Life of Martin of Tours by Sulpicius Severus
Life of Martin of Tours by Sulpicius Severus
INTRODUCTION
Sulpicius Severus wrote his Life of Martin not long before Martin’s death near Tours on 11 November 397. The fact that it was written while Martin was still alive accounts for the lack of description of his death,1 that part of a saint’s life which usually formed the climax of the hagiography, as in the cases of Antony, Paul of Thebes, Hilarion and Benedict. In every other way, the Life of Martin is a classic hagiography, documenting the whole life of the saint but concentrating on his spiritual achievements, the qualities which drew others to him and the manifestations of God’s power working through him. Of course, the Life of Martin is an early instance of the genre, following in the footsteps of Athanasius’ Life of Antony and Jerome’s three biographies, but was itself destined to become one of the principal models for later hagiographers.2 Nor did it have to wait long for its influence to spread: in Sulpidus’ Dialogues, written in about 400, one of the main characters, Postumianus, claims that the Life of Martin has already been read in Rome, Carthage and Egypt.3
It would seem that Sulpicius had first heard about Martin from his friend Paulinus with whom he had studied at Bordeaux. Martin had cured Paulinus of an eye complaint4 and when Paulinus mentioned Martin enthusiastically, Sulpicius was inspired to go and visit the great man himself,5 during 393 or 394. Martin apparently urged Sulpidus to follow the example of Paulinus and cut himself loose from the ties of wealth and career. By 395 Sulpidus had indeed taken the dedsion to give up his legal career to become a servant of God. He sold his property and gave the money to the poor, keeping only one estate, that known as Primuliacum, which probably lay between Toulouse and Narbonne. Here he was to spend the rest of his life, leading a quasi-monastic existence, surrounded and visited by fellow Christians, rich and poor alike. Like hisjriend Paulinus, who had settled at Nola, Sulpidus spent much of his time in literary activities, promoting Martin’s reputation as Paulinus was doing for St Felix. To what extent Sulpicius’ life after his conversion imitated that of the monks at Martin’s monastery is unclear. We know little about his life after about 404 but it seems probable that he lived until the 420s.6 Sulpicius’ literary output consists of the Life of Martin, three letters, the Dialogues and the Chronicles, a sacred history from creation down to Sulpicius’ own time.
Sulpicius’ primary aim, as expressed in the preface to his biography of Martin, was to write an account of this most saintly man so that the example of Martin might awaken the enthusiasm of others for the ascetic life. He also hopes that his reward for this will be everlasting life. In stating these two purposes Sulpicius is consciously turning the aims of his classical predecessors – and Sallust in particular – on their head. Sallust, in his account of the conspiracy of Catiline, had spoken of the human desire to achieve everlasting fame: acknowledging this desire in himself he decided to seek fame not in political life, but by writing history. Sulpicius, too, acknowledges this human desire but criticizes Sallust for believing that fame is either anything worth having or that it can indeed be everlasting if it depends on human memory. The only worthwhile goal, according to Sulpicius, is everlasting life, the reward God grants for a life well spent.
Although Sulpicius does not mention Sallust by name, he clearly has him in mind. This concern to confront the aims of classical historiography7 may indicate that Sulpicius intended his work to be read not only by Christians but also by those whose devotion to classical culture might stand in the way of commitment to Christianity.
Another underlying aim of the Life of Martin may have been to explain Sulpicius’ conversion to those who found it hard to understand why he should have given up his wealth and career. However, it would seem that the work failed to win all its readers over: in the Letters and Dialogues Sulpicius continues to defend Martin – and therefore his own way of life – in the face of a certain amount of scepticism.
Sulpicius’ portrayal of the man who, in his eyes, combined perfectly the roles of monk and bishop, can be divided according to the following sections: after the dedicatory letter, addressed to Sulpicius’ friend Desiderius, and the preface, chapters 2–10 provide an account of Martin’s life until he was made bishop of Tours and moved to a cell at Marmoutier; chapters 11–24 record his miracles as bishop, miracles associated not only with healing but with his work as missionary – of a rather thuggish type8 – among the pagans of Gaul. The final three chapters (25-7) tell of Sulpicius’ own meeting with Martin and his experience of the great man’s humility, kindness and impressive intellect and eloquence.
Dedicatory letter:
Severus, to Desiderius, his dearest brother
I had in fact decided, dear brother who shares one soul with me, to conceal the little book I wrote about the life of the holy Martin within its covers and to keep it imprisoned inside the walls of this house, for being of a very diffident nature, I wanted to avoid people’s criticisms. I feared that my unpolished style might offend my readers – as I am sure will happen – and I should be deemed deserving of general censure for having had the temerity to appropriate a subject better left to more competent writers. But I was unable to deny you when you asked me for it again and again, for what would I not do for love of you even if it meant a loss of self-respect on my part? However, in bringing this book out for you, I am confident that you will keep your promise and not hand it over to anyone. And yet I am afraid you may serve as an exit door for it and once it has got out it cannot be called back.1 But if that happens and you see some people reading it, you must ask the readers kindly to attach more weight to the subject matter than to the words and if by chance some infelicity of language should strike their ears, to bear it patiently, because the kingdom of God is not founded on eloquence but on faith. They must remember that salvation was preached to the world not by orators (although the Lord could of course have done this too if it had been useful), but by fishermen. And so, from the moment I set myself to write because I considered it wrong to keep the virtues of such a great man concealed, I decided not to be embarrassed by any solecisms. I have never acquired any great learning in these matters and if I have perhaps dipped into these studies in a small way, I have forgotten everything I learnt due to lack of practice over a long period. But one way of avoiding the necessity of making such a difficult defence would be to suppress the name of the author when the book is published, if you think this is a good idea. In that case you must erase the title on the front so that the page may be dumb, announcing only its subject matter (and that is enough), not its author. Farewell, my venerable brother in Christ, you who are the hero of all good and holy people.
