 rainy season, with an infant child, the pioiis and prudent travellers 
 journeyed not towards the Holy VAty by the wild and pebbly road 
 wliich winds amid the ari<l plains, the foamy torrents and deep 
 ravines of the mountains of Samaria, where the frosts of winter had 
 already set in. They descended by the woody slopes of Caruii-J, 
 into the cluii'ming plains which extend between the mountains of 
 Palestine and tlie coasts of Syria, that fair and favoui-ed region 
 whose climate is so mild that the orange-trees blossom in t!ie (h ^ith 
 of winter, and the ilower". f summer bloom in December.^ Having 
 
 iL-'Or 
 
 p! 
 
 l6^•' 
 
 * Tlii^ Cison is !i siiuill river whirli Hows l.ictwriMi N;iz;u\'iu ami Mount Ciniicl ; 
 sluiilow nnil iiisiLiMilicaut in sniiiii'.or, like nil the watcr-coursps of r.'U'stinP, it Ix'C.'incs 
 II consideriililc slrcani d.M'ini; tlic rainy season. Tiie troops of Sisai.i, goiiern! of tliu 
 urniy of Jabin, were suUiirtl'-i'iI in the s\Yolleii waters of this river while 'ryint^ to forec 
 a passage. 
 
 f Aecordinpr to IV > ordiaanee of Dr.vid, the priests were divided into twenty-four 
 elasses or eourses, eacli of wliieh served its week. Eaeh course was sul'divided into 
 fievei parties, of whieli eaeh ollleiated in its t\u'n ; eaeh individual of t]ie?e partiis liiul 
 his siiar- of tlie serviee assiiiiied to iiim by lot. (I. I'ar. cli. xxiv.j Zaeharias 
 beioimed to tlie eourse or serviee of A bin. {I' rid., Hist, of the Jews.) 
 
 \ Vohiey meniions having seen, on the eoasts o'' Syria, orunjre-trees loailed witli 
 fruit iu the open air, in the nionih of January. "With us," pays he, "nature lias 
 divided the seasons liv luoatlis ; ilnre, it inav be sai , tliat thev are mdv divided by 
 
 
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 left bcliintl them tlie ricli pasturage — lands where rose of old tlie 
 touts of Issachar, that race of pastoral astronomers* whom the 
 bm-ning breath of the wrath of God had scattered, like a handful of 
 straw, over the wild and mountainous regions of Media; having 
 admired as they passed, the groves of palms, banana-trees and 
 pomegranates clothing the hills which were once the fair inheritance 
 of the children of Joseph, that noble and warlike race, renowned for 
 their skill in archer}', our Galilean travellers sped along by the 
 small water-course of Gaius,overhung by its graceful willows, traversed 
 
 he groves of Ramatha, that pretty town which resembles a cameo 
 laid in a basket of roses, and- at length gained the confines of the 
 ancient territory of the Jebusites. There, all was changed : no more 
 flowere, no more verdure, no more balmy breezes laden with the 
 perfumes of the citron-tree. All around were sterile rocks, j)rofound 
 ravines through which the windswept in mournful murmurs ; abrupt 
 an J craggy mountains, resounding with the hoarse cry of the eagle ; 
 in a Avord, a landscape the grandest, the most desolate, and the most 
 cheerless that can well be imagined. 
 
 The little party had been following, for some time, a rugged path 
 which crossed the table-land of a barren mountain, when Joachim 
 
 addenly stopt at au f>brui)t turn of the road, and stretched his arm 
 'owards the south with an emotion of religious exultation miiio-led 
 vVifli national jtride. The object Avhich he thus pointed out to 
 ni:< com])anions was well worthy of being remarked, for Asia had 
 
 fii%^ then U' "thing more magnificent or fantastic. It was a city about 
 tl'i] thirty-tnree stadas in cireuniference ; set in stone like a ruby of 
 Bvloochistan • a city of marble, of cedar and of gold, who-e splendour 
 
 hours. At Tri])oli, we suiTcr from the excessive wi\niith of July : six liours journey 
 lirinijs us to the niljucent mountains wlierc t)ie nir has the temperature of March. i)u 
 tlic other Inmd, \\(\ are chilled by the frost of Deccuibcr in the n ouutain districts : a 
 ■ ' -'s jou y l)rin;.'s ns to the sliore where we find the summer-flowers in liioom. 
 
 ' St. Jerome s;iys t'lat t!ie .suns of I^sjichiir were the sajres who made tl 
 ehronoloL''ieal caleulatir , and marki'(l llie fiMivnls. 
 
 112, p. 11.100, et in Gni., 49.) This tradition a^rrees wit.i that of the ruhliins, who 
 relate that the tribe of Issaehar were much piven to the study of astronomy. (Maimon., 
 in Kiddosch, hachodeich, et Zachuth, in Jticfiatin.) Finally, the Scripture authorizes this 
 tradition, since it mentions tliat the sons of Issaehar knew all times to order what lirad 
 thould do. (1 Pan xii. 32.) 
 
 # 
 
had in it something gloomy, ferocious and suspicions, denoting an 
 Unsettled power and a permanent dread of the stran jer ; a state of 
 things aljounding in strange contrasts. There were seen enormous 
 towers, magnificent as palaces, and palaces fortified like citadels. Its 
 temple, radiant -with gold, stood glittering on a narrow table-land 
 of the highest mountain, like the full-orbed moon when it lises over 
 the snowy heights of Lebanon.* It was an almost impregnable 
 fortress, held in awe by the people of God-, whilst the tower of 
 Antonia, with its four elegant turrets of polished marble, ke])t 
 jealous and unceasing \Vatch over the precincts of the temple. 
 
 A triple enclosure of massive stone walls,f with ninety forts,* 
 cncompa-ssed that singular t:ity, and all around it lay gloomy valleys, 
 dizzy heights and inaccessible rocks. That stately and warlike city, 
 which seemed as though it were transported by magic from the 
 fabulous regions of Ginnistan,;}: to be placed under the cloudless sky 
 of Palestine, was that Jewish paradise (^GMngh-dix-hovcht^) so 
 poetically mourned on the banks of the Euphrates, the city of David 
 and the Maccabees ; tliat Jerusalem which, even in its slavisli objec- 
 tion, is still hailed throughout the East by the ancient a]»pellation 
 then given it by the father of Mary : el Cods (the Holy City) ! 
 
 The parents of the Virgin entered the capital of Judea by the 
 gate of Rama, Avhich was shaded by a tower§ so lofty that its flat 
 roof commanded a view of IVIoniit Carmel, the great sea, and the 
 
 * Tlio exterior front of tlie Teiii[ile was so thickly covered with phites of <;'i)!il tliiit, 
 when the day hejjnn to fippear, it was no less dazzlin.i!; tlian the rays of the rising 
 sai!. As for tlic otiior sides, where there was no g'oKl, their stones were so white tiiat, 
 ut a disfaneo, that su[)erb pile of huildiiii;, looked like a mountain covered with snow. 
 C.Toseph. Dc Bcllo. U. v. ch. xiii.) 
 
 f ■' Extrema rnpis ahrnpta : et turres, ubi mens Jnvisset, in sexapinta pedes, inter 
 devexa, iu centenos vicenosque attollebantnr ; niira specie, nc procul intnentibns pares." 
 (Tacit. Hist. c. V ) 
 
 J Ginnistan, which is placed by the marvellous lejrculs of tiie Araor and Assyrians, 
 at the foot of Moiuit C.nieasus on the short s of the Caspian Sea, was the al)ode of the 
 Peris, a fair and fabulous race bearina; much rescmlilauce to our fairies. These jiow- 
 erfnl beiiigs, bori; before the Delui;'!', were snpjiosed to lommaud t!ie elements and to 
 create whatever they wished. Their capital city which tiiey hail ciirefully fcu'tilied in 
 ortier to keep ofif the incursions of the Dives, a formidable race of evil spirits, was of 
 mnrljle, {rold, rubies, and diamonds 
 
 § The tower Psephina. 
 
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 Wi 
 
 rf€\ 
 
 --^2 
 
 ^"'- 
 
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 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [oitAP. IV 
 
 -^^ 
 
 
 iiKMiiitains of Arabia. From its summit still floated tho greet 
 bail nor of Judas Maccalxnis with its sacred device; no longer under- 
 stood by the soldiei-s who kej)t guard around, forthoy were Thracians, 
 (jialatians, Germaup, and the fair-haired sons of Gaul, whom Herod, 
 in his fear of the Jews, kept always in pay, and who were almost as 
 odious aa himself to the people. 
 
 The travellei-s then took their way through some dark and winding 
 streets, bordered with heavy-looking square houses, without windows, 
 their flat roots forming long unlu'okeu lines that looked like fort'ti 
 cations, and 8toj)ped in the eastern part of the city, in front of a 
 'house of unpretending appearance, pointed out by tradition as tlie 
 dwelling of St, Anne.* 
 
 Having purified himself for seven days, according to the custom 
 of those who went to otfer sacrifice in the temple,f Joachim provided 
 himself with the lamb which he was to present to the Lord, put on 
 white garments,;]: gathered together such of his relations and friends 
 as he had in Jerusalem, and went up with them to the temple as 
 resolutely as though he were about to make an assault.§ 
 
 Tliat tem])le of the Lord of Hosts, where the Virgin then 
 })resented herself like tliedove with tlie olive branch, had undei'gone 
 numerous vicissitudes. One of the ancestors of Mary, the wise son 
 of David, had made it the glory of the East. He lavished upon it 
 the gold of Ophir, the perfumes of Saba, the cedf v of Lebanon, 
 brass which the fleets of Tyre l)rought from far otYlrt*ids, and silver, 
 
 f:m^% 
 
 u*/ , 
 
 
 A inoiiastcry Wiis ovcitocl on this iiousc of St. Amic, but it lias since been converted 
 into 11 iiios(|iie. Under tlie Christian kinjiS, it was iiiiiabited by nuns, {iivc Ilhicmire 
 lie Piiri^ <) Jd-iisn/'in, vol. 2. ]). 211.) 
 
 t It was not iiiiiy tiuit tlu'V liail to present tlicniselvcs in the Temple with tlirir 
 victin. ; tlie law rr([nired that they should rciiain uuL^'de for .seven entire days, 
 and til, it they shoui'd solrninly imrify themselves on the third and seventh days with 
 ashes and Iiyssoji ; that done, they might oifer their sacriiice. (IMiilo, Tract de 
 Sacrif., c 3.) 
 
 X Aeeordinj;: to the Uabbins, the sacrifice was mill when he who ofl'in'cd it was not 
 clotiieil in white. (IJasn. 1). ix. eli. 4.) 
 
 § This w:\s of oljliguiion ; the llelirews were to go np to the Teiiijile with as niiieli 
 &Tdouv i\^ [i sulilicr [/ui's tip to badle ; they found this pr-ccpt in the mty-fifth Rsalm, 
 where David said that he went to the house of God us to a strong city. (See Basn,, 
 Iliyfijire den Jnifs., b. vii. eh. 17.) 
 
 i 
 
CIIAI'. IV.] 
 
 BLESSED VnmiN JIAUY. 
 
 1,\^ 
 
 whicli was tlicn so plenty that it had become a base metal. That 
 splendour had passed away lik(} a vision of the night, thanks to the 
 insatiable greed cf the tribes of Egypt and Clialdea, n score of times 
 had it been despoiled, and as often restored to its former splendour, 
 and finally it ni'ose from its ruins under Zorobabel, who built it, 
 sword in hand, notAvithstandiug the active op])osition of many 
 envious mitions. Nevertheless, the second temple, with all its 
 unheard of magnificence, was as inferior to tho fii-st ;n grandeur as 
 in sanctity. It was in vain that the Jcavs poured forth upon it with 
 a liberal hand the Mrcngth of wheat and the hlood of the vine ; that 
 rivers of goldjflowini; in from every point of the compass, unceasingly 
 replenished its sacred treasury; that thi pagan kings, recognising 
 th(^ awful sanctity of the God of Israel, sent thither the most 
 magnificent offerings.* Nothing of all that could supply the absence 
 of the Ark, with which had disap]>eared the tables of the law, tliat 
 is to say, the decrees of God written by Himself amid the lightnings 
 of Sinai ; the miraculous rod, which constituted the most ancient title 
 of the sons of Aaron to the supreme pri(!sthood ; and the manna of 
 tin desert, which c nfirmed l)y the miracle of its long preservation, 
 so many ancient prodigies wrought for the deliverance of Israel. 
 'Those precious objects were lost, together Avith the sacred fire, whicli 
 was only to be fanned by the breezes of the holy mountain on the 
 brazen altar of holocausts ; and the oil of unction, ])re])ar(Hl by 
 Moses, from which the priests and tin? kings derived their lofty title : 
 anointed (f the Lord. But most mournful of all, the Sche^-z'/ta, that 
 radiant cloud which attested the divine presence, had never l)eon 
 seen in the saci'ed temple, and even the jewels of the breastplate, 
 that last and most brilliant oracle of the God of hosts, had lost their 
 prophetic lustre.f This it was that filled the hearts of the sons of 
 
 m 
 
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 ^t 
 
 * .Toseplms jrivcs a iiiiiiute (Icsrriptioii of the iiin'j;nifi(Ti\t table of imis^ivo polii 
 iiicr»st.C(l ^villl precious ^Iniies, and tlic equally splenilul vases ii;iven by Ptnleniy 
 I'liilailelplius to tlic Tciiipli- ; nearly all tlic primes of Asia liail enrielieil it with their 
 irifls, and, about the time of the Presentation of the Yirii'in. the Empress Ijivia sent 
 tlicre in licr luime and that of Augustus, s^orae siiperli vases of gold. {.loseph. di Hello, 
 I), ii. eh. 1". — I'hilo, ad Cajiim.) 
 
 f God made usi' of the prceious stones whieh the hidi-pricst wore on the breast- 
 plate in order to pre.--age virtory ; for, before they oneamped, these stones emitted so 
 
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 9in 
 
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 ft-fi 
 
 
 
 LIFE OF TIIR 
 
 Aaron with Mttonioss wlieii tlicy c()mi)!irtKl the lior;'o of Zorobubel 
 with the temple of the soji of David ; and this it wad that made 
 tlio doctora of the law declare that the fulfilment of the prophecy 
 of Aggeus was not to be hopf I tvv, uidess the Messiah himself 
 appeared in peraon in the new icmple. 
 
 Having passed that magnificent gate of (Jorinthian brass which 
 twenty Levites could hardly close at uight, and which, to the great 
 tlisniay of the Deicide people,* opened of its own accord four yeai-s 
 b»;fore the ruin of Jerusalem, Mary and her parents found them- 
 suves in a vast enclosure paved with black and white flags, and 
 surrounded by lofty piazzas which, in time of war, served as 
 raniparts.f A crowd of strangers and of natives, whose brilliant 
 coHtumes of glaring colours recalled the idea of an immense bed 
 of tulips, walked to and fro in conversation in that forum of 
 Jerusalem, which was not considered sacred, and was called the jS| 
 (Jentiles' Porch, because idolaters could not, under pain of death, 
 advance farther.lj: 
 
 At some distance from the crowd, under Solomon's porch, stood 
 the proud aristocrats of Israel, clad in scarlet and purple, or in those 
 long Babylonian robes embroidered with gold, which cost enormous 
 sums, awaiting the hour of prayer, and detaching themselves from 
 the strangers with a haughty reserve that savoured of contempt. 
 Joachim, whose birth, notwithstanding his poverty, was as noble ns 
 that of any of the princes of his people, bent his steps in that 
 direction, sure of a cordial reception; for those Jews, so disdainful 
 towards the Gentlle8,§ were amongst themselves like brethren, espe- 
 
 briirht a lustre that the people tlureby rccofjniscd the prcsciiec and assistance of his 
 divine iiKijesty ; l>ut for two hniiilred years past, the brcast-platc has ceased to emit 
 tliat light. (Fl. Joseph. ^1;;/. JiiJ., h. iii. ch. 8.) 
 
 * Jos(p'> , ('f Bello, 1. vi. 
 
 f 'J'ucit., .'iH.sloridriim, 1. v. 
 
 I Jo.seph. dc Bcllo, 1. v. and vi. 
 
 § Hasnagc remarks tii;it at the time of Jesus Chriv.t the Jews regarded the Gentiles 
 as dogs, and mortally hated them. " If idolaters art Irowniiig," taught the doctors, 
 " no one is to take theni out of the water, or render them any assistance ; the utmost 
 that can be done fur them is not to plunge them deeper into the water, or throw them 
 farther down the pr(;iipico.'' (IJasnage, 1. vii. ch. 25.) 
 
 m 
 
 'i\'i'^'-^ 
 
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 ik?>- 
 
•wittily when ^a'^y belonged to the same line. Scarcely had tluiy 
 perceived hira when a number of illustrious ladies, warriors, and 
 princes of the house of David, came to meet him, and, after the 
 usual salutations, they joined the Galilean fiimily, as though to form 
 a 8uitaI)lo train for IVlary* The Fathers, nlio note this circum- 
 stance, have piously supposed that those great personages, the 
 flower of the Jewish noliility, were not there by nu're accidcjnt, hut 
 that God, who would have the future mother of be Messiah cuIit 
 I tcmitle in (liumpli, had divinely inspired 'i-. !. ♦ he tliere at 
 'KU'ticular time. 
 
 Hie mi(hlle of the Gentiles' Porch arose U.o other encK 
 u sacreil, which composed the temj)le. Seen fi'oni below, 
 , ., ii. jestic and resplendent edifice jjresenttHl a quadrangular mass, 
 whose walls, of alabaster whiteness, Avere pierced with ten 8uj)erh 
 gates covered with thick ])lates of gold and sil\ fr. As the temple, 
 properly so called, crowned tlie smnmit of Mount Moria, a becoming 
 site for the dwelling of the O'oil (if Jf(>ini/(iiii\\ the ground had a 
 gradual ascent, and the walls were com])letely surrounded l»y marble 
 steps, which somewhat concealed their height. 
 
 Having ascended the steps of the temple, the purified group, ir 
 whose midst was the holy child abotit to be consecrated to God 
 paused a moment on the narrow platform of the chd.j;' There tlie 
 Pliarisees displayed their (epli/h'//i,'\. and threw 1)ack over their sub- 
 dued brows§ a flap of their taled, which was comi)osed of fine white 
 
 * " ri'iiimrios qnoquc Ilii'rosolymitas vims ct muliores iutcrfuisse hulc deduct ioni, 
 oiicciiicntilms uiiivcrsis nngelis." (Isid. dc Thess.) 
 
 f Tlio ckcl was a space of ten cubits between the court of the Gentiles and that 
 of the women. 
 
 J The tephiliin were small pieces uf parchnunt whereon tlicy wrote four sentonees 
 of Scrijituri', with ink made expressly for tlu' purpose ; the Jews wore thoin at the 
 l)eiul of the left arm and on the middle of tlie forehead. Tiicso Itphilim, or ph'/lac- 
 lerli'^, were much in use at the time of Jesus Clu'ist, sin^'c they were paraded as marks 
 vf distinction, and called fortli his censure. (B.isnagc. Ifisloire <fcs Jti'/.i, b. vii. c. 17.) 
 
 § The Pliarisees always walked witli .their heads bowed down, in order to affect a 
 more humlile appearance, and sometimes even with tluir eyes closed, so as to avoid 
 seeing- auythiiiLr that miirht be a cause of temptation ; hence it ol'ti'ii ha]ii)encd tliat, 
 in i)assin;^ along the streets, they knocked their head uj;aiu>t the walls. (Dasn., 
 b. iii. ch. 3.') 
 
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 [CHAP. IV. 
 
 wool * adorned with purple pomegranates and small violet twists. 
 TLe undaunted captains of Herod half concealed their dazzling 
 breastplates under their long cloaks, and the daughters of Sion 
 wrapped themselves more closely in their veils of purple, of azure, 
 or of Syrian gauze embroidered with gold, through respect for the 
 holy angels of the sanctuary .f That done, they entered the temple 
 by the eastern gate, the most gorgeous of all; that gate which 
 poured forth streams of liquid gold when the Romans, unable to 
 force an entrance through it, op-^ned it by means of fire.J 
 
 In our cold northern regions vast edifices are required to shelter 
 the people from the inclemency of the weather. Hence, we have 
 immense cathedi'als, made to contain whole multitudes ; but in 
 ancient Asia the temples were for little else than the use of the 
 priests ; the people prayed without. In Israel, the engdaJi or sacred 
 assembly was usually held in the women's court. The second enclo- 
 sure was so called because the Jewish women, whom the old law, in 
 its severity, assimilated to slaves, could not advance farther. Separ- 
 ated from their sons and husbands, who remained, durmg the reli- 
 gious ceremonies, either in the open air of the square or under the 
 arches of the peristyle, thgy prayed apart in the upper galleries, 
 their heads humbly inclined towards the house of Jehovah, whose 
 magnificent roof of cedar, bristling with needles of gold, they beheld 
 at some distanco.§ 
 
 The ceremony of the presentation undoubtedly took place in the 
 women's court, and not in the very interior of the sanctuary, as 
 some authoi-s have said. It opened with a solemn sacrifice. The gate 
 of Nicanor, opening to admit the victim, gave a perspective view of 
 
 i 
 
 11 
 
 II 
 
 f^^^s/ 
 
 
 * Ihled, a species of square cloak which the Jews wore while praying in tlie 
 temple ; some fastened it around their neck, others threw it over their head ; this 
 last custom was the most general. (Basnage, t. v. b. vii. ch. 17.) 
 
 t Idco debet mulier potestatem habere supra caput propter angelos. (1 Cor. 
 xi. 10.) 
 
 X Josephus mentions that, when Titus gave orders to set fire to the gates of the 
 second enclosure of the temple, the molten gold and silver ran down in streams, as 
 water streams from a fountain. {De Bella, c. x.xiii.) 
 
 § Tills precaution had been taken in order to prevent the doves and jiigeons, who 
 were vcrv nnmerou.'S i:. Jerusalem, from resting on the temple and soiling its roof. 
 
 s 
 
7(;";.'^,.fV;*',//<''v>?^; ji'',^T^,v?i'.'-'''^- 
 
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 as 
 
 7ho 
 
 CliAV, IV.] 
 
 BLESSm> vrUGIN MABY. 
 
 the inner enclosure, like a glimpse of that lost paradise whose golden 
 palaces, shaded by lofty cedars, were, as the Pharisees taught, the 
 dwelling of the just* Through the marble columns of a stately 
 portico, overhung by the gigantic leaves and fruit of a golden vine, 
 there waa seen a structure which, at first sight, seemed of massive 
 gold, so dazzling was the effect of its golden front of a hundred 
 cubits as it reflected the rays of the Asiatic sun. An incredible 
 number of votive garlands, whose eara of corn, lilies, pomegranates, 
 and vine-leaves were composed of emeralds, topazes, carbuncles 
 rubies, according to their colour, were attached to the walls by cords 
 of gold ; and when the wild mouctain-breezo agitated their leaves, 
 you would have taken them for real flowers, so exquisite was the 
 workmanship and so perfect tha imitation of nature. Here and 
 there w^ere seen tattered and blood-stained bannei-s, wrested by the 
 brave Asraonian princes from the Greeks of Syria in the glbiious 
 wai-s of the Independence, and consecrated to the God of Hosts by 
 their priestly and warrior hands. Herod, that cruel prince but 
 valiant leader, had recently added thereto the standards taken in 
 his successful expeditions against the Arabs ; and the sight of those 
 warlike trophies filled with patriot pride and martial ardour those 
 Jewish hearts, who regarded death aa a trifling thing when there 
 was question of fighting for what was dearer to them than gold, 
 family, and life — the temple ! 
 
 The priests and the Levites assembled in the inner enclosure 
 received from the hands of Joachim the victim of prosperity.'\ 
 Those ministers of the living God were not crowned with laurel, 
 like the Pagan priests. A sort of round naitre, composed of very 
 thick linen ; a linen tunic, long, white, and without fullness, confined 
 by a broad zone embroidered with sky-blue and purple ; these com- 
 posed the sacerdotal costume, which was worn only in the temple. 
 
 * The Jews believed that the souls of the just went to the garden of Eden, from 
 which the livinp; were debarred by the angel of death They are sublhne in their 
 descriptions of tliis place, whose palaces, tiiey say, are of precious stones, and its 
 rivers of odorous perfumes. In hell, ou the contrary, u river of fire flows over the 
 damned, who safifer the extremes of heat and cold. (Maimonides, Menasse, &c.) 
 
 I Whether they asiicd a favour of God, or thanked him for having bestowed one, 
 it was called the sacrifice of prosperity. 
 
 -'X 
 
LIFE OP TITE 
 
 [CIIAP. IV 
 
 Oue of the sacrificers took the lamb, and, after a short invocation 
 to the God of Jacob, slaughtered him, turning his head towards the 
 north; the blood was caught in a vase of brass and sprinkled 
 around the temple. These preliminary rites being gone through, 
 the priest arranged on a golden dish a portion '^f the flesh of thft 
 victim, together with part of the entrails, which had been carefully 
 washed by the Levites in the hall of the spring. He wrapped up 
 the oblation in n coat : f fat, covered it with incense, and threw 
 upon it the salt jf the covenant ; then, ascending barefoot to the 
 platfoi-m in front of the brazen altar, he deposited the oflfering on 
 the sound, fii'm logs, which, stripped oi :;heir bark, fed the sacred 
 fire. The remainder of the host, with the exception of the breast 
 and the right shoulder, which belonged to the priests, was given 
 back .to Joachim, in order to furnish a banquet for his fiiends and 
 neighbours, according to custom.* 
 
 The last sounds of the priestly trumpets were dying away along 
 the arched roof, and the saciifice was still burning on the brazen 
 altar, when a priest descended to the women's court in order to 
 complete the ceremony. Anne, followed by Joachim, and bearing 
 Mary in her arms, advanced, veiled, towards the minister of the 
 Most High, and (if we may believe an Arabian tradition which 
 Mahomet himself inserted in the Koran) presented to him the young 
 servant of the Lord, saying, in a tremulous voice, " I come to offer 
 you the gift which God gave to me.''f 
 
 I 
 
 * Tliis festival, which was considered sacred, might be kept n^ wj dnys in 
 
 succession, bat the law expressly prohibited keeping anything of r the third. 
 While it lasted, the poor were to have their full share, and that for tv,o reasons, says 
 Philo. Firstly, because the victim belonged to God, who '; bountiful by nature, and 
 wished that the needy should be relieved ; secondly, for '.m! that avarice, which is a 
 slavish vice, might creep in and dishonour a pious practice. (Philo, Trad dt '^acrif., 
 c. ii.) 
 
 f According to a Mahometan tradition, when Se Anno was delivered of the blossed 
 Virgin, she presented her to the priests, saying ihcse words, which are nlso found in 
 the Koran, " Dhouncon hndih alne-dhirat ;^' that is to say, "Behold the offering 
 which I make to thee." Hossain Vaer adds to these words, in his Persian paraphrase, 
 " Kih ez an Khodai," which signifies, " For this is a gift which God has given m» ;" 
 or rather, word for word, " For it is from this gift that Ood is to come." (D'Herbf 
 lot, Jiibl. Orient., t, ii. p. 620.) 
 
 i 
 
CHAP. IV.] 
 
 BLESSED VIKGIN MAKT. 
 
 57 
 
 Tlie priest accepted, in the name of God, who fructifies the womb 
 of niotliers, the precious deposit which gratitude confided to him, 
 and blessed Joachim and his pious companion ;* then extending his 
 hands over the assembly who bowed down to receive his pontifical 
 blessing :f " O Israel," said he, " may the Lord shed his light upon 
 thee ; may he prosper thee in all thy ways, and grant thee peace !" 
 A canticle of thanksgiving, harmoniously accompanied by the 
 priestly havps, terminated the presentation of tlie Virgin. 
 
 Such was the ceremony which took place about the end of 
 November, in the holy temple of Sion. Men, who usually go no 
 farther than the surface, saw there only a young child of marvellous 
 beauty and precocious piety, consecrated by her mother to the God 
 who had granted her to her tears and mortifications ; but the angels 
 of heaven, hovering over the sanctuary, beheld in that fair and 
 fragile creature the Vibgin of Isaiah, the spouse whose mystic 
 hymn was sung by Solomon, the celestial Eve who came to restore 
 to a fallen race the hope of a glorious immortality. Penetrated with 
 joy to see the dawn of the Messiah's day at last appear, " they 
 thronged," say the ancient authors, J " to that earthly festival, and, 
 covering Avith their snowy wings the youthful descendant of the 
 royal David, they strewed her path with the odoriferous flowei-s of 
 paradise, and celebrated her entry into the temple by melodious 
 concerts." 
 
 Who can tell what was then passing in Mary's soul, that soul pre- 
 maturely blown by the breath of the sanctifying Spirit, wherein all 
 was peace, and light, and love? By what secret bonds was she 
 united to Him who had preferred her before the virgins and queens 
 
 m 
 
 u# 
 
 * Eli blessed Elcana and his wife, and said to tlie former, " May the Lord give yon 
 yet other children by this woman, because of the deposit which you have placed in his 
 hands."" And they returned to their home. (Kings, b. 1 ch. ii. ver. 20.) See Pere 
 Croiset on this ceremony. {Exercises de Piett, t. xviii. p. 48.) 
 
 f Whilst the high-priest gave his blessing, the people wore obliged to place their 
 hands on their eyes and to hide their face, because they were not permitted to look 
 upon the hands of the priest. The Jews imagined that God was behind the pontiff, 
 looking it them through his outstretched hands ; they dared not raise their eyes, then, 
 to look npou him, /or no man could see Ood and live. (Basn., 1. vii. ch. 15.) 
 
 X St. Andrew of Crete and St. George of Nicomedia 
 
tr 
 
 V 
 
 68 
 
 LIFE OF TILE 
 
 [CIIAP. XV 
 
 of SO many nations ? This is a secret between her and God ; but 
 we may reasonably suppose that never was oblation more favour- 
 ably received ; and St. Evodius of Antioch, St. Epiplianius of Sala- 
 mina, St. Andrew of Crete, and a number of the Latin fathera, 
 agree in regarding the consecration of the Virgin as more pleasing 
 to God than any act of religion that man had yet accomplished. 
 
 We know not the name of the priest who received the blessed 
 Virgin among- '. the daughters of the Lord ; St, Germanus, patriarch 
 of Constantinople, and St. George of Nicomedia, incline to the 
 opinion that it was the father of St. John the Baptist. The rela- 
 tionship existing between Zachary and the family of Joachim, the 
 high rank which he then held in the priesthood,* and the tender 
 affection wherewith Mary ever regai'ded him, as well as Elizabeth, 
 make this supposition extremely probable. 
 
 Whoever it was, the blessed daughter of Joachim was solemnly 
 admitted to the number of the alma^ or young virgins who were 
 brought up in the sacred shade of the altar. 
 
 That Mary spent her best years in the temple, is proved by apos- 
 tolic tradition, the writings of the Fathers, and the opinion of the 
 Church, who is not apt to sanction doubtful facts.f Nevertheless, 
 heretics have chosen to treat this circumstance as fabulous, and even 
 some Catholic authors h^ve considered it as an obscure point, 
 shrouded by the veil of time, and very difficult to determine. The 
 denial of the former is not at all surprising, but the circumspection 
 of the latter is indeed wo.'>dprful ; for if ever Christian tradition bore 
 
 m 
 
 * The Jews belieyed that John the Baptist was much greater than Jesus Christ, 
 because lie was the son of a high-prient. (S. J. Chrysostom, Serm. 12 in Matt.) 
 
 f In 1373, Philippe de Mazierc, a French gentleman, chancellor of the King of 
 Cyprus, came to the court of Charles V. and informed him that in the East, where he 
 had long resided, they celebrated every year the feast of the presentation of the 
 blessed Virgin, in memory of her having been presented in the temple at the age of 
 three years. Philippe added, " I began to reflect that this great festival was not 
 known in the Western Church, and, when I was ambassador from the King of Cyprus 
 to the Pope, I spoke to him of that festival, and presented its office to him ; he had 
 it carefully examined by cardinals, bishops, and doutors of theology, and then per- 
 mitted the feast to be celebrated." The Greeks began early to celebrate it under the 
 title of The Entry of the blessed Virgin into the Temple. It is mentioned in tb<>ir 
 most ancient martyrologies. 
 
 Wi 
 
 m 
 
 ■M \\^ 
 
 cr^ 
 
CHAP. IV.J 
 
 BLESSED VlROra MAUT. 
 
 69 
 
 the stamp of autheuticity, it is this. St. Evodius, a conteraporaiy 
 of the blessed Virgin and the Apostles, was the llrst who recorded 
 tins glorious peculiaiity of the childhood of Mary, in an epistle 
 entitled Lumen, which Nicephorus has preserved. He was bishop 
 of Antioch, a city of Syria, much frequented by both Jews and 
 Christians ; and the temple, where the early faithful followed, with 
 profound veneration, the traces of the Son of God and his divin*» 
 Mother, was still standing in all its splendour. This tradition, 
 which came from the Church of Jerusalem, (a Church which was 
 composed of the first disciples of Jesus Christ,) many of whom were 
 relations of the Virgin and St. Joseph, was very early consecrated 
 by a religious monument, a demonstrative proof even in the eyes of 
 Protestants.* Finally, the majority of the Fathers,f and ospecially 
 St. Jerome, who lived amidst the scenes of the Hedemption, and 
 while the traditions were still very recent, have related it and held 
 it as true. We may, therefore, place this traditional belief amongst 
 the best authenticated facts of history. 
 
 XT^^tfi^ 
 
 * Gibbon himself could not help admitting the authenticity of the religious tradi- 
 tions in Palestine. " The Christians point out," says he, " by undoubted tradition, the 
 scene of every memorable event," (vol. iv. p. 101), an admission of considerable import- 
 ance coming from a man of such reseifrch as the English historian, and at the same 
 time so little favourable to religion. — According to M. Chateaubriand, if there be any- 
 thing on earth clearly proved, it is the authenticity of the Christian traditions of 
 Jemsalcm. 
 
 f St. Epiphanius, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Gregory Nazianzen, St. Germanu? 
 l>atriarch of Constantinople, St. George of Nicomcdia, St. John Damascene, Ac 
 
 w 
 
 m 
 
^br-^Oii^^ 60 
 
 LIFE OF THK 
 
 fcHAP. V. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MABT IN THE TBMFLS. 
 
 Within the fortified enclosure of the temple rose that part of the 
 sacred edifice which was set apart for the virgins consecrated to the 
 Lord. Thither did Zachary conduct his youthful relative* On 
 this site the Christians of Jerusalem erected an oratory, which was 
 afterwards replaced hy a church with a gilded dome,f Ly Godfrey 
 de Bouillon's companions in arms. This church the valiant knights 
 of the temple took pleasure in adorning with the rich spoils which 
 hey took from the Saracens. 
 
 Although virginity was, in Israel, but the virtue of a season, and 
 vas soon to give place to the conjugal duties, it was not without its 
 honoure and its special prerogatives. Jehovah delighted in the prayers 
 of spotless children, of pure virgins ; and it was a virgin rather than 
 a queen whom he had chosen to operate the redemption of mankind. 
 
 * The mosquo of Omar {el Aksa) represents for Christians the ancient temple of 
 Solomon ; el sakhra (the rock) is built on the place where Mary lived from the age 
 of three years till her betrothal with Joseph* .. This place was at that time a depend- 
 ency of the temple of Solomon, as el sakhra is now of the mosque of Omar. Before 
 the crusades, el sakhra was but a chapel ; the Franks added thereto a church, sur- 
 mounted by a gilded cupola. When the victors threw down the great cross which 
 shone on the cujjola of the sakhra, tiie acclamations of the Mussulmans and the 
 lamentations of the Christians were so great, says an Arab writer, that it seemed as 
 though the whole world were about to be swallowed up. {Cotrespondence cC Orient, 
 t. V.) According to Schonah, it excited so great a tumult in the city, that Saladin 
 himself had to interfere. 
 
 t St. Gcnnanus states that it was Zachary who took charge of the Virgin and placed 
 her in the temple. The Arnbinn traditions also have it that God gave the Virgin in 
 charge to Zachary, ouacafulha Zacharia. The Koran, in the Sural which treats of the 
 family of Amram, adds to this fact a marvellous legend handed down amongst the 
 Christian tribes of the desert. It says that Zachary, going now and then to visit hia 
 young relati'-e, always found near her a quantity of the finest fruits of the Holy liand, 
 and that, at seasons when they were not to be had, which at last induced him to ask 
 Mary where she got all those fine frnits. Mary answered, Hou men and Allah iarroe 
 man iascha begair hissa : All tliat you sec comes from God, who provides for whoso- 
 ever he will, without number and without measure (D'Herbelo^ Bibl. Orient., t. ii 
 art. Miriam.') 
 
 ^•lWSi« 
 
CHAP. V.J 
 
 dle.ss1':d vikoin maky. 
 
 Hence, when the seera of Juda disclosed to that chosen but often 
 chastised people the prophetic })icture of its miseriea or of its 
 triumphs, they idwnys pauitud a vii-gin either joyous or in teai-s, to 
 pej-sonify the cities and provnices. In the wai-s of extermination, 
 when the broadsword of the Hebrews smote the women, the chil- 
 dren, and the old men of Moab, the virgins wia-^ spared; and tht' 
 high-priest, who was j)rohibited })y a severe law fi'ora fulfilling 
 the last duties to a friend ^chom he loved «•» his mon soul, and even 
 to the pi'ince of his people, could assist, without contracting legal 
 impurity, at the funeral of his sister, who died a virgin * 
 
 The virgins, or almas, figured in the ceremonies of the Hebrew 
 woi-ship l)eforo that worship had a temple. We see them, under 
 the guidance of Mary, the sister of Moses, celebrating by songs 
 and dances the passage of the Rod Sea.f Thos(^ dancing-choii-s of 
 young maidf s, transplanted from Egypt to the desert, were long 
 kept up amongst the Hebrews . The virgins of Silo, \\\\o seem to 
 have been, from the time of the Judges, more especially consecrated 
 to the service of Adonai than the other daughtera of Israel, were 
 singing canticles and dancing to the sound of the harp, within a 
 short distance of the holy place, during a cei'tain festival, when 
 they were carried off by the Benjaniltes. But that event did not 
 abolish the custom, which was kept up till that disastrous peric d 
 when the ark Avas lost and the first temple destroyed.^ 
 
 It is probable that all the almas were admissible to tliose 
 sacred choirs, when their reputation was untarnished; but there 
 was amongst them a select number who gathered around the altar 
 with more fervour, and more pei'severance. '''ilst the ark of the 
 Lord was yet encamped under the tents, ilie i.omen who watched 
 
 
 * Lcvit. cli. xxi. V. 3 
 
 f Mary ami her young companions (tlic almas) snn"; canticles oa the passage of, 
 tlic Ileil Sea, ncconipanyiiig themselves with the timbrel. (R. ial Yarhhi.) Exod. xv. 
 
 X These sacred dances, which commemorated the passa^rc of tlie Red Sea, and 
 were accompanied by hymns of pr;^ise, were re^'ardcd by tlic Jews as a practice so 
 pious as to be adopted even nmonjrst the austere tlierapcutae. "Tlie sacred daiico 
 of the devout thcrapoiUa;," says Philo, "was composed of two choirs, one of men, the 
 other of women ; the oiTect of whicli was very musical end harmonious, because the 
 words that were heard were very fine, and the grave and modest dancers had only 
 in view the lionour and the service of the God of Israel." (Philo, de Vita conl ■> 
 
 '1^^':^ 
 
 '^•". 
 
T-IKK OF Tira 
 
 [(•riAf. V, 
 
 ^\S3 
 
 avd prayed at the Joor of tJu t(tr>eniacfe, oifored to God the Ijrazen 
 luiri-oM which Ihiiy had Itroiiglit from T'^gypt. Theso were probably 
 pious widows who had rcfuHcd to contract new ties, in order to 
 apply themselves more constantly to heavenly things, and alnui.9 
 devoted by their ])arents to the sei-vice of tlu! sanctuary, who had 
 been i)hvced uncfer the care of those righteous matrons. St. Jeromo 
 thus nndci-stands this jjassage of Exodus : 
 
 As the vow of the i)arents was usually redeemable, and the 
 ransom, fixed at a moderate sum,* always took place after the ex- 
 piration of a few ycai-s,! these temj)orary vows were called a loan 
 given to the Lord.!}: / hare lent him to the Idml, said Anna, as 
 slu? conducted her young Samuel to Silo.§ 
 
 After the return from captivity, the influence of the Persians 
 operated against the institution of the ahnas, as that people ex- 
 cluded women from their religious celebrations. | They ceased to 
 form, as it were, a body in the state, and to figure ostensibly in the 
 public woi-ship. Under the pontiff-kings they lived shut up, and 
 their days flowed on in such profound secln^on. that when they ran 
 in terror to the high-pi-iest Onias, at the moment when the sacrile- 
 gious crime of Ileliodorus threw all Jerusalem into confusion, the 
 fact was considered so unusual and so remarkable, that the Jewish 
 historians give it a place in their annals.^ 
 
 * Moses had, by a special law, fixed the redemption of this vow at a sum of fifty 
 sliL'ktls or more. The shekel of silver was, at least, four Attic drachms. 
 
 f Children in this sort of ))on(lago retained their rights to the paternal inheritance, 
 rtiul might redeem themselves, in case they were not redeemed by their parents. 
 {Ahhh Guenee.) Jospphns^iln^, b. iv.) remarks that those men and women who, 
 after having voluntarily consecrated themselves to the ministry, wished to break their 
 vows, paid the priests a certain sum, and that those who were insolvent placed them- 
 selves at the disposal of the priest. 
 
 J Pere Croisct, Ererc. de PictS. 
 
 § Idcirco ct ego commodavi cum Domino. 
 
 II In Bombay, the descendants of the Persians have a temple consecrated to the 
 fire. They come in crowds to the esplanade, with their snow-white garments and 
 coloured turbans, to salute the rising sun or to offer their homage to his departing 
 rays, humbly prostrating themselves before him. Their women do not then appear, 
 for it is at that time that they go to fetch water from the wells. (Buckingham, 
 Tableau de I'Inde.) 
 
 ^ II. Mac. iii. 
 
V»' ■ 
 
 "•K\ ;•.",''''''■ 
 
 CHAP, v.] 
 
 UI.l<:tJSKiJ VUIUIN MAUY. 
 
 oa 
 
 It appears, then, that wliatever may bo said to the coutrary, 
 there were virgins attached to the service of the second temple 
 at the time of Mary's ])re9entation. The institutions of the llrst 
 Christians certify that such w«a the ctise,* and St. Ambrose, St. 
 Jerome, ami, before them, the j)roto-gospel of St. Jiimcs affirmed it. 
 But M'hat took place during the Virgin's sojourn in the temple? 
 What were, at that most interesting period of her life, her tastes 
 her habits, her practices of devotion ? There remains to us, on 
 this head, but few authentic documents. These details \vere most 
 probably given in a traditional life of the Mother of Gotl, which 
 St. Epiplmnius, in 390, regarded as very ancient, but that life is lost, 
 The gospel of the childhood of Mary and St. Jerome, when tliej' 
 mention that Mary wiw admitted amongst the daughters of the 
 Lord, say very little more on the subject. To lill up this vacuum 
 in a life which God seems to have taken pleasure in surrounding 
 with mystery, wo have only some inconclusive lines, some pages 
 k T)ped from the Fathers, from which it ia very difficult, oven Avith 
 the utmost care, to mako a satisfactory sketch. No matter ; like 
 the Indian workman who joins a broken tissue thread by thread, 
 and patiently tries to tie the ends together, unweaving, knotting, 
 sending his shuttle with infinite care along that worn-out and atten- 
 uated woof, we are going to apply oui-selves assiduously to our work, 
 and gather together the scattered fragments of the precious tissue 
 of the Virgin's life, so as to connect, if possible, the broken thread. 
 With the pei-severing patience of the banian, we will endeavour — 
 not to make a suppositious narrative, which our profound respect 
 for our subject forbids — ^Ijut to give, Avith the help of the best 
 authorities, and a long study of the customs of the Hebrews, the 
 most precise idea, and the neai-est to the truth that can poBsll)ly 
 be given, of the almost monastic life of the blessed Virgin in the 
 temple. 
 
 M 
 
 * It is known that tho first Christians, especially thoso of Jerusalem, who were of 
 Hebrew origin, preserved some of the institutions of tho old law ; of this number was 
 that of the virgins and widows, whom wc find attached to the priu.itivo chnrches for 
 the exercise of various good workc suitable to their sex. {See Floury, Moeur» des 
 faraeliU's cl rfe* dhnticns, p. 11.5.) 
 
1^ 
 
 u 
 
 ■hM. 
 
 Cr,^^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 im.-*. 
 
 
 
 C4 
 
 LIKE OB" Tins 
 
 [CIIAI'. V. 
 
 !Miiny of the old lop^ondnry wnt«'i*s took ploiisiire iu fliirroutuUng 
 the childhood of Mary with ii ninltltude of prodigies. ThcHo we 
 l)a8H over in HiU'iicc, hccaiHo they nre not 8ullici(;iitly autlii'iitii'ntcd. 
 But there is one thing which wo cannot omit to mention, viz., nn 
 inaccurate, or rather an inadniissilde assertion, which has been 
 adopted credulously and without examination by some holy per- 
 Honnges and religions writcix.* From the fact that the Virgin was 
 always sanctity itself, which no one disputes, they inferred that she 
 must have been jilaced in the most simctifled part of the t<miplo, 
 which is materially false. The TIoi.y ok lIot.iEs, that impenetrable 
 nanctuary of the God of Hosts, was closed to the whole Hebrew 
 priesthood except the high-priest, who entered it but once a year, 
 after much fasting, Avatching, and purification. He only presented 
 liimself there in the midst of a thick cloud of incense, which 
 interposed between him and the Divinity, whom no man can 
 see and live, says the Scripture. Finally, ho remained there 
 but a few minutes, while the people, ])r()strate on the ground, 
 sobbed and wept, fearing lest ho should meet his death. He 
 hipjself afterwards gave a grand ban(piet to his friends, to rejoice 
 with them for having escaped such imminent and fearfid danger.f 
 
 From this we may judge whether it be possible that Mary was 
 brought up in the Holy of Holiics. 
 
 The local traditions of Jerusalem, no less loudly than common 
 sense, protest against this rash o[)inion. The mhhra, which was 
 fii-st a Christian church, built on the site of the a])artment8 of the 
 Virgin, is distinctly detached from the mosque of Omar ; yet the 
 mosque of Omar is built on the ^ery ground of the temple. 
 
 Father Croiset, in his Axerciw-t de Pide, did not adopt this 
 opinion ; but, unwilling to reject it altogether, he attempted a 
 sort of compromise. According to him, the Mother of God was 
 not brought up in the Holy of Holies, but the priests, touched 
 by her admirable virtues, permitted her to pray there from time 
 to time. The Jesuit Father, in adopting this mezzo termine, has 
 forgotten several things : firet, that anujngst the Hebrews, woman 
 
 * St. Andrew of Crete, St. George of Xicomeaia, &c. 
 •}■ Vridcaux. — Ba.simge, Histoire des Swiss, I. v. eh. 15. 
 
 i''//vii''A^^ 
 
ClIAl'. V J 
 
 m-KSHKD VIIIUIX MARV. 
 
 wiw c<»nslil("""l an uiiclfim croaturc, iissiniilatc.l to tho slav(», ainl 
 Hoaroisly hound to pray;* that sh 'Vas haiiishcd to an in-losiiro 
 whoso hoiindarh's nho tui^ht not cross, and that tho interior of the 
 toni])lo wa.s to her a t<»i-J)i(hli'n placo, even tliongh hIio wore a 
 prophctesa or th(! daughter of a king; the second is, that tlie priests 
 could not grant to Mary a privih'ge wliich tliey did not themselves 
 enjoy, and which would, moreover, have expo-ted her to certain 
 death;! fhiallj', that (>ven supposing the priests of Jehovah to have 
 l)ceu witliout theso feai^a and prejudices, they woidd by no nieaiw 
 havo 8uft\'red any one to penetrate to the TIor.Y oi-" Homks, seeing 
 that it was important to conceal from the ])eo])lo the disappearance 
 of the ark, lost in some ohsonro grotto of the mountains since the 
 days of Jeremiah. ij; 
 
 This second version, then, is not more admissible than the first. 
 
 The education which ^hnj received in the temple was the best 
 that those times and the customs of the Hebrews pi .uitted. It 
 was ohi(!fly confined to the domestic laboui's, from which even tlu' 
 wifw and daughter of Cicsar Augustus did not exempt theraselvcfi in 
 
 irrs^- 
 
 o 
 
 I.V. 
 
 fi 
 
 * The uncloannoss of the woman, ncconlin;^ to the Jewish (loi;tnr«, dates from tlie 
 scduitioH of Kvc by tlio scriinnt, niid is oidy to be extirpated at the eomiii}^ of their 
 Messiah. Her jirayer is not so obligatory iia that of ninii, aud hIic is not even bound 
 t<i tlie observiuu'e of most of tlie nrfirnisitivo loimmuidmints. Finally, the Jiws still 
 siiy, in their niorninj? jirnyiT, Bksml li' Ihou, Lord, Kiwj of Ih'' iinli'cr^c, f.,r ih"! 
 thou haul not vtatle vie a teaman. Womiin, on the other haml, said, in lier humility, 
 lilenscd be thort, Lord, irho hust made me arrordhtf) to thine own will. (Basil., 
 Ilintoire dis Jiii/n, I. vii. eh. 10. 
 
 f "The sanctuary," soya Philo, " is ."so holy a place, that no i*^ amongst us, save the 
 hij;h-priest, is jiermitted to penetrate there, and even lie only once a year, nl'ter a 
 .solemn fust, to burn perfiinu's in hoiioiir of (lod, and humbly to be^ of llim thni 
 the year may bo favourable for all men. If any one, even a prinee of onr nation, 
 dared to enter, or if the Iiigh-jirieat himself went In a second time in one year, or 
 more than onco on the day that he is permitted to do so, it would cost either of tlieni 
 Ills life, without nny chance of escape, so strict was the ordinance of Moses, our legis- 
 lator, conccrninj^ the veneration of the temple. (Pliilo, ad Cajmn, e. 10.) 
 
 J The Jews do not agree concerning the fate of the ark after the ruin of the first 
 temple. Some will have it, that Jeremiah concealed it in a cavern of the mountains, 
 the entrance to which was never found ; others say that the holy king Josias, wiirucd 
 by Ilolda, the prophetess, that the temple should bo destroyed shortly after his death, 
 caused that precious deposit to bo placed in a subterraneous vault, which had been 
 constructed l)y Solomou. 
 
 m;A 
 
 ^m 
 
 ■V 
 
LIFE OF THE 
 
 LcilAl'. V 
 
 
 tlieir imperial palace and amid tlio delights of Rome* Brought up 
 in the stiict observauce of che Mosaic law, and conforming herself 
 to the customs of her peoi)]e, Mary arose with the lark, at the hour 
 whefi wicked spirits are silent, and ivhen prayers are most favmcr- 
 ably heard. f She dressed herself with the greatest modesty, through 
 respect for the glory of God who is every where present, and 
 beholds all the actions of men, even through the gloom of the 
 dai'kest night. At the same time, she gave thanks to the Lord 
 for having added another day to her life, and for having presei'vod 
 lier during her sleep from the snares of the evil one.J Ht^r toilet 
 was extremely simple, and occupied but little time. Slie wore 
 neither bracelets of pearl, nor chains) of gold inlaid tvith silver, 
 nor pui'ple tunics, such as were worn by the daughtei-s of the 
 jirinces of her race. A robe of celestial blue, a white tunic, con- 
 fined at the waist by a cincture with flowing ends, a long veil, 
 simply but gracefully arranged, so as completely to cover the face 
 when necessary; thtse, with a species of shoe coi'responding to the 
 "olje, composed the oriental costume of Mary.§ 
 
 After the customary ablutions, the Virgin and her young compan 
 ion:^, with certain pious women who were answerable to the priests and 
 to God for that sacred deposit, took their way towards the gallery | 
 
 I 
 
 
 * Augustus wore no otlicr garments tlmn thosu wliich wlTc spun by bis wife or 
 (l;ui,j;htcr, aud Aloxaiulcr the Groat by his mother and sisters. 
 
 t Basnngo, 1. vii. ch. 17, p. 308. 
 
 J Busnngc, place quoted. 
 
 § The Annunclade of Genoa wore, in the sixteenth century, the costume of tlie 
 liiessed Virgin, that is to say, white under and blue over, in order that such dress 
 nwiht continuallij remind them of her. The slippers of the chorister.i are also composed 
 of blue leather. {Rule of the Annnnciadc of Genoa, eli. 2.) !M. de Lamartino found 
 ill that Eastern land, where iiotliinif seems to cliange, tliat the costume of the women 
 of Nazareth is still that wliicli was worn by ^Fary. "They wear," says ho, "a long 
 tunic of celestial blue, confined l)y a white cincture, the ends of which reach the 
 ground ; the soft fold.'? of a white tuni(! fall gracefully over the blue." >[. de Laniar- 
 tine traces this costume to the time of Abraham and Isaac, ai,d his supposition is not 
 at all improbable. We sec that there is but a very triflinj ('.ifferencc between the 
 costume adopted in the sixteenth century, from tlic traditions n" Italy, and that which 
 the Freneli traveller has found in the Holy Land. 
 
 II During the feast of the drawing of water, the men were placed under the gal- 
 leries wUch surround the women's pt-'istyle. 
 
 ■■'.*>ftr;' 
 
 iili 
 
CHAP, v.] 
 
 BLE3SED vniOIN JIAUT. 
 
 O 
 
 'S 
 
 where the almas sat in the place of honoui.* The snn bfgan to 
 gild with his radiant beams the distant mountaias of Arabia, the 
 eagle cut circles in the clouds above, the sacrifice burned on the 
 brazen altar to the sound of the morning trumpets, when Mary, her 
 head bowed down beneath her veil, after repeating the eighteen 
 prayers of Esdras, demanded of God, with all Israel, that Christ, 
 so long promised and so tardy in appearing — 
 
 "Lot thy name, God 1 bo praised and glorified in tliis world, which tliou hast 
 created according to thy good pleasure ; vouchsafe to eslabluh thij reiffu {faitet rh^/ner 
 voire rcgiie) ; let rcdeniptlou flourish, and the Messiah quickly corae."f 
 
 . Vnd the people, in chorus, responded, " Amen ! Amen !" 
 Then were sung the concluding verees of that beautiful psalm 
 attributed to the pi'ophets Aggeus and Zacharias. 
 
 " The Lord unbiuds those who arc fettered ; the Lord enlightens those who are 
 blind 
 
 " Tlie Lord upraises those who are erudied down ; the Lord lores those wiio are, 
 Just. 
 
 " The Lord has care over strangers ; he will protect tlfe widow and the oqjlian, 
 and the ways of sinners he will destroy. 
 
 "The Lord shall reign for ever and ever; thy God, Sion I shall rule the 
 nations."! 
 
 The reading of the schema^ and the blessing of the priest ter- 
 minated this public prayer, which took place every morning and 
 evening.]! 
 
 * Origcn, St. Basil, St. Gregory of Xysisa, and St. Cyril, have preserved to us a 
 tradition ', hich assigns to the virgins of the temple an honourable and distinct place 
 in the women's peristyle. 
 
 f This prayer, which is called the kaddisch, is the most ancient of all those which the 
 Jews have preserved, and, as it is read in the Chaldean tongue, it is thought to tie 
 one of the prayers composed after the return from Babylon. (Basn., 1. vii. cli. 17, 
 p. 314.) Prideaux affirms that it was in use long before the coming of Christ, and 
 that the jSpostles frequently offered it up with the people in the synagogues. It was 
 often recited during the service, and the assembly was obliged to answer yl»w« several 
 times. 
 
 J Leo of Modena. — Maimonides. 
 
 § Leo of Modena, c. .\i. p. 29. By the schema they meant three different scetions 
 of Deuteronomy and Xuml)ers. It was a sort of profession of faitii recited inoriiin;,' 
 and evening, whereby they acknowledged that there is iiut one God, who drew his 
 pcoj)le out of Egypt. 
 
 II It is certain that the blessed Virgin must have assisted very often at the mornin? 
 
