November 11 — Saint Martin of Tours

" Tours ; and soon afterwards built, at a little dis- " tance from the town, a second Ligug£, under the " name of Marmoutier or the great monastery" 1

The holy Liturgy refers to St. Hilary the honour of the wonderful virtues displayed by Martin. 2 What were the holy bishop's reasons for leading his heaven-sent disciple by ways then so little known in the West, he has left us to learn from the most legitimate heir of his doctrine as well as of his eloquence. " It has ever been," says Cardinal Pie, " the ruling idea of all the Saints, that, side by side " with the ordinary ministry of the pastors, obliged " by their functions to live in the midst of the world, " the Church has need of a militia, separated from " the world and enrolled under the standard of evan- " gelical perfection, living in self-renunciation andobe- " dience, and carrying on day and night the noble and " incomparable function of public prayer. The most "illustrious pontiffs and the greatest doctors have " thought, that the seoular clergy themselves could "never be better fitted for spreading and making " popular the pure doctrines of the Gospel, than if " they could be prepared for their pastoral offioe by " living either a monastic life, or one as nearly as "possible resembling it. Read the lives of the " greatest bishops both in East and West, in the " times immediately preceding or following the peace " of the Church, as well as in the middle ages : they " have all, either themselves at some time professed " the monastic Hfe, or lived in continual contaot "with those who professed it. Hilary, the great " Hilary, had, with his experienced and unerring

1 Cardinal Pie, Homily pronounced on occasion of the re-establishment of the Benedictine Order at Liguge, Nov. 25 th 1853.

2 Hilarium secutus est Martinus, qui tantum illo doctore profecit, quantum ejus postea sanctitas declaravit. In festo S. Hilarii, Noct. II, Lect. ii.

" glance, perceived the need ; he had seen the plaoe " that should be occupied by the monastic Order in " Christendom, and by the regular clergy in the " Churoh. In the midst of his struggles, his oom- " bats, his exile, when he witnessed with his own " eyes the importance of the monasteries in the East, " he earnestly desired the time when, returning to " Gaul, he might at length lay the foundations of " the religious life at home. Providence was not " long in sending him what was needful for suoh an " enterprise : a disciple worthy of the master, a monk " worthy of the bishop." 1

Elsewhere, comparing together St. Martin, his predecessors, and St. Hilary himself in their common apostolate of Gaul, the illustrious Cardinal says : " Far be it from me to undervalue all the vitality " and power already possessed by the religion of " Jesus Christ in our divers provinces, thanks to the " preaching of the first apostles, martyrs, and bishops, " who may be counted back in a long line almost to " the day of Calvary. Still I fear not to say it : the " popular apostle of Gaul, who converted the country " parts, until then almost entirely pagan, the founder "of national Christianity, was principally St. " Martin. And how is it that he, above so many " other great bishops and servants of God, holds such "pre-eminence in the apostolate? Are we to place " Martin above his master Hilary ? With regard to " doctrine, certainly not ; and as to zeal, courage, " holiness, it is not for me to say which was greater, " the master's or the disciple's. But what I can say st is, that Hilary was chiefly a teacher, and Martin " was chiefly a thaumaturgus. Now, for the conver- " sion of the people, the thaumaturgus is more power- " ful than the teacher ; and consequently, in the

1 Cardinal Pie, ubi supra,

" memory and worship of the people, the teacher is " eclipsed and effaced by the thaumaturgus.

" Now-a-days there is much talk about the neoes- " sity'of reasoning in order to persuade men as to the "reality of divine .things: but that is forgetting " Scripture and history ; nay more, it is degenerating. " God has not deemed it consistent with his Majesty " to reason with us. He has spoken ; he has said " what is and what is not ; and as he exacts faith in " his word, he has sanctioned his word. But how " has he sanctioned it P After the manner of God, " not of man ; by works, not by reasons : non in ser~ " mone 9 sed in virtute, not by the arguments of a hu- " manly persuasive philosophy : non in persuasibilibus " hurnance sapientice verbis, but by displaying a power " altogether divine : sed in ostensiane spiritus et virtutis. "And wherefore? For this profound reason: Ut "fides non sit in sapientia hominum, sed in virtute Dei ; " that faith may not rest upon the wisdom of man, " but upon the power of God. 1 But now men will " not have it so : they tell us that in Jesus Christ the " theurgist wrongs the moralist ; that miracles are a " blemish in so sublime an ideal. But they cannot " reverse this order ; they cannot abolish the Gospel, "nor history. Begging the pardon of the learned " men of our age and their obsequious followers : not " only did Christ work miraoles, but he established " the faith upon the foundation of miracles. And " the same Christ, — not to confirm his own miraoles, " which are the support of all others ; but out of " compassion for us, who are so prone to forgetful* " ness, and who are more impressed by what we see " than by what we hear, — the same Jesus Christ has " placed in his Churoh, and that for all time, the " power of working miracles. Our age has seen

1 1 Cor. ii. 4.

