be put cross their mouths, and bound round them, and that they should be crucified. The cords were immediately put in their mouths, and fastened tight about their bodies, so that they could only mutter broken words, and not speak distinctly. In this condition, however, they returned thanks to God, and encouraged one another, rejoicing that they were leaving this miserable world, to go to God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. They were immediately hurried towards the Tetradion, the common place of execution, at some distance from the city, and were followed by a long train of relations, friends, servants, and others, who filled the fields in the way, and rent the air with their lamentations. In the mean time the lords of that ter ritory, Tiberianus, Gailus, Longinianus, Felicianus, Proclus, Cosmianus, Mascolianus, and Priscus, to whom, by an imperial writ, the government of the city was committed, waited on the emperor in a body, and represented to him that a great multitude of citizens followed the prisoners all in tears, grieved to see seven princes of their country led chained to a cruel and ignominious death: they alleged that Hipparchus and Philotheus were their colleagues in the magistracy, who ought to settle their accounts, and the public affairs which had been left in their hands, that the other five were senators of their city, who ought to be allowed at least to make their wills: they therefore begged that some respite might be granted them. The emperor readily assented, and gave order that the martyrs should be put into the hands of these magistrates, for the aforesaid purposes. The magistrates led them into the porch of the circus, and having taken the cords from their mouths, privately said to them: "We obtained this liberty, under pretence of settling with you the public accounts, and civil affairs: but in reality to have the favour of speaking to you in private, begging your intercession with God, for whom you die, and desiring your blessing for this city and ourselves." The martyrs gave their blessing, and harangued the people that were assembled. The emperor was informed, and sent a reprimand to the magistrates, for suffering the martyrs to speak to the peo

ple. Their excuse was that they durst not forbid it for fear of a tumult.

The emperor ascending his tribunal, would again see the martyrs; but found their resolution unshaken. He therefore ordered seven crosses to be erected over against the gate of the city, and again conjured Hipparchus to obey. The venerable old man, laying his hand upon his bald head, said: “As this, according to the course of nature, cannot be again covered with hair; so never shall I change or conform to your will in this point." Maximian commanded a goat's skin to be fastened with sharp nails upon his head: then jeering said: "See, your bald pate is now covered with hair: sacrifice therefore according to the terms of your own condition." The martyrs were hoisted on their crosses: and at noon several ladies came out of the city, and having bribed the guards with money, obtained leave to wipe the faces of the martyrs, and to receive their blood with sponges and linen cloths. Hipparchus died on the cross in a short time. James, Romanus, and Lollianus, expired the next day, being stabbed by the soldiers whilst they hung on their crosses. Philotheus, Habibus, and Peragus were taken down from their crosses whilst they were living. The emperor being informed that they were yet alive, commanded huge nails to be driven into their heads. This was executed with such cruelty that their brains were thrust out through their noses and mouths. Maximian ordered that their bodies should be dragged by the feet, and thrown into the Euphrates. But Bassus, a rich Christian, redeemed them privately of the guards for seven hundred denarij, and buried them in the night at his farm in the country. The Acts of their martyrdom were compiled by a priest, who says he was present, in a mean garb, when the holy martyrs gave their blessing to their citizens. See these authentic acts written by the priest who was eye-witness to their sufferings, published in Chaldaic by Steph. Assemani, Act. Mart. T.*2. p. 123.

St WULFHILDE, V. Abbess. This noble lady learned from her infancy to despise all earthly things, and to love and esteem only those which are heavenly ; and was placed young by her parents in the monastery of Winchester. King Edgar became enamoured of her; but she rejected his great offers, entreaties, ensnaring presents and messages; knowing that virtue is not to be secured but by watching against the most distant sight, and the most subtle and disguised approaches of an enemy. An aunt of the virgin suffered herself to be gained by the king, and feigning herself sick, sent for Wulfhilde out of her monastery to come to her. The virgin was scarce arrived at her house but the king came upon her, hoping to overcome her resolution. But alarmed beyond measure at the danger, she violently broke out of the house, leaving part of her sleeve in the hands of the king, who attempted to hold her, and running to the church held the altar, imploring the divine protection with many tears. It had long been her desire to consecrate herself to her heavenly spouse in a religious state. The horror and dread of the danger to which her soul had been exposed in this temptation, was a spur to her in the pursuit of virtue, and she completed the entire sacrifice of herself to God, with the fervour of a saint. The king was overcome by her constancy, and afterward nominated her abbess of Barking, on which house he bestowed many fair possessions. Wulfhilde

