De sancto Eustachio
The Vision of the Cross
Placidus, a Roman general, encounters a miraculous vision of Christ between the antlers of a deer while hunting.
Eustachius was formerly known as Placidus. He was a general in Emperor Trajan's army. He was very diligent in works of mercy, yet he was still devoted to the worship of idols. He had a wife who shared his faith and his mercy, and they had two sons whom he had raised magnificently, in keeping with his own high status. Because he was so persistent in works of mercy, he earned the grace of being enlightened to the way of truth. One day, while he was out hunting, he found a herd of deer. He spotted one that was larger and more beautiful than the rest, which broke away from the others and leaped into a deeper part of the forest. While the other soldiers were busy with the rest of the deer, Placidus pursued this one with all his might, trying to catch it. As he pursued it with all his strength, the deer finally climbed to the top of a high cliff, and as Placidus approached, he was busy thinking about how he might capture it. When he looked closely at the deer, he saw between its antlers the form of a holy cross shining brighter than the sun, and the image of Jesus Christ, who spoke to him through the mouth of the deer—just as He had once spoken through Balaam's donkey—saying, "O Placidus, why do you pursue me?" "I have appeared to you in this animal for your sake; I am Christ, whom you worship without knowing it; your alms have risen up before me, and for this reason I have come, so that I might hunt you, just as you were hunting this deer." Some, however, say that it was the image itself that appeared between the deer's antlers and spoke these words.
Conversion and Baptism
Placidus and his family receive instruction from Christ and are baptized, taking the names Eustachius, Theospis, and their sons.
Hearing this, Placidus was seized by such great fear that he fell from his horse to the ground. After an hour, he came to himself, rose, and said, "Reveal to me what you are saying, and then I will believe in you." And Christ said, "Placidus, I am Christ, who created heaven and earth, who made the light rise and divided it from the darkness, who established the seasons, the days, and the years, who formed man from the dust of the earth, who appeared on earth in the flesh for the salvation of the human race, and who was crucified, buried, and rose on the third day." Hearing this, Placidus fell to the ground again and said, "I believe, Lord, that you are the one who made all things and who turns those who wander back to you." And the Lord said to him, "If you believe, go to the bishop of the city and have yourself baptized." Placidus asked him, "Lord, do you want me to tell my wife and children these same things, so that they might also believe in you?" The Lord replied, "Tell them, so that they too may be cleansed along with you. You should also come here tomorrow, so that I may appear to you again and explain more fully what is to come." When he returned home and told his wife in bed what had happened, she exclaimed, "My lord, I also saw him last night, and he said to me, 'Tomorrow you, your husband, and your children will come to me.' Now I know that he is Jesus Christ." They went to the bishop of Rome in the middle of the night, and he baptized them with great joy, naming Placidus 'Eustachius,' his wife 'Theospis,' and his sons 'Agapetus' and 'Theospitus.' In the morning, Eustachius went out to hunt as he had before. As he approached the place, he sent his soldiers away under the pretense of hunting, and standing in that spot, he saw the image from his first vision. Falling on his face, he said, "I beg you, Lord, to reveal what you promised your servant." The Lord said to him, "Blessed are you, Eustachius, for you have received the washing of my grace; because you have now overcome the devil and trampled upon him who deceived you, he will now appear."
The Trials of Job
Eustachius loses his wealth, his wife, and his children to a series of tragic events, mirroring the trials of Job.