Preface
I.1 Many mortals, vainly devoted to study and worldly acclaim, have then sought to immortalize their reputation, or so they believed, by using their pen to give an account of the lives of famous men.2 (2) But although this did not bring them everlasting fame the hopes they had conceived did however bear some small fruit because they prolonged their memory, although in vain, and by presenting the examples of great men they stimulated in their readers a considerable desire to emulate these people. However, these concerns were irrelevant for that blessed and eternal life. (3) For what use to them was the acclaim – which will vanish with this world – accorded to their writings? Or what benefit did posterity gain from reading about Hector’s battles or about Socrates’ philosophy? It would be foolish to imitate these men – indeed it would be madness not to combat them most energetically, seeing that as they estimate human life by present actions alone, they have entrusted their hopes of immortality to fables and their souls to tombs. (4) Indeed they believed that they should seek perpetuity for themselves only with regard to human memory although it is man’s duty to seek everlasting life rather than everlasting renown, and not by writing or fighting or playing the philosopher, but by living in a pious, saintly and religious manner. (5) But this human error, handed down through literature, has become so prevalent that it has clearly found many who wish to emulate this vain philosophy or this foolish heroism. (6) For these reasons I think it would be useful if I were to write a detailed record of the life of this most saintly man as an example to others in the future. It would serve to rouse the enthusiasm of its readers for the true wisdom, for heavenly military service and for divine heroism. In doing so we will also be pursuing our own advantage in such a way that we may expect not empty renown from our fellow men but an everlasting reward from God. For even if we ourselves have not lived in such a way as to be an example to others, we have at least made an effort to prevent a man who deserves to be imitated from remaining unknown. (7) I shall therefore undertake to write the life of St Martin, showing what he did both before he became bishop and while he was bishop, although it was impossible for me to get access to everything about him. Consequently those things of which he alone was aware cannot be known because he did not seek praise from men but wished to conceal all his virtues, as far as it lay in his control. (8) And yet, even among those facts which are known to us, we have omitted many because we believed it was sufficient for the salient points alone to be noted. We also had to consider the readers for we did not wish an excessive accumulation of facts to cause them to lose interest. (9) I therefore beg those who are to read this to believe what I say and not to think that I have written anything except what has been learned on good authority and proved to be true. If this were not the case I would have preferred silence to falsehood.
Life of Martin
II.1 Martin, then, was born in Sabaria,3 a town in Pannonia, but he was brought up in Italy, at Pavia. His parents were not of the lowest rank as far as worldly status goes, but they were pagans. (2) His father was first a soldier and later a military tribune. Martin himself, as a young man, followed him into the army and fought in the élite cavalry regiment under the emperor Constantius and then under the Caesar Julian.4 He did not do so willingly, however, because from just about his earliest years the holy childhood of this remarkable boy preferred to aspire to God’s service. (3) For when he was ten years old, he took refuge in the church against his parents’ wishes and demanded to be made a catechumen,5 (4) and it was not long before he was completely converted, in an extraordinary way, to the work of God. At the age of twelve, he longed for the desert, and he would have satisfied this desire if he had not been prevented by the weakness of his young age. Yet his mind was always intent either on the monastic cells or on the church and already in childhood he was planning what he later carried out with devotion. (5) But when the rulers gave out an edict to the effect that the sons of veterans were to be enrolled in the army, his father, who was hostile to his holy actions, betrayed him: at the age of fifteen Martin was arrested, put in chains and bound by military oaths. He was content with the company of only one slave – and in fact they exchanged roles so that the master served the slave to such an extent that it was usually Martin who pulled his slave’s boots off and cleaned them, and when they took their meals together it was more often Martin who served at table. (6) He was in the army for about three years before his baptism but he remained free from the vices in which men of this kind usually become entangled. (7) He showed great kindness to his fellow soldiers, extraordinary love, superhuman patience and humility. It is unnecessary to praise his frugality which he practised in such a way that already at that time he might have been taken to be a monk rather than a soldier. These qualities of his bound all his fellow soldiers so closely to him that they adored him with extraordinary affection. (8) Although he had not yet been born again in Christ, in performing good works he behaved like a candidate for baptism: he supported those in trouble, he brought help to the wretched, he fed the poor, he clothed the naked and kept nothing of his military salary for himself apart from what he needed for food each day. Already at that time he was not deaf to the gospel for he took no thought for the morrow.6
III.1 One day, then, in the middle of a winter more bitterly cold than usual (so much so that many perished as a result of the severity of the icy weather), when Martin had nothing with him apart from his weapons and a simple military cloak, he came across a naked beggar at the gate of the city of Amiens. The man begged the people who were passing to have pity on him but they all walked past him. Then Martin, who was filled with God’s grace, understood that this man had been reserved for him, since the others were not showing him any mercy. (2) But what was he to do? He had nothing apart from the cloak he was wearing, for he had already used up the rest of his things for a similar purpose. So he seized the sword which he wore at his side, divided the cloak in two, gave half to the beggar and then put the remaining piece on again. Some of the bystanders began to laugh because he looked odd with his chopped-up cloak, but many who were more sensible sighed deeply because they had not done the same despite the fact that, because they had more than Martin, they could have clothed the beggar without themselves being reduced to nakedness. (3) The following night, therefore, when Martin had fallen asleep, he saw Christ clothed in the part of his cloak which he had used to cover the beggar. He was told to look very carefully at the Lord and to recognize the clothing which he had given. Then he heard Jesus saying in a clear voice to the host of angels standing all around, ‘Martin who is still a catechumen covered me with this cloak.’ (4) Undoubtedly, when the Lord declared that He Himself was clothed in the person of this beggar, He was recalling His own words (for He had once said, ‘As often as you do this to one of the least, you have done it to me.’)7 And He deigned to reveal Himself in the clothing which the beggar had received in order to confirm His witness to such a good deed. (5) This most blessed man was not puffed up with human pride by this vision. Instead he acknowledged God’s goodness in his deed and now that he was eighteen years old, he was impatient to be baptized. However, he did not immediately give up his military career for he was persuaded by the entreaties of his tribune with whom he had a close relationship. In fact the tribune promised that once the period of his tribuneship was over, he himself would withdraw from the world. (6) As Martin was kept waiting for this for about two years, after his baptism he continued as a soldier though only in name.
