^'
No doubt, with these prayers were united petitions for his own deUverance, as also for the conversion of his master and of the Irish people.
No doubt, with these prayers were united petitions for his own deUverance, as also for the conversion of his master and of the Irish people.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
, p.
51.
284, 285, and n.
13.
" Les Moines d'Occident," tome ii. , livre
ix. , chap, i. , p. 453.
^ There do we read : bACUiN ite Coch-
it is rendered into " he English : Cothraige
was called, for as slave he served four famihes. " In a comment, attached to this passage, it is explained "? >. because he
490 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
hence, he was called, by a servile name,^-* distinct from his own. Our saint wasfoundperfectlydocileandfaithful,indischarginghishumbleoffices. In fine, one of his taskmasters purchased him from the others. ^s Hence, Patrick received the denomination Cothraige,^^ because he served four families. ^7 The name of his last purchaser was Milcho, Milchon, or as some- times called, Miliac, or Milcon mac Cubuain. ^^ The Confession of St. Patrick affords- no clue to his rank, circumstances, or profession ; for, in it, that person for whom he wrought, during the six years of his captivity, is merely called a man. ^9 Some writers relate, that he was a Magus ; and, as
a consequence, devoted to Pagan superstitions. Again, he is called a king,7° orratheralittlepotentate,^'orchief,wholivedinDaleradia. 7^ Heisrepre- sented, as having been a harsh man. Patrick was obliged to herd flocks or cattle,73 according to his own Confession while other accounts have 7+
; it, that the saint was entrusted, with the care of a drove of hogs. 75 These
animals were probably roving through the mountains, vallies, or woods, and feeding on acorns, roots, grass, or whatever else might fall in their way. 7^
and the— our Jocelyn,77 Tripartite,7S
Milchuo's
By appointment, according
to
saint was condemned to the servile task of keeping swine a very menial
employment for such a tenderly-reared boy. According to hi—s own words, the holy youth spent his time, on a mountain in Hibernione as he con- stantly writes the name of our island. The truest and most reliable version of the captivity, to which St. Patrick had been subjected, may best be gleaned
^'
served this master for four years, in the most laborious manner.
^' See " Confessio S. Patricii," p. 6. Ware's edition.
""
Cuboin Magus. " See Usshcr's Primor- was on his arrival in Ireland, apud quem-
dia," cap. xvii. , p. 829.
*3 See the Fourth Life, cap. xv.
'^ See Fiach's Hymn, strophe 3, p. I, and n. df. , p. 4. Also the Second Life has
See Fiech's Hymn, strophe 3, p. i.
The Tripartite Life has a similar statement.
See lib. i. , cap. xvii. , p. 119.
*' "
Tirechan writes : Cothirthiac servivit
quatuor domibus Magorum ; et empsit ilium
unus ex eis, cui nomen erat Miliuc Mac families. But, he relates, that St. Patrick
it Quotirche, cap. xii. , p. 12. The Third king, called Milchon, ruling in the northern Life has Coithrige, cap. xiii. , p. 22. The part of the island. See " Sexta Vita S.
Fourth Life has Quadriga, cap. xv. , p. 37. The Seventh Life has Cothraige, lib. i. , cap.
xvii. , p. 119.
^5 The Second Life states, that the saint,
being brought into the Dailaraidian country, served four substantial masters, with all the devotedness of his heart. One of them
Patricii," cap. xiii. , p. 67.
7^ Fiech's Scholiast states, that he was
called Michul, or Milchuo, the son of Hua Euan, and king over nortliern Dal-aradia.
named Miliuc,
"a or " part,"
that he was a faithful servant, bought St. Patrick from the other
and from a Aradius,
seeing
portion,"
King of Ultonia, belonging to the race of
masters, to serve himself alone. See Se- Fiach. See n. 18, p. 8.
cunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xii. , p. 12.
^ Dr. Todd has a paper on the meaning
"
Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. vi. , p. 292. See Miss Cusack's "Life of St. Patrick,
Apostle of Ireland," p. 376. Here, there is a
73 He says, "quotidie pecora pascebam. " —"Confessio S. Patricii," cap. ii. , num. 6, p. 190.
' Thus, Harris very incorrectly makes St. Patrick state, that his constant business was to feed the hogs.
