Saint Febronia of Nisibis

Platania having died, Bryaena, who found herself in charge of the monastery, ordered Febronia to do the reading on Friday in the assembly: but as ladies from the city came to profit from the word of God, she recommended to her, because of her beauty, to cover her face with her veil, so as not to be seen by them, having always taken great care to hide her from the eyes of people from the outside, without excepting even those of her own sex. However, she explained the Holy Scripture with so much light and solidity in the reading she did of it, that it was spoken of in the whole city; which, joined to the advantageous reports that the nuns made of her virtues and her beauty, piqued even more the curiosity of the ladies who wanted to hear her.

The widow of a senator, named Hieria, who, having lived only sev en mon Hiérie Widow of a senator converted by Febronia. ths with her husband, had returned after his death to her homeland, and was leading a quiet life at her parents' home, touched by what was said of Febronia, and even more inwardly by the movement of grace, desired to become acquainted with her, either to be instructed in the mysteries of the religion, or also to enjoy the conversation of a person of whom so much praise had been given to her. One day, therefore, she came to the monastery, and had herself announced by the portress to the venerable Bryaena. As soon as the latter appeared at the door of the monastery to receive her with the honors due to her rank, she threw herself at her feet, embraced them, and said to her: "In the name of Him who made heaven and earth, do not push away a miserable pagan, who has been until now the plaything of idols; do not deprive me of the instructions of my sister Febronia; let me learn from her the way of salvation, so that it may be given to me to attain the happiness reserved for Christians. Tear me away from the vanity of the world and the infamies of the worship of false gods; for my parents want to force me into a second marriage. I am unhappy enough to have committed evil, through the ignorance in which I was of a better doctrine."

Bryaena represented to her the law she had imposed on her niece not to let herself be seen by anyone. "I received her," she said to her, "from the hands of her parents when she was only two years old; she is now eighteen, and as she is too beautiful to show herself to the eyes of the world, I have not even granted her to her nurse who has asked me for her often with much insistence." But Hieria continuing to testify to her with tears the uprightness of her intentions, she finally yielded to her desires, on condition that she would leave her finery and would not present herself before Febronia except with a nun's habit, because the Saint had never seen these worldly ornaments.

Hieria complied without difficulty, and the superior led her to Febronia's oratory. The latter, believing that it was a foreign nun, threw herself at her feet and embraced her as her sister in Jesus Christ. Bryaena made them both sit down, and after these first testimonies of fraternal charity, she ordered Febronia to do the reading. Hieria was so touched by it, grace acting in her heart, that she did not cease to shed tears, and they passed the whole night imperceptibly in this holy exercise; Febronia not tiring of doing the reading, and Hieria receiving her instructions with a holy avidity.

The superior had much trouble, the next morning, in determining Hieria to separate from the Saint: it was only after having embraced her again with much tenderness and tears; and having returned to her parents' home, she shared with them the entirely heavenly instructions that the Saint had given her and persuaded them to abandon the superstitious worship of idols to embrace the Christian faith. Meanwhile, Febronia inquired of Thomaida, who occupied the second p Thomaïde Nun who held the second rank in the monastery after Brienne. lace in the monastery, who this nun was: "For," she said, "she wept so much when I explained the Holy Scripture to her, that one would have said she had never heard it read." Thomaida confessed to her that it was the senator Hieria; at which the Saint, very astonished, said to her: "And why was I not warned? I spoke to her with the same confidence as if she had been of the number of the sisters, believing her to be a nun." But Thomaida answered her that Bryaena had wanted it so. Hieria, after this first interview, had permission to come to see her, and the Saint having fallen dangerously ill, she wanted to serve her, and did not leave her until her health was restored.

Such was the state of this community when Emperor Diocletian sent to this province Lysimachus, son of Anthimus, who is believed to have been prefect of Nicomedia, along with Sélène Cruel prefect and uncle of Lysimachus, responsible for the martyrdom of Febronia. Selene, the brother of this prefect, to persecute the faithful there. Selene was an extremely violent man, and as much an enemy of Christianity as the emperor himself; but the sentiments of Lysimachus were quite the opposite, and his mother, who was a Christian, had recommended to him upon her death to protect the Christians with all his power. Diocletian, who held Anthimus in high regard, did not wish to give his position to Lysimachus without some assurance of his attachment to the idols and his hatred for the Christian religion, suspecting the good instructions he had received from his mother; but Selene, who was given to him to guide him rather than as an assistant, vouched for his submission to the prince's orders, and departed wit comte Primus Roman count, relative of Lysimachus, converted to Christianity. h him and with Count Primus, also a relative of Lysimachus.

