No More Learning

be observed, that " non " was wanting in the Armagh MS. of the Confession, con- suited by Sir James Ware. See his marginal
^ Qf such men, St. Patrick unprincipled
cap. xxix. , p. 121.
^ See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
502 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
intendedforhisinstructionwasGaul. 9 Here,itwouldseem,hehadavery
remarkable vision, which indicated the will of heaven, in reference to his
future Apostolate. The saint himself relates it, as occurring after his return
to his parents. Then, one night, he had a clear revelation of that glorious
mission,forwhichhewasdestined. Hebeheld,inavision,amanpresentinga
comely appearance, as we are told in his Confessions. He is called Victri-
cius,'° or in some texts, Victor," or Victorious. " This ghostly visitant
seemed to bring many letters from Ireland. 's Giving St. Patrick one to read,
our holy Apostle recognised a proof of God's Providence, for his future
direction. When he began to read this letter, he found written, in the very
"
beginning of it :
Hasc est vox Hibernigenarum," which may be interpreted
in English, "This is the voice of the Irish nation. " ^4 Having read this
opening announcement, and intending to go on with the rest, it seemed to
Patrick, that he understood in spirit, how the Irish people, from the wood of roclut,'S near the western sea, cried out to*him with a loud voice :^^ " We
522. This event is referred by them to A. D. 398. They have even recounted a third captivity, at Bordeaux.
* See " Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
vol. i. , chap, iv. , sect, x. , p. 159.
9 See "Scholia Veteris Scholiastre," nn.
9/. , 10 >^, pp. 4, 5.
'° we here understand St. Perhaps may
time of our saint's escape, and he is said to have been a French Briton.
'3 It has been appropriately remarked, that this passage, from a very authentic
period of antiquity, strongly supports the claim of the Irish to an early knowledge of the art of writing. See Mrs. M. C. Ferguson's " of the Irish before the
Story Victricius, who was a great missionary of 134-
Conquest," p.
the Morini, at the end of tlie fourth century, ^* and he afterwards became Bishop of Rouen.
''
Rogamus te sancte puer, ut venias et
See
Malbrancq,
" De Morinis. " lib. ii.
Patricii," Ware's edition. It would
Again, Franciscus Pommerseus, in his His-
tory of the Bishops of Rouen, says, that St.
Victricius was also sometimes called Victorl- cus and Victoricius. He had been preceded, as
an Apostolic man, by St. Victoricius, who suffered martyrdom, with Saints Fuscien
and Firmin, at Amiens, in the year 286.
" A favourite disciple of St. Martin, and
p. 9,
seem, that instead of "puer," some of the
called Victor, was sent to St. Paulinus of infants. See Scholia Veteris Scholiastae,"
Nola. See S. Paulini Nolani "Opera," n. 15, p. 5. The Fourth Life, cap. xxv. , p. """
Epistola xxiii. , in the Patrologise Cursus 38, for sancte puer," has sancte Patrici,"
Complctus" of J. P. Migne, vol. Ixi. Paris, 1847, See, also, the two epistles of St. Vic- tricius, who with St. Martin persuaded Paulinus to withdraw from the world. Mr. John Cashel Hoey has a suspicion, that the disciple of St. Victricius, named in these
now as Paschasius, now as
epistles, — Tytichus,
printed, but there being no doubt, as the
BoUandists say, that the —two names refer to
oneandthesameperson mayhavebeenin
reality St. Patrick. St. Paulinus refers to
the accounts he had heard from this young
priest, regarding the anxiety of St. Victricius,
for the evangelization of the most remote 8. 110 bo chobAi^ Tjont) e^inn ciclini parts of the globe, and then speaks of him as
Hymn
or Tytius the name being evidently mis- vision alluded to, in these lines following :
—
a disciple, in every way worthy of his master:
pAC^AAic ]:oi\ochlA'o ;
Uo clof ciAn i^on a ^a^wia, iiiac
"
dam virtutum gratiarumque tuarum lineas
In cujus gratia et humanitate, quasi quas-
velut speculo reddente collegimus. "—Epis- tola xvii.
" The person, referred to in the Confession, more probably is St. Victricius, who was an exact contcmporai7 of St. Patrick. He was
engaged op the piissio^i of Boulogne, at the
adhuc ambules inter nos. "—" Confessio S.
"" old writers read pueri," as if it were, we,
boys, intreat thee, O saint. " St. Fiach's
Hymn, strophe 8, p. i, the Third Life, cap. XX. , p. 22, Probus, lib. i. , cap. xviii. , p. 48, and the Tripartite Life, lib. i. , cap. xxx. , p. 121, speak of the voice, as if it came from
children. Some of the accounts have it "
and so has Probus. See lib. i. , cap. xviii. ,
p. 48.
