No More Learning

'9"De Rebus Hehletiorum," lib. iii. , cap. 6.
^'^ He translated the German
Petrus Canisius, into Latin. ^' "
Lib. i. Historite Basileensis," cap. 21.
3° gee "De Scriptoribus Hibernire," lib. i. , cap. i. , p. 6.
37 See Harris' Ware, vol. iii. , "Writers
of Ireland," book i. , chap, ii. , pp. 9, 10.
38 Sgg "Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 95,
96.
3? At March the 6th, in Baillet's "Les
Vies des Saints " occurs St. Abbot Fridolin,
of St. Hilary's, at Poitiers, afterwards of
Seeking, in Germany, tome i. , pp. 61, 62. to ggg "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and
other principal Saints," vol. iii. , IMarch vi. 'See "Lives of the Saints," vol. iii. ,
March vi. , pp. 91 to 93.
42 See "Ecclesiastical History of Tre-
land," vol. ii. , chap, xvi. , sect, xiv. , n. 136,
^^ "
In Monasteriis Germanios. "
^3 "De Dagoberto Rege," lib. i. , cap. 6. -* " Rerum Hekieticarum Chronico," lib.
xii. , cap. ix.
'''^ " De RhtEtia
** " viii.
'^ "Annalium Sueuicorum," pars, i. , lib. viai. , cap. 9.
'^"In Topographia Alsatice," p. 36. "J'here is a copper-plate engraving of Seek- iii^ham, in this work.
-9 In describing Glanis.
xii.
In Chronico RliKtia;," lib, ii. , iii. ,
Alpina," cap.
3° See the BoUandists' "Acta Sancto-
rum," tomus i. , Martii vi. De S. Fridolino
Abbate Seckingse in Germania. Commen- tinction was made by the old writer, in
tarius Prsevius, sect, i. , num. i, 2, 3, 4, pp. 430, 431.
cent.
reference to superior or higher Ireland, the southern division of our Island, and so called because the mountains there rise to a greater . altitude ; and inferior or lower Ireland, the northern part, where the hills are less ele-
3' See " num. 10.
Scriptores Britanici,"
3^ "In Germania Sacra," pars, ii. , p. Si.
14,
34 See
Gulerus' " De Rebus works,
35 See "Britannia Sancta," part i. , p. Life, by 159.
p. 480.
''3 His argument appears to be, that a dis-
158 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 6.
one, which separates both countries. t4 Nothing can be gleaned, however, from such loose geographical indications ; and, the enquiry must be relegated to the obscurity of mere conjectures. The Scottish writers have contended, thatSt. Fridolinwastheircountryman^^'^ but,thisclaimismeritedlyrejected by the Bollandists,^^ and his natal place is expressly called Hibemia, by the mediaeval writer of his Acts.
The century that gave birth to this saint has been disputed, and of his earlyyearswehavefewauthenticparticulars. Therearewriters^? whomain- tain, that Fridolin flourished as early as the fourth century, and that he was a contemporary of St. Hilary •f' but, this is clearly inadmissible. But, the greater number of those, who have written his Acts, state, that he flourished towards the close of the fifth century.
received accounts.
St. Fridolin is said to have been of royal pedigree,53 or, at least, to have
been nobly born. The Life by Balther proclaims, that his family connexions were among the most powerful persons in the kingdom. Yet, this consider-
himself, on his distinguished parentage, that he regarded goodness as the sole test of merit, and soon he learned to approve the words of our Divine
believedinthewordsofHolyWrit "GivetotheMostHighaccordingto
man Sir authors.
'^ Father Colgan, too, has endeavoured to maintain this date,5° and Harris has left it uncontradicted. 5^ But, it is more reasonably thought, that the saint livedabout200yearslater;S2 and,thisopinionseemsmoreconformableto
ation caused the only
boy
Psalmist,
Redeemer,
Gospel,
my
James
Ware
states,
that Fridolin lived in the
year 495.
to ask with the
my blood, whilst I go down to corruption ? "54 So far was he from priding
as recorded in the
Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. "s5 In the time of our saint, Ireland is related to have enjoyed an extraordinary amount of material resources, and of secular riches ; while the wealthy gave in abun- dance, the very poorer classes bestowed from their means, what was neces- sary to sustain the schools, and all manner of useful learning. The people
:
vated. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae,"
Martii vi. Vita S. Fridolini Abbatis, &c. ,
n. 6, p. 490.
