Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 1.djvu/523

 were not  even  worthy  that  one  should  write  their  names  in  this martyrology of  saints,  because  they  troubled  God's  church  most  of all,  and  misled  all  the  people  with  their  heretical  speeches. And Theodosius, the  great  emperor,  when  he  heard  such  folly  every day, he  became  exceeding  sorry  in  his  mind;  and  he,  weeping, bemoaned it  in  his  thoughts,  that  ever  in  his  time  the  Christian  faith should fall  away  so  miserably.

Some of  the  chief  heretics  said  that  men  would  never  arise  from death ; some  of  them  said  that  the  body,  which  alone  is  corrupted and turned  to  dust  and  sown  widely,  would  never  come  together again, but  the  souls  alone  on  Doomsday,  without  any  body,  would receive the  joy  of  their  resurrection. Thus they  erred  with  their lying speech,  and  they  utterly  stopped  up  their  minds'  understanding, so  that  they  could  not  think  of  any  of  the  words  which  our Saviour Himself  said  in  the  gospel  concerning  the    resurrection, "Amen    amen,   dico    vobis,    quia   venit hora,    quando  mortui   in monumentis  audient  vocem filii hominis,  et  vivent:" that  is,  in  our speech, "  Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  the  time  cometh  when all  the  dead  men  shall  hear  in  their  graves  the  voice  of  the  Son of  Man,  and  they  all  shall  revive,"

Such [are  the]  holy  words  and  numberless  others  which  are  written in holy  books,  which  God  Almighty,  in  many  ways,  both  by  His prophets and  by  Himself,  and  concerning  the  resurrection  of  the martyrs, had  spoken,  and  yet  they  had  forgotten  all  these  words; the heretics  [only]  held  them  in  their  memory  privately,  and  lay in their  heresy ;  and  the  sweetness  of  God's  words  they  turned  to bitterness  to  themselves,  who  thus  vexed  God's  people;  and  therefore  for  these  things  was  Theodosius  the  Great  exceedingly  grieved, and for  that  sorrow  he  clothed  his  body  with  mean  raiment,  and was alone,  without  servants,  in  his  inner  chamber,  and  shut  himself therein,  and  there  mournfully  demeaned  himself  before  God, because he  knew  not  what  he  ought  to  believe,  since  those  most troubled him,  and  brought  him  into  uncertainty,  who  should  have been his  counsellors. But Almighty  God  the  Merciful,  who  with full mildheartedness  receiveth  every  man  who  seeketh  Him  with full humility,  when  He  saw  the  emperor's  great  lamentation,  at