75 " Patricius cus- Jocelyn says, porcorum
todias mancipatur. "
7^ Unacquainted with this practice, which
is so general to this day in the old and
new world, Harris thought, perhaps, that the saint was employed feeding them in
troughs.
7' See Sexta Vita S. Patricii,cap. xiii. , p. 67. 7^ See pare, i. , cap. xviii. , p. 119. Col-
of this name, in the
in the Lives of manuscript Tripartite
hiatus,
the Bodleian and British Museum Libraries.
*7 Colgan observes, that in order to spell it correctly, the word should be, CcothirUgh, from Ceothir, four, and tegh, a house. See
"Trias Thaumaturga," Secunda Vita S. Patricii, n. 15, p. 17.
^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Appendix Secunda ad Acta S. Patricii, p.
196.
"Trias
Tirechan
states,
that St. Patrick
gan's
Thaumaturga. "
7" Probus says nothing about the four
dam — immitem gentilem regem
in servitute detentus. " " Quinta Vita S. Patricii," lib.
i. , cap. ii. , p. 51.
7' Jocelyn calls his master, a petty Pagan
"
p. 4. Dalaradia is the eastern and maritime
Prima Vita S. Patricii,"
See Scholia 8.
part of Ulster, taking its name from Dal,
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 491
from his own Confession. It has not been compHcated with those incidents, whichhavefoundinsertion,intheworksofsubsequentwriters. Thatmountain, where he tended flocks, is said to have been in Dalaradia. It is called Mis,79 at present Sliebh-mis,^° or Slieve Mish, a wild and an elevated peak, in the county of Antrim. ^' Here, he passed many an hour in solitude, but even then, heheldcommunionwiththeLord. ^^ TheloveandfearofGodgrewwithin him, while he felt not the traces of evil, nor of idleness, as Divine' Faith and the
Distant View of Slieve Mish, County of Antrim.
Holy Spiritfglowed through his soul. In devotion, and in the care of his salvation, St. Patrick exercised himself, bearing in patience God's own dis-
pensation. Frequently, during the day, did he prostrate himself in prayer, before God ; nearly one hundred times did he recite some form of entreaty,
on some special days, and nearly as often during the night. The spirit of the Lord was so fervent within him, that he arose before the dawn, to engage
in those pious exercises, even when frost, snow and rain covered the ground. ^3 Even then, psalms and hymns were frequently recited by the pious youth. ^+
Jocelyn goes still further ; for, he says, that St. Patrick, from a very early time of his life, used to read the Psalter every day. ^5 While enduring six years of oppressive captivity, the blessed saint, with incessant tears and fervent prayers, did not cease to solicit the Divine Majesty to procure his
'9 Near it was a valley, named Arcuil.
^^ The "et etiam in holy Apostle says,
silvis et monte manebam,—et ante lucem ex- "
80 To the Rev.
P. P. of
John Lynch, Ballymena, the writer is specially indebted
for procuring a photograph of Slieve Mis citabar ad orationem. " Confessio S.
Mountain, as seen from his library window, and at some distance. From the photograph
Patricii," cap. ii. , num. 6, p. 190. ^^ See ibid.
WilliamF. Wakeman question, produced
84 "
— enim et Frequenter psalmos hymnos
in
the accompanying illustration on wood, and it has been engraved by George A. Hanlon.
ruminabat. " Probus,' Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap. ii. , p. 51.
*' Fiech's Scholiast, n. See,
^2 See Sexta Vita S. 67.
9 i. , p. 4, and the Tripartite Life, lib, i. , cap. xix , p.
Patricii, cap. xii. , p.
492 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
freedom, and a return to his country, to his parents^^ and to his friends.
^'
No doubt, with these prayers were united petitions for his own deUverance, as also for the conversion of his master and of the Irish people. As re- garded his fasts, they were excessive for his time of youth, as he lived on roots, herbs, and such other coarse food, and even oftentimes, he supported life, without any corporal sustenance. ^^ Nor could the rigour of the seasons, inclemency of the weather, or any other circumstance, cause him, at any time, to intermit his devotional exercises.
