``Where
the Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church'' Ignatius of
Antioch, 1st c. A.D
Feast of St. Ambrose
St. Ambrose --
Sant'Ambrogio to most Italians, and Sant'Ambroeus to the people of
Milan -- was born around the year A.D. 340 to a wealthy, noble Roman
Christian family in Trier, the oldest city in Germany. His father was
very high up in the secular hierarchy, acting as Prefect of Gallia and,
thereby, ruling over what are now known as France, England, Spain, and
a small part of Africa.
Great things must have been expected from little Ambrose: the story is
told that, when he was a baby, a little swarm of bees landed on his
lips --
not to sting him, but to leave behind a drop of honey, a sign that he
would posess the gift of eloquence.
He had an older
sister, Marcellina, who became a consecrated virgin, and an older
brother named Satyrus who would become a big help to Ambrose later on.
When their father died, the entire family moved to Rome. There, Ambrose
finished his secular studies and became a lawyer. His legal abilities
were so impressive that Emperor Valentinian sent him to Milan to act as
governor of the historical Italian provinces of Liguria and Emilia.
Milan today is a great, industrialized city, the site of the unique
cathedral dedicated to Our Lady's Nativity --
Metropolitan
Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary (Basilica cattedrale
metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente)
-- but when Ambrose moved there, it was a font of Arianism, a heresy
that denied the divinity of Christ. And these Arians had a lot of local
power, much to the detriment and chagrin of the area's orthodox
Catholics. The very Bishop of Milan was such a heretic. But in 374, he
died.
An election for a new Bishop was to be held at a church, and Ambrose,
being the beloved governor, attended to ensure order as
things were pretty out of hand with heretics, including heretical
clergy, and the faithful vying to nominate a Bishop who agreed with
their
beliefs. When Ambrose stood up to speak, a voice -- tradition says it
was the voice
of a child -- cried out, "Ambrose, Bishop!" And then the crowd joined
in. Ambrose was quickly nominated.
His election was quite a shock to him -- a man who hadn't even yet been
baptized, "like so many other believers of that age, from a misguided
reverence for the sanctity of baptism" as the Catholic Encyclopedia
relates. He didn't want the position, but the Emperor confirmed the
people's choice, so he was baptized, and a week and a day later, on
December 7, was consecrated a Bishop. He was 35 years old.
He immediately gave away his money and land, and embraced asceticism.
His brother, Satyrus, came to Milan to worry for Ambrose about temporal
matters so Ambrose could focus on spiritual ones. Then Ambrose poured
himself into studying the Fathers, especially the works of St. Basil
and Origen. The gift the bees signified was put to good use, and he
became famous for his sermons, which the Catholic Encyclopedia
describes as "intensely practical, replete with pithy rules of conduct
which have remained as household words among Christians."
He used that same gift of eloquence to go against the Arians, who
typically weren't
of the common people, but of the noble classes -- and this
challenge became even greater when the new Emperor himself, Valentinian
II, and his regent mother, Justina, embraced the heresy. In response,
Ambrose wrote five books on the topic, and devoted his energies to
ensuring the election of orthodox Bishops where he could. He withstood
constant demands of the Arians, who expected to be given churches and
basilicas for their own use. One day, as he was praying the Divine
Office in Milan's basilica, the prefect of the city showed up and
demanded the place. The Emperor sent soldiers to hang his emblems on
the
church to claim it as his. But the soldiers disobeyed the Emperor,
refusing to work to further the cause of Arianism; instead, they
embraced Christ as He truly is, and the emblems were then tossed to the
local children who tore them to shreds.
The Emperor tried again later, even going so far as to arrange to
have Ambrose kidnapped, but he backed off out of fear of the Bishop's
immense popularity.
Meanwhile, the proclaimed Emperor of Britain and Gaul, Maximus, invaded
Italy, and Emperor Valentinian II and his mother ran off to Emperor
Theodosius I -- Theodosius the Great -- in Constantinople, for
protection. Theodosius, though very anti-Arian,
defeated Maximus, and Valentinian returned to power and abjured
Arianism once and for all.
Theodosius, a great man who dealt effectively with paganism and
Arianism in the East, remained in the West and defeated the tyrant
Eugenius who was illegally made Emperor after the death of Valentinian.