Your faith. The devil is arming himself fiercely against you because you have abandoned him; therefore, you must endure much to receive the crown of victory. You must suffer much so that you may be humbled from the high vanity of this world and raised up again in spiritual riches. So don't give up, and don't look back at your former glory, because through these trials you must be shown to be another Job. But when you have been humbled, I will come to you and restore you to your former glory—tell me, then, do you wish to accept these trials now, or at the end of your life? Eustachius said to him: 'Lord, if it must be so, command that these trials happen to us now, but grant us the virtue of patience.' The Lord said to him: 'Be steadfast, for my grace will guard your souls.' And so the Lord ascended into heaven, and Eustachius, returning home, told these things to his wife. A few days later, a deadly plague struck all his servants and maids and killed them all; then, after some time, all his horses and all his livestock suddenly died. Some wicked men, seeing his ruin, broke into his house during the night and carried off everything they found, plundering the whole house of its gold, silver, and other possessions; and he, with his wife and children, giving thanks, fled naked in the night. Fearing shame, they set out for Egypt, and all his property was reduced to nothing through the plunder of wicked men. The king and the entire senate were grieving deeply for such a capable master of soldiers, because they could find no trace of him. But as they were traveling, they approached the sea, and finding a ship, they began to sail upon it. The ship's captain, seeing that Eustachius's wife was exceptionally beautiful, desired her greatly; when they had crossed, he demanded the fare, and since they had nothing to pay with, he ordered the wife to be detained in place of the fare, wanting to keep her for himself. When Eustachius heard this, he absolutely refused to agree. But after he resisted for a long time, the captain signaled his sailors to throw him into the sea so he could have his wife. When Eustachius realized this, he sadly left his wife with them and, taking his two infants, went on his way groaning and saying, "Woe to me and to you, because your mother has been handed over to a foreign husband." Arriving at a certain river, he did not dare to cross it with his two children because of the high water, so he went around with one. He left one on the riverbank and carried the other across. Once he had waded across the river, he set the child he had been carrying on the ground and hurried back to get the other. But when he reached the middle of the river, a wolf suddenly appeared, snatched the child he had left behind, and ran off into the woods. Despairing of that one, he hurried to the other. But as he was leaving, a lion appeared, snatched up the other child, and ran off. Unable to catch it and stuck in the middle of the river, he began to wail and tear at his hair, wanting to throw himself into the water, had divine providence not held him back. The shepherds, however, seeing the lion carrying the child alive, chased after it with their dogs. By divine dispensation, the lion dropped the child unharmed and retreated; furthermore, some plowmen shouting after the wolf rescued the other child unharmed from its jaws. Both groups—the shepherds and the plowmen—were from the same village and raised the children themselves. Eustachius, however, knew nothing of this, but went on his way mourning and weeping, saying, "Woe is me, for I once flourished like a tree, but now I am completely stripped bare!" Woe to me, who used to be surrounded by a multitude of soldiers, but now remain alone and am not even allowed to have my children! I remember, Lord, that you told me I must be tested like Job, but I see something even greater happening to me. He, though stripped of his possessions, still had a dung heap upon which he could sit, but I have nothing of the sort left. He had friends who sympathized with him; I had savage beasts that snatched away my children. His wife was left to him; mine was taken away. Give rest, Lord, to my tribulations, and set a guard over my mouth, that my heart may not turn to words of malice and I be cast out from your face. Saying this with tears, he went to a certain village and, working for wages, guarded the fields of those people for fifteen years. His children, meanwhile, were raised in another village and did not know they were brothers. The Lord, however, preserved Eustachius's wife, and that foreigner did not know her, but rather left her untouched and ended his life. The Emperor and the Roman people were being greatly harassed by enemies, and remembering Placidus, who had often fought strenuously against those very enemies, they were deeply saddened by his sudden disappearance and sent many soldiers throughout various parts of the world, promising great riches and honors to anyone who found him. Two of the soldiers who had once served Placidus came to the very village where he was living.
Providential Reunion
After fifteen years of exile, Eustachius is recognized by his former soldiers and miraculously reunited with his wife and sons.