settled upon it twenty villages of her own patrimony; and founded another monastery at Horton in Dorsetshire. Both these houses she governed with great sanctity and prudence, lived in great austerity, and was a model of charity, devotion, meekness and humility. Her inflexible virtue excited the jealousy of queen Elflede, by whom she was ejected out of her monasteries. But she was restored with honour, and died about the year 990, in the reign of Etheldred II. Many miracles were wrought at her tomb, as William of Malmesbury and others assure us. St Edilburge, St Wulf hilde, and St Hildelide, were much honoured by our English ancestors, and their relicks esteemed the greatest treasure of the abbey of Barking; in which St Erkonwald the

founder made his sister St Edilburge the first abbess, but gave her St Hildelide for her assistant whom he called over from France, where she had made her religious profession, though an English lady by birth (a). As she was the directress of Edilburge, during her life, so she succeeded her in the government of this monastery after her death, and is named in the English calendars on the 24th of March (1). On St Wulfhilde, see William of Malmesbury, 1. 2. Pontif. and her life in Capgrave, and in John of Tinmouth (b).

(1) Bede, Hist. l. 4. c. 10.

(a) Du Plessis imagines Trithemius and others who mentioned St Hildelide. abbess, among the saints who flourished at Faremoutier, mistook this name for St Hilda, though she never was there. It is true that St Hildelide was never abbess at Faremoutier, but at Barking in England. But she had unquestionably lived at Farmoutier or at Chelles, before she came to Barking. See Bede, (1. 4. c. 10.) Du-Plessis, (Hist. de l'Egl. de Meaux, 1, 1. n. 84.)

(b) John of Tinmouth, monk of St Alban's, flourished in 1370. and compiled the lives of 157 British, English, Scotish, and Irish, saints. His Sanctilogium is extant in MS. in the Lambeth Library, quoted by Wharton, (Anglia Sacra, T. 2. p. 65, &c.) also in the Cottonian library; but this copy is so much damaged by the conflagration of an adjoining house, next the wall of the library, when it was kept at Westminster, that the leaves are glued together. By the methods which are used at the Vatican library and at Hercula neum, to unfold MS. which are worn with age, and in which the leaves adhere together, several of these endamaged MSS. books might probably be again made useful. John Capgrave in his Legenda Sanctorum Angliæ, printed at London in 1516, collected 168 lives of saints, all which, except 14, he copied verbatim from John of Tinmouth, says Leland in Joan. Tinmouthensi: yet in Tinmouth several things occur which are not found in Capgrave.

DECEMBER X.

ST MELCHIADES, POPE.

From Eus. 1. 9. c. 9. St Optat. 1. 1. St Aug. See Tillemont.

A. D. 314.

MELCHIADES, OF MILTIADES, succeeded Eusebius in the see of Rome, being chosen on the 2d of July 311, in the reign of Maxentius. Constantine vanquished that tyrant on the 28th of October in 312, and soon after issued edicts, by which he allowed Christians the free exercise of their religion, and the liberty of building churches. To pacify the minds of the pagans, who were uneasy at this innovation, when he arrived at Milan in the beginning of the year 313, he, by a second edict, insured to all religions, except heresies, liberty of conscience. Among the first laws which he enacted in favour of Christians, he passed one to exempt the clergy from the burden of civil offices. He obliged all his soldiers to repeat on Sundays a prayer addressed to the one only God; and no idolater could scruple at such a practice. He abolished the pagan festivals and myste, ries in which lewdness had a share. Unnatural impurity being almost unrestrained among the heathens, the Ro mans, when luxury and debauchery were arrived at the highest pitch among them, began to shun marriage, that they might be more at liberty to follow their passions. Whereupon Augustus was obliged by laws to encourage and to command all men to marry, inflicting heavy penalties on the disobedient (1). The abuses being restrained by the christian religion more effectually than they could have been by human laws, Constantine, in favour of celibacy, repealed the Poppaan law. This emperor also made a law to punish adultery with death (2) The good pope rejoiced exceedingly at the prosperity of God's house, and by his zealous labours very

(1) See his Lex Julia, and Lex Poppa. (2) See Gothofred, ad Cod. Theod. L. xi. Tit. 36.