The saint does not hesitate to aver, that when a boy, he had been care-
less, in reference to the fulfilment of his religious duties. ^9 But, in his state
of slavery and exile, this youth, of naturally good parts, reflected on his mis- spent time, and felt truly contrite for his former follies. Afflictions were the
salt, that preserved him from an indulgence in youthful pleasures, and they became a means for reviving the inspirations of Divine Grace, in his soul.
From his Confessions, we learn to appreciate that spirit of profound humility, through which he compares himself to a stone, lying deeply buried in the mud ; and, he was grateful to the Almighty, who afflicted liim, because he also received support in this affliction. 9° From such acknowledgments, we may best judge, what opinion must be formed concerning those recorded boyish miracles, attributed to St. Patrick,9' by some of his biographers. Be- fore his liberation from slavery, other miraculous occurrences are said to have
taken place. 9^ On a certain day, being engaged at prayer, according to one account, an angel, who is called Victor,93 appeared to him, and assured him, that his fasts and prayers had ascended before the sight of God, and that his release was very near. ? -* Then, in a dream one night, he heard a voice saying :
^ According to Jocelyn, St. Patrick re- turned "propriis parentibus," who were, following his account, then living.
dulous—while it should also extend, through
the captive's instrumentality, over our whole island. Again, the romantic story, that St. Patrick was destined for wedlock, with a female slave, whom he found to have been his sister, deserves not any serious recital. See the Second Life, cap. xv. , xvi. , p. 12 ; the Fourth Life, cap. xix. , xx. , p. 37 ; the Fifth Life, lib. i. , cap. xii. , p. 48 ; the Sixth Life,cap. xiv. ,p. 67; theSevenlhLife,lib.
*7 St. Patrick speaks of himself, as having
been an exile, at the extremity of the world,
as Ireland was thought to have been, accord-
ing to the geographic notions of that time.
He also speaks of his family, as living far
away from Ireland, and this seems inconsis-
tent with the supposition, that he had been
captured in Scotland, or that his family had i. , cap. XX. , xxi. , p. 120. Milcho is said to
returned there, at any time during his cap-
tivity.
*^ To this privation, the Hymn of St.
Fiach alludes : niAiffe 'ooine iii]Xoinil-e'o.
"
human food he ate it not. " See "Irish Ecclesiastical Record,"
have had a son, afterwards St. Guasacht, Bishop of Granard, whose feast occurs at
the 24th of January ; and his two daughters, each called Emeria, are said to have had a festival on the 1st or on the nth of Decem- ber. See Sexta Vita S. Patricii, nn. 36, 37, p. 100. Also, Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 269.
93 Thus do we find the circumstance re-
lated, in St. Fiach's Hymn, -Afbe^c Uiccoix
It is thus Englished,
vol. iv. , pp. 284, 285, and nn. ii, 12.
^9 See Father Villanueva's
"
Sancti Pa-
tricii, Ibernorum Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c. Confessio S. Patricii, cap. i. , num. i. , p. 184.
bus, do not make mention regarding them. 9^ One of these seemingly fanciful inven- tions is the story of Milchuo desiring Patrick to interpret his dream, in which the master's children and his house seemed to be con- sumed to ashes, himself alone escaping from
flM 5niAt) mil, eoncefi-et) ]^Ol^ connA,
9° num. See ibid. ,
which is slave :
" Victor said to '"
188.
9' Fiech's Hymn, the Scholiast, and Pro-
Milcho's Go thou over the sea. ' See Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. , pp. 284, 285, and nn. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19. 9* The Scholiast adds, that he came to him in the form of a bird. See Vita Prima S. Patricii, n. 9, p. 4. "Trias Thauma- turga. " We find the same account, in the
5, p.