They did not delay in announcing the persecution in Nisibis through the cruelties that Selene exercised in Mesopotamia and Palmyrene Syria; for he caused as many Christians as he could arrest to perish, either by the sword or by fire, and he then had those whose bodies the flames had spared thrown to wild beasts. But Lysimachus, unable to endure this excess, took Count Primus aside and spoke to him thus: "You are not unaware that, although my father died a pagan, my mother was nevertheless a Christian and had worked to engage me to be one after her example; but the fear of the emperor and my father have always prevented me. Not being able to obtain it from me, she recommended to me most insistently never to put any Christian to death, but rather to treat them as friends. Thus, I cannot see, without being touched by compassion, the cruelties that my uncle Selene exercises against them, for he delivers to the harshest torments all those who fall into his hands. I pray you, therefore, to receive secretly all those who will be presented to you and to favor their flight." Count Primus willingly entered into his good sentiments, and from that time on he

no longer ordered them to be arrested; he even had secret warnings given to the monasteries, in order to prevent the religious from being seized and brought to Selene.

After they had spent some time in Mesopotamia and the neighboring cities, they took the road to Nisibis, and at the rumor of their imminent arrival, the clergy and the monks, as well as the bishop, disappeared and hid in various places. The nuns of the monastery of Brienne also wished to imitate them and begged the superior to allow them to reach safety. "Alas!" she said to them, "you have not yet seen the enemy and you wish to flee! The combat has not begun and you declare yourselves defeated! Have, I pray you, my daughters, sentiments more worthy of you: let us remain, and let us generously expose ourselves to combat and to death for the love of him who was willing to die for us, so that we may live eternally with him."

These words at first made some impression on them, but fear then seized them more than before; and in the fear they had that the soldiers might insult them, or that they would not be able to resist the torments, they insisted again with their superior, who was forced to allow them to withdraw. Their intention was to take Febronia with them and they exhorted her much to follow them. But the holy girl said to them: "I protest to you in the presence of the Lord, to whom I have devoted myself, that I will not move from here, and that I prefer to die and be buried here, rather than to leave."

They separated thus, but it was while uttering loud cries and shedding torrents of tears. At this moment Procla, raised since her childhood with Febronia, threw herself on her neck, and, holding her in her arms, she cried out: "My beloved sister, pray for me." Febronia, who had seized her hand, held her back saying: "You, at least, dear Procla, fear God, and do not abandon us. Do you not see how sick I am? If I come to die, our mother will not have enough strength to give me burial; remain therefore with us, in order to render me the last duties." Procla replied: "Dear sister, since you desire it, I will not abandon you." Febronia replied: "I conjure you before the Lord, witness of your promise, do not abandon me." Nevertheless, towards evening, Procla had disappeared.

Then the superior, seeing herself alone with Thomaida and Febronia, and fearing the total ruin of her monastery, sought her consolation and her strength in prayer; having entered her oratory, she prostrated herself face to the ground, weeping bitterly and imploring the help of the Lord with groans that Thomaida heard and which compelled her to run to console her. "Alas, my mother and my mistress," she said to her, "why do you abandon yourself thus to your sorrow? calm yourself, I conjure you; is God not powerful enough to help us, and to make the temptation turn to the advantage of our soul? Who has placed his trust in him and been confounded? Who has persevered in his fear and been rejected?" — "You are right," replied the afflicted superior, "but what will become of Febronia? where shall I be able to put her in safety? and if I cannot, how shall I be able to see her chained and led by barbarians?" — "Reassure yourself," replied Thomaida; "would you have forgotten what she said to you, that he who can raise the dead is no less powerful to deliver her from all danger? Rise, cease to weep, and let us go together to inspire courage in Febronia who is sick."