Thereafter, Theodosius himself became Emperor of the West in addition
to the East. He was a great man indeed (St. Augustine writes glowingly
of him in City of God, Book V, Chapter 26), but he was not a perfect
one: in response to an uprising in Thessalonica, and misinformed by his
advisers, he engineered a rather indiscriminate massacre to restore
order. Ambrose famously implored him to publicly do penance for this
bloodshed, and the Emperor submitted. St. Augustine says of this, "And
what could be more admirable than his religious humility, when,
compelled by the urgency of certain of his intimates, he avenged the
grievous crime of the Thessalonians, which at the prayer of the bishops
he had promised to pardon, and, being laid hold of by the discipline of
the church, did penance in such a way that the sight of his imperial
loftiness prostrated made the people who were interceding for him weep
more than the consciousness of offense had made them fear it when
enraged?" (You can read St. Ambrose's
letter to Emperor Theodosius here)
St. Ambrose was a very, very hard worker, and among his greatest works
is that of catechizing St. Augustine,
whom he baptized on Easter Sunday of 387. He wrote much, including "On
the Christian Faith" ("De Fide"),
many letters, and even music. He not only wrote hymns, but an entire
system of chant -- Ambrosian Chant -- is named for him (you can listen
to some below). The Ambrosian Rite is also named for him, and it is
still used in Milan and in some Orthodox Churches to this day (know
that it, too, was "reformed" after Vatican II, sadly).
St. Ambrose died on April 4, 397 -- Good Friday. His relics can be
venerated not in the Milan cathedral pictured above,
but at the Basilica of St. Ambrose (Basilica
romana minore collegiata abbaziale prepositurale di Sant'Ambrogio),
one of the oldest churches in Milan, and one commissioned by St.
Ambrose himself in honor of those who were martyred in Milan. His
relics can be found in the Crypt of St. Ambrose alongside those of SS.
Gervasius and Protasius.
Outside the church where his relics lie -- just to the left of the
front entrance -- is a white marble column -- the Devil's Column (Colonna del Diavolo). In this
column are two deep holes -- made, according to folklore, after the
Devil met up with St. Ambrose as the latter was walking in the yard of
the basilica. The Evil One tried to tempt the Saint, but Ambrose kicked
him and the Devil's horns got impaled in the column. Some say that the
Devil tried all night to free himself, but gave up when the Sun rose,
at which time he disappeared in a puff of sulphurous smoke. Some also
say that if you put your nose close to the holes, the sulphur can still
be smelled to this day. And some say, too, that on Holy Saturday, you might spot the Devil
passing by the basilica in a carriage, dragging lost souls to Hell.
St. Ambrose is the patron Saint of bees, beekeepers, candlemakers,
Milan, and Bologna. He is most often pictured in art in his Bishop's
robes and mitre, crozier in hand, and often with a book, a bee, or
beehive present. He is also one of the Doctors of the Church -- not just a
Doctor, but one of the Four Great Latin Doctors along with Gregory the
Great, Augustine, and Jerome (the Four Great Greek Doctors of the
Church are John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and
Athanasius). He is also mentioned in the Litany
of the Saints.
Customs
First, a prayer for the day, this one from the Eastern Church's
Troparion:
O Ambrose,
wonderworker and champion of the Church,
Godbearing Hierarch:
thou didst work miracles by thy faith and love for God;
therefore we the earthborn glorify thee and cry out:
Glory to Him Who has glorified thee;
glory to Him Who has crowned thee;
glory to Him Who through thee works healings for all.
As to celebrating, the people of Milan make the very most of this
feast, treating it not only as a public holiday, but as the unofficial
start of the Christmas season. It is today that the Milanese start to
put up their Christmas tree and other
decorations. And on this day, the great, centuries-old Christmas market
--
the Oh Bej! Oh Bej! Fair --
opens and, there, you can find crafts of all sorts, artisans, florists,
toymakers, booksellers, iron-workers selling their wares, and bakers
selling theirs. And there are, of course, those who sell "Firunatt" or
"Firòn" -- roasted chestnuts strung together in big circles. The market
must be quite a sight: its name is said to have come from children
yelling in the Milanese dialect "Oh
bej!" -- "How beautiful!" -- when seeing the lights and
displays.
The Feast of St. Ambrose is also the day chosen to start the opera
season at La Scala. The theater also puts on lots of free exhibits and
spectacles throughout the city at this time. It's also the day on which
the city's greatest civic honor -- the Ambrogino d'oro -- is awarded.
