De sancto Hilario
The Life and Exile of Hilary
Hilary's early life, his rise to the episcopacy, and his miraculous ministry in France are recounted.
Hilary is said to be named for 'cheerful' because he was so cheerful in the service of God; or he is called Hilary from 'alarius', derived from 'high' and 'virtue', because he was high in knowledge and virtuous in life. Alternatively, Hilary is said to be named from 'hyle,' a kind of primordial matter that was obscure, and he himself has great obscurity and depth in his writings; as Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers in the region of Aquitaine, he moved forward like a morning star shining among the stars. He was married at first and had a daughter, yet he lived a monastic life while still in lay clothing; eventually, growing in life and knowledge, he was elected bishop. When the blessed Hilary was defending not only his own city but all of France against the heretics, he was sent into exile by the emperor—who supported the heretics—at the suggestion of two bishops who had been corrupted by heresy, along with the blessed Eusebius, Bishop of Vercelli. Finally, when the Arian heresy was spreading everywhere and the emperor had given permission for all the bishops to gather and debate the truth of the faith, the blessed Hilary arrived, but at the request of those same bishops, who couldn't bear his eloquence, he was forced to return to Poitiers. When he approached the island of Gallinaria, which was entirely full of snakes, and stepped onto it, he drove all the snakes away by his mere presence and fixed a stake in the middle of the island; they were never again given the freedom to occupy it, for he forbade it, as if that part of the island were not land, but sea. While he was in Poitiers, he restored to life a child who had died without baptism through his prayers; the child had lain in the dust for a long time, until both the old man rose from prayer and the child rose from death. When his daughter Apia wanted to take a husband, Hilary, her father, preached to her and confirmed her in her resolve of holy virginity.
The Confrontation with Authority
Hilary faces a corrupt Pope, witnessing divine judgment upon his opponent and receiving miraculous vindication.
Seeing that she was steadfast, and fearing that she might eventually waver, he prayed to the Lord more urgently that He would take her to Himself and not allow her to live any longer; and this is what happened, for after a few days she passed on to the Lord, and he buried her with his own hands, which the mother of the blessed Apia saw and asked the bishop to obtain for her what he had obtained for her daughter. He did so, and through his prayer he sent her ahead to the kingdom. At that time, Pope Leo, corrupted by the treachery of heretics, called a council of all the bishops, and when they had gathered, Hilary arrived uninvited. Hearing this, the Pope gave orders that no one should stand for him or give him a place. When he had entered, the Pope said to him, "Are you Hilary the Gaul?" He replied, "I am not a Gaul, but from Gaul; that is, I wasn't born in Gaul, but I am a bishop from Gaul." The Pope said to him, "Even if you are Hilary from Gaul, I am Leo, the apostolic leader and judge of the Roman See." Hilary replied, "Even if you are Leo, you aren't of the tribe of Judah, and even if you sit as a judge, you don't sit on the throne of majesty." Then the Pope stood up in anger and said, "Wait a little while until I return, and I'll pay you back what you deserve." Hilary replied, "If you don't return, who will answer to me for you?" And he said, "I'll return quickly and humble your pride." But when he went to attend to his natural needs, he died of dysentery; as his bowels spilled out right there, he ended his life in misery. Meanwhile, seeing that no one stood up for him, Hilary patiently lowered himself to the ground, saying, "The earth is the Lord's." Immediately, by the will of God, the ground where he sat rose up and lifted him to the same level as the other bishops. When word came that the Pope had died in such a miserable way, Hilary stood up, confirmed all the bishops in the Catholic faith, and sent them back to their own dioceses. However, this miracle regarding the death of Pope Leo is doubtful: partly because the ecclesiastical or tripartita history says nothing about it, partly because the chronicles don't testify that any Pope of that name existed at that time, and partly because Jerome says, "The holy Roman Church has always remained immaculate and will remain in the future without any insult from heretics."
The Saint's Departure and Legacy
The final days of Hilary are described, followed by historical notes and a concluding miracle.
It could be said, however, that there was a pope at that time who went by that name, though he wasn't canonically elected but rather installed by tyranny; or perhaps Pope Liberius, who favored the heretic Constantine, was known by another name, Leo. Finally, after many miracles had been performed, when the blessed Hilary fell ill and realized his death was near, he called to himself Leontius the priest, whom he loved most dearly, and as night was falling, he instructed him to go outside and report back if he heard anything; he obeyed, and returning, he explained that he had heard the voices of the city still in an uproar, and while he kept watch around him, waiting for his end, in the middle of the night he was ordered again to go out and report to the one lying there what he heard. When he reported that he had heard nothing, a great brightness soon entered, which even the aforementioned priest could not bear, and thus, as the light gradually faded, he departed to the Lord. He flourished, however, around the year of our Lord 340, under Constantine. The feast of this saint is on the octave of the Epiphany. When two merchants held a mass of wax in common, and one offered it at the altar of Saint Hilary against the other's wishes, the wax was immediately divided in the middle; one part remained for the one who offered it, and the other went to the one who had resisted.