She followed her, but her affliction broke out again when she approached the wooden bed on which the young virgin was lying: she sat down and lowering her head on her knees, she began again to lament and to shed a torrent of tears. Febronia asked the reason for it from Thomaida, who replied that it was because of her: "For," she said, "seeing that you are young and gifted with great beauty, and knowing what is the cruelty of the persecutors, she is excessively alarmed." — "I conjure you," said Febronia, "to pray both of you for your servant. God can well cast favorable looks upon me, while I humble myself before him, and I hope that he will grant me the strength and the patience that he has not refused to his servants who have loved him with all their heart."

Then Thomaida and Brienne exhorted her with the most tender and vivid expressions to fight with great courage for the glory of Jesus Christ, and Thomaida said to her among other things: "Here, my daughter Febronia, is the hour of combat. As for us, if we fall into the hands of the tyrants, our old age will lead them to make us perish soon. But it will not be the same for you: they will set traps for you because of your beauty and your youth. Take care, therefore, if we are arrested, not to let yourself be seduced by their flattering words, nor by the offers they will make you of money, rich clothing, and the pleasures of the world. Do not lose the merit of your past labors by becoming the toy of idols and the prey of the demon. There is nothing more glorious than virginity, to which God reserves brilliant crowns and such a great reward in heaven; for the sacred Spouse of virgins is immortal, and he has promised the same immortality to those who love him. Thus, dear Febronia, consider who it is to whom you are consecrated. Take care, my dear daughter, not to retract the engagement that you have contracted with him, and to lose the earnest money that he has given you as a pledge of his holy alliance. Fear that terrible day when he will judge the universe to render to each according to his works."

The pious Brienne spoke to her in her turn and said to her: "My daughter Febronia, remember that you have always been so docile to my instructions, that you have even been in a state to give them to others. You know that I took you from the hands of your nurse when you were only two years old, and that I have kept you with such care, that I have not even permitted the women of the world to see you, to better preserve you in virtue. Do honor to my old age and do not render vain the care that I have taken of you, as your spiritual mother. Represent to yourself the combats that so many martyrs have sustained before us; not only men, but also women and young girls. Recall to your memory the martyrdom of the two illustrious sisters Lybis and Leonida, of whom the first had her head severed and the other died in the midst of the flames. Recall also the generosity of Eutropia, who, being only twelve years old, was martyred with her mother. You have admired her constancy when, being condemned to be pierced with arrows, she did not wish to flee, although she had the means, and preferred to expose herself to the shafts that were shot at her, and which took away her life. You have so often praised her virtue and her courage: she was however only a young girl, and who did not have as much knowledge of the virtues as you, who have been in a state to instruct others."

These words were of great help to Febronia. "You inspire in me," she said to her, "much courage, and I feel my heart fortified by your discourses. If I had wished to avoid the persecution, I would have taken flight with the others: but as I desire ardently to go and unite myself to him to whom I have consecrated myself, I will try to attain it, hoping that he will be willing to render me worthy to fight and to die for him."

The night passed in these conversations, and the next day, at sunrise, the whole city was in an uproar on the occasion of the arrival of Selene and Lysimachus. A large number of Christians were immediately seized and taken to prison; and some pagans having denounced the Saint's monastery to the cruel Selene, he immediately sent soldiers there, who broke down the doors and seized Bryaena. They already had their swords raised to kill her; but Febronia, springing from her bed, threw herself at their feet and implored them to put her to death first, to spare her the pain of seeing her superior killed.

The Count Primus arrived at that moment, and after reprimanding the soldiers, drove them from the monastery. Then he asked Bryaena where her nuns were; she replied that they had withdrawn. "Would to God," said Primus, "that you had done the same with the two who remain here! I give you permission to withdraw and also seek a retreat," and having rallied his troop, he led them back with him. When he returned to the praetorium, he approached Lysimachus and said to him in private: "The information you were given about the girls' monastery proved true; but they have fled with the exception of two old women and one young girl. But I feel I must tell you that the young one is of such ravishing beauty that I have never seen the like, and I take the gods to witness that at the moment I caught sight of her I was so dazzled that, if she were not as poor as she appears, I would find her worthy, for her beauty, to be given to you as a wife."