And, very importantly, it's the day on which the Milanese specialty,
panettone, and St. Ambrose cookies (Biscotti
di Sant'Ambrogio) are begun to be sold. A recipe for the latter:
Biscotti di Sant'Ambrogio
200 grams 00 flour
50 grams cornstarch
1 tsp of baking powder
pinch of salt
100 grams brown sugar
50 grams butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg + 1 yolk
For decoration:
100 gram dark chocolate
ground hazelnuts
finely chopped pistachios
Sift the flour and cornstarch together with the baking powder
and salt. Add the sugar to the flour, then add the softened butter, the
vanilla extract, and the eggs, and mix the ingredients into a ball.
Wrap the ball in a piece of plastic wrap and let it rest in a cool
place for at least an hour.
Take the dough, roll it out on a floured surface to form a
sheet about 1/4" thick. Cut out circles and arrange on a
parchment-lined backing sheet. Bake at 350F° for 10-15 minutes, until
the edges begin to brown.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Dip the cookies
halfway into the dark chocolate, letting the excess drain, and then dip
into one of the chopped nuts.Allow to set.
Another cookie from the region are these sugar-dusted butter cookies:
Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment
paper. Mix the flour with the sugar, egg yolks, cinnamon and finely
chopped almonds. Then add the slightly softened butter and rum a drop
at a time -- enough to make a dough with a soft shortcrust pastry-like
consistency.
Take the dough a little at a time and form 6" sticks with a
diameter of a fat man's thumb. Bend each piece as to form a circle --
but cross the ends over each other (in other words, it will look like a
circle with a small X sitting on its perimeter). Space them apart on
the baking tray, brush with beaten egg white and bake for about 12-15
minutes until lightly browned. Let them cool, then cover the tops
heavily with powdered sugar.
As to celebrating the Feast of St. Ambrose in the home, our Saint's
symbol of the bee is key. And when bees come to mind, so does their
honey, something American Catholics tend to take advantage of this
feast day. Hence, a recipe for honey cake -- a very moist, gooey one:
Honey Cake
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup honey
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3 tbsp milk, slightly warmed
1 pinch orange zest , optional
1/3 cup slivered almonds, optional
Syrup:
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup water
3/4 tsp lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare cake pan: Line the bottom
and sides of an 8" round cake pan with parchment paper, and butter the
parchment.
Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Separately, cream together the butter and 2/3 c. honey until
very smooth and fluffy (at least 3 minutes). Alternately add the eggs
and flour mixture to the creamed honey-butter mixture -- i.e., add an
egg, mix until incorporated, then add a fourth of the flour and
incorporate. Repeat until the eggs and flour are gone. Then stir in the
milk and zest. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle the top with
slivered almonds, if using. Bake for 45 minutes until it tests done.
Cool for 30 minutes (important!).
While it's cooling, mix the remaining honey and water and
bring to a gentle boil over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the
lemon juice and simmer 2 minutes more. Let cool for 10 minutes.
When the cake has cooled some, use a skewer or fork to poke
holes all over the top. Pour the a third of the warm honey syrup over
the top and let it soak in. Once it's absorbed into the cake, add
another third. Repeat until the honey syrup is gone. Serve warm,
possibly with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. (Recipe adapted from RecipeTin Eats)
Given St. Ambrose's patronage of candlemakers, it'd be a good day, too,
to make your Christ Candle -- the candle Catholics use to replace the
Advent candles
after midnight on Christmas Eve
(which will be here in
17 days!) and burn during dinners and family prayers throughout the
twelve days of Christmas. A fat white pillar candle and gold acrylic
paint are all you need to paint your candle with a Chi-Rho or other
symbol of Christ.
And there are, of course, a thousand different bee-related crafts out
there on the internet for children. I remember one woman helping her
children make little bees out of different kinds of pasta -- rigatoni
or conchiglie (shells) for the bees' bodies, farfalle or farfalline for
their wings, orecchiette for their heads, and little bits of capellini,
capelli d'angelo (angel hair pasta), or spaghetti for the antennae and
stingers. Just have your kids draw black stripes horizontally on the
pasta used for the bees' bodies, draw little faces on the convex sides
of
the orecchiette, and glue them all together. Cute! And when you're
done,
you have all sorts of leftover pasta to eat. And when you set up your
Christmas tree, you can include some of these little pasta bees as
ornaments in honor of St. Ambrose. Win-win-win!
As to music, there is, of course, Ambrosian chant. Below are four
offerings, the
last one -- Alleluia. Hodie in
Bethlehem puer natus est -- in time for
Christmas.
Ecce quam bonum
et jocundum
Ecce apertum est
Templum tabernaculi
Tecum Principium
Alleluia. Hodie
in Bethlehem puer natus est
To learn more
about St. Ambrose, see this site's Catholic Library.