PENT. VU X

" some, and will see yet more. The fourth century 44 witnessed in particular those of St. Martin.

" The working of wonders seemed mere play to " him ; all nature obeyed him ; the animals were sub- 44 ject to him. 'Alas ! ' cried the Saint one day : *the " very serpents listen to me, and men refuse to hear " me.' Men, however, often did hear him. The 44 whole of Gaul heard him ; not only Aquitaine, but 44 also Oeltio and Belgio Gaul. Who could resist 44 words enforced by so many prodigies ? In all "these provinces he overthrew the idols one after " another, reduced the statues to powder, burnt or " demolished all the temples, destroyed the sacred 44 groves and all the haunts of idolatry. Was it " lawful ? you may ask. If I study the legislation 44 of Constantine and Constantius, perhaps it was. 44 But this I know : Martin, eaten up with zeal for " the house of the Lord, was obeying none but the " tipirit of God. And I must add, tnat against the " fury of the pagan population Martin's only arms " were the miracles he wrought, the visible assistance " of Angels sometimes granted him, and, above all, " the prayers and tears he poured out before God, " when the hard-heartedness of the people resisted 44 the power of his words and of his wonders. With 44 these means Martin changed the face of the country. 44 Where he found scarcely a Christian on his arrival, " he left scarcely an infidel at his departure. The " temples of the idols were immediately replaced 44 by temples of the true God ; for, says Sulpioius 44 Severus, as soon as he had destroyed the homes of 44 superstition, he built churches and monasteries. 44 It is thus that all Europe is covered with sanctua- 44 ries bearing the name of St. Martin." 1

1 Cardinal Pib, Sermon preached in the cathedral of Tours, on the Sunday following the patronal feast of St. Martin, Nov. 14 th , 1858.

His beneficial actions did not oease with his death ; they alone explain the uninterrupted concourse of people to his holy tomb. His numerous feasts in the year, the Deposition or Natalis, the Ordination, Subvention and Reversion, did not weary the piety of the faithful. Kept everywhere as a holiday of obligation, 1 and bringing with it the brief return of bright weather known as St. Martin's summer, the eleventh of No-> vember rivalled with St. John's day in the rejoicings it occasioned in Latin Christendom. Martin was the joy of all, and the helper of all.

St. Gregory of Tours does not hesitate to oall his "blessed predecessor the special patron of the whole world] 2 while monks and clerics, soldiers, knights, travellers and inn-keepers on account of his long journeys, charitable associations of every kind in memory of the cloak of Amiens, have never ceased to claim their peculiar right to the great Pontiff's benevolence. Hungary, the generous land which gave him to us, without exhausting its own provision for the future, rightly reckons him among its most powerful protectors. But to France he was a father : in the same manner as he laboured for the unity of the faith in that land, he presided also over the formation of national unity ; and he watches over its oontinuance. As the pilgrimage of Tours preceded that of Oompostella in the Church, the cloat of St. Martin 3 led the Frankish armies to battle even before the oriflamme of St. Denis. " How," said Clovis, " can we hope for victory, if we offend blessed Martin?" 4

1 Concil. Mogunt. an. 813, can. xxxvi. 2 Greg. Tur. De miraculis S. Martini, IV. in Prolog. 3 Et ubi erit spes victorise, si beatus

Whatever may have been the garment designated by this word chape, it gave to the oratory of the kings of France the name of chapelle, chapel, which has since passed into common use. 4

Martinus offenditur ? Greg. Tur. Historia Francorum, II. 37.

Let us read the account given by holy Church, who lingers lovingly over the last moments of her illustrious son, worthy as they are of all admiration.

Martinus, Sabariae in Pannonia natus, cum decimum attigisset annum, invitis parentibus ad Ecclesiam confugiens, in catechumenorum numerum adscribi voluit. Quindecim annos natus in militiam profectus, primum in Oonstantii, deinde Juliani exercitu militavit. Qui cum nihil haberet prater arma, et vestimentum quo tegebatur, Ambiani, pauperi ac nudo ab eo petenti, ut Christi nomine sibi eleemosynam tribueret, partem chlamydis dedit. Cui sequenti noote Christus dimidiata ilia veste indutus apparuit, hanc mittens vocem : Martinus catechumenus hac me veste contexit.