IV.1 Then the barbarians invaded Gaul and the Caesar Julian8 assembled his army at the city of the Vangiones9 and set about paying the soldiers a bonus. They were called out one by one, as was the custom, until it was Martin’s turn. (2) Then he judged that the time was right to request his discharge, for he thought it would be dishonest to accept a bonus payment if he did not intend to serve as a soldier. So he said to the Caesar, (3) ‘Up till now I have fought for you; allow me now to fight for God. Let someone who intends to fight accept your bonus. I am a soldier of Christ, I am not allowed to fight.’ (4) The tyrant was furious at these words and claimed that Martin was refusing to do his duty as a soldier not out of religious conviction but out of fear of the battle that was to take place the next day. (5) But Martin was not intimidated. In fact, he stood all the more firm when terror tactics were used against him. ‘If,’ he replied, ‘you ascribe this to cowardice rather than to faith, tomorrow I shall stand unarmed before the front lines. With neither shield nor helmet but with the sign of the cross to protect me, in the name of the Lord Jesus I will push my way into the enemy’s formations without being harmed.’ (6) The order was therefore given for him to be taken back and thrown into prison so that he would keep his promise to be thrust unarmed at the barbarians.(7) Next day the enemy sent envoys to sue for peace, surrendering themselves and all their belongings. Who then could doubt that this victory was really due to the blessed man to whom it was granted not to be sent unarmed into battle? (8) Although the good Lord could have kept his soldier safe amidst the swords and weapons of the enemy, he none the less removed the necessity for battle so that the holy man’s gaze would not be outraged even by the deaths of others. (9) For it was right that Christ should offer his soldier no other victory than one where no one died and where the enemy was driven to surrender without bloodshed.
V.1 After leaving the army, Martin went to visit the saintly Hilary,10 bishop of Poitiers, whose faith in theological matters had been tested and was well known at that time, and spent some time with him. (2) This same Hilary attempted to tie Martin more closely to himself and to bind him to the service of God by making him a deacon, but Martin refused time and time again, pleading that he was unworthy. So Hilary, a man of penetrating intellect, understood that the only way in which Martin could be tied down was if Hilary were to confer on him a position which might seem to involve a degree of humiliation. So he suggested that he should be an exorcist.11 Martin did not refuse to be ordained to this position for he did not want it to look as if he was rejecting it as not sufficiently prestigious. (3) Shortly afterwards he was admonished in his sleep to visit, out of a spirit of loving concern, his native land12 and his parents who were still in the clutches of paganism. So with St Hilary’s consent he set off, after being made to promise, by means of numerous entreaties and tears, that he would return. It was with sadness, so they say, that he set off on this long journey, testifying to the brothers that he would have to endure many tribulations. Later events proved this to be correct. (4) First of all, while crossing the Alps he lost his way and fell among brigands. When one of these raised his axe and prepared to strike Martin on the head, another restrained his arm as he was about to strike. However, they tied Martin’s hands behind his back and handed him over to one of the brigands to be guarded and stripped of his belongings. When this brigand led him to a more remote spot and began to question him as to who he was, Martin replied that he was a Christian. (5) The brigand asked whether he was frightened. Then Martin declared with firm conviction that he had never felt so safe because he knew that the Lord’s mercy was closest at hand when one was in danger; instead, Martin felt sorry for him because, being a brigand, he was unworthy of Christ’s mercy. (6) Martin undertook to set forth the gospel and preached the word of God to the brigand. To cut a long story short: the brigand was converted to the faith and accompanied Martin to set him on the right road, begging him to pray to the Lord on his behalf. This same man was later seen leading a religious life, and in fact the story I have just related is said to have been heard from him.
VI.1 Continuing on his way, Martin had passed Milan when the devil, taking on human form, came up to him and asked where he was going. Receiving Martin’s reply, to the effect that he was going where the Lord called him, he said to Martin (2), ‘Wherever you go and whatever you attempt, the devil will oppose you.’ Then Martin answered in the words of the prophet: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what a man can do to me.’13 At once the enemy disappeared from his sight. (3) And so he carried out his intention to set his mother free from the error of paganism while Martin’s father continued in wickedness. However, Martin saved many by his example. (4) By then the Arian heresy had spread throughout the world and especially in Illyricum. Since Martin was almost the only one to fight most strenuously against the heretical beliefs of the priests and because many tortures were inflicted on him (for he was publicly beaten and finally driven to leave the city) he returned to Italy. When he learnt that the church in Gaul had also been thrown into confusion by the departure of St Hilary who had been driven into exile14 by the power of the heretics, Martin established a monastic cell for himself in Milan. There too Auxentius,15 the chief instigator and leader of the Arians, persecuted him relentlessly: he inflicted many injuries on Martin and expelled him from the city. (5) Judging it necessary to yield to circumstances, Martin withdrew to an island called Gallinara,16 accompanied by a priest, a man of great virtues. Here he lived for a time on the roots of grasses. During that period he ate some hellebore, a plant said to be poisonous. (6) But when he felt the power of the poison attacking him and death close at hand, he managed by his prayers to repel the danger threatening him and immediately all the pain left him. (7) Not long afterwards, when he learnt that the emperor had now repented and had granted St Hilary permission to return from exile,17 Martin set out for Rome to try and meet Hilary there.
VII.1 As Hilary had already passed through, Martin followed in his footsteps to Poitiers where he was most warmly welcomed by Hilary. Martin then erected a monastic cell for himself not far from the town.18 At that time a certain catechumen attached himself to him, wishing to learn how to live according to the teachings of such a holy man. A few days later this man fell sick, suffering from violent attacks of fever. (2) It happened that Martin had just gone away: after an absence of three days he returned to find a lifeless body. Death had come so suddenly that the man had departed this mortal life without being baptized. The grieving brothers were performing their sorrowful duties around the body laid out in their midst when Martin came running up, weeping and wailing. (3) But then, as his whole mind became filled with the Holy Spirit, he told the others to leave the little room where the body lay. He locked the door and threw himself down upon the lifeless limbs of the dead brother. And when Martin had lain in prayer for a while and felt that the power of the Lord was present through the spirit, he raised himself a little and stared into the dead man’s face, fearlessly awaiting the outcome of his prayers and the Lord’s mercy. Two hours had scarcely passed when he saw the dead man slowly move each limb and open his eyes, blinking to regain his sight. (4) Then he turned with a great cry to the Lord, filling the tiny cell with shouts of thanksgiving. On hearing this those who had been standing outside immediately rushed in. It was an extraordinary sight: they saw the man whom they had left as dead now alive. (5) And so, restored to life, he immediately underwent baptism. He lived for many years afterwards and was the first to provide evidence and testimony to Martin’s spiritual powers. (6) He used to relate how when he left the body he was taken to the court of the Judge and that he heard the grim sentence that he was to be condemned to the dark places and to the hordes of common people. Then two angels pointed out to the Judge that this was the man for whom Martin was praying and so the order was given for him to be taken back by the two angels, handed over to Martin and restored to his former life. (7) It was from that moment that the name of the blessed man first shone forth so that he who was already considered by everyone to be a holy man, was now also considered truly worthy of the apostles.