* At the time, when Balther lived,
Northern Britain had probably begun to as-
sume the name of Scotia. Dr. Lanigan
adds: "how are we to explain wliat he
says of Fridolin having been born in the ex-
tremity of lower Scotia (Ireland) and his
proceeding there by a long journey to that
'^ His festival day is at the 13th of Ja- nuary. ItisenteredinourIrishCalendars, probably owing to close national affinities ; and this holy bishop was held in especial veneration by St. Fridolin, and by the early Irish Christians.
^9 See " De Scriptoribus Hibemioe," lib. i. , cap. i. , p. 6.
5° See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," Martii vi. Appendix ad Acta S. Fridolini,
sea for the purpose of sailing for France? cap. i. , pp. 491, 492.
Could he have meant said the s' See Harris' vol. " Writers
Southern part of Ireland as being the most
of Ireland," book i. , chap, ii. , p. 9.
s^ See Rev. Dr. " Ecclesiastical Lanigan's
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect, xvi. , p. 428, and n. 214, p. 430.
53 Qq the authority of the English Mar- tyrology, Henry Fitzsimon, in his list of Irish Saints at the 6th of March, calls St.
Fridolinus, Confessor, "Filius Regis Iber- nise. " See O'SuIlevan Beare's " Historise Catholicae Iberniie Compendium," tomus i. ,
remote from Scotland? in this Yet,
case, how account for his going to th—e North to
" procure a passage for France? " Eccle-
siastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap. xvi. , sect, xiv. , n. 136, p. 480.
<5 Especially Dempster, in his " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. vi. , num. 515, p. 280.
Following Possevin, and some Ger-
by extremity Ware, iii. ,
** See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Martii vi. De S. Fridolino Abbate Seek- lib. iv. , cap. xii. , p. 54. P. Gibbonus
ingseinGermania. CommentariusPraevius, sect, ii. , num. 7, p. 432.
*' Among these are Coccius, Dempster, &c. , and others, who make him a disciple of
St. Hilary.
Cepam,depersecutione,followstheprevious words by Fitzsimon.
** Psalms xxix. 10.
5S St. Matt. xii. 50.
56 Ecclesiastes xxxv. 12, 13.
" What is there in profit
" Whosoever shall do the will of
March 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 159
what He had given to thee, and with a good eye do according to the ability of thy hands : For the Lord maketh recompense, and will give thee seven times as much. " ^^ Almost from his very cradle, Fridolin thirsted after knowledge, and he applied to the study of polite literature.
The education, received by St. Fridolin, is reported to have been of a nature, suited to the circumstances of his parents and to his own rank. He
"
God ;" 57 and, he.
began with success the study of profane and sacred litera-
ture, particularly the latter. While he learned the speculations of Pythagoras and of Plato,52 he was most assiduous in poring over the Sacred Scriptures, and
in reducing their precepts to practice, through his pious mode of thinking. The spirit of piety, evoked by the Irish Apostle, St. Patrick,59 in the hearts of a people, but newly awakened to the embraces of the faith, seems to have shed its benign influence on the parents of our saint ; and, this spirit they werecarefultoinstil,intothemindoftheiryouthfulson. Fridolin,fromhis most tender age, was destined by the gifts of grace, for the state and duties he was afterwards to assume ; and, he began to feel, that no longer had he any reason to be a mere laic, as the evidences of his religious vocation beckoned to the service of the altar, and his way led to the gates of heaven.
" The friendship of this world is. the enemy of God," says the Apostle f° and, Fridolin resolved, that all his natural and acquired talents should be devoted
wholly to the honour of his Creator, and to his own spiritual gain. *^^
CHAPTER II;
ST. FRIDOLIN's ordination, and his apostolic labours in IRELAND—his RESOLU- TION TO BECOME AN EXILE—HIS DEPARTURE FOR FRANCE—ENQUIRY CONCERNING THE PERIOD—HE PROCEEDS TO POITIERS—HIS DISCOVERY OF ST. HILARY'S RELICS —HIS VISIT WITH THE BISHOP TO KING CHLODOVy^JUS—HIS HONOURABLE RECEP- TION—HE RESTORES THE CHURCH AND MONASTERY AT POITIERS—TWO PRIESTS ARRIVE THERE FROM NORTHUMBRIA.
After passing through the gradations of several orders, Fridolin was duly promoted to the priesthood ; and, the ministerial functions of his office were executed with zeal, fervour, and success. His talents were of a brilliant nature ; and, his character was found so perfectly accordant with his profes- sion, that the regards of all men were fixed upon him. He was gifted with
— and this eloquence, gift
very soon recognised the great truth, that
all wisdom is from the Lord
was
allends thegainingofsoulstoGod. Byhisearnestandpressingexhorta-
57Ecclesiasticusi. I.
