Archbishop Cuthbert, and continued to be the buryingplace of the archbishops of Canterbury till the change of religion. On the 6th of September, 1091, Abbot Wido translated the chief part of the relics into the interior of the church, leaving the remainder in the porch. Those which were translated lay for some time in a strong urn under the east window. In 1221, the head was put into a rich shrine ornamented with gold and precious stones; the rest of the bones lay in a marble tomb, enriched with fine carvings and engravings, till the dissolution. The history of the Translation has been written at length by Gocelin, the biographer of St. Augustine.

2 Rev. A. Butler.

CHAPTER XXIV.

POSTHUMOUS MIRACLES.-CONCLUSION.

ST. AUGUSTINE's biographer, Gocelin, has left a book on Miracles wrought since the death of the Saint through the power of his relics or by the help of his intercessions. The readers of these Lives have not to be told now, for the first time, that the Church Catholic has ever accounted a singular virtue to reside in the bodies of Saints, the temples of the Holy Ghost, even after the spirit has left them to return to God who gave it. Holy Scripture distinctly warrants this comfortable belief; for if the bones of one of the elder prophets were gifted with the power of conveying life to the dead,1 how much more should miraculous virtue be expected to cleave to the relics of those blessed shrines in which the Holy Ghost has dwelt in all the largeness of measure which is promised under the Gospel! A wonderful and glorious truth is contained in that promise, of which the Athanasian Creed is the vehicle to the Church of all ages, "Omnes homines resurgere habent cum corporibus suis."

These very

bodies of ours, and not merely the souls which inhabit them, are gifted with immortality, the especial fruit, as Catholic writers tell us, of participation in Christ through the Sacrament of His most blessed Body and Blood. But if a certain sanctity inhere in all the

12 Kings xiii. 21.

bodies of the dead in Christ, as essentially the very same with which they shall rise again at His Coming, what shall be thought of the bodies of the Saints, which, even in this life, have been purified as by fire from the dross of corruption, and are the terrestrial correspondents of souls now with Christ in Heaven? Often they are related upon competent testimony to have been miraculously preserved from decay; Almighty God thus giving a token to them that fear Him of the power by which He will finally re-unite the scattered portions of consecrated dust, so as to maintain the integrity of each tabernacle which His Spirit has once pervaded.

Hence, not only the relics of the Saints, but the very neighbourhoods of the spots where they rest, have ever been looked upon as instinct with miraculous life. As for the great Apostle of the English, almost more wonders are related of him after his death than before it; which, should it prove to be a fact, would be quite in keeping with all experience. For how commonly is it felt even with respect to eminent Christians short of the Saints of the Church, and with respect also to influences short of what would be generally termed miraculous, that their power upon the world almost dates from the termination of their visible connexion with it! Death seems, in a most mysterious way, the period of their birth into life; not merely their own true life, which was here but hidden and interrupted, but even their life in this world. Neither for themselves, nor even for others, do they often seem to have lived to good purpose till the veil of flesh has been withdrawn. Their name has a power about it which their words and actions seemed to lack; and what is the posthumous virtue of the Saints, but an exemplification of the same principle? ·

These and the like considerations will prepare even

the more sceptical to receive, at least with attention and reverence, the testimony of the biographer Gocelin to the miracles wrought at the tomb, or through the intercessions of St. Augustine. And when it is borne in mind that he was not far from contemporary with some of these events, and that his report of them admitted of easy refutation, his testimony should not seem untrustworthy even according to the ordinary laws of historical evidence. Thus, as to the very first of the miraculous stories which Gocelin relates, the date of the transaction to which it belongs is 1011, and Gocelin lived at the end of the same century. His account of it, too, was put forth at Canterbury, on the very spot where the miracle is said to have happened. The story is narrated by Thorn, who was Abbot of St. Augustine's, and will be found at pp. 137-8 of the present biography.

Gocelin likewise recounts the following, among other miracles, as having taken place at the tomb of St. Augustine of Canterbury, or under the immediate power of his patronage.

A Saxon, named Leodegarius, had been afflicted from his birth with dreadful contractions of the joints of his body, so as almost to resemble a monster rather than a human being. He is said to have passed many years of his life in moving, or rather creeping, from place to place, for, in truth, he wore the appearance of a reptile. He was a native of Germany, whence he had found his way to Rome, in hopes of benefiting by the prayers of some Saint. At length he came to England, and, one day, while watching during the night in the Abbey of St. Peter, at Westminster, he felt himself moved, by a Divine intimation, to seek help in the city of Canterbury.

The next morning found him on his way to the metropolitan city, which he is said to have reached, by taking ship at Greenwich, where, it seems, vessels were stationed for conveying the poor at the public charge. On arriving at Canterbury, a pious matron took pity on him, and provided him with board and lodging for the night. The next day, under her guidance, he repaired to the cathedral, and there, through the intervention of his charitable hostess, was admitted within the sanctuary, or precincts of the high altar. In this place he spent three nights in prayer. On the fourth morning he met with the reward of his perseverance. There appeared to him (as he related) three venerable figures, of patriarchal aspect and mien, bright as angels. The central figure was much taller than the others. His hair was white as snow, and seemed to take the form of a cross upon his ample forehead; his eyes beamed with sweetness, and his whole countenance was radiant and smiling. A priestly robe covered his person, so gorgeous that it seemed to rival the glory of Solomon, and it was confined at the waste by a clasp of gold. In his hand was a cross of great size and dazzling brilliancy. His companion on the right was of middle stature, with eyes of remarkable brightness, and a forehead like snow. On his left was one of dwarfish size, as is recorded of him who desired to receive Christ into his house ;3 but his form was one of perfect symmetry and exquisite beauty. One and all were attired in vestments so rich and magnificent, that earth till then had never seen the like. The three strangers were observed to make for the spot where the poor cripple, with his limbs gathered up, was lying on the pavement. His infirmity was of such a

2 Navis Eleemosynaria.

3 Luke xix. 3.