Englished,
it, while the flames spread through all the Tripartite Life, lib. i. , cap. xix. , p. 120, rest of Ireland ; and, the interpretation ibid. It is coupled with a statement, that given by Patrick, that the saint was the saint was accustomed to enjoy daily and to spread —the flame of Faith in Milcho's familiar conversations, with that aiigcl. The
household himself only remaining incre- Second Life calls the angel Victoricus and j
*'
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 49S
"
Well dost thou fast, and soon shalt thou return to thy country. " 95 Again, after a little time, he heard an answer given to him, and intimating, that the ship was ready, nor was it near, being distant about two hundred miles. 9^
He never had been in that
socalledfromitsbasalticrock onwhicha wasshown9^ isheld,intradition,tohavebeenthatidenticalspot,whereSt. Patrick heard the angel Victor's advice. 99 Here, in after time, and probably to commemorate his miraculous release, St. Patrick built a church,'°° and it became a famous place for pilgrimages. Jocelyn has furnished a picturesque description of the Angel, Victor, who appeared to our saint, under a human form. He also relates a part of the conversation, which took place. This angel declared, that St. Patrick was peculiarly deputed to his custody, while on all occasions the angel would be ready to relieve and assist the unfriended captive. Moreover, this heavenly messenger told him, that at the nearest
haven, there was a ship, bound for Britain, and which by God's appointment could not have a favourable wind, without his embarking in it. '°^ Then, this angel—by some called Victoricius or Victoricus'°*—directed our saint to a place, which the swine are said to have rooted up, and where he was to find a sum of gold, wherewith to pay his ransom. '°3 This treasure he found, and with it, he purchased freedom from his master. Next did he hasten to the port, where the ship awaited his arrival.
Following the Confession and various other accounts, Patrick remained a slave for six years,'"-* and during this time,'°5 spent in a foreign country, he
the Third Life calling him Victor, follow
inhabitants. — Skerry,? ^
nor had he — its place, any knowledge, regarding
St. Fiech's Hymn. See ibid. , cap, xiv. , p.
12, and cap. xiv. , p. 22. The Fourth Life
also introduces tlie angel Victor, as acting mains, it wears not away. " See Irish on that occasion. See Quarta Vita S.
Patricii, cap. xviii. , p. 37, ibid. It seems
strange, that Dr. Lanigan says, the author of 99
this Life does not give the angel's name. But, it is most probable. Dr. Lanigan meant the Fifth or Probus' Life, to which his re- mark would fairly apply.
angle of the church is a patch of rock, on
the edge of which is a depression, having a
faint resemblance to the print of a shoe, which the Ord. Survey agreeably to the ancient tradition notices as "St. Patrick's footmark. "—" S. 33. " See Rev. William
95 St. Patrick does not state in his Con-
fession, where this vision took place ; but,
in Tirechan's collections, it is said to have Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of occurred, at the mountain Scirte, recte,
now beside Slemish. The Skerry,
'°° The ecclesiastical ruins here are de-
scribed, in the work already noticed. Ibid. "" "
Scirre,
print of the Angel Victor's foot remained there, almost to the day when Tirechan wrote. See Sir William Betham's work, "Antiquarian Researches," pp. 349, 384.
erat prope, sed forte hababat ducenta millia
passuum. "—Confessio S. Patricii, p. 6. See Ware's edition.
97 The townlands of Skerry East and of Skerry West are in the parish of Kilconway, and in the barony of Newtovm Crommelin.
See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xv. , pp. 67, 68.
9* " Ecce navis tua parata est ; et non
serving, that the author of the Fourth Life,
who gives no name to the angel, calls the
man, that appeared, as if coming from Ire- land, not Victoricius but Victor, in cap. xxv. The reverse of this mistake occurs, in the Second Life, cap. xiv. , where the angel is
See "Ecclesiastical
are shown on the ' ' Ordnance
Townland Maps for the County of Antrim,"
Sheet 24. The parish of Skerry, however,
and to which allusion here occurs, is in the an account. See n. 9 i. , p. 4. The Second barony of Lower Antrim. See Sheets 24,
25, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33. Ibid. The Tripar-
tite Life calls this place Schirec Archaile,
lib. i. , cap. xxii. , p. 120.
They
Survey
Ireland,"
vol. sect, i. , chap, iv. ,
9^ To this legend, allusion seems to be made,
Life, cap. xvii. , p. 12 ; the Third Life, cap. xiv. , p. 22 ; the Fourth Life, cap. xxi. , pp. 37» 38 ; the Sixth Life, cap. xvi. , p. 68 ; the Seventh Life, lib, i. , cap. xxii. , p. 120 ; all relate this legend.
in St. Fiech's a Hymn : IToi^T^u'b
choif fo^-
"* So states the
Hymn
of St. Fiach
: 1)ai
|\inT) teicc, tiiA]AAic &. e\ in bi\onnA.