Read the original Latin
Hilarius dictus est quasi hilaris, quia in servitute Dei valde hilaris fait, vel dicitur Hilarius quasi alarius, ab altus etares virtns, quia fuit altus in scientia et virtuosus in vita. Vel Hilarius dicitur quasi ab hyle, quod est quasi primordialis materia, quae obscura fuit, et ipse in dictis suis magnam habet obscuritatem et profunditatem, i Hilarius Pictavorum urbis episcopus regionis Aquitaniae oriundus, quasi lucifer refulgens inter astra processit. Hic uxorem primitus habens et filiam in laicali habitu monasticam vitam ducebat, tandem in vita et scientia proficiens in episcopum est electus. Cum igitur beatus Hilarius non solum civitatem suam, sed totam Franciam ab haereticis defensaret, ad suggestionem duorum episcoporum, qui ab haeresi fuerant depravati, ab imperatore, qui haereticorum fautor erat, cum beato Eusebio Vercellensi episcopo est in exsilium relegatus. Denique cum ubique Ariana haeresis pullularet et ab imperatore licentia data esset, ut omnes episcopi convenirent et de veritate fidei disputarent, cum sanctus Hilarius advenisset, ad petitionem dictorum episcoporum, qui ejus eloquentiam ferre non poterant, Pictaviam redire compellitur. Cum autem ad insulam Gallinariam, quae tota erat plena serpentibus, appropinquasset et in ipsam descendisset, omnes serpeutes ex sua visione fugabat et in medio insulae palum fixit nec amplius libertas data est illis occupare, quod vetuit, tanquam pars insulae non sit terra sed pelagus. Qum ergo Pictavis esset, quemdam infantem sine baptismo defunctum suis orationibus ad vitam restituit, Nam diu jacuit in pulvere, donec pariter surgerent, senex de oratione et infans de morte. Cum filia ejus Apia maritum vellet accipere, Hilarius pater ejus ei praedicavit et in sacrae virginitatis proposito confirmavit.
Quam dum ille firmam considerans et ne aliquando flecteretur, formidaus dominum instantius exoravit, ut eam ad se reciperet nec ultra vivere permitteret: quod et factum est, nam post paucos dies ad dominum migravit; quam ipse propriis manibus sepelivit, quod mater beatae Apiae considerans episcopum rogavit, ut sibi, quod et filiae, impetraret. Quod et fecit et ipsam oratione sua ad regnum praemisit. Eo tempore Leo papa haereticorum perfidia depravatus omnium episcoporum consilium convocavit, quibus convocatis Hilarius non vocatus advenit. Quod audiens papa praecepit, ne aliquis sibi assurgeret nec aliquem locum daret. Cum ergo ingressus fuisset, dixit ad eum papa: tu es Hilarius Gallus? Et ille: non sum Gallus, sed de Gallia id est, non sum in Gallia natus sed de Gallia episcopus. Cui papa: et si tu es Hilarius de Gallia et ego sum Leo, romanae sedis apostolicus et judex. Cui Hilarius: et si sis Leo, non de tribu Juda, et si judicans resides, sed non in sede majestatis.
Tunc papa cum indignatione surrexit dicens: modicum praestolare, donec redeam, et libi, quid mereris, reddam. Cui Hilarius: si non redieris, quis mihi pro te responsurus erit? Et ille: concitus redibo et tuam superbiam humiliabo. Cum ergo ad secreta suae naturae ivisset, dissenteria periit et omnia intestina ibidem projiciens miserabiliter vitam finivit. Intera videns Hilarius, quod nullus sibi assurgeret, patienter ferens in terram se posuit dicens: domini est terra. Statimque nutu Dei terra, quam insederat, sursum se extulit et usque ad aequalitatem aliorum episcoporum se levavit. Cum igitur papa miserabiliter nuntiaretur defunctus, assurgens Hilarius omues episcopos in fide catholica confirmavit et confirmatos ad propria remisit. Hoc autem miraculum de morte Leonis papae dubitationem habet, tum quia hystoria ecclesiastica vel tripartita nihil de hoc loquitur, tum quia aliquem papam talis nominis tunc fuisse chronica non testatur, tum quia Hieronymus dicit: sancta romana ecclesia semper immaculata permansit et in futuro manebit sine ulla haereticorum insultatione.
Posset tamen dici, quod tunc esset aliquis papa sic vocatus, non quidem canonice electus, sed tyrannice intrusus; vel forte Liberius papa, qui Constantino haeretico favebat, alio nomine dictus est Leo. Tandem multis miraculis perpetratis cum beatus Hilarius infirmatus obitum sum imminere cognosceret, Leontium presbyterum, quem maxime diligebat, ad se vocavit et nocte imminente, ut foras exeat, admonuit, et si quid audiret, renuntiet, imperavit, lle jussa complens voces adhuc civitatis tumnltuantis se 1" audiisse revertens exposuit ct cum circa eum vigilaret finem ejus exspectans, media nocte iterum jubetur exire et quid audiret, jacenti referret. Qui cum se nihil audiisse renuntiasset, mox nimia claritas, quam etiam praedictus presbiter sufferre non poterat, ad eum intravit et sic paulatim recedente lumine ad dominum migravit. Floruit autem circa annos domini CCCXL sub Constantino. Festum hujus sancti est in octava Epiphaniae. Cum duo mercatores massam cerae communiter haberent et unus altero renitente eam ad altare sancti Hilarii obtulisset, statim per medium divisa pars una sibi remansit, reliqua renitenti devenit,
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