Seeing them coming from the field, Placidus recognized them immediately by their walk. Remembering his former status, he began to feel troubled and said, "Lord, just as I saw these men, who were once with me, when I had no hope of it, so grant that others..." ...so that I might see my wife; for as for my sons, I know they have been eaten by wild beasts. But a voice came to him, saying, "Take heart, Eustachius, for you will soon recover your honor, and you will receive your sons and your wife back." When he met the soldiers, they didn't recognize him at all. After greeting him, they asked if he knew a certain stranger named Placidus, along with his wife and two sons. But he claimed not to know them. At their request, they stayed at the inn, and Eustachius served them. Recalling his former status, he couldn't hold back his tears; he went outside to wash his face, then returned to serve them again. They, however, looked at each other and said, "How much this man looks like the one we're looking for!" The other replied, "He certainly looks a lot like him. Let's see if he has the scar on his head that he got in battle; if he does, it's him." Looking at him and seeing the mark that confirmed he was the man they were searching for, they recognized him immediately, jumped up to kiss him, and asked about his wife and children. He told them that his children were dead and his wife had been taken. All the neighbors gathered around as if for a show while the soldiers praised his virtue and his former glory; then the soldiers explained the emperor's command to him and dressed him in the finest clothes. After a fifteen-day journey, they arrived at the emperor's court; hearing of his arrival, the emperor immediately ran to meet him and, seeing him, fell upon his neck in an embrace. He told everyone everything that had happened to him in order, and he was immediately drawn back to the command of the army and compelled to exercise the same office as before. Once he had counted the soldiers and realized there were too few to face so many enemies, he ordered new recruits to be gathered from every city and village. It happened that the region where his children had been raised was included in the census to provide two recruits. All the inhabitants of that place recommended those two young men to the master of soldiers as being more capable than the rest. Seeing that the young men were elegant and composed in their moral character, and having taken a great liking to them, he appointed them among his personal attendants and, having set out for war and subdued the enemy, he had his army rest for three days in a certain place where his wife was staying. He had her stay in the house of a poor woman. These two young men were staying in their mother's tent, though by God's providence, they didn't know she was their mother. They were sitting around midday, talking and sharing the story of their childhood, while their mother, sitting opposite them, listened intently to everything they said. The older one said to the younger, "When I was a child, I remember nothing except that my father was a general and my mother was very beautiful, and they had two sons—myself and another younger than me, who was also very beautiful. They took us and left home at night, and boarded a ship, though I don't know where they were going." When we were getting off the ship, our mother was somehow left behind at sea, and our father, carrying both of us, kept going, weeping as he walked. When he reached a river, he crossed it with my younger brother and me, and left us on the riverbank. When he returned to get me, a wolf came and snatched that child, and before it could reach me, a lion came out of the woods, snatched me, and carried me into the forest. But shepherds rescued me from the lion's mouth, and I was raised on the estate you know about. I could never find out what happened to my father or the other child." Hearing this, the younger one began to weep and said, "By God, I believe I am your brother, for those who raised me also said that they rescued me from a wolf." They rushed into each other's arms, kissing and weeping. Their mother heard this, and considering how they had told their stories in such detail, she pondered for a long time whether they were her sons. The next day, she went to the general and pleaded with him, "I beg you, sir, please order that I be taken back to my homeland, for I am from the land of the Romans and am a stranger here." As she said this, she saw in him the marks of her husband and recognized him; unable to contain herself any longer, she fell at his feet and said, "I beg you, sir, tell me your former life, for I think you are Placidus, the master of soldiers, who is called Eustachius by another name—the Placidus whom the Savior converted, who endured such and such a trial, and whose wife (which is who I am) was taken away at sea, yet was kept safe from all corruption, and who also had two sons, namely Agapetus and Theospitus." Hearing this, Eustachius looked at her closely, recognized his wife, and wept for joy. He kissed her, glorifying God who comforts the afflicted, and then his wife asked him, "Sir, where are our sons?" He replied, "They were taken by wild beasts," and explained to her how he had lost them. She said, "Let us give thanks to God; I believe that just as God granted us the grace to find each other, He will also grant us the grace to recognize our sons." He said, "I told you, they were taken by wild beasts." She replied, "Yesterday, while sitting in the garden, I heard two young men telling their life story, and I believe they are our sons. Question them, and they will tell you." Eustachius called them over, and upon hearing their story, he realized they were indeed his sons. He and their mother embraced them, weeping over their necks and kissing them repeatedly. The entire army rejoiced greatly, both at their discovery and at the victory over the barbarians. As he returned, it happened that Trajan had already died, and Hadrian—a man even more wicked—had succeeded him. Hadrian received them magnificently for the victory they had won and the recovery of his wife and sons, and he prepared a great banquet.
The Crown of Martyrdom
Eustachius and his family refuse to sacrifice to idols and are martyred in a bronze bull, remaining miraculously untouched by the fire.
The next day, he went to the idol temple to offer sacrifice for the barbarians' victory. When the emperor saw that Eustachius wouldn't sacrifice for the victory or for his family's recovery, he pressured him to offer the sacrifice. Eustachius replied, "I worship Christ as God, and I sacrifice to Him alone." Then the emperor, filled with rage, placed him with his wife and children in the arena and had a fierce lion released against them. But the lion ran up, lowered its head as if worshipping them as saints, and then humbly backed away from them. The emperor then ordered a bronze bull to be heated and commanded that they be thrown inside alive. The saints, praying and commending themselves to the Lord, entered the bull and gave up their spirits to Him. On the third day, they were taken out of the bull before the emperor. They were found completely untouched; the heat of the fire hadn't even harmed their hair or anything else about them. The Christians took their bodies, buried them in a very famous place, and built an oratory there; they suffered under Hadrian, who began his reign around the year of the Lord 120, on the calends of November. Or, according to some, on the twelfth day before the Kalends of October.