Decern et octo annos cum haberet, baptizatus est. Quare relicta militari vita, ad Hilarium Pictaviensem episcopum se contulit, a quo in acolythorum numerum redactus est. Post factus episcopus Turonensis monasterium sedificavit, ubi cum octoginta monachis sanctissime aliquamdiu vixit. Qui cum postea ad Candacensem vicum suae dioecesis in gravem febrim incidisset, assidua Deum oratione precabatur, ut se ex illo mortali car cere liberaret. Quern audientes discipuli, sic rogabant: Cur

Martin was born at Sabaria in Pannonia. When ten years old he fled to the church, against his parents' will, and had himself enrolled among the catechumens. At the age of fifteen he became a soldier, and served in the army first of Constantius and afterwards of Julian. On one occasion, when a poor naked man at Amiens begged an alms of him in the name of Christ, having nothing but his armour and clothing, he gave him half of his military cloak. The following night Christ appeared to him clad in that half-cloak, and said : Martin, while yet a catechumen has clothed me with this garment.

At eighteen years of age, he was baptized ; and abandoning his military career, betook himself to Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, by whom he was made acolyte. Later on, having become bishop of Tours, he built a monastery, where he lived for some time in a most holy manner, in company with eighty monks. He was seized with a violent fever at Cande, a village in his diocese ; and he earnestly besought God to free him from the prison of the body. His disciples hearing, asked him: Father, why dost thou abandon us P or to whom dost thou nos "pater deserisP cui nos miseros derelinquis P Quorum voce commotus Marti - nus, ita Deum orabat : Domine, si adhuc populo tuo sum necessarius, non recuso laborem.

Sed cum eum in ilia vehement* febre supinum orantem viderent discipuli, suppliciter ab eo petierunt, ut converso corpore tantisper, dum remitteret morbi ▼is, pronus conquiesceret. Quibus Martinus, Sinite me, inquit, coelum potius, quam terram aspicere, ut suo jam itinere iturus ad Dominum spiritus dirigatur. Instante jam morte, viso humani generis hoste : Quid, inquit, astas, cruenta bestia P nihil in me funeste reperies. Ea in voce, unum et octoginta annos natus, animam Deo reddidit: quam Angelorum chorus excepit, eosque divinas canentes laudes multi, in primisque sanctus Severinus Coloniensis episcopus, audierunt. leave us in our desolation P Martin, touched by their words, prayed to God in this manner : 0 Lord, if I am still necessary to thy people, I do not refuse to labour.

When his disciples saw him praying in the height of the fever, lying on his back, they besought him to turn over for a little while, that he might get some rest and relief. But Martin answered: Suffer me to gaze on heaven rather than earth, that my spirit, which is about to depart, may be directed on its way to our Lord. As death drew nigh, he saw the enemy of mankind, and exclaimed : What art thou doing here, thou cruel beast ? Thou wilt find no evil in me. While uttering these words he gave up his soul to God, at the age of eighty-one. He was received by a choir of Angels, whom many, and in particular St. Severinus Bishop of Cologne, heard singing the praises of God.

We here give the beautiful Antiphons of Vespers. The first five are oomposed of passages from the letter of Sulpioius Severus to Bassula, in which he relates the Saint's death, thus completing the book he had written of the Life of St. Martin, while the holy bishop was still on earth.

ANTIPHONS.

Dixerunt discipuli ad beatum Martinum : Our nos pater deseris, aut oui nos

The disciples said to blessed Martin : Whv father, dost thou abandon us r or to whom dost desolates relinquis ? Invadent enim gregem tuum lapi rapaces.

Domine, si adhuc populo tuo sum necessarius, non recuso laborem : fiat voluntas tua.

0 virum ineffabilem, nec labore victum, nec morte vincendum, qui nec mori timuit, nec vivere recusavit !

Oculis ac manibus in coelum semper intentus, invictum ab oratione spiritum non relaxabat. Alleluia.

Martinus Abrahse sinu laetus excipitur : Martinus, hie pauper et modicus, coelum dives ingreditur, hymnis coelestibus honoratur.

0 beatum virum, cujus anima paradisum possidet : unde exsultant Angeli, lsetantur Archangeli, chorus Sanctorum proclamat, turba Virginum invitat, Mane nobiscum in seternum.