 '^7 
 
LIl-'E OF THE 
 
 [chap. V. 
 
 
 m ili 
 
 WK 
 
 m)} 
 
 i^^' 
 
 4 
 
 A 
 
 Having fulfilled, witli indescribable fervour, this fii-at religious 
 duty, Mary and her young companions resumed their wonted avoca- 
 tions. Some rapidly twirled in their agile fingers spindles o? cedar 
 or of ithel ;* others embroidered the veil of the temple, or the rich 
 cinctures of the priests, with purple, blue, and gold ; whilst groups, 
 bent forward over a Sidonian loom, applied themselves to the exe- 
 cution of those magnificent carpets which won for " the strong 
 woman " the admiration of all Israel, and were extolled bv Homer 
 himself f The Virgin sui-passed all the daughters of her people in 
 those beautiful fal)rication3 so highly prized by the ancients. We 
 leai'n from St. Epiphanius that she excelled in embroMery and the 
 art of working in wool, in byssus, and in gold. if The proto-gospel 
 of St. James repi'esents her seated before a distaff of purple wool, 
 which moved under her taper fingers like the trembling leaf of the 
 po})lar;§ and the Christians of the West have pei-petuated the ||§ 
 ti'aditional opinion of her unrivalled skill in spinning the flax of 
 Pelusia,! by giving the name oiVirgin^s tJwead to that net-work of 
 dazzling whiteiie--s, and of almost vaporous texture, Avhich floats 
 over deep valleys in the damp mornings of autumn. The chaste 
 and modest brides of the early Chiistians, in memory of these 
 domestic avocations of the Queen of Angels, never failed to conse- 
 crate to her a distaff adorned with fillets of purple, and charged 
 with spotless Avool.^ 
 
 and eveuiiiLf scrvico. Tliose pnij-ers were considered more cITicucious than any others, 
 and some of the Holirew doctors even nuunlain that God hears none but these. 
 
 * The ithcl is a ppccics of atacia which grows in Arabia; it is of a beautiful black, 
 I'csemblinnf ebony ; it is thouglit to be the setiiii wood of Moses. 
 
 f Sec the llimJ, b. vi. 
 
 \ In the middle aires, in commemoration of the Yirgrin's works in flux, weavers 
 wire ninjrcd under the banner of the Annunciation. The makers of gold brocade and 
 silken stnlfs had for their patroness Xotre Dame la Riche, {Our Lady the Rich,) and 
 bore her inmge on their banner, heavy with superb embroidery. (Alex. Mouteii, 
 Hisloire den Ficnfiis den divrs etdl-i.) 
 
 § The Church of Jerusalem early consecrated this remembrance by ranking amongst 
 its treasures the spindles of Mary. Tiiose spindles were subsequently sent to the 
 Empress I'ulclicria, who jilaced them in the Church of the Guides in Constantino]ile. 
 
 II The garments worn in the morning by the chief priests were, says the Misnah, 
 of the fine flax of Pelusia, a city of Kgy[)t famous for the excellent quality of its flax 
 
 ^ This custom is still kept up in some hamlets in tlie north and west of France. 
 
 m' 
 
r'^^ 
 
 CIt 
 
 BLESSED VIROm MAItt. 
 
 09 I 
 
 iJut the talents and acquirements of tne Virgin d-id not end here. 
 St. Ambrose ascribes to her a perfect understanding of Holy Writ, 
 and St. Ansehn will have it that she was thoroughly acquainted 
 with the old Hebrew, the language of the terrestrial paradise,* in 
 which God himself ti'aced, on tables composed of precious stones;\ 
 the ten prece])ts of the Decalogue. Whether Alary, studying the 
 idiom of Anna and of Deborah, became conversant, during her soli- 
 tary vigils, with the lofty conceptions of the seers of Israel, or vhat 
 she received from the sanctifying Spirit, who had so richly endowed 
 her, a breath of poetic inspiration, like the harmonious breezes 
 which swept the ^olian harp of the Royal Prophet,^ it must be 
 acknowledged that the youthful prophetess, who gave to the new 
 law its finest canticle, could not have been a stranger to the sweet- 
 est or the most sublime inspirations of genius. Undoubtedly, the 
 woman who composed the Magnificat was not a mere common girl, 
 as some Protestant authors have not hesitated to assert, and must 
 have united to uuequalod sanctity talents of the highest order. But 
 then this brilliant aspect of her character was scarcely perceptible 
 so carefully did she cover it with her angelic modesty. Knowing 
 the delicate duties and the real interests of her sex, she shrank 
 from all display, and passed silently along the way of life, like some 
 fair star gliding through the clouds. The rich treasures of her 
 mind ami heart were but partially revealed on earth ; they were as 
 the roses of Yemen which the Arab maiden conceals beneath her 
 veil, and whose gentle perfume is scarcely felt. 
 
 An ancient poet said servilely to Augustus that he alone was the 
 
 * According to the Rabbins and the Commentators on tlie Bible, the hmguage of 
 Paradise was the ancient Hebrew 
 
 t A Hebrew tradition, (Basn., vi. ch. 16.) Aoco.dinp; to some Oriental writers, 
 the tables of the law were either of rubies or curbniicles ; but the most ooniiiioii 
 opinion, amongst tlie Arabs and llussnhnans, is, that tliey were of emeralds, witliin 
 wliieii the eliarueters were cut, so that they oonld be read Oii every side. (D'ller- 
 tielot, Dibllolhhjue Orientule, t. ii.) 
 
 I According to the ancient Jewisl) tradition, David had a harp which played by 
 night when a certain, wind came to blow. Basnai^e ridicules tlie idea of cliords, which 
 only echo to the nigiit wind, and plainly .sets it down as an ab.^^urdity. The invention, 
 or rather the re-invei>tion of .Koliaji ht.rps, wlioso magic sounds cncliaut the English 
 parks, gives probability to tlie statement of the Kabbius. 
 
 Y 
 
 SIS 
 
I 
 
 l! 
 
 \ 
 
 fiMv 
 
 ^ 
 
 is* 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 work of several centuries, and that, ever since the creation, all the 
 industry of nature hail been employed in producing him. That 
 which was an outi'ageous hyperbole in speaking of the sanguinary 
 ne])hew of Csosar, becomes a demonstrated truth when applied: to 
 the Vii'gin. In reality, Mary is the masterpiece of Nature, the 
 floAver of the ancient days, and the Avondcr of ages. Never has the 
 earth seen, and never will it again see, so many perfections re-united 
 in a mere mortal. In that blessed creature all was grace, sanctitj', 
 and grandeur. Conceived in the friendship ot God, sanctified 
 before her l)irth, she knew nothing of the passions which agitate 
 tlie soul, or the sin which corrupts the heart. Having a sweet and 
 natural inclination to virtue, thanks to her immaculate conception, 
 iier pure and innocent acts were like the wreath of snow which 
 silently falls on the mountain-top, adding puiity to puiity and 
 wliitoness to whiteness, till it rears itself into a shining cone, which 
 attracts the rays of the sun and dazzles the eye of man. It has 
 not been given to any other creature to present such a life to the 
 Sovereign Judge of men. Jesus Christ alone surpassed her ; but 
 Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 
 
 jMury entered the Temjile of Jerusalem like one of those un- 
 sj^otted vii'-tims shown by the Spirit of the Lord to Malachi. 
 Voung, bc-autiful, nobly born, and qualiried to aspire to the higliest 
 [)lace amongst a people who often raised beauty to the throne,* she 
 oound herself to the horns of the altar by a vow of virginity which 
 1'"^ l.cr infant lips could barely articulate, and which her heart subse- 
 (piently ratified, with a perfect renunciation of the pomps and 
 vanities of the world. By that vow, till then unheard, Mnvy 
 cro-s-ml the Iminclary which divides the old law from the new, and 
 j^lnngcd so deep into (lie sea of evangelical virtiies, that one might 
 tli'iik she had already sounded its depths when her divine Son 
 caino to reveal it to the children of men. 
 
 '•' It is certain that David, Solomon, and the otlicr kings of Judn, often took to 
 tlioir royal bod women of obseure condition ; the fumous Sulamito of Solomon was, it 
 is said, a yo\inj5 country pirl from the little village of Sulam, situated at a sh(irt dis- 
 tance from Jerusalem. In the time of Mary, Herod the Great espoused Mariarane, 
 the daughter of a priest, because of her beauty 
 
 
BLESSED VXROIN JIAUY. 
 
 CHAP, v.] 
 
 God does not alter his course abruptly. He announces, be pre- 
 pares long beforehand the great events which are to change tho 
 aspect of the world. A precursor was required for tho Messiah, 
 and he found one in the person of St. John the Baptist. A pre- 
 liminary was lequired for the new law, and the virtues of Marj 
 were to the Gospel what the fresh and roseate dawn is to the risen 
 day. 
 
 St. Epiphanius, cited by Nicephorus, hr^s loft us a charming 
 desci'if tion of the Virgin. That portrait, traced in the fourth cen- 
 tury from traditions now lost, and manuscripts which are no longer 
 in existence, is yet the only one which remains to us. 
 
 The Vii'giu, according to this holy bishop, was not of tall stature, 
 though somewhat above the middle height ; her face was of that 
 (ine oval which characterizes the Jewish women, and her eyes were 
 of a soft hazel colour. Ilor person was, in fine, a casket worthy of 
 the priceless jewel it contained, and was like it all beautiful. 
 
 All the Fathers agree as to the admirable beauty of the Virgin 
 St. Denis the Areopagite, who had seen the divine Mary, assures us 
 t/iat she teas of dazzling beautij, and that he vjould have ivorshijyped 
 her as a goddess had he not hnoivti that there is hut one God. 
 
 But it was not to this assemblage of physical perfections that 
 Mary owed the power of her beauty ; it emanated from a higher 
 source. This was well understood by St. Ambrose when ho said 
 tluit her charming exterior Avas but a transi)arent veil which dis- 
 closed all her virtues ; and that her soul, the noblest and the purest 
 that ever v/as, after the soul of Jesus Christ, revealed itself fully in 
 her look. The physical beauty of Mary was but the distant reflec- 
 tion of her intellectual and imperishable beauty ; she was the fairest, 
 because she was the purest and holiest, of the daughters of Eve.'"' 
 
 God has encased the Green Sea pearl in a mother-of-pearl sliell,f 
 but it is the pearl and not its In'illiant case that men set in gold 
 
 * It is neither diiuato, nor food, nor bodily exercise, which forms human l)cn;ily ; it 
 is llic moral sentiment of virtue, whicli cimnot suljsist without religion. The beauty 
 of the countenance is tlie true index of the soul (Bernardine de St Pierre, Elude* 
 de la Nature, etude 10.) 
 
 f Bahr-al-AkluUuir, one of the names of tho Persian Gulf. 
 
 
 
M 
 p 
 
 Ik 
 
 I' 
 
 \v 
 
 V 
 
 \j\M. 
 
 
 iETiJ 
 
 «^ 
 
 ^fl 
 
 V4^ :-.-y •, 
 
 [chap. v. 
 
 and place in tho diarlem of kings. The Fatliei-s were well aware 
 of this, and, in their glowing descriptions of INIary's loveliness, they 
 dwelt particulaily on the charms of her niind, those wl'.ich belong 
 not to the earth, and perish not with the frail body. We are about 
 to collect the gems scattered here and there throughout their works, 
 to form them into a mosaic, which may present a second portrait of 
 her who wtis, as Sophnjnius t^ays, a garden of pleasure to the Lord^ 
 
 The greatest decorum reigned in all the actions of the Virgin. 
 She was kind, affable, compassionate, and never tired of hearing 
 the complaints of the wretched. She spoke little, always to the 
 purpose, and never did falsehood defile her lips. Her voice Avas 
 mild and peneti-ating, and her words had in them something 
 unctuous and soothing, which infused peace into the soul. She 
 was the first in vigils, the most exact in fulfilliug the divine law. 
 the most profound in humility, the most perfect in every virtue. 
 She was never seen in anger ; never offended, annoyed, or rebuked 
 any one. She was averse to all pomp, simple in her apparel, 
 simple in her manners, and never once thought of turning to account 
 either her beauty, her noble birth, or the rich treasures of her mind 
 and heart. Her presence seemed to sanctify all around, and the very 
 sight of her was sufficient to detach the mind from earthly things. 
 Her politeness was not an idle formula, consisting of empty words ; 
 it was an expansi(jn of universal beneficence proceeding from her 
 Inmost si^ul. In fine, her look already denoted the Mother of Mercy, 
 the Virgin of whom it has been since said, "/STie xcmdd ei'eii ask 
 pardon of God for Lucifer, if Lvcifer tvoidd ash H for hi?nselfy 
 
 Although she had but little of this Avorld's wealth, yet Mary 
 was bountiful toAvards the poor, and her childish alms fell often 
 unperceived into the poor-box attached to one of the pillai-s of the 
 peristyle ; the same into which Jesus, in after-times, saAv the widow 
 di'op her mite. St. Ambrose reveals the pure and sacred source 
 whence Mary derived her alms. She deprived herself of all, 
 granted nothing to nature but barely what was necessary for 
 
 * Vere Virgo erat horlus deliciarum in quo consita sunt univena flomm genera et 
 cdoratnenla virtiilum. (Sopbro., Serm.de Ass.) 
 
 K 
 
ClIAl'. V. 
 
 BLESSED VIItOIN MAUY. 
 
 7;» 
 
 preserviug 
 and (lew.* 
 
 life, aud seemed to live, like the gnuiisliopper, on air 
 Her frequent and rigorous fasts were also made profit 
 aljle to the poor. The ftists observed by the Virgin were not like 
 our northern fasts, which last but for a single morning, and are 
 confined to the abstaining from certain kinds of food ; it was a total 
 abstinence from all things, which began at sunset and continued the 
 whole of the next day till the stai-s were in the sky.f During that 
 time, Mary deprived herself of every tiling that might gi-atify her 
 taste or her appetite. She imposed on herself the hardest labour, 
 the most disgusting works of mercy, clothed herself in her meanest 
 garments, slept on the bare ground, and allowed herself nothing 
 during this time of penance and mortification (often j)rolonged for 
 whole weeks) but a light repast composed of bread baked under 
 the ashes, some bitter vegetables, and a cup of water from the 
 fountain of Siloe.;}: Her meditations were frequent, and her prayer 
 so collected, so attentive, so profound, that her soul seemed to melt 
 in adoration before the Eternal God. The roar of the tempest and 
 the crash of the thunder, Avhich drove Caesar to the subterraneous 
 vaults of his palace,§ reached not the ear of the youthful Virgin ; 
 completely absorbed in her religious duties, her soul was at the feet 
 of the great Author of the univei-se, far beyond the confines of the 
 world and the region of storms. " Never was any one endowed," 
 says 8t. Ambrose, "with a more sublime gift of contemplation. 
 
 * The ancients believed tliat tlie grasslioppcrs lived on air and dew. (Pliili), <lf 
 Viln cont., p. 831.) Homer, third bonk of the Iliad: " Like tlie grasslioppors whi.'h, 
 perched on the top of the forest-trees, send forth their Imrmoiiions strains (ul'tor 
 having drnnk n little dew)." "The grassliofipers feed only on dew." (Theocrit. iilyl 
 4.1 " Does he feed only on dew like the grasshopper ?" And Virgil : 
 
 Dum tliymo pascciitnr (ipea, dum rore cicailie. 
 
 "Whilst the bees shall feed on thyme and the grasslioppors on dew." Hence it 
 was that Callimaehns called the dew " the (ir<ixshopper''s J'mil." 
 
 f The Jews considered that no fast on which the snn did not set 
 
 J Basnage, 1. vii., ch. 18. Flenry, J\ftiiins dcs rsraelitm, p. 10 J. 
 
 § Angnstus, if we may believe Snetonins, was as mnch afraid of thnndcr and light- 
 ning as any female could be. At the slightest appearance of a storm, he went and 
 hid himself in the deepest vaults, whither the noise of the thunder and the glare of 
 Mio lightning could not penetrate. 
 
 rrm^i^ 
 
 Q. 
 
 m 
 
 %i 
 
 r-c 
 

 V 
 
 X 
 
 to 
 
 [chap. VI. 
 
 Ilor miiul, ever in accordance witli licr lieart, ncvor lost sight of 
 Ilxii nhoni she U)ve(l more anlently than all the seraplum put 
 together. Her whole life was bnt a continual exercise of the purest 
 love of her God, and, Avhen sleep weighed down her eyelids, her 
 heart still watched and prayed.* 
 
 Such were the virtues, such the occupations of Mary in the 
 temple. She shone amc- gst her young companions like a rich 
 diamond which, placed amidst other, precious stones, effaces them 
 all by its splendour. Ilence it Avas that men who had grown gray 
 in the priesthood never passed her without a murmured blessing, 
 and considered her as the fairest ornament of the holy house 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MART, AN ORPHAN, 
 
 y. 
 
 M 
 
 I i 
 
 It must be admitted — though it is a strange thing — that the 
 history of the Virgin is barren of focts and full of gaps. It may 
 l)e likened to the majestic remains of some ancient city of the 
 desert. Here, gigantic columns standing firm as the mountains ; 
 there, porticoes which the Aral), in his love of the marvellous, 
 pi'oclaims as the work of genii ; farther on, temples Iniried in 
 the sand which the imagination delights to raise again ; and then, 
 here and there, a bleak and stei'ile area, without a single blade 
 of grass for the camel of the Bedouin. In default of the Apostles, 
 who were too much occupied, it Avould seem, with the grand figure 
 of Christ to think of his earthly relatives, the Fathers have made 
 us acquainted with the virtues of St. Ann. We follow them into 
 her humble dwelling; we behold her piety, we hear her vows and 
 her fervent prayei-s; we witness the joys of her late maternity, 
 and the outpouring of her gratitude; but there the thread of 
 
 <^^ 
 
 * St Ambrose, <le Virg. I. ii. 
 
 >^ 
 
 m '?fcF 
 
 i:f'/. 
 
 vr. 
 
 M 
 
 ^" 
 
I 
 
 ClIAP VI.] 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN MAIIY. 
 
 tradition becomes so frail that it incessnntly snaps asunder, and 
 tlio remainder of St. Ann's life is almost entirely conjectui-al. 
 That mother, who had obtained her blessed daughter after so 
 many fasts and teai-s, who had so lovingly watched ovcjr her 
 infancy, who had brought her in her arms to the Lord,* and had 
 laid her weepmg in his sanctuary, reappears but for a moment on 
 the scene, and that only to die. It is, however, very unlikely that 
 the wife of Joachim would have remained nine years without seeii>g 
 her child again. The outer buildings of the temple, where the 
 consecrated children were brought up, could not have been closed 
 against their mothera. The rights of a mother are both sacred and 
 religious : all nations declare them to be imprescriptible ; and, 
 moreover, the Scripture tells us that Anna, wife of Elcana, tVeely 
 visited her son at Silo, on solemn dajs, and that she never failed to 
 bring a tunic spun by her own hantls to the young prophet, whom 
 she had lent to the Lord. Anna had had, after the birth of Samuel, 
 several children, whoni she beheld growing up around her like 
 olive-trees, and who shared with the young servant of the taber- 
 nacle her maternal solicitude. St. Ann had none but Mary ;f that 
 d(jar child was, therefore, the sum of her happiness, the hope of her 
 old days, and the source of her earthly joy. It is, then, almost 
 certain that, in company with her husband, she came to see her as 
 often as her piety drcAV her to the temple, and that she also sat up, 
 by the light of her lamp or the silvery radiance cf the moon,;]; to 
 spin the virginal robes of her child. 
 
 It is thought that St. Joachim and St. Ann returiK'd to their 
 home after the presentation of Mary, anil that they remained there 
 tor some years before their final settlement in JerusaL-ru. Joachim, 
 who was not aii artisan like Joseph, seems to have cultivated the 
 
 * Liguori, Glories of Mary, discoiirso iii., p. 5'.) 
 
 f It has been said that St. Ann had another daughter of the name of Miiry, born 
 twenty years before the blessed Virgin ; this Lriditiou has not been accepted by the 
 Cinirch. 
 
 J The Jewish women spun together in tlie summer evenings by the light of the 
 moon, since thn Jewish doctors authorize a husl)aud to put away his wife wliea slan- 
 dered by the icoinen who were spinnin;/ by moonli'jhl. (Sotah, c. 0, p. 250.) This 
 custom of spinning by moonlight is still kept up in luuny southern countries 
 
 
 m 
 
 \\) 
 
LIFK OK THK 
 
 [cHAr. vr. 
 
 Binall patrimony which he had inherited, and enjoyed that hapjjy 
 mediocrity for which sapfes and poets have ever sighed when weary 
 of the great world.* Churches have been erected in Sephoris, in 
 Nazareth, and in Jerusalem, on sites which had formed part of hia 
 inheritance. But the vineyard, or farm of his fathers, must have 
 been in the vicinity of Seplioris ; hence his return to Lower Galilee. 
 Joachim was a true Israelite, strongly attached to the law of Moses. 
 He went to the temple on every solemn festival with his wife and 
 some of their kinsfolk, according to the custom of the Hebrews, 
 and it is likely that the desire of seeing his daughter made him still 
 more eager to visit the temple. How joyfully did his good and 
 pious spouse set out for the Holy City I How endless did the way 
 appear, as she beheld it winding fai' and away over hill and dale ! 
 Looking eagerly forward, she passed a score of times in imagination 
 before she reached them in reality, the nopal bushes, the thickets 
 of rose-bay, the clumps of oak or sycamore which marked the road ; 
 for, each of these points gained, she was so much nearer her daugh- 
 tei' — her daughter, the gift of the Lord, the child of mii-acle — she 
 whom an angel had announced as tlic glory of Israel ! With what 
 emotion did she hail, from the <lepth of the valley, that tower of 
 Antonia rising proud and menacing on its base of polished maj'ble,f 
 to protect the house of prayer ! and how her holy and tender heai-t 
 must have throb])ed at the si<,'ht of that temple which contained 
 her child and her God ! 
 
 When evening cam<', an<l tht' sacerdotal trumpets summoned the 
 people to the cercmiony,;}: Ann luusti'iied to adore God, and catch a 
 glimpse of her daughter, whom she had not seen for months long. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 * According to St. Gregory of Nyssa, the father of the Blessed Virgin was an 
 hcHourabU cil'izen, GoJ-feariiig, an;! of s;n,4ul!ir pii'ty. Father do Valverdc states, on 
 tlie testimony of somo of the Fathers of the Cliiir.:!i, that Ann and Joachim, being in 
 easy circumstances, gave one i)art of tiieir savings to the temple and the other to the 
 needy. ( Vie de Jhus Christ, i. i., j). 4<).) 
 
 t The tower of Antonia miglit be considered as the citadel of the temple ; it was 
 of old the jiulaco of the Asmonian princes. The rock on which it was seated was 
 fifty cubits high, and inaccessible on all sides. Herod had this rock covered witL 
 marble from base to summit, so that no one could cither go up or down (Joseph., 
 Ant. Jud., 1. XV., ch. 14, and de Bella, 1. ii., ch. 16.) 
 
 X The religious festivals of the Jews began always in the evening. 
 
 rv; 
 
cnAi'. VI 
 
 JlLlvSr^U) VllUtlN MAUY. 
 
 
 77 ir»»i«r 
 
 TIjo «!ourt-yurcl hiil no otlu-r covering thiui tho sky, un<l tho (liuwliiig 
 radiimcuuf iU cnmlelnl.:a-t* ininglecl with thu gliiniiu'riiij^ light of 
 thn tiifrt. Thousuuih of lights wore gleiiining l)i-iu'iith thu porticoes, 
 giu'limds of t'yi'Ai flowoi' were wnjiitinid aroiiiid tlm pilliiix,! and 
 tlic chief prii'M walked tluoiigli the crowd with their HpU-iidid 
 onianieiitrt, brought from Indian lands hy the caravans of l*almyra4 
 Now and then the chords of the harp seemed to accompany the 
 murmurs of prayer, which, like tiio voice of many water<t,§ went 
 up from that multitude of Hebrews a-<^t'inl)K'd from the ))ai 
 of the Nile, the Euphrates, and tho Tii)er, to bend the knee l)efore 
 the only altar of their fathers' God.| In tho midst of this im- 
 mense concourse of native and foreign Itelievers, Ann, absorbed in 
 prayer, raised her head but for a moment; it was when Mary and 
 her young companions pa><sed, veilcfd and robed in white, with 
 lamps in their hands, like the wise virgins of the gospel. 
 
 The festival over, Ann, after having bles-ted and embraced Mary, 
 took, with Joachim, lier homeward Avay through tljo mountains ; 
 slowly did she depart from JerusaUun, not daring to cast a look 
 behind, and bearing with her a fund of happiness and of joyous 
 reminiscences for all the time that was to elapse before the next 
 festival. 
 
 When yeai'*? and toil had exhausted Joachim's strength, so that 
 he was no longer able to t-ultivatc his ground, he began to think 
 of moving nearer to his daughter. Accordingly, he and his spousH 
 
 / 
 
 V 
 
 ♦ Thfse catKWiibras were of gold, nml lil'ly eiiliils lii;^Ii. Tlio li;;ht whicli thuy 
 sljeJ, say the Rabbins (who aro noted for oxa^jjerat'on), was seen at an uiprediblu 
 distance from Jerusalem, wlillc within tho city thi houses weru co well lit that cooks 
 <'i)iilcl piek tho grain for their pottugc, witlioiit the assistauuc of their lamps. ( Tal- 
 m id. tntct. Lucca., fol. 3.) 
 
 f These green wreaths were nscd during the feast of Tabernacles. (Basn., 1. vii.. 
 cli. Ifi.) 
 
 X The garments worn in the ev.iiin,:? by the prU'sts on solemn festivals came from 
 India, and cost very dear. (Basn. 1. vii., ch. 15.) 
 
 § It is well known that tlii^ Jews and t!ie Aral)s pray niond. 
 
 II So long as tho temple stooil, the Jews mad- a spivial devotion of visitinpf it 
 Mcir^! thin eleven hnu.lred thousand p rsons p 'rished in tli' destruction of Jerusalem, 
 under 'L'lliis, because they wore assMublod for tlie feast of the Passover wUep the city 
 vas besieged. (Joseph., de Ikllo, 1 "'ii., th. H.) 
 G 
 
 r^' 
 
 .rtwt- --:- 
 
 P'imm 
 
 ^' 
 
11 
 
 If 
 
 Y 
 
 d 
 
 bade a last farewell to Lower Galilee, and took up their abode in 
 Jerusalem, in the neighbourhood of the temple. Ann was then at 
 the summit of her Avishes; she could serve the Lord in his holy 
 house, and see her daughter frequently. How often, during the 
 fine evenings of summer, as she sat spinning before her door, would 
 she twirl her spindle mechanically, whilst her maternal glance was 
 pensively fixed on the glittering roof of the temple ! Where a 
 maiCs trea-mre is, says the Holy Scripture, there is his heart 
 
 St. Ann might have shortened the duration of that painful 
 separation, as the law of Moses accepted compensations. This 
 would not do; her gratitude to God spoke still louder than her 
 maternal tenderness, and when the voice of religion Piade itself 
 neard that of nature became silent. 
 
 The Virgin had been nine years shut up in the temple* when 
 the first dark cloud obscured her young life. Her beloved father, 
 Joachim the Just, fell dangerously ill, and the symptoms of ap- 
 proaching dissolution very soon appeared. Apprehensive for his 
 life, his friends and kinsfolk crowded around, with every mani- 
 festation of kindness and sympathy ; for the families of Juda were 
 losely united amongst themselves, and lived in the utmost har- 
 mony. The dying man smiled benignly on his friends and 
 neighbours. Like Jacob, he had been long a wanderer on the 
 earth, and it gave him little concern that the wind of death 
 came to beat down his tent, for, beyond this earthly planet, he 
 saw in spirit those blissful regions where he was going to repose 
 for ever in Abraham's bosom. 
 
 When his increasing weakness gave him to understand that life 
 \\a3 ebbing fast away, the holy old man confessed his sins aloud, 
 in presence of all, according to the custom of the Hebrews,f 
 
 * Pcrc Croisct, Exercises th Piste, t. xviii. p. 59. 
 
 t Tli3 Hebrew coTifession is from all antiquity; tlic Jews made it, at the article of 
 ilea til, not inerel}' aloud, l)iit before ten jKrsons and a Ruhhin. Aaron ben Beracliia, in 
 his book entitled Maavar Johbok, treating of the art of dying well and the assistance 
 to be rendered to the dying, records the method of confessing and the prayers Mt the 
 agonizing. Abraham ben Isaac Laniado also wrote a book, entitled The Shield of 
 AliraJam, a work miuth esteemed by the Jews, wherein he treats of the confession of 
 ■ins See also Basnago, 1. vii., ch. 24. 
 
 
CBAP. \I.] 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 
 
 79 
 
 and offered up his death to the Supreme Judge in expiation of 
 the faults inherent in our nature, from which even the just avo 
 not exempt. This duty accomplished, Joachim asked for his 
 daughter, in order to give her his blessing. Mary came ;* her 
 ardent prayers for the preservation of her father's life had not 
 been heard. The jealmis God would sever, one by one, the 
 earthly bonds of his chosen Spouse, to the end that she might 
 lean only on Him. 
 
 Some pious authors have thought that, at the moment when 
 Joachim extended his hands to bless his child, a revelation from 
 on high suddenly disclosed to him the glorious destiny awaiting 
 her ; the joy of the elect diffused itself over his venerable counte- 
 nance, his arms fell by his side, he bowed down his head and 
 died. 
 
 The house then resounded with cries and lamentations. The 
 women hacked their breasts and tore their hair ;f the men covered 
 their heads with ashes and rent their garments, whilst some of the 
 matrons, moved by charity and devotion, spread a thick veil over 
 the pale calm face of the just man, who was never more to be 
 seen in this world, and folded the thumb within the hand, 
 which Avas left open to denote the total abandonment of all earthly 
 things. 
 
 After having washed the body in water, mingled with myrrh 
 and dried rose-leaves, those pious women wrapped it up in a linen 
 shroud, which they tied round with bands after the manner of 
 Egypt. Having then opened all the doors and windows of the 
 hous^,;j; they lit near the corpse a brazen lamp, with several sockets 
 
 * It was customary, from the very limes of the patriarchs, for the dying futhcr to 
 bless his children. Mary had to conform to this custom. Her seclusion in tlio temple 
 was not monastic, aad St. Joachim then resided in Jerusalem. 
 
 f St. Jerome remarks that, in his time, most of the Jews still slashed their skin on 
 the death of their friends, and made themselves bald by tearing out their hair, which 
 they sacriQced to death. 
 
 \ Dead bodies, amongst the Jews, defiled those who touched them and rendered 
 them unclean. (Misnah, Onlo puritatum.) " When the doors are closed, the house 
 of death is regarded as a si'imlchre, and, consequently, it is defded; when the doors 
 are open, on the contrary, the impurity goes away," {AfaHkonklcs.) 
 
J'' 
 
 W 
 
 to 
 
 i^sae^is 
 
 80 
 
 MFE OF THE 
 
 [chap. VL 
 
 ■ — the lamp of tlie dead — which cast its mournful reflection on the 
 bed of death. 
 
 On the following day, a numerous train, in which the fluto- 
 players were conspicuous,* stopped before the house of death. 
 The nearest of kin ascended to the upper chamber wherein Joa- 
 chim had been laid out, and placed the corpse on a bed,f which 
 they then took upon tlieir shoulders. The funeral procession 
 travei-sed the streets of Jerusalem chanting funeral hymns, ac- 
 companied by the soft wailing sound of the flutes, drowned at 
 times in the noisy lamentations of the weepers. Ann and Mary 
 were present at the funeral, and walked with downcast eyes 
 amongst the matrons of their family, whose tears flowed pro- 
 fusely, if 
 
 The procession passed through the ffate of flochi^ since known 
 to Christians as the Virgin's gate. On reaching the place of 
 sepulture, the sound of the flutes, the hymns, and the lamentations 
 all ceased awhile, and the chief mourners thus apostrophized the 
 dead : " Blessed be God, who formed and nourished thee, and has 
 now deprived thee of life. Oh, ye dead, he knows your number, 
 and will one day raise ye up ! Blessed be He who taketh life and 
 restoreth it again !''§ 
 
 They then put a small bag of clay on the head of the corpse, 
 and proceeded to open the sepulchre — a gloomy grotto, which was 
 
 \1 
 
 i 
 
 ISf- 
 
 * Jesus found the fiutc-plnyers making a great noise at the door of a nobloraan 
 whose daughter he restored to life. Mairaouides says that the poorest of the Jews is 
 obhged to hire two flute-phiycrs and a weeper for the burial of his wife, and that the 
 rich are to increase tlie number in jiroportion to their wealth. Sie also Flour;/, Mosurt 
 des Israelites, page 106. 
 
 f These funeral beds were used lonj before coffins; the latter are still unknown to 
 the Arabs, who bury tlieir dead only in a shroml, which enables the jackals, who prowl 
 at night through the cemeteries, to disinter the bodies and devour them. 
 
 J Women and cliildren assisted at the funerals of tlicir husbands and fathers. 
 The widow of Nairn followed the corpse of her son; .Toseph mourned for his father 
 This custom is still observed in .Tud'a. The IL'br 'w chiMren rceived the blessing 
 of their parents, closed their eyes, and aceoiiipanied tliom to their last resting-place, 
 amongst the bones of their fathers. (M. Salvador, Ilistoire des Instilutiom de Moist 
 it du jimple Hehreu, t. ii., p. 398.) 
 
 § Leo do Modena, Coui des Juifs. Buxtorf, Syn. Hebr . p 502 
 
 i 
 
 Wi 
 
OlIAl'. VI.] 
 
 BUSSED VIRGIN MART. 
 
 called the hmtse of the livimj* — wherein tho pftti arch was to sleeji 
 his last sleep, awaiting the other members of his family. Then the 
 most heart-rending cries arose on every side. Ann threw herself 
 on tho mortal remains of her husband to bid him a last farewell, 
 and was soon taken away almost insensible. Having committed to 
 the earth the holy remains of the just man, they rolled to tho 
 mouth of the sepulchral cave an enormous stone, which no man 
 was to I'emove nnder pain of cxcomrmmication. The cries of 
 lamentation began once more, and the spectators, pulling three 
 different times a tuft of grass, and casting it each time behind 
 them, said, in a sorrowful tone, TJiey shall flourish like the gms^ 
 of the fields! These rites terminated the obsequies of the de- 
 scendant of the kings of • Juda — the father of Mary — the grandsire 
 of Jesus, according to the flesh.f 
 
 The tender heart of the Blessed Virgin was crushed by this 
 first affliction — the prelude to so raa^.y othei's. It was her ap- 
 prenticeship in sorrow. Misfortune greeted her on the threshold 
 of adolescence, but the noble child shrank not from its approach. 
 She wept, for her soul — like that of her divine Son — was never 
 cold or insensible ; but she drained the bitter chalice, saying, 
 " Jehovah, thy Avill be done !" The mother and daughter put 
 on mourning after the manner of the Hebrews ; they clothed 
 themselves in tight robes, made of a coarse camlet, called hair- 
 
 
 * The sepulchre, which slioiild be called the house of the dead. They gave it, on the 
 contrary, the title of house of the living, to denote thut the immortal soul survives its 
 se|iarution from the body. Tliis title is attributed to the Pharisees. (Basn., 1. vii.. -24.) 
 The Rabbins give an e.xact description of these sepulchres. The door is usually iiuide 
 very narrow, for they are generally closed by a stone rolled to the entrance. A larjie 
 space is left in the middle of the sepulchre, where the bearers go in and rest tlie coffin 
 before it is put in its place. In the sides and at tlie end were hollowed out a certain 
 number of niches, wherein the dead bodies of each fomily were placed. Tombs were 
 held in groat respect. Xo one was allowed to cross them in raakin,:^ a road or an 
 aqueduct, nor to cut wood tliere, nor bring floi'lis to graze. Th.'y wer.; placed on t\v. 
 side of the highway, in order to remind the passengers of deatli, and to keep the dead 
 in their recollection. (Liglitfoot, Cent, ehoror/r., c. 100.) We sec iu the Gospel tliai 
 the tomb of Lazarus was a cave closed by a large stone. 
 
 f Salom. ben Virgte., Hist. Jtul., p, 193. Leon de Modena, Cout. relig. des Juifs. 
 Ba,snage, 1. vii., ch. 25 
 
m' 
 
 Hm 
 
 h) 
 
 82 
 
 LIFE OP THE 
 
 [OUAP. VI 
 
 cloth ; their head and feet bare, thoir face concealed in a fold of 
 their robes, fasting and abstaining,* they remained for seven days 
 seated on the ground, weeping and lamenting with their kindred, 
 and praying for the departed soul.f When the seven days were 
 ended, Ann had lamps lit in the synagogue, and prayers offered up 
 for her husband, giving alms in proportion to her means. Mary, on 
 her side, fasted every week on the day of her father's death, and 
 prayed morning and evening for the repose of his soul. These fasts 
 and prayei"s for the dead lasted for the space of eleven months.;); 
 
 " Thou art welcome, O Misfortune ! if thou comest alone," say 
 the Greeks. Thus, this first affliction of Mary's was followed by 
 one more poignant still, and she was soon called upon to renew her 
 mourning. Scarcely had the death-lamp been extinguished in the 
 melancholy dwelling of St. Ai.n when it had to be lit again ; the 
 last tears which Mary had shed for one parent were scarcely dry 
 on her cheek, when she had to bewail the loss of the other.§ One 
 evening Mary, accompanied by some of her kindred, went down 
 from the temple to the narrow and obscnre street in which her 
 mother lived. The lurid glare of u lamp shone out through one 
 of the latticed windows of the humble dwelling. Before the 
 threshold were grouped, in silence, some of the women who, even 
 now, throughout all the East, make a trade of weeping for the 
 dead ; like those birds of ill omen which seem to foresee deaths, 
 these sinister creatures were waiting for the moment when an 
 afflicted family should come to engage their hired lamentations.f 
 
 
 irM), 
 
 * Fasting was very severe amonpfst the Jews; there was nothing allowed but some 
 vegetables, beans, for instance, or lentils, which were oonsidcred mourning food. Eggs 
 were permitted, for the fignre of the egg, being round and globular, is the image of an 
 afflicted man. Wine was no less forbidden than meat. 
 
 f During the days of mourning they recited the 49th Psalm. (L. de Modena, 
 Cout. des Juifs, p. 182. Lightfoot, in John., p. 1072.) 
 
 X Basnage, 1. vii., ch. 11, p. 182. 
 
 § According to the best authorities, St. Ann survived St. Joachim but a very short 
 time. 
 
 II All over the Levant, people hire, as mourners for their dead, women who have 
 no otlier means of earning ti.eir living They pay them so much an hour, and they 
 endeavour to earn their wages by uttering tho most heart-rending cries. (Burkhart, 
 Voyage en Arable, t. ii., p.l39.) 
 
CHAP. VI.] 
 
 BLESSED ^^ROIN MARY. 
 
 83 
 
 St. Ann collected all her failing strength to bless her daughter, 
 pathetically recommended her to her friends, but especially to Him 
 who is the Father of the orphan, and then calmly slept the sleep 
 of the just.* Mary bent in anguish over the lifeless body of hei 
 mother ; her fair tresses mingled with the snowy locks of the dead. 
 It seemed as though she hoped that her tears would restore her to 
 life ; but it is only the breath of God that can reanimate the dead. 
 A\nen the first paroxysm of her grief was over, Mary closed the 
 eyes of the saint, and took leave of her by a long, last kiss, accord- 
 ing to the custom of her people.f 
 
 The sorrow of the young orphan was deep and silent, and en- 
 dured with heroic patience. Having now no other support on 
 earth but Providence, she took refuge in the bosom of God. 
 Thence, as from the depth of a peaceful harbour, she overheard 
 the distant roaring of the world's storms, and comprehended all 
 the vanity of earthly things ; the vanity of rank, of greatness, of 
 wealth, of beauty, things Avhich glitter and pass away like the 
 bubble on the wintry torrent, which itself disappears at the end of 
 a season. 
 
 It is at this period of sorrow, of isolation and lonely watching, 
 that a historian has judiciously fixed Mary's vow of perpetual 
 virginity ;J in fact, we do not anywhere find that either Ann or 
 Joachim knew of that vow, and without their knowledge it was not 
 valid in the eyes of the law, either civil or religious.§ It was, 
 therefore, after their death that Mary chose the Lord for her 
 
 * Grave historians state that the blessed Virgin was present at the death of her 
 mother, which is quite couforrauble to the customs of the Hebrews. 
 
 f This custom is very ancient, for Philo, relating the complaints of Jacob for the 
 untimely death of his son, makes him say that ho will not have the consolation of 
 closing his eyes, and giving him, the parting kiss. 
 
 X Descouturos, Vie de la Suinte Vierge, p. 27. 
 
 § A young girl might make vows amongst the Jews, and she could even make a 
 vow of virginity ; but such vow was annulled by paternal authority, because that, 
 being subject to her father, she could not violate the law of nature by disobeyincc him. 
 All vows made by a young maiden or a married woman, unknown or contrary to the will 
 of a father or hu.sbaud, were nnll. {Num., ch. xxx.) Some Rabbins maintain, never- 
 theless, that the father or husband bad to anniil tlie vow within twenty-four hours after 
 they had cognizance of it, otherwise it was valid. (Basnage, 1. vii., ch. 10.') 
 
 J 
 
.-fc^"- 
 
 
 84 
 
 LITE OF THB 
 
 r^HAP. vn. 
 
 portion, and devoted herself to his service without any limitation 
 of time, says Bernardiue de Basto, and with the intention of 
 remaining always in the temple. Like the august founder of her 
 race, the Virgin found that a day spent in the tab&)'nacles of the 
 God of Israel loas ^ooHh a tho^isand, and she also would rather be 
 the last in the holy place than the first under the tents of cedar. 
 
 if 
 
 ^Ji» 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HABBIAOB OF THE TIBOIN. 
 
 Whether Joachim, on his death-bed, had placed the Virgin 
 under the special protection of the priesthood ; or that the magis- 
 trates who took care of orphans had themselves chosen guai'dians 
 for her in the powerful family of Aaron, to which she was related 
 by the mother's side ; or that the tutelage of children devoted to 
 the service of the temple belonged of right to the Ijcvites, it is 
 certain that JMary, after the death of her parents, had guardians of 
 the sacerdotal i-ace. It is probable (and the Arab traditions say so) 
 that the cai-es of this tutelage devolved chiefly on Zachary, the holy 
 spouse of St. Elizabeth, whose high reputation and near relationship* 
 
 * The Jews, as also Celsns, Pori)li)Tus, nnd Fanst, have taken occasion from this 
 ?*.' nf relationship to mairitaia tliat the blessed Virgin was of the tribe of Levi. Catliolic 
 doctors combat this ojniiion. Thc\' maintain tliat "Mnry was of the tri))e of Judn, and 
 tin; family of David. In fact, St. Mathcw tells us that Jesns Oiirist is called the son 
 of David according to the flesh, ^'ow, ho can only be the son of David thronj!;h 
 Mary, since h( had no father amon;^st men. "When it is asked how it is that Mary, 
 being of the tribe of Juda, was the consin of St. Elizabeth, who was of the tribe of 
 Levi, St. Augustine answers that there is nothing improbable in the supposition that 
 a man of the tribe of Juda had taken a wife of tlie tribe of Levi, nnd that the blessed 
 Virgin, the issue of that marriage, was related by her mother to St. Elizabeth. It Is 
 elsewhere proved that the prohibition of marrying into another tribe regarded only 
 hein sscs. 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 ifi\ 
 
CllAl'. VII.] 
 
 K>. 
 
 BLESSED VIUOIN MAUY. 
 
 8f 
 
 entitled liiiu to that oflSce * 1'he alacrity wherewith the Blesaed 
 Virgin traversed all Judea, two or three years later, to assist and 
 cong: atulate the mother of St. John the Bupti^^t, and her prolonged 
 sfv jui-n in the mountains of Hebron, seem, indeed, to indicate a closer 
 connection than that of mere relationship; the roof which sheltered 
 Mary for so long a time must have been, according to the rigorous 
 propriety of the Hebrews, as sacred to her as the paternal roof. 
 
 Whoever the priests might be that were honoured with tlie 
 tutelage of the blessed daugliter of St. Ann, they scrupulously 
 acquitted themselves o' the obligations of tlieir charge; and, when 
 the Virgin had attained her fifteenth year, they began to think of 
 providing her with a suitaide husband. This hymeneal prDJect 
 gave Mary the utmost uneasiness ; that soul, so lofty, so jiure, so 
 contemplative, had anticij)ated the Gospel, and regarded virginity 
 as the most perfect, the most holy, and the most desiral)le of all 
 states. An ancient author, quoted by St. Gregory of Nyssa, relates 
 that she long refused, with much modesty, to accede to the proposal 
 made her, and that she humbly entreated her family to consent to 
 her remaining in the temple, and leading a life of innocence, of 
 seclusion, of freedom from all ties except those of the Lord. Her 
 demand was wholly unaccountable to those who had care over her. 
 They could not understand her imploring as a favour that barren- 
 ness which was considered disgraceful, and was solemnly condemned 
 by the law of Mosesf — the celibacy of an only child, | involving 
 the total extinctioa of her fathei's name — a thought which was 
 almost impious amongst the Jews, who considered it the greatest 
 misfortune if their name Avere not perpetuated in Israel. As to the 
 vow of virginity whereby she had bound herself, she could make 
 
 Y 
 
 k) 
 
 MJ 
 
 * The Koran, wliioh contains innc.y Arabian traditions rclatinar to Maiy, says 
 csi)ri'ssly tliat Zacliary tooli her under his jirotection. {Kuran, ch. ill.) 
 
 f Origen remarks that tlic law iifRxed a stigma on sterility; for it is written, 
 AccwKed he he who leaves none of his raee in Israel, 
 
 J Mary was an heiress, l)ccanse it was proper th.at the line of David, whence the 
 Messinh was to springs, slionld end in the person of an oiily daughter, who, bringing 
 into the world the eternal Heir to the tlirono of David, crowned and cousuramated liiig 
 rnce (Oldnhauscn.) 
 
 
 :^'Z<^ 
 
* 
 
 
 MM 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 UKK OF TlIK 
 
 [ciiAi'. vn. 
 
 r' 
 
 .^ 
 
 
 110 excuse of that, since it might bo aunixlled by a decision of the 
 family-council. It is known that woman wiv% even/ivJiere and 
 always, tieatc. as a minor before the pi'omnlgation of that im- 
 moi'tal code wliich has gloriously removed from her the curse of 
 slavery. 
 
 Hence it was that the Virgin's supplier '^'ons foimd but little sym" 
 pathy even amongst tlie priests of Jehovah. Such viKnes were 
 far beyond their reach, and with all their learning and penetra- 
 tion ti'.e angelic and all-holy soul of Mary was to them a seven- 
 sealed book. Iler thought, Avhich was far in advance of her ago 
 and contrary to all the ancient prejudices of her nation, remained 
 incomi\ehensi])le, and all that she could bring forward, in order 
 to excu e herself from entering on a state so wholly opposed to her 
 diiarest \ 'ishes, was of uo avail. Besides, how could she have suc- 
 ceeded, slice God himself was against her? It was the will of God 
 that her iiarriage with a just man, Avho was to render testimony 
 to the purit)' of her life, should screen lier from the importunities 
 of the young Hebrews, who might have sourrht her hand even in 
 the tem])le, as St. Augustine observes,* and also g've to her and 
 her divine Son a ])rotector in the hour of ])eril. It was the only 
 means of hiding the ni) ster}' of the Incarnation from the malevo- 
 eut scrutiny of a perverse ■« orld, which ■p'ould have laid hold of 
 the miracle as a subject for the most abominable conjectures, and 
 might even have been so infatuated by false zeal as to stone the 
 Mother of the Saviour, as they afterwards sought to stone the 
 woman taken in adultery ;f for mercy was never one of the chosen 
 virtues of the IIel)rews, and God himself reproaches them, by the 
 mouth of his prophets, ivith liaving their heart as hard as adamant. 
 
 In addition to these powerful reasons, which were hidden in the 
 impenetrable ol)scurity of the counsels of God, there was another 
 which had its source in the antediluvian traditioTis and in national 
 i ni'ido, and that one reason, of itself, left little chance of success for 
 the liinid opposition of the Virgin. Pei'petual chastity, which 
 Christians have made the queen of virtues, was almost unknown 
 
 * St. Aii.c;.. de Sur.Aa Vir(i., c. 14. 
 t St, Joliii Cliry^., scrm. 3, in Math 
 
 m 
 
 
OIIAP. VII.] 
 
 HLJaSED VlltaiX MART. 
 
 87 
 
 amongst tbo dtsciples of Mosos, who lived for many nges in 
 anxious expectation of the Me-'isinJi-Kiiig (^Melech-IIamaschiak). 
 A young flower of the root of Jesse, a daught(!r of David, was 
 not at liberty to reject the bonds of Hymen. She owed a son to 
 the ambitious piety of her family, who would not have renounced, 
 for nil the treasured of the great king, the hope of one day num- 
 bering amongst themselves the Liberator of Israel. This liopo, 
 which had sustained the Jevm when the Chaldeans, mounted on 
 horses swifter than eagles^ violently rent asunder the embattled 
 wall of Sion, and transplanted its people to the hanks of the Eu 
 phratcs — this hoj)e was mingled with a bitter desire of revenge 
 ever since the Romans ruled in Asia. The Hebrews hoped soon to 
 Bee the day when the eagles should fly before the emerald banner,* 
 and when the device of the Maccabeesf should wave in triumph 
 over that of the Roman senate. Never did the fulfilment of the 
 Messianic prophecies seem so near at hand, and hence the moment 
 was unfavourable for obtaining the favour solicited by Maiy. 
 
 According to the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary and the Proto 
 gospel of St. James, the guardians of the Blessed Virgin, regardless 
 of her remonstrances, convoked a meeting of her nearest relations, 
 all ot the race of David and tribe of Juda, like hei'self,^ in order to 
 proceed to the choice of the husband whom they imposed upon her. 
 Amongst those who were entitled to aspire to her hand, there were 
 a number of young Isi'aelites, some handsome and brave, others the 
 possessors of fi'rtile lands, vineyards, flocks and gi'oves of olives. 
 The captains of Juda would have added to Mary's portion a part 
 of the spoils and slaves taken in battle ; the nabobs of her tribe 
 would have covered her with the gold-embroidered stufls of India, 
 .and with thrice-dyed Tyrian purple ; whilst the sons of coramerc(>, 
 who traded in the emeralds of Egypt, the turquoises of Iran, an'^ 
 
 fe 
 
 i^^ 
 
 * Tho standanl of .Tutla wns of ii pi'oou culoiir. {Doui Calmct.) 
 
 f This Imiiiior of the ^laccabccs liorc the woriU: "Who is like unto Ihcc, VAw- 
 
 iial ? Mi cainoclm hndim, Jthorah ?'' 
 
 \ Evrry iimiilcn wiio inlicritcd a projHTty — and not maidens in general, as thri 
 
 Vnlgate says — was hound to marry o. man of her own family and tribe, and not h( r 
 
 nearest relation, as Mo;iti'«inieu asserts. This was in order that patrimonies might 
 
 tiot pass from one tribe to aiiotlicr. 
 
 (^ 
 
 Ldl 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 M 
 
 n 
 
 1 
 
 
■I li 
 
 the pearls of the Pcisiaii Gulf, would liavo liiid id luT fcot i-liaiiiH 
 of preci(»ii9 sfones, costly hnun-lt'ts and car-iiiigs, tliiit w«'iv worth ii 
 prince's ransom — in short, all the brilliant insignia of female servi- 
 Tude. But these wore all weighed in tlio balance and found wanting. 
 Despising the advantages of youth, beauty, high rank, wealth, and 
 martial gloiy, the priestly guardians of the Blessed Virgin and the 
 ancients of her house fixed their choice on a man of advanced age,* 
 a decayed patrician, whoso foi'tune had lieen swallowed up in the 
 jxilitical revolutions and religious wars of Jridea as the sea absorbs 
 a di'op of rain, leaving him only his arms and his trade. This poor, 
 /tut high-born old man, who, according to the Proto-gospel of St 
 James, was a widower,f but accoi'ding to St. Jerome had never 
 l>een married, and this last is the prevailing opinion of the Church 
 — this old man was Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth. 
 
 When we think of the rare beauty of Mary, the education ..hie. 
 she had received in the tem])le, the great connections of her faniiiy, 
 
 * The Proto-gospel of St. Jiinics, cii. 2, ami the Ooxpel of 'he Xalii'itij of Munj, 
 rh. S (books whosu contctils have been, for tiic most part, approved .if, even bv the 
 I".ither.s of the Chur.;h), merely say that he was already old. St. K|)iphaiiiiis gives 
 eiglity years to Joseph at the time of his marriaffe, Father I'uzron tit'ty, and Cllostoiie 
 dioiiie lie la Vieri/c, by Marie d'Agrada, thirty-three. The siipi >sitioii of St. Ki)i- 
 phaiiius will not bear examination; it is, moreover, solemnly refiu.r; by the Hebrew 
 law, whieh forbids the union of a young woman antl an old man, and pliices it in the 
 most disirr.ioeful category. (Basn., I. vii., ch. 21.) Jlinl. den InmituliiMH de Muine. 
 Neither tlic priests nor Joseph would have done that whieh was condemned by the 
 law. The age given by Marie d'Agrada to Joseph does not agree with the opinion 
 of the Fathers ; there remains but that of Father I'ezron, which is altogether the 
 most probable. 
 
 t Many of the Fathers have thought that St. Joseph w.is a widower when he 
 cs^ponscd the Dlessed Virgin. The I'roto-gospel of St. James and the Gospel of the 
 Nativity of the Virgin both mention it as a fact. St. Epiphanius asserts that he had 
 had four song and two ilaughters. St. llippolytus, of Thebes, calls his first wife 
 Salome. Origcn, Eusebius, St. Ambrose and several other Fathers have adopted the 
 dame opinion. Yet still it is by no means generally received, and it is commonly 
 thought that St. Joseph led a life of virginity. Such is the opinion of St. Jeromu, 
 who expressly says, writing against llelvidins, " We nowhere read that ho had liad 
 any other wife than Mary; (ilium emit, lucorem habuinne mm acribilnr." St. Aiiguslino 
 leaves the question undecided ; b'lt St. Peter Damian declares it to be tlio belief ol 
 the entire Church that St. Joseph, who passed for the father of the Saviour, wuti a 
 virgin like unto Mary. 
 
 :^"m^ 
 
 ^^^rsrjrC" 
 
 LQl 
 
t'liAP. vir.] 
 
 y4*iL3uiili*4ii''S 
 
 1U,KSSED VinoiX MAUY. 
 
 89 
 
 iiiul her quality of lit'ircs«i, which was n dosirnble n\u\ oxen hrilliain 
 lot amongst tlie Jcwi*, who t'n(h)W(Ml their wives and receiveil 
 scarcely anything with tliein,* w<* might be astonished at this 
 decision of lier family, woro we not informed by the Fathers 
 nlmt Josepli was chosen by lot and by the express manifestation 
 of the divine will.f An ancient tradition, inserted in the Proto- 
 gospel of St. James and mentioned by St. Jeronio, relates that the 
 candidates, after having invoked IIiM who ikcii/e'i luh, left each hi> 
 own almond-treo rod iu the temple in the evening, and that next 
 <lay the dry and withered branch of Joseph, son of Jacob, son ol 
 Nathan, was fonnd green and blossomed like that which had of old 
 secnri'd the priesthood to the Aaronites. Tlie history of Mount 
 Carmel states that, at sight of this prodigy, which annihilated his 
 hopes, a young and wealthy patrician, belonging to one of the most 
 powerful families of Judea, bn>ke his rod in i)ieces, with every 
 token of desi)air, and hastened to shut himself up iu one of the 
 eaves of Carmel with the disciples of Elias.;]; 
 
 AVhen the guardians had made their choice, they announced it to 
 Mary, and that admirable young Virgin, accustomed only to works 
 of fancy — reared amid the pi'rfumes, the melodious songs, and fairy 
 pageants of the holy house, hesitated not a moment in devoting 
 herself to r.n obscure life, menial occupations and arduous cares, 
 with the humble artisan chosen by her friends. A divine revela- 
 tion had, they say, made known to her that this just man would be 
 to her (mly a protector, a father, and the guardian of her chastity.§ 
 What v.'ould she more ? The Lord had heard her prayer. While 
 leaving her faithful to the vow which she had made, he gave her, in 
 addition, the merit of obedience. 
 
 * Oil tho occasion of the inarriaf;c-coiitrnct, tlie woman only received from lie. 
 friends the njiparel ni'ccssnry for her. It wiis the Inisliaiul who gave the (h)wiv 
 (M. Salvador, Inslitutionsde Afoi.ic, t. ii., ch. 1.) 
 
 f Gospel of the ifiitirilij of Monj, ch. 7; Priiloii'inp. St. Jamcn, eh. 8; St. lllfM 
 in Dam., 1. iv., eh. 5; St. (ircj;. Naz., horn, de St. iVat. ; Niccjih., I), ii., di. 7. 
 
 J This young candidate fur tiio Virjj,in's hand, wlio was named Agal)u-;, iificr»;ird- 
 bccamo a Ciiristian, it is said, and was famous for li!a sanctity. (.Soe i/isiuirc du 
 Carmel, ch. xii.) 
 