"I cannot deviate," said Lysimachus, "from the order my mother gave me to spare the blood of the Christians and to favor them with all my power: how could I dare to set traps for the servants of Jesus Christ? I have no intention of doing so. But I pray you to go to the monastery and have those who remain there removed: be their deliverer, lest they fall into the hands of my uncle Selene, whose severity you know." This precaution of Lysimachus was useless; a soldier, the most inhumane of his troop, who heard what Count Primus had said to him, hastened to go and declare it to Selene, who, transported with anger and indignation, immediately sent a cohort to surround the monastery and prevent those who still inhabited it from fleeing. At the same time, he had it published throughout the city that the next day he would have Febronia appear before his tribunal, which did not fail to attract a crowd of spectators, not only from the city but also from the surrounding areas.

The soldiers having arrived at the monastery early in the morning, tore Febronia from her bed, loaded her with chains, even put an iron collar around her neck, and dragged her out of the monastery in this way. Bryaena and Thomaida, embracing her tightly while uttering heartbreaking cries, begged the soldiers to allow them to speak to her for a few more moments and to take them along as well, so that Febronia would not be alone in the combat; but they replied that they had orders only to take Febronia, and yet they allowed them to speak to her as they wished. The time was not long, but they made good use of it. "You are going to the combat, my daughter," Bryaena said to her: "consider that your celestial Spouse will be the spectator of it, and that the angels hold in their hands the crown that is destined for you. Do not fear the torments, and act through your fidelity so that we may insult the demon. Have no compassion for your body, even when you see it torn by lashes; since even if we did not wish it, this body will one day be buried in the tomb and reduced to dust. I remain in the monastery, given over to my sorrow and my tears, awaiting news of affliction or joy from you. I conjure you, O my dear daughter, to ensure that I receive only good news. Ah! who will be able to tell me that Febronia has fought until the end, and has deserved to be placed among the number of the martyrs?"

"I trust in Our Lord, my mother," Febronia replied; "I hope that, as He has given me the grace until now to be faithful to your holy advice, I will still profit from this. The witnesses of my combats will call you blessed in your old age, considering that I am like a plant that you have cultivated with such care, and I hope to show, in the weak body of a girl, a manly spirit and courage. Pray for me and allow me to go." Thomaida promised her to take a secular habit to be present at her combats; and Febronia, finally taking leave of both, begged them to give her their blessing; which Bryaena did by raising her hands to heaven: "My Lord Jesus Christ, who assisted your servant Thecla in her martyrdom under the figure of Saint Paul, assist your humble servant equally in that which she is about to suffer." After which, having given her the last kiss, she let her be taken away by the soldiers, and went to prostrate herself on the ground in the oratory, where she prayed to the Lord wi th man Thècle Saint invoked by Brienne during her prayer. y tears that He might deign to sustain her until the end.

The detention of Febronia extremely afflicted all the ladies of the city who were accustomed to go to the monastery on Fridays to listen to the reading of the Holy Books and the instructions with which she accompanied it. They wept and beat their breasts, seeing themselves on the point of being deprived of a nun who was of such great help for the good of their souls. Hieria, of whom we have spoken, filled her whole house with her cries, and went to the praetorium with a large retinue, where she found the other ladies and Thomaida in disguise, whom she recognized very well. Their tears began to flow again upon seeing each other. Finally, the gathering was extraordinary, and the whole hall was full.

Selene and Lysimachus, being seated on the tribunal, ordered that Febronia be brought in. At the moment the young virgin appeared, hands bound and the iron collar around her neck, everyone uttered cries and lamentations; and when she had been placed before the two magistrates, Selene had silence made and told Lysimachus to question her. "Tell me, young girl," the latter asked her, "your condition: are you of free condition, or not?" — "I am a slave," replied Febronia. "Whose slave are you?" replied Lysimachus. "Of Jesus Christ," she answered. "What is your name?" asked Lysimachus. "I have already declared to you," she replied, "that I am a humble Christian, and if you wish to know the name I bear, I am called Febronia."