" Les Moines d'Occident," tome ii. , livre
ix. , chap, i. , p. 453.
^ There do we read : bACUiN ite Coch-
it is rendered into " he English : Cothraige
was called, for as slave he served four famihes. " In a comment, attached to this passage, it is explained "? >. because he
490 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
hence, he was called, by a servile name,^-* distinct from his own. Our saint wasfoundperfectlydocileandfaithful,indischarginghishumbleoffices. In fine, one of his taskmasters purchased him from the others. ^s Hence, Patrick received the denomination Cothraige,^^ because he served four families. ^7 The name of his last purchaser was Milcho, Milchon, or as some- times called, Miliac, or Milcon mac Cubuain. ^^ The Confession of St. Patrick affords- no clue to his rank, circumstances, or profession ; for, in it, that person for whom he wrought, during the six years of his captivity, is merely called a man. ^9 Some writers relate, that he was a Magus ; and, as
a consequence, devoted to Pagan superstitions. Again, he is called a king,7° orratheralittlepotentate,^'orchief,wholivedinDaleradia. 7^ Heisrepre- sented, as having been a harsh man. Patrick was obliged to herd flocks or cattle,73 according to his own Confession while other accounts have 7+
; it, that the saint was entrusted, with the care of a drove of hogs. 75 These
animals were probably roving through the mountains, vallies, or woods, and feeding on acorns, roots, grass, or whatever else might fall in their way. 7^
and the— our Jocelyn,77 Tripartite,7S
Milchuo's
By appointment, according
to
saint was condemned to the servile task of keeping swine a very menial
employment for such a tenderly-reared boy. According to hi—s own words, the holy youth spent his time, on a mountain in Hibernione as he con- stantly writes the name of our island. The truest and most reliable version of the captivity, to which St. Patrick had been subjected, may best be gleaned
^'
served this master for four years, in the most laborious manner.
^' See " Confessio S. Patricii," p. 6. Ware's edition.
""
Cuboin Magus. " See Usshcr's Primor- was on his arrival in Ireland, apud quem-
dia," cap. xvii. , p. 829.
*3 See the Fourth Life, cap. xv.
'^ See Fiach's Hymn, strophe 3, p. I, and n. df. , p. 4. Also the Second Life has
See Fiech's Hymn, strophe 3, p. i.
The Tripartite Life has a similar statement.
See lib. i. , cap. xvii. , p. 119.
*' "
Tirechan writes : Cothirthiac servivit
quatuor domibus Magorum ; et empsit ilium
unus ex eis, cui nomen erat Miliuc Mac families. But, he relates, that St. Patrick
it Quotirche, cap. xii. , p. 12. The Third king, called Milchon, ruling in the northern Life has Coithrige, cap. xiii. , p. 22. The part of the island. See " Sexta Vita S.
Fourth Life has Quadriga, cap. xv. , p. 37. The Seventh Life has Cothraige, lib. i. , cap.
xvii. , p. 119.
^5 The Second Life states, that the saint,
being brought into the Dailaraidian country, served four substantial masters, with all the devotedness of his heart. One of them
Patricii," cap. xiii. , p. 67.
7^ Fiech's Scholiast states, that he was
called Michul, or Milchuo, the son of Hua Euan, and king over nortliern Dal-aradia.
named Miliuc,
"a or " part,"
that he was a faithful servant, bought St. Patrick from the other
and from a Aradius,
seeing
portion,"
King of Ultonia, belonging to the race of
masters, to serve himself alone. See Se- Fiach. See n. 18, p. 8.
cunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xii. , p. 12.
^ Dr. Todd has a paper on the meaning
"
Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. vi. , p. 292. See Miss Cusack's "Life of St. Patrick,
Apostle of Ireland," p. 376. Here, there is a
73 He says, "quotidie pecora pascebam. " —"Confessio S. Patricii," cap. ii. , num. 6, p. 190.
' Thus, Harris very incorrectly makes St. Patrick state, that his constant business was to feed the hogs.
75 " Patricius cus- Jocelyn says, porcorum
todias mancipatur. "
7^ Unacquainted with this practice, which
is so general to this day in the old and
new world, Harris thought, perhaps, that the saint was employed feeding them in
troughs.