58 Such casual aUusions as these, found in the old Acts of the saints, serve to present a very exalted opinion of the classic taste and
59SeehisLife,atthe17thofMarch.
*° St. James iv. 4.
^' See the Bollandists' " Acta Sancto-
mm," tomus i. , Martii vi. De S. Fridolino
applied
to the most
legitimate
and desirable of
tions, he bowed down the most obstinate and hardened sinners, to the practices of humility and penitence. He went through nearly all the cities
of Ireland ; and, through their adjoining districts, to preach the word of God, and to confirm the people, in a love for the Catholic Faith, as a safeguard
against pagan superstitious rites, yet in existence. While he doubled that talent, entrusted to his management, by the Divine Master, the means, con- tributed for his support, were sparingly applied to his own wants, Avhile they were generously spent to forward religious objects. The princes, nobles and people of the land received him as some great and illustrious Pontiff. His humility became alarmed, at length, and he pondered on the words of Christ,
acumen of niedireval monastic students, Abbate, &c Vita, lib. i. , cap. i. , num. 4,
especially
in Ireland.
5, 6, 7, p. 434.
i6o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 6.
" Every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be
mydisciple. "^ Fearingtheapplauseofmen,whichspreadhisfameonevery side, and finding himself moved to embrace a life of greater perfection, he
adopted the resolution, to divest himself of all he possessed, that he might run more lightly, in the footsteps of his Divine Master. He made a division of his effects among his relations, and especially in favour of the different churches, the poor, and the orphans. But, he conceived himself as yet bound to the earth, by much stronger ties, whilst attached to his relatives, friends, and native country. Those he resolved to break, by quitting the latter, and no amount of persuasion could induce him to change his purpose. ' Neither the entreaties of the Irish Primate, in his day, united with those of the bishops and clergy, nor the tears of his relations and acquaintances, could ])revent him from seeking a foreign shore, although he had then little idea of his future destination. When Fridolin's resolution was unalterably taken, a great number of his relations, friends and the poor ran after him, to the port
:
of debarkation. He addressed these, in the following terms " O my
dearest friends, not alone my relations, but also my fosterers and fellow-
countrymen, is it unknown to you, that no pride of worldly life can prevent me from setting out for that exile, which Heaven has indicated? Why should you seek to prevent, what the whole world is unable to resist, if the
"
Lord only wills me to accomplish it ?
which spreads out between inferior and superior Scotia. * As we have already stated, the exact locality cannot be defined.
This journey to the sea seems to have been long and fatiguing, so that
the people present wished Fridolin to rest there, at least for a day. It was
anticipated, that some such delay might present the waves in an angry mood, which should detain the vessel about to sail, or that additional prayer might cause him to return. To their request, the holy man graciously assented ; but, the next morning, he preached to the multitude, there assembled, his parting exhortation, on the great mysteries of religion, and he bestowed on tliem his blessing. In sorrow for his loss, after he had gone on board the ship, the people followed its course through the waves, with straining eyes and beating hearts. Mutually giving adieux and good wishes, soon was the vessel only a speck, on the waste of waters, and the companions of Fridolin to the sea turned sadly towards their respective homes. 3
These occurrences took place, according to Dr. Lanigan, after the middle of the seventh century. 4 Other writers wish to place them, at a still earlier date. Thus, some will have it, that Fridolin was in Prance during the life- time of St. Hilary, who lived in the fourth century. s It is said, again, that Clovis,^ the first Christian King of France, swayed, at this time, the destinies of that country,? and that thither St. Fridohn directed his course. This
Chapterii. —' St. Lukexiv. 33'.
' See the BoUandists' " Acta Sanctorum," lomus i. , Martii vi. De S. FridoUno Abbate, <kc. Vita, lib. i. , cap. i. , num. 7, 8, 9, 10, II, pp. 434, 435.
3 See /^jV/. , num. II, I? . , 1 3, p. 435.
* The latter part of the seventh and the
early part of the eighth is Dr. Lanigan's
"
otherwritershaveA. D. 372,
^ The BoUandists assert, that his
reign
bc-
gan, a. d. 479, and that in 494, he embraced
the Christian Religion. Colgan maintains,
that he began to reign, about A. D. 484, and tliat he died about A. D. 514, according to the generality of writers,
' Such is the opinion of Colgan, in "Acta
Sanctorum Hiberniae," Martii vi. Vita S.
P>idoUni Abb. itis, &c. , n. 9, p. 490. Also the BoUandists' " Acta Sanctorum," tomus
i. , Martii vi. De S. Fridolino, Abbate, 5 Such is apparently the supposition of &c. Commentarius Prsevius, sect, ii. , pp.