 § Vie de la Sainte Vkrge, by Descoutures, j). 49. Vie dc Jhtis Christ, by Valvcrdo, 
 t. i., p. 71. 
 
 
 
M 
 
 1,1 IK oi' Till'; 
 
 [llIAI'. VII. 
 
 r^.k'& 
 
 •.<l-<^x* 
 
 Jill 
 
 .^.y--^ 
 
 ■X^K. 
 
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 ,-y 
 
 .4 
 
 ^■.■^:^4i 
 
 J 
 
 TliH projijctcd iiiarriaj;*! of ,Io.sc'i)li nud Mary ir-ust luvvo excited 
 Burpriso l)otli iu Nazaivth and in JcnHalt'in, for thero waw little 
 similarity of age, fortune, or eoriditioii lietweeii the pair. It would, 
 however, be a great mistake to think that this union, ajiparently «o 
 disproportionate, wass regaided l>y Jewish society (whose habita 
 were simple and primitive) an in uny degree improper. Though 
 not holding a distinguished rank in the state, the trade of a me- 
 chanic was neitlier abject nor degrading iu Inrnel.* We see in the 
 genealogy of the tril)e of Juda a family of workers in fine ila.v, and 
 another of potters, whose memory is held in honour, and Scripture 
 has handed down to posterity the names of Beleseel and lliram. 
 It is well known that St. Paid, brought up to the study of the law, 
 the famous Pharisean doctor, Ilillel, and sinc.'o them many doctors 
 who, according to the emphati'- language of the I{a})bins, .s/ied light 
 0)1 the holy nation^ were not ashamed to apply themselves to the 
 most common mechanical arts. But what is more : all the Israelites 
 were artificers; ''•n- every father of a family, whatever might lie his 
 social position, was bound to make his son learn a trade, unles-f, said 
 the law, he would make him a thiif,} 
 
 Those Jews whose pati-imony had passed into the hands of stran- 
 gei-s, had no other alternative than to quit the country or support 
 themselves by the labour of th(^ir hands, awaiting the arrival of 
 that grand ejioch which restored all ])ropei*ty to its onginal owners. 
 They whose love of countiy induced them to adopt the latter 
 eoui-se, were in no way degraded the-"by or incapacitated for any 
 oi'lice in the state. Unlike Kgvpt and India, Israel had no cctfites ; 
 her pride was based on her religious belief, and her descent from 
 
 * Moc'lianics nro still liii.'lily rcsin'itod in .Imlea. " In Syria nnd Piilistlno," pnys 
 llunkliart, "tin; corporations of niuulmnics are almost as much respcctQil ns flioy were 
 iliiring tliu niidillc aji'cs in Francf and Oorniany. A mastor-tradesnian is tlirrp con- 
 sidered cqnal to a mereliaiit of the second class, lie can marry into the rcspcctaliic 
 families of tlic city, nnd has nsuidly more inflnence in his own locality than a merchant 
 who hiLS tliree times his wealtli." (Hnrcklmrt, Voyatjc tn Arabic, t. ii., p. iriD.) 
 
 t Any man who docs not give his children a profession, said the I'harisoan school, 
 
 prepares them for a had life "Be not burdensome to any one Never say, 
 
 I um a man of quality — that occupation docs not suit me. Knlibl Johnnnn wrou;.;ht 
 ns a skinner, Nahnm as a copier of hooks, another Johanan made sandals, nnd Rabbi 
 Juda knew tho baking trade." ( Talmud., Tract. A'idouschim, Peasarh, Aboth, Solo.) 
 
 \i 
 
 f 
 
cnvp. vii.'l 
 
 nLK^SKn VIIKlt.V MAUY. 
 
 '.tl 
 
 flit' pntiiiiriltH, "To lie tlio U-*\w of Ahniliam iicfonlinsf to tli. 
 rtt'sli," siiys tli«) gicnt BosmK't, "was i\ tlistinctioii hfyond all othn--*." 
 Ill fiict, the lowest of tlif IIcl)io\V8 Wfts lieM m n priiiee in i-om 
 piu'iMon with stmiigerH.* 'J'licre wcic, howevt-i', amongst th« Jew-, 
 II aiiiougHt the Aiuhs, noine trihe«t more illustrious niid houio Ikiusc* 
 inoi'o noble than othei-s. The trihe of Jiida, which carried the 
 national standanl at the hoail of tho enihattlod thousands of Israel, 
 mid with Avhoni the sceptro wn.s to remain till the coining of the 
 Messiah, had always tho pre-emiiieace ; nnd the family of David 
 was the fhvst and most honoured amongst the families of .luda. 
 Now Joseph, although ])oar, was of the Davidioal race. The l)lo(»(l 
 of twenty kings flowed in liis veins, and it was Zoroiialx-l, one of 
 his ancestoi-s, who brought >)aek the peojdc^ of (t(h1 from the land 
 o." exile. Since that time, the sj)lendour of his house had gradually 
 deelinod ; his family had become identilied with the people, like that 
 of Closes and of Samuel, but its illustrious ongin was not for<jfotten. 
 In our own days, the humble Abassides, who vegetate in the depth 
 of the Iledjaz, are still honoured as the descendants of Ilaroun-al- 
 Uasi-hid, and the highest family in Arabia would not disdain their 
 iilliance. 
 
 'I'Ik! holy daughter of Joncliim did not lower hei"self, therefore, as 
 much as might bo thought by espousing the caui'EXTKI!. This is 
 ^aid in a v/orldly sease; for, if we regard this miiou from a higher 
 point of viev/, we And that it Avas in fact a noble alliance. (Jod 
 gave not to his chosen Virgin a man whose merit consisted in his 
 lands, his vines, or his shekels of gold — things which often chan.re 
 masters, and are not more inherent in the* rich than the clothes 
 which they leave olf at night, lie gave her a just man, the most 
 perfect of his works. The Lord takes no account of the vain gew- 
 gaws which delight mankind; before Him tliere is no distinction 
 between the ])oor crcat"res who crawl a moment in tlie dust, soon 
 to become the pasture of worms. Ma)i judtjen l»j appearand', says 
 the Scriptuj-e, hnt Jthovah hehokJ'i the heart. If God chose the 
 humble Joseph to be the spouse of the Queen of angels, the adop- 
 
 * The Jews liiivr iiiii lii-l lli;> (luiiiioii wiih t!ii-ir iiatii)iiurtv, tli.'V I'.old il «ti!l 
 
 W. ^-'J 
 
 4 
 
 m 
 
 w 
 
 
 %4 
 
 
 lo, 
 
 !fcj 
 
 ■M 
 
I 
 
 M: 
 
 
 LIFE OF rilE 
 
 [ciiAi*. vir. 
 
 » 
 
 V 
 
 f^iSr^n 
 
 ft-Viti 
 
 ■P^"? 
 
 m^' 
 
 tivo father of the Messiah, it ^Yi^B because he possessed treasurea 
 of grace and of sanctity which the angels themselves might envy ; 
 it was because that his virtues had made him fii-st amongst his 
 people, and that his name stood far higlicr in the book of life — the 
 heraldic annals of eternity — than that of the imperial Ca)sar. The 
 Virgin was not confided to the most powerful, but to the most 
 worthy; thus the ark, which the princes and captains of Israel 
 dared not touch for fear of being stricken with death, drew down 
 the blessing of heaven on the house of a simple Levite Avherein it 
 was sheltered. 
 
 Joseph, in presence of the guardians and some witnesses, pre- 
 sented her with a small piece of money, the value of ^^•hich is not 
 now known,* saying, " If thou consentest to become my wife, accept 
 this pledge." Mary, by accepting the gift, was solemnly bound, 
 and thence forward nothing but a formal divorce could restore lier 
 to freedom. The contract Avas drawn up by certain of the Scribes. 
 It was concise, and not overl)urdened with technical terms.f Tlie 
 husband promised to honour his wife, to provide for her support, 
 according to the custom of Hebrew husbands, and secured to her a 
 dowry of two ^mndred zuses (fifty crowns), being just the same for 
 the daughter of a prince as for the daughter of a mechanic, but it 
 might be increa.sed according to the wealth of the husband. After 
 liaving insured this dowry by pledging all his possessions, and even 
 his cloak, which, nevertheless, the law did not allow to be claimed 
 
 i 
 
 ^s* 
 
 
 * Ilillol and S(-liainmay warmly discuss the value of this niarringe-coin, mentioned 
 
 hy the Tnlmud, but have como to no roiiclusion on the subject. (Basn., 1. vii., clt. 21.) 
 
 f The followinf? is the literal form of the marriage contract of the Hebrews. It 
 
 was in u.sc from tlie very earliest times, and must, therefore, have been employed at 
 
 the marriage of Joscjih and Mary. " la the year . . . ., the .... day of the month 
 
 of ... . Benjamin, son of said to llachcl, daughter of . . . ., IJecome my wife 
 
 under the law of Moses and of Israel. I promise to respect tho", to jirovide for thy 
 maintenance, in food and clothing, according to the custom of Hebrew husbands who 
 honour their wives and maintain them in a pruj^cr manner. I give thee at this present 
 . . . (the sum li.xcd by the law), and I promi.se thee, over and above thy food, 
 clothing, and ali other necrssarles, tliat conjugal love, which is common to people of 
 all nations. Rachel consents to beconio the wife of Benjamin, who, of his own free 
 will, and i i order to make a dowry jiroportioned to his means, docs add to the dowry 
 uforesaitl tho sum of . ." (Inul dc Mo'ise.) 
 
 fi^ ' 
 
 ^^ 
 
 =r:\T 
 
 '//Wlt'.A^^ 
 
 <(r^ 
 
CHAP. VII. J 
 
 BLKSSED Vinom JIAIIY. 
 
 ^i^M 
 
 ^1 
 
 until after his death,* Josepli sip^ned the contract, to which INInry 
 likewise aflixed her signutiu'c. A shoil Ixncdictiou in honour of 
 God terminated this ceremony, which took place several months 
 before that of the marriage. 
 
 Tho marriage of the Blessed Virgin was solemnized in Jerusalem 
 and the most dignified members of her fumilj' made it their duty to 
 appear on the occasion, Avith all that magnificence so characteri'ttic 
 of the f^ast, and which excites the wonder of European travellers — 
 even the common people exhibiting at such times the most unheai'd- 
 of splendour.f Not to invite all their relatives, on an occasion so JvJ 
 solemn, would have been tantamount to rejecting the ancient cus- 
 toms of their fathers — a thing which could never happen amongst 
 that traditionary people, as unchanging in its customs as in its 
 religious practices, as Philo, the Jew, truly said to the emperor 
 Caius. It would, moreover, have outraged all the observances of 
 Hebrew society; and the presence of Maiy at the wedding of Cana 
 proves, on the contrary, that she confcjrmed to them. 
 
 It was a bright winter's day,;}; and the new moon was slowly 
 rising behind the raountains,§ Avhen a long train of richly-dressed 
 women was seen to approach the dwelling of Mary. The light 
 of the torches, borne by a number of slaves, flashed on their cinc- 
 tures of gold, their strings of pearl, the jewt'lled crescents which 
 they wore on their foreheads, and the diamonds of their Persian 
 tiaras.| Those daughters of Sion still retained the use of paint, 
 
 * Basnagc, 1. vii., cli. 21. 
 
 f " Wu in Europe have no idea of the splendour displayed in the East on sncli occa- 
 sions,'' .says Baron Gcramb in his Plhjrimwie to Jerusalem ; " the luiptiul giirmeiit of 
 ahnost every woman is of crimson velvet, eniliroitlcred with gold; with this they wear 
 numerous diamond and jiearl ornaments." M. de Lamavtinc was likewise dazzled with 
 the superb costumes and profusion of jewels displayed by the women of Syria at the 
 weddinus of their friends. 
 
 X h\ tlio middle of the sixteenth century the Chureh authorized the celebration of 
 this festival. It is solemnized on the 22il of Janu:iry, beinii-, it is said, tiie day on 
 which the marriage took place. The city of Arras holds this festival on the 23d of 
 January, and some of the Flemish eliMrehi's on the 2 tt!i of the sume month. 
 
 § Amongst the .lews nmrriages were not celel)rated indiscriminately on every day 
 of the week; they were usually solemnized at the time of a new moon, and on Wed 
 uesday rather than any other day. (Basn. 1. vii., ch. 21.) 
 
 H Isai, cap. iii. 
 7 
 
 
 93 i 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 m^i 
 
 k) 
 
 MMr 
 
 B 
 
 
 Ol 
 
LIFE OF THE 
 
 [chap. vn. 
 
 
 v^l 
 
 yiv 
 
 mm}! 
 
 Kii^^si 
 
 which was known even in the days of Jezahel; their brows and 
 eyelashes were painted black, and the tips of their fingers were red 
 as the benies of the eglantine * Being ushered into the inner room, 
 where the young ard holy bride was seated in company with some 
 pious matrons of her family, they blessed God for giving her a 
 husband to protect her, and complimented her on her approaching 
 marriage, the festivities of which they came to share. 
 
 Belonging to Jewish society, with whom the bridal adornment 
 was a Biblical reminiscence, and could not be dispensed with, Mary 
 was obliged to submit for a while to the requirements of Eastern 
 luxury, although it had no charms for her. Gold, pearls, and rich 
 stufls are not, of themselves, reprehensible ; it is only the thoughts 
 of pride and vanity which they engender in weak minds that are 
 positively evil. Qween Matilda was more humble under her em- 
 broidered garments, studded with jewels, than the coarsely-clad 
 women with whom she shut herself up, after her glorious regency ; 
 such is the simple testimony of the chroniclers of those times. 
 
 Taking care, then, to avoid that disregard of dress which would 
 have been sure to giv^e offence, at a time when custom required even 
 of tlie wedding-guests a certain richness of costume — failing in 
 which they were expelled, as we see even by the Gospel — the 
 young descendant of the kings of Juda was bound to wear, on that 
 occasion, a rich and becoming costume, and we see by authentic 
 relics that such was the case.f Her robe was carefully preserved in 
 Palestine, and thence conveyed to Constantinople in 4G1 (as we 
 learn from Nicephorus), It was exceedingly valuable both in orna- 
 ment and design. The ground was of a buff, or nankin colour, in- 
 terspersed with flowers of blue, white, violet and gold. It is now 
 the holy relic of Chartres.J 
 
 In memory of ancient times and the patriarchal customs of her 
 
 * Throndiout all the East, tlio women colour the tips of their fingers with lausonia 
 inermis- (Linn.). This plant abounds in the isle of Cyprus. 
 
 f There are two of the Virgin's tunics still preserved, and they arc made of very 
 precious stuff, Chardin saw one of these in Mingrelia; it was of a nankin colour and 
 richly enihroidrrcd. 
 
 X Tiiis tunic was given by Charles tlie Bald to the Church of Chartrcs in 817 
 N^unicrous miracles have been attributed to it. 
 
 i 
 
CHAP, vir.] 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. 
 
 95 
 
 fathers, she wore, like Kebecca, ear-rings and bracelets of gold — a 
 modest and indispensable present which Joseph had to send some 
 days before the ceremony,* and to which the richer Hebrews added 
 necklaces of pearls and magnificent seti of jewels. Instead of the 
 pointed golden crownf worn by the brides of the more opulent 
 chisses, there was placed on Mary's fair tressesj a simple wreath of 
 myi'tle, which in spring would have been intertwined with roses.§ 
 Her bridal veil covered her from head to foot, and floated around 
 her like a cloud.| 
 
 A canopy of precious stuff, borne by four young Hebrews, awaited 
 the bride outside her dwelling.^ Mary was placed there between 
 two matrons, the one on the light representing her mother; the 
 other was probably that Mary of Clcophas, supposed by some 
 authors to have been the elder dauglitev of St. Ann, but Avho was 
 only the sister-in-laAV of the Virgin/"* After them came all the 
 nuptial train, wa\ang . palm and myrtle branches in token of re- 
 
 
 * The Christians of Damascus have retained this custom. Some days before the 
 nuptial feast, the bridegroom sends to his betrothed a pair of bracelets cither of gold 
 or of jewels, according to his means, a piece of gold brocade, and 160 dollars for the 
 expenses of the bath and the wedding banquet. {Corns. iVOricnt, lettrc l-lt.) 
 
 f The bride's crown was nsually of gold, and made in tlie form of a tower like that 
 of Cybella. This custom was abolished during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, but the 
 wreaths of myrtle and roses were retained. (Basn,, 1. vii., ch. 21.) 
 
 X Amongst the Jews, even the women's apparel was within the province of tradition. 
 "Ilair-dresscrs were called in to curl the young bride's hair, because, said the Rabbins, 
 Jehovah himself arranged Eve's hair in curls, when he gave her to Adam in paradise. 
 (Basnagc, 1. vii,, ch. 21, page 393.) 
 
 § Gar'ands of myrtle and roses were worn by brides of the lower classes. (Bns 
 nage, I. vii., ch. 21. MUnah, Tit. Sotah, c. 'J, sect. 11.) 
 
 II These nuptial veils, embroidered in gold and silver, are still in use all over Syria. 
 
 \ Tlie order of this bridal po ip, which goes back to the most remote ages, is still 
 fonnd in Egypt. Niebuhr thus describes an Egyptian marriage. " The bride, covered 
 from head to foot, walks between two women under a canopy borne by four men. 
 Several slaves go before, some of them playing the tabor; others carry fly-flai)3, while 
 others again sprinkle ]ierfumes around as they pass along. They are followed by a 
 number of women and by musicians seat.d on asses. The ceremony takes place by 
 night, and torclies are borne by tlie slaves." (Niebuhr, Voijige en Arable, t. 1.) 
 
 ** According to M. Peigtiot, a conscientious historian, who made many inquiries 
 on the subject, this holy woman was the wife of Clcophas, brother of St. Joseph, 
 and consequently a sistcrii>-Iaw of the blessed Virgin. (See RcchercheS historiques sur 
 .. prrsonnc dc Jesus Christ el cdle de Marie, page 249 ) 
 
 
> [" 
 
 'ii 
 
 ■"J^rS/i 
 
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 joicing* Tlie procession moved along to the sound of cymbals, 
 harps and flutes i:)laying grave and simple airs in concert ;f these 
 were probably identical with the choirs of David. Tlien came the 
 bridegroom, his brow adorned with a fantastic crown, clear m 
 crystal and peculiar to his people.^ He was surrounded by a 
 number of friends singing an epithalaraium, imitated from Solo- 
 mon's Canticle of Canticles, that mystic and sublime maniage-song 
 whose lofty metaphnr.3 have each a divine and hidden meaning. 
 They sang the beauty of the young bride, whose locks were aa 
 branches of •palm-trees^ her form light and graceful as that of a 
 young hart, her teeth (white) as a flock of sheep, xcldch come up 
 from the loashing ; her eyes as doves upon brooks of tvaters,' they 
 said that the odour of her renown tvas as siveet as (lie perfume that 
 exJuiled from her garments ; that she was the lily of virgins and the 
 object of xoonw^s praise. Passing then to the eulogium of the 
 bridegi'oora, they praised his mien, majestic and imposing as Leba- 
 non, the mildness of his voice, the graeimis nrbanity of his manners, 
 and they added, that he was distinguished amongst men as the cedar 
 amongst trees. Then, proceeding to matters of a higher and more 
 general nature, they said that the husband ought to be to his wife 
 as the buncii of myrrh which she wears on her bosom; that she 
 ought to pass thi'ough life resting on him, and as heedless of all 
 other men as though slie were in a dcsei't, Ijecause that jecdou-sy is 
 inflexible as death, and its lamps are lamps of fire and flame. 
 They added, that conjugal love was a thing so precious that the 
 richest of men, were h.' to buy it at the expense of all he possessed, 
 might still reckon that he had it for nothing. 
 
 Now and then the young people, who brought up the rear, 
 
 * See Floury Moeurs cles Israelites. 
 
 f The music of tl Enst is altogether different from ours. It is grave and simple, 
 without any laboured modulntiou. All the instruments jilay together, unless one may 
 take the notion of keeping up a continued bass, by repeating incessantly tho same 
 note. (Niehuhr, vol. I, page 130.) 
 
 J This crown, xvhich, according to the Jewish doctors, contained a mysterious lesson, 
 was composed of salt and sulphur. The salt was clear as crystal, and upon it were 
 traced various characters with the sulphur. ( Codex, M. S. apud Wagenseil in Mismam. 
 Tit. Sotah, adult, de uxore suspect., c. 9, sec. 14.) 
 
 :J!UM 
 
 ^jr 
 
 ¥S;- 
 
 ^ 
 
 i^-. 
 
 i^c 
 
u 
 
 Wi 
 
 CIJ'VP. VII.] 
 
 BLESSED VinOIN MART. 
 
 97 
 
 rr^^ 
 
 formed dances of tlie same kind as the religious dance, wliich waa 
 associated, in its origin, with the religious festivals.* Again, they 
 would burst out into those shrill and prolonged cries of joy still in 
 use amongst the Arabs,f which are compared by a recent travellei- 
 in Syria to the loud shouts wherewith the vine-dressers of southerii 
 France accost their brethren on an opposite hill. The whole pro- 
 cession, as it passed along, scattered small pieces of silver^ amongst 
 the poor, who were loud in their blessings and gi'atulations. These 
 silver coins bore either the device of a vine-leaf, or the three eai-s 
 of corn which were the emblem of Judea.§ The women of Israel, 
 grouped along the wayside, strewed palm-branches otfore the bride 
 and bridegroom, and now and then they stopped the former to 
 sprinkle her garments with essence of roses. || Mary, too, was to 
 have her day of triumph in Jerusalem. 
 
 Arrived at the nuptial dwelling, the friends of the bride and 
 bridegroom cried in choru3. Blessed he he ivho cometh! Joseph 
 covered with his taled, and ]\Iary with lier veil, sat side by side 
 under the canopy ; Mary taking the right side — because the Psalmist 
 said, tlie queen (thy spouse) stood on thy right hwid,*[\ — and turning 
 towards the south.** The bridegroom placed a ring upon her 
 finger,ff saying, BeJioId, thou art my s2?oii-9e according to the law of 
 Moses and of Israel. He took off his taled and threw it over tlie 
 shoulders of the bride, in imitation of what ]iassed at the marriage 
 of Ruth, who said to Booz, Spread thy coverlet over thy servant.\X 
 One of the nearest kinsmen then poured wine into a cup, tasted 
 
 fe 
 
 
 :\) 
 
 
 f 
 
 m 
 
 * Dancing, whicli, in its orijjin, was intended to imitate the motion of the stars, 
 mingled in all the religious feasts of untiquit}-. It was, doubtless, of antediluvian 
 origin, and innst even have preceded the invention of musical instruments. 
 
 f See Niebulir, hook quoted. 
 
 X Basnage, 1. vii., ch. 21. 
 
 § Some of these Jewish coins have been found of tlic time of Flerod and the ^[ac- 
 cabces. They bear the cfBgy of no prince, but UKTely ears of corn and vine-leaves. 
 
 II This custom, like many others, was borrowed from Egypt. 
 
 ^ T'salm xliv., 10. 
 
 ** ': snage, 1. vii,, ch. 21. 
 
 ft It is said that this ring is at Pcrouse, where it is carefully preserved. ( Basn., 
 1. vii., ch. 21.) 
 
 XX See Buxtorf. 
 
 mi^ 
 
I <w 
 
 rp. 
 
 TM^^ 98 
 
 to 
 
 'A I 
 
 Isi^x 
 
 LIFE OF TUB 
 
 [ciiAP. vn. 
 
 of it, and then presented it to the new-married pair, blessing God 
 for having created man and woman, and instituted marriage. 
 Whilst they carried to their lips the sacred marriage-cup, the 
 assistants sang to the God of Israel a hymn which contained six 
 blessings. Joseph then poured out the remainder of the wine in 
 token of liberality, and the assembly scattered handfuls of wheat, 
 as the symbol of abundance ; then the cup was broken to pieces by 
 a child* 
 
 All the assembly, surrounding the newly-married pair with 
 torches, blessed the Lord, and then passed on to the banquet-hall, 
 where they proceeded (according to an ancient bishop of Bresse,f 
 who traces back this Hebrew tradition to the day of Christ) to 
 choose the king of the feast, who was to be of the sacerdotal race, 
 and to preside over the meats and the wines, and to see that the 
 guests did not infringe on the rules of religion and propriety. 
 Joseph and jNIary also arose ; but, before they followed their guests, 
 they exchanged a few secret Avords in face of the firmament with all 
 its stars, which attest the gloiy of the Most High.J Thou ahalt 
 be as a mother unto ine, said the patriai'ch to the holy Virgin, a7id 
 I will respect thee even as tlie altar of Jehovah. Thenceforward 
 they were no more, in the eyes of religious law, than brother and 
 sister in marriage, though their union was sti-ictly maintained.§ 
 
 Those festivals, which were accompanied by the religious cere- 
 mony of sacrifice, lasted seven days, as in the time of the patriarchs. 
 
 
 * Basnage, 1. vii., ch. 21. Instil, de Molse, 1. vii., ch. i., p. 336. 
 
 t Gaudent., Sertn. 9, B. P., t. ii., p. 38. 
 
 \ St. Tlioraas is of opinion that it was immediately after tlie celebration of their 
 marriage that St. Joseph and the blessed Virgin made, by mutual consent, their vow 
 •if virginity. 
 
 § Tliis vow of chastity in man'ied life, which has given rise to so much impious 
 sarcasm, was not unknown amongst the Hebrews ; but witli them it was dictated by 
 passion and anger, whilst that of these holy spouses was the result of piety. If a 
 husband said to his wife, Thou art as my mother, he was never again allowed to consider 
 her in any other light; esjicciall}', if he had introduced into his vow the altar of Jeho- 
 vah, the temple, or the sacrifice. Women sometimes, did the same thing. And although 
 these vows were scarcely approved of, because they proceeded from wrath and male- 
 diction, they '/jre still considered binding, and had to be religiously fulfilled. (Basn., 
 1 vii., ch. l^ , p. 352. Iico of Modena, Cercmon. e! Cont. des Jui/s, ch. 4.) 
 
 Ii 
 
 'M>ifJ 
 
 })S 
 
 \^& 
 
 rcJ 
 
CHAP. VII.] 
 
 BLESSED VIKOIK MAKT. 
 
 99 
 
 \S 
 
 The week being ended, Joseph and Mary, escorted by a brilliant 
 lavalcade of their relations, took the way to Galilee. The little 
 caravan set out to the merry sound of cymbals, and only broke 
 up at the fountain of Anathot,* where those of Jerusalem took 
 leave of the newly-mai ried pair, with teai-s in their eyes, blessings 
 on their lips, and hands solemnly placed on their heart. The 
 Nazarenes went on their way ; they crossed the mountains of 
 Samaria, where the eagle watched them from his eyrie on high, 
 regardless of their presence. Sichem then presented itself to the 
 eyes of the travellei-s, with its ever-green woods, its limpid streams, 
 and its stately edifices rising above the foliage. They passed the 
 reddish sides of the mountain of Gai-izim, where stood the ruins of 
 the schismatic temple, the shameless rival of the holy house, which 
 John Hii'can had destroyed by fire, and which was afterwards 
 replaced by a church dedicated to Mary herself; then the lofty 
 heights of Mount Hebal ; then Sebastes, where a new and stately 
 ^ dace was rising up under the protection of Augustus, and which 
 Herod delighted to embellish, at the only altar whereon he might 
 sacrifice to the genius of Kome. 
 
 Towards the jiiddle of the second day's journey they distin 
 guished the summit of Mount Thabor, raising its verdant head 
 towards the pale and silvery sky of Galilee, and beyond, the 
 towering heights of Lebanon, hiding their snowy peaks in the 
 clouds. From the Avoody slopes of Hermon, where the goats were 
 browsing on the tender shoots of the bushes, they descended into a 
 smiling plain, which lay like an immense basket of flowei*s between 
 hills covered with green oaks and myrtles, vineyards, and groves of 
 olives. Fields of barley, wheat and clover, in fuU verdure, were 
 ently waving in the cool fresh breeze of opening spring, warmer 
 
 d more rapid there than in our "Western regions. Tlie clear, 
 bright sunlight lay on that lovely land, vegetation was rapidly 
 progressing, and the blue waters, soon to be diied up by the 
 
 
 i 
 
 Ml 
 
 • All the relations went on horseback to escort the bride homo, in case 
 husband's house was not '"•(r off. This is still customary amongst the Arabs. 
 have represented the bridal ^)arty as separating at Anathotj a small town about 
 leagues from Jerusalem, because it is the first stage. 
 
 
 Cf^ 
 
u 
 
 hi 
 
 
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 m 
 
 •Mi 
 
 -AC. 
 
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 ^iC\ 
 
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 /^^ 
 
 
 rt;>^^l 
 
 f'»j- 
 
 n:t. 
 
 i 
 
 -s J 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 Im 
 
 100 
 
 LIFE OF TUK 
 
 [CIIAP. VU. 
 
 scorching summer sun, were running in silvery briglitness through 
 tliat new Eden. Thriving villages were seen peeping out here and 
 there between rows of stately palms, and at intervals, on the 
 summit of a rock, Avas seated the solitary fortress whose garrison, 
 Hebrews as yet, and charged Avith a protecting mission, drew their 
 Damascus blades only against noctui-nal marauders or the Arabs 
 of the desert. This delightful valley, set, as it were, in the midst 
 of high and gloomy mountains, wa.s the A'ale of Esdrelon, and at its 
 farther end appeared a small city picturesquely seated on the de- 
 clivity of a hill, and shining pre-eminent over all the neighbouring 
 hamlets ; that f;iir and smiling town was Nazareth, the bii'th-place 
 of Mary, the cradle of the Messiah !* 
 
 * Tlio i)liilosopliers of the last century took great pains to depreciate Palestine. 
 The impression wiilch they gave of it still remains, while the poverty anil depopulation 
 of that country, scarcely breathing under the sabro of the Mussulman, has given them 
 a show of reason in the eyes of superfieial readers. Yet there is no doubt that, with 
 the exception of the environs of Jerusalem, whose sterility no one can deny, we find in 
 that country, and ef])t'cially that part of it wliich formerly belonged to the Canaanites, 
 the ])romised land of Moses. In proof of this assertion, we will give two descriptions 
 of Galilee, written eight hundred years apart. "Qalilee," says Flavins Josephus, "is 
 divided into Ui)per and Lower, both extremely feitilc ; the soi is at once rich ond 
 light, and al)0unds in pasturage; it is suitable for every produciion, and filled with 
 trees of every kind, but especially witli large plantations of vines and olives. It is 
 watered l)y the torrents which fall from the niouiilnins, and l)y a vast number of springs 
 and rivulets which are never exhausted, and snp[)ly the want of the ti^irents when these 
 last are dried np during the heat of summer. The fertility of the soil is so great that 
 it induces all men, even those who arc least laborious, to cultivate it. Hence it is well 
 tilled, and there is not a spot of waste laud to be sl'cu. Its inhabitants are robust and 
 warlike, the cities frequent, the villages nnmeroiis, and so densely peopled that the 
 smallest can reckon fifteen thousand souls." (Josej)!!. de Bella, lib. ii., cap. ii.) "To 
 give an idea of the aspect of Galilee," says a modern traveller, speaking in his turn, 
 " it is not in France that one can find a comparison, but in VAgro Romano; around 
 Nar.aretli, as around Rome, it is every \.'hore the same light, the same configuration 
 of tlie soil. Nature is there as sublime as the Gospel itself. Galilee is an abridged 
 jiicturo of the Holy Land, and, when once wc have seen it under the different aspects 
 of day and night, we are able to understand what it must have been in the time 
 of Christ. For the artist, Galilee is an Eden; nothing is deficient; neither the acci- 
 dents of the soil of Judea, nor the limiinous solitudes of Palestine, nor the verdant 
 fci'iuulity of Samaria, Garizim and the Mount of Olives, are not more sublime than 
 Ilcrmon and Thabor ; nor are the blueish plains of Ascalon more solemn than the 
 fragrant shores of the lake of Tiberias, where the air is absorbed' in light. The Gali- 
 
 .v'^N 
 
 :^ 
 
 W^ 
 
 VifMei 
 
 m 
 
 "<fi' 
 
 ^c^^i 
 
 ^ 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 M- 
 
v'llAl'. 
 
 mjuSSKU VlUtilN MAUY. 
 
 
 Doubtlfsri, it W!is not without (Muotion that ^I.iry onct? iiion' 
 1h'1k'1(1 luT native town, tliL' nicniory of whii-h. ilnntiied, but not 
 elliicetl, had Ik' 'U . i\i to hatuit iicr tlreanis. She had (|uittwl it a 
 c'hihl for the splendid walls of tlu^ temple; she returned fair, young, 
 accomj)liahed, and \nuv. as when she left. 
 
 The travellei-s went into the house of St. Ann, an ancient and 
 mysterious dwelling, partly hollowed from the rock like the pro- 
 ]>hetic grottoes of former times,* and which was soon to become 
 holier than the temple at Jerusalem — the veiy dwelling-place 
 of Jehovah. The women of Nazareth greeted the youthful bride 
 with blessings as she modestly advanced, wrapped up in her veil 
 like Rebecca of old; and INIary, amid the gratulations of those who 
 had seen her in her eai'ly infancy, entered once more that calm 
 paternal dwelling, which seemed still redolent with the good odoui 
 of the virtues of Ann and Joachim. 
 
 
 E 
 
 .i:^\j 
 
 v<l 
 
 KlVir 
 
 '(Vi 
 
 
 lei\n soil overywIicTc reminds us (if liistory niul luirado.^; cvorywliero it presents tniccs 
 of heroes mid tiie imiirint of God; and one fe'ls, in contpiniiliitinp; the land from the 
 heights of Thabor, that it was the country wliere dwelt the Man-God; so strangely 
 are religious reminiscences mingled with the marvels of earth and sky." {Corns. 
 ■T Orient, t. V ) 
 
 * "There are still found in Na/.areth," says tlio Barou Gcramb, "houses like that 
 of St. Joseph, that is to say, very low, and eommunieating with a cave escavuted from 
 the side of the mountain." 
 
 K*i7 
 
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 ^f* i$. 
 
 m*A 
 
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 CHAPTER Vm. 
 
 TnE'lNNUNOIATIOK. 
 
 -'1 .lUi^y,Ji/■^u 
 
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 It is easy to imagine the l)los9e(l tranquillity in which Joseph 
 and Mary passed the first months of tlieir chaste union. The peace 
 of God was in and around their humhle dwelHng, and their time was 
 divided between labour and prayer, which sanctified and rendered it 
 less rude. According to an ancient custom, still in use amongst the 
 Arabs and nearly all over the East, Joseph wrought at hi'' trade, 
 in a house apart from his dwelling.* His Avorkshop, the same in 
 which Jesus himself subsequently worked, was n low room, ten oi 
 twelve feet in width by as many in length. Outside the door was a 
 stone bench, whereon the passer-by m'ght rest, sheltered from th* 
 burning rays of the sun by an awning of palm-leaf matting.f 
 There it was that the laborious workman fabricated ploughs, yokes 
 and rustic cars. Sometimes he put up tue cabins of the valley, 
 and at times his arm, still stout and strong, hewed down the 
 lofty sycamore and the black turpentine-tree of Mount Carmel.J 
 The pay which he received for so much toil was very trifling, and 
 even that he shared with the needy. 
 
 On her side, his gentle and holy helpmate was not idle ; gifted 
 with a mind enlightened, wise and pnident, without regret for the 
 past or delusive speculations for the future, seeing the world just as 
 it is, and her own position in its true light, she piously conformed 
 hei-self to it, and fulfilled with religious fidelity its sacred obligations. 
 
 i 
 
 'I' This house of St. Joae^i is about 130 or 140 paces ttma that of St. Ann. The 
 place is still pohited out, under the name of JotepKa Workshop. This shop had been 
 iriinsfornied into a spacious church, a part of which was destroyed by the Tarks. A 
 clitipd still remains, wherein the Holy Sacrifice is daily offered up. {Pclerinage ^ 
 Jerusalem, pnr le B. P. Geramb.) 
 
 f These shops are still the same all over the Levant. {See Burckhart, Voyage en 
 Arabic, t. i ), 
 
 \ St. .Justin, Martyr {Dialog, cum Triphoju), mentions that Jesus helped his adop- 
 tive father to make yokes and ploughs. St. Ambrose (m Zuc, lib. iii., 2) asserts that 
 St. Joseph worked at the hewing and felli «• of trees, the building of houses, and other 
 works of tlmt kind. T; 
 
 i*''*^:-i^,iass»* 
 
m 
 

 cirAi'. viii.J iiLJii.si:i> mkoin mauy. lOH 
 
 Krom tlio inonu'iit hIio took possession of her motlior'd (hvoUlna:, »he 
 clotlu'il lit'i-si'lf with poverty as with a gnrment sent by God, and 
 l)coanR', what 8ho ought to bo, in the obacuro condition to which 
 Providence had reduced her, an humble and unassuming maiden. 
 All tho gay and brilliant ^vo^k9 of elegant life were suddenly put 
 aside, nnd replaced by the arduous cares, tho monotonous occu- 
 pations of a poor household, whoso mistress has neither slaves 
 nor servants. Tho delicate hands of Maiy, accustomed to handle 
 silken tissues, plaited, with date-leaves, or reeds pulled on the banks 
 of Jordan, tho mat which covered tho earthen floor of hor dwelling. 
 Iler spindle wits charged with tho coarsest flax. She had herself 
 to grind tho wheat and barley,* which sho kneaded into round thin 
 cakes. A^rapt in her whito veil, an anti(pio urn on her liead,f 
 sho went to draw water from a neighbouring fcnmtain,;}; like tho 
 wives of tho old patriarchs, or to wash her blue robes in tlio 
 running stream, like the princesses of Homer. 
 
 * Tlio first mills that wcro invented were haud-mUls. In Egypt, in AriiWiv, in 
 ralcstiiic, nnd even iu Q recce, it was the women who worked them. There is still 
 shown at Mecea, in a fine Iiohko \vhi';h is said to have been that of Khadidje, a cuvity 
 wherein Fatiina, suruamed the dazzling, daughter of Mahomet, turned her haiid-iniil, 
 (Sec liureklmrt, Vomigc en Arabic.) Tho wives of the Arab Cheiks have still to pcrrorin 
 tliis laborious duty. In tlio time of tho sons of Clovis, St. Radrgoiidi", qwm iT 
 Frauee, (rround, in imitation of the blessed Virgin, all tho graiu that she u!;ed ilaiia,' 
 Lent. (Lo Grand d'Aussy, Jlisl. pri.iie des Franfais.) The invention of water-iiiills 
 is attributed to Mitlirldates. It is certain that tlioy have existed from his tline. 
 Amongst other proofs of this, that pretty epigram of Aiitii)ator of Tlie.ssiilt)iiic:i is 
 (inoted, and wo will hero give a translation of it. "Ye women, who have hlthortu 
 been employed in grindiny,- our gruin, sleep in peace nnd let your arms rest; it is 
 no lunger lor you that tho birds usher in tlie morning by their songs. Ceres lias 
 comiiiaiided the Naiads to do your work; they obey, and swiftly turn a wheel which, 
 in il.s turn, moves the heavy mill-stones." Tho Romans did not perfcftly succeed in 
 making water-mills until Constaiitinc had abolished slavery. 
 
 t Tliese urns aro enormous oartlicn pitchers of immoderato height. The XnzarcaiH 
 carry them on their head ; and under such a weight, nnd sometimes with a child in their 
 arms, tjiey walked with astonishing lightness. (I)c Geramb, t. ii., p. 23^.) 
 
 X Tills fountain is called in that country Jfary's Fountain. Tradition says that the 
 divine Mother of Jesus went habitually thitlur to draw what water she rrrpiircd; and 
 it is easy to believe that sueli was the case, when wo consider the scarcity of water in 
 Nazareth. Tlio path which leads to this fountain, where the pious motlicr of ('on- 
 gtantino constructed line basins and reservoirs, is bordered with nopals and iVuittre.s 
 (Do Geramb, jilace quoted.) 
 
 
 I n^^ 
 
 % 
 
 ''it. mi 
 
 ^W'jjk',///^ii\l\^^- 
 
ii■'-^ r> 
 
 vo 
 
 104 
 
 LIFE OF TIIE 
 
 te 
 
 
 Jesus, witnessing the toilsome avocations of this strong icoman, 
 frequently alluded to them in his parables, tind these simple occu- 
 pations of Mary are preserved in the Gospel tissue as a sea-flower is 
 in amber. We there see the thrifty housewife putting the leaven 
 in three measures of meal,* carefully sweeping over her house in 
 search of something that she lost,f and patiently mending an old 
 garment4 When Jesus seeks a similitude to recommend purity 
 of heart, he draws it from the remembrance of her cleanliness who 
 "-arefuUy washed the inside and outside of the cvp ;§ and we may 
 guess that he thought of Mary when praising the oifering of the 
 widow wlio giveth not of her abundance, but of Iter poverty. Hence 
 the chanter of Chio represents Justice under the likeness of his 
 mother, a poor humble woman, carefully Aveighing the wool which 
 she is going to spin for her own maintenance and that of her son, 
 remaining just and honest towards the rich in the midst of all her 
 poverty. 
 
 At nightfall,! when the birds teek their lofty nests, Mary placed 
 on a clean, bright tulile, the work of Joseph's hands, the little 
 cakes of wheat and barley, the savoury dates, milk-meat, fruits and 
 dry vegetables which composed the frugal meal of the descendant 
 of the Jewish princes. These articles, plainly cooked, formed the 
 principal food of the ancient Hebrews, a sober race, who at need 
 could well content themselves with bread and water.^ As to the 
 Virgin, she lived on so little that ancient authors — lovere of the 
 marvellous — thought she must have been fed by angels. 
 
 When Joseph, tired after the labours of the day, entered his 
 humble home at sunset, he found his young spouse waiting to 
 present the water which she had warmed to bathe his feet, and 
 the clear, cold water from the fountain, in a vase free from all 
 
 * St. Luke, ch. xiii., v. 21, and St. Mnttliew, ch. xiii., 8, 33. 
 
 t Ihid., ch. v., V. 36. 
 
 \ Ibid., ch. XV., V. 8. 
 
 § Ihid., ch. xi., v. 39. 
 
 II In Israel, people eat after having worked, and late enougli too. (Floury, Mtrur$ 
 Um Israelites ) The prhicipal meal of Joseph and Mary was taken about six iu the 
 evening. 
 
 t Ibid., p 61 
 
 il 
 
 LkVv 
 
 7'^ 
 
JT'¥^^!fvi*lj5»^r- ""'•■^^rv^i^ />-f*- 
 
 ^j 
 
 UIIAl'. VIU.] 
 
 BLISSKD VinorN' MABT. 
 
 106 
 
 unclean touch * for the ablutions necessary before meals. Tliat 
 grave and simple man, with his fine patriarchal countenance, v^here 
 the passions had left no trace, and that angelic maiden, so eager to 
 serve him with the solicitude of a tender child, formed a group 
 woi-thy of the golden age.f 
 
 Meanwhile the hour waa come — the hour which the Eternal 
 had marked out in his divine counsels for the Incarnation of his 
 Son. The angel Gabriel, one of the fourj who stand always before 
 the Lord, received a mysterious mission which withdrew him for a 
 time from the heavenly court. Assuming one of those radiant 
 coverings of thick air wherewith the celestial spirits clothe them- 
 selves when they are to fall under the gi'oss senses of the children 
 of men,§ the angel left behind him the golden palaces and emerald 
 wails of the heavenly Jerusalem, whose gates are twelve pearls, | 
 and spread his vaut white wings,^ his ftice aU radiant Avith benignant 
 joy ; for he was bearing to earth a message of peace, and the holy 
 angels take as much pleasure in the happiness of men as the wi^iked 
 spirits do in their sufferings and their ruin. 
 
 Having crossed the measureless wastes of heaven, in which every 
 star is an oasis, the angel who had foretold to Daniel the coming 
 of the Messiah, and who was now setting out for the accomplish- 
 ment of that great promise of God, directed his couree with the 
 
 ij PN 
 
 * Amongst the Jews there were numberless precautions to be taken for luirifj-iiif! 
 the vessels in which water wns drawn or food prepared. Tliey were not only careful 
 in regard to their having belonged to strangers, but they carried their scruples iniuli 
 farther still, for a thousand circumstances rendered them unclean. {Mimah, OrJf 
 Puritatum.) 
 
 f JVbn dedignabar parr^e et iumtstrare quce erant necessariu Joseph. Such are thu 
 words put in the mouth of Alary by an ancient author, and 't is in perfect conformity 
 with the still existiuir customs. 
 
 X " There arc four angels who are scarcely ever seen on earth," says the Raobins, 
 "because they stand around the throne of God; these angels are: Michael, who is 
 on the right; Gabriel, on the left; Uriel, who is before God; and Raphael, who ia 
 iK-hind him." {Bibl. Rahbin. i., p. 20(5.) 
 
 § St. Thomas of Aquinas, Question unique des creatures spiritiiclks, Art. 0. 
 
 II Apocalypse, ch. xxi., v. 21. 
 
 *![ The Jews represent the nngels, as Christians do, with wings. The Koran gives 
 the angel Gabriel one hundred and forty pairs of wings, and says that it takes hiia 
 only an hour to come from heaven to earth. {Legend of Mahomet.) 
 
 fell 
 
 El! 
 
 •■^'^i''; 
 
n 
 
 
 >^'. 
 
 
 K 
 
 [ciiAP. vni. 
 
 i-iipitlit) of tliouglit towards a little planet, which his piercing eyo 
 descried at an immense distance, first, in the state of a neljulous 
 star ; then shining Avith a pale milky light ; then, at last, with the 
 rotundity and tranquil light of the moon, whose phases it has. 
 
 On apijroaching this little globe, which man has proudly divided 
 into zones and hemispheres — where he toils with senseless ardour to 
 ama«3 some treasures which he makes his god — the angel began to 
 distinguish ponds of blue, shining water, surmounted by dark peaks 
 like little submarine rocks. These were our oceans and ovr, lofty 
 mountains. The cities did not yet appear, nor men. At length the 
 earth, which had iii-st appeared under a microscopic form, gradually 
 expanded into vast countries of many kingdoms, intersected with 
 deserts, and planted with forests. Arrived at the zenith of Pal- 
 estine, the angel cast a gracious glance on the pretty town of 
 Nazareth, and, descending softly through the clouds after the 
 manner of a falling star, he gracefully lowered himself to the 
 humble, but holy dwelling of Joseph, the carpenter of Galilee, 
 whose fathers were kings. 
 
 The sun was declining towards the lofty promontory of Carrael, 
 and was soon to set behind the horizon of the Syrian Sea, when 
 the angel presented himself in the simple oratory of the blessed 
 Virgin.^'' Faithful to the religious customs of her people, Mary, 
 her head turned towards the temple,f was then engaged in her 
 evening prayer to the God of Si\co\).% " Hail, full of grace," said 
 the heavenly messenger, bending his radiant head; "the Lord is 
 with thee ; blessed art thou amongst women."' 
 
 Maiy was alarmed at this marvellous ai)parition. Perhaps she 
 
 Jl;")' 
 
 pi- r. 
 
 V, 
 
 ll 
 
 * It is commonly believed that the angel's visit to the blessed A'irgin took place 
 ibout the close of the dny. 
 
 t The people of the East turn towards a certain point of the heavens when they 
 pray; this is what they call the lObla. Tlie Jmvs turn towards the temple of Jcru- 
 Baleni, the Muhometans towards ^Iccca, the Sabcnus towards the south, and the 
 Ghel)urs towards the rising sun. 
 
 J The Jews prayed tlirce times a day; nt sunrise in tlu, morning, at three o'clock in 
 the iiftcrp.cou when sacrifice was offered, and in the evening at sunset. According to 
 the Rabbins, Abraham established tlie morning prayer, Isaac that of the afternoor, 
 and Jacob that of the evening. (Basnagc, 1. vii., ch. 17.) 
 
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 lU.EaSFD VIliOIN MAKY. 
 
 107 tTi^iVCJ 
 
 feared, like Moses, to see God and die. Perhaps, as St. Ambrose 
 thought, her virginal modesty was " alarmed at sight of that son 
 of heaven, who introduced himself, like a sunbeam, into that 
 solitary cell, where no man ever entered. Perhaps it was the 
 respectful attitude and splendid eulogiura of the angel that dis- 
 turbed her humility. However it was, the Gospel mentions that 
 she was troubled within herself, and tried in vain to underatand 
 the object of that surprising visit, and the hidden meaning of that 
 mysterious salutation. 
 
 Tlie angel, perceiving her alarm, mildly said, "Fear not, Maiy, 
 for thou hast found grace with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive 
 iu thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his 
 name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Sou of the 
 Most High : and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of 
 David his father: and he oha'll reign iu the house of Jacob for 
 ever." At these words, which would have overwhelmed another 
 with joy, the chaste and prudent Mary thought only of her vir- 
 ginal wreath, which she was resolved never to tarnish, and inquired 
 how this prediction was to be reconciled with her vow of perpetual 
 chastity.* 
 
 Virginal purity is a thing so holy in the eyes of the angels 
 that Gabriel, in order to refissure Mary, feared not to reveal a 
 part of the chaste mystery of the Incarnation. "The power of 
 the Most High shall ovei-shadow thee," said he, "and the Holy 
 which shall Ije born of thee, shall be called the Son of God."-^- 
 
 * Calvin, that Imnghty hercsiarch, who biiniod Sovvetus while prencliiiig; toloration, 
 dared to calumniate the Virgin, taking occasiou from this text to accuse her of incre- 
 dulity. St. Augustine had met thi' obji-ctioii long beforehand. "Tlie Virgin docs not 
 doubt," said he, "non qnas^i {ncredula de oninih ; she only seeks to be infi mud as to 
 how the miracle is to be wrought." St. John Chrysostom adds that this inriuiry is the 
 eirect of respectful admiration, and not of vain curiosity. 
 
 t Tills Gosiiel record has been received by the Mussulmans themselves. Here is 
 how the Koran relates the interview between the blessed Virgin and the angol. " The 
 angel said unto :\Iary: 'God announces his Word to thee: ho shall be called Jesus, the 
 Messiah, the Sou of ilary, great in this world und in the other, and the confident of 
 the Most nigh; men shall hear his Wm-d from infancy to old age, and he sludl be 
 numbered amongst the just.' 'Lord,' answered Mary, 'Jiow could I have a son? I 
 know not man.' 'Yet so shall it be,' replied the ungel ; 'God form.s cr.ntnrcs as 
 
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 Then, according to the custom of the lieavenly ambassadors, he 
 would give her a sign whicli should confirm the truth of liis words. 
 " And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son 
 in her old asre: and this is the sixth month with her that is called 
 ^larreu: because no word shall be impossible Avith God." 
 
 Sarah had led an incredulous smile when the angel, seated 
 under the or which shaded iier tent, announced that she — old 
 and barren- juld bear a son. Mary, to whom a new prodigy 
 was aniiouneed, a thing unp ;cedented .under the sun — in fine, a 
 virginal maternity — immediately believed the divine promise, and 
 humbling herself before Him who exalted her above all women, 
 she answered submissively, '■'■ Beliold the handmaid of tlie Lc/rd^ 
 be it done unto me according to thy will !" At these words the 
 angel disappeared, and the Word was made flesh to dwell 
 amongst us.* Thus it was that the angel of light treated of our 
 salvation with the second Eve, when the crime of th*? guilty Eve, 
 who had conspired our ruin with the infernal angel, was gloriously 
 lepaired. Thus it was that a simple mortal was raised to the 
 tmequalled dignity of Mother of God, and that, virgin and mother 
 lioth together, she united bj' a new miracle tiie two most opposite 
 and sublime states of her sex. " Let us dive no farther into this 
 mystery," says St. John Chrysostom, "or seek to know how the 
 Holy Gliost could work this prodigy in the Virgin; that divine 
 generation is an unfathomable abyss which no curious glance may 
 sound."f 
 
 We have adopted the opinion of the doctors and theologians 
 Vi'ho maintain that Joseph was legally the spouse of Mary at the 
 ijme of the Incarnation. Yet this opinion is controvei-ted ; and 
 amongst the authorities who pretend that Mary was not yet the 
 spouse, but only the betrothed of Joseph, we find in the first rank 
 the great St. John Chrysostom himself.^ Still, Mary was living in 
 
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 lie i)k'(iscs ; it' he wills that any thing should exist, he says, Be done, and it is done.'" 
 (Ko., til. iii.) 
 
 * The mystery of the Incarnation took iilacc on the 25th of March, on a Friday 
 evening, nccordi-ig to Father Drc.xelius. 
 
 f St. John Chrysostom, Stv. 4. 
 
 \ Descouturcs has erred in placing St. John Chrysostom amongst those who main- 
 
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the liouse of Joseph, according to th« same Futhcr, at the moment 
 of the Aimimciatioii. " For," says that illustrious doctor, " m 
 former times it was customaiy for betrothed brides to reside in 
 tlie house of the iuteiidcd !:usbaud, which is still occasionally 
 done. We see that the sons-in-law of Lot dwelt in the house of 
 their future father-in-law."* 
 
 Notwithstanding her profouiul respect for St. John Chrysostom, 
 the Church has not ado])ted his opinion. The example of the 
 sonsin-law of Lot, which he brings forward to prove his case, is 
 badly chosen. Scripture nowhere says that they lived Avith Lot •, 
 nnd all goes to pi-ove the contrary, since the patriai-ch was obliged 
 to (/o out, at a moment of tei-ror and cor iternation, whilst the 
 wicked city was in an uprou", to warn ///.v ,soiiy-/ii-l(t>ij that reeve to 
 have /lis' daiighfer-s. Even supposing that tliese young men had 
 formed a pai't of Lot's finiily, since tlu; fl(>uks of that patriarch 
 covered the hills and valleys of an entire i)ro\iuce, they would 
 have been, on the banks of the Jordan, precisely what Jacob 
 was in Mesopotamia, active an<i vigilant servants, <hi>/ and night 
 '[javcli''.d with heat^ and with /VcwY.f We nowhere see that they 
 had their betrothed in their tents ; they lived under the protection 
 of the patriarch, whose chief shepherds they were; thei-e is nothing 
 in this contrai-y to the customs of Asia. The I'lessed Virgin, being 
 an orphan and alone in the world, Avould have bet'n in an awkward 
 position, residing in the house of her ])etrothed husband. Such a 
 supposition could only 1)0 authori'ied by a general custom amongst 
 the Hebrews, and we find in their code an express law against \i.% 
 St. Chrysostom himself tells us, and in this he fully agrees with the 
 ancient theologians, that (lod- li)ng covereil witli an impenetrable 
 veil the miraculous matei'nit}' of ]Marv, in order to save hei from 
 a revolting suspicion, which would have been as hurtful to the 
 divinity of the Son as to the unixersal resjiect tlue to tlie Mother. 
 
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 tiiin that .losoph wns U"j:nlly tho Ims'inml of M.iry at il!" tiiDC of the Incarnntioa; 
 tlmt witcr, who is in iieuerai vi i\v jiidicio.is, prohiibly ([iiotoJ liiiu from supposition 
 
 * St. John Clirvsostoni, Sinn. 4. 
 
 f Gen., ch. xxxi., V. 40. 
 
 J Misiiab, t. iii., de Sponsullbus. Selilen, Uxor Hebraiea. 
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 Now, marriage alone coulil cover with its honoured mantle the 
 mystery of the Incarnation, for a mere betrothal would not have 
 sufficed. And then, if Joseph and ]\Iary had heen onl} betrothed 
 at the time of the Incarnation of the Woit: , they would have bton 
 nothing more four ihontlis after, hiuce tlic Gospel mentions that 
 Mary, after the Aimunoiation, set out with Jiasfe to visit St. Eliza- 
 )\;ch, and that it - s only on her return fi'om Hebron, after an 
 absence of three i ths, that s/ic was found with child^ a phrase 
 wtiich indicates a j.^sition visible to all. Are we to suppose that 
 the marriage of the Virgin was only celebrated when her maternity 
 was known and established ? AVIiat would the two families have 
 thought ? What Avould the people of Nazareth have said as they 
 thronged to Avitness tlie ceremony ? AVhat insultint' remarks would 
 have been applied to the most ])ure Virgin, amongst a people with 
 whom female chastity was so sacred that its violation Avas inevitably 
 pui.ished Avith death ! Would not the birth of the Messiah — that 
 birth '.vliioh Avas to Ix? i)ure (/y ihs moniing-dew — have been tainted 
 and defiled by this foul slander ? Would not the Jcavs, and espe- 
 cially those of Nazareth, Avho Aver'^ so much op2)osed to Christ, and 
 who called him tlie carpe)itci-''s son — Avculd they not have taunted 
 blni Avith the irregularity of his Ijirth? But this they did not do, 
 and the evident conclusion is that they could not do it. 
 
