Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/493

 and all  their  household  as  well,  some  three  hundred  men,

and many  of  the  heathen  received  the  faith.

However Rufus  the  father,  on  account  of  the  emperor's  severity,

durst not  openly  confess  that  he  believed  in  the  Lord,

but he  secretly  loved  the  faithful  bishop,

and   ministered   to    him  with  food,   and   his    daughter  was    consecrated

to God's  service,  and  continued  a  virgin.

Then Apollinaris  was  accused  to  the  emperor,

and led  to  the  torture,  and  in  the  torture  he  confessed

the Saviour's  name,  and  a  certain  heathen  man,

who the  most  fiercely  opposed  him,  straightway  went  mad,

and ended  his  life  by  an  evil  death.

Then the  Christians  wished  to  defend  the  saint,

and massacred,  of  the  heathen,  some  two  hundred  men ;

then the  judge  commanded  men  to  load  the  faithful  bishop

into a  blind  prison,  and  to  keep  him  in  bonds,

and to  deny  him  food,  so  that  he  might  be  famished.

But God's  angel  came  to  the  man  of  God  by  night,

and fed  him,  and  by  his  words  encouraged

all the  onlookers,  who  were  [standing]  around.

Then on  the  fourth  day  the  aforesaid  judge  commanded

to put  the  saint  in  heavier  chains,

and to  carry  him  afar  by  ship  into  exile.

There was  a  certain  nobleman  horribly  leprous,

and the  bishop  asked  him,  'Wilt  thou  be  made  whole  '

He said,  'I  will,'  and  the  holy  bishop  answered  him,

' Believe  in  Jesus   Christ; '  and  the  heathen  answered  him,

'If He  healeth  me. He shall  be  my  God  and  Saviour,'

Apollinaris then  touched  the  diseased  leper

in the  name  of  Jesus,  and  immediately  he  was  made  whole,

while he  was  calling  on  Christ's  name  to  aid  him.

Then the  healed  man  cast  away  his  heathenism  from  him,

and believed  on  Jesus,  and  with  faith  was  baptized.

It befell  after  a  time  that  the  unbelieving  heathen