Chapter 8. Interview of Tiburtius with St

Cecilia had maintained perfect silence during the dialogue between the brothers : the ardent zeal of Valerian had left her no time to speak, and besides, it was but proper that he should be the first to address his brother. But the virgin, who had been nourished from her childhood in the evangelical doctrine, understood much better than her husband, how to convert a Gentile from the errors of idolatry. Eecalling the arguments employed against idols, by the ancient prophets, the Christian apologists, and the martyrs, Cecilia thus spoke :

M I am astonished, Tiburtius, that thou hast not already understood that statues of clay, wood, stone, brass, or any other metal, cannot be gods. How can any one esteem as gods, vain idols, upon which spiders spin their webs, and birds build their nests?* Statues, composed of materials drawn from the earth by the hand of malefactors, condemned to the mines. Tell me, Tiburtius, is there any difference between a corpse and an idol ? A corpse has all its members,

• The Pagans surrounded the heads of their divinities with a nimbus to protect them from being injured by the weather, or by the birds of which Cecilia speaks. The nimbus, found in Egypt and among the Etruscans, at a later period, was considered a mark of veneration to the statue which it adorned ; but Tibullus and Horace speak of the nimbus in its original signification. Cecilia's invective is an additional proof of the antiquity of our acts.

yet it possesses neither breath, voice, nor feeling. An idol also has all its members, but those members are incapable of action, and, consequently, far inferior to those of a dead man. At least, during his life, the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, feet, and hands of the man, fulfilled their office; but the idol began with death, and remained dead ; it never lived, nor even had the power to live.'1*

Tiburtius, suddenly impressed with the emptiness of the idols before which he had offered incense, exclaimed : " Yes, it is so, and he who does not understand it, is upon a level with the brutes.f" Cecilia, overcome with joy at this reply, pressed to her heart the pagan who already commenced to see the light. 11 1 recognize thee as my brother !" she exclaimed. 11 The love of Christ has made Valerian my husband ; the contempt thou dost profess for idols, makes me truly thy sister. The moment has arrived when thou wilt believe ; go then, with thy brother, and receive the sacrament of regeneration. Thou shalt then see the angel, and obtain forgiveness for all thy sins."J

Tiburtius then turned to Valerian "who is the man to whom thou wilt conduct me?" " A great personage," replied Valerian ; " he is called Urban ;

• Acta S. Ccecilice.

\ Tunc cum omni alacritate Tiburtius ait : Qui ita non credit pecus est. Ibid,

X Hsec dicente Tiburtio, Sancta Coecilia osculato est pectus ejus, et dixit: hodie ineum te fateor vere esse cognatum ; sicut enim mihi amor Domini fratrem tuum conjugem fecit, ita te mihi cognatum contemptus faciet idolorum : unde quia paratus es ad credendum, vade cum fratre tuo ut purificationem accipias, per duam inerearis angelicos vuitus aspicere, et omnium tuarum veniam invenire culparum. Ibid, he is a venerable old man, with white hair, an angelic countenance, and whose conversation is full of truth and wisdom." " Can it be," said Tiburtius, "the Urban whom the Christians call their Pope? I have heard that he has already been twice condemned, and that he is concealed in some subterranean vaults, I know not where. If he be discovered, he will be cast to the flames, and if we are found with him, we will share his fate. Thus in recompense for seeking a divinity concealed in Heaven, we will suffer upon earth cruel torments."*

Although Tiburtius had learned to despise the idols, he did not yet contemn the sufferings of this world. Cecilia came to his assistance. "If this life were the only one," said she, " if there were no other, we would be reasonable in fearing to lose it; but if there be another life which will never end, should we dread losing that which is transitory, when at the price of this sacrifice, we shall win that which will last forever?"

