Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/149

 is in  your  country,  named  Oswald;

now if  thou  hast  anything  (as  a)  relic  of  the  saint,

give it  me,  I  pray  thee.'     then  the  priest  said  to  him,

' I  have  [a  piece]  of  the  stake  on  which  his  head  stood,

and if  thou  wilt  believe,  thou  shalt  soon  become  whole.'

So the  priest  had  pity  on  the  man,

and scraped  (shaved)  into  holy  water  some  of  the  sacred  tree,

and gave  to  the  diseased  man  to  drink,

and he  soon  recovered,  and  afterward  lived

long in  the  world,  and  turned  to  God

with all  his  heart,  and  with  holy  works;

and whithersoever  he  came  he  made  known  these  wonders.

Therefore no  man  ought  to  nullify  that  which  he  of  his  own  will

promiseth to  Almighty  God  when  he  is  sick,

lest that  he  should  lose  himself,  if  he  deny  that  to  God.

Now saith  the  holy  Bede  who  indited  this  book,

it is  no  wonder  that  the  holy  king

should heal  sickness,  now  that  he  liveth  in  heaven,

because he  desired  to  help,  when  he  was  here  on  earth,

the poor  and  weak,  and  to  give  them  sustenance.

Now he  hath  honour  with  Almighty  God

in the  eternal  world  for  his  goodness.

Afterward the  holy  Cuthbert,  when  he  was  yet  a  boy,

saw how  the  angels  of  God  carried  the  soul  of  Aidan,

the holy  bishop,  joyfully  to  Heaven,

to the  eternal  glory  which  he  had  merited  on  earth.

The holy  Oswald's  bones  were  afterwards  brought

after many  years  into  Mercia

to Gloucester,  and  God  there  often  showed

many wonders  through  the  holy  man.

For this  be  glory  to  the  Almighty  God,

who reigneth  in  eternity  for  ever  and  ever. Amen.