Read the original Latin
Eustachius ante Placidus vocabatur. Hic erat magister militum Trajani imperatoris. Erat autem operibus misericordiae valde assiduus, sed tamen ydolorum cultui deditus, Habebat antem conjuzem ejusdem ritus et misericordiae exsistentem dmosque filios procreavit, quos juxta suam magnificentiam magnifice educari fecit, et quia operibus misericordiae sedulus insistebat, ad viam veritatis meruit illustrari. Quadam enim die, cum venationi insisteret, gregem cervorum reperit, inter quos unum caeteris speciosiorem et majorem conspexit, qui ab aliorum societate discedens in silvam vastiorem prosilit. Verum aliis militibus circa cervos reliquos occupatis Placidus hune toto nisu insequitur et ipsum capere nitebatur. Quem cum totis viribus insequeretur, cervus tandem super quandam rapis altitudinem conscendit et Placidus appropians, qualiter capi posset, animo sedulus revolvebat. Qui cnm cervum diligenter consideraret, vidit inter cornna ejus formam sacrae crucis supra solis claritatem fulgentem et imaginem Jesu Christi, qui per os cervi, sicut olim per asinam Balaam, sic ei locutus est dicens : o Placide, quid me persequeris? Ego tui gratia in hoc animali libi apparni, ego sum Christus, quem tu ignorans colis; elemosinae tuae coram me adscenderunt et ob hoc veni et per hunc, quem venabaris, cervum ego quoque te ipse venarer, Alii tamen dicunt, quod ipsa imago, quae inter cornua cervi apparuit, haec verba protulit.
Haec audiens Placidus nimio timore correptus de equo in terram procidit et post unam horam ad se rediens de terra surrexit et ait: revela mihi, quod loqueris, et sic credam in te. Et ait Christus: ego, Placide, sum Christus, qui coelum et terram ereavi, qui lucem oriri feci et a tenebris divisi, qui tempora et dies et annos constitui, qui hominem de limo terrae formaávi, qni propter salutem humani generis in terris in carne apparui, qui crucifixus et sepultus tertia die resurrexi. Haec audiens Placidus iterum in terram decidens ait: credo, domine, quia tu es, qui omnia fecisti et qui errantes convertis, Et dixit ad eum dominus: si credis, vade ad episcopum civitatis, et te baptizari facias. Cui Placidus: vis, domine, ut haec eadem uxori meae et filiis nuntiem, ut et ipsi pariter in te credant? Cui dominus: renuntia illis, ut et ipsi pariter tecum mnndentur; tu quoque die crastina huc venias, ut tibi rursus appaream et, quae futura sunt, plenius tibi pandam, Cum ergo domum venisset et haec uxori in lecto renuntiasset, exclamavit uxor ejus dicens: domine mi, et ego eum transacta nocte vidi dicentem mihi, cras tu et vir tuus et filii tui ad me venietis, et nunc cognovi, quoniam ipse est Jesus Christus. Perrexerunt igitur ad episcopum Romae media nocte, qui eos cum magno gaudio baptizavit et Placidum Eustachium vocavit, ejus uxorem Theospitem et filios ejus Agapetum et Theospitum. Mane facto Eustachius, sicut prius, ad venationem processit et prope locum veniens milites suos quasi sub obtentu investigandae venalionis dispersit stansque in loco formam primae visionis aspexit, cadensque in faciem suam dixit: supplico, domine, wut manifestes, quae promiseras servo two. Cui dominus: beatus es, Eustachi, qui accepisti lavacrum graliae meae, quia modo dyabolum superasti modo eum, qui te deceperat, conculcasti, modo apparebit.
