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to fee the iffue of this encounter: the wolf comes with open mouth towards the faint, who presently shuts the beaft's jaws with the fign of the cross. (Behold! faith our author, the wonderful virtue of the fign of the crofs.) After this the faint comes to parly with the wolf in a familiar manner, and says to him, "Brother wolf, I command thee in the name "of Christ, that thou hurt neither me nor any one else." Upon which he immediately falls on the ground in the posture of a penitent. St. Francis takes him to confeffion, laying before him the horrid cruelties he had committed; but at last offers terms of agreement between him and the city: the wolf by moving his tail and ears plainly fhewed, that he understood and accepted the offer. The faint then tells him he knew all the mifchief he had done was to fatisfy his hunger; he would therefore take care to provide for him, if he would promise never to hurt any body again. The wolf bows his head in token of confent; and when St. Francis held out his hand to the beaft, he put his right-foot into it to confirm the contract. Upon this the wolf walks quietly with him towards the city; the people feeing that, flocked in great numbers about him; the faint preaches an excellent fermon on the occafion, affures them of brother wolf's con

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verfion, and acquaints them with the promife he had made for his maintenance: the creature then renews his agreement before them all in the manner above-mentioned. The people were filled with great joy, and the wolf lived very innocently and neighbourly among them all the reft of his days, and was much lamented at his death. This story is related by feveral confiderable authors of the Romish church, and defended particularly by Henry Sedulius. But to return to our faint's life, written by St. Bonaventure.

ONE day, when the people were affembled to worship in the great church of the city of Afiffium, the weather being extremely cold, and the faint afflicted with a quartan ague, he ftripped himself naked except his breeches, put a rope about his neck, and was by his own order drawn up to the top of a stone whereon malefactors, at the time of their punishment, were usually placed and in this fituation, and in this trim, did he preach to a numerous auditory.

OUR holy man being, on a certain time, affailed by a grievous temptation of the flesh, first stripped and then scourged himself very feverely with his cord: but that, it feems, not proving effectual, he opened the door of his cell,

• A fecond Difcourfe, &t. by E. Stillingfleet, D. D. P. 497, et seq.

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cell, went into the garden," and cafting his poor naked body into the deep fnow, he caught fome of it in his hands, and made "thereof feven heaps; which being placed

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orderly before him, he thus accofted his "outward man: Lo here, faith he, the bigger "of these is thy wife, the other four are thy "two fons and thy two daughters, and these "two that remain are thy man and maid"fervants. The tempter perceiving himself by this means to be fubdued, ftraitway de-. parted with fhame, and the holy man re"turned with victory into his cell "."

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BESIDE the crofs which was seen to issue. out of this faint's mouth, his hands and feet. and fide were miraculously impreffed, by a seraphim with the five wounds of Chrift, which always after remained visible in his flesh; and tho' but few perfons were favoured with the fight of them during his life, yet, after his decease, they were seen by multitudes of people. The feraphim, who performed this notable exploit, appeared to the faint, whilst he was at prayer, " with fix "wings all fiery and full of glorious light; «*** and

P The Francifcan friers think this adventure of their founder fo edifying, and fo much to his honour, that in some of their convents they have pictures fet up to reprefent it one of which, very finely drawn, the author, of these Effays remembers to have seen in a monastery of that order; and a very droll piece it was indeed.

“*** and there appeared between his wings the form of a man crucified, having " his hands and feet extended and fastened "to a crofs. Two of his wings were lifted up above his head, two were stretched "forth to fly, and two did cover his whole body."

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NOTWITHSTANDING this wonder-working faint was thus highly favoured, and performed abundance of first-rate miracles, fuch as curing the deaf, the dumb, the lame, thofe fick of dropfies and palfies, and of all other diftempers, and even raifing many to life; yet he sometimes condescended to play at small game; as discovering a beast that was ftolen; clearing a barn of worms; driving away noxious flies; miraculously mending a man's plough-fhare, and a woman's dish that had been broken into many pieces. But to finish with our faint: Juft before he died, he ftripped himself stark naked, among other reasons, that he might "be in all things con"formable unto Chrift crucified, who in

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poverty and distress did hang naked on the "crofs." At the time of his decease, "one" "of his brethren and difciples faw his bleffed "foul, in the form of a moft glittering star, ❝borne aloft, upon a pure white little cloud, "and fo carried over many waters by a ftrait

"paffage up to heaven.”

SECTION

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SECTION IV.

A few specimens of the whimsical opinions of the fathers, taken from the learned M. Barbeyrac's Traité de la morale des peres de l'Eglife.

JUSTIN

USTIN MARTYR, in order to remove the scandal of the cross from chriftianity, obferves, that nothing is done in this world without a crofs, and brings for inftances the mafts and yards of a ship, the shape of ploughs, howes, and other mechanical inftruments; adding, that what most distinguishes the figure of a man from that of a beaft is, that ftanding upright he can extend his arms fo as to form a cross with his body; and that he wears upon his face a nofe through which he breathes, and which reprefents the crofs; and that accordingly the crucifixion of our Saviour was foretold by the prophet Jeremiab in these words: the fpirit before our face, the Chrift, the Lord, as he renders it, instead of the breath of our noftrils, &c. an expreffion* fignifying only that the king there spoken of was the life and foul of the people. This father held marriage to be in its own nature impure. We fee fome, fays he, renounce the unlawful use of marriage, by which we fatisfy

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Lam. iv. 20.

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