VIII. 1 Not long afterwards, while Martin was passing through the estate of Lupicinus, a man who was held in high esteem in the eyes of this world, he was greeted by cries of grief from a crowd of mourners. (2) He went up to them in concern and inquired what this wailing was about: they explained to him that a young slave belonging to the household had hanged himself. When he learned of this, he entered the little room in which the corpse was lying, and shutting out all the people, he lay down on the body and prayed for a short while. (3) Soon the face showed signs of life and the dead boy, his eyelids still heavy, raised himself up towards Martin’s face. Slowly and with great effort he managed to get up, and taking hold of the blessed man’s hand he stood up and then walked with him to the entrance of the house while the whole crowd looked on.
IX.1 At about this time, Martin was considered as a candidate for the bishopric of Tours. But since he could not easily be torn from his cell, a certain Rusticius, one of the citizens, pretending that his wife was ill, threw himself at Martin’s feet, thus managing to make him come out. (2) Then, when crowds of citizens had been arranged along the route, Martin was escorted as far as the city more or less under guard. What was extraordinary was that an incredible number of people not only from that town but also from neighbouring towns gathered to cast their votes. (3) They all shared one will, one wish, one opinion: Martin was the most worthy to become bishop and fortunate was the church which had such a bishop! A few, however, including some of the bishops who had been summoned to install the prelate, wickedly rejected him, saying that he was despicable: a person with such a scruffy appearance, dirty clothes and unkempt hair was unworthy of the episcopate. (4) But those who had a more sensible attitude found such foolishness ridiculous: while wishing to find fault with him, these bishops were actually proclaiming him to be an outstanding person! In fact they were unable to do anything other than what the people were planning in accordance with the Lord’s will. However, among the bishops present, someone called Defensor is said particularly to have opposed Martin. In this connection it was noticed that he was afterwards severely reprimanded by a reading from the prophets. (5) For it happened that the reader whose turn it was to read on that day had been prevented by the crowds from arriving and the men in charge were anxiously awaiting the man who was missing, when one of the bystanders took the psalter and seized upon the first verse he came to. (6) This was the psalm verse: Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings you have perfected praise because of your enemies, so that you might destroy the enemy and the defender.19 When he read this, the cries of the people rose up and the opposition party was thrown into confusion. (7) They believed that it had been by God’s will that this particular psalm had been read so that Defensor might hear this testimony to his deeds, he who out of the mouths of babes and sucklings had been at the same time revealed as the enemy and destroyed now that the Lord’s praise had been perfected in Martin.
X.1 It is not in our power to give a full account of his behaviour and his greatness after he had succeeded to the episcopate. In fact, with the utmost constancy he continued the same as before. (2) There was the same humility of heart, the same poverty of clothing. Full of authority and grace, he fulfilled the high office of bishop without abandoning his monastic commitment and virtue.20 (3) For a time, therefore, he used a little cell adjoining the church; then when he could no longer bear the disturbance caused by those who flocked to see him, he built himself a cell some two miles outside the city.21 (4) This place was so remote and secluded that it was equal to the solitude of the desert. For on one side it was bounded by the sheer rock of a high mountain, while on the level side, it was enclosed by a gentle bend in the river Loire. It could be approached by only one path and that a very narrow one. Martin lived in a small cell made of wood and (5) a number of the brothers lived in a similar manner, but most of them had made shelters for themselves by hollowing out the rock of the mountain which overlooked the place. There were about eighty disciples who had chosen to lead a life in accordance with their blessed master’s example. (6) No one there possessed anything of his own, everything was shared.22 They were not allowed to buy or sell anything (as is the practice with most monks). No craft was practised there, apart from that of the scribes; the young were set to this task while the older ones spent their time in prayer. (7) It was rare for anyone to leave his own cell except when they gathered at the place of prayer. They all received their food together after the period of fasting. No one drank any wine unless illness forced him to do so. (8) Most of them were dressed in camel-skin garments: they considered the wearing of any softer material to be reprehensible. This is all the more remarkable since many of them were said to be noblemen who had been brought up in a very different way but had voluntarily adopted this life of humility and endurance. Later we saw several of them become bishops. (9) For what city or church did not long to have a priest from Martin’s monastery?
XI.1 Let me now deal with the rest of the miracles which he performed during his episcopacy. There was a place, not far from the town and next to the monastery, which people wrongly considered to be sacred, on the grounds that martyrs had been buried there. (2) In fact there was also an altar there thought to have been set up by previous bishops. But Martin was not quick to believe things which were doubtful and so he kept asking the older priests and clerics to reveal to him the martyr’s name and the date of his passion. He said he was troubled by one major misgiving, namely the problem that ancestral tradition had handed down no information that was coherent and indisputable.
(3) For some time Martin refrained from going to this place. Since he was uncertain, he did not disparage the cult but neither did he give his authority to the people in case the superstition should flourish. But one day he went there, taking with him a few of the brothers.
(4) Then, standing on the tomb itself, he prayed to the Lord to reveal who was buried there and what his special merit was. Then he turned to the left and saw an ugly and ferocious-looking shade standing near by. He ordered him to tell them his name and his special merit. He gave his name and confessed his crime: he had been a robber, executed for his crimes and mistakenly venerated by the people. He said that he had nothing in common with the martyrs since they were remembered for their glory, while he was remembered for his punishment. (5) What was extraordinary was that those present heard his voice as he spoke but could not see him. Then Martin revealed what he had seen and ordered them to remove from the place the altar that had stood there. In this way he set the people free from the error of that superstition.
XII. 1 It happened during the following period that while he was on a journey he came across the corpse of a pagan which was being carried out for burial in accordance with superstitious funeral rites. Seeing in the distance a crowd of people coming towards him, he stopped for a while, not knowing what it was. For he was about five hundred paces away so it was difficult to make out what he was seeing. (2) However, because he could see a group of peasants and the linen cloths laid over the corpse fluttering in the wind, he thought that they were performing pagan sacrificial rites, for it was the custom for the peasants of Gaul, in their pitiable delusion, to carry demonic representations, covered with a white veil, over their fields. (3) And so Martin raised his hand and made the sign of the cross against those who were coming towards him. He ordered the crowd to stop and to set down what they were carrying. And now you would have seen an amazing thing. These miserable people first became rigid like rocks; (4) then, when they made a great effort to move forward, they found that they were unable to move any further and went spinning round in a ridiculous whirling movement until they were overcome with dizziness and set down the burden of the corpse. They looked round at each other in amazement, wondering in silence what had happened. (5) But when the holy man understood that these people had gathered for a funeral, not for a religious ceremony, he raised his hand once more and granted them the power to depart and to carry the corpse. He therefore forced them to stop when he wanted and allowed them to depart when he wanted.