fides tua. Dyabolus enim eo, quod ipsum dereliqueris, contra te saeve armatur; oportet igitur te multa sustinere, ut accipias coronam victoriae; oportet te multa pati, ut de alta saeeuli vanitate humilieris et rursus in spiritualibus divitiis exalteris. Tu ergo ne deficias nec ad gloriam pristinam respicias, quia per tentationes oportet te alterum Job demonstrari, Sed cum humiliatus fueris, veniam ad te et in gloriam pristinam restituam (e, dic ergo, si modo tentationes vis accipere aut in fine vitae, Dicit ei Eustachius: domine, si ita fieri oportet, modo nobis tentationes accidere jube, sed virtutem patientiae tribue. Cui dominus: constans esto, quia gratia mea custodiet animas vestras. Sicque dominus in coelum adscendit et Eustachins domum rediens haec uxori suae nuntiavit, Post paucos igitur dies mors pestifera cunctos servos et ancillas ipsius invasit et universos occidit; deinde post aliquod tempus omnes equi et omnia ejus pecora subito interierunt. Quidam autem scelesti ejus depraedationem videntes et per noctem in domum ejus irruentes cuncta, quae repererunt, asportarunt et domum totam auro et argento et rebus aliis spoliarunt et ipse cum uxore sua et filiis gratias agens nocte aufugit nudus. Qui ruborem verentes Aegyptum pergebant, totaque cjus possessio per rapinam malorum ad nihilum est redacta. Rex autem totusque senatus pro magistro militum tam strenuo multum dolebant, eo, quod de eo nullum indicium reperire poterant, Cum autem iter agerent, appropinquaverunt mari et invenientes nayem super eam navigare coeperunt.
Videns autem dominus navis nxorem Eustachii, quae pulchra esset nimis, ipsam plurimum habere desideravit, cum vero transfretasset, naulum ab eo exigebat, non habentibus vero illis, unde solverent, jussit pro naulo detineri uxorem, volens illam secum habere. Quod ut Eustachius audivit, nullatenus assentire voluit. Diu vero eo contradicente innuit dominus nautis suis, ut eum in mare praecipitarent, ut sio uxorem suam habere possent. Quod cum Eustachius comperisset, uxorem iis tristis reliquit et duos infantes accipiens ingemiscens ibat ac dicens: vaeh mihi et vobis, quia mater vestra alienigenae marito tradita est, Perveniensque ad quendam fluvium propter aquarum abundantiam non est ausus cum duobus filiis fluvium pertransire, sed uno circa. ripam fluminis relicto alterum transportabat. Qui cum fluvium transvadasset, illum infantem, quem bajulaverat, super terram posuit et ad accipiendum alium festinavit. Cum autem circa medium fluminis pervenisset, ecce lupus concitus venit et infantem, quem deposuerat, rapiens in silvam aufugit. Qui de eo desperans ad alium festinavit.
Sed cum abiret, leo venit et alium filium rapiens abiit. Unde eum consequi non valens, cum esset in medio fluminis, coepit plangere et capillos suos evellere, volens se in aquam projicere, nisi eum divina providentia continuisset. Pastores autem, videntes leonem puerum vivum portantem, eum cum canibus inseontl sunt. Per divinam autem dispensationem leo puerum illaesum abjiciens recessit, Qnidam insuper aratores post lupum inclamantes alium puerum de ejus faucibus incolumem liberarunt, utrique vero, scilicet pastores et aratores, de uno vico fuerunt et penes se pueros nutrierunt, Hoc vero, Eustachius nesciebat, sed moerens ac plorans ibat dicens: heu mihi, quia ante, ut arbor, pollebam, sed modo penitus sum nndatus! Heu me, qui a multitudine militum circumdari solebam, sed nunc solus remanens nec filios sum concessus habere! Memini, domine, te mihi dixisse, quia oportet te tentari sient Job, sed ecce plus aliquid in me fieri video, ille enim, etsi possessionibus nudatus fuerit, tamen stercus habuit, super quod sedere potuit, mihi autem nil horum remansit; ille amicos sibi compatientes habnit, ego immites feras habui, quae mcos, filios rapuerunt; illi uxor est relicta, a me vero ablata; da requiem, domine, tribulationibus meis et pone custodiam ori meo, ne declinet cor meum in verba malitiae et ejiciar a facie tua, Et haec dicens cum lacrymis ad quendam vicum abiit et data sibi mercede agros illorum hominum per annos XV enstodivit, filii autem ejus in altero vico educati sunt nec se esse fratres sciebant, Dominus autem uxorem Eustachii conservavit nec illam ille alienigena cognovit, sed potius eam intactam dimittens vitam finivit. Imperator autem et populus Romanus plurimum ab hostibus molestabatur et recordatus Placidi, qui strenue contra ipsos hostes saepius dimicasset, de ejus subita mutatione plurimum tristabatur direxitque multos milites per diversas mundi partes, promittens omnibus, qui eum invenissent, multas divitias et honores. Duo autem ex militibus, qui aliquando Placido ministraverant, ad ipsum vicum, in quo degehat, venerunt.