 Here, then, undoubtedly, are the reasons Avhich induced many 
 illustrious theologians to hold that Mary Avas really married, not- 
 withstanding th(' support Avhich the opposite party seem to fmu 
 in the Avords of St. Mattlunv — Avortk Avhich Avould seciu to favour 
 the other interpi'ctation — but Avhich are far from being so prcise as 
 to resolve the difficidty.* Finally, the dispute has never turned on 
 
 ■I- The vi'i-se whieh lias dividcil tlic doctors is tliis; Chrhll autcm gcnemlto sic critt : 
 cum rssct ilesponsafa mafer (jus Maria Joseph, nnlcquam couvoiiicnt, iiivrnia est in »/. ru 
 /layns (/.' Spiyitit Srniclo. Tlioso wlio dwell on the iiiciiniii;^' of these words s;iy lli;it 
 tin; Yiriiiii was only beti'otlicd, because the Greek verb which renders the Tlelinw 
 expression of St. Matthew means despowhri, to be iiromised, and because there is 
 anollier term s'^-nifyin;;^ to l:e married, just as tin ro are amonjrst the Latins (Icspudri 
 and nnhc)-(\ so that St. .Tdseith had not yet taken the Yirg-in to his house. Tiiis they 
 prove by that part of flic 20th vers.*, A^uli l!,iivre accipere Marian:, coiijwjcm tuaiii: 
 quod rniin in ca naluui ist, dc Spi,ilii Sanelu i.v/, which tliey thus explain: " Fear not 
 
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 tin; principal point. Whether wife Or betrothed, no true Christian 
 li.is ever doubted that the Mother of God was the purest nnd 
 liolifst of virgin??. The MiHsubnaus themselves agree that she 'ica-i 
 I he -source and mine of purilij:'' 
 
 til lake ^lary for tliy wite, for what is ^'ouccivcd in her is conceived by tlio operation of 
 till' Holy Qiiost. Bnt in order to trunslnte tlnis, tliero must be, in conjugem liiam 
 Tiie opposite party, who arc sustained by many of tlie Fatliers, by respectable com- 
 mentators, nnd nearly all tlio tlicoJoglans, find wliercwitli to condtat tlieir opponent: 
 in tile second clm]it('r of St. Luke, where, notwithstanding that the Virgin was already 
 niiirried to Josepli, tlie Evangelist employs the (J reek term vTiioxvEioOat, which signilios 
 being ]>ro»meil, and snys, Ut proftlcrct'ir cum MarUt lUsponsata sibi riJtrc pro:gnaH(c : 
 to the end that he might have an understanding with his betrothed wife, who was wi(h 
 child. And in the IDth ver.-o of the fir.st clniplcr of St. ^Intthew, St. Joseph is called 
 ( (V iJKs (her hnslinnd) and not her betrothed. Allhongh St. Matthew calls the blessed 
 Virgin sno7isa (betrothed) nnd she n. wife, that docs not prove that she had not yet 
 I'ontracted nmrriage; it is merely to show, as one of the Fatliers reninrks, that she 
 had no closer coiiiieetion with her spouse than if slie was only his betrothed, 
 
 * The purity of !Mary is fully recognised by the Mussulmans; hence we find that 
 Aljou-Ishae, ambassador from the Caliph to the court of the Greek Emperor, being 
 present at n religions conference with the patriarch and the Greek bishoi)s, the latter 
 repriiached the Mn.ssulmans with many shuidiTous stories wliieh had Ijcen fornv ily 
 eri'iilated ngninst Ai.schah, the widow of their projihet, which had occasioned grirvou., 
 ili^liutjs (rmougst them. Whereupon Abon-Isliai- rejiliod that these disputes were not 
 to be wondered at, seeing that, amongst Christians, there had been so much differcncb 
 of opinion regRrding the glorious Mary, mother of Jesn.', " who may bo called," said he, 
 •'ihe mine and suiircc of all purify," genab israet meaio hin oHet. (D'Herbclot, Jiibli 
 ■j'.h. Oiicntah; t. ii., p. G20.) 
 
 
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 LIl'E OF THE 
 
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 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE TIBITATIOS. 
 
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 MEANwniLT., Mavy, informed bj' tlie angel of the miraculous 
 pregnancy of Elizabetli, resolved on going to offer her tender 
 congi-atulations to her venerable relative. It was not, as heretics 
 Lave dared to assert, that the Virgin wi(?!ied to liavo ocular 
 demonstration of tlie reality of that extraordinary event. She 
 knew that nothing is inii)ossil)le to God, and coidd not snpposo 
 that an envoy from heaven would ])ring her words of falsehood 
 and deceit from the Most High. She set ovt, not to assure herself, 
 but because she was sure. Slie set out with haste, because charity, 
 says St. Ambrose, admits neither hesitation nor delay; and because, 
 with her wonted kindness and benevolence, she longed to impart 
 to the veneral)le guardians of lior childliood a jiortion of that 
 sanctification, and of tliose celestial graces, which sprang fro. . her 
 soul, as from a source of living water, ever since she bore in her 
 chaste woniT) the Creator of the woi'hl. 
 
 With tlie consent of St. Joseph, whcwe simple but elevated 
 soul was in perfect unison with her own, Jlary set out fi'om 
 Nazareth in the season of roses, and took her way towards the 
 mountains of Judea, wliere Zaehaiy, the Aarouite, had his dwelling. 
 The Scripture, omitting details and bai'ely mentioning facts, does 
 not mention whether the Virgin was accompanied ])y any one on 
 this journey. Sonu; authoi-s have thought that she ti'avelled alone, 
 which is altogether improbable. In fact, the distance from Naza- 
 reth to the city of Ain* is live days' jcturney. There was ]xut 
 of Galilee to be traversed, with the hostile country of Si'-maria^ 
 and nearly all the lands of Juchi. Then, the country is bristling 
 with mountains, intersected by foaming torrents, and intersj)eised 
 with deserts.!' The roads, Avhieh the Romans subse(piently re- 
 
 * Zucliary lived iit Ain, or Acn, two icniriios soutii of ,Jcrus;iloiii. St. Ik-iiii li.ul a 
 beautiful church orcctei' on the site of his liouse. 
 
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 paired, wore at tliat time only henten by the heavy foot-fall of 
 the oameLs, and were covered with rociiid stones, ho that the trav- 
 eller was at every step in danger of fidling. Then, when night 
 came, the wayfarer was obliged to put up in some caravanserea, 
 where there was nothing to be found but a small room covereil 
 with a rush-mat,* and no provisions of any sort ; for the primitive 
 iiospitality had retrograded amongst the Hebrews in proportion 
 to the advance of civilization. Such being the ciuse, is it at r.a 
 likely that a man of years and experience, like Jose]»h, would have 
 wantoidy exposed a young woman, fair, delicate, and totally unused 
 to the ways of the world, to brave alone the thousand dangers 
 of such a journey ? Such a 8ui)i)osltion is contrary to all the 
 customs of A3ia,f and especially of the people of God. Never 
 was Jewish woman allowed to undertake such a journey without 
 a fitting escort. 
 
 If St. Joseph, as Pere Croiset thinks, could not accompany the 
 blessed Virgin, it is probable that she would join some of her i)ious 
 relatives who were going to the Holy City, and that she thus trav 
 elled in safe company. In fact, we alwa} . find her travelling with 
 some of her friends, whether in going to Jerusalem to celel)i'ate the 
 grand festivals, or with the holy women, following Jesus during his 
 missions, at a much later period of her life. "Although she could 
 have had no better guardian than herself," says St. Ambiose, ''yet 
 she never went abroad without fitting company ."^: 
 
 Arrived at the sacerdotal town where the Levite dwelt Avitli 
 his blessed wife, Mary went straight to their well-known house. 
 
 
 (listi'icts so barren tliat they could not be cultivated. The Gosjul speaks of deserts 
 not far from the cities, wliitlicr .Jesus retired to pray. 
 
 There is no inn in any part of Syria or I'alostine, 
 
 lys y\. di' Yoliiey; "but tin 
 
 cities and most t)f the viliaj?i.s have each a lar;;c Ituildini^ called lurmii-ferai, which 
 .%01'vcs as nn asylum for all travellers. Tiiese hostclries, always placed outside the 
 walls of tiie city or town, arc composed of four wiiius surroiindiiiir u .Mpiare court, 
 wliich serves as a paildoek; they contain ni'ithcr furuitare n >r pr^ivisio is." 
 
 t No one travels alone in Svria; thev jjo in troijs ami iara\an>, and cvcrv on 
 
 st wait until there are several ncrso,is l)ountl for the sa:i 
 
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 'riiese prc>aulio;i 
 
 are very necessary 
 tiey, Votjagc en Sifi 
 
 eouulries open to the Arabs, suijI; as Svria and 1* 
 
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 uesime ( > ol 
 
 X St. Ambr. de Virffinibiis, 1. 
 
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 Elizft])c'tli, ii])piisc'(l liy n slave of her cM.Misin'd unexpected visit, 
 cunu! I'oith to meet liL-r with every demonstration of joy. 
 
 On seeing Ikji- approaeli, tlie young Virgin bowed down, and 
 laying her hand on her heart, Peace he with you^ saitl she, eager to 
 give the first salutation.* Elizabeth drew back. The i)leased and 
 fri<>ndly expression of her countenance gave place to that of pro 
 found respect. Her features kindled by degrees. It was plain 
 that something strange and unusual was ])assing within her. Th* 
 Miniplo formula of j)')liteness which the Virgin Iiad pionounced in 
 her low sweet voice destroyed Elizabeth's familiarity. Suddenly the 
 proi)hetic H])irit descended upon her, and she exclaimed, ^^Ble-ssed 
 art thou among<it women, and blessed if the fruit of thy woml>. 
 And whence is this to me," she added, "that the Mother of my 
 Lord sliould come to me? For behold, as soon as the voice of 
 thy salutation sounded iu my ears, the infant in my womb leaped 
 for joy. And blessed .art thou that hast believed, because those 
 things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the 
 Lord." 
 
 Mary's answer was the sulHlme SLvgmficat, the firet canticle 
 of the New Testament, and the most Ijoaatiful in nil the Scrip 
 tures. 
 
 " M'y soul (loth mngriifv tlie Lord: and mj' spirit Imtli rejoiced in Qod my Snvimir: 
 
 " Blhiuisc 111) liutli ro^urilcd tiie liiimil.ty of liis lianilninid: for, behold, from hence- 
 forth all ^■eiieratious shall call iiic blessed. 
 
 " For lie tliat is ni'f^lity hath done great things to me: nud holy is his name. 
 
 "And his mercy is from generation to generation, to tliem that fear him. 
 
 "Ho hath showed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of 
 their heart. 
 
 "lie hath put down tlie mighty from tiu^r .seat, mid hath e.xaltcd the humble. 
 
 " He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent away 
 empty. 
 
 " lie hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy. 
 
 "As he spoke to our father.?, to Aljraham and to his .seed for ever." 
 
 It was thus that the Virgin suddenly saw, by a supernatural 
 
 I 
 
 <iv£5 
 
 * This salutation, so often used by C'lirist, is still common throughout the Knst. 
 When two persons meet, after the usual greeting, " Peace be with you [salcm aluictmi), 
 they lay their hand on their heart. This sslutatioa was iu use in the days of Abrahaia 
 (Savary, A'c^e on the \lth ch of the Koran.) 
 
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 light, those an«'iunt prKphccios and thoir perfect nccoinplishrnont— 
 ncrsflf a tlioiisaiul tiiiu's more ciilightctu'il and more privUeged than 
 nil the j)roph('ts put together. "In that i'elel)rat<'d interview," say?^ St. 
 Amlirose, "Mary and Klizalx^th hoth prophesied by the Holy tlliost, 
 with whom they were filled, and liy the merit of their children.*' 
 
 The Virgin remained three months in the country of the Iletlntes, 
 within a short distance of the city of Ain, in the depth of a shndy 
 and ft'rtile vale, where Zachary liad his country-house.* It was 
 then that the daughter of David — iierself, too, a jjrophetess, and 
 gifted with a genius eipial to that of the illustrious founch'r oi hcv 
 race — could contemphite at her leisure the starry fiimaraent the 
 stately forests, and the vjust ocean as it stretched in ever-<.'hangiim 
 maj(>ty along the blueish coasts of Syria. The lilessed Viigiii 
 iu!ver looked without emotion on those niagnificent scenes of the 
 creation. All the works of nature spoke to her heart of their 
 great Author, ani! gently animated her soul after having ehai'med 
 her eyes. The ]ilain, whit h spread far and away towards the 
 mountains of Arabia, the Llue dome of heaven, rising like a tent 
 over the habitations of men, gave her an idea of the immensity 
 .'f the creating God; the rich yellow of the crops, the delicious 
 fruitage, and the fresh mountaiii-sj)ring announced to her his provi- 
 dence; the voice of the tempest, his power; the arrangement of 
 the heavenly bodies, his wisdom ; and his care over the birds of the 
 air and the insects of the earth, his sovereign goodness. 
 
 In these rural excursions, sIk; sometimes rested on the verge 
 of a spouting si)ring, whose sparkling spray she loved to watch 
 and to listen to the gurgling of its water. This spring, called 
 Nephtoa in the time of Joshua, now bears the name of JA/yy.f 
 
 To the rear of the Hebrew pontiff's vilhc lay one of tliose 
 gardens, called by the Pewians Paradise, the arrangement of 
 
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 * This country-lio\iso was ^Yitll■m a sliort distain'c of Ain, in tlic di'iitli of a jdoasnn'i. 
 an 1 fcrtil' valley which now serves as a garden for llic villag-o of St. Joliii. 'I'hore 
 was formeily a cliurch erected in this place in memory of the Visitation, but it is now 
 nothing more than a heap of ruins. 
 
 f This fountain has so great an nljuudance of water that it irrigates and fertilizes 
 the whole valley. Tradition says that ^lary sometimes went tliitiier. It was called 
 \('j)htoa in the days of .losluiQ', it now liears the name of the Vir:/lu'i Fn i.fn'n 
 
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 u Iiicli had Imhti horrowod l>y tlii' Jo\vi«h captives from tin; jx'oplu 
 
 \ (if (.'yniH and of ScmininiU. In it were seen tlio nioMt Ix-autit'id 
 
 \\ tict's of I'ali'stiiic ; and tli^' tuftn of flowers tlirown eareleHnly here 
 
 'Wnz '""' *^'*""0 through the ghuh's, tlie sweet perfiiine of the orange- 
 
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 hii'^Hui ' tJ'<""0 through the ghuh's, tlie sweet perfume of the orange- 
 i llj/ ^'''''''^> ^''*' I'iviilet gliding aloi,^; lieueath the drooping l)ranchea 
 1/z, ,,f- iinj ,y|i]„^j,^ givvo u thousand charms to the shade. Tliero it 
 was that Mar}'.s niihl persuasions made J'ili/,al)eth foiget lier feais 
 i'oi- the issu'.i of an event wliose anticipation tilled lier with hoi)e 
 >;> \i^^ ""•1 j'\Vi l'nt whieli was I'ull of danger to a woman of lier advanced ' 
 V/C t^ age. How j)Ui'e, how lofty must have been the diseoui-se of thest! t 
 %^'% *"*^ ^^^^^y women! the one young, artless, and ignorant of evil, like 
 v ^ ij' Kve when she came from her Creator's hand; the other full of days, 
 and enriched with a long exj)erienco of the things of life; both pro- 
 fV)un(lIy pious, and both well-i)leasing to Jehovah : the one bearing 
 in her won)l) — so long barivn — a son who was to be a jti-oplnf — j/ea, 
 more than a prophet ; the other, the blessed germ of the Most High, 
 the Chief and Liberator of Israel. 
 
 In the tine evenings of summer, when the silvery radiance of 
 the moon brighteneil the foliage, the elegant raeal of the family 
 was spread beneath a large fig-tree, or under the green leaves 
 of a spreading vine.* Theio was lamb, fed on the aromatic slopes 
 of the mountains ; fish, taken by the Sidonian fisherman ; the wild 
 f£f honeycomb, from the hollow of some ancient oak ; then, in green 
 baskets, skilfully made of ])alm-leaves, were the dates of Jericho,f 
 which figured even on the table of Ciesar; the apricots of Armenia, 
 tli(( ]iistaohio-nuts of Aleppo, and the water-melons of Kgypt : 
 finally, the golden vine of Lebanon, the fragrant juice of vine- 
 yards in the far-off islands of the Cy])rian Sea, and the ^vino 
 from the hills of Engaddi, preserved by the steward in stonc- 
 jars,J was sparkling in costly cups. IMary, temperate as ever in 
 
 
 t! 
 
 a 
 
 * Tlio Ilclirews made it a practice to cat iu gardens, under trees and nrlioiirs; it \i 
 so ii;itiiral, iu warm countries, to seeli the frosli air. (Fliury, Maum dcs hrtulilc^, 
 p. 101.) 
 
 t Tlie dates of Syria and Jud(>a arc j-cllow and black, round like apples, and very 
 K\vi'( t. Pliny reckons forty-nine sorts of dates. 
 
 X Tlie Jews who are settled iu Yemen still make use of these jars. (See >'iebuhr, 
 Voyrif/e en Arable.) 
 
 I ii, 
 
 S: 
 
 .~:?.;\ 
 
 '^fy'm 
 
 ',\\^ 
 
 mi 
 
 cr^ 
 
t< CUM'. I X.J 
 
 m,l>>i;i) VIUdIN MAUY. 
 
 ir 
 
 tlio ini<l>4t. (tf this pnifiision, rontcntnl herself with somo fniif ,inl 
 u cup of wiitcr. Frugality wiw not in her u foired virtue, it wai 
 ouo i)f choice.* 
 
 Some, witli a view to enh.'inco the liuiiiillty of the Virgin, which 
 recjuires no Huch uid, have [jrettuxled that sin; acted as ii tiervant. 
 and almost as a slave towards St. Klizalieth. 
 
 Thi.i is mere folly. Klizalieth would never have pennilt»'d u 
 woman whom she had herself proclainicd as the mother of \w\ 
 Lord, and whom she had loudly ext(»lled heyond all the dauifhtors 
 t)f Sion, thus to humltle hei-Melf Itefore her. The holy spouse of 
 Zaeharyf had no want of either servants or slaves. Cluistiana and 
 Jews all agree that this family was of di.-<tiMguished rail;, aiul the 
 illustrious Mrth of St. John the Haptia seemed evei^ to throw some 
 discredit on that of Jesus Christ, whose ri'|)ut;'d parMUts were nnuli 
 more obscure, and lived the life of the eot.nuon people.. 
 
 The attisntions which the mild and nniiahle \ irgin lav yiip/i on 
 Elizaheth had ui them nothing c)f servility; they wer j v^t such 
 attentions as she wouhl have bestowed on her mother h.id heaveri 
 spared her to her; and we may, indeed, suppose (r.t she was ofl ;,; 
 reminded of her own parents by the sight of t! it loving, devoted, 
 iunl venerable pair, who loved her so patermilly, and who, after 
 that first interview wherein her greatness was so marvellously 
 revealed, never tailed to treat her with a ])rofound respect which 
 Mary's lumiility would fain avert, l»ut could neve" wholly destroy. 
 
 5^-, 
 
 71 
 
 ^'^^ 
 
 *"''% 
 
 * Willi licr, abstiiR'iu'O SL'tmcd no l()ii),'or ii privation; it wiis nitlior Irt custom not to 
 niuko ns(! of mcnt, if wo niny so tipoiik. (l*. Viilverdi', IVi' ilc Jiifs Christ, t. ' , p. 6 
 
 t Ziicluiry wns cli'sriindcd from Aluliu, fiithcr of \\\^• i'i;^litli Siiconlotal rninily. 
 Thi'Si! aiicitMit famiics were rare, si'vcral of thoni having rsMnaiiRvl in PerKia afici' IIr; 
 captivity. Elizal)Ptli was tlwcciRk'tl from Aai'oa nnd from David. Tlio Juws place 
 John tlu' Haplist fur above Jesus, because In- , • I liis life in tlio dosert and was the 
 BOM of a poiililf. Jesus, ou tlr contrary, vva^ ' a of a poor woman, nnd sceuR'd to 
 tlicm oaly an ordiaary umu. (St. J. Cln-ysos. in Mult., Serm. VI.) Tiio .Mussulmans 
 have retained n j^reat idea of St. Jolia the R.iptisI, whom thi'y call Jah'ta bj}i Zararia 
 (John, son of Zachary). Saadi, in his ■iuli-iinv, umkis mention of (he sepi'leiirf of 
 St. John the IJaptist, venerated ia the aiosrpie of I),iiHas,i;s, lie him.stlf had pravrd 
 tluro, nnd lie mentions an Ar.d): .w Kia:r who had eome Ih' r^' on n pilt;rimau:e. "The 
 Caliph Abdahualek would fain bay that chareii fioai the Chr stiau'^," says d'llerbelof, 
 "and whon they refused to take four thousand fistolrg which ho iiad otl'ered them for 
 it, ho took it from tliem by force." {liihiiulUrqiie Uricntah; t. ii \ 
 
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^^^■^•»>^'(3 lis 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [chap. IX j^I^ 
 
 
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 mlAi 
 
 an>^«:^ 
 
 
 ii 
 
 It is easy to imagine, say the Fathere, how many blessings were 
 drawn down on this excellent family by the visit of the blessed 
 Virgin. If the Lord blessed Obededom and all that was his— even 
 so as to excite the envy of the holy king David — for having had 
 the ark of the covenant three i^onths in his house, what blessings 
 must not Zachary and his household have received from the three 
 months' sojourn of Ilej' of Avhom the ark of old was but the figure, 
 so holy and so venerable was she ? " The purity in which St. John 
 passed his whole lif"," says St. Ambrose, " was the effect of that 
 unction and of that grace infused into his soul by the presence of 
 the blessed Virgin." 
 
 It is not precisely known whether the Mother of God assisted 
 at the delivery of Elizabeth. Origen, St. Ambrose and other grave 
 authore, both ancient and modein, pronounce in the affirmative, and 
 their opinion is highly probable. It would, indeed, have been very 
 strange if, after so long a visit to her cousin, Mary hid suddenly 
 left her at the critical time, and Avithout any reasonable motive 
 tor such a hasty r.nd untimely departure. Custom required that 
 all the matrons of the family should bo with the new mother to 
 share in her h^^ppiness. AVe see by the Gospel that Elizabeth 
 was surrourded hy her friends on that solemn occasion, and that 
 the birth of St. John the Baptist drew to his father's house a 
 great number of friends and kinsfolk. It is objected that Adrgins 
 were not usually present at such times, and the objection is very 
 proper; but Maiy was mari'ied, and therefore bound by certain 
 rules of decorum, which she could not ^dolate without going in 
 express contradiction to customs which had been handed lown 
 from the patriarclial times. The retiring habits of the Virgin are 
 also brought forward to prove that the very rumour of the festivals 
 which were to celebrate the birth of the Precursor would have 
 driven her away like a frightened dove. But Mary could easUy 
 reconcile her distaste for the world with that exquisite sense of 
 propriety attril)uted to her by the Fathers, and her tender soli- 
 citude for her mother's niece. It is, then, most probable that she 
 remained in che house of the pontiff until Elizabeth was out of 
 danger; when, withdrawing herself from the admiration which 
 
 a 
 
CHAP. IX.] 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN M^RT. 
 
 110 ^"»5»:tf 
 
 she uevei failed to excite, she quitted the mountains ol Judea, 
 after having embraced and blessed the new Elias.* 
 
 A religious author observes that the blessed daughter of Joa- 
 chim went with haste to visit her cousin, but that she slowly and 
 i-eluctantly departed from those fresh valleys whose oaks had shel- 
 tered angels.f Perhaps, like the sea-bird, she had a presentiment 
 of tho coming storm. 
 
 * Rome theologians, embracing an opinion contrary to that of Origen and St. 
 Ambrose, maintain their position by quoting that passage of St. Luke which only 
 mentions the delivery of Elizabeth after having brought tht Virgin back to Galileo 
 It seems to us that the subject demanded more reflection than these writers seem 
 to have bestowed upon it. For ourselves, we have carefully examined the Gospel 
 of rit. Luke, and that minute investigation has convinced us that the proof brought 
 forward is any thing but conclusive; for it is the manner of St. Luke to make just 
 such transpositions, as we can show by two instances of a similar kind. For instance, 
 after having followed the.prcaching of St. John the Baptist and announced his imprison- 
 ment, St. liuke speaks, in the following verse, of the baptism of Jesus Christ, which is 
 well known to have taken place long before the Precursor was cast into prison. In 
 recounting the adoration of the shepherds, St. Luke enlarges on their marvellous 
 accounts of their visit to the grotto of Bethlehem, and the astonishment wherewith 
 they were hoard; then, returning all at once to the scene of the adoration, he speaks 
 of their departure from the stable, ihis, tlien, is our reason for adopting the opinion 
 of St. Amb-ose, which, of itself, is altogether the most probable. Father Valverde, 
 who has closely studied the holy Fathers, is also of opinion that the blessed Virgin 
 did not leave her friends till she had seen and blessed the young Precursor of the 
 Messiah. 
 
 f Li the vale of Mambre, which is but six stadas from Hebron, there was still 
 to be seen, in St. Jerome's time, a tree of enormous thickness, said to be the identical 
 trco under which Abraham received t he visit of the three angels, who came to announce 
 to him the birth of Isaac 
 
 
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 w 
 
 ,J' 
 
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I 
 
 II 
 
 
 Llli: OF THE 
 
 Y 
 
 s\l^ 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 TnK RETURN FROM HKDROH. 
 
 I OIIAP. X. 
 
 C-Kn 
 
 
 'i'-J. 
 
 m^ 
 
 U 
 
 
 On her return to Nazareth, Mary cheerfully resumed her ple- 
 beian life, and the toilsome occupations which she had to suspend 
 during her long \n5sit. She became again the active and dil'gent 
 young hoHsewitt', who finds time fo; work, time for prayer, time 
 for pious reading; whose whole convei-sation was in heaven, and 
 who seemed to have applied to hei-self those wise and beautiful 
 words of the Psalmist, "All the glory of the king's daughter is 
 vvitliin." Meantime she was advancing in her virginal pregnancy, 
 and Joseph began to wax jealous. 
 
 The high and ui)i'ight mind of the patriarch was tortured with 
 doubt and grievous [X'l'plcxity. At first he could not believe his 
 eyes, and thought it more just to distrust the evidence of his senses 
 than the jmrity of a woman who had always appeared to him a 
 prodigy of holiness and purity. I5nt Mary's condition became 
 daily more evident. S/ie was- /on /id with cMIJ, say a the Gosj)el ; 
 which means that all Xazai'cth know the fact, and that Joseph's 
 friends, in the simplicity of theii- heart, came to oiler their cruel 
 congratulations, which he liad to receive with a show of composure, 
 J while they gave a crushing certainty to what he had himself sus- 
 \ pccted. According to the Proto-gospel of St. James, Ik; prostrated 
 \' himself before God, bathed in teaiv, in the first paroxysm of liis 
 'j^rief, and cried out, " Who has bi'trnved me? who has brouirht 
 evil into my house T Then, yielding to his tenderness for the 
 young ori»han, wl">m he had always regarded iis the ])earl and 
 glory of her sex, he bitterly accused himself for not having taken 
 more care of her. '"Alas!" said he to himself, "my history is that 
 of Ad;im ; when he ivsted most securely in his gloi-y and h.ajipiness, 
 Satan suddenly be^'uili' Kve by deceitful words and seduced her."* 
 When his mind lieeime calm enough to reflect, he found himself In 
 a most painful predieatuent. 
 
 • ProttHfofpd of St. J'tmes, in tlio Ajiocryph of Fabric, , i., p. 97. 
 
 ^r^^'^'^r.K?' 
 
 ^\ 
 
 «i^ 
 
cnAi\ X.J 
 
 IJI.liSSED VIKOIX MAKY. 
 
 121 
 
 According to tlie Jewish law, adultery was punislied with death. 
 When there were no witnesses (even one would have sufficed), and 
 that the woman denied the crime laid to her charge, she was con- 
 ducted, by order of the Sauhednm, to the eastern gate of the 
 temple, and there, in presence of all, her veil was torn off, a 
 cord from Egypt was put around her neck to remind her of the 
 miracles which God had wrought in that country, her long hair was 
 spread over her shoulders — because it was a disgrace for a Jewish 
 woman to be seen with her hair dishevelled — a priest pronounced a 
 formal malediction, to which she had to answer Amen^ and then 
 presented to her the famous cuj) of the xvaters of jealousy^ which 
 wiis also called the hitler waters, because they had the taste of 
 wormwood.* That accursed cup was sure to kill the guilty wife, 
 unless the husband himself hod been imfaithful. In that case, the 
 miracle did not take place, "seeing," said the doctors of Israel, 
 "that it would have been uujn=*t if one criminal were absolved, 
 whilst God himself punished the other."f A hasty, passionate 
 husl)antl would not have failed to drag Mary licfore the pnests 
 of the Lord, so as to have her go through the ordeal of the hitter 
 i/M(f.er.9; but Joseph, the most moderate as well as the most just 
 of men, never so much as thought of taking such a step. Being 
 unable to keep Mary under his roof, since the laAV of honour and 
 the law of Moses both forbade it, he Avonld, at least, take all 
 possible precautions to prevent the separation from injuring her 
 eharactei', for he was a juftt man, and 'umvilling pnhlichj to e.vpos'e 
 her. " I Avill divorce her," said Josej)!! sadly within himself, " l)ut 
 before (xod, and not before the judges who would condemn hci- to 
 death and me to throw the fir^t stone.;); I will save her from the 
 rejM'oaches of her family and the contempt of the world. But how 
 
 h. Avhere death and dishonour stare 
 
 get 
 
 labyi 
 
 me in the face at every turn?" And the son of David AVius over- 
 whelmed with affliction. 
 
 * Basiiay:p, 1 vii., cli. 22. 
 f Waritnscil, ill Sotah, p. 244. 
 
 J It wa.s decrccJ by the Jewish law that the accnser should cast the first .stone 
 at tLc person whf was condemned »n his accusation. (Sec Instil, de Mo'ise, t. ii., n. (i.'i.l 
 
 
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 LIFE OF TirE 
 
 Mary could not but see the gloomy dejection of the just man 
 to whom God had coufid(!d her, and cei-tainly it must have ccst her 
 much to conceal from him the p-lorious embassy of the angel. But 
 how was she to communicate an event so strange, so miraculous as 
 that of her divine maternity, and without other proof than her 
 own assertion? Justly persuaded that the mystery of the Incar- 
 nation of the "VVoRP must be ;vealed by supernatural means in 
 order to be believed, and lea in^^ to Hm who had wrought such 
 great things in her the care o cc .v^hicing Joseph of her innocence, 
 "the daughter of David," says the great bishop of Meaux, "at the 
 lisk of seeing herself not only suspected and abandoned, but also 
 lost and dishonoured, left all to God and remained in peace." 
 
 The Eternal, from the height of his starry throne, cast a look 
 of compassion on the just man whom he had made to undergo so 
 hard a trial,* before raising him to the supreme honour of being his 
 representative on earth ; and the angels, with their eyes fixed on 
 tlie holy house of Nazareth, anxiously awaited the result of that 
 secret struggle wherein humanity, duty, and the noblest feelings 
 of the souf were engaged. At length, the patriarch conceived an 
 idea so generoi >, so heroic as almost to place him on a level with 
 the Queen of Angels. He resolved to sacrifice his honouj*, the 
 res})ect which he had gained by his spotless life, the means of 
 existence which furnished his daily bread, and the air of his native 
 land, so necessary to the aged, in order to save tlie reputation of a 
 wife who did not even seek to justify herself, and who was so 
 cruelly • ondemned by appearances. There was but one way to 
 leave Mary without ruining her, for her family would have pro- 
 voked explanations which must have ended fatally. It was, to 
 expatriate himself, to go leave his bones in a foreign land, and to 
 take upon himself all the odium of such a desertion. There is a 
 species of resignation which is in itself a glorious triumpli, and 
 
 m 
 
 J 
 
 i.-^ 
 
 * " Uii(loiil)lc'i11y," says Kossuet {Elev. sur les Myst.), "GoiJ could have nliridgcd 
 thcHG suffcriiigs of .loseph by sooner revealing to him the mystery of Mai'v's iirejr- 
 nancy; Ijut his virtue would not then have been put to the proof Wc should not 
 have seen Joseph triumph over the most indoraituble of all passions, and the nwst 
 rational jealousy that ever was wonld not have been cast down at the fe;t of virtue." 
 
■fiKi^^ CHAP. X.J 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN 3IAKY. 
 
 there are sorrows -wnich, if patiently endured, Heaven repays as 
 mutiificently as martyrdom itself. Of this class was the unknown j^ ^ij^ 
 s:ici-ifice of the Virgin's spouje. In order to reconcile his duty and 
 his humanity, he accepted beforehand the ignominious charactar of 
 a heartless husband, an unfeeling father, a man without conscience, 
 and without faith. He accepted the contempt of his neighboui*s, 
 the mortal hatred of Mary's friends, and resolved to give up hi;? 
 good name for the sake of lier v/hose mysterious and unaccountable 
 position filled his heart with sorrow and made his life miserable. 
 
 St. John Chrysostom delights to dwell on the admirable conduci 
 of St. Joseph. "It was expedient," says that great saint, "thai 
 "■^ming on the time of oui Saviour there should appear many 
 marks of greater perfection than the woi'ld had yet dreamed of 
 Thus, when the sun is about to rise, the East assumes a brilliani 
 colouring long before the first streak of day has reached the hori 
 zon ; so did Jesus Christ, about to emerge from the womb of the 
 Virgin, already shed light on the world. Hence it was that, even 
 before that divine birth, prophets leaped for joy in their mother's 
 womb, women prophesied, and Joseph manifested a superhuman 
 degree of virtue." 
 
 We have here adopted the opinion of St. John Chrysostom in 
 preference to that of St. Bernard, who supposes that Joseph pene- 
 trated of himself the mystery of the l>irth of Christ, and tliat, 
 seeing Mary pregnant, lie donbted not — in his profound veneration 
 for her — that she must be the miraculous Virgin of Isaiah. " He 
 believed it," says the Apostle of the Crusades, "and it was only 
 from a sentiment of humility and respect like unto that which 
 made St. Peter afterwards say, L^paH from 7ne, LonJ^ fur I |^J' j^^ ^ 
 am a sinful ni'^v, that St. Joseph, not less humble tlin^: St. Peter, 
 thought of leaving the Virgin, not doubting that she would be 
 pregnant of the Saviour of mankind.'' 
 
 This interpretation — a very pious one, indr-^d, and worthy of 
 him who was honoured with the title of Jeroiit chaplain of Mary — 
 is yet more in accordance with the ascetic notions of tlie middle 
 acres than with tlic cu-jtoms of the anci(>nt Hebrews, and will nol 
 stand a close investigation. In fict, the words of the Evangelist 
 are so clear that it takes no small iudusitry to make them obseuro. 
 
 
.^^ 
 
 or TUE 
 
 Y 
 
 
 5-V* 
 
 It is not at all that instinctive feeling of religious awe, which makes 
 US) shrink from a religious objec"-,, that suggests to Joseph the idea 
 of leaving Alary; it is the prompting of conscience and of duty, 
 "lie was jnst," says Bossuet, "and his justice would not permit him 
 to remain in the comi^any of f »»'oman whom he could no lon^'cr 
 believe innocent. As for his su^ meeting what had happened ]yj ih ' 
 operation of tlie Holy G'nost, it was a miracle as yet nnexa)ripl(;<l, 
 and could by no means present it ?lf to tlu' human raiiid." 
 
 l! 'f!{ ^!^\ The words of the angel would no longer liuve a i. loaning, aid 
 would savour of falsehood — whicu vi>uld not Se the Cii-v — if St. 
 Bernard's hypothesis were carried out. "Fear not," said the aml)iU'- 
 eadoi' of God, "to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for tliat wlilch is 
 couL«nved in her is of the TToly Ghost. ' Does Joseph proclaim ]m 
 tiKwoit;bJne.ss at. tht' momert when he is made certa*'. tlnit Mavy 
 beai's in h'.-r wvah the very Author of nature? Does lie re^'eal to 
 the angel those s\;!jile.s vliioh nni.r, now be more urgent than ever? 
 Does lie beg th.it lu' ci.p of honour, presented to him by the 
 celestial messeagei-. ia;.y j;iiss to some worthier mortal? He does 
 nothing of tu" WvA. The storm of his soul is suddenly liushed, 
 and he falls iuto that profound calm which follows great moral 
 tempest.^. 
 
 Some w'M have it that the prophecies relating to the Messiah 
 were familiar to Joseph, as to all the Hebrews ; that he must 
 have been awi'.re that the time of the Messiah was at hand, and 
 that he must have known at first sight, considering the sanctity 
 O' 'lary, that she bore in her womb the Saviour of the world 
 But the understanding of those piophecies was then far from 
 being as easy as may now be imagined. Whether it was that 
 ?y.>, i/^i Isaiah's allegorical descriptions of the glorious reign of Emmanuel 
 had led the synagogue into error, or that the caraal mind of thp 
 Jews could not raise itself above the earth and earthly things, it 
 
 rf K^S?fi is certain that the Hebrew people, that liard-lieaded peoph^ had 
 taken a wrong view of the ,<ubject, and did not choose to be set 
 riglit. The ambassador of God, the desired of the nations, was to 
 i)e a Ic'gislatoi', a great captain, a monarch magnificent and powerful 
 as Solomon. The A])o.stles themselves were long mistaken as to 
 the humble and pacific mission of the poor King, who parsed 
 
 ,/ 
 
ClIAP. X.'\ 
 
 BLESSED VniaiN MARY. 
 
 12:. 
 
 ,i 
 
 aUenthj along. They were seen to flatter themselves with ^Ided 
 visions and kingdoms in perspective, even in sight of that deicide 
 city where their Master was to be put to death. It was not 
 without an effort that our Lord brought them back to spiritualism, 
 and rectified their ideas, ever ready to return within the narrow 
 channel of material and palpable goods, whither they were directed 
 by the ambitious dreams of doctors and traditionary Pharisees.* 
 
 If even the Apostles, then, had so much trouble in divesting 
 themselves of their childish prejudices — ^they who lived amid the 
 miracles of the Messiah and in constant intercourse with him — how 
 could Joseph have done it of himself, without assistance from on 
 high ? The coarse garments of the workman had little resemblance 
 to the purple of the kings of Juda ; and of all things, it was least 
 expected that the Messiah should spring from the people. Galileo 
 was, besides, the last country that would have been thought of. 
 " Search the Scriptures," said the doctors of the law to the disciples 
 of ChiTst, " and see that out of Galilee a prophet riseth not." In 
 fact, the prophets had specially mentioned Bethlehem of Juda — 
 Bethlehem, the house of bread — as the birth-place of the Messiah ; 
 and the Jewish commentators, outstripping the prophets, pretended 
 to point out the quarter of the city in which he was to be born.f 
 Joseph was too humble to think that his lowly roof was to shelter 
 so much greatness, and Mary's silence left him nothing to guess. 
 
 As for the project of sending back the Virgin to her own family, 
 throiigh pure respect, as some learned theologians of the Bernardine 
 school will have it — it would have been utterly impracticable in a 
 nation so jealous of aU that concerned female honour. Mavy was 
 an orphan, and therefore under the care of her relations, all of 
 whom were not of a pacific disposition, while it is probable that 
 some of them were far from being pleased by the marriage of 
 their young kinswoman with the obscure Nazarene. It is very 
 •mprobable that they would have taken Joseph's word, and ud- 
 
 
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 m 
 
 !vj 
 
 * Bossuct, Elevations stir les Mi/steres, t. ii., p. 135. 
 
 f Whence comes he (the Messiah) ? From the royal city, Bethlehem of Joda. 
 Where are his parents? In the quarter Biral Harba of BethUhcm of Juda. (See 
 Talmud de Jerusalem.) 
 9 
 
t26 
 
 LIFK OF THE 
 
 :iti 
 
 
 k) 
 
 mitted, without further information, that the Virgin was pregnant 
 of the Kinr-Mesaiah. It is much more likely that they would 
 have brought the husband before the tribunal of the ancients, there 
 CO give an account of his conduct ; for the question was no longer 
 of a simple divorce, but of the state of the child borne by Mary, a 
 /oung woman of illustrious birth and unsuitably married, according 
 to the eleven who, St. Jerome says, had been themselves on the list 
 of candidates for the hand of the young and lovely heiress of Joa- 
 phim. 
 
 Thence there would have resulted two grave facts. Eithci 
 Joseph would have kept silent, and then he would have been 
 obliged to take back his wife and forbidden ever to put her 
 away;* or he would have solemnly sworn that the child which 
 Mary bore was not his, in which case that child became incapaci- 
 tated for any employment. His birth, defiled in its source, would 
 have debarred him from the national assemblies, public schools, and 
 entrance to the temple or the synagogues. His posterity, inheritors 
 of disgrace, would not be admitted to the privileges of the He- 
 brews till the tenth generation. He became a fugitive, without 
 rights, without countiy, and the waiTant which condemned his 
 mother to be stoned would have stamped his brow and thuv of 
 his children with the accursed mark of Cain. But such could 
 never have been the case. Rather than suffer such a stain to be 
 imprinted on their royal genealogy, the proud descendants of 
 David would have killed the Virgin with their own hands. Such 
 examples are not rare, and are of frequent occurrence even now, in 
 Judea as well as in iVrabia.f 
 
 * JiMiit. dt Mo'ise, t. ii., 1. vii. 
 
 f Nicbuhr relates that, " in a coffee-house of Yemen, an Arab having asked another 
 who was present if he were not the father of a young and beautiful woman newly 
 married in his tribe, the father suspecting an ironical meaning In the question, and 
 thinlung the honour of his family compromised, coolly arose, ran to his daughter's 
 house, and, without saying a word, plunged his weapon into her bosom." Father 
 Qeramb gives an anecdote of the same kind. " The widow of a Bcthleheraite 
 Catholic," says he, "became an object of suspicion; not knowing where to conceal 
 herself from the vengeance of her family, she took refuge iu the couvent of the 
 Fathers of the Holy Land, and put herself under the saored protertion of the altar. 
 Her asylum was discovered, the doors of the monastery forced, and the young womuu 
 
 .•■''iJ 
 
 er^ 
 
JDHAP. X.] 
 
 BLESSED VIBQIN MARY. 
 
 127 
 
 i 
 
 Joseph was too wise and too humane to place himself in either 
 predicament, and he found, as is always the case, that the most 
 generous part was the best. He resolved, then, to quit his native 
 city and his dear, though suspected wife, who had made him so 
 supremely happy ever since their chaste marriage. Whilst he was 
 preparing for this sad separation, as he slept one night oa his 
 solitary couch, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. 
 " Josepli, son of David," said the celestial envoy, " fear not to take 
 unto the Mary thy wife ; for that which is conceived in her, is of 
 the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt 
 call his name Jesus : for he shall save his people from their sins." 
 
 After this dreaui and the words of the angel, Joseph found 
 himself completely changed. His humility was not in the least 
 disturbed by the honour which God conferred upon him, in trans- 
 ferring to him the guidance of his only Son ; but he bad become a 
 father and a spouse in affection, and he thought of nothing more 
 Viut the care of Mary and her divine Infant. 
 
 St. John Chrysostom inquired why the angel of the Lord ap- 
 peared in a dream to Joseph, and not manifestly, as to the 
 shepherds, to Zachaiy, and the Virgin. " It is," says he, answering 
 his own question, "because Joseph had gi-eat faith, and required 
 no clearer revelation. As for the Virgin, since there were things 
 to be told to her greater and more inci edible than all that was told 
 to Zachary, it was necessary that they should be revealed to her 
 before they were put into execution, and that by a manifest reve- 
 lation. The shepherds, also, as more rude and simple, had need 
 of a clear vision. But Joseph having already seen the pregnancy 
 of Mary, luming conceived injurious eu-splcions of Jier, and being 
 
 dragged out, her hair all dishevelled, to the public place, amid tlie shouts of the popu- 
 lace, ami the supplications of the monks, who demanded, in the name of the crucified 
 God, pardon and mercy for that unhappy creature, who loudly asserted her innocence. 
 She called, in despair, on her father and brothers, beseeching them, in the most toucli- 
 ing manner, to save her from a cruel death. They advanced in f;loomy silence, each 
 grasping a poignard: the unfortunate woman shuddered; a moment after, the three 
 poignurds were plunged into her heart, and the murderers, washing their hands in 
 the blood of their daughter and sister, exulted in having washed away the disgrace of 
 their family." 
 
 5Jn 
 
 ■><■. 
 
 I*-.! 
 
 Kk<i,£ ' 
 
Y 
 
 i-iiK OF Tira 
 
 ready to change his sorrow for joy, if ho only had the opportunity, 
 he received with all his heart the revelation made by the angel .... 
 This conduct of Providence was infinitely wise, since it served to 
 prove the excellence of Joseph's virtue, and to render the Gospel 
 history more credible, showing him actuated by the same motive* 
 that would have influenced any man on such an occasion.* 
 
 * Bt. John Chrysoftom, Strm. i 
 
 i 
 
 

 '<LKHSKD VIROIN MART. 
 
 
 129 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Tni BIRTU or TUB UEB8IAH. 
 
 Meanwuilk, the impums empire* bad planted its eagles even 
 on the furthest shores. The Romans had caught the Eastern 
 world, as in a net. Sarmatia trembled before them in the depths 
 of its desei-ts, and the most distant tribes of Asia, the peaceable 
 Chinese, sent a solemn embassy to C«3sar to seek his powerful 
 alliance. Egypt and Syria Avere nothing more than Roman prov- 
 inces. Judea, herself, was tributary ; and the Jewish king, paying 
 dear for a capricious protection, Avas no more than a crowned slave. 
 The time was come — the Messianic oracles were to be accomplished. 
 The power of Rome was at its height, as Balaam had predicted ; 
 and, according to the famous prophecy of Jacob, the sceptre was 
 departed from Juda: for the phantom of royalty, which still 
 hovered over the Holy City, was not even a national phantom 
 Just then, there was published in Judea an edict of Cajsar Augustus, 
 ordering all the people to be enrolled. This census, much more 
 complete than that which took place under the sixth consulate 
 of the nephew of Julius Cicsar,f comprised not only pei'sons, but 
 property, and also the various qualities of the lands. It was the 
 basis on which the tribute was to be levied.^ 
 
 The Roman governors Avere charged with the execution of this 
 
 * The Jows designated tlic Roman Empire by tlie name of tlic impious empire. 
 
 f Angnstus had three different enrolments made throughout the empire ; the first, 
 during his sixth consulate with Agrippa, in the year 28 before the Christian era ; the 
 second, under the consulate of Caius Marius Censorinr., and of C. Asinius Gallus, 
 eight years before the same era ; the third, and last, undor the consulate of Sextus 
 Pompeius Nepos and Sextus Apuleius Ni'pos, in the fourteenth year of the Christian 
 era. It is of the second census that St. Luke speaks. Tiie decree which ordained it 
 xras issued in the eighth year before the Christian era. (Sueton., in Octa, v. 27.) 
 
 J Augustus Ivad a work jireparcd, just then, containing tlic description of the Roman 
 empire, and the countries subject to hira. Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dion Cassias refer 
 to this book, and its particular descriptions of the provinces. From the way in which 
 tnoy speak, it must have been a most elaborate work. 
 
 \l\ 
 
 teP/ 
 
 my. 
 
 1,4 
 
 '^ 
 
hr- 
 
 Sr 
 
 v 
 
 I no 
 
 UVK or TItB 
 
 I onAP. XI V , 
 
 edict, each in liis own depnilmont.* Soxtiiw Satuminus, governor 
 of Syria, began llrHt witli Phoenicia and Celo^yria, rich and popu- 
 lous cantons, which required long and j)atient toil. In fact, there 
 is nothing like it on record, except the famous registry taken hy 
 William the Conqueror a thousand years after, and so well known 
 in England as the Doonisday-liook. Having executed the ordera 
 of Cwsar in the Roman provinces, with the kingdoms and i)rinci- 
 palities l)elonging to it, at the end of three years from the date 
 .■)f the decree,f they at length reached Bethlehem, precisely at the 
 memorable period of our Saviour's birth. CiBsar and his agents 
 thought they were performing only an administrative operation, 
 by jiscertaining the population and resources of the empire ; but 
 God .had other designs, which they were made instrumental in 
 executing, though they knew it not. His Son was to be bom in 
 Bethlehem of Juda, the humble birth-place of King David. He 
 had foretold it, by his prophet, more than seven hundred years 
 before, and all the world was put in motion to accomplish that 
 prophecy. 
 
 It appears that, faithful to an ancient custom, the Jews still had 
 themselves enrolled by families and by tribes. David was bom at 
 Bethlehem ; liis descendants, therefore, regarded that small city na 
 their native place, and the cradle of their house. There it was, 
 then, that they assembled to give in their names and the state of 
 their property, conformably to the edict of Caesar. 
 
 The autumn was near its close, the torrents were rushing wildly 
 down into the valleys, the north wind whistled through the tall 
 turpentine trees, and a gray cloudy sky announced the approach 
 
 I'p 
 
 
 '=ai!: 
 
 * Tertullian states that such was the case with Sextlus Satnrniiius, who was gov- 
 ernor of Syria. 
 
 t The three years which were employed in malcing this census can malce no di£B- 
 cuity, for it certainly took that length of time to enregister the whole of Syria, Celo- 
 Syria, Phoenicia, and Judea. Joab took nearly ten months to number the fighting-men 
 of the ten tribes ; and the census of Augustus, at the time of the birth of Christ, 
 consisted of many other details, since it embraced not only the individuals, but the 
 various qualities of their lands. It took William the Conqueror six whole years to 
 make his register, although the Doomsday-book contained neither Irelaud, Scotland, 
 Wales, nor the Channel Islands, but merely England itself. 
 
i 
 
 CHAP. XI,J 
 
 ULKtMEO VinoiN MAHY. 
 
 131 
 
 of the winter's snow. Cn a dark, gloomy morning, in the year of 
 Uorao 748,* a Nazarene was seen biwily engaged in i)reparing for a 
 journey, which couUl not bo one of choice, for tiie time wtw unsea- 
 Honiihlo, and the woman who accompanied him, and whom he Heated 
 HO carefully on the mild and patient animal which the daugliteni of 
 the East prefer, was very young, and far advanced in her pregnancy. 
 To the saddle of the beautiful auimalf on which the young Galileuii 
 rode was attached a basket of palm-leavxM, containing provisions for 
 the journey ; dates, figs, and dried grapes, some barley-cakos, nn<l 
 an earthen pitcher for taking water from the Hj)ring or the cistern. 
 A leathern flask, of Egyptian manufacture, hung on the opposite 
 side. The traveller flung over his shoulder a bag containing some 
 clothes, girded his loins, wrapped himself up in his goat-skin cloak, 
 and holding in one hand his crooked stick, witli the otJier he seized 
 the bridle of the ass which bore his young wife. Thus they quitted 
 their humble abode, and descended the narrow streets of Nazareth, 
 amid the good wishes of their friends and neighboui-s, who cried on 
 every side, Oo in peace! These travellers, who thus set out on 
 that cloudy morning, were the humble descendants of the great 
 kings of Juda, Joseph and Mury, who wer^ going, on the order 
 of a pagan and a stranger, to inscribe their obscure names beside 
 the most illustrious names in the kingdom. 
 
 This journey, undertaken at such an inclement season, and in a 
 o^ountry like Palestine, must have been extremely painful to the 
 ]>lessed Virgin, in the position in which she was; but, still, she did 
 not munnur. That delicate and fragile creature had a soul both 
 firm and courageous; a lofty soul, which greatness did not dazzle 
 nor joy a^jitate, and which bore misfortune silently and calmly. 
 Joseph, advancing by her side, was meditating on the ancient 
 prophecies which promised, four thousand yeara before, a Liberator 
 
 
 y 
 
 
 I >\ 
 
 
 mm 
 
 * Never lias date been more disputed than that of the birth of Christ. We adopt 
 that of the authors of rArt de verifier Ics dates (the Art of verifying dates), which 
 Boems to us the most correct, and which places the birtli of the Saviour on the 25th of 
 December, iu the year of Rome 148. According to Baronius, our Saviour wan born 
 on a Friday. 
 
 f The asses in Palestine ore remarkably beautifal. 
 
 
 .^ 
 
 tlv 
 
..i-i*mVJ.>v,H^ '> i, 
 
 
 
 ''"(■rr!!ij?'^r.-/,(ii;irtisf J .■. --^ib; 
 
 ^ 
 
 Y 
 
 L) 
 
 1S2 
 
 LIFE OP THX 
 
 [chap. 2a. 
 
 to his people. Aa he journeyed towards Bethlehem, at the bidding 
 of a Koman, he reflected on the words of the prophet Micheas, 
 "And THOU, Bethlehem Ephkata, art a little one among the 
 thousands of Juda; out of thee shall He come forth unto me 
 that is to be the Ruler in Israel."* Glancing, then, at his humble 
 equipage and hf j modest spouse, in her plain, unpretending apparel, 
 he revolved in his mind the great prophecies of Isaiah, " He shall 
 grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a 
 thirsty ground ; there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness : . . . . 
 despised and the most abject of men."f And the patriarch began 
 to comprehend the designs of God on his Cheist, 
 
 After five days of a toilsome journey, the travellers caught a 
 distant view of Bethlehem, the dty of kings, seated on a rising 
 ground, amid smiling hills planted with vines, olives, and groves 
 of verdant oaks. Camels, laden with women wrapped up in purple 
 cloaks, and covered with white veils ; Arab ndkas, dashing along at 
 full speed, bearing gay and brilliant cavaliers ; gronps of old men, 
 moimted on white asses, and chatting gravely together, like the 
 ancient judges of Israel,;}; were all going up to the city of David, 
 already crowded with Hebrews, who had arrived on the previous 
 days. Outside the city, but a short distance from its walls, arose a 
 large square building, whose white walls stood out in strong relief 
 from the pale green of the olive-trees which covered the hill. It 
 looked like one of the Persian caravansaries. Through its open 
 door were seen a crowd of slaves and servants coming and going 
 in its vast yard. This M'as the inn. Joseph, hurrying the pace 
 of the animal on which the Virgin rode, hastened thither, in hopes 
 of arriving in time to obtain one of those narrow cells, which 
 belonged of right to the first comer, and was never refused to 
 any one;§ but merchants and travellers were ah-eady issuing in 
 
 * Mich., ch. v., ver. 2. 
 
 t Isaiab, ch. liii., ver. 3. 
 
 X The hok se was used, amongst the Jews, for military loen ; hence it was taken aa 
 the emblem of fight. Judges, on the contrary, rode on asses of perfect beauty ; hence 
 the scriptural words, " Speak, you that ride upon fair asses, and you that sit in jndg- Yl 
 ment." (Judges, v. 10.) 
 
 \ There is nothing found in these cells but four walls, an abundance of dust, and 
 

 i 
 
 ■'W 
 
 1 
 
 '■Wi 
 
 1 
 
 ^i|IMH 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 1 
 
CHAP. 
 
 XI] 
 
 BLESSED VIKGHf MARY. 
 
 133 
 
 crowds from the caravanaary. It could accommodate no more. 
 Gold might, doubtless, have xjrocured admission, but Joseph had 
 no gold. 
 
 The patriarch returned with this saddening intelligence to Mary, 
 who heard it with a smile of resignation, and taking hold of 
 the bridle to conduct the poor animal, which was already sinking 
 with fatigue, he wandered about through the streets of the little 
 city, hoping, but in vain, that some charitable Bethlehemite might 
 offer them a lodging for God's sake. No one offered them any 
 thing. The evening wind fell cold and piercing on the young 
 Virgin, who breathed not a word of complaint, though her face 
 grew paler every moment, for she was scarcely able to support 
 herself. Joseph, in despair, continued his fruitless attempts ; and 
 more than once, alas ! he saw some wealthier stranger admitted 
 where he had been rudely repulsed. Surely interest, that ruling 
 passion of the Jews, must have petrified every soul, when Mary's 
 situation excited no pity. The night closed in. The lonely travel- 
 lei's, seeing themselves rejected by all the world, and despairing ct 
 obtaining a shelter in the city of their fathers, quitted Bethlehem, 
 without knowing which way they ought to turn, and advanced at 
 random through the fields, stiU partially lighted by the fading 
 twilight, while the jackals made the air resound with their shi'ill 
 cries, as they roamed in search of their prey. 
 
 Southward, within a short distance of the inhosDitable city, there 
 appeared a gloomy cavern, hollowed 'a the rock. The entrance 
 was towards the north, and th? cave u.came narrower towards its 
 fiu'ther end. It served as a common stable for the Bethlehemites, 
 and sometimes as a shelter for the shepherds on stormy nights. 
 The pious couple blessed Hea''' ^ for having guided their steps 
 towards this rude asylum ; and Mary, with the help of Joseph's 
 arm, made her way to a bare rock, which formed a sort of seat, 
 though narrow and uncomfortable, in a hollow of the rock. 
 