XIII.1 Again, when he had destroyed a very ancient temple in a certain village and had undertaken to chop down a pine tree standing beside the shrine, the priest of that temple, together with a whole crowd of pagans, began to put up resistance. (2) And although these people had at the Lord’s command done nothing while the temple was being knocked down, they refused to allow the tree to be cut down. Martin was at pains to make it clear to them that there was nothing sacred about a tree stump; they should rather follow God, whose servant he was; in fact, they ought to chop down that tree because it was consecrated to a demon. (3) Then one of them, who was bolder than the rest, said, ‘If you have any faith in your God whom you claim to worship, we will cut down this tree ourselves and you must catch it as it falls. If your Lord is with you, as you claim, you will escape injury.’ (4) Then Martin promised that he would do so for his confidence in the Lord made him fearless. At this point the whole crowd of pagans agreed to these terms, and they readily assented to the loss of their tree, as long as it managed to crush the enemy of their rites as it fell. (5) And so, when that Pine tree began to lean to one side so that there was no doubt as to which way it would fall when it was cut down, Martin was tied up and placed, as the peasants wished, in the spot where everyone was convinced the tree would fall. (6) They then began to chop at the pine with great joy and excitement. A crowd of amazed onlookers stood at a distance. And now the pine was gradually starting to sway to and fro and, on the point of falling, it threatened its own destruction. (7) Standing some way away the monks grew pale: terrified by the danger which was now close at hand, they had lost all hope and confidence and were now only awaiting Martin’s death. (8) But he trusted in the Lord and waited without fear. The pine gave a crashing noise as it fell and Martin raised his hand to meet it as it was falling, as it came crashing down on top of him, and he made the sign of salvation to block the tree’s path. As a result the tree fell in a different place (you would have thought it had been pushed back by some kind of whirlwind) so that it came close to crushing the country folk who had been standing in a safe place. (9) Then shouts rose to the skies for the pagans were shocked by the miracle, while the monks wept for joy and the name of Christ was proclaimed by all of them together. It was generally agreed that on that day salvation came to that region. For there was hardly anyone in that huge crowd of pagans who did not ask for the laying-on of hands and who did not believe in the Lord Jesus, abandoning the error of impiety. It is true that before Martin came there were only a very few, or rather, there was hardly anyone in those regions who had received the name of Christ, but by means of his miracles and his example the name of Christ grew so strong that there was no longer any place in that area which was not full of churches or monasteries filled with people. For in those places where he had destroyed the pagan shrines, he immediately built either churches or monasteries.
XIV. 1 At about the same time Martin performed a miracle of no less value by means of a similar kind of deed. In one village he had set fire to a most ancient and famous shrine and the balls of flame were being carried by the driving wind on to the nearest, or rather, adjoining house. (2) As soon as Martin noticed this, he quickly ran and climbed up on to the roof of the house, throwing himself in the path of the flames as they came towards him. Then an extraordinary thing occurred: you would have seen the fire turned back against the force of the wind, so that there appeared to be a sort of conflict between the elements fighting each other. And so, as a result of Martin’s special power, the fire only had an effect in the place where it was ordered to do so. (3) In another village, called Leprosus, Martin wanted to knock down a temple which had been richly ornamented by the pagan superstition, but he was so strongly resisted by a crowd of pagans that he was driven back, not without injury. (4) Consequently he withdrew to the neighbouring area, where he spent three days fasting and praying, clothed in sackcloth and ashes. He prayed to the Lord for divine power to destroy that temple since human hands could not demolish it. (5) Then suddenly two angels, armed with spears and shields, appeared to him like heavenly soldiers, saying that they were sent by the Lord to disperse the crowds of peasants and to bring assistance to Martin to prevent anyone resisting him while the temple was being demolished. The angels told him to go back and finish off faithfully the task that he had begun. (6) So he went back to the village and as the pagan crowds looked on in silence he completely demolished the temple belonging to the false religion and reduced all the altars and statues to dust. (7) Seeing this, the villagers realized that the divine will had rendered them speechless and panic-stricken to stop them resisting the bishop, and as a result almost all of them converted to the Lord Jesus: they shouted out in public, confessing that they should worship Martin’s God and neglect the idols that were unable to help them.
XV.1 I shall also relate what happened in a village of the Aedui. While Martin was destroying another temple, a furious crowd of pagan villagers attacked him. When one of them who was braver than the others drew his sword and aimed a blow at him, Martin threw back his cloak and offered his bare neck to the man who was on the point of hitting him. (2) The pagan did not hesitate to strike but when he raised his right arm higher, he fell backwards. Overwhelmed by fear of the divine, he begged for mercy. (3) That story is not unlike the following one: when someone wanted to stab Martin with a knife while he was destroying some idols, the weapon was knocked from the man’s hands as he struck the blow, and disappeared. More often, however, when the country people tried to prevent him destroying their shrines, he would restrain the minds of these pagans by means of his holy teaching in such a way that when the light of truth was revealed to them, they would destroy their own temples themselves.
XVI.1 He also possessed such a powerful gift of healing that there was hardly a sick person who came to him who was not restored to health on the spot. (2) At Trier23 there was a girl in the grip of such a terrible paralysis that for a long time now she had been unable to use her body for the normal human functions: she was nearly dead in every part of her body, her pulse was almost non-existent and her breathing faint. (3) Her grieving relatives were at her bedside, waiting only for her death, when suddenly the news came that Martin had arrived in that city. As soon as the girl’s father learned of this, he ran breathlessly to ask for help for his daughter. (4) By chance Martin had already entered the church. There, in full view of the congregation and the many other bishops present, the old man embraced Martin’s knees, lamenting loudly and said, ‘My daughter is dying from a terrible wasting disease and, what is more cruel even than death, only her breathing proves that she is still alive – in her flesh she is already prematurely dead. I ask you to come to her and bless her, for I am confident that through you she must be restored to health.’ (5) Martin was filled with confusion at these words and stood there horrified; he tried to avoid what was asked of him by saying that this was not part of his special power, that the old man was mistaken in his judgement and that he himself was not worthy to be used by the Lord to reveal a sign of His power. The father, in tears, persisted all the more determinedly, begging Martin to come and see the dying girl. (6) Finally, Martin was prevailed upon to go by the bishops standing round him and so he went along to the girl’s house. A huge crowd was waiting outside the doors to see what the servant of God would do. (7) First of all he lay down on the ground and prayed – this being his usual weapon in such circumstances. Then he examined the sick girl and asked for some oil. When he had blessed her, he poured the power of this holy liquid into the girl’s mouth and immediately her voice was restored to her. (8) Then, little by little, as Martin touched each of her limbs, they began to come to life, until she got up and walked with steady steps as the people looked on.