Selene, who knew his nephew's dispositions in favor of the Christians, did not want him to continue the interrogation. He spoke and said to the Saint: "I take the gods to witness, Febronia, that being irritated against you, I would not even have deigned to question you if I had followed my just anger; but your modesty and your beauty have appeased me, and I am willing to suspend for a moment my quality as judge and speak to you as a father in order to better persuade you. Listen to me then, my daughter, with attention. The gods are my witnesses that my brother Anthimus and I had destined for Lysimachus a young Roman virgin, whose alliance must procure him vast possessions and great riches: but I want to break all engagement with the daughter of Phosphorus who is destined for him; it is you yourself who will be the spouse of the noble Lysimachus, whom you see seated at my right, and whose beauty is not unworthy of your charms. Follow then the advice that I give you as if I were your father, and I will shower you with honors. Let your poverty not be a subject of pain for you; I have neither wife nor children, my wealth will serve as the dowry that you will bring to Lysimachus, and there will be no woman who will not look upon you as very happy and envy your happiness. You will also have the good graces of our invincible emperor, who has promised Lysimachus to raise him to a very high rank and to make him praetor. You have heard me, give then to him who is willing to serve as your father an answer that is pleasing to the gods and that is advantageous to you. But if I cannot persuade you to follow my advice, I take the gods to witness that you will not have three hours of life: you have only to decide."

"I have," replied Febronia, "a nuptial bed in heaven that has not been made by the hand of men. The Spouse I have chosen is immortal: His kingdom is my dowry. I cannot and will not prefer a mortal and corruptible spouse to Him. Do not waste time, then, O judge! in vain speeches; neither your flatteries nor your threats could make me change my resolution." Selene, irritated by such a generous response, ordered the soldiers to take off her clothes and cover her with old rags, which left her body almost exposed; which having been executed, he asked her if she was not ashamed to see herself in this state before everyone. But she replied to him: "Even if you were to add to this alleged ignominy the iron and the fire, I have prepared myself for it. Would to God that I be found worthy to suffer for the love of Him who suffered so much for me!"

"Impudent girl without honor," Selene said to her, "I see well that the beauty you boast of prevents you from blushing at the state in which I have had you put, and that on the contrary you glory in it." — "No," replied Febronia; "Jesus Christ knows that until now, far from lacking modesty, I have never allowed any man to see my face; but, having determined to suffer the lashes and all the tortures with which you threaten me, I must enter into the combat against the demon who is your father, as athletes enter the arena to fight."

"Well then," said Selenus in his fury, "since she asks for torments, we shall make her feel them." He therefore ordered that she be tied to four stakes, that fire be placed beneath her, and that, while she was being burned, a hail of blows be rained upon her back: this was executed with such cruelty that her body was covered in blood and her flesh fell in shreds. This lasted so long that the spectators could no longer watch it without horror. They asked with loud cries for the tyrant to have compassion on Febronia's youth; but he would hear nothing until, believing her dead, he ordered her to be untied.

Thomaide, who was present, seeing the Saint tormented with such cruelty, fainted at the feet of Hieria; and the latter, overcome with grief, cried out: "Alas, my sister Febronia, my dear and revered mistress! Not only am I deprived of you, but now I am going to lose Thomaide, who is dying." The Saint, hearing her voice, wished to speak to her; but the judge would not permit it, and said to her: "Well! Febronia, did this first combat go well for you? What do you think of it?" — "You may judge for yourself," replied the Saint, "whether I am easy to defeat and whether I set great store by your torments."

"Let her be suspended on the rack," said the tyrant; "let them open her sides with iron claws, and let them apply fire to burn her to the bone." The executioners carried out this barbaric order; and soon new shreds of flesh fell to the ground with streams of blood; the flames of the brazier were already devouring the entrails of the Christian virgin. The Saint, to whom the flame caused terrible pain, raising her eyes to heaven, cried out: "Come, Lord, to my aid; do not abandon me at this hour." And she fell silent immediately, for the fire was burning her cruelly.

