Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/397

 Chrysanthus answered  him;    '  Thou  needst  not  ran    on  thy  feet

but walk  by  faith,  in  order  to  know  God;

He is  so  much  the  more  present  to  each  man

as he  the  more  seeketh  Him  with  true  faith.'

Then Chrysanthus  instructed  them  until  they  believed  in  God,

namely, Claudius  and  his  wife,  called  Hilaria,

and their  two  sons,  Nason  and  Maurus;

and many  of  their  kinsmen  consented  to  baptism,

and the  seventy  soldiers,  whom  Claudius  had  charge  of,

were baptized  with  their  friends  that  day.

Then they  all  continued  glorifying  their  Lord,

and diligently  learned  their  faith  from  Chrysanthus,

and wished  that  they  might  suffer  torment  for  Christ.

It will  be  too  long  to  write  the  wonders  which  they  performed,

all in  order,  because  we  will  hasten  quickly

to tell  you  men  how  they  were  martyred.

Numerianus, the  emperor,  the  persecutor  of  the  Christians,

when it  became  known  to  him  that  Claudius  believed,

and all  the  soldiers  had  become  Christians;

then he  commanded  to  take  Claudius  and  lead  him  to  the  sea,

and throw  him  out  bound  to  a  hewn  stone;

he bade  them  afterwards  behead  the  seventy  soldiers

unless any  of  them  would  relinquish  his  faith;

but they  all  hastened  with  constancy  to  death,

and Claudius'  two  sons  said  that  they  had  been

baptized unto  Christ,  and  would  undergo  death

together with  the  soldiers,  for  faith  in  Christ.

So they  were  slain  together  for  Christ's  sake;

and the  blessed  Hilaria  was  also  conducted

to her  martyrdom  from  the  wicked  prefect.

Then  she    begged    the    executioners    who    were    leading    her    to death

that she  might  first  of  all  pray  in  haste;

and she  did  so,  and  received  the  Lord's  body,

and in  her  prayers  departed  from  the  world  to  Christ.

After this  the  holy  man  Chrysauthus