Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/501



Behold here  beginneth  the  Passion  of  the  Seven  Blessed Sleepers, the  names  of  which  saints  shine  in  heaven,  and  also gleam brightly  on  earth  among  Christian  men. The first  of  them, Maximianus, is  the  leader  of  his  companions;  the  second  beside  4 [him is]  Malchus  the  obedient ;  and  the  third  beside. Martini- anus ; then  the  fourth,  Dionysius;  the  holy  Johannes,  fifth;  then the name  of  the  sixth  is  Seraphion;  and  lastly,  of  the  seventh, Constantine.

The festival  of  the  Seven  Saints  is,  in  the  year,  five  days  before Loaf-Mass [Aug. 1.]

In the  olden  time,  long  past,  of  the  great  persecution,  when  the heathen men  desired  altogether  to  quench  the  beams  of  Christianity, and  to  destroy  every  memorial  over  the  earth,  and  when the blessed  martyrs  suffered  manifold  distresses  for  His  name ; — when Decius  the  perverse  held  sway  over  all  the  Roman  empire, and things  went  well  in  his  hands  as  regards  this  world,  so  that he tortured  the  chosen  of  God,  and  afflicted  them  with  miseries, and punished  them  without  fear  just  as  he  would ;--then  it  16 happened, at  a  certain  season,  that  he  went  into  a  city  which men name  Constantinople,  which  was  the  chief  city  in  Greece, and thence  he  journeyed  to  Carthage,  and  thence  to  Ephesus.

When he  had  gone  to  the  three  cities,  then  he  bade  summon  to him  very  speedily  all  the  citizens  together,  saying  that  he  desired to hold  a  council  with  them. As soon  as  those  who  believed  in God  learnt  that,  then  were  they  all  exceedingly  afraid,  and  all their congregations  were  immediately  disturbed,  and  the  holy priests and  all  the  good  men  became  on  a  sudden  grievously troubled. Then he,  Decius  the  emperor,  when  he  marched  into Ephesus with  magnificence  and  pomp,  lifted  up  his  heart  greatly above measure  as  if  he  were  God. Then began  he  to  erect  idols in the  churches,  and  bade  that  every  man  should  forthwith  offer