7' See Sexta Vita S. Patricii,cap. xiii. , p. 67. 7^ See pare, i. , cap. xviii. , p. 119. Col-
of this name, in the
in the Lives of manuscript Tripartite
hiatus,
the Bodleian and British Museum Libraries.
*7 Colgan observes, that in order to spell it correctly, the word should be, CcothirUgh, from Ceothir, four, and tegh, a house. See
"Trias Thaumaturga," Secunda Vita S. Patricii, n. 15, p. 17.
^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Appendix Secunda ad Acta S. Patricii, p.
196.
"Trias
Tirechan
states,
that St. Patrick
gan's
Thaumaturga. "
7" Probus says nothing about the four
dam — immitem gentilem regem
in servitute detentus. " " Quinta Vita S. Patricii," lib.
i. , cap. ii. , p. 51.
7' Jocelyn calls his master, a petty Pagan
"
p. 4. Dalaradia is the eastern and maritime
Prima Vita S. Patricii,"
See Scholia 8.
part of Ulster, taking its name from Dal,
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 491
from his own Confession. It has not been compHcated with those incidents, whichhavefoundinsertion,intheworksofsubsequentwriters. Thatmountain, where he tended flocks, is said to have been in Dalaradia. It is called Mis,79 at present Sliebh-mis,^° or Slieve Mish, a wild and an elevated peak, in the county of Antrim. ^' Here, he passed many an hour in solitude, but even then, heheldcommunionwiththeLord. ^^ TheloveandfearofGodgrewwithin him, while he felt not the traces of evil, nor of idleness, as Divine' Faith and the
Distant View of Slieve Mish, County of Antrim.
Holy Spiritfglowed through his soul. In devotion, and in the care of his salvation, St. Patrick exercised himself, bearing in patience God's own dis-
pensation. Frequently, during the day, did he prostrate himself in prayer, before God ; nearly one hundred times did he recite some form of entreaty,
on some special days, and nearly as often during the night. The spirit of the Lord was so fervent within him, that he arose before the dawn, to engage
in those pious exercises, even when frost, snow and rain covered the ground. ^3 Even then, psalms and hymns were frequently recited by the pious youth. ^+
Jocelyn goes still further ; for, he says, that St. Patrick, from a very early time of his life, used to read the Psalter every day. ^5 While enduring six years of oppressive captivity, the blessed saint, with incessant tears and fervent prayers, did not cease to solicit the Divine Majesty to procure his
'9 Near it was a valley, named Arcuil.
^^ The "et etiam in holy Apostle says,
silvis et monte manebam,—et ante lucem ex- "
80 To the Rev.
P. P. of
John Lynch, Ballymena, the writer is specially indebted
for procuring a photograph of Slieve Mis citabar ad orationem. " Confessio S.
Mountain, as seen from his library window, and at some distance. From the photograph
Patricii," cap. ii. , num. 6, p. 190. ^^ See ibid.
WilliamF. Wakeman question, produced
84 "
— enim et Frequenter psalmos hymnos
in
the accompanying illustration on wood, and it has been engraved by George A. Hanlon.
ruminabat. " Probus,' Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap. ii. , p. 51.
*' Fiech's Scholiast, n. See,
^2 See Sexta Vita S. 67.
9 i. , p. 4, and the Tripartite Life, lib, i. , cap. xix , p.
Patricii, cap. xii. , p.
492 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
freedom, and a return to his country, to his parents^^ and to his friends.
^'
No doubt, with these prayers were united petitions for his own deUverance, as also for the conversion of his master and of the Irish people. As re- garded his fasts, they were excessive for his time of youth, as he lived on roots, herbs, and such other coarse food, and even oftentimes, he supported life, without any corporal sustenance. ^^ Nor could the rigour of the seasons, inclemency of the weather, or any other circumstance, cause him, at any time, to intermit his devotional exercises.
The saint does not hesitate to aver, that when a boy, he had been care-
less, in reference to the fulfilment of his religious duties. ^9 But, in his state
of slavery and exile, this youth, of naturally good parts, reflected on his mis- spent time, and felt truly contrite for his former follies. Afflictions were the
salt, that preserved him from an indulgence in youthful pleasures, and they became a means for reviving the inspirations of Divine Grace, in his soul.
