Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/387

 Then his  friends  stood  beside  his  father  and  said:

'to the  peril  of  thy  possessions  and  of  thine  own  head

preacheth this  thy  boy  so  boldly  concerning  Christ;

if it   become  known   to   the   emperor,  thou  canst  not   save   thyself.'

Then the  father  swelled  with  anger,  and  brought  his  son

into a  lightless  prison  and  locked  him  therein;

and in  the  evening  always  sent  him  food,

little and  meagre,  and  he  thus  continued  there.

Then said  the  kinsmen  to  the  father  again:

'if thou  desire  to  entice  thy  son  from  Christ,

then must  thou  flatter  him,  and  offer  him  dainties,

and make  him  to  wive;    then  will  he  forget

after he  is  a  husband,  that  he  was  a  Christian.

These oppressions  and  these  swart  darknesses

which thou  givest  him  for  punishment,  these  Christians  turn

to their  own  glory,  and  not  to  punishment.'

Thereupon the  father  bade  fetch  out  of  the  foul  prison

the oppressed  youth,  and  quickly  clothed  him

with costly  raiment,  and  bade  them  fit  up  his  bower

worthily with  cloths  and  with  curtains  for  the  youth.

Also he  soon  found  five  maidens  for  him,

fair and  blooming,  to  dwell  with  him;

and bade  that  they  should  turn  by  their  foolish  sport

his thoughts  from  Christ,  and  said  that  they  themselves

should pay  for  it,  if  they  did  not  bend  his  mind.

He sent  him  also  frequently  meats  and  delicacies,

but the  youth  despised  the  meats  and  drinks,

and abhorred  the  maidens  even  as  one  doth  adders.

He lay  in  prayers  and  refused  their  kisses,

and besought  the  Saviour  that  He  would  preserve  his  chastity,

even as  He  preserved  Joseph's  in  the  land  of  Egypt.

He also  confessed  God. with all  his  heart,  and  said;

'I pray  Thee,  Lord,  that  thou  will  cause  these  adders

all to  fall  asleep  now  in  my  sight,

that they  may  not  arouse  with  their  foolish  sport