0 beatum Pontificem, qui totis visceribus diligebat Christum Begem, et non formidabat imperii principatum : o sanctissima anima, quam etsi gladius persecutors non abstulit, palmam tamen martyrii non amisit. thou leave us in our desolation P For ravening wolves will rush upon thy flock.

Lord, if I am still necessary to thy people, I do not refuse the labour: may thy will be done.

O man beyond all praise ! neither conquered by labour, nor conquerable by death.; who neither feared to die, nor refused to live.

Ever intent with eyes and hands raised to heaven, he never relaxed from prayer his invincible spirit. Alleluia.

Martin is received with joyin Abraham's bosom : Martin here poor and humble, enters heaven rich, and is honoured with celestial hymns.

0 blessed man, whose soul is now in possession of Paradise ! Wherefore the Angels exult, the Archangels rejoice, the choir of the Saints proclaims his glory, the Virgins crowd around him saying : Bemain with us for ever.

0 blessed Pontiff, who, with his whole inmost being loved Christ the King, and feared not the power of the mighty ! 0 most holy soul, which, though not snatched away by the sword of the persecutor, did not forego the palm of martyrdom !

St. Odo of Cluny, one of the most illustrious and devout clients of St. Martin, composed the following hymn in his honour. The faithful will find in their Vesper books, in the Common of the Saints, the inore anoient hymn, Iste Con feasor ; it js sornewh^t altered from the original, which was intended to celebrate the miracles wrought at the tomb of this the first Saint not a martyr to be honoured by the whole Church.

HYMN.

Eex Christe, Martini decus,

Hie laus tua, tu illius : Tu nos in hunc te colere, Quin ipsum in te tribue. Qui das per orbis cardines,

Quod gemma fulget Prsesulum;

Da quos premunt culpse graves, Solvat per ineens meritum.

En pauper nic et modicus Coelum dives ingreditur ; Cceli cohortes obviant, Linguae, tribus, gentes ovant.

Ut vita, fulget transitus, Coelis et arvo splendidus ; Gaudere eunctis pium est, Ounctis salus sit hsec dies.

Martine, par Apostolis, Festum colentes tu fove ; Qui vivere discipulis Vis, aut mori, nos respice.

Fac nunc quod olim gesseras, Tu Praesules clarifica, Auge decus Ecclesise, Fraudes relide SatantB.

Qui ter chao eyisceras,

0 Christ our King, Martin's glory, he is thy praise, and thou art his : suffer us to honour thee in him, yea and him in thee.

Thou who causest the jewel of Pontiffs to shine throughout the world; grant that through his exceeding great merit, he may deliver us who are oppressed by the weight of our sins.

Poor and humble here on earth, lo ! now he enters heaven abounding in riches; the celestial hosts come forth to meet him, and all tongues, tribes, and nations celebrate his triumph !

His death, like his life, was resplendent with light, a glory to earth and to heaven ; to rejoice thereat is the duty of all ; may this day be to all a day of salvation.

0 Martin, equal to the Apostles, succour us who keep thy feast; look upon us, 0 thou who wast willing alike to live for thy disciples or to die.

Do now what thou didst hero to fore: make Pontiffs illustrious in virtue, increase the glory of the Church, and frustrate the wiles of Satan. fhrice didst thou, despoil

TIMS AFTER PENTECOST.

Mersos reatu suscita : Diviseras ut chlamydem, Nos indue justitiam.

Ut speoialis glorise Quondam recorderis tuse, Monaetico nunc Ordini, Jam pene lapso, subveni.

Sit Trinitati gloria, Martinus ut conf essus est ; Cujus fidem per opera In nos et ipse roboret.

Amen. the abyss of its prey : raise up now those that are buried in sin. As once thou didst share thy mantle with another, clothe us with the garb of holiness.

Remembering what was once thy special glory, succour the monastic Order now well-nigh extinct.

Glory be to the holy Trinity, whom Martin confessed by his life; may he obtain that our faith in that mystery be confirmed by works. Amen.

Adam of St. Victor has conseorated to the holy Bishop of Tours one of his most enthusiastio pieceB.

SEQUENCE.

Gaude Sion, quae diem recolis,

Qua Martinus, compar

Apostolis, Mundum vincens, junctus coelicolis Ooronatur. Hie Martinus, pauper et modicus, Servus prudens, fidelis villi- cus,

Ooelo dives, civis angelicus

Sublimatur. Hie Martinus, jam catechumenus

Nudum vestit, et nocte protinus

In sequenti, hao veste Dominus Est indutus.