Such language was very novel to a young man educated in the Eoman society of the III. century, a

• Tunc dicit fratri suo Tiburtius : Obsecro, frater, ut dicas mihi ad quern me ducturus es ? Respondit Valerianus : Ad magnum virum, Urbanum nomine, in quo est aspectus angelicus, et veneranda canities, sermo verus, et sapientia conditus. Dicit ei Tiburtius : Tu ilium Urbanum dicis, quern Papam suum Christiani nominant ? Hunc ego audivi jam secundo damnatum, et iteruin pro ipsa re qua damnatus est latebram sui proecavere fovendo ; iste si inventus fuerit, sine dubio atrocibus dabitur flammis, et, ut dicisolet, centenas exolvet, et nos simul cremabimur, si ad ilium fuerimus inventi, et dum qu 86 rim us divinitatem in coelis latentem, incurrimus furorem exurentem in terris. Acta S. Ccecilice.

society, remarkable alike for the most humiliating superstitious, a corruption of morals worthy of Heliogabalus, and all the aberrations of sceptical philosophy ; he therefore replied to the young virgin. " I have never heard such a doctrine; can there be another life after this!" "But," answered Cecilia, " is the life we possess in this world, worthy the name? After having been the sport of every suffering, both of soul and body, it terminates in death which puts an end to its pleasures, and its pains. When it ceases, we can scarcely believe it has ever existed ; for that which is gone forever, is as nothing. As to the second life which succeeds the first, it has endless joys for the just, eternal torments for the wicked." " But who has lived this life?" asked Tiburtius, " who has returned to tell us what passes there? Upon whose testimony can we believe it?" Then Cecilia, rising with the majesty of an Apostle, uttered these 'forcible words :* " The Creator of heaven and earth and of all they contain, engendered a Son out of His own substance, before all beings, and by His divine virtue produced the Holy Ghost ; the Son, that through Him, He might create all things ; the Holy Ghost, that He might vivify them. All that exists, the Son of God, engendered by the Father, has created ; all that is created, the Holy Ghost, who proceeds from the Father, f has animated.";]:

• Tunc beata Caecilia erigens se stetit, et cum magna constantia dixit. Acta S. Ccecilice.

t St. Cecilia speaks twice of the Holy Ghost as proceeding from the Father, without saying that He also proceeds from the Son. Such was the language of the primitive Church, which rarely insisted upon the procession of the Holy Ghost with

"But how is this, Cecilia P cried Tiburtius; "a moment ago thou did'st say we should believe in one only God, who is in heaven, and now thou speakest of three Gods." Cecilia replied : " There is but one God in His majesty, and if thou wouldst understand how He exists in the Holy Trinity, listen to this comparison. A man possesses wisdom ; by wisdom we mean genius, memory, and understanding; genius, which discerns truths ; memory, which retains them ; and understanding, which examines them. Do we then believe the same man possesses three different kinds of wisdom, or do we not rather say that he exercises his wisdom by three separate faculties? How then can we hesitate to acknowledge a majestic Trinity in the essential unity of the omnipotent God?"*

Tiburtius, dazzled by the brilliancy of so august a mystery, exclaimed : " O, Cecilia ! a human tongue could not give such enlightened explanations ; the angel of God speaks by thy mouth [" Such was the respect to the Son. This is not the proper place to explain the reasons which rendered the confessions of the Church less explicit, upon this dogma, during the early ages. These words of the Saint, are an additional proof of the antiquity of our history.

} Cceli, terrseque, maris, et omnium volucrum, repentium, pecudumque creator ex se ipso antequam ista omnia faceret, genuit Filium, et protulit ex virtute sua Spiritum sanctum ; Filium ut crearet omnia ; Spiritum, ut vivificaret universa ; omnia autem quae sunt, Filius ex Patrie genitus condidit ; universa autem quaxondita sunt, ex Patrie procedens Spiritus sanctus animavit. Acta S. C&cilim.

• Unus est Deus in maj estate aua, quern ita in sancta Trinitate dividimus, ut in uno hoinine dicimus esse sapientiam, quam sapientiam dicimus habere ingenium, memoriam et intellively gratitude with which this young man welcomed the divine light that was beginning to dawn upon his soul. He did not venture again to address the virgin, the interpreter of heaven ; but turning towards his brother Valerian, he said : "I willingly confess, the mystery of one only God no longer arrests me ; I desire but one thing, to hear the continuation of this discourse which will satisfy all my doubts." 11 Thou should'st apply to me, Tiburtius," said Cecilia, " thy brother, newly clothed in his baptismal robe, is unable to answer all thy questions. But I have been instructed from my cradle in the wisdom of Christ ; thou wilt find me ready to* solve all the difficulties thou may'st wish to propose."* " Well," answered Tiburtius, " I wish to know who has told you of that other life of which you both speak?"