'5 The Scholiast says, that it was in Hy-
Amalgaidh, now Tirawley, in the county of
"
'° In the of St. Fiach, we see this
Mayo. See n. 15, p. 5-
Scholia Veteris Scholiastse,"
7. "Oochuin ne^enn •oot)i:eci]', ^Mngil t)e
hipchip
memcc Acchichi hi ppb, •oopuc^Tct)
;
^AAioe CAitle pochtAt). They are thus Englished :—
7. "To Ireland he was brought back in visions by the angels of God :
Often was he in vision solicited to return thither again,
A]\ichip.
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 503
pray thee, O holy youth Patrick, that thou come, walk among us and set us free. " ^^ The saint could not read any further, but awaking out of sleep, he
was sensibly touched with the earnest prayer of those unbaptized persons. ^^ HerenderedthankstoGod. Byreasonofthisvision,hewaspersuadedthat our Lord called him to convert the Irish nation. Its inhabitants seemed to crave and most earnestly to desire his presence, and he longed to return as a missionary of the people, among whom he had lived as a slave. ^9 Being desirous to know further the Divine pleasure, touching this matter, he con- sulted his own heart, his relations and friends, while he had special recourse to God, in prayer. A union of influences confirmed his devout purposes. By the Angel Victor, the Almighty commanded him to prepare himself for a seminary of ecclesiastical discipline, there to be trained up in Christian learn-
ing and piety.
In almost all his biographies, the saint is said to have been a nephew to
St. MartinofTours. ^° ThisfineoldcityofFranceisontheRiverLoire,in
the present Department of Touraine. ^^ As generally believed, by various writers, St. Martin was a near relation to our Irish Apostle. This, if true, was probably an additional inducement for his parents to entrust their child, during his tender years, to the care of teachers, who had been St. Martin's dis- ciples. Although stated to have been a Celt of Pannonia, during his military and early ecclesiastical career, Martin was certainly stationed, at one time, in ornearBoulogne. Thewell-knownlegend,aboutdividinghiscloakwiththe beggar, is alleged to have taken place, at Amiens. It is recorded, that he was baptized at Therouanne, where the first church was raised to his honour. The principal missionaries, in that district, are said to have been his disciples. Evidently the people there entertained a deep devotion towards
8.
"
Salvation to Ireland was the comeing of Patrick to Fochlaidh ;
Afar was heard the sound of the ca 1 of the youths of Caill Fochladh.
iii.
,< ^ prayerful youth of Slemish hill ! f^^^l -^^ ^^^ ^/^^^e ^nd might of Rome ! Comewith the psalm that charmsfrom ill- Cross-bearer ! Christ-preparer ! come ! "
'^ of the Irish Pagan youth, the Speaking
Hymn of St. Fiech says :—
'Z^'o&. -ca-^ cocirrAT) mnoeb, xXiAAmmchii^eT) lechu,
-A^" cincAi\i\A'o ochloen, CUAchA he|\enn t'O beclni,
These lines are thus Englished :—
••
—<(T1,1? 1 ^-1Ti J. > 1
"Irish Ecclesiastical Record, vol. iv,, pp. 284 to 287.
•7 This
well-remembered tradition has
been elegantly rendered into English verse,
by Thomas D'Arcy M'Gee. It will be found, in the edition of his collected poems, admirably edited, by Mrs. Sadlier. This piece headed, " St. Patrick's Dream," first appeared in the Nraj York Tablet, and it is dated Montreal, March, 1868, a short time previous to the author's tragic death. The scene of this vision, however, is placed in
the cell of St. Martin's Monastery, at Tours. 9- We can only quote, here, from the poem, those — to this
"
They prayed that the saint would come, that he would return from Letha, To convert the people of Erin from
error to life. "
lines, referring
passage,
as
given in the text
:
I.
~"Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. ,
"-
^°"^ ^TnVtlllf^r^' PT^/ordained-
l^P'^ff^ Jj^^- ^ Ferguson's Story of the Irish before the Conquest," p. 134.
. 0 Hugh of Kirkstead relates, that St.
p^^rick was St. Martin's nephew, and by
St. Martin initiated to a religious life. See
^'" ^'•e morning, orient-stained,
si"gi"g ; Thy Mass-bell thro our valleys ringing,
cCoImZe ! frno^m theSr. "'
'• Man of the hooded hosts, arise !
"
=' The accompanying illustration, from a
our souls lie
Hear o'er the seas our piteous cries, On thee and on thy God relying I
—
has been drawn on the wood, by William F. Wakeman, and it was
!