Coccius, and Dempster. Baronius places 431, 432. the death of St. Hilary at A. D. 369, while
Ec- clesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xvi. , sect, xiv. , p. 479, and n. 145,
opinion, respecting his period. See
pp. 482 to 486.
He then arrived at a certain sea,
March 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. i6i
opinion should bring him to France, in the fifth century. ^ Others, with a greater degree of probability, state, that Clovis II. 9 or III. '° was, at this time, the reigning monarch. This variation of statement and opinion, regarding the time when FridoHn lived, has tended to introduce confusion of deduction ; yet, they should not excite doubts as to Fridolin's existence, for not only has Balther's Life of him every mark of authenticity, but his memory has been inseparably connected with the various monasteries he founded, and which have been most celebrated for centuries in Lorraine, Alsace, Germany and Switzerland. " The Bollandists'^ and Calmet'3 will not allow, that Fridolin arrivedinFrance,untilaboutthecommencementofthesixthcentury,''* and while Clovis I. was yet reigning. Mabillon states, that the Acts of our saint are referable to the reigns of later kings, and he introduces them, under the date of 5 90. '5 Now, it is to be observed, that Balther does not indicate what King Clovis or Clodoveus had been the contemporary of our saint ; but, we learn from his biography, that Christianity had been well established in Ire- land, at the time of this arrival in France. '^ Nor, does it seem much more likely, that Clovis II. then ruled •,^^ for, Neustria and Burgundy were only
subject to him,'^ whereas, Balther represents his Clovis as reigning far and wide. Now, Clovis III. flourished, during the latter end of the seventh
century ; and, although he did not directly exercise much jurisdiction, yet, under the protectorate of Pepin de Heristal,'^ his empire was very extensive, and he enjoyed the title of king. He died, a. d. 695, and, it is thought most probable,^° that he was the recognised monarch of France, when Fridolin
sailed from Ireland, and reached that country, to begin his missionary labours. Again, Claudius Robert and the Sammarthann have deferred his
arrival in France to the beginning of the eighth century. ''^ This, however, must be rejected, as altogether too late a period.
When our saint landed in France, he received kind welcome from a man of good family, who dwelt near the port of his arrival, and with Iiim the holy missionary remained for a few days, as well to recruit his strength after the fatigues of his travel, as to learn the condition of things in the new country.
^ Among the writers who hold it are Coccius, Canisius, Bruschius, Guillemann, Possuevin, Bale, Gesner, Ware> Hanmer, Cratepolius, and Colgan. See "Acta Sane- torum liibernise," Martii vi. Appendix ad Acta S. Fridolini, cap. i. , pp. 491, 492.
9 His nominal reign lasted about eighteen years, and he succeeded on the death of his father Dagobert I. , when he was a mere in- fant. The maires of his household were jEga and Erchinoald. Clovis II. only lived to the age of twenty-one. See an account of him in L. P. Anquetil's "Histoire de France," Premiere Race dite des Merovin- giens, sect, v. , p. 53.
'° He was the son of King Thierry III. , and succeeded on his death, when only ten or eleven years old. He only lived to be fifteen, and Pepin le Gros, or as sometimes called de Heristal, governed the Kingdom of Neustria in his name. See ibid. , sect. vi. , p. 54.
'^ gee " Histoire de Lorraine," lib. vii. , sect. i8.
'* This is inferred from the fact, that in 494, the city of Poitiers and all Aquitain were under the power of Alaric, King of the Goths. Over these, Clovis 1. obtained a great victory A. D, 507, at Vouille, when Aquitain was taken from them, so that, during this year or the two years succeeding, it is thought lil<ely, the arrival of St. Frido- lin may agree with the facts of history,
'^ gee "Annales Ordinis S. Benedict! ," tomus i. , lib. viii. , sect, xxvii. , p. 221.
'*
Were it otherwise, there should have been an ample field for his labours at home. Nor does it appear, that Irish missionary expeditions to the Continent were known, at the commencement of the sixth century, Should we refer our saini's period, to the time of Clovis I. , Fridolin must, probably, have been one of St. Patrick's converts ; yet, no where do we find him classed among these
'^ He had no power in Ausirasia, the scene of Fridolin's later proceedings.
'' He was also remarkable, for being a great encourager of missionaries.
" See Rev. Dr.
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap. xvL, sect, xiv. , n. 145, pp. 486, 487.
'* See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Martii vi. De S. Fridolino, Abbate, &c. Commentarius Pmsvius, sect, ii. , p. 431.