A large number of those present withdrew, unable to bear the sight of such a horrible torture. The others shouted to the judge to at least spare the Saint the torment of fire. Selenus agreed; but he continued to question her while she was still on the rack; and seeing that the Saint did not answer him, pain having taken away her speech, instead of being moved, he felt offended by her silence, had her taken down from the rack and tied to a post, and ordered that her tongue be cut out since she refused to speak to him. She presented it immediately, as if she had wanted to say to the executioner: "Here it is, cut." But while he was already holding it to cut it, the people prevented him, and Selenus ordered that her teeth be pulled out. They pulled out seventeen: after which the judge ordered them to stop. But the Saint lost so much blood from this cruel operation that she fainted. They stanched it, however, and brought her back to consciousness, but it was only to make her suffer other tortures.

Selenus questioned her again and said to her: "Will you finally yield to what I want, and acknowledge the gods?" — "Be anathema, cruel and execrable old man," the Saint replied, "who wish to stop me in my path and prevent me from going to my heavenly Spouse. Hasten to deliver me from this body of mud, because He who loves me awaits me in heaven." — "I see well," said Selenus, "that your youth makes you even more insolent; but you will soon perish by iron and fire." The virgin could answer nothing, so sharp were her sufferings. Then, transported with anger, the judge ordered that her breasts be cut off. The barbaric executioner, arming himself with a sharp iron, struck off the right breast of the martyr. The Saint let out a great cry, and, with eyes raised toward heaven, she cried out: "My Lord and my God, see my sufferings, and receive my soul into your hands." These were her last words.

When both breasts had been cut off, Selenus ordered fire to be applied to the wounds, and the pain was felt even in the chest of the Christian virgin. At this spectacle the crowd was seized with indignation, and, unable to bear the sight of these hideous tortures any longer, a large number of spectators moved away, crying out: "Cursed be Diocletian and his gods!" However, Thomaide and Hieria remained constantly on the spot despite the pain with which they were overwhelmed, and sent word to Bryaena by a young girl not to cease lifting her hands to heaven for Febronia, who was being tormented excessively. Having heard this, the superior cried out: "My Lord Jesus Christ, come to the aid of your servant Febronia. Ah! Febronia, where are you? My God, have pity on your servant Febronia. Grant her the grace to finish her combat gloriously, and may I have the consolation of counting her among the number of the holy martyrs."

Meanwhile, Selenus ordered her to be untied from the post where she had been bound; but she had hardly been untied when she fell to the ground; for her body, weakened by the tortures, could no longer stand. Count Primus then said to Lysimachus: "She is dead." — "Do not believe it," the latter replied; "she will fight again for the salvation of many, and perhaps for mine. I have heard my mother tell similar stories of many Christians who suffered like her. It has not been in my power to deliver her: let us let her fight to the end; many will profit from it for the salvation of their souls." But Hieria, no longer able to bear the Saint being tormented so cruelly, cried out in the transport of her zeal and indignation: "O barbarian! O monster of inhumanity! Are all the evils you have made this unfortunate virgin suffer not enough for you? Have you then forgotten your own mother, whose body was like hers? Do you not remember that, born under fatal auspices, you received your first nourishment from her breasts, and that this was there, in the career of life, the first step that led you to this high position which you abuse today for the misfortune of others? I am astonished that none of these memories could soften your fierce heart. Ah! may the King of heaven not spare you any more than you have spared this tender victim!" At these words, at these imprecations, the tyrant, boiling with anger, ordered Hieria to be dragged to his tribunal. Hieria anticipated him; with serenity on her brow and joy in her heart, she stepped forward, saying: "God of Febronia, although I am but a poor pagan, accept my sacrifice along with that of my mistress."

The tyrant was about to question her, but his friends who were near him prevented him, telling him that if he went that far, all the people would declare themselves Christian with her, and that he would be forced to put the whole city to death. This advice restrained him, but trembling with rage, he said to her in a tone of fury: "Hieria, I pray the gods that they take vengeance upon you. What you have said in favor of Febronia will only serve to procure new torments for her"; and he immediately ordered that the Saint's two hands and right foot be cut off. The lictors placed a block under the right hand, and a blow of the axe separated it from the arm; the left was cut in the same way. Then the executioner placed the young virgin's right foot on the block, seized his axe, and, gathering all his strength, delivered a terrible blow, but it was of no use; he struck a second blow, but just as uselessly. Meanwhile, the crowd was shouting ever more furiously. The lictor, finally striking a third blow, succeeded in executing the tyrant's order. Febronia experienced violent convulsions throughout her body; nevertheless, on the point of expiring, she still strove to place her left foot on the block, asking by this sign that it be cut off like the other. At this spectacle, the cruel judge cried out: "See the stubbornness of this impudent woman!" And he shouted in fury: "Cut off that foot too, and make it disappear."