XVII.1 At the same period, the slave of a man called Taetradius who was of proconsular rank, was possessed by a demon tormenting him to death with great pain. When Martin was asked to lay his hand on him, he ordered that the man should be brought to him. But it was utterly impossible for the evil spirit to be brought out from the cell where it was, so fiercely did it attack those who tried to enter with its rabid bites. (2) Then Taetradius threw himself at the blessed man’s feet, begging him to come along to the house where the possessed man was being held. But Martin said that he was unable to enter a house that belonged to a pagan, an adherent of a false religion. (3) For at that time Taetradius was still entangled in the error of paganism. So he promised that if the demon was driven out of the boy, he would become a Christian. (4) Then Martin laid his hand on the boy and cast forth the unclean spirit from him. When he saw this, Taetradius believed in the Lord Jesus and was immediately made a catechumen; not long afterwards he was baptized and continued always to have an extraordinary affection for Martin as the person responsible for his salvation. (5) During this same period and in the same town, as Martin was entering a house belonging to the head of some family, he stopped on the very threshold, explaining that he could see a horrifying demon in the entrance hall to the house. When he ordered it to depart, the demon seized the owner’s cook, who was in the inner part of the building. The wretched thing began to tear him with its teeth and to maul anyone it came across. The house was thrown into confusion, the household members panicked, and the people turned and ran. (6) Martin stood in the way of this raving creature and first ordered it to stop. But when it raged and showed its teeth and, with mouth wide open, threatened to bite him, Martin put his fingers in its mouth and said, ‘If you have any power, eat these.’ (7) But then, as if it had received white-hot metal in its jaws, it withdrew its teeth a long way, refusing to touch the holy man’s fingers. Forced by these punishments and torments to flee from the body of the man who was possessed, it was not allowed to leave through his mouth but was expelled in a flow of diarrhoea, leaving behind it foul traces.
XVIII.1 Then, when a sudden rumour concerning barbarian movements and attacks had thrown the city into a panic, Martin gave the order that a man possessed of a demon should be brought before him. He commanded it to state publicly whether this news was true. (2) It then confessed that it was accompanied by ten demons who had spread the rumour throughout the population so that this fear, if nothing else, might drive Martin from that town; it admitted that the barbarians were not planning an attack at all. And so, as soon as the unclean spirit had confessed these things in the middle of the church, the city was freed from the fear and confusion rife at that time. (3) At Paris, as Martin was entering the city gate accompanied by huge crowds, to everyone’s horror he kissed a leper with a piteous face and blessed him. At once the man was cleansed from all his misfortune, (4) and on the following day he came to church, his skin radiantly healthy, and gave thanks for the health he had recovered. One should not omit to mention the fact that bits of material pulled from Martin’s cloak and hair shirt often had a powerful healing effect on those who were sick: (5) when tied to the fingers or applied to the neck of the patients, their illnesses were frequently dispelled.
XIX.1 When the daughter of Arborius, a man who had been Prefect and who was of a perfectly holy and faithful nature, was burning with a very serious quartan fever, her father placed on the girl’s chest, while the fever was at its height, a letter from Martin which happened to have been delivered to him, and immediately the fever was dispelled. (2) This event had such an effect on Arborius that he immediately offered his daughter to God and dedicated her to perpetual virginity. He went to find Martin and presented his daughter to him as a living witness to his special powers, seeing that she had been cured by him even though he was not present. Arborius would not allow anyone other than Martin to put the virgin’s robes on her and to consecrate her. (3) When Paulinus,24 a man who was later to become a great example, began to suffer from a serious eye complaint and quite a thick grey film had spread across his pupil and now covered it, Martin touched his eye with a little brush. All the pain vanished and the eye was restored to the healthy state it had previously enjoyed. (4) Once Martin himself fell, rolling down from the upper room: as he fell over the uneven steps of the ladder he suffered multiple injuries. While he lay half dead in his cell in absolute agony, an angel appeared to him at night to wash his wounds and to anoint the bruises on his battered body with a healing ointment. The following day he was so much better that one might have thought he had never had any accident. (5) But it would take a long time to go through all the details: these stories – a few out of many – must suffice. Let it be enough that we have not removed the truth from the salient points and that we have avoided tiring the reader by relating too many.
XX.1 But let me include some lesser events among these great achievements. Our age has become so depraved and corrupted that it is almost exceptional for a priest to have the strength not to yield to flattery of the emperor. When a number of bishops from different parts of the world came together to visit the emperor Maximus,25 a man of a fierce nature who was proud of his victory in the civil wars, the revolting sycophancy of all of them towards the emperor was noted, as was the fact that their priestly dignity had, as a result of their despicable weakness, stooped to the level of imperial clients: in Martin alone did the apostolic authority remain intact. (2) For even though he had to intercede with the king on behalf of a number of people, he demanded rather than begged, and although he was frequently invited, he refused to dine with Maximus, saying that he could not share the table of a person who had deprived one emperor of his sovereignty, another of his life.26 (3) Finally Maximus protested that he had not taken up power voluntarily, but that he had used arms to defend the sovereign power imposed upon him by the soldiers27 in accordance with the divine will: he did not think that God’s will could be at odds with someone who had gained such a remarkable victory, and none of his enemies had been killed except in battle. Martin was at last convinced by his arguments or by his entreaties and attended the banquet, while the ruler was extraordinarily pleased to have achieved this. (4) The guests who were present, as if invited to celebrate some feast day, were illustrious men, the top-ranking people. There was the Prefect and consul Evodius, the most just man there has ever been, two counts invested with supreme power, the emperor’s brother and his uncle. The priest who had come with Martin sat between these two, while Martin himself was seated on a chair beside the emperor. (5) About half-way through the banquet, according to custom an attendant brought a libation bowl to the emperor who told him that it should be given instead to the most holy bishop, for the emperor hoped and wished to receive the cup from the bishop’s hand. (6) But when Martin had drunk from it, he passed the bowl to his priest, no doubt thinking that no one was worthier to drink immediately after himself and that it would not be in his power to put the emperor himself or those who were closest to the emperor before the priest. (7) The emperor and all those present were so amazed by what he had done that they actually approved of an act which humiliated them. And the news spread through the palace that Martin, at the emperor’s banquet, had done something which none of the bishops had done at dinners hosted by lesser officials. (8) To this same Maximus Martin predicted long in advance that if he went to Italy where he planned to go to wage war against the emperor Valentinian, he ought to be aware that he would be victorious in the first onslaught but that he would die shortly afterwards. (9) That is indeed what we saw happen: when Maximus first arrived, Valentinian turned and fled, but about a year later, when he had regained his strength, he captured Maximus within the walls of Aquileia and killed him.
