Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/173

 that He  would  have  mercy  on  the  dead

and the  possessed  with  devils,  and  help  their  souls.

Then he  went  out  again  to  the  miserable  madmen,

and in  the  Lord's  name  put  the  devils  to  flight

out of  the  possessed  workmen,  and  they  were  healed.

Then he  commanded  to  bear  into  his  oratory

the corpse  of  the  departed  that  the  fiend  had  killed,

and kept  the  vigil  all  night  by  the  madman's  corpse,

and bade  that  in  the  morning  mass  should  be  said  for  his  soul,

and raised  the  dead  man  through  the  Lord's  might,

and gave  orders  to  warn  him,  if  he  wished  to  live,

that he  should  never  be  seen  in  the  monastery  again

after the  present  day  whereon  he  arose  from  the  dead.

So all  the  work  of  the  monastery  was  ended  within  eight  years,

and also  hallowed  with  high  solemnity.

Then Florus  remembered  what  he  had  at  first  intended,

and what  he  had  vowed  to  God  when  he  began  the  monastery,

and besought  leave  for  himself  from  his  royal  master,

that he  might  turn  from  the  deceitful  riches,

and dwell  in  the  monastery  which  he  had  wrought,

and spend  his  life  according  to  Maurus'  direction,

and live  holily  in  God's  service,

and so  merit  the  bliss  eternal.

So the  king  granted  the  thane  his  wish,

though he  could  hardly  find  it  in  his  mind

to let  so  dear  a  friend  go  from  him,

and said,  that  he  himself  desired  to  see  the  place,

and to  be  present  there  when  he  laid  aside  his  beard  [received the  tonsure].

After these  things,  Florus  went  to  the  monastery,

and his  royal  master  came  even  as  they  had  said,

and prayed  that  he  might  be  their  brother  for  [the  love  of]  God,

and gave  certain  property  to  the  holy  place,

and spake  affably  to  all  the  monks,

but especially,  however,  to  Maurus  in  particular,

and promised  that  he  would  be  friendly  to  them  all ;