Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/519

 the emperor,  and,  being  much  affrighted,  answered  him,  "  We  pray thee,  dear  lord,  that  thou  wilt  hear  our  words;    we  never  neglected  anywhere  thy  kingly  commands,  neither  despised  we  ever the  worthy  gods;  why  wilt  thou,  lord,  punish  us  for  the  sake  of other  men  who  contemned  thy  command  and  spent  our  treasures all  over  the  earth?    Here  they  are  full  near  at  hand,  yonder  on  the  Celian  Hill,  hidden  in  anxiety  and  fear,  neither  know  we  concerning them,  whether  they  be  there  living  or  there  lying  dead.' When  they  had  thus  fearfully  excused  themselves,  then  the  emperor bade  them  go  whithersoever  they  would ;  and  they,  fain  of  life,  quickly  departed  thence  from  him ;  and  the   emperor  again straightway  thought    and    considered  what   he    could  do   to   the Saints, or  however  he  should  act  concerning  them ;   and  since  he desired  not  to  harm  them,  because  it  was  so  ordained  to  come  to pass,  God  Almighty  granted  him  this,  though  he  was  not  worthy that God  should  visit  him. Nevertheless, for  the  merit  of  His Saints, He  sent  this  thought  into  his  mind,  that  he  bade  the  entrance of  the  cave,  within  which  they  lay,  to  be  all  blocked  up  with  hewn  stones,  because  God  willed  that  they  should  rest  there quietly, and  sleep  untouched  in  the  cave,  until  the  quickly  completed time  when  He  would  again  manifest  them  to  mankind,  by His  great  glory,  for  a  great  need;  and  then  he,  Decius,  so  took counsel, that  he  then  determined  and  made  known  his  intention, and proclaimed  everywhere:   "  Let  them  go  very  quickly  thither yonder  to  the  cave  wherein  the  apostates  slumber  hidden,  and block  them  up  therein  all  alive  with  hewn  stones  on  every  side, that  they  shall  never  any  longer  see  the  sun-beams,  nor  have  mirth with  us  henceforth,  since  they  would  not  observe  our  command; but  let  them  be  there,  in  misery,  closed  up  on  either  hand  until death  altogether  swallow  them  up."

So he,  the  emperor,  purposed  in  his  mind,  and  all  the  citizens  with him,  that  they,  the  Saints,  should  thus  be  closed  up  in  the  cave  alive.

Then it  happened  that  there  went  among  them  twain  of  the emperor's favorites. They were  very  dear  to  him,  nevertheless they were  both  secretly  Christians ;  the  one  was  named  Theodore, and the  other  Rufinus. Then they  spake  between  themselves  so