 It was there, vi the fortifications of roehv, as Isaiah had pr<j- 
 
 Y 
 
 k) 
 
 f^t^. 
 
 r --^?^-^ f^ 
 
 
 sometimes scorpions. The keeper is only bound to give the key and a mat. The 
 traveller has to provide the rest ; hence l.c has to carry with him his bed, his cooking 
 apparatus, and even his provisions. (Volney, Voyage en Syrie.) 
 
 <?' 
 
 n i 
 

 to 
 
 134 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [CHA1». XI. 
 
 m 
 
 dieted,* just as the rising of the mysterious constellation Vziffo 
 announced midnight,f that the almaX of the great Messianic proph- 
 ecy, amidst the solemn stillness of nature, concealed by a luminous 
 cloud,§ brought forth Hui whom God himself had produced hefo7'€ 
 the liilU^l and who was begotten from all eternity. He suddenly ap- 
 peared, like a sunbeam emerging from a cloud, before the eyes <>i 
 his young, astonished mother, and came to take possession of the 
 throne of his poverty, whilst the angels of God, prostrate around, 
 adored him under his human form.^ That virginal childbirth was 
 exempt from cries;, as from pains, and no groan disturbed the sacred 
 3ilence of that night of wonders. Miraculously conceived, Jesus 
 was born more miraculously still. 
 
 God was preparing for the" world a new and grand sight, in the 
 birth of a poor King. The palace which he destined for him was 
 a deserted stable, a fitting asylum for him who, in the course of his 
 life, was to say, "The fox has his den, the birds of the air have 
 their nests, but the Son of man has not where to lay his head." 
 Moses, proscribed at his birth, had, at least, a cradle of bulrushes, 
 when his sister, the young Mary, exposed him amid the reeds and 
 •^^he sacred lotus which at nightfall dip their leaves in the Niie ;** 
 
 * Justin quotes the prophecy of Isaiali, (xxxiii. 16,) ns applying to our Saviour's 
 birth in a cave, " The fortif cations of rocks shall be his highness." 
 
 f " It is an incontestable fact," says Diipuis, " and independent of all the con. "- 
 :iuences which I will draw from it, that precisely at the hour of midnight, on the 25th 
 December, in those ages when Ciiri.stianity first appeared, the cflestiol sit^n which 
 appeared on the horizon, and ushered in the opening of the new solar revolution, was 
 the Virgin of the constellatioiis. 
 
 \ The word alma, employed by Isaiah, signifies, in Hebrew, a virgin in all her inno- 
 cence. We have already said, in note fifty-fivt of the first cliaj)ter, that this word has 
 given rise to many controversies between Jews and Ciiristians. 
 
 § Proto-rjospd, St. James, eh. 17. 
 
 ll According to the sentiment of the Rabbins, the Messiah was in the terrestrial 
 paradise with our first parents. (Sohar Chadaseh, f. 82, 4.) He existed even before 
 the world. (Nezach Israel, ch. 35.) And before becoming man he v^as in glory with 
 Ood. (Phil., ch. ii., v. 6.) Thus, immediately before the time of Christ, the idea of 
 the Messiah's pre-existence found its way into the higher theology of the Jews. 
 
 If Hebrews, i. G. Psalm xlvii. 7. 
 
 ♦♦ The lotus, which was consecrated to the sun, is an aqnatic plant, the leaves of 
 which dip into the Nile when the sun sets, and spring up again when he rises. Thii 
 
 i?^ aI^' 
 
 m 
 
 S'v 
 
niAv. XI.] 
 
 BLESSED VIKGIX SI ART. 
 
 ur-, 
 
 but Jesua, the divine outcast, who came amongst us to suffer and to 
 die, had not even that magnificence. He was laid in a manger, on 
 a handful of damp straw, providentially forgotten by some camel- 
 driver from Egypt or Syria, hastening away before the dawn. God 
 had provided a couch for his only Son, as he provides nests for the 
 birds of the air. 
 
 But this new Adam was to be covere,! fr.>m the inclemency of 
 the weather, and also because modesty requh'ed it. Maiy tore her 
 veil into bands, wherewith she wrapped up his delicate limbs ; then 
 the infant God was adored, by her and her holy spouse, as Joseph 
 of old, the fairest type of Jesus Christ, was by his father and 
 mother. 
 
 St. Basil, entering into the mysteries of fervour and of rapture 
 which passed through the soul of the Virgin, shows her divided 
 between maternal love and holy adoration. " What am I to call 
 
 thee?" said she, addressing her infant God "A mortal? .... 
 
 not so, for I conceived thee by di\^ne operation A God ? but 
 
 thou hast a human body. Am I to approach thee with incense, oi 
 to offer thee my milk ? Am I to cherish thee fus a tender mother, 
 or to serve thee prostrate in the dust ? A marvellous contrast ; 
 Heaven is thy dwelling-place, yet I rock thee on my knee ! Thou 
 art on earth, and yet retainest tiiy place in heaven ! The heavens 
 !>rc with thee !" 
 
 Thus were accomplished the great prophecies of Isaiah and Mi- 
 cheas. "And there were in the same country sheph ''ds watchinir, 
 and keeping the night-watches over their flock. And behold, an 
 angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone 
 round about them : and they feared with a great fear. And the 
 angel said to them : Fear not ; for behold, I bring you good tidings 
 of great joy, that shall be to all the people : for this day is born to 
 you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And 
 this shall be a sign unto you : you shall find the infant wrapped in 
 swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was 
 
 plant has a narcotic qualit)'. It was said of those who made long voyages, that they 
 had eaton of the lotus ; that is to say, that thi-y had forgotten their country. (Bas- 
 D«go, 1. ix., ch. 15, p. 450.) 
 
 
 / 
 
 Y 
 
 w 
 
 B •: 
 
 ■TC 
 
 -<: e5> 
 
 A'S\^ 
 
 
¥' 
 
 fi'i 
 
 M 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 ' [CHAt*. XL 
 
 Y 
 
 iv-^ 
 
 :^^ 
 
 ^' 
 
 
 with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praiaing God and 
 saying: Glokt to God in the highest; and on earth peace to 
 
 JIEN of good will."* 
 
 The marvellous vision had disappeared, the heavenly music had 
 ceased, and the shepherds, leaning on their crooks, stiU listened 
 for a renewal of those ravishing sounds. When they could hear 
 nothing more save the night breeze murmuring through the valley, 
 and that they could no longer discover in the deep blue sky a single 
 radiant point which fancy could convert into an angel, the shepherds 
 took counsel together, and said one to another, "Ze< us go to Beth- 
 'oJa/n, and see this word that is come to pass." Then, taking 
 'j.nskets, with such simple presents as their cabins coul<l afford, 
 -li ; left their flocks to theh* own guidance for a while, and set out 
 oy the glimmering light of the stars for the little city of David, 
 ^t sight of the poor stable, they felt their hearts burn within 
 tliein, like the disciples of Emmaiis, and they said to each otiier, 
 ■'I . aps this is the place." For they knew that the divine child 
 who was born to them had not seen the light under gilded ceilings, 
 nor was laid in a royally-adorned cradle. The angel had made no 
 such announcement. They advanced, then, with faith, hope, and 
 love, towards that deserted stable, where they well deserved to And 
 the promised Saviour, since they came to seek him with pure liearts 
 and single minds. 
 
 Looking into the cave, in order to assure themselves that thev 
 had really reached the term of th ar nocturnal pilgrimage, t/iem 
 men of good will discovered Him who came to preach the Gospel 
 
 * The Tillage of the shepncrds is situated on. a very pleasant plain, about a (|iiartei' 
 of a league to tlie north of Bethlehem, and in the depth of the valley is the celebrated 
 field, where these shepherds were grazing their flocks on Christinas night. According 
 to rrrave authors, both sacred and pi\.' .ne, tl , appearance o^ the angeh to the shep- 
 herds wao not the only prodigy that signalized the birth of the infant God. Tlmy 
 relate that, during that holy night, the vines of Engaddi bLi lOmed ; that, at Coiuos, 
 the Temple of Peace suddenly fell, and the oracles of the demons were silenced for 
 ever The mere birth of our Lord, was a sentence of banishment for those heathen 
 daitics, who had hitherto been permitted to deliver oracles. Milton, with true poetic 
 inspiration, thus describes, in one of his earlier compositions, the flight of these pns- 
 tended diviniiies on Christmas Eve. 
 
 i 
 
^^ 
 
 CHAP. XI.] 
 
 BLESSED VIBOIN MARY. 
 
 to the poor, and abolish the curse of slavery^ under the humble 
 form of a little babe peacefully slumbering in his crib. 
 
 The Vii'gin, bent over her new-born infant, was regarding him 
 with touching humility and profound tenderness. Joseph stood 
 close by, his venerable head bowed down before that adopted son, 
 who was truly God. A ray of moonlight shone on the divine 
 group, and on the reddish wall of rock ; without, the earth was 
 calmly reposing in the bright, silvery light.* 
 
 " This is the place," said the shepherds to themselves ; and pros- 
 '.rating themselves, respectfully, before the manger of the King of 
 kings, they offered to the infant God " the mite" and the homage 
 of the poor. 
 
 There they related the apparition of the angels, their ravishing 
 hymns, and their joj^ul words. Joseph admired this divine mani- 
 festation, and Mary, who heard the simple tale in silence, treasured 
 up every word within her heai-t. TLis duty fulfilled, and theii 
 mission ended, the shepherds of Juda retired praising God, and 
 published in the mountains the marvels of that holy night. They 
 who heard them were seized with astonishment, and said to them- 
 selves, " Can it be possible ? Are we, then, gone back to the days 
 of Abraham, when angels visited shepherds V 
 
 Perchance it was these tales, told at evening in the skirt of the 
 woods or in the deep ravine, vliUst the camels drank together at 
 the lonely spring, that induced one of the Arab tribes to deify 
 Mary and the child. The sweet image of the Virgin, with her Son 
 on her knee, was painted on one of the pillars of the Caaba, and 
 solemnly placed amongst the three hundred and sixty deities of the 
 three Arabijus. In the time of Mahomet they were still seen there,f 
 as we find from grave Arab writers. After the massacre of the 
 
 * "The Persians call Christmas night scheh jaldai, tlie flear and luminous night, 
 beciiiise of the descont of the angols." (D'TIerbelot, Bihl. Orient., t. ii., p. 294.) 
 
 f "El Azraki cjuotes the oiular testimony of many re.si)cctable persons," says 
 Burckhart, " in proof of a remarkable fact wliieh has not hitherto been noticed, as 
 far as I am aware. It is, that the figuro of the Virgin Mary, with the young Asia 
 {.Testis) on her knee, 'vas carved as a divinity on one of the nearest pillars of tlie 
 Caaba." (Burckhart, Voyage en Arable, t. i., p. 221.) 
 
 7^ 
 
 Oi 
 
 h) 
 
 *-v. 
 
 *'//J* 
 
 
 

 m 
 
 138 
 
 LIFE OP THE 
 
 [CIIAP. XI 
 
 Holy Innocents, that valiant tribe rose in a body, gave a long, loud 
 cry of revenge, and, heedless of the enemy's superior numbers, 
 attacked Herod's son, protected as he was by the Romans.* 
 
 This authentic anecdote, so cuiious and so little known, serves 
 to confb'm the supernatural fact related by St. Luke — a fact which 
 the scoffing philosophers of the Voltairian school, and the, if pos- 
 sible, still more pagan adepts of pantheism, have not failed to set 
 down as a fable. The fantastic devotion of these Arabs, who com- 
 mit idolatry with the true God before the preaching of the Gospel, 
 can only be accounted for by the miracles of the holy night of 
 Christmas. 
 
 On the eighth day after his birth the Son of God was circum 
 cised, and named ^ sus, according to the command of his heavenly 
 Father. He must have had a god-father, like all the Israelites, but 
 there is no record of the name of that favoured man. As to the 
 ceremony of the Cii'camcision, which was always performed under 
 the patronage of Elias (who, according to the Hebrews, never failed 
 to assist invisibly),f it took place, St. Epiphanius says, in the very 
 cavern where Jesus was born ; and St. Bernard presumes, with 
 much probability, that St. Joseph was the minister on that oc- 
 casion. 
 
 Some men of the lower classes, docile to the call of the angels, 
 came to adore the infant God in his manger, and to share with him 
 their black bread and go..i.'s milk. A miracle of a higher order, 
 and of greater renown, brought soon after, to the same crib, the 
 fii-st fruits of converted gentilism. The shepierds of Juds had led 
 the way — it was for kings and sages to follow. 
 
 m&M 
 
 rxWI 
 
 * Tliis fact, wnicn confirms the account if the Arab listorian, is mentioned in the 
 Toldos, a ver}- ancient Jewish book, written \'ith tlic most violent liatred of C'liristians. 
 We there sec that Ilcrod the Great and liis son luid to niailitain a war against one of 
 tlie tribes of the desert, who adored the image of Jesus, and Mary, his mother. This 
 tril)e sonslit tliu alliance of several cities of Palestine, and especially that of Hai. 
 Rut, since the Jens themselves place this event in the lifetime of Herod, it must have 
 been because of t'.ie massacre of the Innocents, as the old king lived only one your 
 after the birth of our Saviour. 
 
 f See Basnage, 1. vii., ch. 10 
 
 1:: 
 
 Si 
 
 
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 1'^ 
 
 '7i«ll*-S^ 
 
( OHAF. XU,'\ 
 
 BL£SS£0 VIBOIN MARY. 
 
 180 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE ADOEATIOK OF THE MAOI. 
 
 In the course of the autumn which preceded the birth of Christ, 
 certain of the Chaldean Magi, skilful in the science of the heavenly 
 bodies, discerned a star of the first magnitude, which they recog- 
 nized, by its extraordinary motions and oth<'r* unequivocal signs, 
 as that star of Jacob, foretold by Balaam so long K-'fore — that star 
 which was to rise on their horizon at the coming of the Messiah. 
 According to the ancient traditions of Iran, collected by Abul- 
 farages, Zoroaster, the restorer of the Magi religion, a man of 
 science, a great astronomer, and well vei-sed, moreover, in the 
 Hebrew theology,* announced, under the immediate successoi-s of 
 Cyrus, and soon after the re-establishment of the temple, that a 
 divine child, destined to change the aspect of the world, should be 
 born of a pure and immaculate Virgin in the extr-^rae west of Asia. 
 He added, that a star unknown in their hemisphere should signalize 
 that remarkable event, and that, on its appearance, the Magi were 
 to set out with presents to that infant King. Faithful and religious 
 executors of Zoroaster's will, three of the most illustrious sages of 
 Babyloniaf had no sooner remarked the star than they gave the 
 signal for departure. Leaving behind them the city of Seleucides, 
 
 i?r»^ 
 
 * Sonio have made Zoroaster a disciple of Jeremiah, but the times do not agree 
 It is much more proluible that ho was a pupil of Daniel. 
 
 t The learned are not agreed as to the country of the Magi. Some make them 
 come from tlie depth of Arabia Felix, others from the Indies, whicli is by no means 
 probable. Tiie best authorities point out Persia as tiieir conntry, and that ojiinion 
 seomg the most correct. Tlie names Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, generally given 
 to the Magi, are Babylonian. In fact, Babylon, and after it, Seleucia, situated at a 
 short distance, wore the seats of the most fanions astronomers of antiquity. Finally, 
 those cities are to the east of Jerusalem, and it is only twenty day.s' journey from the 
 banks of the Euphrates to Bethlehem. Origen, who was judicious and well-informed, 
 states that the Magi were addicted to astrology. Drexelius, thereupon, takes upon 
 him to scoff at Origen, which proves that he was but little versed in the ancient history 
 of the East, where every astronomer was an astrologer. 
 
 toiv 
 
 
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i 
 
 110 
 
 .-IFE OF TME 
 
 [CIIAI*. Xll 
 
 ""& 
 
 i li 
 
 
 
 with its stately palm-wood buildings,* and Babylon, where the 
 mournful desert-wind >ecT M>d whispering to the silent ruins the 
 fatal prophecy of the son of Amos, they quitted the land of df s 
 and took the sandy road to Palestine. Before them, like Tij. 
 luminous pillar which guided the flying cohoi-ts of Israel towards 
 the desert strand of the Red Sea, moved the star of the Messiah. 
 That new star, independent of the laws which govern the heavenly 
 bodies, had no regular motion peculiar to itself. Now it advanced 
 at the head of the caravan, moving in a straight line towards the 
 west ; now it remained stationary over the tents erected for the 
 night, seeming to balance itself gently in the clouds like a sleeping 
 albatross. At the dawn of day it gave the signal for departure, as 
 it had done at night for haltiiig.f 
 
 At length the lofty towers of Jerusalem were visible in the 
 distance, amid the bare, bleak summits of its mountains. The 
 cam(>l8 were quenching their thirst at a wayside cistern, when the 
 Magi gave a cry of surprise and alarm. The star had disappeared 
 in the far depths of heaven, like a rational creature who perceives 
 an imj)ending (^mger.;]: 
 
 Thus put out, like the marinei-s of ancient times when dark 
 clouds concealed the polar star, the Magi consulted a moment. 
 "What meant the smklea disappearance of their brilliant guide? 
 Were they tlun at d'; torm of their long journey ? It was very 
 possible, anci even pv-bable that the infant King, whom they came 
 from the banks of the Tigris to adore, might be found in Jerusalem 
 " The God of heaven^ thought they, " does not idly prolong his 
 miracles ; they cease when human agents are sufficient. That is 
 
 * Strulio, b. xvii. 
 
 f St. John Chrys., Serm. 6 in Mailh. Cliulcidius, a pngan pliilosophor, who lived 
 about the end of the third century, makes mentioi; ni this star, and the Ensterii sngcs 
 whom it guided to the birth-pluce of Christ. St. Augustine, the doctor of doctors, 
 snys on tills subject, " A new star appeared at the birth of Ilitn whose death was to 
 obscure the ancient sun." What, then, was that stiir which never appeared before or 
 since in the firmament ? Was it not tlie magnificent language of Heaven, recounting 
 the glory of God and a virgin's child-bearing ? 
 
 \ This cistern, or well, on the highway near Jerusalem, is still known as the Cistern 
 of the Three Kings, or of the Star, in memory of this event. 
 
WMtissi^M^ 
 
 (Jlt W. XII.J 
 
 ULKSSKU VIl{aI^f mauv. 
 
 141 
 
 the UHual order of things. Wliat matter though the star lias left 
 us ? We may easily, without its asalHtance, find this new king in 
 the capit'd of his statoH. To find out the young Messiah, we have 
 only to enter the first street which wo shall find strewed with green 
 ])rauches, perfumed with essence of roses, and tapestried with cloth 
 of gold. The sound of the Hebrew harps, their dancing choruses, 
 and shouts of joy, will spccidily show us which way we are to go" 
 
 Then, quickening their pace, <^ 
 penetrated into the ancient 
 soliliers. 
 
 The aspect of Jerusalem 
 silent, had no appearance 
 
 passed the boundary gate, and 
 trough two files of barbarian 
 
 all. 
 
 ^!*. Its populace, busy, yet 
 joy or festival. Groups 
 
 gathered together, here and there, to stare at the strangers, whom 
 they recognized by their long white robes, girt with magnificent 
 eastern zones, by their bazubends* enriched with precious stones, 
 and, especially, by the manly beauty of their features, as satraps of 
 the great king. The Eastern cavaliers, as they passed along, bent 
 over the neck of their dromedaries to ask some of the numerous 
 spectators where they were to find the new-born King of the Jews, 
 whose star they had seen in the East. The people of Jerusalem, 
 ; 'garding each other in surprise, know not what to answer. ... A 
 king of the Jews ! . . . . What king ? They knew none but Herod, 
 whom they al^horred, and he had no infant son. Astonished, in 
 their turn, that all whom they interrogated declared their ignorance, 
 and, moreover, seeing no mark of festivity anywhere around, the 
 Magi, in great consternation, ascended the populous street Avhich 
 led to the ancient palace of David, and erected their tents amid its 
 ruinous, but shady courts. 
 
 Meanwhile, the appearance of these Persian nobles, who seldom 
 visited the mountains of Judea, their startling questions, Avliich 
 both amazed and intimidated a people who were kept in constant 
 trepidation by the system of espionage ortranized by Herod,f soon 
 
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 bazuhcud. (k?w Moricr, Voyage en Perse ct en Armcnic.) 
 
 f See Josejjhus, Ant. Jtid., t: xv., ch. 13. 
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 UFE OF THE 
 
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 excited a general tumult in that seditious city, the most restless in 
 all the East. The name of the Messiah-king, pronounced by the 
 Pharisees — ever careful to excite the fears of the aged monarch, 
 as to the prospects of his house and the duration of his own 
 power — ^fell amid the listening groups like a spark amongst stubble. 
 The King-Messiah ! There was freedom in that sound. There was 
 conquest — ^there waa glory ! It spoke of the banner of Juda, waving 
 in triumph over a conquered world. The satraps of Persia were 
 considered the first astrologers in the world.* They had, doubtless, 
 read the birth of the Hebrew Goel-[ in the stars. The heir of the 
 kings of Juda was about to ascend the great throne of his fathers, 
 and to banish the race of the Herods, those half Jiews^ who were 
 the -slaves of Eome ! A sullen murmur, like that which precedes 
 the ocean-storm, quickly spread from street to street, firom house to 
 house. Never had the people of Jerusalem felt less disposed to 
 obey the royal edict which forbade them to meddle with any thing 
 hut their own affairs.% Vainly did the fierce soldiers of Herod 
 fi-inge the ramparts and platforms of the tow ers. Tlie people were 
 roused: they were no longer afraid to conspire together in the 
 open street. AU Jerusalem was troubled, says the Gospel, and it 
 was soon the tyi*ant's turn to be troubled himself. 
 
 Iferod then dwelt in his palace in Jerusalem; but its flowery 
 gardens, peopled as they were with rare birds, and intersected by 
 limpid 8treams,§ could not divei-t his mind from the gloomy recol- 
 ections and dark forebodings which rendered life a burden to him. 
 Apprised by his chief spy of the arrival of the Magi, and their 
 strange discourse, bis massive brow, wrinkled with harassing thought, 
 grew dark is a stormy sky, and his anxiety was visible to all. 
 
 * All the East then believed in Astrology, and Philo tells us that the satraps of 
 Persia passed for the first astrologers in the world. 
 
 f Ooel (Saviour), one of the names by which the Hebrews designated the Messiah. 
 
 X Herod had strictly forbidden the Jews to speak of state affairs. They could not 
 eren assemble to liold those great family-festivals hitherto so common amongst them. 
 His spies, spread over the whole city, and even aloag the highways, instantly arrested 
 those who infringed on the royal edict. They were thrown secretly, and sometimes 
 even openly, into the fortresses, where they were severely ^juuishcd. (Joseph., Ant 
 Jud,, c. XV., ch. 13.) 
 
 § Josephus, de Bello, b. v., ch. 13. 
 
 
 m 
 
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 ouAP. xri.j 
 
 BLESSED YIBOnr MABT 
 
 14!( 
 
 The apprehensions of the Jewish king are easily understocd, and 
 are explained by his peculiar position. Herod was neither the 
 anointed of the Lord, nor yet the chosen of the people ; a branch of 
 laurel, gathered within the pagan precincts of the capitol, formed 
 his tributary crown — a crown of slavery, intertwined with thorns, 
 and of which every leaf had been purchased by heaps of gold 
 levied from the savings of the rich, and the indigence of the poor. 
 Hated by the nobles, whose heads he struck off at the first suspi- 
 cion ; dreaded by his relatives, whose lives he sacrificed without 
 remorse, on the slightest pretext ; detested by the priests, whose 
 privileges he trampled under foot ; abhorred by the people, for his 
 sjpeculative religion and his foreign extraction, he had nothing to 
 depend on but his courtiers, his assassins, his artists, and the 
 wealthy, but by no means numerous sect of the Herodians, who 
 were infatuated by his magnificence. Often was the friend of 
 Csesar openly braved by his obstinate subjects. The Pharisees, 
 an artful and powerful sect, had mockingly and insultingly refused 
 to take the oath of fidelity. The Essceans, who were formidable 
 firom their martial courage, had followed the example of the 
 Pharisees ; while the young and impetuous disciples of the doctors 
 of the law had recently cut down, in broad daylight, the golden 
 eagle which, in compliment to the Romans, he had placed over the 
 gate of the temple. 
 
 Conspiracies were going on in every quarter against his life, 
 hatched and fomented by his nearest and dearest, so that he might 
 fall at any moment, under the dagger of some young enthusiast 
 who would deem it a virtuous and patriotic act to rid the earth 
 of a prince who reigned like a madman.* Ascribing t'ais unac- 
 countable boldness to the contempt inspired by his great age, he 
 exhausted all the secrets of art to make himself young again.f 
 He would fain have persuaded, both himself and others, that he 
 
 m 
 
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 :;.i 
 
 * The people were so far from applauding the discovery of this plot, or rejoicing in 
 the king's escape, tliat they laid hold of tlie informer by whom it was revealed, tore 
 aim in pieces, and threw his flesh to the do^s. (Joseph., Ant. Jud,, b. xv., ch. 11.) 
 
 f Herod painted his face, and had his hair and beard dyed black, in order to appear 
 young. (Ibid., b. xvL, ch. 11.) 
 
,\) 
 
 was still that young and brilliant Herod who sui-passed most of the 
 Hebrews in all gymnastic exercises ; Herod, the bold cavalier, the 
 skilful huntsman, the proud and handsome prince, who had despised 
 the love of that famous Egyptian queen for whom Antony had lost 
 the empire of the world. But, alas ! the silvery haira which began 
 to appear amid the dark locks of his sons, their impatience to reign, 
 the spirit of revolt and sedition gliding in amongst the people, and 
 the insolence of the brigands, who were again beginning their 
 depredations in Galilee, all gave him but too clearly to understand 
 that his reign — ^his dread reign — was drawing to a clos*' Harassed 
 with suspicion, and distrusting even his spies, he sometimes wandered 
 at night through the streets and squares of his metropolis,* and heard 
 with his own ears the deep imprecations, the bitter reproaches, the 
 biting sarcasms heaped on the upstart, the Ascalonite, the wUd heaet, 
 who had killed his innocent wife — ^that gem of beauty and pattern 
 of chastity — and who had afterwards caused the two sons whom he 
 had by her to be put to death — those two princes, so sad, so beau- 
 tiful, so stately, and so deur to the people because of the Asmonean 
 heroes, their ancestors, and their fair, but hapless mother. The day 
 following these nocturnal rounds was sure to be one of mourning 
 and death. None were spared. From the highest to the lowest, 
 every oflfender was cut off. Hence, on every side, there were heard 
 vows of vengeance ; and as often as the delusive report of Herod's 
 death was spread, whether by accident or design, through the dis- 
 tant provinces, the people, greedily snatching at the deceitful bait, 
 SQ gratifying to their hatred, hastened everywhere to kindle bonfires, 
 which Herod quenched in blood. 
 
 In the midst of these elements of civil discord, when the army 
 was in a state of all but open revolt, and the whole nation f eemed 
 merely awaiting the signal for a general insurrection, there arrives 
 in Jerusalem certain foreigners of lofty mien, who inquire, without 
 either mystery or concealment, for a new-born king of the Jews, 
 whose star they have perceived. Herod is astounded. He anx- 
 
 i 
 
 * He often went out at night amongst the people, under some disguise, in order to (/ 
 God out the opinion entertained of him, and woe betide those whom he heard censuro 
 himself or his doings. (Joseph., b. xv., eh. 13.) 
 

 CHAP. xn.J 
 
 BLESSED YIROIN MARY. 
 
 145 
 
 iously questions his memory. The fatal predictions concerning his 
 dynasty, which the Pharisees carefully kept afloat, the oracles of 
 the ancient seers, to which he has hitherto paid but little attention, 
 now recur to his mind. That warrior Messiah — that prophet-son 
 of David, who was to overrun the world from east to west, begins 
 now to give him some vague uneasiness. It is not God who suggests 
 these thoughts to the old king's mind ; but the wily prince, the 
 more he thinks of it, the more he is convinced that that mysterious 
 event is connected with t\ vast conspiracy, tending to raise an occult 
 and rival power on the ruins of his. What! he had shed like 
 water the illustrious blood of the Maccabees, nor spared even his 
 own wife and sons. He had crushed beneath the iron fvheel of 
 his despotism all that offered any sort of resistance. He had lost 
 his soul, his honour, his peace of mind, his rest by night, when his 
 bleeding victims haunted his dreams.* .... And why all that ? to 
 prepai'e the way for the race of David !f . . . . That sceptre, so 
 deariy bought ; that sceptre, still reeking with the blood of his own 
 kindred — was it, then, but a dry and accursed rod, to be broken 
 over his tomb ? Was he himself to pass, like the meteor-glare of a . 
 tempestuous evening, over that earth whose former glory would 
 break out anew after his death ? And that nation, which hated 
 him with a hatred so strong, so deadly, so infuriate, which his very 
 favours could not propitiate — ^how it would love and cherish the 
 descendant of its ancient kings ! This last thought fell, bitter as 
 wormwood, on the dark, desolate heart of the aged monarch ; for, 
 amid all his deeds of cruelty, he felt the desire of being loved — a 
 strange desire, truly, but yet a real one, in that most extraordinary 
 
 * Ibid. 
 
 f Some are surprised at the fi;ars wherewith Herod regarded a branch of the family 
 of David ; nevertheless, Herod was not the only one who persecuted that noble house, 
 because of its ancient rights and Its glorious hopes. Euscbius relates, from Hegesipus, 
 tlmt, after the conquest of Jerusulem, Vespasian gave orders to seek and destroy all 
 Ihe posterity of Davi.l. Under Trajan, the persecution still continued. Finally, 
 Doniitian had two members of this illustrious family brought to Home, who were the 
 lineal descendants of the Ap' stle St. Judc. The emperor, having questioned them, 
 found that they possessed only thirty-nine acres of land, which they tilled with their 
 own hands. He sent them back to their home, being satisfied, on account of their 
 poverty, that there was no danger from their ambition. 
 
 
 ■a 
 
 t.; 1 
 '•'ll 
 
 
^ 
 
 146 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [chap. xn. 
 
 r&Mstl. 
 
 'mr^^ 
 
 nature, whicli seemed made up of contrasts, and which had devoted 
 some of the very noblest qualities to the service of the most 
 absorbing and the moat cruel passion which can ravage the human 
 soul — ambition. 
 
 " Let this child be earthly prince or Leaven-sent prophet," said 
 Herod, after a pause, " he must die ... . yea, and he shall die, were 
 I sure of extinguishing, witt that feeble breath, all the glories 
 which o"r seers behold in the future. Athalia, that strong woman, 
 who knew so well how to reigu, forgot only one infant in the mas- 
 sacre of the royal family of Juda That child lived to deprive 
 
 her of her throne and life. . . . For me, I shall try to forget nothing. 
 But where are they hiding this new-boi'ii king of the Jews, whose 
 birth the stars proclaim, and whom these insolent satraps come to 
 seek at the very gates of my palace ? . . . . Can it, indeed, be that 
 ScMh foretold by Jacob ? . . . . These are, perchance, only the idle 
 
 dreams of astrologers No matter .... we must make all sure.'' 
 
 A few hours after, the doctors of the law and the chief priests were 
 assembled m council, with Herod presiding, and were asked that 
 question which seemed strange to them in the mouth of such a 
 prince, " In what place is the Messiah to be born ?" 
 
 The answer was prompt and unanimou Tn Bethlehem of Juda. 
 And the ancients of Israel, quite willing to ai^noy the friend of the 
 Romans, failed not to add that, as the last week of Daniel was 
 nearly at an end, the coming of the ]Vi\?Poiah must be at hand. 
 This information, by no means satisfactory, would not do for Herod, 
 who must ascertain where the blow was to be struck. He resolved 
 to interrogate the Magi, and to find out, i^ possible, the precise 
 period of the child's birth, computing by the appearance of the 
 star. Too cunning to grant the Persian sages a public audience, 
 which would have given notoriety to a rumour which it was most 
 important to stifle, the king had them brought before him, and 
 examined them closely as to the time of the star's appearance. 
 " He inquires minutely, not after the child, but the star," says St. 
 John Chrysostom, " in order to observe all possible circumspection 
 in laying his snare." Having learned all that he wished to know, 
 the man of blood dismissed the strangers in an affable and gracious 
 manner. "Go," said he, "and diligently inqibk'e after the y&ung 
 
 l\ 
 
 mM^ 
 
ORAF. xn.] 
 
 DLiSSED VIKGIN MART. 
 
 147 
 
 c/tUd: and wJien you ha/ve fotmd him, bring me word again, that J 
 also mm/ comv avA adore him." 
 
 Now, the Magi, like all lofty-minded men — sons of science and 
 contemplation — were simple, sincere, an'd but little disposed to suspect 
 evil. They understood despotism and cruelty in a prince, but they 
 did not understand falsehood, for the first thing that the kings of 
 Persia leam in their infancy is to speak the truth. They, therefore, 
 gave implicit credence to the false words of the Idumean, and re- 
 passing under the stately porticoes of that palace, which vied in 
 magnificence with that of the great king, b\it which had not, with 
 all its bronzes and arcades, the golden bell of the auppliants* they 
 q[uitted the Betzetha,f had their tents taken up, and once more 
 traversed the Holy City to repair to the supposed birth-place of 
 thfc Messiah. As they wound along the walls, enriched by trophies 
 from the new amphitheatre, whose unusual style of decoration was 
 an iaexhaustible subject of ridicule for the Pharisees, they met King 
 Herod, surrounded by a forest of Thracian and German speoi-s. 
 going in the direction of Jericho.J 
 
 The Persians quitted Jerusalem by the Damascus gate ; then, 
 turning to the left, they made their way through some hollow 
 ravines, intersected with steep hillocks which they had to climb 
 They were nearly an hour's journey from the capital of Judea, 
 
 * The kings of Persia administered justice in quite a patriarchal manner. They 
 had above their heads a golden bell, and to the bell was fastened a chain, the end of 
 which hung without the palace. Every time that the bell rang, the officers of the 
 prince went forth from his apartments, and introduced before the ffreat king the 
 suppliants, who demanded justice of the prince himself, who instantly examined their 
 case, and gave his decision with equity. (Antar. Translated from the Arabic by 
 Terrick Hamilton.) 
 
 f The quarter named Bttietha, or the new city, which Herod had joined to Jerusalem, 
 was situated to the north of the Temple ; it contained the lower pond, the pond ot 
 probation, and Herod's palace. 
 
 I We have followed the authors who state that Herod set out for Jericho, when 
 he was some time sick, just when the Magi went to Bethlehem ; this is quiti 
 conformable to the Gospel narrative, for if Herod had been in Jerusalem when th 
 Persians returned thither, they would probably have seen him prior to the angel's warn- 
 ing, which was not given until the night. The illness of Herod, by diverting his attention 
 from the Magi and the child, left the former at liberty to return in peace to their own 
 country, and gave the Holy Family time to set out for Nazareth. 
 
 IT If 
 
 '■>;'■ 
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 cT^ 
 
(! I 
 
 ^cT 
 
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 148 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [chap, xa 
 
 and had permitted their camela to stop at a cistern to drink, 
 when a brilliant point appeared in the heavens, and rapidly de- 
 scended towards them like a falling star. "The star! our starl" 
 cried the slaves, in a transport of joy. " The star !" repeated their 
 masters, equally delighted ; for they were now sure of being in the 
 light way, and resumed their march with increased ardour. 
 
 They were preparing to enter the city of David, when the star, 
 inclining towards the south, suddenly stopped over a deserted cave, 
 which had the appearance of a rustic stable, and down, down it 
 went till it seemed to rest, almost, on the head of the infant God. 
 The sight of that motionless star, its soft rays falling brightly on 
 that dreary grotto, filled the Magi with a lively faith, and a lively 
 faith it did require to discover the King-Messiah in a poor, unno< 
 ticed child, bom in such a place, laid in a manger, and whose 
 mother, though fair and full of grace, was evidently of very obscure 
 condition. 
 
 God, who would make the Jews ashamed of their obduracy by 
 contrasting it with the pious haste and the docile faith of infidels, 
 allotted it so that the strange humiliation of the holy family should 
 not shake the firm belief of the Magi. 
 
 The worshippers of the sun — the Gentiles — who were to be 
 saved by the Cross as well as the children of the covenant, pene- 
 trated into the lowly abode of Cueist with as much veneration m 
 though it were one of their own temples, built over subterraneous 
 fires, wherein starry spheres kept ever turning.* Following the 
 custom of their people, they prostrated themselves as they crossed 
 the threshold, and having taken off their rich sandals, they adored 
 the new-born infant as all the Eastern nations then adored their 
 gods and their mastei-s. Then, opening their caskets of perfumed 
 v\'ood. wherein were the offerings intended for the Messiah, they 
 took out some of the finest gold, gathered in the neighbourhood 
 of Niniveh the Great, and perfumes, purchased with fruits and 
 pearls from the Arabs of Yemen. These mysterious gifts were not 
 
 * These spheres, composeil of golden circles, hollowed like our armillary spheres 
 turned with a loud noise at sunrise. They are still to be seen at Oulam, where the 
 Ghebers have a temple. (Rabbi Benjamin.) 
 
 % i 
 
 Tir 
 
 m 
 
IHAI*. XII.] 
 
 BIGSSBD VIRGIN HART. 
 
 140 
 
 carnal, like the offerings of the Jews. The cradle of Him, who was 
 come to abolish the sacrifices of the synagogue, was not to be 
 sprinkled with blood; hence, the Magi did not sacrifice to him 
 either spotless lambs or white heifers. They offered him gold, as 
 an earthly prince — myrrh and incense, as a God.* Then, bowing 
 down to the ground before Mary, whom they found fair as (lie 
 moon and modest as the pale water-lily, they invoked the blessing 
 of God upon her, and prayed that the hand of miffortUTie might 
 never reach her. 
 
 This was the last scene of splendour in which the Virgin figured. 
 The first period of her life, like a sweet dream of Ginnestan, had 
 rolled away under roofe of cedar and of gold, amid sacred perfumes 
 and the sound of harp and lyre ; the second, full of mysteries and 
 wonders, had brought her in connection with the inhabitants of 
 heaven and the piinces of Asia ; the third was about to open under 
 other auspices : it was now her turn for persecution, anguish and un- 
 utterable sorrow. 
 
 Me^anwhile, the Magi prepared to leave Bethlehem, having no- 
 «hmg more to do in Judca. They proposed, according to their 
 promise, to seek the king in his palace at Jericho, to let hire 
 know where the Messiah was ; but the angel of the Lord apprisea 
 them in a dream of the dark designs of that pei-fidious prince, and 
 commanded them to go home by another way. 
 
 The sons of Ormuzd returned thanks to the Master of tJie su7t 
 a/nd of tlie morning sta/r, attributed this nocturnal revelation to 
 their good geniusjf and merited by their perfect docility thf j}h 
 
 * Much praise has justly been given to these verses of Javencns — the most ancient 
 Christian poet whose worlts have come down to ns — on the gifts of the Magi kings : 
 
 Aunim, thus, myrrbnm, rrgique, Deoquc, hominiqne 
 Dona ferant. . . . 
 
 f Ormuzd, in zend ahurb-maideb (the most learned king), and Ahrimen, en send 
 ahyro-maingxiM (the wicked intelligence), according to the Persian mythology, sprang 
 from good and bad genii, to whom are ascribed divers functions in the universe, 
 whether for the diffusion of good or the propagation of evil. One of the good genii, 
 named Scrosch, went seven times every night around all the earth, to watch over the 
 safety of the servants of Ormuzd. (See the Attuehaipand-Named, and the Book of 
 Kinf/s of Firdousi.) 
 
 
 ^^5?l?%' ')Wt^^^9' : 
 
 m 
 
 
 S' 
 
 n.«. 
 
il 
 
 ^ IM 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [CIIAP. XII. 
 
 of faith, which they ftfterwards received.* Instead of journeying 
 ly the barren and dangerous shores of that accused lake, wliose 
 dark, stagnant watei-s cover the reprobate cities of the plain, thoy 
 turned their camels' heads towards the coast of the Great Sea, 
 where they could almost fancy themselves in the valleys of dates 
 and rosesf watered by the Euphrates and the Bend-Emyr, as they 
 wound their way across the J'^vely strand of Syria. 
 
 * Very ancient authors affirm that the Magi received baptism from St. Thomas , 
 ii 18 believed that they Buffered martyrdom in India, where tlicy preached tlie Gospel. 
 
 f "The date trees of Bubylon," says Diodorus of Sicily, "bear exquisite fruit; 
 they are six inches long, some yellow, others red, and others of a purple colour, so 
 that they are just as pleasing to the sight as to the taste. The trunk of the tree is 
 of a surprising height, and is perfectly straight and even, but the head, or tuft, is not 
 the same in all. Some date trees extend their branches in a round forni, and the fruit 
 of some grows out in clusters from the bark, about the middle ; others have all their 
 branches on one side, and thoir own weight bending them down towards the ground, 
 gives them the form of a hanging lamp; others, again, divide their branches into two 
 parts, and they then fall to the right and left in perfect symmetry." {Diod. b. ii.) 
 Here is a description of the banks of the Euphrates, by an Arabian poet, antcriur to 
 Mahomet : — " They saw populous towns, plains abounding in flowing streams, date 
 trees, and warbling birds and sweet-smelling flowers; and the country appeared like 
 a blus.-'ing to enliven the sorrowing heart; and the camels were grazing and straying 
 about the land ; and they wore of various colours, like the flowers of a garden." 
 (Antar, translattd from the Arahie hy Terrick Hamilton.) As to the fields and 
 gardens of roses so common in ancient Persia, see Firdousi's Book of Kings, 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
CHAP. xm.\ 
 
 BLKsaKD VIROm MAKY 
 
 151 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 TBB PUSiriOATION. 
 
 FouTY days after the Saviour's birth, the Virgin prepared to 
 return to Jerusalem for the fulfilment of the Levitical precept, 
 which prescribed the purification of mothers and the redemption 
 of the first-born. Undoubtedly, this law did not apply to Mary : 
 for, though she was the mother of the Redeemer, she was still a 
 pure virgin, and that immaculate conception had been followed 
 by a spotless maternity; "but she willingly submitted, for exam- 
 ple's sake, to a law which was no way binding on her," says Bossuet. 
 " because the secret of her virginal maternity was not known." 
 
 Meanly attirf \ and undistinguished from the crowd, in their 
 first appearance on the dusty road of Ephrata, Joseph and Mary, 
 having attracted no observation, left behind them no remembrance 
 to become traditionary. It was far different, however, on their 
 return to Jerusalem — thanks, we may suppose, to the wondrous 
 tale of the shepherds, and the brilliant visit of the Magi. At 
 some distance from Bethlehem, Mary stopped under a spreading 
 tree to nurse her divine Infant ; and that tree, according to the 
 common belief, had ever after a secret vii'tue, which for sixteen 
 centuries effected many marvellous things. So it is said, at least, 
 by the Chi-istians of Asia, and also by the Turks, for whom that 
 jree was, not more than two hundred years ago, an object of ven- 
 eration and the term of a pilgrimage.* 
 
 After this memorable halt, the holy couple journeyed on to the 
 tomb of Rachel,f where every Hebrew was to pray in pass- 
 
 m 
 
 * Tliis tree, nndcr which Mary stopped to nurse Jesus, was destroyed in the 
 sercntccnth century, bat the place where it stood is still pointed oat. 
 
 t According t« the Jewish doctors, Jacob only buried his beloved wife on the 
 highway of Bethlehem because his prophetic knowledge enabled him to foresee that a 
 number of his descendants shonid pass that way as captives of the Assyrians, and that 
 he would have Rachel intercede for them with Jehovah, according as they passed ber 
 
 
 . 1': 
 
m^^ 
 
 to 
 
 ,\i» 
 
 n 
 
 '^m. 
 
 
 162 
 
 LIFE OF Tiue 
 
 [c'liAP. xin 
 
 ing. Thia primitive monument, consisted of twelve lurgo stones 
 overgrown with moss, on each of which was engraved the name 
 of a tribe, and its only epitaph was a white Syrian rose — frail, 
 sweet emblem of that lovely woman, who withered away ere yet 
 her beauty had reached its prime, like the flower mentioned by 
 Job. While they stopped to say a prayer for the dead over the 
 revered dust of one of the saints of their people, the Virgin and 
 Joseph little thought that the wailing of the dove, ascribed by 
 Scripture to that fair Assyrian, was so soon to have its application, 
 or that the mother of Joseph and of Benjamin was the desolate 
 type of the mothers who, some days after, in the mountains ot 
 Judea, were to mourn for their children massacred in place of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Ooing forth from the vale of Rephai'm, whose ancient oaks 
 shaded the graves of the gigantic race of Enac, the Virgin ob- |r 
 served a tree whose sinister aspect saddened and depressed hei 
 heart. It was a barren olive-tree, whose pale leaves rustled in 
 the evening breeze, with a mournful sound that seemed like the 
 wail of human sorrow. As she passed under its gloomy foliage, 
 uncheered by the song of any bird, Mary felt that sensation of 
 blighting cold which belongs to the fatal shade of the manchineel- 
 tree. That tree, if local tradition be not mistaken, was the in/a- 
 vums wood to which Christ was nailed.* 
 
 At the moment when Joseph and Mary made their way into 
 the sacred inclosure, with the shekels of silver for the ransom and 
 
 tomb. Protestants hare loudly exclaimed against this passage of the Talmad, as 
 being too favourable to the intercession of the Virgin and the saints. This tomb of 
 Rachel was so highly venerated, that every Jew who passed by made it a sacred duty 
 to engrnTo his name on one of the stones ; these enormous stones were twelve in 
 number. {Talm, of Jer.) It Is well known that the tears of Rachel, mentioned by 
 Jeremiah, were but the figure of the tears shed by the Jewish women after the 
 massacre of the Innocents, (S. Mat. ch. ii., v. 17, 18.) 
 
 * About half a league from Jerusalem stands the monastery of the Holy Cross. 
 Inside its chapel is shown the «pot which was occupied by the barren olive tree of 
 which the Gross was made. The place where the trcnk stood is now filled up by a 
 block of marble in a niche under the high altar, where there is a lamp continually 
 boming. 
 
 I 
 
 im 
 
CHAP. XIII.] 
 
 BLE8SED VIItaiN HART. 
 
 IAS 
 
 tho two doves for tho sacrifice, a holy old man nftr-nd Simeon,* to 
 whom it had been divinely revealed that ho should not die until he 
 had seen the CniusT of the Lord, entered tho temple by on impulse 
 of the Holy Ghost. At sight of the Holy Family, the eye of the 
 just man became inspired. Discovering the King-Messiah under 
 the poor swaddling-clothes of a common child, ho took him in his 
 arms, drew him close to him, and gazed upon him with delight, 
 whilst the tears of joy rolled down his venerable cheeks. " Now," 
 cried the pious old man — "Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, 
 O Lord, according to thy word in peace. Because my eyes have 
 seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of 
 all people : a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory 
 of thy people Israel." Having uttered those words, Simeon sol- 
 emnly blessed the mother and her spouse; and then, addressing 
 himself to Mary, after a moment's mournful silence, he added that 
 this child was born for the fall and for the resurrection of many in 
 Israel, and for a sign which should be contradicted, and that grief, 
 like a sharp sword, should pierce his mother's soul. 
 
 By this unexpected light, which partially disclosed the high 
 destiny of Christ, the ignominies, tho sufferings, and the agony 
 of tho Cross were suddenly revealed to the blessed Virgin. Tho 
 ominous words of Simeon, like a stormy wind, made her bend 
 her head, and her heart throbbed with anguish.f But Mary knew 
 how to accept, without murmur or complaint, whatever came from 
 God. Her palo lips touched that cup of wormwood and gall, sli'- 
 drained it to the dregs, and then, restraining her tears, she meekly 
 said, Thy will^ Lord, be done ! At that moment, tho daughter 
 of Abraham rose superior to the chief and father of her people. 
 She, too, sacrificed her son on the altar of the Lord ; but she had 
 
 * The Arabs give Simeon the title of Siddik, (ho who verifies,) beconso ho boro 
 testimony to tlie coming of the true Messiah, in the person of Jesus, son of Mary, 
 wliom every Mussulman is obliged to receive as such. (D'Herbelot, Biblioth. Orient., 
 t. iii., p. 266.) 
 
 f " Mary, my sovereign," says St. Anselm, speaking on this subject, " I cannot 
 believe that you could have lived a single moment with such a sorrow at your heart, 
 hod not Qod, the giver of life, given you strength to bear it." 
 
 I 
 
 fl 
 
 tB 
 
I I 
 
 I >' 
 
 % 
 
 b?^ 
 
 154 
 
 LIFE OF THB 
 
 I I' 
 
 '■ i 
 
 J' 
 
 w 
 
 
 to 
 
 [chap. xttt. 
 
 the sad certainty that her sacrifice would be accepted, and she was 
 a mother ! 
 
 She was still revolving in her mind these lofty thoughts, when 
 there came in a prophetess named Anna, wife of Phanuel, of the 
 tribe of Aser, who was far advanced in years. This holy widow 
 remained continually in the temple, serving God night and day in 
 prayer and fasting. Seeing the divine child, she began to praise 
 the Lord aloud, and to speak of him to all those who expected the 
 redemption of Israel. 
 
 " Not only," says St. Ambrose, " did angels, prophets, and shep- 
 herds proclaim the birth of the Saviour, but also the just, and the 
 ancients of Israel. A Virgin conceives, a barren woman brings 
 forth, a dumb man speaks, Elizabeth prophesies, the Magi adore, 
 the child in his mother's womb leaps for joy, a widow confesses that 
 wondrous event, and all the just expect it." 
 
 As women might not enter the inner court of the temple, where 
 the child was "^o be offered to the Lord, because of his sex, Joseph 
 himself carried him into the liall of the firstrbom^ asking himseK 
 whether the scenes which had marked the entraiiCe of Jesus into 
 the holy house were to be renewed before the Hebrew pontiflfe. 
 But nothing revealed the Infant-God in that privileged part of 
 the temple ; all there remained dull and cold, notwithstanding the 
 radiant presence of the young Sun of Justice. A priest who ytm 
 unknown to Joseph carelessly received from the hard hands of the 
 man of labour, whom he regarded as the scurm of the world* the 
 timid birds prescribed by the law, and did not even deign to 
 henour Christ with a look. The love of gold — ^that shameful 
 idolatry, which conceals its unholy worship when it has still the 
 grace to be ashamed of it — ^had totally petrified the narrow, selfish, 
 vindictivef heart of the princes of the synagogue. Leaving a mo- 
 nopoly of the toils and privations to the simple L^vites, whom they 
 
 * l*rideanA, Histoire des Juifs. 
 
 f There was then, and still is, amongst the Jewish doctors, a horrifying doctrine ; 
 they hold that he who nourishes not his hatred, and .ikes not revenge, is nnworthT 
 the title of Babbi. (Basnagc, 1. vi., ch. 17.) 
 
 !» ; 
 
CHAP, mr.] 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN HART. 
 
 155 
 
 reduced to live on herbs and dry figs,* they passed by the poor man 
 lying on their marble threshold, the wounded traveller stretched on 
 the moimtain path, colJly averting their head. At bottom, they 
 loved neither God nor man. And hence it viCS that our Ix)rd, 
 who Himself instituted a priesthood of charity, bitterly reproached 
 them with this in the parable of the good Samaritan. Thus, as 
 Malachy had foretold, God cwrsed their blessings, and turned away 
 from his temple, which he 'vas soon after to deliver to the fire and 
 sword of the Komans. 
 
 The presence of the Messiah, which inflamed the heart of the 
 disciples of Emmatis even before they had recognized him in the 
 breaking of bread, passed over the soul of the Aaronites as the first 
 ray of spring passes over the eternal snows of Ararat. That solemn 
 moment, which suspended the angelic concerts, and fixed the atten- 
 tion of the heavenly hosts on a single point of the universe — ^that 
 moment, foretold by Aggeus, when the glory of the second temple 
 efiaced that of the first — that moment passed unnoticed before the 
 dai'kened vision of the priests and doctors. There was none to 
 recognize iJie clean offering mentioned by Malachy. The Desired 
 of all nations — Him whose way the angels had prepared — ^the great 
 Redeemer, so long promised and so long expected, was there, 
 bodily, in his holy house, and no one thought of welcoming him 
 with palms, crying out on the watch-towera of the temple and the 
 house-tops of Jerusalem, Hosarma to the Son of David! They 
 knew well, as the Gospel says, how to predict the approach of rain 
 by the clouds which roso from the west ; they could foretell heat 
 by the blowing of the south wind : but these men, so clever in 
 di'awing presages from the different aspects of the heavens, saw 
 /not that the Jig-tree of Solomon was about to put forth its fimit, 
 and they could not discover the God in that humble child. Oh, 
 
 f . 
 441 
 
 * Tho luxury and avarice of the chief priests of Jerusalem were incredible. Thej 
 sent out and collected the tithes through the country, taking all to theraselvos, and 
 leaving tho inferior priests wholly destitute. At the first remonstrance, tho unhappy 
 Lovites, accused of revolt and sedition, were given over to the Romans, and governor 
 Felix alone threw forty of them into prison in order to propitiate the doctors and 
 priucea of the Synagogue. (Josephos, Vita.) 
 
i 
 
 h 
 
 I 
 
 I c >< 
 
 156 
 
 LIFE OF 'THE 
 
 [chap. xin. 
 
 k) 
 
 '^'S^'.' 
 
 poverty ! what a disguise thou art, even for the divine nature ! 
 The real Christ was in the midst of his own, but he was poor, 
 and his own received him not; hence they remained without a 
 Saviour, for no Melech-Hamaschidk ever came to justify their in- 
 credulous contempt for the divine Son of the Virgin, and they are 
 reduced to cry, with cool, yet despairing malice, Perish those who 
 compute the time of the Messiah I* 
 
 MeanwhUe, the infant God, who had recognized, along the streets 
 of Jerusalem, the different stages of the passion, silently distinguished 
 his future executioners amid that grave and glittering crowd; 
 amongst the choirs who sang on the harp hymns of praise to the 
 Eternal, Christ distinguished the loud, discordant voices which were 
 one day to cry : Cnicify him ! Oi"ucify him ! 
 
 Race of Aaron, where art thou now ? The vengeful breath of the 
 Crucified h'\s scattered thee, like chaff, over all the earth ; swallowed 
 up in those masses which thou didst so despise, thy companions in 
 exile know thee no more ! But caring little, at that time, for the 
 clouds which darkened above their heads, the Hebrew priests 
 offered to that God who spumed their gifts, the chosen victims of 
 both high and low. One of them took Joseph's doves, ascended 
 the gentle slope of the altar of holocausts, and offered to the Lord 
 that simple and humble sacrifice. 
 
 " After" Joseph and Mary " had performed all things according 
 to the law of the Lord,'* says St. Luke, " they returned into Galilee, 
 to their city Nazareth."f 
 
 * Basnage, 1. vi., ch. 26. Tolraud, 349. 
 
 f We have followed the opinion of St. Luke, St. John Chrysostom, and some other 
 authorities, in making the Iloly Family set out for Nazareth immediately after the 
 Purification. It is the only way to reconcile St. Matthew — who says nothing of the 
 marTellous events of the Presentation — with St. Lake, who is silent as to the mar<sacrt 
 of the Innocents, and tnc flight into Egypt. "What shall we say to reconcile these 
 two evangelists," says St. John Chrysostom, " except that the return to Nazareth 
 preceded the flight into Egypt ? F,. God did not command Joseph and Mary to 
 go into Egypt before the Purification, lest the law might be left unfulfilled. But, 
 that duty accomplished, they returned of themselves to Nazareth where they received 
 the order to fly into Egypt." 
 
 O 
 
 I 
 
CHAP. XIV.j 
 
 >LESSED VIHGIN HART 
 
 157 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THB FLIOHT INTO EGYPT 
 
 } 
 
 SoAHOELY were they returned into Lower Galilee, when Joseph 
 and Mary had to set out again on a long and perilous journey, 
 ending in the land of exile. One night, the angel of the Lord 
 appeared to Joseph, during his sleep. " Arise," said he, " take the 
 child and his mother, and fly into Egypt, and be there until I shall 
 tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child 
 to destroy him." At these words, Joseph rose aflWghted, adored 
 the Lord, and ran to awake Mary, who was sweetly sleeping beside 
 her child. The young mother quickly understood the necessity of 
 this abrupt and secret departure. She casts a look of anguish on 
 her son, and hastily collects a few clothes and some provisions for 
 the journey ; then, preceded by Joseph, and carrying Jesus in her 
 arms, she quits her native city reposing in the calm star-light. 
 