XXI.1 It is certain that angels often appeared to Martin, even going so far as to enter into conversation and talk with him. But as for the devil, Martin could see him so easily and so clearly that whether he retained his own form or turned himself into various evil shapes, Martin could recognize him, whatever his disguise. (2) But when the devil realized that he could not escape, he would frequently hurl abuse at Martin, because he was unable to deceive him by his wiles. One time he burst into Martin’s cell with a loud roar, holding in his hand a bull’s bloody horn. He showed his bloody hand, and glorying in the crime he had just committed, he said, ‘Where is your power, Martin? I have just killed one of your friends.’ (3) Then Martin called the brothers together and told them what the devil had revealed. He told them to go carefully round all the cells to find out who had suffered this fate. They reported that none of the monks was missing but that one peasant, hired to transport some wood, had gone into the forest. Martin therefore ordered some of them to go and meet him; (4) he was found not far from the monastery, already on the point of death. As he breathed his last, he revealed to the brothers the cause of his deadly wound: when his oxen were yoked together, as he was tightening the straps which had come undone, an ox shook his head free and drove his horns into the peasant’s groin. A short while later he yielded up his life. It is for you to decide by what judgement of the Lord this power was granted to the devil. (5) What was amazing about Martin was that he foresaw long in advance not only what we mentioned earlier but many things of this kind whenever they happened, or he made them known to the brothers as soon as they were revealed to him.
XXII.1 The devil appeared to Martin in the most diverse forms in his attempts to trick the holy man by means of a thousand harmful devices. Sometimes he appeared transformed into the person of Jupiter, sometimes that of Mercury and often even of Venus and Minerva. Martin, always unafraid, protected himself against him by making the sign of the cross and with the help of prayer. (2) Often one could hear abuse hurled at him by the throng of demons using foul language, but Martin knew that all these things were deceptive and an illusion and was therefore unmoved by their taunts. (3) Some of the brothers also claimed that they had heard a demon accusing Martin in foul language of having received into the monastery after their conversion some brothers who had once lost the grace of baptism as a result of various sins, and the demon had set forth their individual sins. (4) Martin resisted the devil and answered firmly that the old faults had been purged away by a better way of life: by the Lord’s mercy those who had ceased to sin would be absolved from their sins. When the devil retorted that forgiveness was not appropriate for guilty people and that no mercy could be obtained from the Lord for those who had once fallen into error, Martin is said to have then exclaimed in these words; (5) ‘If you, you wretched creature, ceased to persecute people and repented of your deeds, particularly at this time when the Day of Judgement is close at hand, then I, who trust completely in the Lord Jesus Christ, would promise you mercy.’ How saintly of Martin to anticipate the Lord’s goodness! Although he was unable to offer a guarantee of it, he did show his feelings. (6) And since we have started to discuss the devil and his devices, it does not seem irrelevant – in fact, it seems to be at the heart of the matter – to mention what happened, for a good deal of Martin’s special powers are revealed in this event and a story which has the status of a miracle should rightly be recorded as a warning, in case anything similar should occur in future.
XXIII.1 Clarus28 was a young man of the highest nobility who later became a priest and now is blessed as a result of his fortunate death. After abandoning everything and going to join Martin, it was not long before he shone forth at the very summit of faith and all virtues. (2) It happened that after he had built a hut for himself not far from the bishop’s monastery and while many of the brothers were living with him, a young man called Anatolius, professing to be a monk and making a show of every form of humility and innocence, came to him and for a time lived a communal life with the others. (3) Then, as time went on, he claimed that angels regularly conversed with him. As no one put any faith in what he said, he used certain signs to force a number of the brothers to believe him. Finally he went so far as to declare that messengers went back and forth between himself and God: he now wanted to be considered one of the prophets. (4) But there was no way that Clarus could be forced to believe even though Anatolius threatened him with God’s anger and immediate punishment for not believing in a saint. (5) At last Anatolius is said to have burst forth with these words: ‘Look! Tonight the Lord will give me a white tunic from heaven and dressed in this, I shall remain in your midst. The fact that I have been presented with a tunic from God will be a sign to you that I am the power of God.’ (6) Then great indeed was the expectation of all when they heard this claim. At about midnight the whole monastery appeared to shake with a loud noise as of people stamping the ground. You would have seen the cell in which the young man was being kept light up with repeated flashes and you would have heard the sound of people rushing about inside, as well as a sort of murmur of numerous voices. (7) Then when all was silent Anatolius came out. He summoned one of the brothers called Sabatius and showed him the tunic he was wearing. (8) Sabatius was astonished and called the others. Clarus himself came running, and when a light had been brought they all carefully examined the garment. It was extremely soft, exceptionally white, dazzlingly bright and made of a material that could not be identified; but when inspected by curious eyes and fingers, it seemed to be an ordinary tunic. Clarus then told the brothers to begin praying that the Lord might reveal to them more clearly what it was. (9) So the rest of the night was spent in hymns and psalms. When daylight came, Clarus grasped Anatolius by the hand, intending to take him along to see Martin, for he was well aware that Martin could not be deceived by the devil’s wiles. (10) Then the wretched man began to struggle and shout, saying that he was forbidden to show himself to Martin. When they forced him to go against his will, the tunic vanished in the hands of those who were dragging him along. (11) And so who can doubt that it was also Martin’s special power that made it impossible for the devil to keep his deception secret or disguise it any longer once it was going to be brought before Martin’s eyes?