Then Lysimachus, rising, said to Selenus: "What more do you want to do to this unfortunate woman? Let us go; it is time to dine." — "No," said Selenus, "I want the gods to punish me if I leave here before she has expired." And seeing that she was still palpitating, he said to the executioners: "What! She is not dead yet! And where is your strength? Let her head be cut off." Then a soldier drew his sword, entwined his left hand in Febronia's hair; then, after marking the place where he was to strike, he dealt her the mortal blow. The victim's head fell like that of the lamb slaughtered at the foot of the altar.

Immediately the judges rose to go to dinner; but Lysimachus could not help shedding tears. The people rushed to take the body of the Saint, but Lysimachus prevented them and left soldiers to guard it. He himself was prey to such emotion and such deep sorrow that he would neither eat nor drink; he shut himself in his room, and there he wept for the cruel death of Febronia. Selene, learning of this affliction, would not eat either. He left the table to walk in the courtyard of the praetorium. Suddenly he fell into a dark melancholy, and walking with long strides from side to side, he raised his eyes to heaven at moments, when, seized suddenly by a furious delirium, he began to roar like a lion, to bellow like a wounded bull; finally, in a fit of rage, he struck his head against a column and fell motionless and lifeless.

The people of the house hastened to run up, shouting loudly. Lysimachus, having arrived and learned what had happened, said while shaking his head: "Great is the God of the Christians! Blessed be the God of Febronia! He has avenged the shedding of innocent blood." He ordered the corpse to be removed, after which he spoke thus to Count Primus: "I conjure you by the God of the Christians to execute what I am about to tell you. Order as soon as possible an incorruptible wooden coffin for Febronia, and order the public criers to go throughout the city and warn the people that all those who wish to attend her funeral procession may do so in complete safety, since my uncle is no more. My sentiments are known to you. Take soldiers with you, have the body carried to the monastery to be returned to Bryenne; do not allow anyone to remove any limb; have it returned whole, and even have the earth that was stained with her blood scraped up, and transport it with the body to the monastery."

Count Primus faithfully executed the order of Lysimachus. He had the body of the Saint carried by his soldiers; for his part, he took the head, the hands and the feet, the teeth and everything that had been separated from the body, and having wrapped them in his cloak, he headed toward the monastery. But all the people gathered around him; everyone wanted to take some limb, some scrap of flesh. Primus, surrounded, pressed, and besieged by this multitude, was in great peril. The soldiers, whom he had warned, then drew their swords from their sheaths and managed, not without difficulty, to free him and make him enter the monastery, where he was followed only by Thomaide and the noble Hieria. Sentinels were placed at the doors to stop the people.

When the pious Bryenne received the holy body and saw it thus mutilated, she fainted, and having finally recovered her senses, she uttered these heartbreaking laments: "Ah! Febronia! Ah! my daughter! Will your mother Bryenne see you no more? Who will read the Holy Scriptures to us henceforth, and what hands will dare to use your books?" The other nuns, who had withdrawn for fear of the tyrant, arrived at this moment and prostrated themselves before the holy body to pay their respects; but Hieria, unable to contain the sorrow she felt at having lost in Febronia her catechist and mistress, cried out while weeping: "Let me embrace these feet that crushed the head of the serpent; let me kiss the wounds that will serve for the salvation of my soul; let me adorn her head with a crown of praises, since she has been the glory of our sex by the victory she won in the combat." The other sisters applauded her triumph no less.

But the hour of None having come, which was that of prayer, Bryenne said to Febronia, as if she were still alive: "Come, you too, my daughter Febronia, come pray with us. Alas! Where are you, my daughter Febronia? Rise and come." For, interrupted Thomaide also on her side, "you have always been so docile to the voice of our Mother, why would you not obey her even now?" If the miracle that Bryenne wished for did not happen then, one quite similar occurred later, which we will report below.