The virgin, resuming her discourse with divine enthusiasm, continued : " The Father sent His only Son from heaven to earth to be conceived in the womb of a virgin. This divine Son, from the summit of a mountain, proclaimed these words ; ' Come ye all to me." At once, people of every age and condition hastened to Him. He then said to them ;

lectum : nam ingenio adinveninius quodnos didicimus : memoria tenemus quod docemur ; intellectu advertimus quicquid vel videre nobis contigerit, vel audire ; quid modo faciemus ? Numquid non ista tria una sapientia in homine possidet? Si ergo homo in una sapientia trium possidet numerum, quomodo non Deus omnipotens in una Deitate suae Trinitatis obtinet majestatem ? Acta S. Ccecilice.

• De his mecum loquere, quia tyrocinii tempus fratrem ttium tibi prohibet dare responsum : me antem, quam ab ipsis incunabulis Christi sapientia docuit, ad quameumque causam quaerere volueris, imparatam habere non poteris. Ibid.

1 Do penance for the sins of which you have been guilty ; for the kingdom of God which will put an end to the kingdom of men is at hand. God will admit into this kingdom those who have believed, and will confer the highest honors upon those who have been most holy. The wicked shall be punished with eternal torments ; they shall be devoured by fire, but shall never be consumed. The just shall be surrounded with an eternal splendor of glory, and endless delights shall be their portion. Seek no longer, children of men, the fleeting joys of this life; but ensure for yourselves the eternal felicity of the life to come. The former is short, the latter will last forever.' The nations did not at first believe in this oracle ; they asked: ' Who has entered into this life and returned to certify to us the truth of what thou sayest ?' The Son of God replied : * If I raise from the dead, those whom you yourselves have buried, will you still refuse to believe the truth? If you will not believe my words, at least believe my miracles.'* To prove the truth of His words, He,

• It is easy to perceive that St. Cecilia, in her oratorical discourse, announces evangelical facts in a general way, not literally conformable to the New Testament. Our Saviour did not address the whole human race, but only the Jewish nation. We must acknowledge, however, that in speaking to the Jews, He came for all, and intended that His law should be preached to all. If Cecilia had spoken in a less general manner, Tiburtius would not have understood the explanation she gave him. Thus the Jews, as a nation, did not make to our Saviour the objection of which Cecilia speaks, but the Gentiles, to whom the Apostles preached, frequently alleged it. It is likewise true that at the time of the advent of the Messiah, materialism had made considerable progress among the Jews. The Sadducees, in particular, professed the grossest sensualism, and the number of carnal Jews far exceeded that of the spiritual.

in presence of the people, raised to life persons who had been buried three or four days, and whose bodies had already become putrified. He walked upon the sea, commanded the wind, stilled tempests. He restored sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, hearing to the deaf, the use of their limbs to the lame and paralytic; he put the devils to flight, and delivered the possessed.

"The impious were irritated at these miracles, because the people left them to attach themselves to Him, and threw their garments under His feet, exclaiming: ' Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord.* Men, called Pharisees, jealous of his success, betrayed Him to the governor, Pilate, saying that He was a magician and a man guilty of every crime. They excited a tumultuous sedition, in the midst of which they crucified Him. Knowing that His death would effect the salvation of the world, He permitted Himself to be taken, insulted, scourged, and put to death. He knew that His passion alone could chain the devil, and confine the "unclean spirits in their place of punishment. He, therefore, who had never committed sin, was loaded with chains, in order that the human race might be delivered from the bonds of sin. He who is forever blessed was cursed, that we might be freed from malediction. He suffered Himself to be the sport of the wicked, to snatch us from the illusions of the devil whose playthings we were. lie was crowned with a crown of thorns, to deliver us from the capital punishment which the thorns of our sins had merited. He tasted the gall presented Him, in older to expiate the sensuality of our first parents, by which sin had entered into the world. In His thirst they gave Him vinegar to drink, and He willingly accepted it, for it was His wish to drain the chalice we had merited. He was stripped of His garments, that He might cover with a robe of dazzling whiteness, the nudity produced in our first parents by the serpent's perfidy. He was nailed to the tree of the Cross to take away the prevarication which had come by a tree. He permitted death to approach Him, that it might be overthrown in the struggle ; and that, as it had reigned by the serpent, it might become with the serpent, the captive of Christ. Finally, when the elements contemplated their Creator, elevated upon the cross, they were seized with fear ; the earth quaked, the rocks were rent, the sun was obscured, and darkness covered the whole world. A bloody cloud intercepted the pale rays of the moon, and the stars disappeared from the heavens. The graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints that had slept, arose, to attest that the Saviour had descended into hell, that He had snatched the devil's sceptre from his hands, and that in dying he had conquered death, which henceforth should be chained under the feet of those who should believe in Him.