From his Confessions, we learn to appreciate that spirit of profound humility, through which he compares himself to a stone, lying deeply buried in the mud ; and, he was grateful to the Almighty, who afflicted liim, because he also received support in this affliction. 9° From such acknowledgments, we may best judge, what opinion must be formed concerning those recorded boyish miracles, attributed to St. Patrick,9' by some of his biographers. Be- fore his liberation from slavery, other miraculous occurrences are said to have
taken place. 9^ On a certain day, being engaged at prayer, according to one account, an angel, who is called Victor,93 appeared to him, and assured him, that his fasts and prayers had ascended before the sight of God, and that his release was very near. ? -* Then, in a dream one night, he heard a voice saying :
^ According to Jocelyn, St. Patrick re- turned "propriis parentibus," who were, following his account, then living.
dulous—while it should also extend, through
the captive's instrumentality, over our whole island. Again, the romantic story, that St. Patrick was destined for wedlock, with a female slave, whom he found to have been his sister, deserves not any serious recital. See the Second Life, cap. xv. , xvi. , p. 12 ; the Fourth Life, cap. xix. , xx. , p. 37 ; the Fifth Life, lib. i. , cap. xii. , p. 48 ; the Sixth Life,cap. xiv. ,p. 67; theSevenlhLife,lib.
*7 St. Patrick speaks of himself, as having
been an exile, at the extremity of the world,
as Ireland was thought to have been, accord-
ing to the geographic notions of that time.
He also speaks of his family, as living far
away from Ireland, and this seems inconsis-
tent with the supposition, that he had been
captured in Scotland, or that his family had i. , cap. XX. , xxi. , p. 120. Milcho is said to
returned there, at any time during his cap-
tivity.
*^ To this privation, the Hymn of St.
Fiach alludes : niAiffe 'ooine iii]Xoinil-e'o.
"
human food he ate it not. " See "Irish Ecclesiastical Record,"
have had a son, afterwards St. Guasacht, Bishop of Granard, whose feast occurs at
the 24th of January ; and his two daughters, each called Emeria, are said to have had a festival on the 1st or on the nth of Decem- ber. See Sexta Vita S. Patricii, nn. 36, 37, p. 100. Also, Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 269.
93 Thus do we find the circumstance re-
lated, in St. Fiach's Hymn, -Afbe^c Uiccoix
It is thus Englished,
vol. iv. , pp. 284, 285, and nn. ii, 12.
^9 See Father Villanueva's
"
Sancti Pa-
tricii, Ibernorum Apostoli, Synodi, Canones, Opuscula," &c. Confessio S. Patricii, cap. i. , num. i. , p. 184.
bus, do not make mention regarding them. 9^ One of these seemingly fanciful inven- tions is the story of Milchuo desiring Patrick to interpret his dream, in which the master's children and his house seemed to be con- sumed to ashes, himself alone escaping from
flM 5niAt) mil, eoncefi-et) ]^Ol^ connA,
9° num. See ibid. ,
which is slave :
" Victor said to '"
188.
9' Fiech's Hymn, the Scholiast, and Pro-
Milcho's Go thou over the sea. ' See Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. , pp. 284, 285, and nn. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19. 9* The Scholiast adds, that he came to him in the form of a bird. See Vita Prima S. Patricii, n. 9, p. 4. "Trias Thauma- turga. " We find the same account, in the
5, p.