Hie Martinus, spernens militiam,

Jniniicis inermis obviam

Eejoice, 0 Sion, celebrating the day whereon Martin, equal to the Apostles, conquering the world, is crowned among the heavenly citizens.

This is Martin, poor and humble, the prudent servant, the faithful steward ; now rich, he is throned on high in heaven, a fellow-citizen of the Angels.

This is Martin, who, yet a catechumen, clothes the naked, and straightway the next night the Lord himself is covered with that garment.

This is Martin, who, despising the army, is ready to go unarmed and face the foe ;

Ire parat, baptismi gratiam

Assecutus. Hio Martinus, dum offert hostiam, Intus ardet per Dei gratiam : Supersedens apparet etiam

Globus ignis.

Hie Martinus, qui coelum reserat, Mari praeest et terris impe- rat,

Morbos sanat et monstra superat, Vir insignis. Hie Martinus nec mori ti- muit,

Nec vivendi laborem respuit,

Sicque Dei se totum tribuit

Voluntati. Hie Martinus, qui nulli nocuit,

Hie Martinus, qui cunctis profuit, Hie Martinus, qui trinse placuit Majestati. Hie Martinus, qui fana des- truit,

Qui gentiles ad fidem imbuit,

Et de quibus eos instituit,

Operatur. Hie Martinus, qui tribus mortuis Mentis dat vitam prseci- puis :

Nunc momentis Deum continuis

Oontemplatur. 0 Martine, pastor egregpe, 0 coele8tis consors militise, Nos a lupi defendas rabie

Ssevientis f for now he has obtained the grace of baptism.

This is Martin, who, while he offers the holy Victim, is all on fire within, through the grace of God, and lo ! a fiery globe appears resting above his head.

This is Martin, who opens heaven, gives orders to the sea, commands the earth, heals diseases, and vanquishes monsters : incomparable man !

This is Martin, who neither feared to die, nor refused to live and labour, thus abandoning himself entirely to the will of God.

This is Martin, who never injured any ; this is Martin, who was good and kind to all ; this is Martin, who was well-pleasing to the majestic Trinity.

This is Martin, who destroys the pagan temples, who initiates the nations to the faith, and what he teaches them does first himself.

This is Martin, who by his singular merits raises three dead men to life; he now beholds God for ever without intermission.

0 Martin, illustrious pastor, 0 soldier in the heavenly ranks, defend us from the fury of the ravening wolf.

TIMS AFTER PENTBCOST.

0 Martine, fao nunc quod 0 Martin, act once more as gesseras, thou didst of old ; offer to God

Deo preces pro nobis offe- thy prayers for us ; be mind-

Esto memor, quam num- forsake it never. Amen, quam deseras Tuse gentis. Amen.

0 holy Martin, have compassion on our depth of misery ! A winter more severe than that which caused thee to divide thy cloak now rages over the world ; many perish in the icy night brought on by the extinction of faith and the cooling of charity. Come to the aid of those unfortunates, whose torpor prevents them from asking assistance. Wait not for them to pray ; but forestall them for the love of Christ in whose name the poor man of Amiens implored thee, whereas they scarcely know how to utter it. And yet their nakedness is worse than the beggar's, stripped as they are of the garment of graoe, which their fathers received from thee and handed down to posterity.

How lamentable, above all, has become the destitution of France, which thou didst once enrich with the blessings of heaven, and where thy benefits have been requited with such injuries ! Deign to consider, however, that our days have seen the beginning of reparation, close by thy holy tomb restored to our filial veneration. Look upon the piety of those grand Christians, whose hearts were able, like the generosity of the multitude, to rise to the height of the greatest projects ; see the pilgrims, however reduced their numbers, now taking once more the road to Tours, traversed so often by people and kings in better days of our history.

Has that history of the brightest days of the Church, of the reign of Christ q,s King, oome to an, ras, end, 0 Martin ? Let the enemy imagine he has already sealed our tomb. But the story of thy mira^ oles tells us that thou canst raise up even the dead. Was not the catechumen of Liguge snatohed from the land of the living, when thou didst call him baok to life and Baptism ? Supposing that, like him, we were already among those whom the Lord remembereth no more, the man or the country that has Martin for protector and father need never yield to despair. If thou deign to bear us in mind, the Angels will come and say again to the supreme Judge : " This is the man, this is the nation for whom Martin "prays ;" and they will be commanded to draw us out of the dark regions where dwell the people without glory, and to restore us to Martin, and to our noble destinies. 1

Thy zeal, however, for the advancement of God's kingdom knew no limits. Inspire, then, strengthen and multiply the apostles all over the world, who, like thee, are driving out the remnants of infidelity. Restore Christian Europe, which still honours thy name, to the unity so unhappily dissolved by chism and heresy. In spite of the many efforts to the contrary, maintain thy noble fatherland in its post of honour, and in its traditions of brave fidelity. May thy devout clients in all lands experience that thy right arm still suffices to protect those who implore thee.