Reading
The Life of St. Ambrose
From the Golden
Legend, by Jacobus de Voragine
Here followeth of S. Ambrose, and first the interpretation of his name.
Ambrose is said of a stone named ambra, which is much sweet, odorant
and precious, and also it is much precious in the church, and much
sweet smelling in deeds and in words. Or Ambrose may be said of ambra
and syos which is as much to say as God, for Ambrose is as much to say
as amber of God, for Ambrose felt God in him, and God was smelled and
odoured by him over all where as he was. Or he was said of ambor in
Greek, which is to say as father of light, and of sior, that is a
little child that is a father of many sons by spiritual generation,
clear and full of light in exposition of holy Scripture, and was little
in his humble conversation. Or thus as is said in the glossary, Ambrose
is odour and savour celestial, he was odour of heaven by great renomee
smelling, savour by contemplation within him, an honeycomb by sweet
exposition of scriptures, meat of angels by his glorious life. And
Paulinus, bishop of Volusian, wrote his life unto S. Austin.
Of the Life of S. Ambrose.
S. Ambrose was son of Ambrose, provost of Rome, of whom it happed as he
lay in his cradle in the hall of the prætorium, that there came a swarm
of bees which fell on his visage and his mouth, and after, they
departed and flew up in the air so high that they might not be seen.
When this was done, the father, which was hereof dismayed, said: If
this child live, there shall be some great thing of him. After, when he
was a little grown, he beheld his mother and his sister, which was a
sacred virgin, kiss the priests' hand when they offered, and he playing
with his sister put forth his hand for to kiss, and said that so
behoved her to do to him. And she, not understanding him, refused it.
After, he was set to school at Rome, and became to be so good a clerk
that he determined the causes of the palace, and therefore Valentinian
the emperor delivered him to govern, two provinces named Liguria and
Æmilia. Then when he came into Milan it happed that the bishop was
dead, and the people were assembled to provide for another, but,
between the Arians and the good christian men, for the election, fell a
great sedition and discord. And Ambrose for to appease this sedition
went thither, and the voice of a child was heard saying: Ambrose ought
to be bishop: and anon all the people accorded thereto wholly, and
began for to cry: Ambrose! Ambrose! But Ambrose defended as much as he
might, and alway the people cried: Ambrose! Then for to make the people
cease, he went out of the church, and went up on a scaffold, and made
the people to be beaten, against the usage and custom, for to let them,
that they should name him no more. But yet they left not for all that,
but the people said: Thy sin be upon us. Then he being sore troubled,
went home, and suffered common women to enter openly into his house, to
the end that when the people saw that, they should revoke their
election; but for all that they cried as they did tofore and said: Thy
sins be upon us. When S. Ambrose saw that he might not empesh the
election he fled away, but the people awaited upon him and took him at
the issue of the gate, and kept him so long till they had grant of the
emperor. And when the emperor knew hereof he had great joy, because
that the judge that he had sent for the provinces was chosen to be
their bishop, and also he was glad because his word was accomplished,
for the emperor said to Ambrose when he sent him thither: Go, said he,
and abide not there as a judge but as a bishop.
S. Ambrose in the meanwhile that they abode the answer of the emperor
fled yet away, but he was taken again and was baptized, for he was not
tofore baptized, how well that he was christian in will. And the eighth
day after he was consecrate and stalled bishop of Milan. And four years
after that he went to Rome, and there his sister, the virgin, kissed
his hand as of a priest, and he smiling said: Lo! as I told thee, now
thou kissest my hand as of a priest.
It happed after that, when S. Ambrose went to another city to the
election of a bishop, Justina the empress, and others of the sect of
the Arians would not consent to the good christian men, but would have
one of their sect. Then one of the virgins of the empress, much fair,
took S. Ambrose and drew him by his vestments and would have made him
to be beaten because he would not hold the party of the women. Then S.
Ambrose said to her: If I be not worthy to be a bishop, yet thou
oughtest not to lay hand upon me ne none other bishop, thou hast laid
hand on me, thou oughtest much redoubt and dread the judgment of God.
And therefore God confirmed his sentence on her, for the next day she
was borne to her grave and was dead. Thus was she rewarded for the
villainy that she had done, and all the other were thereby sore afraid.
After this, when he was returned to Milan he suffered many assaults and
persecutions of the empress Justina, for she moved, by gifts and by
honours, much people against S. Ambrose, and many there were that
enforced them to send him in exile, and among all others there was one
mounted in so great madness and fury against him, that he hired him an
house by the church because he would have therein a cart for to set S.