Physician, lo dying
French photograph, engraved by Mrs. Millard,
Ussher's
Works," vol. vi. , p. 393.
504 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
him. Even yet, there are abundant evidences," to establish this statement. St. Martin^3 died a year or two after the death of Pope Siricius,^* or about the beginning of the fifth century. As to what has been said, regarding our saint going to St. Martin,^5 it cannot be understood personally of this holy
The Bridge and City of Tours, France.
bishop, who for some years had been already dead. ^^ Wherefore, the Bol- landists have remarked, it must be applied to St. Martin's monastery, accord- ing to a manner of speaking, often occurring in ecclesiastical documents. ^7 It
"*
Of the 420 churches, comprised in the Life, lib. i. , cap. xiv. , p. 48. Jocelyn says,
ancient diocese of Boulogne, 82 had St.
Martin for patron.
We also find several
there dedicated to the Irish St. Maclou and
St. Kilian. Yet, strange to say, not one lias
our saint lived some time, with the Blessed Archbishop Martin. See Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxii. , p. 66. Also, the Tri- partite Life, pars, i. , cap. xxxii. , pp. 121,
been dedicated to St. Victricius. —See 122. These two latter authorities place his
"
Histoire des Eveques de Boulogne," par
stay at Tours, after his visit to St. Ger-
manus. See Prima Appendix ad Acta S.
Patricii, pp. 194, 195.
^* Thus, the Second Life, and the Fiach,
M. I'Abbe E. Van Drival, published at
Boulogne, a. d. 1852.
'3 Ussher refers his decease to A. D.
401 ;
while Colgan places it in 402 or 403. In Fourth Life, have no mention of him, as our
his notes to the Roman Martyrology, Baro- saint's instructor. Harris states, that St.
nius assigns very cogent reasons, for having Patrick, after his second captivity, spent it, at A. D. 402. It was on the night of the about two years with his parents. See lith of November, that St. Martin of Tours Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Archbishops of
happily went to bliss.
A. D.
This second captivity is
and he then
"
""• He on the 26th of departed,
Armagh," p. 9. placed by Ussher, adds —
November, See Rohrbacher's "Histoire
at A. D. "post paucos annos,
397,
in Britanniam ad
398.
Universelle de I'Eglise Catholique," tome vii. , p. 372.
"Index Chrouologicus,
*5 Some of St. Patrick's
that immediately after he landed in Gaul, he
became the disciple of St. Martin. Thus, have been rightly understood, by Probus,
and by some other writers.
^^
monk had been very remarkable, or when permission had been obtained, to ordain a
the two Rheims Breviaries, following the statement of Probus, have such an account.
biographers state,
=7 Thus we ad S. say,
Petrum,
;
As when the learning and sanctity of a studied with St. Germanus. See the Fifth monk for monastic services. The bishops
The Third Life, cap. xxi. , xxii. , pp. 22, 23, postpones this instruction, until he had first
parentes rediit. "
at A. D. cccxcvii. , p. 513.
for Rome but, this mode of expression seems not to
March 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 505
is very probable, that St, Patrick had been initiated into the ecclesiastical
state solely, while at Tours. This seems consistent, likewise, with his future
proceedings. Generally speaking, at this early period, the duties of a cleric
andofamonkweredeemedincompatible; although,inexceptionalcases,both professions were found united. ^^ St. Eusebius of Vercelli first introduced
collegiate monasteries into the Western Church. ^9 In these, a bishop usually
lived, in common with some of his clergy, or with persons, who separated from the world. Here, also, young men were educated and prepared for the
sacredministry. Certainrules,resemblingthoseofregularmonasteries,were observed in such houses, and therefore they were often confounded with monastic establishments, and so denominated. St. Martin appears to have been a great promoter of those educational institutes, which he brought into Gaul. 3° We have a description of his establishment, which was partly a monastery, strictly speaking, and partly a college or seminary, for the educa- tionofecclesiasticalstudents. St. Martinhadacelltohimself,andsomeof hisbrethrendweltincells,excavatedinthemountain. 3^ Variousobservances of strict discipline, such as abstinence from wine, were followed. The coarsenessoftheirdressisnoticed; and,itisremarked,thatitwaswonderful to see how the monks submitted to their monastic rules, particularly as several of them belonged to noble families. Many of these religious, after- wards,wereelevatedtotheepiscopalrank. Here,wehaveanexactpicture ofanecclesiasticalseminary,unitedtoamonastery. St:Augustinepresided over a nearly similar institution. s^ He and his clergy seemed to have every- thing in common, while they lived in the same house. 33
I'he illustrious Archbishop of Tours, St. Martin, had established, near that city, his celebrated Monastery of Marmoutier,34 in the midst of a desert. It was enclosed, between the Loire's right bank, and scarped rocks, which over- look the course of that river. It could only be entered, through a very narrow pathway. There, the holy Bishop Martin inhabited a cell, which had been made of interlaced branches. It was like that one, which he had for too short a time, occupied at Lignge. Those eighty monks, whom he had collected there, for the most part, dwelt in very small caves, hollowed in the rock, while they were attired in camel-skins. Among them, many noble Gauls dwelt. These were afterwards drawn from their retreat, to be conse-
crated bishops, like St. Martin himself, and much against their own desire. 35
The earliest transactions of St. Patrick are those most confused or miscon-
ceived,byhisbiographers; andtheyareconsequentlymostperplexingtothe modern writer, or reader, who seeks an order and a congruity, in their relation.
