Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/271

 to tell  it  to  him,  but  he  said  nevertheless,

'I adjure  you  now  that  ye  tell  it  to  no  one;

Mary, Christ's  mother,  came  to  me  hither

with two  other  virgins,  Thecla  and  Agnes,

not on  this  one  day  but  often  readily  before

have they  come  to  me.'     And  he  told  them  also

what their  appearance  had  been  and  how  they  were  clothed.

XXIV. So likewise  the  devils  with  their  treacherous  arts

came to  him  frequently;    and  he  always  knew  them;

because no  devil  could  hide  himself  from  him,

neither in  his  own  substance  nor  in  any  other  form.

With a  thousand  wily  arts  did  the  treacherous  devil

strive in  some  way  to  deceive  the  holy  man,

and he  showed  himself  visible  in  divers  phantasms

to the  saint,  in  the  appearance  of  the  gods  of  the  heathen;

sometimes in  Jove's  form,  who  is  called  Thor,

sometimes in  Mercury's  who  is  called  Odin,

sometimes in  that  of  Venus,  the  foul  goddess,

whom men  call  Fricg;    and  into  many  other  shapes

the devil  transformed  himself  in  the  bishop's  sight.

Against this  Martin  always  marked  himself

with the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  sang  his  office,

remaining undismayed,  and  ever  trusting  in  God.

When the  devil  saw  that  he  could  not  bewitch  him

with his  snares,  then  he  spake  to  him  words  of  contumely,

and often  vexed  him  with  many  reproaches;

but he  was  not  stirred  on  account  of  his  lying  reproaches.

Some monks  also  who  dwelt  in  the  minster

said of  a  truth  that  they  had  plainly  heard

how the  devil  threatened  with  presumptuous  words

the holy  Martin,  because  he  had  with  him

some neophytes  who  were  sinful,

and after  their  baptism  did  many  evil  things,