Englished,
it, while the flames spread through all the Tripartite Life, lib. i. , cap. xix. , p. 120, rest of Ireland ; and, the interpretation ibid. It is coupled with a statement, that given by Patrick, that the saint was the saint was accustomed to enjoy daily and to spread —the flame of Faith in Milcho's familiar conversations, with that aiigcl. The
household himself only remaining incre- Second Life calls the angel Victoricus and j
*'
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 49S
"
Well dost thou fast, and soon shalt thou return to thy country. " 95 Again, after a little time, he heard an answer given to him, and intimating, that the ship was ready, nor was it near, being distant about two hundred miles. 9^
He never had been in that
socalledfromitsbasalticrock onwhicha wasshown9^ isheld,intradition,tohavebeenthatidenticalspot,whereSt. Patrick heard the angel Victor's advice. 99 Here, in after time, and probably to commemorate his miraculous release, St. Patrick built a church,'°° and it became a famous place for pilgrimages. Jocelyn has furnished a picturesque description of the Angel, Victor, who appeared to our saint, under a human form. He also relates a part of the conversation, which took place. This angel declared, that St. Patrick was peculiarly deputed to his custody, while on all occasions the angel would be ready to relieve and assist the unfriended captive. Moreover, this heavenly messenger told him, that at the nearest
haven, there was a ship, bound for Britain, and which by God's appointment could not have a favourable wind, without his embarking in it. '°^ Then, this angel—by some called Victoricius or Victoricus'°*—directed our saint to a place, which the swine are said to have rooted up, and where he was to find a sum of gold, wherewith to pay his ransom. '°3 This treasure he found, and with it, he purchased freedom from his master. Next did he hasten to the port, where the ship awaited his arrival.
Following the Confession and various other accounts, Patrick remained a slave for six years,'"-* and during this time,'°5 spent in a foreign country, he
the Third Life calling him Victor, follow
inhabitants. — Skerry,? ^
nor had he — its place, any knowledge, regarding
St. Fiech's Hymn. See ibid. , cap, xiv. , p.
12, and cap. xiv. , p. 22. The Fourth Life
also introduces tlie angel Victor, as acting mains, it wears not away. " See Irish on that occasion. See Quarta Vita S.
Patricii, cap. xviii. , p. 37, ibid. It seems
strange, that Dr. Lanigan says, the author of 99
this Life does not give the angel's name. But, it is most probable. Dr. Lanigan meant the Fifth or Probus' Life, to which his re- mark would fairly apply.
angle of the church is a patch of rock, on
the edge of which is a depression, having a
faint resemblance to the print of a shoe, which the Ord. Survey agreeably to the ancient tradition notices as "St. Patrick's footmark. "—" S. 33. " See Rev. William
95 St. Patrick does not state in his Con-
fession, where this vision took place ; but,
in Tirechan's collections, it is said to have Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of occurred, at the mountain Scirte, recte,
now beside Slemish. The Skerry,
'°° The ecclesiastical ruins here are de-
scribed, in the work already noticed. Ibid. "" "
Scirre,
print of the Angel Victor's foot remained there, almost to the day when Tirechan wrote. See Sir William Betham's work, "Antiquarian Researches," pp. 349, 384.
erat prope, sed forte hababat ducenta millia
passuum. "—Confessio S. Patricii, p. 6. See Ware's edition.
97 The townlands of Skerry East and of Skerry West are in the parish of Kilconway, and in the barony of Newtovm Crommelin.
See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xv. , pp. 67, 68.
9* " Ecce navis tua parata est ; et non
serving, that the author of the Fourth Life,
who gives no name to the angel, calls the
man, that appeared, as if coming from Ire- land, not Victoricius but Victor, in cap. xxv. The reverse of this mistake occurs, in the Second Life, cap. xiv. , where the angel is
See "Ecclesiastical
are shown on the ' ' Ordnance
Townland Maps for the County of Antrim,"
Sheet 24. The parish of Skerry, however,
and to which allusion here occurs, is in the an account. See n. 9 i. , p. 4. The Second barony of Lower Antrim. See Sheets 24,
25, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33. Ibid. The Tripar-
tite Life calls this place Schirec Archaile,
lib. i. , cap. xxii. , p. 120.
They
Survey
Ireland,"
vol. sect, i. , chap, iv. ,
9^ To this legend, allusion seems to be made,
Life, cap. xvii. , p. 12 ; the Third Life, cap. xiv. , p. 22 ; the Fourth Life, cap. xxi. , pp. 37» 38 ; the Sixth Life, cap. xvi. , p. 68 ; the Seventh Life, lib, i. , cap. xxii. , p. 120 ; all relate this legend.
in St. Fiech's a Hymn : IToi^T^u'b
choif fo^-
"* So states the
Hymn
of St. Fiach
: 1)ai
|\inT) teicc, tiiA]AAic &. e\ in bi\onnA.