 The prophecies of Simeon were speedily accomplished. Scarcely 
 was Jesus born, when a tyrant's persecution sought him in his 
 cradle, and his mother, so young, so holy, was forced to fly by night 
 like a guilty creature, accompanied only by an aged man who could 
 only oppose prayor and patience to the Arab spears which, perchance, 
 lay in ambush in the mountain ravine, or to the murderous attack 
 of Herod's soldiers. It would seem as though God himself abandoned 
 that holy family to its fate, for, when giving the order for Joseph 
 to set out, his messenger had not promised, as Raphael did of old to 
 the young Tobias, to guard them on the way. But the Virgin's 
 spouse undei-stood that, the solemn moment of Christ's manifestation 
 not being yet come, God would save them from the devices of Herod 
 by means of mere human prudence To Joseph, then, belonged all 
 tne care, and all the honour, of that arduous enterprise : it was for 
 him — a poor, obscure old man — to thwart the plans, to defeat th« 
 scliemes, to elude the jealous watchfulness of a gloomy, politic tyrant 
 who was served by his myrmidons like an Eastern despot. What 
 was to happen, and what was to be done, if any danger presented 
 11 
 
 m 
 

 158 
 
 IitFE OF THE 
 
 [chap. XIV. 
 
 
 Y 
 
 itself on tbe Jerusalem road ? Tlie sudden departure of the Magi 
 had aroused the suspicions of Herod, and those suspicions wore 
 strengthened by the words of Anna and Simeon ; secret inquiries, 
 dark investigations were already on foot, and none might say where 
 that sanguinary prince would stop, he who filled with gold the red 
 hand of the assassin. The more Joseph pondered, the more clearly 
 he foresaw some horrible tragedy, the very thought of whicli made 
 the blood curdle in his veins. Mary, on her side, pale and silent 
 as death, kept looking forward into the depth of the valley, the 
 shade of the woods, or along the wild sinuosity of the rocky path 
 which Joseph had chosen as the safest, and the most remote from 
 the dwellings of men. The soft moonlight illumined the earth, and 
 guided the silent march of the holy travellers. 
 
 " The weather was still cold,"* says St. Bonaventure, " and, while 
 crossing Palestine, the Holy Family had to choose the wildest and 
 least frequented roads. Where were they to lodge during the 
 night ? Where can they venture to rest a little during the day ? 
 Where are they to take the frugal meal necessary to sustain their 
 strength ?"t 
 
 Tradition is silent on most of the details of this touching and 
 perilous pilgrimage. Doubtless, the holy travellers made long and 
 painful marches through the mountains, availing themselves of the 
 first hours of day, and often, too, awaiting the rising of the moon 
 to resume their journey. Whilst their way lay through Galilee, 
 they found places of rest and shelter in its deep caves, with their 
 gecret branches winding no one knew whither ; but even these had 
 their dangers, for they were often chosen as a secure hiding place 
 by some of those numerous bands of robbers who had long bid 
 defiance to all the forces of the kingdom, and ■w^ho were now 
 emboldened by thj illness of Herod.J The fear of Jiappeniug 
 
 
 I I!! 
 
 • "^ViK \ tti r • • 
 
 i^?i^- 
 
 * About the middle of February, when it is still very cold in *hc neountains of the 
 nterior, where the temperature, according to M. Voliioy, is nearly like ours ; on the 
 Diains of Syria, on the contrary, it was already the heat of summer. {See note 3 of 
 ch. yi.) 
 
 t St. Bonaventure, Be Vita Christt. 
 
 X These armed bands, often two or three thousand strong, were commanded by 
 experienced chiefs, who Rare both Herod and the Romans enongh to do. Some of 
 
 ''^"•, 
 
 7/^;r'>'^ 
 
 
onAP. XIV.] 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN MART. 
 
 159 
 
 unawares into one of these murderous dens, must have made Joseph 
 hesitate many a time at the mouth of a cave that would seem to 
 offer a secure asylum. 
 
 At length, after a thousand dangers, and a thousand trials of 
 various kinds, the Holy Family reached the environs of Jerusalem, 
 Here caution and anxiety were increased in proportion to the 
 imminence of the danger. The fugitives dared no longer approach 
 cities, nor even populous villages, where a troop of spies and 
 informers had their eye on every stranger.* They followed the 
 bed of the torrents, plunged into by-ways, or through the damp 
 foliage of the woods, not daring to turn aside for a fresh stock of 
 provisions, and suffering at once from fear, cold, and hunger. They 
 had prjsed Anathot, and were making for Ramla, to descend into 
 the low country ; anxious to escape from a dangerous vicinity, they 
 had borrowed some hours from the night, when they saw winding 
 from a gloomy ravine just before them, a number of armed men, 
 who blocked up the way. He who appeared the leader of this 
 troop of brigands, stepped forward in front of his men to take a 
 view of the travellers. Joseph and Mary stood still, looking on 
 each other in terror and alarm ; Jesus was sleeping. The bandit, 
 who was on the look-out for blood and gold, cast an astonished 
 glance on the defenceless old man, with his simple, patriarchal air, 
 and then on the young veiled woman, with her infant clasped 
 convulsively to her heart. "They are poor," said the robber to 
 himself, "and, as they travel by night, they must be fugitives!" 
 Perhaps he, too, had an infant son ; or perhaps the atmosphere of 
 mildness and mercy which surrounded Jesus und Mary, had its 
 effect on that ferocious soul ; however it was, he lowered the point 
 of his lance, and, extending a friendly hand to Joseph, offered him 
 a lodging for the night in his rock-built fortress hard by. This 
 
 )4r3 
 
 ^\' 
 
 these had a political object iii view, and inado a guerilla war ; others were simply a 
 band of assassins who carried long dafrgers under their robe, and murdered all 
 obnoxious persons who fell in their way, even in the streets of Jerusalem. (Be Bella, 
 b. ii., eh. 5.) 
 
 • Herod, who perfected the spy system in the East, had his spies scattered olonf 
 all the highways of Judea. (Joseph., Ant. Jud., b. xr., ch. 13.) 
 
 i 
 
 11 
 
 .i 
 
 II 
 
 m 
 
 '!ii 
 
 ■t,1 
 
 \m 
 
f; 
 
 
 I) 
 
 Ji 
 
 m^mi' 
 
 160 
 
 UF£ OF THE 
 
 frank offer was accepted with a holy confidence, and the brigand's 
 roof was as hospitable, on that occasion, as the Arab tent * On 
 the following day, about noon, the Holy Family stopped in the 
 ihadc of a vast forest of palms, nopals, and wild fig-trees, which is 
 situated at a short distance from Ramla;f a bed of amaranths, 
 narcissuses, and anemones, received the Lord of heaven and earth ; 
 iho heat of summer was abroad on the plain, and the warbling 
 of birds, the odour of plants, the thick shade of the fig-trees, and 
 *he distant murmur of a rivulet, lulled the divine infant to sleep. 
 After a short and fearful holt, the travellers resumed their journey. 
 There is no knowing why it was that they directed their couree 
 towards Bethlehem ; tradition has preser\red the memory of their 
 visit, and Christians have erected an altar in the cave where Mai-y 
 hid with her childj whilst Joseph went up to the city, either to 
 inquire about the departure of a caravan, or to exchange Mary's ^ 
 gentle, but slow palfry, for a camel. Whatever motive it might 
 have been that drew Joseph and Mary into the crater of the volcano, 
 it is certain that they staid but a few hours, and that they thence 
 hastened to gain a maritime town of the Philistines, there to join 
 the first caravan destined for Egypt. 
 
 According to the learned calculations of chronologei's, who admit 
 of no interval in this long journey, the holy couple must have 
 found a caravan at once setting out from the Syrian coast. This 
 is the more likely inasmuch as the spring equinox was drawing near, 
 lj\ so that every traveller would be anxious to outstrip the season when 
 the simoom sweeps over the desert, rendering its sands as treacher 
 
 
 * The site where local tradition places this scene, and where the ruins of the 
 brigand's fortress are still seen, bears even now a bad character. Daring the 
 Crusades, the Franks, to whom this tradition was familiar, converted the bandi. 
 chief into a feudal lord ; " it is, nevertheless, a rare thing," says Father Nau, with 
 amusing coolness, " for a great lord to turn highway robber." The Crusaders knew 
 what they were about better than Father Nau. There has been added to this legend 
 — which appears authentic — an embellishment for which we do not vouch, viz., that 
 the hospitable brigand was no other than the good thief in person. 
 
 f It is a charming spot which tradition points out as one of the resting places of 
 the Holy Family ; there are now seen there the ruins of a monastery. 
 
 X This rave is caller! 77ie Grotto of the VirgMa Milk, because it is thought that 
 iome drops of Mary's milk fell on the rock whilst she nursed her divine infant. 
 
CHAP. XIV.] 
 
 BLESSED VIROIK BIART. 
 
 161 
 
 0U8 as the ocean-wave* Excepting only the mortal dread of 
 Herod's pursuit, the latter part of the journey was just as much 
 marked by fatigue, suffering, and even insecurity. On leaving Gaza, 
 whose dilapidated towers reechoed the hoarse murmur of the waves, 
 our travellers saw before them only immense wastes of sand, dreary, 
 desolate, and fearfully naked, agitated by the scorching wind of the 
 desert, and overhung by a fiery sky. Not a trace of vegetation, 
 save, perchance, an occasional patch of heath stretching here and 
 there across the desolate waste; no water, except the brackish 
 spring, which the Virgin and Joseph, who were tired, poor, and 
 unprotected, were only allowed to approach after the rich merchants, 
 their slaves, and their camels, had drained it dry, so that they could 
 barely take up a little of the thick, muddy water, in the hollow of 
 their hand. According as they receded from the frontiera of Syria, 
 the thirst became greater, and the water more scarce. At times, 
 there was seen afar off, amid the interminable plain, a large lake, 
 blue and sparkling as that of Gennesareth ; the sky was reflected in 
 its limpid waters, with one solitary date-tree; the camels were 
 hurried on, and Mary raised her head, drooping like the rose of 
 Jericho when bent by the rain.f That blessed lake was gained; 
 already was the raging thirst quenched in imagination ; but, O 
 misery ! some mocking demon removed the lake some leagues 
 farther, and left in its place only burning sand.:}; 
 
 Anoldier optical illusion which frequently takes place in those 
 
 tb(i?^ 
 
 V 
 
 * Tlie Arabs call the hot wind of the desert simoom, or poisou ; some idea of it 
 may be conceived by standing for a moment at the mouth of a common baking-oven, 
 when the bread is taken out. These winds arc more frequent during the fifty days 
 on either side of the solstice. (Volney, Voyage en Syrie.) 
 
 f This rose, whose corolla opens and shuts according to the changes of the 
 atmosphere, is consulted as a barometer by the Arabs. (Vlcomte de Marcellus, 
 Voyage en Orient, t. ii.) 
 
 J This is the jihenomenon commonly known as mtrage. During the expedition of 
 the French to Egypt, in 1198, the soldiers crossing those fiery deserts, consumed 
 with thirst, were often deceived by this cruel illusion. Every object rising from the 
 soil, amid those seas of sand, appeared to them surrounded by water ; thus n little 
 mountain which they perceived afar off, seemed to them to rise from the miilst of a 
 lake. Dying with thirst, they hastened thither, but only to find themselves grievously 
 mistaken ; the lake had fled, and was now farther than ever from their longing eyes. 
 (See De Fellens, du Mirage, Art. C\\ 
 
 ;4>».i^x^ 
 
 
 '(mm 
 
I ■ 
 
 1 
 
 ll 
 
 rjr 
 
 162 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [chap. HV 
 
 V 
 
 arid und scorching regions, appears to the distant travellers io 
 gigantic proportions. Arab horsemen, covered with their floating 
 abbas with brown and golden stripes, and armed with the djombi^ 
 — a dagger with a crooked blade, which every inhabitant of the 
 desert wears in his girdle — appeared from afar of the height of 
 lofty towers, seeming as though they moved in the air. The Virgin 
 shuddered, and drew Jesus closer to her l»- som, but her fears were 
 calmed by the serene countenance of Joseph, though even he could 
 assign no reason for the strange phenomenon.* 
 
 At the approach of night, the song of the camel-drivers ceasedjf 
 the leader of the caravan hoisted the flag which was the signal for 
 halting, and all the travellers gathered around the spot. An 
 animated scene quickly followed. The camels, squatting down at 
 the feet of their masters, were freed from their heavy burdens; 
 bales of goods were heaped up pyramidically ; a circle of stakes was 
 planted around, and to these the beasts of burden were fastened ; 
 the wealthy travellers had their tents erected, and the master of the 
 caravan placed sentinels who were to give notice of the approach 
 r« of the Bedoains — ^those pirates of the desert — who were then, and 
 still are, plunderers like Ishmael, and hospitable as Abraham. 
 Each merchant, after having taken his repast of dates and milk, 
 lay down to sleep under his tent, awaiting the rising of the moon. 
 The slaves, and the poorer travellers — amongst whom were the Son 
 of God, his divine Mother, and Joseph — seated themselves on a rush 
 mat soread on the ground, with no other covering .than the sky. 
 
 * " I hrd occasion," says Niebnhr, " to remark a phenomenon wliicli struck me as 
 very singular, but which, in time, became familiar to rac. An Arab mounted on a 
 camel, whom I saw at a distance, appeared to mc as high as a tower, and seemed to 
 move in the air ; nevertheless, he was walking on the sand like ourselves. This 
 optical illusion proceeds from the stronger refraction of the atmosphere in those arid 
 regions laden with vapours of a very different nature from those which fill the air in 
 temi>erate climates." ( Voyage en Arable, t. i., p. 208.) 
 
 t It is an almost universal cubtom in the East for people to enliven their journey 
 or their work by singing. A Mussulman pilgrim has given a very picturesque 
 description of the nightly march of a caravan from Mecca, lit by tiie lanthorns placed 
 on the camels, and cheered by tlie modulated song of the drivers. ( Travels of Abdoiil 
 Ker'im ) The camel-drircrs still slug songii peculiar to themselves, in Syria and in 
 Egypt. {^Oorres. cC Orient, t. \'\.) 
 
 
 l^B<? 
 
>^^ 
 
 L».*dKA2;. 
 
 OUAF. XIV. \ 
 
 BLESSED VIROLN' MART. 
 
 168 
 
 with the cold night air falling chill and moist on their shivering 
 and exhausted limbs * Now and then there was heard a cry of 
 alarm : some band of Arabs was discovered prowling aronnd the 
 sleeping caravan ; disconcerted by the vigilance of the watchmen, 
 a shower of arrows announced their departure, instantly followed 
 by the groans of the wounded. Then the Virgin, who had ben» 
 over her divine son, so as to make a rampart of her own body 
 raised to heaven her tearful eyes and her giief-worn brow: sIih 
 knew but too well that her Jesus was subject to death like all Ui^ 
 children of men I 
 
 When the moon shed her mild light over the shadeless and noiso 
 less desert, where no blade of grass waved in the midnight air, the 
 tents Avere folded up, and the dreary journey resumed, with all its 
 inconveniences, all its sufierings, all its terrors. 
 
 At length, the outskirts of that strange and silent region were 
 gained. Egypt — ^that ancient nursery of all knowledge and of all 
 idolatry — presented itself to the travellers, with its red granite 
 obelisks, '.ts colossal pyramids, its temples crowned with burnished 
 8teel,f its island-like villages, and its providential river fringed with 
 reeds and covered with boats. That country appeared more rich, 
 more populous, more commercial, than Judea, but still it was the 
 land of exile! Beyond the desert was Tiome, and there lay the 
 heaii; of the banished children of Israel. 
 
 After a journey of one hundred and forty leagues,^ the fugitives 
 reached Heliopolis, where there was a colony of their people. In 
 that city arose the temple of Jehovah which Onias had constructed 
 on the plan of the Holy House. The ornaments of that Egyptian 
 temple almost equalled those of the other, only, as a tokeu of 
 
 Y 
 
 I 
 
 r 
 'I 
 
 I 
 
 * Though at this season it is burning hot during the day, in the desert, yet the 
 nights arc extremely cald. (Voln. — Sav. > 
 
 f On the dome of the sanctuary in the principal temple of ndiopolis, there was an 
 immense mirror of polished steel wliich reflected every ray of light. There was just 
 iuch another on the top of the lighthouse of Alexandria, and the image of vessels 
 coming into port was reflected in it long before tliey appeared on the horizon. 
 ( Corregp. d' Orient, t. v. Leltrea de Savary.) 
 
 I Vid, Barad., t. i., ch. 8. The nuthor of Voyages de Jesus Christ reckons but 
 K hundred leagues, but he probably overlooks the winding and turning of the roads. 
 
 V~-5^* iiU 
 
 t^^ 
 
Ta 
 
 s 
 
 164 
 
 UFE OF TICB 
 
 [chap. XIV. 
 
 inferiority, a massive golden lamp, suspended from the roof, replaced 
 the famous candlestick of Jerusalem with its seven branches. At 
 the gate of that city, which was chiefly inhabited by Eg3rptians 
 and Arab idolaters, there was a majestic tree, of the mimosa kind, 
 to which the Arabs of Yemen, settled on the banks of the Nile, paid 
 a species of worship.* At the approach of the Holy Family, this 
 idol-tree slowly bent its shady branches, as if saluting the young 
 master of nature, whom Mary carried in her arms ;t and, if we may 
 believe the historian Palladius, at the moment when the divine 
 travellers passed under the granite arches of the gate of Heliopolis, 
 all the idols of a neighbouring temple fell prostrate on the ground. J 
 
 Joseph and Mary only passed through the city of the sun, and 
 repaired to Matarieh, a pretty village shaded with sycamores, and 
 having the only fountain of fresh water to be found in Egypt. 
 There, in a habitation like a bee-hive, where the doves made their 
 nest, the persecuted family found rest and peace, being at last fi'ee 
 from the power of Herod. 
 
 That cruel prince, having vainly expected the Magi in his palace 
 of Jericho, his favourite residence, learned, at last, that they had 
 repassed the frontiers of his kingdom, and that, regardless of his 
 injunctions, they had retui aed to Persia, without letting him know 
 the result of their mission. Pale already from the slow fever which 
 was wearing him away, the king of the Jews became paler still with 
 
 * The Arabs, who had gradually forgotten the God of Abraham, at that time 
 adored a multitude of idols, one more fantastic than the other. " The date tree,'' 
 says AzraH, "was worshipped by the tribe of Khozua, and the Beni-Thekif 
 venerated a rock ; a large tree, named zat arouat, was adored by the Korcisch, &c 
 The Persians contemptuously distinguished the Arabs as worshippers of stones." 
 
 f We owe this incident to Sozomcnes, and it is rather hazardous to bring it forward 
 in this scoffing ago, though it is, after all, scarcely a miracle. It is certain that there 
 exists in Arabia a tree of the sensitive kind, which bends its branches at the approach 
 of man. Niebuhr, who is not at all suspected of credulity, found that tree in Yemen, 
 and the Arabs, who call it the hospitable tree, hold it in such high veneration that no 
 one is permitted to pluck a leaf. If that mimosa, by a natural ,jhcnomenon, bends its 
 branches at the approach of man, how much more likely is it to do so at the approach 
 of the Son of God ? 
 
 X Palladius is not the only one who relates this miracle : Dorothy martyr, 
 Sozomenes, St. Anselm, St. Bonaventure, Lira, Denis the Carthusian, Testat, 
 Lttdolphus, Baradius, &c., likewise attest it. 
 
OHAl". XIV.] 
 
 BL»J8ED VIliOIN UAKY. 
 
 IQG 
 
 angor. He wjw himself duped at the very moment when he revelled 
 in the thought of his unrivalled dexterity in deceiving others .... 
 duped by those " uncircuracised dogs" who had bo unexpectedly pen- 
 etrated the very deptlis of his tortuous policy 1 . . . Kthe Magi 
 had not found the child to whom they were led by the star, they 
 would have come back and told him They had, then, dis- 
 covered his secret asylum, which must be somewhere about Beth- 
 lehem, since they had extended their search no farther 
 
 Now, how was that dangerous child to be distinguished from all 
 
 others? There was but one way to make sure of his 
 
 destruction : to include all in a general massacre But the 
 
 people ! At that thought the old king paused a moment ; 
 
 then, a strange, a contemptuous smile curled his haughty lip. " The 
 people dare nothing," said Herod, " against kings who dare all !" — 
 . . . . " And sending, he killed all the men-children that were in 
 Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and 
 under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the 
 wise men."* 
 
 According to many grave author9,f supported by tradition and 
 probability, the Holy Family remained seven years in Egypt. 
 Traces of their sojourn are still found there; the fountain where 
 Mary went to wash the Child's swaddling clothes,t the bushy knoll 
 where she dried them in the sun, the sycamore in whose shade she 
 loved to sit with her Son on her knee,§ are still pointed out, after 
 
 * This cTangelical foct, which tho disciples of Voltaire have called in question, is 
 proved not only by our sacred books, but also by tho testimony of Jews and Pagans. 
 (Macrobius, b. xi., ch. 4, des Satumalts. Orig. Contr, Cels., b. xi,, ch, 58. Toldos 
 Huldr., pp. 12, 14, 20.) 
 
 f Vid. Trombel, in Vit. De'ipn. — Zaehariam, in dias.. ad hist. «cel. — Anselm. 
 — Cantual.— Euseb.— S. Tlio. 
 
 I This is still called Afart/'s Fountain ; there is an ancient tradition to the effect 
 that tho Blessed Virgin used to bathe the child Jesus in its limpid wateT. In the 
 tirst ages of Christianity, the fuitiiful built a church there ; in later times, the 
 Mussulninns also constructed a mosque ; and tho disciples of both creeds went to 
 Maryfi Fountain for the cure of their diseases. The fountain is still there ; tho 
 pilgrimages still continue, but both the church and the mosqno hare long sinco 
 disappeared. (Savary, t. i,,p. 122. Corresp d' Orient, t. vi., p. 8.) 
 
 § " Not ftur from tho fountain, I was shown an inclosnre planted with trees ; a 
 
 Y 
 
 
 
 Tv!/ 
 
 in 
 
^' viemimrw^^^^i rm ^ ■Vi^\H 
 
 ItiU 
 
 LlfS or TIIBl 
 
 V 
 
 the lapse of eighteen hundred yean. The pilgrims of Europe and 
 of Asia know these objects well, and they are held in reverence by 
 the Egyptians themselves. To each of these clings, like the moss to 
 the damp walls of the rained monastery, some simple legend of other 
 days.* 
 
 In Nazareth, Mary had led an humble and laboriom life ; but in 
 Holiopolis, she descended into the depths of poverty, and saw misery 
 under every aspect. , ,' 
 
 The holy couple were left entirely to their own resonrces, amongst 
 a people who were parcelled out into national and hereditary cor- 
 porations, and who were by no means favourable to strangers. 
 " They being poor," observes St. Basil, " it is clear that they had to 
 
 work very hard in order to procure the necessaries of life 
 
 and even those — were they always able to obtain Ihem?" 
 
 ' Often," says Landolph, of Saxony, " Often did it happen, that the 
 child Jesus, pressed by hunger, asked his mother for bread, when 
 bhe had none to give him." ' 
 
 Meanwhile, Herod had died of a horrible and nameless malady. 
 After beinf? literally eaten alive by worms. Occupied to the last, 
 with thou^'hts of how the people would rejoice at the news of his 
 death, he implored his sister Salome — a very wicked woman — ^im- 
 
 I 
 
 '^m 
 
 MuBsnlmaD, who acted as our guide, made us stop before a sycamore, nnying : That 
 U Ihe tree of Jeaut and Mary. Vansleb, priest of Fontainoblean, relates that tlie 
 ancient sycamore fell, from age, in 1058 ; the Franciscans of Cairo piously preserve 
 in their sacristy, the last remains of that tree ; in the garden tlicro only remained a 
 stump, of which the tree we saw was doubtltss a shoot. Oeneral Kleber, after his 
 victory of Ueliopolis, made a pilgrimage to the tree of the Holy Family ; ho carved 
 his name on the bark of one of the branches, but that name has since disappeared, 
 effaced by time, or by some envious hond." (Corresp. iT Orient, t. vi., lettre 141.) 
 
 * The following Is one o( the legends brought from Eastern climes by one of onr 
 old French barons, the Seigneur d'Englure ; we give it verbatim, in all its artless 
 grace : — " When Our Lady, the Mother of God, had crossed the desert, and reached 
 this place, she laid Our Lord on the ground, and went all around 'u quest of water, 
 bat there was no water io be found. She went back, sad and sorrowful, to her doar 
 child, where he lay on the sand, but, behold I he had stuck his heels into the ground 
 \ratil a fountain of clear, sweet water gushed out. Our Lady was overjoyed at this, 
 and thanked bir son, Our Lord. She then washed Our Lord's clothes in the water 
 of this fountain, and spread them «. n the ground to dry, and (jvery drop. :* water that 
 trickled from those clovhea sprang .<p into a bash, which bnsnei) bear balm, hoJ* 
 
 ^r^^l 
 
 ^ 
 
1 
 
 ^^B 
 
 ?1« 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
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 : 
 
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 m 
 
 ^ 
 
 -hH 
 
 ^w 
 
 '' 
 

 1^ ' 
 
 III 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 m. 
 
i 
 
 OUAP. XIV.J 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN MART. 
 
 107 
 
 plored her with teai-a to have some Jewish nobles — the flower of 
 their nation, whom he had kept imprisoned for that purpose — put 
 to death, in order that the people might be forced to weep at his 
 funeral * He was borne to his castle of Herodion in a golden litte? 
 covered with scarlet and adorned with precious stones. His sons 
 and his army followed his remains with a dejected air, whilst the 
 people, proud of their deliverance, heaped curees upon him as the 
 procession passed along. 
 
 Apprised in a dream, by the Angel of the Lord, that Herod was 
 def>d, Joseph returned with Mary and the child into the land of 
 Israel ; " but hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea in the room 
 of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither : and, being warned 
 in sleep, retired into the quarters of Galilee." 
 
 * Joseph., Ant. Jud., b. xvii., ch. 8. The memory of Herod was held in such 
 detestation by the princes of the people and the priests, that they instituted a festival 
 to be celebrated on the 25th of September in joyful commemoration of that prince's 
 death. There is a feast on the 1th of September, says the Jewish calendar, onaeeount 
 of the death of Herod; for he had hated the wise, and they rejoice before the Lord lehen 
 the impious leave this world, (Basaage, t. 1, liv. ii., eh. 8.) 
 
 t5^s®«tr 
 
 \l\ 
 
 Y 
 
 ?■)?! 
 
 
 '-^rcJck^f^ 
 
 :J,S- 
 
 f t 
 
CHAP. XV, 
 
 I 
 
 Y 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 HAST IN NAZABETH. 
 
 Ir J 
 
 
 a) 
 
 Ah ! how mournful are the days of exile £ir>d how sweet it is to 
 breathe once more the air of our native land ! The bread of the 
 stranger, like that of the wicked, is hard to eat and bitter to the 
 heart; the streams of the foreign land murmur not tales of our 
 childish sports ; the song of its birds wants one melodious note ; its 
 scenes, however fair, have not that sweet, that soothing charm which 
 endears every object in our onrn land ! 
 
 How great must have been the joy of the holy spouses on again 
 beholding that land of Chanaan, whose stately hills, waving outlines, 
 harmonious scenery, and endless variety, contrasted so happily and 
 so strikingly with the monotonous splendours of Egypt ! Here, a 
 bold and active population, martial, frank and gay, with a pure and 
 holy worship ; there, slaves shackled by castes, addicted to theft, 
 mixing up the most infamous practices in their senseless worship, 
 and lavishing their treasures in building temples to the ox Apis, 
 the crocodile and the sea-onion. One must be profoundly religious, 
 like Joseph and Mary, and love his country as the Hebrews loved 
 theire, in order to comprehend the delightful emotions wherewith 
 they greeted the land of Jehovah and their pretty town of 
 Nazareth. 
 
 The Holy Family returned to their humble home, after so long an 
 absence, amid the congratulations and endless questions of theii 
 friends and neighbours, who ^celebrated their return as an event of 
 ^reat joy ; but the scene was soon and sadly changed. The neg- 
 lected dwelling of Joseph was scarcely habitable ; the roof, in some 
 places, broken and falling in, had given free admission to the winter 
 storm and the equinoctial rains;* the lower chamber was cold. 
 
 * The rainy season, in Judea, is that of tlie equinoxes, and especially the autumnal 
 equinox ; it is also the time of storms, accompanied by violent showers of rain or haiL 
 (Volney, Voyage en Syrie.) 
 
 IWLvY 
 
 }^M 
 
 I i. 
 
OHAP. XV.] 
 
 BLESSED VIRGEN MART. 
 
 169 
 
 damp, and overgrown with weeds ; wild doves made their nests in 
 the sacred and mysterious cell where the Woud was made flesh ; tho 
 little court was overrun with briers ; everything, in short, in and 
 around that time-honoured dwelling, had assumed that ruinous and 
 desolate aspect which rests on deserted houses like the seal of the 
 master's absence. These needful repairs were, then, to be made ; 
 furniture and tools, lost or broken, had to be replaced ; and perhaps 
 a debt contracted in Egypt, to defray the expense of the return, 
 had to be discharged. It was, doubtless, at this juncture, that the 
 little patrimony of Joseph was sold till the jubilee. All that re- 
 ft! mained, of what they had possessed before their departure, was the 
 ruined house, the workshop, and their own arms ; but Jesus was 
 there. Young as he was, Jesus took an axe and followed his old 
 foster-father to the villages where work was procured for them ;* 
 his labour, proportioned to his age and strength, was always devoted 
 to his mother. Comfort had long disappeared ; but they rucceeded, 
 by hard work and persevering industry, in obtaining the necessaries 
 of life. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph led a life of ceaseless toil, and He 
 who might command legions of angels asked nothing from God for 
 himself or his but their " daily bread." 
 
 The interior life of that blessed family, surnamed the eartlily 
 trinity, has not come to the knowledge of men ; it is like the 
 streamlet hidden in the long grass, or more properly, it is the Holy 
 of Holies with his cloud of perfumes and his double veil. Neverthe- 
 less, by studying minutely, and examining one by one, under every 
 point of view, the evangelical fact-*, what we know enables us to 
 guess to a certain extent at what we do not know, and the pul^lic 
 life of Jesus Christ throws , some bright rays of light on his own 
 hidden life and that of the Blessed Virgin. That sacred abyss we 
 .ire about to sound with all the reserve, all the conscientious appli- 
 cation, that so grave a subject requires. 
 
 Jesus, in whom were hidden all the treasures of wisdom and of 
 
 ' I 
 
 * St. Justia Martyr {Dialog, cum Tnjphowi) statci? that Jesus Christ assisted his 
 foster-fatlicr to make yokes and jilonghs. And Godescard, t. xiv., p. 436, Vk dc la 
 Siiinte Vierge, snys : — " A very ancient author asserts that, in his time, thcro were 
 rokes to he seen which Onr Saviour had made with his own hands." 
 
 »^**--*' 
 
 ! * 
 
 J>3IU 
 
^ 
 
 170 
 
 LIFE OP THE 
 
 [chap. XV. 
 
 it 
 
 
 m. 
 
 
 knowledge,* had no need of human teaching; and the contrary 
 supposition is positively condemned by the Church. St. John also, 
 in his Gospel, mentions that the Jews, contemporaries of Jesus Christ, 
 regarded him as a man who had " never learned,"f and the surprise 
 of the Nazarenes, on seeing him so profoundly versed in sacred let- 
 tere, shows clearly enough that he had not heen, to their knowledge, 
 brought up, like St. Paul, at the feet of a master. The Talmudista 
 and the Jewish authors of the Toldos maintain, on the contrary, that 
 a celebrated rabbin initiated Jesus in the mysteries of science and 
 of magic ; but, deducing from the second part of the assertion which 
 is wholly absurd, and viewing the matter in a purely human light, 
 as do the rationalists, this is evidently false for two reasons. Jesus 
 was, at first, neither a zealot nor a traditionist, and it is everywhere 
 apparent in the Gospel that he openly disapproved of the narrow 
 views, the captious distinctions, and shallow subtilties of the Syna- 
 gogue. In the second place. Rabbi Joshua Perachia, whom they 
 name as his preceptor, was yet unborn, as he flourished an hundred 
 years later. 
 
 To place Jesus amid the Rabbins in the capacity of a pupil would 
 be just about as illogical as to try to support an oak by suiTounding 
 it with reeds. He taught not as the Scribes and Pharisees, says an 
 Evangelist,;): and that is easily conceived ; for he derived his wisdom 
 from himself; and his teachings, even viewing them in a natural 
 way, seem to emanate from a soul lofty, pure, upright, and from a 
 mind so vast and so uniformly sound that it never could have been 
 perverted by scholastic disputes. 
 
 Strauss admits that all the wisdom and all the science of the 
 period would have been unable to form such a man as Jesus Christ. 
 " Even if Jesus had exhausted," says he, " all the sources of instruc- 
 tion then to be had, it is no less true that none of these elements 
 would suffice, even remotely, to ett'ect a revolution in the world, and 
 the leaven necessary tor so great a work he must have drawn fiom 
 the depths of his own soul." 
 
 \\\ k 
 111 * 
 
 * St. Paul, Ep. Colos., ch. ii . ver. 9. 
 f St. John, ch. vii., vcr. 15. 
 X St. Matthew, ch. vil., ver. 20 
 
 CT' 
 
 
^^ 
 
 OHAP. XV.] 
 
 BLESSED YIKOm MABT. 
 
 171 
 
 Ilia eloquence, like his morality, was peculiar to himself. It -was 
 not the emphatic exaggerations of the Rabbins, nor yet the majestic, 
 overwhelming and violently-contrasted diction of the ancient pro- 
 phets ; it was, as he himself said, a source of living water reflecting 
 in its course the birds of the air, the crops and flowers of the field. 
 That eloquence, so simple, penetrated to the very bottom of every 
 thing and was easily connected with high and lofty ideas. Eveiy 
 word was a preciou;;* seed of virtue ; every lesson threw afar, ovtsr 
 the mysterious wastes of the future, a long train of light which was 
 insensibly to spread into the perfect day of the world's regeneration. 
 Even those who have audaciously denied his miracles were yet 
 (breed to acknowledge that his words were those of a God.* 
 
 Jesus was endowed with a high and meditative soul which 
 required a vast space for its expansion ; confined, during the day, 
 at manual labour which occupied every moment of his time, he made 
 up by night for his obscure toU, and was again the legislator and the 
 prophet in presence of the starry heavens. Standing on the lofty 
 terrace which commanded a \'ieAv of the mountains and forests of 
 the land of Chanaan, he poured out his soul before the Author of 
 Nature, whose ambassador, whose son, and whose equal he was. 
 These communings with God, in the silence of the night, of the 
 desert and of thought, were customary with Jesus, as we see in 
 many places of the Gospel. The model-man, the incarnate Wokd, 
 would thus, we may suppose, instruct his own to distinguish the 
 pure gold of prayer from the monstrous alloy of ostentation and 
 hypocrisy wherewith the Pharisees of his time were w^iit to mix 
 it up. 
 
 The Vii'gin, who was never either troublesome or exacting, placed 
 no obstacle in the way of her Son's solitary habits ; she knew that 
 
 
 * "I confess to you," says J.J. Rousseau, "tliat the majesty of the Scriptures 
 astonishes me, ami the sanctity of the Gospel speaks to my heart. Behold the books 
 of our philosophers, with all their pretensions ; how small tlioy are, when comi)ared 
 with this I Can it be that a book, at once so simple and so sublime, is the work of 
 men 1 Can it be that he whoso history it records is iiimsclf l)nt man ? Is his the 
 tone of an enthusiast or of an ambitious sectary ? What sweetness 1 what purity in 
 his morals 1 what touching grace in Iiis instructions I what elevation in his precepta I 
 what profound wisdom in his discourse 1" {Emile, t. iii., p. 365.) 
 
 ■\ \\ 
 
 ^-X 
 
.c:^ 
 
 t 
 
 te 
 
 
 
 172 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [chap. XV. 
 
 Jesiis M-as then sounding the depth of the unfathomable abyss then 
 opening under the feet of men, and that the world's redemption 
 was to be the fruit of these silent meditations. Eespecting the 
 workings of that mighty spirit folded up within itself, and ever 
 looking forward to that glorious future which every passing moment 
 brought more near, Mary already beheld heaven opened, death 
 overcome, and the Messiah gathering the nations around his stand- 
 ard. . . . But all of a sudden, she remembered the prediction of the 
 old man in the temple, and its image arose, gloomy a.s a funeral-pall, 
 at the end of that enchanting prospect ; a shudder ran through 
 every vein of the poor mother, and her heart, so absorbed in the 
 love of Jesus, wm torn asunder with anguished forebodings. A 
 secret voice seemed to cry, " Blood must expiate sin ! — Chkist must 
 die !" Then, leaving off the manual tril to which her poverty con- 
 demned her,* the daughter of David went to seek her Son ; she 
 longed to see him, to assure herself, by a maternal embrace, that he 
 was still there, that he was yet living ! 
 
 At her approach, Jesus withdrew his pensive glance from the 
 starry heavens ; his youthful brow, contracted by a thought as vast 
 as the universe, became again the smooth, fair brow of the child.' 
 Mary then, driving back into her heart every mournful apprehen- 
 sion, advised him to seek repose. Strength must be recruited for 
 the morrow's fatiguing labour. . . . The Son of God followed his 
 mother in silence, for he loved and was suited to her. 
 
 The entrance of Jesus into adolescence was marked by an extra- 
 ordinary incident, which gave Mary's soul a most violent shock. 
 Joseph and Mary, faithful observers of the law of their fathei-s, went 
 regularly every year to Jerusalem to celebrate the passover. This 
 journey, which they made in secret so long as the throne of the 
 Maccabees was filled by the son of the enemy of God, had now 
 become more easy since the banishment of Archelaus and the occu- 
 pation of the Eomaus. When Christ had attained hia twelfth year, 
 his parents, having the fear of Herod no longer before their eyes, 
 
 * Tertullian said, in the third century, that Mary earned her living by working ; 
 and Celsus, in the second century, said that Mary was a woman who had lived bv the 
 labour of her hands. 
 
 W 
 
 'GT^^ji 
 
 M 
 
CHAP. XV.] 
 
 BLES8ED VIROIX MARY. 
 
 173 
 
 brought him Avith tlicra to Jerusalem. They set out from Nazareth 
 in a crowd ; and, on the Avay, the Hebrew pilgrims formed them- 
 selves into little band'-, according to age and sex, and the ties of 
 family or friendship.* 
 
 "With the Virgin, were Mary of Cleophas, the sister-in-law of 
 Joseph ; another Mary, mentioned in the Gospel as altera Maria ; 
 Salome, wife of Zebedee, come from Bethsaida with her husband 
 and sons ; Joanna, wife of Chus ; and a number of Nazarean women 
 her neighbours and friends. Joseph followed at some distance, in 
 gi'ave conversation with Zebedee, the fishctman, and the ancients of 
 his tribe. Jesus walked with the young Galileans whom the Gos- 
 pel, according to the peculiar genius of the Hebrew tongue, has 
 called his brethren, they being his nearest relations. 
 
 Amongst this youthful group, who went before the othei-s, the 
 sons of Zebedee might be distinguished ; James, impetuous as the 
 sea of Tiberias on a stormy day ; John, still younger than Jesus, and 
 seeming, as he walked beside his brother, the true personification of 
 the lamb of Isaiah dwelling in peace with the lion of the Jordan 
 Beside the fishermeu of Bethsaida, whom Jesus afterwards surnamed 
 Boanerges (sons of thunder), were the four sons of Alpheus ; James 
 who was subsequently bishop of Jerusalem, an austere and grave 
 young man with long hair, pale face, and cold, subdued maunei. 
 Proud of having taken the Nazarite vow, he put on provoking airs 
 of superiority towards him whom he then considered as the carpen 
 ter's son. In the character of James were seen the virtues and tlie 
 imperfections inherent in the soil ; inimova])le firmness, upriglit ano 
 religious inclinations, but at the same time, a strong contempt for all 
 .vho were not of the race of Abraham, and an excellent opinion o^ 
 himself. Jude, Simon, and Jose, the otb.er sons of Alpheus, wort, 
 youths of a rustic, simple, and warlike mien, already arrived at 
 
 
 I t'^ 
 
 u 
 
 * St. Epiphanius and St. Bernard inform us that, in these journeys, the men went 
 in troops, separate from the women, and that St» Joseph and the Blcs.sed Virgui 
 being thus one in one company and one in another, gave themselves at first no conccrr 
 about the disappearance of Jesus, and indeed knew nothing jf it till the evening, 
 when all the travellers assembled together. See likewise Aelrede, abbot of Reverby; 
 Serm. sen traclatus dc Jesu duodeni Dominica intra octav. Epiphan. 
 12 
 
 Uii : 
 
 I i 
 
 Ivh 
 
,^<. 
 
 te 
 
 174 
 
 LIFE OF THB 
 
 adolescence, and regarding the son of the humble Mary as theii 
 mferior in every way — a feeling of which they could with difficulty 
 divest themselves in after times, as wo see by the Gospel* And 
 Jesus ? Jesus affected nothing, neither devotion, nor austerity, nor 
 wisdom, nor science, because he possessed the fullness of all those 
 things, and people seldom affect anything but what. they have not. 
 
 To see him clad so simply — like an Fssenian — his long hair, of the 
 colour of ancient bronze,f parted on his high sun-browned forehead 
 and floating gracefblly over his shoulders, one would have taken 
 him for David as he pres mted himself to the prophet Samuel, small, 
 timid, attired in a shephtrd's dress, to receive the sacred unction. 
 Yet there was something Jiore in the soft brown eyo of JesusJ than 
 even in that of his gre.it ancestor, gleaming as it was with the 
 brightness of poetic inspi'ation ; there was something penetrating 
 and divine which laid bar»i the inmost thoughts and reached the 
 most secret recesses of the scul ; but Jesus then veiled the splendour 
 of his look as Moses did his radiant brow on going forth from the 
 tabernacle. He walked, then, ia wise, yet appropriate conversation 
 with his young kinsmen according to the flesh, whom he designed to 
 make his apostles ; he discovered, beneath their rough exterior, the 
 weight and the value of those unpolished diamonds which were one 
 day to shine with such surpassing splendour, and he loved them by 
 anticipation. He was not deceived in his expectations; those men 
 who had had, like the rest of the nation, their dreams of gold and 
 
 I 
 
 * St. John Clirysostom, Serm. 44. 
 
 t The Rabbins have taken occasion to make the most odious insinuations agrinst 
 Tesus on account of the colour of his hair ; but what is most extraordinary is that 
 they make precisely the same remarks on David. He was red as Esau ; he had bl«t)d 
 on his fuad ; the soul of Esau had passed into him. They have only forgotten the 
 evil eye wherewith they endow the prophet-king. 
 
 X Kicheph., Hist. Eccles., t. i., p. 125. His portrait of onr Lord, drawn from 
 tradition, is the most authentic that we now have. The Rev. Mr. Walsh, author of 
 a recent work devoted to the rare and unpublished monuments of the first age of 
 Christianity, calls attention to a very curious medal, which was known so early as the 
 fifteenth century' The front side represents the head of Our Lord in profile ; the 
 hair is divided after the manner of the Nazarencs, smooth to th? ears, and waving on 
 the shoulders ; the beard bushy, and not very long ; the features fine, as also the bust, 
 over which the tunic falls in graceful folds. 
 
 lb. ^^grr > 
 
CHAP. XV.J 
 
 BLEdSKD VIKQIN MAUY. 
 
 175 
 
 power regarding the Messiah, cast away at his bidding all their pre- 
 judices, both national and religious, and adopted a calumniated doc- 
 trine, whose principles and whose promises, like the maledictions of 
 the old law, spoke only of sufferings to endure and persecutions to 
 encounter. They bound themselves to him by ties so strong that 
 neither the princes of the earth, nor cold, norr nakedness, nor hun- 
 j^er, nor the sword could separate them from his love ; they walked 
 in his footsteps, courageously trampling on the thorns which the 
 world threw in their way, and allowing themselves to be treated, 
 for his sake, as the very scum of mankind. They were neither 
 ashamed of the Son of man, nor of his Gospel, nor of the folly of the 
 Cross ! And why should they ? It is for impostors to be ashamed, 
 and the Apostles never preached but from sincere conviction. 
 Those honest and simple hearts enforced their testimony by all thai 
 could render it credible and sacred amongst men ; they abandoned 
 all, suffered all, forgave all, and sealed with their blood the Gospe! 
 of their divine master.* 
 
 But at the period of which we speak, these heroic virtues were 
 not even in blossom, and those young Galileans little thought that 
 they should one day maintain with their life the divinity of their 
 fellow-traveller. 
 
 After a journey of four days, the pilgrims reached the Holy City, 
 then filled with an immense concouree of Jewish strangers.f The 
 family of Joseph and Mary assembled to eat the Paschal lamb, 
 which the priests took care to immolate between the two cveniii": 
 prayers, J in the court of the temple ; to this was added unleavened 
 bread, wild lettuce, and all that belonged of right to that anci«'iit 
 ceremony. The festival days being over, the parents and kinsfolk 
 of Jesus met together, in order to return home ; as they went back 
 
 * Pascal said, " I am ready to believe any history the witnesses of which suffer 
 death for it." 
 
 f The feast of Easter gathered to ^ernsalem about two millions, five hundred thous- 
 and persons. iDe Bello, 1. vii, eh. 17.) Cestus, wishing to persuade Nero that the 
 Jewish nation was not so cotitemiitiblc as he tliought, caused the people to be reckoned 
 by the priests. At the fea.-l of Easter, they killed two hundred and fifty-six thousand 
 dx liundred lumbs ; there was a lunib for every i'umily. 
 
 \ That is to say, from noon or one o'clock, till sunset. (Basn. t. v., 1. vii., ch 2.') 
 
 
 • f 
 
 ^^;k!!A 
 
 1: 
 
 r 
 
 !.' 
 
 < .11 ■ 
 
 
 1? 
 
 H] r; 
 
 V\' 
 
 \^^ 
 
 
 W- 
 
 
 "^-i 
 
-^^ 
 
 V 
 
 :m!>i'' 
 
 176 
 
 UF£ OF Tin: 
 
 [OHAP, 
 
 . XV. XJ^ 
 
 in the same order in which they came, it waa not, at fimt, perceived 
 that Jesus was missing. Mary thought him with Joseph, or the two 
 Jameses ; Joseph, on the other hand, thought him with his young 
 kinsmen, or with Mary. At night-fall, the various companies came 
 together, and the Virgin sought J'esus in vain amongst the crowd of 
 travellers who arrived successively at the inn ; no one knew what 
 had become of him. The grief of the holy spouses was inexpressible. 
 " The deposit of heaven, the Son of God I" murmured Joseph sadly. 
 " My son I" said the poor young mother, her voice choked with sobs. 
 A.11 that night they sought him and all the following day, asking 
 every one they met along the road, calling him in the woods, look- 
 ing fearfully down the precipices, now fear^ig for his life, now for 
 his liberty, and not knowing what was to happen if he were lost. 
 Tliey returned to Jerusalem ; ran to the houses of their friends, and, 
 tired of wandering through every part of that lai^e city, they, at 
 last, entered the temple. In the porch, where sat the doctors of the 
 law, was a child who chai-med the ancients of Israel by the depth 
 of his observation and the clearness of his answers to questions, even 
 the most difficult ; they all stood in a circle round him, every one 
 wondering within himself at his marvellous and precocious wisdom. 
 " It is either Daniel, or an angel," said some one within a few paces 
 of the sorrowful Virgin. " It is Jesus !" said the young mothei; 
 making her way through the doctors. Then, approaching the Mes- 
 siah, with a look of tender reproach ! " Son 1" said she, mildly ; 
 " why hast thou done so to us ? behold thy father and I have sought 
 thee sorrowing ?" 
 
 The child had disappeared before the God : the answer was dry 
 and mysterious. " How is it that you sought me ? Did you not 
 know, that I must be about my Father's business?" The holy 
 couple were silent ; they did not, at first, comprehend the drift of 
 this reply. 
 
 Jesus ai'ose and followed them to Nazareth ; his perfect submission 
 to their will very socn effaced this light cloud. " And his mother 
 kept all these things in her heart ; and Jesus advanced in wisdom 
 and age, and grace with God and men." 
 
SI 
 
OIIAP. XVI.] 
 
 DMCHHKO VinOIN MART. 
 
 177 xr:^±<^ 
 
 V 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MAST AT TUB SBRUONB Or JKBTTt. 
 
 " TiiKKK are two worlds in hiatory," says one of the finest writew 
 of our time : " one beyond, the other on this side, the cross." The 
 primeval world, old and decropid at the time of Christ's regenerat- 
 ing mission, presented a strange spectacle for, the ridiculous went 
 hand in hand with the horrible. The Arab and the Gaul, after 
 hafing for ages retained the primitive idea of the unity of God, 
 adored the acacia and the oak ;* the Hindoo deified the Ganges, 
 and sacrificed human victims to Sactis, goddess of death ;f the 
 Egyptian, — wise by excellence, — rendered devout worship to the 
 garlic, the lotus, and nearly all bulbous plants ;% the unknown tribes 
 of young America adored, the tiger, the vulture, the tempest, and 
 the roaring cataract ;§ finally, the Greeks and Romans confessedly 
 filled their temples with demons,] and those nations so intellectual, 
 80 polished, so prolific of great men, had deified vice under its most 
 hideous aspects, and peopled their Olympus with robbers, adul- 
 terers, and murderers. Their morals corresponded with their creeds ; 
 corruption, descending like a vast river from the height of the seven 
 imperial hills, overspread all the provinces. Judea, which had no 
 
 '*' Tho pagan Gauls of tho sixth and seventh century deified oaks ; they burned 
 lorchcB before tlioso trees, and iMrokud them as though they couid have heard tiiem ; 
 l«i enorraous stones which were found ncor, hud their share of the divine honours. 
 [Histoire Ecclesiatlique Je Brttagne, t. iv. seventh century. — Capital. Caroli JWaffni, 
 lib. 1. tit. 64.) 
 
 f See Tableau d'Inde (Picture of India) by Buckingham. 
 
 \ Juvenal's sarcasm is well known : sanctas gentea, quibiii kcec tuucuntur in 
 hortia niimina. (Sat. xv. v. 10.) 
 
 § Garcilasso, 1. 1, c. 2 and 12. 
 
 II Porphyrus, who was so well acquainted with the sources of polytheism, admits 
 that the devils were the objects of Gentile worship. " There are," says he, " unclean 
 spirits, malicious and deceitful, who wish to pass for gods, and be adored by men ; 
 these must be appeased, as otherwise they might injure us. Some, bein^ gay and 
 playful, are propitiated by games and festivals ; others, of a more gloomy turn, mast 
 have the smell of grease, and delight in bloody sacrifices. 
 
 0S: 
 
TJ' 
 
 
 i^ft 
 
 178 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [chap. XVI. 
 
 more than the others escaped the contagion of vice, was falling with 
 fearful rapidity; its religion no longer consisted in fundamental 
 dogmas, but in a multitude of parasitical observances, and the 
 dreams of its rabbins had taken the place of the Mosaic law.* 
 
 And what had become of haughty reason, amid all these d(5- 
 plorable aberrations — of reason, that que^i' of intelligences, who 
 takes her own limited horizon for the bounds of the universe, and 
 stretches gods on the bed of Procrustes? Where did she hold 
 dominion ? where had she hoisted her colours, whilst her ramparts 
 were thus universally attacked? If she could, without foreign 
 assistance, reconquer the earth which she had lost, why did she not 
 do it ? ... . Alas ! she felt that the torrent wonld sweep away her 
 frail barriers , and, powerless to restrain it, she contented herself with 
 noting its ravages. Resting on philosophy, she mourned over the 
 lifeless remains of the social body, whose fall she could not prevent ; 
 Christianity came forward, and said to the dead body, " Arise and 
 walk." And it was done according to her word. 
 
 From that day forward, a new race, cured of all diseases, cleansed 
 from all impurity in the sacred laver, gathered around the cross 
 which the Son of Mary had set up over the regenerate world, as the 
 triumph of God over hell. 
 
 That glorious revolution which placed charity on the throne, 
 attended by all the other virtues, that ever-memorable event which 
 changed the aspect of the world, and whose results shall be felt till 
 the end of all things, had its origin in Nazareth : from the hollow 
 of that nameless rock flowed the humble stream of Christianity. 
 " An obscure spring, an unnoticed drop of water, in which two spar- 
 rows could not drink, which one sunbeam might have diied up, and 
 which now, like the great ocean of mind, has filled up all the depths 
 
 '*■ It is a Baying amongst the Jews, that the covenant was made with them on 
 Mount Sinai, not founded on the written law, but on the oral law. They annihilate 
 the former, to instal the latter in its stead, and finally reduce all religion to tradition. 
 Tliis corruption was so prevalent amongst the Jews, even at the time of our Lord, 
 tiittt he reproaches them, in St. Mark, with having nullified the word of God by their 
 traditions. But it Is now much worse ; they compare the sacred text to water, nnd 
 the Misnah, or Talmud, to the best wine ; again, the written law is salt, bnt the 
 Talmud is pepper, cinnamon, &c. 
 
 •n 
 ^ 
 
 "^i, 
 
 ^ 
 
 fP> 
 
^?^ 
 
 CHAP. XVI.] 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN' MARY. 
 
 179 ,, 
 
 of human wisdom, and bathed with its exhanstless waters, the past, 
 the present and the future."* 
 
 Nothing is known of the means which brought about that grand 
 fact which stands pre-eminent above all modem history. From the 
 day of his manifestation in the temple, the Son of God led a hidden 
 and meditative life with his mother and his adoptive father. This 
 period, lost to the world, was undoubtedly that in which the Virgin 
 spent her calmest and happiest days. It is not when human life 
 rolls noisily on, like a wintry torrent, that it is the happiest; 
 but when it resembles the streamlet gliding in silvery ripples 
 through the flower-bespangled meadows. Mary, deprived of all the 
 enjoyments of luxury and all the pleasures of affluence, but living 
 near her Son, working for him, studying his tastes, seeing him every 
 hour, offering to him, as it were, the firat-fruits of his sacred har- 
 vest ; the first, the humblest, and the most docile of his disciples, 
 and bending her cultivated understanding before the divinity and 
 superior mind of her Son — ^Mary must then have been a happy 
 mother 1 It^ at times, whilst Jesus was explaining to her the most 
 profound meaning of the prophecies, he came on some passage which 
 spoke of sufferings to be endured, a dark cloud gathered on the 
 modest brow of the Virgin, it soon passed away, and that mild, 
 benign countenance resumed its wonted serenity. The stoim was 
 still afar off, and their baik was moored in a quiet harbour. Her 
 Son was there ; she hung on his look, on his words, on his slightest 
 gestures. And how she loved to serve that Son! how joyfully 
 would she sit up all night to sew, or weave his working tunics, his 
 festival robes, and that seamless garment, a masterpiece of art and 
 
 skill, which was afterwards 1 But as yet the Lord had onhj 
 
 anointed Hia Son with the oil of gladness. The companion of the 
 Spouse, the wise Virgin of the Gospel, left the moiroiv to provide fot 
 itself " and the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, 
 dwelt in her heart and mind." 
 
 Jesus was perfection itself, the omniscient, the thrice holy, the 
 mighty and the wise ; as God, he could owe nothing to His crea- 
 
 w 
 
 mil 
 
 * M. de Lamartine. Voyaye tn Orient. 
 
 ->^ 
 
 !^@»;:> 
 
V 
 
 I 
 
 
 180 
 
 LIFE OF fHE 
 
 [chap. XVI 
 
 tures, but as man lie owed something to Mary. She it was who 
 initiated him from his earliest childhood, in the hun ble virtues 
 appertaining to humanity, and to her own simple and poetic tastes. 
 That patient and unalterable meekness which he knew how to unite 
 with the firmness of the prophet and the legislator ; that merciful 
 compassion which tempered the wrath of an angry God, and 
 rendered Him — the model man, the just by excellence — the advocate 
 of sinful man ; that tenderness so kind, so simple, towards children 
 whom he delighted in blessing and caressing during his divine 
 mission ; a thousand imperceptible shades, a thousand beams half 
 absorbed in the blaze of light which constitutes the mortal life of 
 Jesus Christ, all bear the seal of Mary.* Thus heaven is pleased to 
 inhale the sweet scent of flowers, although the flowers ai-e cveatures 
 of the earth. 
 