In heaven to-day, as the Church sings, the Angels are full of joy, the Saints proclaim thy glory, the Virgins surround thee saying : " Remain with us " for ever." 2 Is not this the continuation of what thy life was here on earth, when thou and the virgins vied with each other in showing mutual veneration ; when Mary their Queen, accompanied by Theola and

1 Stjlpit. Sever. Vita, vii. 2 Ant. ad Magnificat, in I Vesp.

Agnes, loved to spend long hours with thee in thy cell at Marmoutier, whioh thus became, says thy historian, like the dwellings of the Angels P 1 Imitating their brothers and sisters in heaven, virgins and monks, clergy and pontiffs turn to thee, never fearing that their numbers will cause any one of them to reoeive less ; knowing that thy life is a light sufficient to enlighten all ; and that one glance from Martin will secure to them the blessings of the Lord.

The soldier Mennas was a native of Egypt, and after his martyrdom became the protector of Alexandria. It is not a rare thing to find, even at this date, phials formerly brought by pilgrims to be filled with oil from the lamp burning before his tomb. Let us say with the Church :

PRAYER.

Prsesta qusesumus omnipotens Deus: ut qui beati Mennse Martyris tui natalitiacolimus, intercessione ej- Mennas tui nominis amore roboremur. Per Dominum. ened in

Grant we beseech thee, 0 Almighty God, that we who celebrate the festival of blessed thy martyr, may by us in his intercession be strengththe love of thy name.

Through our Lord.

1 Sulpit. Sever. Dialog. I.

November 12. SAINT MARTIN I.

POPE AND MARTYR.

While the concourse of pilgrims to the sepulohre of the Bishop of Tours induced his third successor Perpetuus, to raise over his precious remains the basilioa, in which so many prodigies were to be wrought all through the middle ages, Eome herself was dedicating to St. Martin one of her noblest churches, uniting with him as joint titular her own illustrious Pontiff and Confessor Sylvester. Adorned with thiB twofold glory, St. Martin-on-the-hill worthily inaugurated in the eternal City the cultus of Confessors side by side with that of the Martyrs. But another honour awaited the venerable sanctuary. Beside the wonder-working apostle and the pontiff of peace, both vanquishers of idolatory, who had escaped the Bword only through the conversion of the persecutors, the last of the martyr-popes, also Martin by name, came to seek a resting-place, long after the pagan persecutions had ceased. " Martin I., " says JBaronius, " fared better than any of his predecessors since " the time of Constantino. Found worthy to suffer "more than all of them for the Name of Jesus

" Christ, he had the good fortune to find a Deoius " and a Diocletian in a baptised prince." 1

The emperor thus stigmatised by the great annalist was Constans II. From his grandfather Heraclius, who at least had given the world a few years of glory, he inherited nothing but the Byzantine pretension of imposing his dogmatic edicts upon the Church. Like the Ecthesis of Heraclius, the Type of Constans aimed at silencing the Catholics in their struggle with the Monothelites. St. Leo II., on the 28 th June, has already initiated us into these oontests concerning the integrity of the two natures, divine and human, in the Man-God. Could the Church, without protesting, allow it to be said that her Spouse had taken from Adam a mere appearance of humanity, a half- formed nature without a will, such as the new sectaries imagined ?

More clear-sighted than Honorius, Martin I. understood the danger, and knew how to repair the past, while securing the future. Scarcely had he ascended the apostolic throne, when he gathered, in the Church of our Saviour, one of the most beautiful assemblies ever held there. " Sound the trumpet, " cry out upon the mountain ; soldiers of Q-od, " awake ! " 2 Thus from its very opening did the Lateran Council of 649, repair the fatal silence and avenge the Church's honour. On reading its splendid and ample definitions, which present to the world the Son of the Virgin Mother in all his adorable integrity, we are reminded of the solemn declaration in the pretorium on the great Friday : " Behold the " Man ! " only that this time it was proclaimed in triumph and by those who loved him. Truly, O Q-od our Saviour, thou art the most complete, the most perfect, the most beautiful of the sons of men.