"Now thou seest why we rejoice when we are illtreated for His sake, and why we glory in persecution. It should be thus, since we know that this perishable and miserable life will be followed by the eternal life, which the Son of God promised to His Apostles, after His resurrection, before ascend ing to heaven. The testimony of three persons is sufficient to satisfy a wise man, but Christ, after His resurrection, appeared not only to His twelve apostles, but to more than five hundred persons, that there might not be the slightest pretext for doubting so astonishing a prodigy. His disciples who were sent by Him to preach these marvels throughout the entire world, supported their doctrine by the most evident miracles. In his name, they cured all kinds of diseases, cast out devils, and raised the dead to life. I think, Tiburtius, I have now fully answered thy questions ; reflect if it be not well to contemn the present life, and seek with ardor and courage that which will follow. He who believes in the Son of God, and observes His commandments, will not die when his perishable body is placed in the tomb; he will be received by the holy angels, and conducted to Paradise. But death and hell combine to distract man with a thousand useless cares, and to engage his thoughts with a multitude of imaginary wants. Sometimes he is intimidated by an approaching misfortune ; at others, seized with a desire of wealth ; again, he is fascinated with sensual beauty, or lured by intemperance ; in fine, by inducing man to abandon himself to the free gratification of his carnal appetite, death successfully produces such a total forgetfulness of the future, that his soul, when separated from the body, is found entirely void of merit, loaded only with the overpowering weight of sin. I feel, Tiburtius, that I have merely touched upon a few points of this grand subject; if thou wishest me to continue, I am at thy service.*" But the young

• Acta S. Ccecilice.

Pagan had understood every thing, and the rapid discourse of Cecilia had completely changed his soul. His tears flowed abundantly, and his heart was rent with sighs. His soul had not been hardened by the vices which spring from the love of pleasure or of wealth. "If ever," he cried, throwing himself at Cecilia's feet, " my heart or my thoughts cling to this life, I consent not to enjoy that which will follow. Let the giddy and thoughtless revel if they will, in the senseless pleasures of the present ; until now I have lived without an object : it shall not be so henceforth."* After having made this promise to the virgin, Tiburtius turned to Valerian. " My dear brother," he exclaimed, " take pity on me ; delay no longer ; every detention alarms me, and I can no longer support the weight which overpowers me. I beseech thee to conduct me immediately to the man of God, that he may purify me, and render me a participant of that life, the desire of which already consumes my heart."f But two days had elapsed since the marriage of Cecilia, when Tiburtius received the grace of baptism, and thus, Christian virginity reaped its glorious fruit. " The faithful wife," as St. Paul had said, ::sancxiiied the unbelieving husband,";]: who by the merit of his faith, obtained the conversion

• Si de ista vita ulterius, vel mente tractavero, vel cogitavero, vel cogitatione qusesierc, in ilia vita non inveniar ; habeant stulti lucrum labentis temporis, ego qui usque hodie sine causa vixi, jam non sit sine causa quod vivo. Acta S. Ccecilh*.

f Miserere mei, f rater charissime, et rumpe moras, quarum nexus patior ; dilationes timeo, pondus ferre non possum : obhecro te, perdue me ad hominem Dei, ut me purificans ilius vitae participem faciat. Ibid. t Cor. vii. 14.