 We cannot doubt but that Jesus returned, with interest, all the $[% 
 Virgin's tenderness and solicitude ; a woman so noble in blood and 
 in heai*t was entitled to the respect of all, and especially of a Son 
 for whose sake she had imposed on herself, in the early spring of 
 life, so many privations, so much toil, and so many sacrifices. He 
 who takes note in heaven of a glass of cold water given in his 
 name, must assuredly be mindful of the obligations which he owed 
 to Mary ; and, if we see in the Gospel that he sometimes spoke to 
 his divine mother less as her son than as her Lord, it is that at such 
 times he detached himself from all earthly connections in order 
 to promote the glory of his Father, whose interests were ever 
 paramount with him. The Virgin knew too well the snored 
 mission of her son to be disturbed by this occasional severity ; 
 she calmly awaited the moment when the legislator should give 
 place to the young Galilean whom her milk had nourished, and 
 never had she to wait long : the human nature very soon granted 
 what the divine nature had refused. 
 
 Jesus had just attained his twenty-ninth year when the angel 
 of death summoned away the venerable head of the Holy Family. 
 
 * Nel vestire il Verbo d'umana ccnie non gli diode ella (la Vergine,) punto, o di '(* 
 potenza, o di santita, o di giustizia che egli (Gesu) gia da so solo non possedesse;' 
 ma eli die molto bensi di mlsericordia. (P. Paolo Segneri, Magnificat spiegato.) 
 
 k'MiO'N^^ 
 
 ^ :i-.--jr':'",.."^.. 
 
CHAP. XVI.J 
 
 BLESSED VlliOnf MABY. 
 
 181 
 
 Joseph — that patriarchal man — whose submissive faith and simplicity 
 of heart recalled the memory of Abraham and the era of the tent; 
 Joseph, on whom the Holy Ghost himself bestowed the title of 
 just; Joseph slept calmly in the Lord, in the sweet presence of his 
 adopted son and hia chaste spouse. Jesus and Mary mourned hiiu, 
 and kept their melancholy watch by his cold remains; the night 
 wind only was heard to mingle in the lamentations of the poor 
 family. The great ones of Galilee died not thus ; their death was 
 attended by more show and greater ostentation, though they had 
 not, at the final moment, the glorious prospects of the carpenter of 
 Nazareth. 
 
 The obsequies of the son of David were humble as his fortune, 
 but Mary shed abundant tears over his funeral bed, and the Son of 
 God was himself chief mourner. What emperor was ever so highly 
 honoured ? 
 
 At length, the time for preaching the Gospel began to approach, 
 and He whom God ordained from aU eternity to be its pontiff and 
 apostle, quitted Nazareth to repair to the banks of the Jordan, 
 where John was baptizing. That parting of the Blessed Virgin 
 and her son must have been both solemn and affecting. The public 
 life of Jesus was about to commence. U ufriended, poor, of humble 
 origin, without other resource than his courage, liis patience, and 
 that gift of miracles which he never employed for his own personal 
 advantage, he was going to confront an order of things not strong 
 ".vongli to resist him,^ but strong enough to cause Ids death* The 
 Virgin could not help feeling an emotion of terror on seeing JesM 
 i:ommit himself to that stormy sea — the Jewish world — on which so 
 many illustrious prophet i had perished. She knew the insuimount- 
 able pride of the Pharisees, the narrow and revengefiil fanaticism 
 of the Synagogue, the sanguinary whims of Herod Antipas ; she 
 also knew the Messianic oracles which spoke of suffering and 
 ignominy ! . . . . The daughter of the kings of Juda, who was not of 
 tl)*) race of the feeble, and who knew that her son was God, wa& 
 none the less overcome by that fii-st separation, ^\•hich seemed the 
 
 ^1 
 
 K : 
 
 (■ ', s- 
 
 * M. do Lamartinc, book quoted 
 
 ^^i 
 
Bit I 
 
 \ 
 
 mm 
 
 bv« 
 
 k) 
 
 182 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [chap. XYl 
 
 prelude and the image of one much more cruel. With a breaking 
 heart she saw Jesua set out, and when the sound of his fot;tstep3 
 died away in the distance ; when she found herself alone — all alono 
 — ^in that house where she had passed so many happy hours with 
 her son and her holy spouse, she hid her face between her hands, 
 and remained long silent and motionless. 
 
 The absence of Christ was prolonged; the Virgin learned with 
 profound admiration, but without surprise, the wondera of his 
 baptism, when the Holy Trinity was, as it were, made palpable and 
 revealed to men: the white dove extending its divine wings over 
 the Saviour who was, at the same time, announced as the Son of 
 God by a voice from heaven. Her maternal joy was, however, 
 replaced by grievous apprehension when she heard that Jesus, 
 almost immediately after his baptism, had plunged alone into the 
 deep and perilous ravines of the lofty Mount Quarantine* to 
 prepare for the work of the world's redemption by fasting, prayer, 
 and meditation. What must she suffer as she thought of Jesus 
 wandering through a labyrinth of naked rocks, whei'e the bird 
 found not a particle of moss to make its nest, or a wild berry to 
 maintain life — where ail is rock and fire ! What anguish when the 
 tempest roared without ! Where was Jesus ? What was he doing, 
 alone and unsheltered, on t'ae high mountains of Jericho, whose 
 steep pathways — full of rolling stones — wound amid frightful preci- 
 pices.f Certain death awaited him if he missed his foot on the 
 
 * The deiitt wherein Jesas fasted forty days — whence it was called the desert of 
 Quarar'ine-is situated in the mountains of Jericho, about a league from that city, 
 and towards the western bank of the Jordan. Mount Quarantine is one of the highest 
 on tlie north om side, presenting a profound chasnn, hc!lowed out below, as tlioogh to 
 pro vent all access to the upper part ; from west to north it displays a series of steep 
 rocks, wiiich open in many places, and contain caverns. The fourth part of the ascent 
 is only pained by a precipitous slope, strewn with stones which roll from under tiie 
 foot. When one has reached this fourth part of the mountain's height, he finds a 
 very narrow pathway which conducts t a flight of steps surrounded by fearful 
 preci])icc8 ; this must be climbed at the most imminent risk, catching at certain stones 
 wlilch i)roject here nnd there, and to which one is obliged to cling with feet am' 
 hands ; if one of these stones chanced to give way, one would fall into a terribc 
 chasm. ( Voyages de Jesus Christ, Heme voyage.) 
 
 f The sacred retreat wherein the Man-God spent forty days, is a natural grotto 
 which is only to be gained by climbing a path cut in the rock. A niche has been 
 
 11 
 
 i 
 
ClIAl'. XVI.] 
 
 BLKS3ED VIKOIN MAUY. 
 
 lua 
 
 edge of an abyss; and no aid. was near, if, during that fast — so 
 complete, so long, so far beyond human strength — he fell fiiintiiig 
 on the way! Those forty days were, to Mary, so many ages, 
 maternal anxiety making every minute thus passed an eternity ; 
 but Je£,as returned to Nazareth with hia disciples, and his loved 
 presence was, for Mary, like the balmy breath of spring, after the 
 piercing frosts of winter. 
 
 Just then it was that the wedding took place in Cana of Galilee. 
 The bride and bridegroom, who were relatives of the Blessed 
 Virgin,* invited Mary, with Jesus and his disciples. All accepted 
 the cordial invitation, and the Virgin — ever kind and obliging— 
 undertook to assist in making preparations for the banquet, in 
 which custom required a certain degree of splendour. But, the 
 company was large, and the family poor ; the bridegroom had been 
 mistaken in his reckoning, and the wine-jars were almost empty, 
 when our Lord — who would raise marriage to the rank of holy 
 things, purifying it by his presence — entered the banquet-hall 
 followed by Peter, Andrew, Philip, and Nathaniel, four young 
 fishermen whom he had impressed with confidence in his genius 
 and power. The wine ran out in the middle of the repast, and 
 Mary, having first perceived it on a sign of distress from the hosts, 
 turned to Jesus who was sitting near her, and said, pointedly, 
 " They have no wine !" 
 
 Jesus answered her in a low voice, and with much emphasis, 
 "Woman, what is it to me and to thee? My hour is not yet " 
 come l"t 
 
 iimde in one of its Rides as if for an altar. Therein are seen some '"rescoes, almost 
 effaced, rcprosentiiifr angels. A thick will! olosi>s up this species of chapel, which is 
 lit by a window wlieiice one cannot look down without a sliudilcr. (/&/(/.) 
 
 * The eastern tradition, which the Mahometans have received from the Christians, 
 is, that St. John the Evangelist was the bridegroom at the wedding of Cana, and 
 that, after having witnessed the miracle which Jesus wrought, he immediately quitted 
 his wife to follow him. (D'HerbeLt, Bihlioth. Orimtale, t. ii.) — Buronius, t. i., p. 
 106. — Maid. {tnJohnn.) also adopts this opinion, for which we cannot certify. 
 
 f Our Lord's reply to his bles.sed mother must have been in an under tone, as may 
 even be inferred from the ^^:■•nel narrative. It is wholly impossible that Jesus ChrLst 
 could have given his mother such an answer aloud ; the guests, who were not in the 
 secret, would have considered it extremely disrespectful towards iter. It is clear tbat 
 
 ■m 
 
 ilr 
 
 H: 
 
I 
 
 Xd'-P^^'O 
 
 
 ^) 
 
 ;r^/S.: 
 
 184 
 
 LIFE 01' THE 
 
 [ciiAP. XVI. 
 
 \^ 
 
 . ^^ 
 
 The Virgin — anxious to save her friends a most painful humiliation 
 — was yet not at all discouraged by these words ; she knew that, if 
 the hour of his manifestation were not come, Christ would anticipate 
 it for her sake ; and, with that faith which would remove mountains, 
 she mildly said to the servants, " Whatsoever he shall say to yon, 
 do ye." Now there were there six water-pots of stone used for 
 purifications ; at the bidding of Jesus, these were filled to the biim 
 with fresh water from a neighbouring spring, and that water was 
 changed into delicious wine. 
 
 Thus it is that the Blessed Virgin had the first fruits of the 
 miracles of her divine son, and that her intercession changed the 
 very will of God. 
 
 The miracle of Cana was soon followed by a number of others 
 which stamped with the seal of the Divinity the high and provi. 
 dential mission of the Saviour. At his voice, the storm was hushed, 
 human infirmities disappeared, the devils were hurled back to their 
 gloomy kingdom, corpses arose from their coffin, and, all over that 
 spot of earth which his blessed footsteps marked, there was a great 
 amelioration of both spiritual and corporeal suflfering.* People came 
 to him from Sidon, from Tyre, from Idumea, and from Arabia ; and 
 whole multitudes, gathering along his way, kissed the hem of his 
 garments, and humbly asked him for health and life — things which 
 only a God can give. 
 
 Mary, whom our Lord had not as yet thought proper to associate 
 in his painful and wandering life — Mary heard these extraordinary 
 tidings with great joy, not unmixed, however, with trouble and 
 
 the servants, hearing what the Blessed Virgin said, were ignorant of the Saviour's 
 
 apparent refasal. 
 
 * A Mussulman poet has described, in graceful verse, the dominion which Jesus 
 
 exercised over the diseases of the soul ; the following is their substance : 
 " The heart of the afflicted man draws all its consolation from thy words." 
 " The soul recovers life and vigour by the mere hearing of thy name." 
 " If ever the mind of man can arise to the contemplation of the mysteries of the 
 
 Deity, 
 
 " It is from thee that it obtains the lights whereby to discover them, and thee it is 
 
 who givest it the attraction which leads it thereto." 
 " A Christian," says the learned Orientalist, D'Herbelot, •' could not e.xpren 
 
 his ideas with greater force." 
 
 '^, 
 
 ^i\v\V 
 
p 
 
 CHAP. XVI.] 
 
 iiLESSED VIKQUr HART 
 
 anxiety. Her feare were well founded ; for, if the people followed 
 the Messiah, loading him with blessings, t. : Pharisees, the Scribes, 
 and the princes of the Synagogue began to be gi'eatly scandalized 
 — worthy souls ! — by the conduct of the Son of God. He remitted 
 !iins — blasphemy ! he consoled and converted sinners — degradation ! 
 he healed the sick on the Sabbath day — open and shameless 
 Impiety I His doctrine fell from his lips like a beneficent dew, 
 rather than a stormy rain, so that he was in every way unlike the 
 a->cient prophets. He preached humility, forgiveness of injuries, 
 voluntary poverty, alms given for God's sake alone, universal 
 charity. . . . What novel doctrines these were ! A host of enemies 
 rose up against him after every sermon, whether in the desert or ii* 
 the city. He could not attack hypocrisy without offending tht 
 Pharisees, nor condemn avarice without exciting the ire of the 
 doctora of the law ; the discontented — ever ready to engage in 
 dark conspiracies which broke out in rash and bloody revolt — 
 were scandalized because he did not preach up sedition agaiiist 
 Caesar ; the Herodians accused him of aspiring to the throne ; and 
 the Sadducees c- id not bear to hear him announce eternal life. 
 These men — divided in their views, their ere is, and their political 
 interests — made a truce amongst themselves in hatred to the Galir 
 lean ; they girt up their loins to attack him, which they did on 
 every side. Every word was a snare, every smile one of treachery. 
 Some openly treated him as an impostor and a Sarnantan ; others 
 gently hinted that he was mad ; the whole phalanx of the envious, 
 tired of hearing the people praise this new prophet, and being 
 unable to deny his miracles, would fain give the honour thereof to 
 Satan. " If he drives out devils," said they, " it is through Beelze- 
 bub, the prince of devils ; in Beelzehiif^^ principe dcemonionim^ ejicit 
 dcemoniaP* These vague rumours alarmed Mary, and the evil 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 ¥ 
 
 ii 
 
 • i' I. 
 
 1 ii 
 
 ^ ) 
 
 r ? 
 
 t 
 
 '*■ 
 If 
 
 
 * The Melhnevi-Manevl, speaking of the envious and impotent hatred of the Jews 
 for Jesus Christ, expresses its opinion in these terms concerning these attacks — so 
 common against all that obtains success ; attacks which are, in the end, hurtful only 
 to those who make them : — " The moon sheds her light, and the dog barks," snys the 
 Persian author, " but the barking of the dog prevents not the moon from shining. 
 We throw sweepings into the running water of a river, and that scum swims on tlic 
 •nrface of the water without either stopping itscou ^e, or disturbing it. The Messiah, 
 
 ..."■t 
 
,.>nf 
 
 O"^ 
 
 186 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [chap. XVI. 
 
 
 iv"el 
 
 dispositions oi ner neighbours were calculated to do anything but 
 eassure her. Of all the cities of Galilee, Nazareth was the most 
 incredulous, and the most hardened against the divine word ; and 
 of all tli<' families of Nazareth, that of Jesus Avas the least disposed, 
 it seei s, to accept him for the king-Messiah. As the divine 
 mateniity of Mary had never been revealed to her relatives, and 
 the miracles which had been wrought during the Lord's mfancy 
 had taken place in distant countries, so they saw in the supposed 
 son of Joseph only a young Israelite without learning, brought 
 up amongst themselves, fed like them, more poorly lodged, morw 
 simply clad, and living from day to day by hard work, which 
 brought him chiefly in contact with the lower classes. Chnst, who 
 would ennoble poverty by taking it for his portion, incurred the 
 consequences of the position he had chosen. "Neither did his 
 brethren," says St. John, "believe in him."* The report, of the 
 mii-acles which accompanied the prjaching of the Gospel astonished, 
 but could not convince, these obstinate Nazarenes. Knowing that 
 Jesus was saluted all over Galilee, by the dangerous title of iSoii of 
 David^ and that crowds of two or thr*»e thousand persona gathered 
 to hear him, they feared that these numerous assemblies might 
 excite the suspicions of Herod Antipas, and that themselves might 
 be brought into trouble on account of the young prophet. For this 
 reason, they publicly gave out that Jesus was mad, and swore that 
 they would bring him back to Nazareth in safe keeping. Concealing 
 this family plot from Mary, they induced her to go with them to 
 Caphemaum, in order that they might gain access to his presence by 
 the authority of her name.f 
 
 The Messiah was teaching in the synagogue, in the midst of a 
 silent and attentive audience, when the Nazarenes arrived. Osten 
 tatiously displaying an authority which they were quite willing 
 to magnify in the eyes of the crowd, as St. John Chrysostom 
 
 on the one side, raises tiie dead, and you see, on the other, the .Jews devoured with 
 envy, biting tlieir nails, and tearing their hair," (Hussein-Vaez. — D'Hcrbclot, 
 Biblioth. Orient.) 
 
 * St. John, eh. vii., v. 5. 
 
 t St. Marli, ch. iii., vs. 21, 31-35 
 
 <1 
 
 
 jjii 
 
m 
 
 CUAP. XVI.] 
 
 BLJaSKD VIKOIN MAUY. 
 
 187 
 
 remarks, they deliberately sent word to the Saviour that his luothei 
 and his brethren were without, and wished to see him ; but Jesii? 
 — knowing the secret thougl.ts his relations according to the 
 flesh, and availing himself of the occasion to extend the narrow 
 limits of the oil law by solemnly and unreservedly adopting all tno 
 great human family — gave this admirable reply to the impudent 
 message of his kinsfolk : " Who is my mother and my breth)'en V 
 Then, looking around on his numerous disciples: "Whosoever,'" 
 said he, " shall do the will of God, he is my brother, and sist(!i\ 
 and mother." After this severe reprimand, which the sons of 
 Alpheus could well understand, the Son of Go<l immediately went 
 out, says St. John Chrysostom, to do his mother (Ul't/ie honour tJuit 
 decorum required. 
 
 W'hen he had saluted Mary, and stopped some time with her on 
 the seashore, the Saviour went up into a bark, whence he began 
 to teach the people. The Virgin, lost in the crowd, but profoundly 
 attentive, heard, in religious silence, the parable of the sower. The 
 Nazarenes, petrified by the resistless eloquence, and the super- 
 human dignity of Jesus Christ, asked each other, in surprise, if he 
 w^ere, indeed, the son of Mary. They experienced that kind o^ 
 fascination which attracts the snake of the American savannahs 
 when he hears afar in the woods the sound of sweet music. They 
 had come with the swiftness of fear, with the eloquence of egotism, 
 with the arrogance of superiority, to withdraw Christ from liis 
 perilous mission, and they quailed under his very look, arid could 
 not even open their lips in his presence. This is clea. iy indicated 
 by the text of St. Matthew, which, after having informed us of 
 their hostile intentions, gives us nowhere to understand that they 
 ventured even to speak to our Lord. 
 
 Some time after, Jesus returned to Nazareth, and great was the 
 joy of the Virgin. To see h^r son seated on the mat where he used 
 to sit in his childish days, to eat the bread which he had blessed 
 and broken, to lead him silently to the sick bed of some ])oor 
 suflfererwhom he healed, with an injunction of secresy; to see him 
 mighty in word and work, he who had been so long the man of 
 toil and silence — ^this was too much happiness in the cup of hei- 
 existence ! And God, who often afflicts those whom he loves, soon 
 
 iirfV 
 
 V 
 
 fr^i-Si;'^ 
 
 
 UUiiiiU- 
 
 I 
 
 ■|! 
 
 I f 
 
 I? 
 
 \ 
 
 
 It 
 
Ta 
 
 188 
 
 ;^) 
 
 -r^; 
 
 1 
 
 LIFE OF TITE 
 
 [chap. XVI. 
 
 mingled gall with its sweetness. On the Sabbath day, the son and 
 mother went together to the synagogue. A great concourse of 
 people hui assembled there to see and hear Jesus ; but the curiosity 
 of the Nazarenes had not that character of confidence and respectful 
 attention that Christ had so often met elsewhere. They were there, 
 scandalized beforehand by what the son of Mary was to do and say, 
 and admirably disposed to stone him if occasion oflEered. 
 
 There are countries decidedly hostile to all that does them honour, 
 until the grass of the grave grows over the object of their envy. 
 
 Nevertheless, one of the ancients presented the Saviour of men 
 with the book of the prophet Isaiah, and Jesus, unrolling the parch- 
 ment, read this passage with simple grace and marvellous dignity : 
 "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me ; 
 he hath sent me to preach to the meek, to heal the contrite of heart, 
 and to preach a release to the captives, and deliverance to them 
 that are shut up : to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." 
 
 Having closed the book, he sat down, and, speaking with that 
 lively and natural eloquence which so strongly impressed his 
 auditors, he made to himself the application of the Messianic 
 oracle, and taught, not as a disciple of the synagogue, but an the 
 very master of the synagogue. A low murmur ran through thi' 
 assembly. Some were amazed at the foi'ce and the grace of his 
 discourse; others, faithful to their system of contemptuous calumny, 
 said aloud: "Is not this the carpenter's son?" And Jesus, pene- 
 trating their thoughts, and reading their false and envious hearts, 
 spoke to them those words which have become proverbial : " A 
 prophet is not without honour, save in his own. country and in 
 his own house." Knowing that they intended to ask him for 
 prodigies like unto those which he had wrought in Capharnaum, 
 he told them plainly that their incredulity rendered them unworthy 
 of any such, and that, in order to obtain miracles, they must bo 
 asked in simplicity and with faith. Thence, alluding to the propa 
 gation of his Gospel, and to that wild olive grafted on the ancient 
 tree of the synagogue, symbolical of the call of the Gentiles : " In 
 truth I say to you there were many widows, in the days of Elias, 
 in Israel, when heaven was shut up three years and six months, 
 when there was a great famine throughout all the eartli. And to 
 
 [h 
 
 L 
 
 '-C 
 
bl.KHSKI) VlUdl.V .MAUV, 
 
 OlfAl' XVI.] 
 
 nori" of them was Elina sent V)ut to Snrepta of Sitlon. to a widow 
 woiuaii. And there wore innny h-pors in Israel in tho timo of 
 Eliseurt the prophet, and none of them wns cleansed but Naaman 
 the Syrian." 
 
 These last words were the drop of water which makes the cup 
 overflow. Wounded in their national pride, in their hereditary 
 hatred, m their traditional hopes, the assembly in the synagogue 
 were filled with fin-y, and thirsted for blood. 7'hey ime up tiitniif 
 tuoudijy and th'tist liirn oitt of their city : and they hrovijht him 
 to the brow of the hill whereon tJicir city was huilt, that they might 
 ai-9t him down headlong. 
 
 Seated amongst the humbler women, in a grated gallery, the 
 Virgin had observed, with intense anxiety, the rise i.nd progress 
 of the storm. Reading the sinister projects of the Nazarenea in 
 their fierce glances and furious gestures, she hesitated not to brave 
 the danger in order to make her way to her son ; but her strength 
 WHS not ecpial to her courage. The Jews ran swiftly — they were 
 always swift to shed blood — and Mary, trembling like a leaf, hardly 
 able to sup;>ort herself, walked slowly after them like one in a 
 dream. She sees Jesus nt the summit of a steep rock which over- 
 hangs a fearful precipice ; she hears from afar the death-cry ringing : 
 her knees bend under her ; a mist gathers over her eyes ; her voici' 
 dies away in a piteous moan ; she falls like a flower stricken down 
 by the wind, and lies prostrate on the gi'ound.* 
 
 Meanwhi' ', the ferocious wolves in pui"suit of the lamb, had been 
 grievously disappointed ; the hour of sacrifice was not yet come for 
 the Son of man, and no one could take his life until he chose to 
 give it up. StriV.ing that murderous crowd with blindness,f Jesus 
 
 IS? Xfii 
 
 Y 
 
 M' 
 
 ;:? 
 
 |i 
 
 * Between the steep mountain whence the Jews intended to cast Jesus, and tlic 
 city of Nazareth, "there is seen half-waj'," says Father Geranib, "the ruins of a 
 monastery formerly inhabited liy raonlts, and those of a very fine church built by St. 
 Helena, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, under tho name of Our Lady of Terror. 
 According to some, Mary was standing there when the Jens dragged her son along 
 towards the summit of the mountain, to east him thence. According to others, she 
 had hastened thither, on hearing of the diabolical proji'ct in contemplation, but luid 
 arrived too late ; overcome with terror, she could <jo vo/arlhcry 
 
 t The most ancient heretics — ])reparing the way for modern ratinnalism, which 
 
 M 
 
 ^^#Xi* 
 

 
 luo 
 
 LIFE OV TIIK 
 
 [cifAl' 
 
 ■u: 
 
 \WM\:l 
 
 ^^•:T 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 piissr'd iiiisrcii tliroii .,'li tlic m'uUt of liis oniniio^, nnd rctiinicd oiu'o 
 tnon? to C'liplianiiiuin, \vlit'i>' lie wiis soon after joined hy h'w inotlu'r, 
 Mai-y of Cleopliiis, and tlu' sons of Ali»Iieus. 
 
 After liavini,' preaelied the (Josptd in the eountry bordenng on 
 th(^ fair lake of Til)eria.s, whose wnves are radiant as tlio light, and 
 having wrought the great iniraelo of the multiplication of the loaveo 
 an<l Hsheg in the desert of Bethsaida, Jesus went up the Jordan 
 again, with his discij)les, to Cuisarea Philippi, the ancient Dan of 
 Nephtali, (which name had just been changed by Phili]), son <jf 
 Ilerod,) visiting all the dift'erent towns and villages on his way. 
 
 It was, probably, nt this period — for Euthyinus,* who relates this 
 ti-aditional fact, leaves its dute undecided — that the waters of the 
 Jonhin, already sanctified, beheld another all'ecting ceremony. 
 •fesus, the Vii'gin, and the Apostles set out one morning at sunrise, 
 for that sacred river " which flows through two lakes," says Tacitus, 
 " and empties itself into the third."f Its banks were robed in a 
 magnificent vegetation ; islets, rising here and there from its l)osom, 
 sparkled amid its shining waves like baskets of verdure, fruit, and 
 flowei-s; blue herons hovered ovi r those flowery isles, where the 
 wood-i)igeon and the white turtle still hang their mossy nests on 
 the branches of the wild pomegranate. The dew glittered on the 
 green leaves of the willows like a shower of pale diamonds, and the 
 rushes of the Jordan, which sometimes conceal tigers, were gently 
 bending ])eneath the light bi'eeze which shook the tops of the tall 
 palm trees, with their clusters of coral-coloured dates. Far away, 
 on the opposite shore, troops of gazelles were seen ski})ping around 
 on the slopes of the gray, mottled mDuntaius ; and over the sandy 
 plain flew some of the fierce children of the desert, mv^uuted on 
 
 niiwittingly dons tlicir tuttorcil rsi'^s — iiretciuled that our Lord csciipcd through tho 
 illusion of a mist, ilbukre per califfincm. Tcrtiilliaii strongly opposes this supposition. 
 Adv. Marc, 4, 8.) 
 
 * Acconlin;: to St. Eiitliynin-i, our I^ord baptized noiiL' i)ut the Blessed Virgin and 
 ^t. Peter, who afterwfirds Ijiiplizeil the other Apostlen. '' Snmc" says this holy 
 abbot, who (louri.shed in Palesliiii- in the fourth century, '^ Some have written thai 
 Jesus Christ hiinsrlf Ijiijitized the I'oyiu awl Peter.'" 
 
 ■\ Xee Jordanes poliigo aceipitur : «i'd umun atquc alteram laeuni iuteier perlliiit ; 
 tertio retinetur. ( Taciti hisloriarum, lib. v.) 
 
il 
 
 ^d 
 
CHAP. XVI.] 
 
 BLESSED A'lKOIX MAIIY, 
 
 vi^: 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 conrsera fleet as the wind, and armed Avith those long speai-g made 
 of reeds from the banks of the Eiipliratos, which they used even in 
 tlie first ages after the deluge, if Ave are to believe the Persian 
 legends * Clouds, of the richest violet hue, or of soft and tender 
 rose-colour, floated like flowei-s in the deep blue sky, and the night- 
 ingale, that loves to sing in the lofty sycamores which overhang the 
 sacred river of Palestine, was heard to warble its most melodious 
 strains : Nature had donned her gala dress for the bapticm of Mary. 
 
 The Virgin was clothed in white, according to the custom of the 
 Hebrews when they figured alone in any religious ceremony, and 
 she stood calm and collected by the side of her Saviour and her 
 son ; t^ey both stepped into the iiver. Raising then, with his 
 divine hand, the eastern veil worn by his chaste and l)eautiful 
 mother, Jesus fixed his mild and penetrating eyes upon her with 
 a glance of infinite ienderness; then, pouring on the Virgin's 
 forehead the sacred water of regeneration, he baptized her in the 
 name of the most Holy Tiinity, Himself one of the three divine 
 persons. 
 
 It was then that the Blessed Virgin left off her solitary habits to 
 follow her son in his journeys. She had ministered to him for thirty 
 years both abroad and at home; she had worked for him, wept 
 over him, suft'ered for him, and had worshipped him, Avithout fail, 
 evening and morning, even when he lay crying in his cradle, as we 
 learn from Albertus Magnus. It Avas natural that, attaehinir her 
 self to his persecuted lot, she should abandon the peaceful roof 
 under Avhioh he Avas T)orn, to folloAT his blessed footsteps Avhilst lie 
 evangelized the HelireAvs. Amidst all the trials of that troubled 
 life, the Virgin was admirable as ever. Loving Jesus more than 
 ever mother loved her child, yet never did she intrude into his 
 presence Avhen, by so doing, she migVt interfere Avith the duties of 
 liis reut'uerating mission ; never once did she speak to him of her 
 fatigue, her fears, her melancholy forebodings, or her jiei-sonal wants. 
 Alary wits not only a sacred dove hiding in the deft of a rock ; 
 
 * Tlicro grows oil tlio banks of the Euplirates a cortaiii kiiul of rccil whicli almost 
 i-qimls the Indian bamboo. In curly times, the Arabs and Assyrians made hmces of 
 them. (Firdousi, Book of K'vigs.) 
 
 ^V^7 
 
 mms 
 
 Y 
 
 i 4 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 ^' 
 
km 
 
 iM 
 
 .^m. 
 
 
 1U:J 
 
 I.TfE 
 
 THE 
 
 a pure virgin, called to nourish with her milk and to cradle in her 
 arras a celestial guest; she was also a strong woman, whom the 
 Lord was pleased to i)lace by turns in every situation of life, in 
 order to leave for the daughtera of Eve an e :ample to follow, and a 
 model to imitate. 
 
 It was not proper that the Mother of God should follow Jesus 
 and his Apostles alone through all Judea; hence Mary's retinue 
 consisted of Mary of Cleophas, mother of James, Simon, Joseph and 
 Jtide, vulgarly called the brethren of the Lord ; Salome, mother of 
 the sons of Zebedee, whom the Saviour loved more than the others ; 
 Susanna, wife of the tctrarch's steward, together with some -wealthy 
 women of Galilee who had given up all for Jesus. ()ne of iliese, a 
 Jewess, young, rich, well-born, and surpassingly bet utiful, was the 
 most tenderly attentive to the divine mother of lur Lord. This 
 woman — whose noble heart, storm-tossed like the waves of the 
 ^gean sea, had burned with an unholy flame before the eyes of 
 men, and braved public opinion with mockery and disdain — had 
 come, penitent and submissive, to prostrate hei-self before Christ, 
 and to ask of hira, whom she acknowledged as God, a cure for the 
 wounds of her soul. And tht chaste love of the Loud had absorbed 
 all the vain love, all the worldly attachments of Magdalen. She 
 had trampled under foot her pearl necklaces, her jewels and chains 
 of gold, and sold her castle by the lovely sea of Galilee ; and now, 
 without other ornament than a coarse brown garment, and those 
 magnificent dark tresses wherewith she had dried the Lord's feet, 
 the young patrician, rich in her alms, adorned with her new virtues, 
 poured out her penitent tears in tl\e pure and pitying bosom of 
 JMary. The immaculate Virgin had received her with open arms, 
 and having thus won her heart, she cultivated in that fertile, but 
 long-neglected soil, the flowers which bloom for heaven. 
 
 After many and divei-s sufferings — many fears and apprehensions, 
 which it were too tedious to enumerate — the Virgin entered Jerusa- 
 lem, the fatal city, in the train of Jesus Christ, to celebrate the last 
 pasch which the Lord made Avith his disciples. Slie saw the people 
 of the royal city trooping out to meet the son of David, who came 
 to them full of sweetness, mounted as the young princes of his race 
 were wont to be, and graciously receiving the simple honoui-s so 
 
 1 
 
 >i 
 
 m 
 
 I'l 
 
.MAIiY, 
 
 rr^i^^ 
 
 e.'gorly and so spontaneously offered by uu-. niiiiTitude, tliirstin^ fov 
 a sigbt of tlieir jn-opliet ; for Jesus never rejected tlie huml)le 
 testimonies of love and gratitude offered by his creatures. Triflin<f 
 a- were those pledges of grateful affection, they were yet receivt'd 
 n'lth divine goodness the moment they came from the heart, 
 
 Magdalen, by turns regarding Jtei' Zord, and that multitude o[ 
 people who made the air resound with their Jiomnna-s', wept in 
 silence behind her veil. ]\[ary's eyes were likewise moist ; but her 
 gaze was turned towards the north-west, in the direction of Calvary 
 
m' 
 
 %mv 
 
 t>t'' 
 
 i^) 
 
 %^ 
 
 ,fi} 
 
 ^» 
 
 194 
 
 Ul-K OF THE 
 
 [c.'iAP. xvn. 
 
 CHAPTEli XVII. 
 
 UABT OM GALVABT. 
 
 The pulm brunches cap r the Hebrews under the feet of their 
 Messiah, M'ere still lyin^ reen and fresh on the steep road to 
 Bethany ; the echoes of the valley of ceu^^s* were still murmuiing 
 the expiring sounds of the glad, triumphant shouts whorewith the 
 daughters of Sion had welcomed the poor Tcivg^ when Jerusalem 
 was again agitated by a new event of great and melancholy 
 importance. 
 
 The chief priests, the senators, and the Pharisees, sought to get 
 hold, even at a golden price, and without shrinking from doraesti'' 
 treachery, of a great criminal, who, they said, was endangering 
 both religion and the state. Dangerous, indeed, must this man 
 liave been, since those honourable personages had imposed upon 
 themselves an extraordinary fast in order to get possession of him,f 
 and had even distributed certain alms through the city, by sound 
 of trumpet, wi'-h the same intention. The Pharisees — ^those consci- 
 ention.s Jews who robbed only the uncircumcised, and who would 
 have left their neighbour at the bottom of a well rather than draw 
 him out on the Sabbath day, although they would have quickly 
 taken out their ox or their ass — these had undertaken to spread 
 amongst the people, who are so easily influenced one way or the 
 othp , ominous reports and vague rumours, which had produced a 
 soi-t ol feverish uneasiness that could only end in a violent outbreak. 
 Things thus prepared, there was seen to descend, one evening, from 
 Mount Moria, a well armed troop, accompanied by some senators, 
 and commanded by the captain of the temple-guards ; % after them 
 
 * Valley of Cedars, the ancient name of the valley of Josnphat. 
 
 {■ This anecdote is found in the Toldos published by ITuldin, pp. 50 and GO. 
 
 X This ofiQce is known to the Gospel, which often speaks of the.se captains of the 
 temple, who must be distinguished from the Rotuau officer who kept guard with his 
 cohort around that sacred edifice to prevent the tumults and disorders which the 
 multitude might cause. These captains of ths temple were necessarily Jews, and 
 
 S 
 
 I 
 
■/ / 
 
 //,/.,.,/.■■/// 
 
 /'A I U,.//i, 
 
CHAP. XVII.j 
 
 UIJSriKD VIRGIN JIAltY. 
 
 ior» 
 
 came the footmen of tlie chief priests, and at the lieacl of this 
 l)atallion marched, with a measured step, by the light of those 
 large hmthorns which the Asiatics hoist on long poles with some 
 flaming torches, a man with a downcast brow, an unsettled lool<, a 
 mean and unprepossessing countenance, whose belt was stuffed Avith 
 gold stolen from the poor,* increased, in imagination, by the thirty 
 pieces of silver which he was to giin by delivering up to the wily 
 synagogue his master, his friend, his God ! For it was, indeed, the 
 Son of David, the conqueror of the preceding days, Jesus of Naza- 
 reth, the great Galilean prophet at whose voice greedy death gave 
 up his prey, and Avhoso ordei-s the winds and seas olieyc'd ; it was 
 he whom the myrmidons of the chief priests and Pharisees were 
 going to seek on the Mount of Olives, whither he retired at night, 
 after having taught by day in the temple, as St. Luke relates. 
 They did not dare to arrest him in open day, fearing some resist- 
 ance from that multitude of disciples who thronged, from the 
 dawn of day, to hear him in Solomon's Porch. 
 
 The armed band, led on by Iscariot, crossed the ravine through 
 which flows the Kedron, that gloomy torrent,f which King David 
 crossed of old when he fled, with a handful of faithful servants, 
 from the rebellious soldiers incited to revolt by his son Absalom. 
 Whilst the soldiera of the temple, fierce and silent, followed the 
 course of the1;orrent, which reflected the light of their torches, in 
 order to gain the heights of Gethsemani, and the evening Aviiid 
 rustled in the drooping branches of the willows, from one of which 
 Judas was soon to hang — a pun'sliment too mild for such a traitor, 
 ])ut to whicii the imperishable contempt of succeeding generations 
 
 te 
 
 \< 
 
 mm 
 
 
 
 (Icsconded from sncordotal families ; to them was intrusted the ward niul the iteys of 
 the temple in order to provide for the security of tlie sacred vessels : this officer, in 
 right of birth, was entitled to a place in all the priestly councils. (Basnagu, b. i. ch. 4.) 
 
 * Then Judas Iscariot, -who was to betray Jesus, said, " Why was not this oint- 
 ment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor ?" Now he said this, not 
 because he cared for the poor, but beeanse he was a thief, and having the purse, 
 carried the things that were put therein. (St. John, ch, xli., v. 4-6.) 
 
 f The Kedron is a torrent which passes through the valley of Josaphat, between 
 Jerusalem and Mount Olivet. It has been named KeJron because it« course lies 
 through dark and obscure places : its Hebrew name signiGcs tcmbroms/uit. 
 
 ^'^''^1 
 
 i 
 
 t .1 
 
 IP- ' f^ 
 
 i!i' 
 
*^'h^ 
 
 ^AO' 
 
 Y 
 
 m 
 
 l->ij 
 
 196 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [ciiAP. xvn. 
 
 continually adds — a sad and solemn scene was passing in that same 
 garden of Olives where the unworthy Apostle was going to seek 
 his ]\raster, to destroy him. 
 
 After having prayed a long time, prostrate on the ground, in 
 that fearful ngony which bedewed his divine brow vf'iih a bloody 
 sweat, Christ arose in 8ubmi;<><lve resignrtion to the terrible vnW of 
 his Father, and ready to drain the bitter chalice even to the dregs. 
 He raised his large soft eyes to the midnight heavi.!n9, studded with 
 brilliant constellations, and illumined by the meridian moon, vhat fair 
 lamp of the iirraaraent, whose useful light the children of Abraham 
 bless in their prayers ;* she was then at her full, and cast a sheet of 
 ra<liant light over that austere landscape whose dark mountains, rising 
 one above the other, were traced on the clear bliie of the sk^ Jerusa- 
 lem, half hid in shade, and in some places brilliantly lit up by the 
 moon's rays, sent afar an aroractic odour from the rare plants of its 
 gardens, and its groves of palm trees rose stately and grand, inter- 
 spersed with towers of white marble. Silcnofl reigned amid the 
 mountains, but a \ovf murmur arose from the depth of the valley, 
 an.L Jesus shuddered. "It is they!" he said within himself, and 
 he walked slowly towards the spot where he had left the three 
 Apostles whom he had chosen to share his lonely watch. Alas ! 
 either fatigue, or the drowsy murmur of the wind through the pale 
 olive branches, had gradually overcome those careless sentinels. 
 Jesus stood looking on them a moment with holy bitterness; he 
 had told them that his death was near at hand, that the hour of 
 danger had arrived, and yet they slept — they, his kinsmen, his 
 friends, his chosen disciples — apparently indifferent to his danger 
 
 Vi 
 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 •^^ 
 
 
 * The day of the new moon is a festival day for the nelrcws ; the women abstain 
 from work, and the devotees fast on the previous day. After reciting a number of 
 prayers in the synagogue, f. ey keep the remainder of the day as a joyous festival. 
 Three Jays after, the Jews assemble on t platform, and iixing their eyes steadfastly 
 ou the moon, they bless God In a long prayer for having created, and also for renew- 
 ing her, to teach the Israelites that they ought to become new creatures : moon ! 
 blessed be thy Creator, blessed be ^o who made thee ; and then they jump three times as 
 high as they can, saying to the moon : Even as we leap towards thee, but cannot reach 
 thee, so may our enemies rise against us without power to harm ut/... (Baanage, 1. 
 tU., ch. 16.) 
 
 m''. 
 
 )I^ 
 
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 cT^ 
 
 ^if';^ 
 
«)HAP. XVII.] 
 
 BLESSED VinOIN MAUY. 
 
 197 
 
 and death. . . .0 vanity of favoure, of the tics of blood and fiieiid- 
 ship! They could keep awake on Thabor at the time of the 
 glorious transfiguration, but they slept in the hour of trial and 
 misfortune ! 
 
 A confused noise was heard on the hollow road leading to the 
 little village of Gfethseraani, and soon after the light of many torche? 
 flashed on the trees. Jesus then, bending over his sleeping Apostles, 
 said in a low, deep voice, " Arise 1 he who is to betray me is near at 
 hand I" lie had scarcely spoken these words when Judas and his 
 band airived. Advancing to Jesus, audacity in hb eyes, and the 
 false smile on his lips, he pointed him out to the hostile troop who 
 came to seek him, giving him, at the same time, that sacrilegious 
 kiss which has since taken his name. This was the signal. Jesus 
 rev-eired the traitor kindly, and said to him, with touching sweet- 
 ness, " Friend, whereto art thou come ?" 
 
 Whereto was he come ! He was come to earn the thirty 
 
 pieces of silver promised by the synagogue. Cupidity — a cold and 
 calculating passion — commits tenfold more crimes, and crimes of a 
 darker dye, than violence. 
 
 Judas had not time to answer this embarr ^sing question, for all 
 the other?, advancing, threw themselves on Jesus and laid hold of 
 him. Then arose the hot blood of Peter ben Cephas,* Prince of 
 the Apostles ; he drew his sword and smote one of the servants of 
 the high priest ; Imt Jesus, arresting the only arm that was raised 
 in his defence, commanded the sword to be restoi-ed to its scabbard. 
 "That the Scriptures in y be fulfilled," said the sacred victim, "so 
 it must be done." The Lamb of God was willing to be immolated 
 f'-r.the sins of the world. 
 
 Thereupon, there was heai'd within the garden, a confused sounO 
 of hasty footsteps, of breaking branches, and cries of terror ; and 
 men Mere suddenly seen scaling the low fencef which surrounded 
 the garden : these were the disciples making their escape ! . . . . 
 
 
 
 * Peter ben Cephas, (Petor son of Peter.) This is the name by which the prince 
 of the Apostles is known in tlic East. 
 
 t Tiie garden of Gethsenmni or Olives, at the foot of tlie mountain of tiiat name, is 
 nirrouuded by a wall about three feck- high ; it is two hundred paces long liy one hnn- 
 
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I 
 
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 LUli OF TUJi 
 
 [CIIAI'. XVH. g\^ 
 
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 The liostilo troop, after having bouml Jesus like a criminal, re- 
 traced their steps to the holy city, bending their course towards the 
 stone bridge which the Asiuonean princes had thrown over the Ke- 
 dron ; but the people of Jerusalem, coming in ci-owd.s, had it already 
 occupied, and tradition relates that Jesus was dragged across tlio 
 stream; whereby I ho pn^phecy was literally fulliUed, "IIo shall 
 drink in the way the water of the torrent." The holy marks of the 
 Saviour's feet and of one of his knees are imprinted in the bed 
 and on the stone margin of the brook ; so, at least, say the Chris- 
 tians of Jerusalem, who still point them out. Having cliral)ed the 
 hill of Sion, they entered Jerusalem by the Stenpiilian gate, and re- 
 paired to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes 
 and the ancients Avere assembled. The chief priests and the scribes 
 then demanded of Jesus Avhether he was the Christ. " If I tell you," 
 replied the Saviour mildly, " you will not believe me." " Art thou the 
 Son of God r demanded Caiapluis. " Thou hast said it," answered 
 Jesus, " I am." " He hi\s blasphemed 1" cried the high-priest, rending 
 his garments. "He has deserved deatli,"said the Scribes and Pharisees. 
 
 Then they spat upon his face, struck him with their lists, and 
 marched him to and fro, crying out in bitter mockery : " Trophesy 
 unto us, O Christ ! and tell us who it was that struck thee !" 
 
 Meanwhile, Peter, who had sworn rather to die tlian to abandon 
 hun, denied him three times in the court-yard of the high-priest ! 
 
 Next day, the chief priests and the Pharisees dragged Jesus before 
 Pontius Pilate, who was exceedingly unpopular with them since the 
 affair of the imperial ensigns which he had introduced by night into 
 Jerusalem ;* but as they hated the Son of God still more, and that 
 the Romans alone could condemn hira to death,f they submitted to 
 
 (Ired and forty wide. It contains a rock, forming a reddish grotto, where it is said 
 tliat the three Apostles slept. ( Voyages de Jesus Christ, 44th voyage.) — Its name of 
 Gethsemani is derived from the richness of its soil : Qethsemani, in Ilcbrew, signifies 
 fertile valley. 
 
 * Josephus, Ant. Jad., b. xviii., ch. 4. 
 
 f Bufore Juilca had fallen under the Roman domination, the Sanhodrim had the 
 power of life and death ; but the conquerors took that privilege to themselves. It 
 was the custom of tlie Romans to leave vaiiquislied nations tlieir tcmplivs and their 
 gods ; but in civil matters they obliged them to follow the laws and ordiu.mces of the 
 
 8 
 
otulp. xvn.] 
 
 BLKSHKD VmOIN MAUY. 
 
 l'.)9 
 
 npppnr in the pretorhim of that idolater, taking every precaution, 
 however, to avoid coming in contact with his garments, his banners, 
 or even his judgment-seat, which would have rendered thorn unclean 
 for the whole day. Having, therefore, done all that depended on them 
 to avert such a misfortune, these scntpxilmis men accused Jesus of 
 having perverted the people hj hia doctrine, of having prevented 
 tliem from paying tribute to Ca?sar, and, finally, of having assumed 
 the seditious title of King of the Jew8 .... As many lies as words. 
 Jesus listene 1 in silence to these false accusations. Pilate, con- 
 vinced of the profound malignity of the accusers, and the innocence 
 of the accused, would have wished to save Jesus, but could not suc- 
 ceed. The Pharisees, skilful in the art of raising popular tumults, 
 worked upon the peoj)lc, who kept crying out for the death of the 
 descendant of their ancient kings, and the governor, who well knew 
 how to appease the clamoui"s of the Jews when it suited himself, 
 contented himself with faintly defending, against the fury of hid 
 iniquitous accusers, the innocent man whom he should have firmly 
 ])rotected. Tired of their cries, overcome by their perseverance, the 
 Roman washed his hands of hia sentence and pronounced it.* He 
 then became anxious to make amends, as it wer(>, for his display of 
 clemency towai'ds Jesus, and to regain the fi'vour of the Jerusalera- 
 ite populace, whom he had recently caused his lictois to cudgel be- 
 cause of a tumult,f arising from his making too free with the sacred 
 
 Republic. At tbo time wlion Christ was comlpmnwl, tlie Romniis wrre absolute mas- 
 ters of the temporal jurisdiction, nntl the authority of tlie .Icwisii senate was confiiicd 
 to matters purely religions. Tiie T.ilmuilists admit the fact, for they iickiio\vledu;e that 
 the power of juilf^ini? was taken from the senate forty years before the ruin of .Jerusa- 
 lem, that is to 8ay, three years before the deatli of Christ. (See Basnau;e, liv. vii. eh. 4.) 
 
 ♦ They preserve in Jerusalem the sentence pronounced by Pilate on Jesus C'lirist. 
 We give it here, not os an authentic document, but as a local Iraditiou. Jrsnin Nor 
 tnrenum siibvcrsoriim r/enlis, rontemptorem Ctenari.i, et fiihum Messiam, vt mnjonim sua: 
 yentis lentimonle pr ihatiim es . dueile ad communis supplied locum, et cum lud'tbrio re- 
 ffl y'estatk inm(dioduoriim, latroviim nffi'iile. I, lictor, expcdi truces. " Coiidncl tc 
 the ordinary place of Executii>n, Jesus of Nazareth, the seducer of the people, who 
 has despised the authority of (. ;esar, and falsely announced himself as the Messiah, ac- 
 cording to the testimony of the ancients of his nation ; crucify him between two 
 thieves, with the derisive title of ICiny. Go, lictor, prepare the crosses." (Ardicora. 
 In dcscript. Jesus.) 
 
 f Pilate undertook to construct an aqueduct with the money of the sacred treas^ 
 
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 UVX OF TUU 
 
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 [UI1A1>. XVU. 
 
 treasury, ander pretence of constructing an aqaeduct with whicb he 
 had nothing to do, — so he ordered the son of David and of Solomon 
 to be sconrged, amid the acclamations of the deicide people, who had 
 dared to take upon their own heads and those of their children, the 
 dread responsibility of his death. That done, he delivered him up, 
 though regarding him with pity and with admiration,* to the taunts 
 ind insults of a soldiery whom the princes of the Synagogue, des- 
 pite their hatred of them, had stooped to bribe, in order to secure 
 their co-operation in the execution of their revengeful projects.f 
 riiey well knew how to hate — those zealots of the law of Moses, who 
 would kill and mock the Cuut8T,/or God's sake/ 
 
 When Jesus hod reached the court of the pretorium, they seated 
 him on a fallen pillar, | and the entire cohort amused themselves by 
 
 nry, to bring water into Jerasalom fW)iii a distance of two hundred itadia. The peo> 
 plu, violently excited ogalnit the Roman governor, whose real intention thej penetrated, 
 nmemblcd by thousands in the streets and public places of Jcrnsalera ; the whole city 
 resounded with execrations against Pilate, " and some even provoked the governor," 
 says Josephas, " by violent abuse, as is usual in popular outbreaks." Pilate, who wai 
 not so easily intimidated, ordered his men to take large sticks under their garments 
 and surround the mob ; when the latter, after a short respite, began again with their 
 clamours and outcries, Pilate nmde a sign to his soldiers, who instantly fell on the 
 people, and even went beyond their instructions, beating those who said nothing as 
 well as those who were loudest in the clamour. "Those poor people having no arms," 
 adds Josephns, with compassionate sympathy for the Jewish rioters, " were therefore 
 inhumanly treated ; Rome were killed, others wounded, and thus the tumult was 
 quelled." (Joseph. Ant. Jud., 1. xviii. cb. 4.) 
 
 * Tiberius, acting on the report sent by Pilate, proposed to the senate to deify 
 Jesns. Tertnllian mentions this as a notorious fact in his Apology, which he presented 
 to the senate in the name of the church, and he would not have weakened so good a 
 cause by making any statement that conld not be veriSed. (Tert. Apol. b.) 
 
 t Salvador would fain exculpate his co-religionists by casting on the Roman sol- 
 dioTs the odium of the treatment inflicted on Jesus in the pretorium ; but it is clear 
 that the Romans only acted as they did on the instigation of the enemies of Christ. 
 The following is the opinion of St. John Chrysostora on this subject. " It was, in re- 
 ality, the Jews themselves who condcmie-l Jesns to death, although they attribute the 
 act to Pilate. They tconld thai his hlood th ml J /(til on Ihemifliies and their children. 
 It was they alone who offered him all the insults that he received, who tied him, led 
 him to Pilate, nnd had him so cruelly treated by the soldiers. Pilate had ordered 
 nothing of all this. (Sermon 77, in Matth.) 
 
 X This i)illar, of gray marble, and not more than two feet high, is in Rome, in tlie 
 Church of St. Praxeda. 
 
 m 
 
■v^- 
 
 ^ 
 
 A 
 
 n 
 
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CHAP, xvn.] 
 
 BLESSED VIKOIN MARY. 
 
 201 
 
 offering him every imaginable species of insult. It was tte season 
 when the dangerous rhamnus* was in full bloom — that bush in 
 whose green thorny mass the symbolical ram of Abraham's sacrificef 
 was, of old, entangled ; one of the soldiers ran out and gathered a 
 branch to form a derisive crown for Christ ; the fresh blossoms were 
 soon stained with his sacred blood, every thorn making a deep and 
 insupportable wound. Having stripped him perfectly naked, they 
 threw over his shoulders a purple rag, placed a reed in his hand by 
 way of sceptre, and, with irony and mocking genuflexions, they sa- 
 luted him as king. His whole body was but one gaping wound, for 
 the sharp, pointed lashes mangled the flesh, and sent it flying in 
 l)ieces through the hall ; his sacred face was covered with spittle, 
 and the T)lood which flowed from his divine brow, which his chained 
 hands could not wipe away ! . . . Pity was considered as a degra 
 ding weakness;^ by the chief "priests, the Pharisees, and the doctors 
 of the law — those high and honourable men. 
 
 "When the Pharisees thought that the idolatrous soldiers had suf- 
 ficiently degraded Jesus in the eyes of the people to destroy the idea 
 of his divinity, the approach of the Sabbath rendering expedition 
 necessary, they took their victim, whom the Roman procurator reluc- 
 tantly gave up, and, after placing the enormous cross on his bleeding 
 and mangled shouldei-s, they spurred him on with the shafts of their 
 lances in his slow and painful journey to Calvary, where they were 
 to crucify him. 
 
 The streets were thickly lined with the multitiide of spectator , 
 some displayed a ferocious joy, and loudly anathematized the son of 
 David ; others deplored the hard fate of that young prophet who 
 
 "iri^- 
 
 feiv 
 
 * Tlio detached thorns of this crown, which are still preserved, are now recognised 
 for the rhamnus spina Christi of Linnaeus. 
 
 f St. Jerome (/» Philem.) says that tlio ram which Abraham saw entangled in the 
 oush was the figure of Jesus crowned with thorns. 
 
 f Basn., 1. vi., ch. IT. — The punishment of scourging was very ancient amongst the 
 Jews, and was not considered infamous. According to the Talmud, kings themselves 
 were punished in this way on certain occasions. " Tradition toat'lies," says Miiimc 
 nidi's, "that the king must not iiave more than cighti"^'i wives ; if lie inanies one 
 above that number, he is to be scourged. If he have more Iiorses thm liis chariot re- 
 quires, let him be scourged. If he amass more gold or silver than i^ required to pay 
 Lis ministers, let him be seourgod." fMaimon., Jfalach., jV^ilach., cli. 3.) 
 
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 LIl'E OF TII£ 
 
 [CilAP. XVIL 
 
 had done naught but good to men, by whom he was now abandoned 
 and betrayed. But those barren proofs of sympathy were scarcely 
 perceptible ; the good wept in silence ; those whom he had fed with 
 five loaves in the desert, those whom he had cured, those whom he 
 had loved, were there, lost in the crowd, and no voice was raised to 
 protest against his execution;* the Apostles whom he had most 
 loved had disowned him ! the others had fled, with one single ex- 
 ception ! 
 
 As he painfully toiled down the long street which leads to the 
 Gate of Judgment, a woman made her way through the crowd ; she 
 was very fair, and her mild, sweet fitce wore the stamp of purity, 
 but it was full of unutterable sorrow ; she was pale as death, and 
 trembled in every limb ; her eyes, which could now weep no more, 
 fell with a glance of such mortal anguish on the gaping wounds of 
 the Saviour, that the daughters of Jerusalem wept as they saw her ^ 
 murmiiring, " Poor, poor mother !" She silently glided through the 
 people, who made way for her through an instinct of sympathy and 
 compassion. Some hardened Pharisees were loading Jesus with 
 bitter taunts and reproaches — he who was bathed in sweat, and 
 almost expiring under the weight of the Cross ; but his mother heard 
 them not: the foreign soldiers who surrounded her Son, made 
 threatening gestures at her ; she saw them not. But when a number \^ 
 of spears, pointed against her bosom, arose between her and Jesus, 
 all the fire of the blood of David sparkled in her eyes, and she ^ 
 raised her beauteoHS head with, an air of such majestic sorrow, such [j 
 utter contempt of death, that the astonished soldiers slowly lowered /\^ 
 their arms before that holy and heroic woman. Fierce as their ^^, 
 martial life had made them, they still remembered their mothei-s. 
 
 Mary turned her treiuljling steps toward the Saviour ; she fixed 
 
 * We read in the Misnah that, in the days when the Jews were governed by their 
 own laws, when a criminal was ltd to the place of execution, a herald went before 
 him on horseback, cryinjr, " Snch a one is coiiden d for snch a crime ; if anyone 
 h;is nnythini,' to aay in his defence, let him si)cak." If any one came forward, the 
 criminal was bron^lit back, and the reasons advanced in his favour were examined by 
 two judges who walki'd beside him ; the ])risoner might be thus brought back as often 
 as five times. (, Misnah, Tract, de Syned, cli. vi., p. 2'-l'.i.) Jesus Christ being con- 
 demned by the Roman laws, could not profit by this national custom. 
 
