Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/65

 And he  was  very  wrath  on  account  of  the  beasts'  guardianship,

and at  last  bade  the  heathen  executioners

go in  with  swords  and  slay  the  Saints.

When this  was  done,  the  judge  bade  men  draw

the Saints'  bodies  to  the  idol,

that the  Christians  might  behold

and take  warning  by  them,  and  bow  to  the  gods,

lest they  should  be  as  cruelly  killed.

Then after  three  days  came  a  certain  deacon  to  that  place,

called Quirinus,  and  he  took  the  holy  bodies

by night,  and  brought  them  to  his  house,

and laid  them  secretly  in  a  leaden  coffin,

with great  reverence,  and  there  they  lay,

concealed from  men,  for  a  long  time,  until  Constantine,

the Christian  emperor,  afterwards  succeeded  to  the  kingdom;

and they  were  then  found  through  Christ's  revelation.

Ye have  now  heard  how  the  holy  kings

renounced their  kingdom  for  the  faith  of  Christ,

and gave  up  their  own  lives  for  Him.

Take you  example  thereby  that  ye  turn  not  from  Christ

for any  hardness,  that  ye  may  have  the  eternal  life.

The letter  of  Cheist  to  Abgarus.

Now we  are  speaking  about  kings,  we  will  lengthen  this  discourse,

and tell  you  yet  about  a  certain  king,  who  was  named  Abgarus,

a certain  blessed  king  in  the  Syrian  land.

He lay  bedridden  at  the  very  time

when our  Saviour  Christ  was  in  this  life.

He had  enquired  concerning  our  Saviour's  miracles,

and sent  thereupon  speedily  to  him  this  letter:

'Abgarus greeteth  humbly  the  good  Saviour