of his brother. Valerian and Tiburtius took leave of Cecilia, whose presence in this once Pagan house, had been the pledge of so many favors, and hastily set out in search of Urban. With what joy the angels must have gazed upon these two brothers, wending their steps toward the Appian Way, one clothed in his baptismal robe, the other panting like a hart for the waters of the fountain.*

When they reached the Pontiff, they related all that had occurred since the neophyte's return to his bride, and the holy old man rendered thanks to God for having reserved such glorious triumphs for his faithful servant. He received Tiburtius with joy, and the young man soon descended into the pool of salvation, whence he returned, purified, relieved of his burden, breathing with delight the pure air of the new life which he had so ardently longed to embrace. Valerian returned to Cecilia, after accomplishing the seven days, during which, according to custom, he wore the white robes. The Pontiff retained Tiburtius during these seven days, and, by the unction of the Holy Ghost, consecrated him a soldier of Christ. The. young man was completely changed ; the symbolical palms and crowns which he had seen engraved upon the martyrs' tombs, excited new ardor in his soul ; he may, perhaps, have had some presentiment that the day was not far distant when his own mortal remains, and those of Valerian, would be buried by Cecilia under the funereal arches where he had received the mystery of his regeneration. In awaiting this glorious consummation, the angels of God fre- * Ps. xli. 1.

quently visited and conversed with him. If he breathed a desire to heaven, these celestial messengers hastened to obtain it for him whom they already considered their brother.*

Cecilia and Valerian admired the marvels of divine grace in the heart of Tiburtius, and the bonds which united the three friends were strengthened each day. The influence of this holy house was sensibly felt throughout Borne, and the Christians rejoiced in the honor reflected upon their faith by the noble example of virtue, daily given by this patrician family, which esteemed itself so happy in having become a part of the family of Christ. Cecilia, however, by the influence of her character, and the masculine eloquence of her words, seemed to be the presiding spirit. She was no longer the timid virgin, abandoned by her parents to an idolatrous husband ; henceforth, armed for every kind of struggle, ready for every combat, and shrinking from no act of devotedness, she was one of the most solid supports of the Church of Eome.

Having become the dispensatrix of a large fortune, she was enabled to satisfy her ardent love for the poor of Christ. She, nevertheless, without detriment to her humility, or to Christian modesty, continued to wear the dress and ornaments suitable to her rank.f

• Tantam deinceps gratiam consecutus est Domini, ut et Angelos Domini videret quotidie, et omnium quae poposcisset a Domino protinus eveniret effectus. Acta sanctce Ctvcilice.

f Several portraits may be seen in the Catacombs, of female martyrs richly attired; these frescoes date back to the third century. Two figures in the cemetery of Priscilla in the Salarian Way, have been reproduced by Agincourt. (Histoire de

Superior to the vanities of her sex, trampling under foot the world and its pomp, sighing day and night for the moment when her celestial Spouse would deliver her from this body of death, Cecilia could not be ranked among the Christian women, who, slaves to dress and fashion, merited the invectives of Tertullian. " I do not know," he had said to them, " if hands accustomed to bracelets, can support chains ; if feet adorned with anklets, can support the pressure of manacles. I fear that heads covered with a network of pearls and precious stones, will scarcely leave room for the sword."* In fact, Christian women ought never to lose sight of the moment when they might be summoned to confess their faith in Jesus Christ. Cecilia ardently sighed for it ; she longed to divest herself of the world's livery, to be clothed with a nuptial robe purpled with her blood. In the meantime, she continued to mortify her innocent body, by a rough hair shirt which she concealed under her rich, luxurious garments.

l'Art par les monuments. Peinture. Planche viii ) The invectives of Tertullian in his work De cultu fccminarum., likewise attests the custom sanctioned by the example of many Christian ladies, of wearing the garments used before their baptism. The bearing of this remark will be apparent in the continuation of our history.

• Ceterum nescio an manus spatalio circumdari solita in duritiam catenae stupescere sustineat. Nescio an crus periscelio laetatum in nervum se patiatur arctari. Timeo cervicem, ne margaritarum et smaragdorum laqueis occupata, locum spatae non det. De cultu fcemnarum. Cap. xiii.