Quos Placidus de agro venire considerans, eos ex incessu protinus recognovit et veniens in memoriam dignitatis suae perturbari coepit ac dicere: domine, sient istos, qui aliquando mecum fuerunt, praeter spem vidi, sio da, ut ali. quando conjugem meam videre possim; nam de filiis scio, quod a feris comesti sunt. Venit autem ad eum vox dicens: confide, Eustachi, quia cito honorem tuum recuperabis et filios et uxorem recipies. Cum igitur militibus obviasset, ipsi eum minime cognoverunt, cumque eum salutassent, quaesierunt, si aliquem peregrinum nomine Placidum cum uxore et duobus filiis cognosceret. llle autem se nescire professus est. Ad preces tamen ejus in hospitio deverterunt et Eustachius iis serviebat, Et recolens pristinum statum suum lacrymas continere non poterat, egressus autem foras suam faciem lavit et iterum rediens iis serviebat. llli vero considerantes ad invicem dicebant: quam similis est homo hic illi, quem quaerimus! Et respondens alter dixit: valde quidem similis est; consideremus igitur et si habet signum cicatricis in capite, quod sibi in bello accidit, ipse est.
Et respicientes et signum videntes ipsnm esse, quem quaerebant, protinus cognoverunt et insilientes et osculantes eum de uxore et filiis ejus sciscitati sunt. Qui dixit iis, quod filii mortui essent et uxor detenta. Vicini autem omnes quasi ad spectaculum concurrebant, dum milites virtutem ejus et primam gloriam praedicabant, Tunc milites praeceptum imperatoris ei exponunt et optimis vestimentis ipsum induunt. Post iter XV dierum ad imperatorem devenerunt, qui ejus adventum audiens-protinus eidem occurrit et ipsum videns in oscula ejus ruit, Narravit quoque omnibus cuncta, quae sibi per ordinem accidissent, statimque ad magisterium militiae trahitur et idem, quod prius, officium exercere compellitur. Qui numeratis militibus et paucos contra tot hostes esse cognoscens jussit tirones colligi per omnes civitates et vicos. Contigit autem, illam terram, in qua filii ejus educati sunt, describi, ut darent duos tirones. Universi autem ejus loci incolae illos duos juvenes tamquaii caeteris aptiores magistro militum consignarunt, Videns vero juvenes elegantes et morum honestate compositos, cum sibi plurimum placuissent, inter primos convivas suos ordinavit eosdem et sic profectus ad bellum subjectis hostibus exercitum suum tribus diebus in quodam loco, ubi uxor sua. pauper hospita manebat, requiescere fecit.
llli vero duo adolescentes in tabernaculo matris suae nutu tamen Dei hospitati sunt, nescientes, quod mater sua esset, et sedentes circa meridiem et mutno confabulantes exponebant sibi invicem de infantia sua, Mater vero eorum de contra sedens, quae ipsi referebant, attentius audiebat. Dicebat enim major minori: ego, dum infans essem, nihil aliud recolo, nisi quod pater meus magister militum erat et mater mea speciosa valde, duosque filios habuerunt, scilicet me et alium minorem me, qui et ipse speciosus valde erat, accipientesque nos egressi sunt de domo nocte ingressique sunt navem, nescio quo euntes. Cum autem de navi egrederemur, mater nostra, nescio quo modo, iu mari relicta est, pater vero noster portans nos duos flens pergebat perveniensque ad quendam fluvium transivit cum fratre meo juniore et me super ripam flaminis dereliquit. Cum autem reverteretur, ut me acciperet, lupus venit et illum infantem rapuit et, antequam ad me appropinquaret, leo de silva exiens me rapuit et in silvam deduxit. Pastores vero eruerunt me de ore leonis et nutritus sum in illa possessione, in qua et ipse scis, et non potui scire, quid factum sit de patre meo neque de infante, Haec audiens minor coepit flere ac dicere: per Deum, ut audio, frater tuus sum ego, quoniam et qui me educaverant, hoc dicebant, quod de lupo eruimus te. Et in amplexus ruentes osculabantur se invicem et fleverunt. Audiens haec mater eorum et considerans, quod eventuin suum ita seriatim dixissent, diu apud se tractavit, si illi filii sui essent, altera autem. die ad magistrum militum adiit et interpellavit eum dicens: deprecor te, domine, ut me ad patriam meam perduci jubeas, ego enim de terra Romanorum sum et peregrina hic sum.
