Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/429

 the aforesaid  thane  who  had  her  sister  to  wife,

and cried  vociferously,  and  said  to  him  immediately:

'While I  was  thinking  how  to  help  thy  wife,

I lost  mine  thereby,  and  she  is  much  worse  to  me

than Migdonia  is  to  thee.'     And  they  consulted  long.

Then the  king  commanded  men  to  bring  to  him  Thomas  in  bonds,

and asked  with  anger:   '  What  is  He,  your  God,

who thus  turneth,  through  thee,  our  wives  from  us?'

Thomas said  to  him:  '  Thou,  king,  wilt  have

cleanly attendance  and  fit  servants;

thinkest thou  that  God  will  not,  He  who  ruleth  all  things,

have fit  servants  and  cleanly  attendance?'

Then said  Mazdai  the  king:  '  Cause  by  thy  words  again

that the  women  return  to  us  of  their  own  will.'

Thomas answered  him:    '  I  have  built  a  steeple,

and thou  sayest  that  I  should  myself  overthow  it;

but I  say  verily  to  them  God's  word  rather,

that he  who  loveth  on  earth  his  earthly  father,

mother, or  bairns,  or  wife  above  God,

he is  not  worthy  of  God.'     And  he  said  again  to  him:

'Thou, king,  canst  not  slay  the  soul  with  weapons,

although thou  lay  low  the  body  in  death.

God the  righteous  King  can  send  alike

both soul  and  body  to  everlasting  fire.

The wife  should  therefore  leave  her  husband,

because he  was  a  heathen  and  a  hateful  persecutor;

but the  canons  nevertheless  say  and  command  that  no  woman

shall leave  her  husband  on  the  'plea  of  religion

unless it  so  please  them  both.'    Then  the  king  immediately  ordered

to lay  hot  irons  under  his  naked  feet,

that he  might  long  thus  suffer  torture,  but  anon  there  ran  water

wondrously up,  and  cooled  the  irons.