rarely conferred Holy Orders on men, de- voted to regular religious observances. St.
''
Alia monachorum est causa, alia cler—icorum : clerici pascunt oves, ego
xlix. De Diversis.
^^ See Possidius, in Vita S. Augustini,
cap. xxv.
^4 ij ^y^s only a little while before the
death of the holy Bishop of Tours, that the future apostle of southern Scotland, St. Ninian, returned from Rome, and became an inmate of the monastery of Marmoutier. See " Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iii. Notes on the Life of St. Patrick, sect. ii. No. 28.
Jerome says,
pascor. " "Opera," Epistola I. liodorum.
Ad He-
°9 See St. Ambrose "Opera," Epistola Ixxxii. Ad Ecclesiam Vercellce.
3° See Cardinal Baronius' " Annales Ec- clesiastici," at a. d. 328. Num. 22.
—" :
3" Sulpicius Severus thus writes
cipuli vero octoginta erant, qui ad exem-
plum beati magistri instituebantur. " Again, Moines d'Occident," tome i. , liv. iii. , p. he says, "Nemo ibi quidquam proprium 228. Theaccompanying view of Marmoutier habebat. " He also observes, " Ars ibi, ex- Abbey, taken from an accurate French en- ceptis scriptoribus, nola habebatur, cui graving, has been drawn on the wood, by
tamen operi minor actasdeputabatur. "—See "De Vita S. Martini," cap. vii.
William F. Wakeman. It was engraved by Mrs. Millard. This gives a fair idea of
its present appearance.
3" See S. Augustini "Opera," Sermo,
Dis-
January, 1867, p. 195.
35 See Le Comte de Montelambert's
"
Les
5o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 17.
Thus, while some accounts^^ state, that on a certain occasion, Patrick visited St. Martin, and in due reverence remained with him, for forty days,37 other writers assign a residence of four yearSj^^ for him, at Tours. Probus^s adds, that he had received tonsure, and perhaps some minor orders, in this place. *" Indeed, St. Patrick's promotion to the priesthood is placed by Probus several years later/' Some writers have stated, that the future Aposde embraced a
Abbey of Mannoutier, France.
rule of regular discipline, at this time ;*' however, there seems to be no valid reason for supposing, that he intended to become a monk,*3 in this, or in any
other, institution. His sole object, in entering that house, and remaining in it, was to prosecute his studies, with the advantage of receiving a religious
education,inamonastery. Therecords,ofourApostle'slife,duringhisstay at Tours, commemorate very few incidents. It has been mentioned, more-
over, that his actions corresponded with the habit of his holy profession, while he perseveringly devoted himself to the practice of monastic austeri-
3* These are said to be, according to Irish
books. See Ussher's "Works," vol. vi. ,
of his times, that St. Patrick was not even a
p. 391- states, capite
37 An old copy of the Tripartite Life and
in John of Tinmuth. See Ussher's " Pri-
mordia," cap. xvii. , p. 834. The same writer quotes some corroborative pieces, and he alludes to an ancient Life of St. Patrick.
3* See the Third Life, cap. xxii. , p. 22.
Probus agrees with this account. See lib.
i. , cap. xiv. , p. 48. See, likewise, the
Rheims Breviaries, lect. v. , vi. Prima Ap-
pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, pp. 194, 195.
changed, moreover, in the Tripartite Life, "
"
39 This writer calls our saint simply a clericus," meaning, according to the style
Vita S. Patricii," pars, i. , cap. xxxii. , p. 121.
« The First, Second, Third and Fourth Lives have nothing about it.
deacon. See lib. i. , cap. xiv. , p. 48.
*" This wTiter " tonso ordi- natus est ab eo in clericum, et tenuit lectio-
nem et doctrinam ab eo.