Et haec dicens vidit in eo signa mariti sui et eum cognoscens, cum se jam continere non posset, procidit ad pedes suos et ait: precor te, domine, ut exponas mihi pristinam vitam tuam, pnto enim, quod tu sis Placidus magister militum, qui alio nomine diceris Eustachius, quem Placidum salvator convertit, qui talem et talem tentationem sustinuit, et cui uxor, quae ego sum, in mari ablata fuit, quae tamen ab omni corruptione servata sum, qui et duos filios scilicet Agapetum et Theospitum habuit. Haec audiens Eustachius et ipsam diligenter considerans uxorem suam recognovit et lacrimatus prae gaudio ipsam osculatus est glorificans Deum, qui consolatur afflictos, Tunc dicit ei uxor sua: domine, ubi sunt filii nostri? Et ait: a feris capti sunt, Et exposuit ei, quomodo perdidit illos. Et illa: gratias agamus Deo, puto enim, quod, quemadmodum Deus donavit nobis, ut inveniremus nos invicem, donabit etiam recognoscere filios nostros. Et ille: dixi tibi, quod a feris capti sunt. Et illa: hesterna die sedens in horto audivi duos filios juvenes sic et sic suam infantiam exponentes et credo, quod filii nostri sint; interroga igitur ab iis et dicent tibi, Et convocaus eos Eustachius et audiens ab iis infantiam suam recognovit, quod filii sui essent, et amplectentes eos ipse ct mater super eornm colla plurimum fleverunt et crebrius eos osculabantur. Omnis igitur exercitus plurimum gaudebat et de inventione eorum et de victoria barbarorum. Cum igitur rediret, contigit jam Trajanum obiisse et successisse ei pejorem in sceleribus Hadrianum, qui pro victoria obtenta et inventione uxoris et filiorum magnifice eos suscepit et magnum convivium praeparavit.
Altera autem die ad templum ydolorum processit, ut ibi sacrificaret pro victoria barbarorum. Videns vero imperator, quod Eustachius nec pro victoria nec pro inventione suorum sacrificare vellet, hortabatur, ut sacrificium immolaret. Cui Eustachius: ego Christum Deum colo et illi soli sacrifico. Tunc imperator ira repletus ipsum cum uxore et filiis in arena statuit et leonem ferocem ad eos dimitti fecit. Accurrens vero leo et demisso capite quasi eos sanctos adorans ab iis húmiliter recessit. Tunc imperator bovem aeneum incendi fecit et eos ibidem vivos mitti mandavit, Orantes igitur sancti et se domino commendantes bovem intraverunt et ibidem domino spiritum reddiderunt, tertia autem die de bove sunt coram imperatore extracti. Ita penitus intacti inventi sunt, quod nec capillos neo quidquid eorum vapores incendii aliquatenus vontigerunt. Christiani vero eorum corpora tulerunt et in loco celeberrimo recondentes ibidem oratorium construxerunt, Passi sunt antem sub Hadriano, qui coepit circa annum domini CXX calendis Novembr.
vel secundum quosdam duodecim calendis Octobr.
The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea) companion
Continue through all 240 chapters, one saint a day
Chosen Portion serves the Golden Legend as a daily portion on iOS, free, alongside the full Sub Rosa archive
The Legenda Aurea was organized for day-by-day use across the liturgical year, and Chosen Portion restores that original one-feast-per-day reading rhythm
- A complete saint's life or feast reading most days in 5-10 minutes
- 240 chapters - enough daily readings to cover a full liturgical year and beyond
- Daily reminders so the plan survives busy weeks