Pastoral Rule, Dialogues & Letters 90

Lately in the province of Samnium a certain venerable man, Menas by name, led a solitary life, who, known to many of our people, died about ten years ago. Of the narration of his work I do not bring forward a single author, because there are almost as many witnesses to me of his life as there are men who have known the province of Samnium. This man, then, possessed nothing else for his own use save a few little vessels of bees. When a certain Lombard wished to make a plundering upon those same bees, he was first rebuked by the same man with a word, and presently was tormented by a malignant spirit before his very footsteps.

From which it came about that, just as among all the inhabitants, so also among that same barbarous nation his name was held famous, and no one any longer presumed to enter his cell save the humble. But often the bears, coming from the neighboring forest, tried to devour his bees: these, when he had caught them, he would beat with the rod which he was accustomed to carry in his hand. Before his blows the most savage beasts roared and fled; and those that could scorn swords greatly feared the strokes of the rod from his hand. His zeal was to have nothing in this world, to seek nothing; to kindle all who came to him for the sake of charity toward the desires of the eternal life.

But whenever he came to know the faults of any, he never spared from rebuke, but, kindled with the fire of love, strove vehemently to rage against them through his tongue. Now the dwellers of that place, whether near or far distant, had made it a custom that on each single day throughout the week every one of them should send him his offerings, so that there might be something which he himself could offer to those who came to him. But at a certain time a certain landowner, Carterius by name, overcome by an unclean desire, carried off a certain consecrated woman, and joined her to himself in unlawful matrimony. As soon as the man of the Lord came to know this, he sent word to him, through those whom he could, of what he had deserved to hear.

And when he, conscious of his own crime, was afraid, and by no means presumed to approach the man of God, lest perchance he should harshly rebuke him, as he was wont to do to offenders, he made his offerings and sent them in among the offerings of others, so that Menas might receive his gifts at least in ignorance. But when the offerings of all had been brought before him, the man of God sat in silence, took care to consider all of them one by one, and, choosing out all the others and setting them apart, he came to know through the spirit the offerings which the same Carterius had sent, and spurned and cast them away, saying: 'Go and tell him: You have taken away his offering from the Almighty Lord, and do you send me your offerings? I do not accept your offering, because you have taken away his own from God.'

From this it came about that great fear seized all who were present, since the man of the Lord judged so knowingly concerning those who were absent. PETER: I suppose that many of these men could have undergone martyrdom, if the time of persecution had found them. GREGORY: There are two kinds of martyrdom, Peter: one hidden, the other public. For even if outward persecution be lacking, the merit of martyrdom is present in secret, when a courage ready for suffering burns in the soul. That there can indeed be martyrdom even without open suffering, the Lord testifies in the Gospel, when to the sons of Zebedee, who through the weakness of their minds were still seeking the higher places of sitting, He says: 'Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?' (Matthew 20:22). And when they answered Him: 'We can';

He said to both: 'You shall indeed drink my cup; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to give to you' (ibid.). And what does the name of the cup signify, if not the draught of suffering? And since it is certain that James fell in his passion, whereas John rested in the peace of the Church, it is beyond doubt concluded that there is martyrdom even without open suffering, since he too was said to drink the Lord's cup who did not die from persecution.

But concerning such great men as these, whose memory I made mention of above, why should we say that they could have been martyrs if the time of persecution had arisen? They who, enduring the snares of the hidden enemy, loving themselves as adversaries in this world, resisting all carnal desires, through the very fact that they slew themselves before almighty God in their heart, were martyrs even in the time of peace; while it has come to pass that in our own days persons of low and worldly life, of whom nothing of heavenly glory seemed able to be presumed, when occasion arose, attained to the crowns of martyrdom.