Finally, in the evening, the holy body was washed and covered with her clothes; after which Bryenne wanted the doors to be opened so that everyone could satisfy their pious curiosity. The turnout was very large. The ladies of the city who came on Fridays to hear the reading and instructions of the Saint rushed there with eagerness. Bishops and many monks also came; and Lysimachus with Count Primus, having renounced the worship of idols, came to join the crowd to render to the relics of the Saint the honor that was due to them.

The next day, the coffin that Primus had ordered to be made was brought. After reciting prayers and shedding many tears, the body of the Saint was placed inside, arranging each severed limb in its place. As for the teeth, which could not be put back into their sockets, they were placed on her chest. Then the crowd filled the coffin with incense, perfumes, and aromatics, so that the holy body was completely covered by them. They wanted to close it; but the people asking that it be left open, the bishops had to interpose their authority to make them understand that it was appropriate to place it in the part of the monastery that had been prepared for it. It was not without shedding many tears that they accompanied it there, and the glory that was rendered to God on this occasion was the most beautiful eulogy that could be consecrated in honor of Febronia.

There were many pagans who asked for holy baptism. Lysimachus and Primus were among the first, and they renounced entirely the hopes of the century to embrace the religious life in a monastery where they spent their lives with great piety. Several soldiers also converted to the faith. Hieria, already prepared for regeneration, had the happiness of being baptized with all her family; then she came to throw herself at the feet of Bryenne and begged her to receive her into her community to occupy the place of Febronia, promising to serve her as faithfully as she had done. She wanted her jewelry to be used to adorn the coffin of the holy martyr, and gave her property to the community.

She is represented with a crown at her feet to mark that she knew how to despise the grandeurs of the world. She is also painted with shears beside her, to recall that she had her feet, hands, and breasts cut off.

## CULT AND RELICS. God glorified the Saint after her death through a great number of miracles. Her acts teach us that she appeared every night in her place in the oratory, from midnight until the third prayer, when the sisters were assembled there to chant the office. At first they were afraid, and Brienne, seeing her, ran to her to embrace her, crying out: "There is my daughter Febronia"; but she disappeared immediately. After this first apparition, their fear ceased. They did not dare, however, to approach her; but her presence inspired them with great fervor and made them shed tears of joy. The bishop of the place had a very beautiful church built in her honor, which was completed in six years; and wishing to deposit her relics there, he assembled the bishops of the surrounding areas for this purpose, and did, both for the dedication and for the translation, everything in his power to make the feast more celebrated. LIVES OF THE SAINTS. — VOLUME VII. The gathering was so great that neither the church nor the monastery could suffice for the crowd, and from all sides resounded the singing of sacred psalms. The bishops asked for the body; but the nuns, wishing to keep their precious treasure, begged the assembled prelates with tears not to deprive them of it. God decided the pious dispute in their favor; for as they tried to remove it, a noise similar to a clap of thunder was heard; and as they persisted in wanting to take it away, the earth shook and the tremor was felt throughout the city. The bishops, no longer able to doubt by these signs that the Saint did not wish for her body to remain in the monastery, desisted from their design, and asked at least of Brienne that she give them one of her severed limbs. She opened the coffin with this intention, and a brightness emerged that dazzled her and struck her with a respectful fear. She wanted, however, to remove a hand; but her own lost its strength and fell back without movement. Then the pious Brienne said, weeping: "My daughter Febronia, I conjure you not to be angry with me, and grant me, in reward for the care I have taken of you, something in favor of the bishops." Her prayer was answered; her hand, upon touching the holy relics, recovered its movement, and she took one of the extracted teeth that had been placed on the chest and handed it to the bishops, after which she closed the coffin. They received this gift with great respect, which they enclosed in a gold box to place in the new church. The Acts of the Martyrs, by the Rev. Benedictine Fathers of the Congregation of France; Acta Sanctorum; Lives of the Fathers of the Deserts of the East, by the Rev. Father Michel-Ange Marin, of the Order of Minims.