XXIV.1 It was noticed that at about the same time there was a young man in Spain who became so carried away when he gained influence as a result of performing numerous miracles that he claimed to be Elijah. (2) Many people foolishly believed this and so he went further and said that he was Christ: so great was the deception he caused that a bishop by the name of Rufus worshipped him as God (which is why we saw this man later stripped of the episcopacy). (3) A large number of the brothers have reported to us that at the same period there was someone in the East who boasted that he was John, from which we can deduce that when pseudo-prophets of this kind appear, the coming of the Antichrist is imminent, for in these men he is already working the mystery of his iniquity. (4) I think I ought to mention what exceptional cunning the devil used to try and tempt Martin at that time. One day he appeared to Martin who was praying in his cell: he was preceded by a bright light with which he also surrounded himself in the hope of more easily tricking Martin by means of a feigned brightness. He wore a royal robe and was crowned with a diadem made of gold and jewels, wore gilded sandals, had a serene expression and a look of joy – no one could have looked less like the devil! (5) When Martin first saw him he was stunned and for a long time they both maintained a profound silence. Then the devil spoke first, ‘Martin, recognize who you are looking at. I am Christ. Intending to come down to earth I wished to reveal myself first to you.’ (6) When Martin remained silent and said nothing in reply to these words, the devil dared to repeat his bold claim. ‘Martin, why do you hesitate? Believe, since you can see: I am Christ.’ Then, as a result of the spirit’s revelation, Martin understood that it was the devil, not the Lord, and so he said, ‘The Lord Jesus did not foretell that He would come in splendid clothes and with a shining crown; I will not believe that Christ has come unless He wears the same garments and has the same appearance as at the time of His suffering, and unless He bears the marks of the cross.’ At these words the devil immediately vanished like smoke. He filled the cell with such a strong smell that he left clear proof that he was the devil. In case anyone should happen to think this incident mere fiction, I actually learned of it, as I mentioned earlier, from the mouth of Martin himself.
XXV.1 After having heard about his faith, his life and his virtue for a long time, we were burning with a desire to meet him and so we gladly undertook a long journey to see him. At the same time, because I was already very keen to write his life, we partly questioned the man himself (in so far as it was possible for him to be questioned) and partly tried to find out from those who had been present or who knew of his deeds. (2) You cannot believe the humility and kindness with which he welcomed me at that time. He was very pleased, rejoicing in the Lord that we had considered him so important as to undertake a long journey to seek him out. (3) Wretched creature that I am – I hardly dare to admit it – when he was kind enough to invite me to share his holy meal, he himself brought the water to wash our hands. In the evening he washed our feet himself and we did not have the courage to resist or refuse: I was so overwhelmed by his authority that I would have thought it sinful not to allow him to do so. (4) All his conversation with us was concerned with the need to leave behind the seductions of this world and our secular burdens so that, free and untrammelled, we might follow the Lord Jesus. He insisted to us that the most outstanding model of our time was that famous man Paulinus, whom we mentioned earlier: he who gave up immense riches to follow Christ and was thus almost the only one in our time to have fulfilled the precepts of the Gospel. (5) It was him we must follow, insisted Martin, it was him we must imitate: the present age was fortunate in having an example of such great faith and virtue, since, according to the words of the Lord, the rich man who had many possessions, had by selling everything and giving to the poor made possible the impossible by means of his example. (6) And then, how full of gravity and dignity were his words and his conversation! How sharp and how forceful he was, how readily and easily he solved Scriptural problems! (7) And because I know that many find it hard to believe this (for I have seen some who refused to believe even when I myself told them about it), I call Jesus and our shared hope to witness that I never heard from anyone’s lips so much knowledge, so much wisdom, so much excellent and pure speech. (8) With regard to Martin’s virtues this eulogy does not go very far, but it is amazing that not even this grace was lacking to an uneducated person.
XXVI.1 But now the book demands an end and I must conclude this account, not because I have exhausted all there is to say about Martin but because like those lazy poets who write carelessly at the end of their work, we are giving up, overwhelmed by the amount of material. (2) For even if a full account of his deeds might in some measure be given, no account, I truly believe, no account could ever provide a full description of his inner life, his daily behaviour and his soul which was always focused on heaven: I mean his perseverance and moderation in abstinence and in fasting, his ability to stay awake and pray, and the nights as well as days he spent in this way, the fact that he had no time spare from God’s work to which he devoted himself, whether in activity or at leisure, while going without both food and sleep except in so far as the demands of nature forced him to partake of them. (3) In truth, I will admit that not if Homer himself, as they say,29 emerged from the underworld could he give an accurate account of this: everything in Martin is so much greater than can be expressed in words. Never did any hour or moment pass when he was not absorbed in prayer or concentrating on reading, although he never allowed his mind to relax from prayer, even during his periods of reading or if he happened to be doing something else. (4) Without doubt, just as in the case of blacksmiths who strike their anvil during the break in their work as a kind of relaxation from their hard work, so Martin always prayed even while he seemed to be doing something else. (5) O truly blessed man, in whom there was no guile: no one did he judge, no one did he condemn, never did he return evil for evil. He bore all insults with such patience that, although he was the priest of the highest rank, he allowed himself to be hurt with impunity by the lowest of the clergy, nor did such behaviour lead him to remove them from their position or reject them from his love, as far as it depended on him.
XXVII.1 No one ever saw him angry, never worked up, never mournful, never laughing: he was always one and the same. Bearing an expression of joy that was in some way heavenly, he seemed above human nature. There was never anything on his lips except Christ, (2) never anything in his heart except devotion, peace and forgiveness. He often used to weep even for the sins of those who appeared to be his critics and who tore at him with their poisonous tongues and viperous jaws while he remained detached and calm. (3) In fact we knew some people who envied his virtue and his life and who hated in him what they did not see in themselves and what they were unable to imitate. And it was said (what a grievous and lamentable scandal!) that most of his critics, few in number though they were, were actually bishops. (4) It is certainly unnecessary to name them, although many of them bark at us, too. It will suffice that if any one of them should read this and recognize the truth, he should blush with shame, for if he grows angry, he will be admitting that he is the one who is meant, although we might have had others in mind. (5) But we cannot evade the fact that if there are people of this kind, they will hate us as well as a man like Martin. (6) I am certain that this little work will please all holy people. For the rest, should anyone read this without faith, he will be sinning. (7) Driven to write by faith in these things and by the love of Christ, I am confident that I have given a clear account of things and spoken the truth; and the reward prepared by God, as I hope, will await not whoever reads this but whoever believes it.