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niiAP. xvu.] 
 
 BLESSED VIUGIX JIAilY. 
 
 30S ItT^'y^p* 
 
 her sorrowful eyes on tliat humbled form moving slowly along, 
 bleeding and half naked, under a lieavy load ; on that imposing 
 countenance, so mild and merciful, which she had scarcely ever dared 
 to touch with her chaste lips, and which now, swollen and dis- 
 coloured, covered M'ith blood and spittle, scarce retained the image 
 of the Creator. She passed her hand sadly over her brow as though 
 to assure herself that the whole was not a fearful dream. No groan 
 relieved her oppressed heart, no gesture of despair betrayed the 
 secret of her agony ; it only seemed that she was going to die, and 
 die she must, in fact, a thousand times over, during that solemn and 
 heart-rending pause, if lie icho tempei's the wind to the shorn lamb 
 had not divinely sustained her. Jesus soon perceived the presence 
 of that mute and motionless figure, and bending still lower his 
 already bowed head, he pronounced the name of mother. At that 
 word, which fell on the Virgin's ear like a funei'al knell, a thrill of 
 anguish ran through her heart ; she was seen to totter, and grow 
 pale ; then, sinking beneath the accumulated load of sorrow, she fell 
 prostrate on those rouglx stones already marked Avith the blood of 
 Jesus.*. . . . 
 
 A young Galilean, with a gloomy, dejected countenance, and a 
 young woman bathed in tears, quickly made their way to where 
 I\Iary lay ; thanks to their tender solicitude, the sorrowful Virgin 
 recovered her senses, tocrether with the consciousness of that idiv- 
 sical and moral martyidom which none, according to the Fathw's, 
 ever etiualled. Doul)tless, John and Magdalen did all they could 
 to keep her away from the bloody scene about to be enacted on the 
 
 * Tradition, supported by tlio niitliority of St. Bonifaco nnd St. Aiisolm, relatps 
 it.at Jcsns snlutcd his raothor 'vith tlio words: "Hail, mother!" As the Messed 
 Virgiii is known to have been nt the foot of the Cro.ss, there is nothin?^ inipr'il);il)!e in 
 this tradition of the Fatiiers. " There is notliinpr contrary to faith in tliesc traditions," 
 says M. de Cliateuubriand ; " tlicy .serve to .>^how iiow the marvellous and .sublime 
 history of the Passion was engraved on the minds of men. Eip;hteen centuries have 
 rolled away ; cndle.ss persecutions and numberless revohitions fail cither to hide or 
 efface the trace of a mother mourning for her son." There was built, in memory of 
 Our Lady's swoon, a church which was consecrated nndcr the name of Our Lady of 
 the Spa,-m. "It was there," soys 'M. de Geramb, "that ^fary, repulsed by the 
 soldiers, met her Sou bending under the weight of the ignominious wood on which he 
 was to die." 
 
 
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 [cuAP. xvn. 
 
 Golgotha; but their efforts were vain, for, raising herself with diffi- 
 culty, Mary began to climb, under a burning sun, the steepest side 
 of Calvary, which, being the shortest way, 'as that which they had 
 made Jesus take.* 
 
 They had reached the fatal and sacred place where the Lamb of 
 God was to satisfy the justice of offended Heaven, substituting 
 Himself for all victims, and taklag upon Lim all our miseries. It 
 was there that he was to offer up that gre; fc ucrifice, the efficacy of 
 which goes back, on the one side, to tlu < rigiiial transgression, and 
 extends, on the other, through the night of futurity even to the 
 w^^i'V' consummation of the Avorld. That little rocky esplanade was the 
 i^^ti^ altar whereon the blood of Christ Avas to flow in waves to wash 
 away the sins of the woi'ld, and annihilate for ever the compact of 
 perdition which made us over at our birth to the Enemy of Souls. 
 But A\hat had become of the sacred victim ? Where had his execu- 
 tioners hid him from the desolate eyes of his mother ? Mary cast 
 an anxious glance over the dreary mountain ; she saw the expecting 
 multitude, the crosses laid on the ground, labourers carelessly dig- 
 ging out the deep holes which were to receive the three instruments 
 
 of torture But Avhere was Jesus ? 
 
 lie appeared, but in what a condition I stripped of his garments, 
 without a racr to cover his lacerated flesh and his bleedinr; wounds 
 — he, so chaste and so pure ! His executioners, ignonilniously drag- 
 ging him along, exposed him thus for some time to the ridicule of 
 the people ; then, the Just One stretched himself on the Cross, that 
 l>ed of honour prepared for him l)y the gratitude of men in return 
 for his immense love ! It was a sight too horrible for those who 
 loved him; Mary Avas taken some paces thence, to a species of 
 natural grotto, where she remained standing, white and cold as 
 marltle.f There was heard without a humming noise like that 
 
 m 
 
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 * Tills road, which formerly led to C:ilvar_v, and by which the Saviour passed, now 
 exists no lon;^er ; it is covered with houses, in the midst of wiiich is seen a large 
 |P pillar, pointing out the ninth station ; Turkish fanaticism has done all it could to 
 make the place disagreeable, by heaping dung around it so as to disgust the Cliristians. 
 (Do Geramb, t. ler, p. 363.) 
 
 f Near the spot where our Saviour was nailed- to the Cross, there is a chapel 
 dediciilcd to Onr IjiuIv of Sorrows. It was to this jiliice that the Vir;j;iii retired 
 during the dokful preparations for her Son's execution. (De Geramb, t. ler, p. 151.) 
 
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 i 
 
CIUl'. XVIl.J 
 
 BLKSSED VIRGIN 3IAIIY. 
 
 205 
 
 made by the licca f^f Ensreildi when the Ht-brew shepherd <lrives 
 them from the hollow oak. At timea ihcfi suddenly arose, amid 
 tliat dull murmur, a storm of shouts, racking cries, and hoaree 
 bui-sts of laughter: the populace of all nations has ever had ferocious 
 instincts, but that of the Hebrews surpassed itself on this occasion. 
 
 During an interval of profound silence, accorded, perhaps, to some 
 new act of barbarity which captivated the attention of the multi- 
 tude, there was heard the stroke of a hammei', a heavy stroke 
 falling on wood and crushed flesh. Magdalen, with a shudder, 
 pressed close to Mary, and the beloved disciple leaned for support 
 against the side of the grotto. Then came a second stroke, heavier, 
 duller, more sinister still ; it was followed by two or three others, 
 falling at equal intervals, and all wiis done ! " They are nailing him 
 'xvsrr ^^ ^^^^ cross," coolly observed a Roman soldier. John and Magdalen 
 '/ijvr f'-'^^'litiiiS*^*^^ ^ mournful glance ; thoy felt a sensation something like 
 that which rends the heart during a nocturnal storm, when the 
 naves liring to the shore the drowning mariner's piteous cries, with- 
 out any possibility of ou^- assisting him. But Mary ! .... a cold 
 sweat bedewed her body, a convulsive trembling shook her limbs; 
 she, too, was crucified, poor, feeble woman ! for never did confessor 
 on the rack, or martyr amid the flames, undergo such tortures both 
 in soul and body. 
 
 Soon was heard the sharp rubbing of the cords on the pulleys ; 
 the cross aio^^e slowly in the air, and the Son of Man — his face 
 turned towards those western regions where the light was so long 
 expected — was hoisted like a standard before the heathen natioas : 
 even so was it written. Thereupon, the reprobate people raised a 
 long, hoarse slio\it of joy. " Hail, King of the Jews ! If Cod loves 
 him, let him now deliver him! If thou art the Sen of God, Na?a- 
 rone, come down from the cix^ss !" And the robber crucified on his 
 left, cursed him in the intervals of his agony ; the wretch would 
 fain be a Jew till the- last. Jesus, maintaining with calm and sub- 
 lime dignity his great character of prophet and Saviour-God, • ik'ntly 
 sealed with his blood the high doctrines of the new law. ^ No com- 
 j)laliit, no reproach escaped him amid the infamous torture which 
 he underwent in presence of a whole city. lie looked down on that 
 misguided people with pity and foiglveness. and, seeking to bond 
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 ^SA 
 
 "^■> f 't'J-sU 200 
 
 the divine justice in favour of those who cruciiied him, '■'' Fath;)'^' 
 \<'^i^^ said he, with his dying voice, " .Father, forgive ihem, for they k/ww 
 ■not what they do /" 
 ,.\'|,(^1 l/lj "And yet for eighteen centuries the Father hiy not forgiven 
 thera, and they drag their pnnishnijtit all over i\e earth, and every 
 where the very slave has to liumljle hiinself to )ook at them."* 
 
 The Virgin left the tempoi-ary asylum Avhere she had taken shel- 
 ter, and walked, with her head Lowed down, tovvards the pla^ o of 
 execution. At some paces from tlm hifamous tree, rude snldieis 
 were casting lots for the seamless robe which \wv own hutids had 
 spun,f and clamorously contending for the tucred vrments Vv iiioh 
 had wrought so nijny miracles.;}: A slight convulsion passed over 
 Mary's features; sho tl'.onght of the time when, rich onl; in the lovo 
 of Jesus, but fi ?e fic-'w immediate anxiety, she worked, in the even- 
 ings, by his side, li.'ricii ting tli: t i' tstnl robe; now, tbe^ remembrance 
 was torture to her heart, for ti'-- ligLt wiiich giMed her past days 
 of happiness did but darken the gloom -h her pHe:iOut sorrow. She 
 hJ^l,,''iv?3li!.v( raised her eyes to heaven, seeking tl ■ iO, as :iri-tal, the strength to 
 endure, and her eye met <hat of th ■ irueiiled God. At that fearful 
 ^^-j-^^L*.^ i Bigh+, her feet wero rooted t- the eaith, and she stood so petrified 
 'M^^i 'vith horror that all she had hithert'> suffered seemed no more than 
 a dre;;' ;, a hali'-eftaced vis'on: all was absorbed in the Cross.§ 
 
 Jesus, i-asting on the Virgin a sweet ;md mysterious look, seemed 
 to say to Ji' r, as he did on tlie i)receding evening to his Apostles* 
 ''Mother, the liour is come!" 
 
 And what hoivr was that? 
 
 It was the most memorable and eventful hour ever marked by 
 
 Wl 
 
 
 * M. ti^ Lariinnais 
 
 f It is au iuiciciit tnulition tlmt the Virgin licrsclf wove her Son's tunic. 
 
 X The ce.t'i 'Iral of Treves possesses one of these sacred garments, and at one of its 
 recent annual expositions, the jiolice reports announced- the presence of twenty-five 
 tliousand pilgrims in tiiat city. 
 
 § The Fatliers nnd tlie jrreat doctors of the Church place the sufferings of the 
 Tirgiii on €!alvar\ above tlio.sc of all the martyrs. Vir;/o uuircrfios mnrli/trs lontnm 
 excedit quantum sol ad nliqiia astra, says St. Hasil ; and St. Ansehn adds, Qiiidqiiid 
 erudelitatia iuflictwin est corporibus marlijram, hve fait aut potiaa nihil comjHirationt 
 tu(t passioiiis, (^De Ex. Firi/., cap. 5. ") 
 
 n'^i 
 
 *% 
 i».-^ 
 
fgs'^ CHAP, xnr.] 
 
 BUSSED VmGIN JIAKY. 
 
 207 
 
 the shadow of the sun since time began its course ; the hour when 
 the Son of God was to triumph over the world, deatli, and hell, and 
 even over divine justice itself; the hour of the fulfilment of prophe 
 cies, of the abolition of sacrifices, of the restoration of woman to her 
 primeval dignity, of the slave's emancipation, and of our eternal 
 redemption. And the Virgin fancied she could see the patriarchs, 
 tl)e just kings, the prophets inspired by God, bowing down before 
 CiiKisT, like the sheafs of the sons of Jacob before the mystica.1 
 sheaf of Joseph. She thought she could see Moses and Aaron 
 lajring before the new tree of life the ark of the covenant, the cphod, 
 the rational, the golden plate and the almond-tree branch, syml)ols 
 of the Hebrew priesthood whose mission was about to end ; then, 
 David placing his sacred hai-p beside the sword of Phinoas, the 
 sacred knife of Abraham, and the brazen serpent. Priests and 
 victinif, rites and ordinances, types and symbols, grouped around 
 the Cross, awaiting their consummation; and the book with the 
 seven brazen seals was opened at the foot of the High Priest accord- 
 ing to the order of Melchisedech, which replaced that of Aaron. 
 The ancient world, receding like the waves, gave place to other 
 images, and Mary seemed at that moment to behold all the nations 
 of the earth waiting at the foot of the Cross to receive the Gospel. 
 Ethiopia and the isles stretched out their hands towards the j\Ies- 
 siah; the desert, beginning to rejoice, hhs<ioine(l like the rose ; the 
 knowledge of God filled the whole earth as the great watei-s cover 
 the sandy lied of the ocean ; and a thousand voices seemed to repeat 
 in a thousand barbarous tongues: "Christ has conquered; blessed 
 l)e his name !" 
 
 The noble and generous heart of INIary forgot, for a while, its 
 own poignant sufferings, to sympathize in the triumph of the law of 
 grace, and in the world's regeneration; but the vision of glory 
 quickly vanished, and grief returned in all its force ; like Rachel, 
 the Virgin mourned for her first-liorn, and would not be comforted. 
 
 Meanwhile, all nature seemed to sym]>athize in the sufferings of 
 its God ; the sky was gradually obscured, and the waning light 
 gave a mournful colouring to tliat grand and sterile landscape so 
 well suited to the crime of which it was the theatre. Evei-y moment 
 the darkness increased ; the dew fell, from the sudden interruption 
 
 
 f! 
 
 I 11 
 
 ^"^'A 
 
^ o 
 
 08 
 
 LIFE OF TlIK 
 
 Y 
 
 m\i\ 
 
 ?«',« 
 
 of the heat; the eagles screamed as they sought their nightly 
 shelter; the jackals howled on tlie banks of the Kedron, and 
 Calvary, already so gloomy in itself, assumed the appearance of a 
 great mausoleum of black marble. The people, strongly impressed 
 by this unusual occurrence, were struck silent with fear, and only a 
 few voices — those of the chief priests and Pharisees — continued to 
 curse the Ciinisx. 
 
 Soon, through the gloomy veil which shrouded the face of the 
 firmament, the stars shone out like funereal torches burning around 
 a coffin, shedding over the scene of the deicide a lurid, greenish 
 light, wliich gave to the mass of spectators grouped on the sides of 
 the mountain, the appearance of an assembly of demons and spectres. 
 They looked at each other and grew pale. Vainly did the scribes 
 and Pharisees — too far advanced in crime to attempt to recede — 
 endeavour to account for this prodigy by natural means ; the longer 
 the darkness continued, the less conclusive did their reasons appear. 
 Old men, shaking their hoary heads, declared they had never beheld 
 such an eclipse, and the learned, who were versed in the science of 
 the Chaldeans, maintained, on the other hand, that no eclipse was 
 either foreseen or possible in the then position of the moon.* 
 
 This eclipse of three hours was one of the Messianic prodigies 
 which were to signalize the wrath of heaven when Christ was put 
 to death. " It sJuill come to pass i>i that f/ay," said the prophet 
 Amos, ^^that the sun shall go down at mid-day ; and I will make the 
 earth dark in the day of light.'''' This darkness extended even to 
 Egypt, where St. Denis, the Areopagite, was studying philosophy 
 at Heliopolis. Struck with terror, the young Greek cried out, 
 addressing his preceptor, Apollophanes : " J'JitJier the world is ahoui 
 to he destroyed, or the God of nature suffers /"f 
 
 * Phlcfron relates tlmt in tlie two Iniiidred nnil second Olympiad, corresponding 
 with the 33rd year of oiir crii, there was the greatest eclipse of the sun ever seen, and 
 that tlie stars appeared at noonday ; but astroioniy provini^ that tliere was no eclipse 
 in that year, compels lis to ackiiowledire that the cause of this unheard of darkness waa 
 uitoi^ether supernatural. "We observed," says St. Denis the Areopasite, who was 
 ♦.hen at Heliopolis, "that the moon suddenly iiitcqioscd lietween the sun and the earth, 
 alliiougli the time of tliat conjunction wa.s not in accordance with tlie natural order of 
 the laws to which the stars are sulyect," etc. {Seventh Epistle to Pohjcarpe.) 
 
 t Ibid. 
 
 \% 
 
 ''/^. 
 
 dl''.^^"- 
 
 cr^^^ 
 
i 
 
 
 CHAP. XVII.] 
 
 Ill tlie luidst of the general consternntidii, Josus occupied hunself 
 with the I'aithfiil aouh who gathered ai-ound his Cross in that lioiir 
 of ignominy. Touched hy tlie courage of John, and the profound 
 afiliction which that young and ardent disciple sought not to conceal, 
 iie would leave him a pledge of his divine affection. He could 
 leave him no worldly wealth, he, who had not had a stone whereon 
 to lay his head, and who was even al)out to receive interment fi-om 
 the charity of a disciple; he had nothing in the world to leave hut 
 his mother! that ninther who had clung to him through every trial, 
 and who was now dyiii , as it were, with him. Iler he solemnly 
 herpieathcd to his favourite disciple as an earnest of the celestial 
 treasures which he reserved for him in the kingdom of his Father. 
 Knowing how well he was loved by those two holy souls, he fore- 
 saw, in his adorahle goodness, the fearful vacuum which his deatli 
 would make in tlicir hearts, and he would strengthen these two 
 helpless shruhs hy intertwining their detached branches. 
 
 By this arrangement, which gave her a new and dear interest m 
 lile, the Virgin was to undei-stand that she was not permitted to 
 fc'llow her son to the grave, and that the term of her earthly 
 pdgrimage was not yet arrived. She submitted to the divine will 
 t' trough love for us, wliom she adopted in the person of the holy 
 Apostle. Mary's saciifice, humanly speaking, almost equalled that 
 of Christ. He willingly consented to die; she to live! .... Both 
 those noble hearts were consumed with love for men, and were alone 
 able to understand each otlier; for their thoughts were not as our 
 thoughts, and the gold of their virtues was without alloy. 
 
 The manner in Avhich Jesus bequeathed ^l^ary to the young fish- 
 erman of Bethsaida was dignified and simple like all the acts of his 
 mortal life. " "Woman, behold thy son ;" and to the beloved disci- 
 ple, " Behold thy mother." 
 
 If he used not, in speaking to Mary, a more endearing a]ipella- 
 tion, it was because he knew the power of the name which he 
 thouirht proper 
 1 so pail 
 Afterwards Jesus, knowinc: that all things wei"e now accom- 
 
 
 deep 
 
 fid. 
 
 plished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said: Itlih'st. 
 
 " Now there w;i3 a vessel set there, full of vinegar And they. 
 
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 7=^ 
 
 M 
 
 a 
 
 H. 
 
 \ 
 
 
 to omit, and would not re-open wounds already so 
 
 :'c^ 
 
 W. 
 
 ^m 
 
 ^■= 
 
 t :l8!i, 
 
 III. 
 
 11 
 
 m. .; 
 
^^ 210 
 
 
 7 «^!n 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [OIIAP. XVII, 
 
 putting a spongo full of vinegar about hyssop, offered it to hia 
 mouth." 
 
 llcvenguful to the last ! 
 
 Jesud having taken the vinegar, said ; "/i! i^ con-sammatedP Tlien, 
 in order to prove to the world that he died, not by the power of 
 death, but by a formal act of his own will, ho gave a loud cry, bowed 
 down his head and ex])ired ! . . . . 
 
 At that moment the pagan idols tottered on their pedestals ; the 
 star of Moses, which had shone but for one single point of the globe, 
 and that but for a season, — sank then below the hoiizon, and the 
 sun of the gospel, destined to light the world from pole to pole and 
 to last through all time, arose radiant from the east. But God 
 owed prodigies to the despised dignity of his Son, and they were not 
 slow in coming. The supernatural dai-kness, as it began to disap- 
 pear, was succeeded by the violent shocks of an earthquake which 
 destroyed twenty cities in Asia.* At the same instant, the veil of 
 the temple was rent asunder, roclcs split, and several bodies of the 
 saints who had slept in death arose and cnme into Jerusalem, to the 
 grer.i terror of the inhabitants. 
 
 Then it was that there was a marvellous reaction in favour of 
 Jesus ; the centurion and his soldiers, who had presided at the exe- 
 cution, cried out Avith one voice that the Nazarene i)rophet was cer- 
 tainly more than man, and that immense crowd of people who had 
 heaped blasphemies and insults, mockery and derision on Christ in 
 his agony, went down from the mountain striking their breasts, and 
 repeating in dismay : Indeed this was the Son of God 1 
 
 In the midst of the despairing cries of the people who fled in all 
 directions without knowing Avhere to turn their steps, and whilst the 
 roc^iy flanks of the Golgotha were burating open, there was seen by 
 the pale, lurid light, a woman standing completely motionless amid 
 the convulsions and ruins of nature. She seemed insensible to the 
 general consternation ; her hands joined in the attitude of prayer, 
 she was wholly absorbed in the sorrowful contemplation of the cru- 
 cified prophet. 
 
 * I'liuy and Straho speak of this earthquake, 
 authors, " that it was felt even in Italy." 
 
 " It was so violent," say lioth these 
 
 \'ilM'^^ 
 
 mm,i 
 
$ 
 
OIUI XVII.] 
 
 lU.f>tfKI> VIKOIX MAUV. 
 
 I'll 
 
 And tho duughtcre of Jerusalem wept ngain, saying with compns- 
 Hion : " Poor mother ! 
 
 Towards ovening the PlmrJHees, unwilling that tho Banctity of the 
 Sabbath, which commenced at nightfall, should be endangered by 
 allowing the bodies to remain on the cross, went to nsk Pilate's per- 
 mission to have them removed. The permission obtained, they 
 placed ladders against the gibbets whereon tho two thieves were still 
 in their agony, and, having rudely torn their hands and feet from 
 tho cross, dispatched them by breaking their legs and arras. Jesus 
 being quite dead,* a soldier contented himself with plunging his 
 s|)ear into his side, whereupon the sacred y)lood that was to purify 
 tho world of its crimes flowed in streams to tho ground. At some 
 distance, stood two veiled women, one of whom leaned on tho other 
 for support with a holi)lesaness that betrayed the most heart-rondiiig 
 grief; both were timidly watching tho movements of the sohliei-s ; 
 it was Mary and Magdalen, for Magdalen was also there ; and at 
 a distance were seen the other women of Galileo, who had quitted 
 all for Jesus, and who had not abandoned him even in his hour of 
 death and ignominy. "Honour to theml" says Abeilard, "for, 
 when the disciples and apostles fled like cowards over the mountains, 
 these frail but courageous creatures accompanied Christ even to tho 
 foot of the cross, and quitted him not till he was laid in the sep- 
 ulchre 1" 
 
 Then came Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy senator who had ob- 
 tained from Pilate the body of Jesus, — whoso disciple he Avns, in so- 
 
 ♦ Accordinjf to the Mussulmans, Jesus is not dead. " Tho .Tows," says Mahomet, 
 " dill not kill Je.sus Christ ; another body was substituted for his, so as to deceivo 
 their barbarity ; they did not crucify hira ; God took him up to heaven." — {Koran, 
 I'll. 4.) The Mussulman tradition says that when the Inst trumpet shall sound, Aisa 
 (Jesus Chri.st) shnli come down from heaven and announce to all the children of men 
 tho great day of general judgment ; he shall then die and be interred beside Mahom- 
 et ; when the dead arise ftom their graves both shall go forth together and aitccnd to 
 heaven. Bnrkhardt, who visited tho great mosqne in Medina, which contains tho three 
 tombs of Mahomet, Aboubekor, and Omar, oil three of black stone covered with pro 
 cioiis stuffs, and surrounded with magnlGceut ex-voto, says that there was left near the 
 tomb of Mahomet a vacant place, destined to receive Jesus after his death. Above 
 tliis .«pacc and Mahomet's tomb, was hung a splendi-' brocade canopy, garnished with 
 diunionils, which was stolen by Sioud, when ho took Medina. 
 
 wxv 
 
 
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 ^'/'i^''; 
 
,cf^ 
 
 &m' 
 
 \< 
 
 itj; 
 
 m 
 
 y 
 
 m^ 
 
 m^ 
 
 213 
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 [CIIAP. XVII. 
 
 oret, — in order to give him decent burial. He took it down from 
 the cross and prepared to wraj) it up in a shroud of fine Egyptian 
 Imen, which he had purchased in Jerusalem, when he saw at his feet 
 a woman pale as death, holding out her arms with all the touching 
 and subhme energy of grief, to receive the crucified God. Her 
 whole frame was convulsed with anguish, and her lips refused to 
 utter the prayer that arose f' om her heart, hut every feature of her 
 beautiful face was expressive of the most earnest supplication. The 
 senator, recognizing Mary, n ade a sign of compassionate sympathy, 
 and laid on her trembling knees the divine burden which he had 
 respectfully borne on his own shouldei-s. Thus, the Blessed Virgin 
 had, at length, the mournful consolation of pressing to her bleeding 
 heart the disfigured body of her son, and to lay her bloodless lijjs on 
 the wounds made by the nails. Magdalen, on her kuees, bathed 
 with her scalding tears the bloody feet of her Lord, and moaned n\ 
 like a wounded dove. Behind them stood the weeping women of 
 Galilee.* Meanwhile, some of Joseph's servants prepared the per- 
 fumes on the stone of unction^\ and others opened the sepulchre 
 hewn in the rock, which was to receive the mortal remains of the 
 Son of God. 
 
 * Some authors liold that these )'oly women picked up earth soaked with the pre- 
 cious blood of Jesus, and tliat this is how it came to be held in some French churclies, 
 sucii as St. Denis and the Holy Chapel, in Paris. 
 
 f Tiie stone of unction is now in the chapel of Calvo/ ; they have been obliged, in 
 order to preserve it, to cover it with white marble and surround it with an iron bal- 
 ostradc. 
 
 >-C I 
 
I 
 
!!i 
 
 <!i I 
 
 I S 
 
CHAP. XVIII.J 
 
 BLESSED VIRGIN MAUY. 
 
 218 
 
 CHAPTEll XVIII. 
 
 DKATU OF MABT. 
 
 Cal5i was beginning to re-appear, and the signs of diviiie wrath 
 110 longer terrified the Jews who had just shed the Saviour's blood. 
 Like all other ferocious animals, the executionei-s of Christ had laid 
 aside their savage instinct daring the hour of peril. Frightened, at 
 firet, on account of what they had done, they feared that the riven 
 rocks of Calvary might crush them in their fall, and that the rend- 
 ing earth might swallow them alive into the gloomy depths of the 
 sclicol ; but their remorse vanished with their fears, and accordingly 
 as the sky resumed its wonted serenity, so did their evil nature re- 
 sume its sway. 
 
 Unable to deny the prodigies which a whole people had seen with 
 'their eyes, and which was still verified by the yawning rocks, the 
 tombs scarcely closed, and the tattered veil of the temple, they as- 
 cii1)ed them to magic, and maintained that this Jesus, so mighty in 
 word and work, was but a son of Belial, who had infatuated the 
 ])cople and commanded the elements by the inefiiable name of the 
 (lod of Israel, which he had taken by surprise from the Holy of 
 Holies.* And the people allowed themselves to be caught by thia 
 bait thrown out by their chiefs ; for there is no sl.nnderc" ■ bsurdit} 
 wliich finds not credulous ears to receive, and nimble tongues to 
 spread it. Meanwhile, a vigilant guard, chosen fi'ora amongst the 
 satellites of the high-priest, watched by turns around the sepulchre ; 
 for Jesus had announced that he would rise on tL third day, and 
 the princes of the synagogue pretended to fear that his disciples 
 might carry him off during the night. 
 
 The third day was beginning to dawn, but the east was, as yet, 
 scarcely tinted with its roseate flush, when several \vomen of GalUee, 
 bearing peifumes and aromatic plants to embalm Jesus after the 
 
 Y 
 
 ■;i 
 
 * ^ce Basnngc, 1. vi., cli. 2" and 28 
 
 "T^:?; 
 
 
 M 
 
 J m sal 
 
 mm 
 
J ■ 
 i . 
 
 '■\ 
 
 P ■: 
 
 LUE OF THE 
 
 LciiAP. xviii. jqJa 
 
 to 
 
 aH'IV 
 
 *i 
 
 ?;S?ffl 
 
 Ay*a 
 
 
 mauner of the kings of Juda,* appeared on the futnl mountain, raov 
 ing pensively towards the garden wherein was the tomb of Christ. 
 Tradition has it that Mary was amongst these holy women. Her 
 dejected countenance resembled some beautiful ruin prostrated by 
 the fierce wind of adversity ; but her look was expressive not only 
 of grief, but of expectation. The deicide city still slept in the balmy 
 breeze of the morning ; the flowers were opening their cups hea\'y 
 with dew, the birds were singing in the damp branches of the wild 
 fig trees, and the air was gradually assuming the warm colouring of 
 the dawn; nature seemed to assume her robe of light with unwonted 
 joy, and that grand, though gloomy landscape which surrounds Je- 
 rusalem, began to wear a softer and gayer aspect, till then unknown, 
 as though conscious of some glorious mystery passing neai\ 
 
 Suddenly, in the- midst of that smiling scene, a shock was felt ; 
 the stone which closes the mouth of the sepulchre rolls back as if 
 pushed by some mighty arm ; the guards fall stupefied to the 
 ground, and the women, who stood by Jesus during his long agony 
 on the cross, now shudder and grow pale, fearing that the terribb 
 pi'odigles which accompanied the death of the Sou of Man are about 
 to be renewed. 
 
 But an angel in snow-white garments, with a face radiant as the 
 lightning, appears sitting on the stone, and reassures the servants 
 of Christ. "Fear not," said he, mildly, "I know that you seek 
 Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified ; he is not here ; he is risen, ii8 
 he told you. Come and see the place where the Lord was laid." 
 Whilst the pious Galileans looked timidly into the se}>ulchro, 
 wondering at sight of the shroud and the perfumed bands which 
 remained there, the Virgin, her face radiant with a holy joy, stood 
 leaning against an olive tree at some distan.^e. A young man, in 
 the hoi^ely garb of the people, stood conversing with her in a low 
 vjice. That young man was the first-horn among~%t the dcad^ the 
 glorious conqueror of hell, Jesus Christ.f No one knew what 
 
 * It is clear that they intended a peculiar sort of embalming for Jesus, since Nice- 
 demus had already wrapi)ed him up iu I)and.s perfumed with myrrh. 
 
 f St. Ambrose, wlio lived in tlie fourth century, says tliat tlie Virgin wns tlie first 
 who hid the haji^jincss of seeing Jisus after hig resurrection ; and the poet Sedulius. 
 
OlIAP. XV III. J 
 
 BLES9ED VIRGIN MARY. 
 
 216 
 
 passed during that solemn interview; but we may heiiove that 
 Mary, whose strong mind had been so severely tried by aiKiction, 
 felt then a degree of bliss which we cannot know without dying. 
 
 Our Lord, during the forty days following his resurrection, fre- 
 ([uently manifested himself to the Apostles, and talked with them 
 on matters appertaining to the kingdom of God and the regenera- 
 tion to be wrought amongst men by baptism. Pious authors have 
 supposed that the Virgin was tlie most favoured in tue^e consoling 
 appaiitions, and that she found in them a foretaste of the joys of 
 heaven. The bitter waters of her affliction were changed into 
 sources of grace, and the Saviour nourislml her with the hidden 
 manna which he reserves for those who pj'aciise the 2>(itience enjoimd 
 hy his law. 
 
 At length, the hour came when the Son of God was to l>e lecalled 
 to heaven ; his redeeming mission was accomplished, and the Apos- 
 tles, fully convinced of his divinity by his resurrection, had received 
 from him the necessary instructions for converting the nations to 
 liis admirable Gospel. 
 
 At noon, on the fortieth day, he went out with them from Jeru- 
 salem towards the heights of Bethany. This direction was not 
 taken by chance ; there was that olive-crowned mountain whereon 
 the SaAnour, detaching himself from the crowd, had often prayed to 
 his Father, Avhile the silent moon shont brightly over the still waters 
 of the Dead S^m, the green valley of the Jordan, and the gigantic 
 jialms of the plain of Jericho, for in that elevated position "all far 
 things seemed near." There was, also, that famous garden wherein 
 Clivist had undergone the first of his agony. It was just that his 
 glory should commence in the same places that had witnessed his 
 generous sufferings, and that those fields, those woods, those shady 
 wilds, where he had so often prayed and meditated, should receive 
 tlu) impression of his last footsteps before he re-ascended into 
 heaven. 
 
 \^ 
 
 m 
 
 wlio flourished shortly after St. Ambrose, likewise introduces that tradition into his 
 poems. ''Miey both speak of it as a belief general amongst Christians. The Arab 
 iii.storians have preserved ihis tradition : /.;ma^i, son of All, relates that Jesus came 
 down from heaven to console Mary, his weeping mother. An altar has been erected 
 ju the site of this touching interview. 
 
 7^t«^ 
 

 .|1 
 
 'I 
 
 Ei' i 
 
 \^^ 
 
 to 
 
 .-«ft 
 
 210 
 
 Lll'E OF THE 
 
 [chap. XV IU. 
 
 Amved on the summit of that lofty mountain, whence he could 
 behold a great part of Judea, and make a farewell sign to those 
 scenes which he had rendered famous by his miracles and his death, 
 the Saviour stopped on an open place, near a grove of olives whose 
 p;Je foliage wns parched and shrivelled by the scorching noonday 
 .sun. Thei'e, after laising his pierced hands towards his heavenly 
 Father, as though rccommeudiug to Him his infant Church, he 
 extended tliem o\'er his mother and his disciples, as Jacob did over 
 the sons of Joseph ; then lifted himself up by his own power and 
 slowly ascended into heaven. This last act of the Saviour ^yorthily 
 sealed his divine mission. During his life, /le went aJjout doing good ; 
 on Calvary, ' •) \ ;ayed for his executioners; aud he ascended to 
 heaven blessing ilie humble friends whom he left behiiid him on the 
 earth. WbiJc 1 ". hands were still raised over his prostrate disciples, 
 they sa V Wun. enter a white cloud which concealed him from their 
 view. 
 
 The t^s.i nsion of our Lord had not that gloomy and awful charac- 
 ter which tf ! : 1 the people in ancient times. The law of jNEoses 
 had. been proclaimed with sound of trumpet, amid the thunder's 
 roar and the lightning's fl;ish ; Elias had been taken up to heaven 
 in a fiery chariot ; but the world's Redeemer was gently borne on 
 a fleecy cloud, with that sort of calm and serene majesty which 
 accorded with the genius of the Gospel and the touching chiu-acter 
 of its author. 
 
 The angels — those beneficent spirits who rejoice in the happiness 
 of men — Avere also seen to figure in that closih ; scene of tbe great 
 drama of l\,edemi)tion. Their divine songs had announced to the 
 shepherds the birth of the king-Messiah; their • oice had proclaimed 
 his resurrection from the dead ; it was propei", then, that their words 
 should confirn his glorious ascension. 
 
 Whilst the disciples were attentively watching Jesus as he 
 ascended into heaven, two men clothec^ in wls'te stood suddenly 
 before them, and said: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking 
 up to heaven ? This Jesus, who is taken up from yon to neaveii, 
 shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven." 
 
 The Apostles and disciples cast down their eyes, dazzled by the 
 glorious vision, but did the Virgin cast down hers ? 
 
 :^ 
 
 c*^>' 
 
 
 -^1 
 
 i:i': 
 
 :iKi7>^ 
 
 ^\h 
 
i 
 
 i 
 
 c? 
 
 '^^ 
 
 m' 
 
 crrAP, xviir.] 
 
 ULKSSED VIKCIN JIAUY 
 
 denied the pn\ilege of seeing her div'ine Son take hia place in 
 majesty at the right hand of Jehovah, amid the inaccessible liglit 
 of the Saints ? Was she really less favoured than St. Stephen and 
 the^ beloved disciple? That is scarcely possible. She who was 
 morally crucified with Jesus on Calvary deserved to be glorified 
 with him ; it was her right, and she had dearly purchased it! Yes, 
 Mary must have been permitted to catch a glimpse of that jieacefnl 
 and happy country :'nto which Jesus obtained admission for us by 
 his blood, and where he himself Avipes away the teai-s of the just ;* 
 then the pearl gates of the heavenly Jerusalemf slowly closed on 
 the conquering God, and the Virgin, separated for a time from him 
 she loved, remained alone on the earth. 
 
 Forty days after, we find her at prayer in the "upper chamber," 
 where she received the Holy Ghost with the Apostles. 
 
 iVLary was the luminous pillar that gnidcd the majx-h of tlie infant 
 Church. It was to her that the Apostles did homage for the 
 numerous eai-s which they gathered from the barron field of the 
 synagogue into the granary of the Loi'd. She accepted this tribute 
 in the name of her divine Son with graceful humility, and wa.s 
 contiimally seen surrounded by the ])oor, the sinful, and the 
 unhappy; for -lie always loved, in an especial manner, those to 
 whom she could do good. Th(> Evangelists came to her ftn- light; 
 tlie A])ostles for miction, courage, and constancy ; the afllicted for 
 spiritual consolation, and all went away blessing her. T7ie Sim of 
 tTuMice had set on the j loc^my horizon of die (lolgotha; T)ut tlu^ 
 Star of the Sea still reflected his softest rays over the renovated 
 world, and shed a benignant influence on the cradle of Christianil v. 
 
 The Virgin reinain('(l in J<'rusaleni, till the ten-iltle persecution 
 which broke out in the year 44 of our Lord, forced her to leave it 
 with the Apostles. Her adojrted son took her with liim to Ephesus, 
 whither she was followed by Magdalen. 
 
 Xothiug is now known of Mary's sojourn in Ephesus; this is easily 
 iu.'counted for ])y the engrossing occupations of the time. After tlie 
 resurrection of the Savioui", the Apostles, solely taken up with tlie 
 
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 ])ropagaliou of the fiiitli, considered everything as of minor import- 
 iince that did not inuneduitely bear on that all-absorbing object. 
 Full of their lofty mission, entirely devoted to the salvation of souls, 
 they forgot themselves so completely that they have l)arely left us 
 a few unfinished records of the evangelical labours which changed 
 the face of the globe ; so that their history resembles a sublime but 
 almost (effaced epitaph, having neither beginning nor eml. That the 
 mother of Jesus shared the fate of the Apostles may well be con- 
 ceived; the last years of her life having flown away, far from 
 Jerusalem, in a strange land, where her dwelling was signalized by 
 no striking incident, have left no durable impression on the fleeting 
 memory of man. Nevertheless, the flourLshing condition of the 
 church of Ephesus, its tender devotion to Mary, and the praise 
 which St. Paul bestows on its pii'ty, sufticiontly uidicate the fruitful 
 cares of the Virgin, and the tlivine blessing which followed her 
 e\'erywhere. Tlie Rose of Jesse left a poi'tion of her perfume or 
 tlie air, and that vestige, however slight it be, is a precious revela- 
 tion of her passage. 
 
 Tlie co.'ists of Asia Minor, covered with opulent cities, rich in veg 
 etation and washed bv a sea which bore thither a multitude of ves- 
 sels, would have seemed, to ordinary exiles, a 8i>leudid compensation 
 for the tall, bleak mountains of Palestine. It is doubtful whether 
 such was the o[)inion of tlie Virgin of Xazaivth : the steps of the 
 Man-God had not hallowed that enchanted land, and the graves of 
 lu'r fathers were not there ! . . . 
 
 IIow often did Mary and Magdalen sigh for their native land, as, 
 seated under a plane-tree on the margin of that fair Icaiian sea 
 whose wavt'S die away amid myrtles on the narrow sandy beach, 
 tJK'V followed the course of some Greek galley bound for Syria! 
 The stainless snows of Lebanon, ilio blueish peaks of Carmel, the 
 spni-kling waters of the lake of Tiberia^ were each, in turn, tlie 
 subject of their discourse ; the scenes of their own land, embellished 
 by distance, passed successively before them, and seemed a thousand 
 times preferable to that soft, luxurious Jonia which was, in fiict, to 
 (lie laud of Jehovah what tl.e lyre of Anacreon is to the harp of 
 Davul. 
 
 It was during her stay at Ephesus that the Virgin lost the faith- 
 
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 DM-SHED VIKOIN SIAIIY. 
 
 fill companion Avho, in iraltutloii of Tlnth, had left her lionie anil kin- 
 dred to follow her acrosa the sea: Magdalen died, and Mary wept 
 for her as Jesus had wept for Lazarus* 
 
 .Of all the ties of kindred and affection, St. John alone remained 
 Kn the Virgin, — St. John, the kind and loving disciple .vhoni her 
 dying Son had bequeathed to her; she followed him, it is thought, 
 in his travels, and it was, doubtless, in his convereations with th 
 Queen of prophets that St. John acquired the marvellous knowledge 
 which he displays in his Gospel. Assisted by light from Her whom 
 tlie Fathers have compared to the golden candlestick with seven 
 brnnches, the young lisherman of IJethsaida dived deeper than my 
 other into the incomprehensible mystery of the uncreated essence of 
 the WoHT), and his mind took so bold a flight amid the mysicriwns 
 heights of heaven that, compared with him, the other Evangelists 
 seem but to skim the earth.f 
 
 Meanwhile, the sowers of Christ had sowed the good seed of the 
 word over every part of the Roman world ; the evangelical harvest 
 was green, and the labourers of the Lord worked with ardour in *he 
 sacred field. Mary considered that her mission on earth wr^ jic- 
 complished, and that the Church could henceforward maintain her- 
 self. Then, like a tired workwoman Avho seeks rest and shelter 
 during the heat of the day, she began to sigh after the cool shad 
 of the tree of life vhicli grows near the throne of God, and for tlu 
 
 * We ri'ail in some Greek mitliors of the seventh iiiul followinj; eeiittiries, that, a 
 ler tlie nseensioii of Clirist, St. Miu'y Matriluli'ii iieconipaiiied t!ic Virjrin and St. John 
 U> Kphesii.s ; niid that she (lied and was Iniried in that city. Snch is also the opinion 
 1)1' Miidi"itU!!, ])ati'iareli of Jernsaleni, who llonrislicd in 920 ; of St. Ure,i:ory, of Tonrs, 
 and of St. Willehald. Tlii' hitter, in Ills neronnt of his jonrney from .Terupnlein, says 
 tiiat he saw at Kphesus tlie tonil) of St. Mary Mau'dahMi. Tlie Kniperor Leo, the plii- 
 iosiiplicr, liad the relies of tlie saint translated from Ephesns to Constantinople, wlierr 
 they weie jihe'ed in the ehnreh of St. liaztiriis, abimt thi' year 800.- — .Vnother tradi- 
 tion, maintaiin'd liy some respectaMe anthors, will have it that St. Mary ^[atrdalen 
 ended licr days in I'rovenee ; wc Imve adopted the eontrary opinitai, l)ecause it seemed 
 more probalile, lint yet without attem]iting to decide the cpiestion. 
 
 t The Al)l)6 llnpi'rt {in Cant. Cant.) states that the l?lessed Virgin sn)iplied t>y her 
 liu:hts what the Holy Ghost, who had uivcn liinisrlf in proportion to the disciples, had 
 not thoiin'ht proper to reveal to them, and the Iliily Fathers all airree that it was 
 friMii the Blessed VirLrin St. Luke obtained many of his marvellous and minute partie- 
 uliirs of the infanev ' f Jesns (.'hrist 
 
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 living, sunctifyiiig watfre wliich flow beneath its branches.* This 
 dt'siro of liirt mother was known to Ilini who fathoms the depths of 
 the soui, and tlie angel who stands ul hi i-ight hand came to inform 
 the future Queen of heaven that her Son had granted her wish.f 
 
 At this divine revelation, to ■which was added, as Niccphorus tells 
 us, that of the day and hour of her death, tlie daughter of Abraham 
 began to sigh yet more ardently for her distant country ; she would 
 fain behold once more the lofty mountains of Judea, Avhcre the re- 
 membrance of the Redemption still floated on every breeze, and to 
 die in sight of Calvary. St. John, to whom lior wishes were, at all 
 times, laws, made immediate preparations for returning to Palestine. 
 
 The Hebrew travellei-s prol)ably embarked at Miletus, which was 
 then famous as the rendezvous of all shi]^ from Europe and Asia 
 navigating those waters. While crossing the Grecian 'seas, the Vir- 
 gin and the Evangelist recognized, in passing, the isle of Chio, whose (f^ 
 |.c:,ple, long possessed of the empire of the sea, were the fii-st to in- 
 troduce that odious slave-trade which the Gospel was gradually to 
 abuli'^h ; then Lesbos, the land of lyric poet^, where the hymn to the 
 most pure Virgin was to replace the burning odes of Sappho and the 
 more masculine strains of Al ous. Seeing the top of the temple of 
 Esculapius soaring into the clouds, — that temple which then attract- 
 ed whole multitudes of people to .h<.>, island of Cos — the Virgin 
 mother was remindo.l of her divino So"i, who, of all the children of 
 men, had power instantly to l"-al t.'io kicIc and raise the dead to life.J 
 Delos, the birth-place of iipoUo, Kiiodes, the cradle of Jupiter, rose 
 successively from amid the watci-s, with their green mountains and 
 their ancient temples, peopled Avith gods who were soon to be bau- 
 ..aed to the depths of hell by the God who was crucified on Calva- 
 ry. At some distance from Cyprus there was seen, far up amid the 
 
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 t Tradition relates that tlie Blessed Vir--in was apprised of li -r ftjiproacliinf^ death 
 by tlic ministry of an anpjel who made her aoquaintcd with the day and the hour wlien 
 it was 1o take place. (Descoutures, p. 235. — I'tTc Croisct, t. xviii, ]i. 138.) 
 
 \ Tlie followers of Mahomet have preserved the remembrance of the iniraelci of 
 Christ. Tlicy pretend that the l)reatli of Our Lord, which they call bwl Mcssih (the 
 breath of the Messiah), not only raised the dead, but could even give life to things 
 inanimate. (D'llcrb., Bill. Orient., t. i., p 305 "> 
 
 m 
 
OUAP. XVIII.] 
 
 BLESSED VIKdIN MART. 
 
 221 
 
 clouds, a dark point traced on the blue dome of lieaveii ; it was the 
 mount Aviiereon the propliet Elias had of old erected an altar to the 
 future mother of the Saviour, and where hU disciples were then 
 about to place themselves under her special protection. Next day, 
 the g;illey entered a port of Syria — Sidon, perhaps — its commercial 
 intercourse being frequent with Palestine, as seen by the sacicd 
 books. 
 
 They returned to Israel after an absence of several years. Mary 
 withdrew to the mountain of Sion, within a shot ''istanco of tln^ ni- 
 
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 Jolin, on his side, went to seek St. James., 
 Virgin and the first bishop of Jerusalem, to 
 the faithful who composed his already numerous church of Jerusa- 
 lem, that the mother of Jesus had returned to die amoiigi^t them. 
 
 The day and the hour were come ; the saints of Jerusalem once 
 more behold the daughter of David, still poor, still fair,, still hum- 
 ble; for one would have said that this admirable and holy creature 
 escaped the destroying action of time, and that, predestined from 
 iier birth to a complete and glorious immortality, nothing in her 
 was to perish.* Serious, but not sick, she received the Apostles and 
 disciples seated m a small bed of mean appearance, suited to her 
 unpretending garments. There was in her modest yet noble mien 
 something so solemn and so touching that the whole assembly burst 
 into tears. Maiy alone was calm, though the vast chamber was 
 crowded with old disciples and new Christians, all equally anxious 
 to see and hear her. 
 
 The night had fallen, and lamps, with many branches, seemed to 
 shed, Avith their pale light, something solemn and mysterious over 
 that sad and silent assembly. The Apostles, deeply moved, st(tod 
 close around the bed of death. St. Peter, who had so tenderly 
 loved the Son of God during his life, contcmi)latod the Virgin 
 mother with profound sorrow, and his speaking glance seemed to 
 say to the bishot) of Jerusalem, " How much she resembles Christ !" 
 
 * St. Denis, an rye witness of the ilcntli of tlip Blesspil Virj;iii, nlTinns tlmt, at that 
 advanced period of her life, she was still strikin;;;!^ beautiful. 
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 [OHAl'. XVIIL 
 
 In fact, there was a remarkable likeness ;* and the bowed head of 
 Mary, recalling that of the Saviour during the last Supper, finished 
 the effect. St. James, who had received from the Jews themselves 
 the surname of Just, and who well knew how to subdue his feelings, 
 sternly repressed the tears which moistened his eyelids. Tlie Prince 
 of the Apostles — a frank and impulsive man — was deeply affected, 
 and strove not to conceal his emotion ; St. John had wrapped a fold 
 of his Greek mantle around his head, but his sobs betrayed him. 
 There was not, in all the crowd, a heart unmoved, or an eye 
 unmoistened by a tear. Mary, sympathizing in the general emotion, 
 and almost forgetting the splendour which awaited her on high, in 
 order to wipe away the tears of those who loved her, applied 
 herself to confirm the faith of her children, to revive their pious 
 hopes, and to inflame their charity ; she told them with unequalled 
 eloquence of those mighty and sublime things which people hold n^ 
 their breath to hear, which raise man above himself, and render him *" ' 
 capable of any undertaking. Her speech, so mild that the Scripture 
 has compared it to a honeycomb, became gradually strong; the 
 daughter of David and of Solomon, the inspired prophetess who 
 had extemporaneously composed the triumphal hymn of the Mag- 
 nificat, soared up to considerations so high that the listenera forgot, 
 in their ecstasy, that death was to close that mystic strain. But 
 the fatal hour approached. Mary extended her protecting hands 
 over the poor orphans whom she was about to quit, and, raising her 
 beautiful eyes to the stars which shone brightly in the firmament, 
 she saw the heavens open, and the Son of man extending his arms 
 towards her from amidst a luminous cloud.f At this sight, a roseate 
 flush overspread her face, her eyes sparkled with maternal love, joy 
 attained its height, adoration became ecstatic, and her soul, disengjt' 
 ging itself wirtiout an effort from its fair and virginal covering, fell 
 gently into the bosom of God.J 
 
 I* Jesns hnng his head a little, which took something from his height ; his face had 
 much resemblance to that of his mother, esperially in the lower part. (Nic, Hist. 
 Ecelet., 1. 1, p. 125.) 
 
 f St. John Damascene. 
 
 X Some ancient Fathers, and, amongst others, St. Epiphanius, seem to doabt 
 
OUAP. XVIII.] 
 
 BLldSED VIEGIN MAKY. 
 
 22 S 
 
 Mary was no more, but her countenance, which had assumed the 
 expression of a tranquil slumber, was so sweet to look upon that it 
 seemed as though death hesitated to set his seal on that trophy 
 which he was only to retain for a day. 
 
 The death-lamp was lit ; the windows were all thrown open, and 
 the summer breeze made its way into the room with the flickering 
 beams of the stars. One would have said that a miraculous light 
 filled the i-oom when Mary had drawn her last sigh : it was, perhaps, 
 the glory of God which surrounded the spotless soul of the predes- 
 tined Virgin. When the death of Mary was no longer doubtful, 
 there was nothing heard, at first, but tears ftnd lamentations ; then, 
 the funeral chant arose on the stillness of the night; the angels 
 chimed in with their golden harps,* and the echoes of David's 
 mouldering palace sadly repeated the wail over the tombs of the 
 kings of Juda. 
 
 On the following day, the faithful brought in, with pious profusion 
 the most precious perfumes and the richest stuffs for the burial of 
 the Queen of Virgins. They embalmed her according to the cus- 
 tom of her people, but her blessed remains exhaled a sweeter odour 
 than the perfumed bands wherewith she was bound. The prepara- 
 tions being duly completed, the sacred body of the mother of God 
 
 whether the mother of God really died, or whether she remained immortal, being 
 taken body and sonl to heaven ; but the opinion of the Church is, that the Blessed 
 Virgin did really die according to the condition of the flesh, and this opinion is clearly 
 manifested in the Mass for the feast of the Assumption. The Blessed Virgin died 
 during the night which precedes the 15th of August. The date of her death is very 
 uncertain. Eusebius fixes it In the year 48 of our era ; so that, ucnording to him, 
 Mary lived sixty-eight years ; but Nicephorns (b. xi., ch. 21,) fo-jja!ly says that she 
 died in the fifth year of the reign of Claudius, that is to say, in the. yjar of Rome 798, 
 or 45 of the Christian era. Then, supposing that the Blessed Virgin was sixteen 
 years old when the Saviour was born, she would have lived sixty-one years. Hippo- 
 iytus of Thebes states, in his chronicle, that the Blessed Virgin became a mother at 
 the age of sixteen, and died eleven years after Jesus Christ. According to some 
 other authors, the Virgin was sixty-six when she died. 
 
 ♦ " All the host of heaven," says St. Jerome, " came to meet the mother of God, 
 at the moment of her death, singing hymns and canticles which were heard by all 
 present. Militiam coelorum, cum suis agminihus, festive obviam venitse Oenetrici Dn 
 cum laudihus et canticts, eamque Ingenti lumine ci^cumfulrisse et utque ad tronum ptr 
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 vras placed in a portable litter filled with aromatics * and covered 
 with a sumptuous veil, and the Apostles bore it on their shoulders 
 to the valley of Josaphat.f The Christians of .Jerusalem, bearing 
 lighted tapers, and chanting hymns and psalms, followed sadly and 
 reverently the remains of Maiy. 
 
 Amved at the place of sepulture, the mournful procession stopped. 
 Through the care of the holy women of Jerusalem, the tomb was 
 deprived of its gloomy aspect, and the sepulchral cave presented to 
 the view only a flowery arbour. | The Apostles gently laid down 
 the mortal remains of Mary, and, doing so, they wept. Of all the 
 panegyrics pronounced on that occasion, that o. Hierotheus was the 
 most remarkable. St. Denis the Areopagite, who describes the 
 scene as an eye-witness, relates that as he praised the Virgin, the 
 orator was almost beside himself § 
 
 For three days, the Apostles and the faithful watched and prayed 
 beside the sepvdchre, where they heard distinctly the sacred concert 
 kept up by the heavenly spirits,! as though to soothe the last sleep 
 of Mary. One of the Apostles, returning from a distant country, 
 and not having been present at the death of the Virgin, arrived 
 just then : it was St. Thomas, the same who had placed his hand, in 
 the wounds of his glorified Master. He hastened to take a last 
 look and to water with his tears the cold remains of the privileged 
 
 * Coffins, amongst the Jews, in Mary's time, were a species of litter so contrived 
 that it was easy to carry the dead body ; this litter was filled with aromatics. Jose- 
 phus, describing the interment of Herod the Great, says that his litter was led 
 
 with precious stones, that his body reposed on purple, that ho had the jewell. yn 
 
 upon his head, and that his whole household followed the litter. 
 
 f Mctaphrastes relates that the Apostles carried the Virgin to the grave ou their 
 shoulders. 
 
 X Greg. Tur., 1. i., de Gl, ch. 4. 
 
 § Book* of divine names, ch. 3. These books of St. Denis the Areopagite have 
 been rejected by Protestants, but are not the less authorize, by a multitude of proofs 
 from the most ancient Fathers and doctors of the ChurL-Ii, by the third cecumenic 
 council of Constantinople, and many others still. 
 
 II Juvenal, patriarch of Jerusalem, who lived in the fifth century, writing to the 
 Emperor Marcian and the Empress Pulcheria, says that the Apostles, relieving each 
 other, passed day and night with the faithful near the tomb, mingling their canticles 
 with those of the angels, who, for three days, were constantly heard making the most 
 celestial harmony 
 
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CHAP. xmi.J 
 
 BLi:S8ED VIKQIN JIAllY. 
 
 
 226 
 
 woman who had borne in her chaste womb the Supreme Master of 
 Nature. Overcome by his tears and entreaties, the Apostles 
 removed the block of stone from the door of the sepulchre ; but 
 they saw within only the still fresh flowers whereon Mary's body 
 had reposed, and her white shroud of Egyptian linen, which shed a 
 delicious fragrance. The pure body of the immaculate Virgin was 
 not a prey for worms ; during her life earth and heaven Lad each a 
 share in that wondrous creature; after her de'ath, heaven took all, 
 and glorified all.* 
 
 * A very judicious remark of Godoscord comes to the support of the Assumption : 
 it is, that " neither the Latins, nor even the Greelis, so greedy for novelty, and so 
 easily persuaded in regard to relics and legends ; no people, in a word, no city, no 
 church, ever boasted of possessing the mortal remains of the Blessed Virgin, nor any 
 portion of her body. Hence, without prescribing a belief in the corporal assumption 
 of Mary into heaven, the Cuurch gives ns clearly to understand the opinion to which 
 ihe inclines." (Qodescard, t. xiv., p. 449.)