Ambrose thereon and lead him in to exile. But that same fell to him,
for he himself was sent in exile in the same cart the same day that he
would have led away S. Ambrose. To whom yet S. Ambrose did good for
evil, for he ministered to him his costs and necessaries. S. Ambrose
also established in the church, song and offices at Milan first.
There were at that time in Milan many men vexed and beset with devils,
which cried with high voice that S. Ambrose tormented them thus, but
the empress Justina and the Arians said that S. Ambrose made them to
say so for money that he gave to them. Then it happed that one of the
Arians was out of his mind and said thus: Be they all tormented as I am
that consent not to S. Ambrose, and therefore the other Arians drowned
him in a deep piscine or pit. There was another heretic and an Arian, a
sharp man and so hard that he was inconvertible, because no man might
convert him to the faith. On a time he heard S. Ambrose preach, and he
saw at his ear an angel that told him all that he preached, and when he
had perceived this he began to sustain the faith to which he had been
contrary.
After this it happed that an enchanter called devils to him and sent
them to S. Ambrose for to annoy and grieve him, but the devils returned
and said that they might not approach to his gate because there was a
great fire all about his house. And this enchanter, after, when he was
tormented of the provost for certain trespasses, he cried and said that
he was tormented of S. Ambrose.
There was a man that had a devil within him, and after went to Milan,
and anon, as he entered the city, the devil left him, and as soon as he
went out of the city the devil re-entered in him again. Then he
demanded him why he did so, and he answered because he was afeard of
Ambrose.
After, it happed that a man being conducted and hired of Justina the
empress, went to the bedside of S. Ambrose and would have put and riven
his sword through his body, but anon his arm was dried up. Another that
was vexed with a devil said that S. Ambrose tormented him, but S.
Ambrose made him to be still, for Ambrose tormenteth none, but that
doth the envy of thee, for thou seest men ascend from whence thou art
fallen, and that is it which tormenteth thee, for Ambrose cannot be so
blown and swollen as thou art; then was he still and spake not.
When S. Ambrose went into the town he saw a man laugh because he saw
another fall, then said Ambrose to him: Thou that laughest, beware that
thou fall not also, and after he fell, and thus was he taught that he
should not mock his fellow. On a time S. Ambrose went unto the palace
for to pray for a poor man, but the judge made to close the gate that
he might not enter in; then S. Ambrose said: Thou shalt come for to
enter into the church, but thou shalt not enter, and yet shall the
gates be open. And so it happed that after, the judge doubted his
enemies and went to the church, but he might not enter in, and yet the
gates were open.
S. Ambrose was of so great abstinence that he fasted every day save the
Sunday or a solemn feast. He was of so great largess that he gave all
to poor people and retained nothing for himself. He was of so great
compassion that when any confessed to him his sin, he wept so bitterly
that he would make the sinner to weep. He was of so great doubt that,
when it was told to him of the death of any bishop, he would weep so
sore that unnethe he might be comforted, and when it was demanded him
why he wept for the death of good men, for he ought better to make joy
because they went to heaven, then he answered: I weep not because they
go tofore me, but because that unnethe and with great pain may any be
found for to do well such offices. He was of so great steadfastness and
so established in his purpose that he would not leave, for dread ne for
grief that might be done to him, to reprove the emperor ne the other
great men when they did things that they ought not to do, ne he would
flatter no man. There was brought once tofore him a man which was
grievously mismade; then said S. Ambrose: The body must be delivered to
the devil and that the flesh go to the death, by which the spirit may
be saved. Unnethe was the word out of his mouth but the devil began to
torment him.
After, as it is said, on a time he went to Rome, and when he was on a
time by the way harboured with a rich man, S. Ambrose began to demand
him of his estate. That rich man answered: Sir, mine estate is happy
enough and glorious, for I have riches enough, servants, varlets,
children, nephews, cousins, friends, and kinsmen which serve me, and
all my works and besoins come to my will, ne I have never thing that
may anger ne trouble me. Then said S. Ambrose to them that were with
him: Flee we hence, for our Lord God is not here, haste you fair
children, haste you and let us abide here no longer lest the vengeance
of God take us, and that we be not wrapped in the sins of these people.
They departed and fled anon, but they were not gone far but that the
earth opened and swallowed in all the house of this rich man, and there
abode not as much as the step ne of himself ne of all that ever he had.
Then said S. Ambrose: behold fair children how great pity and how great
mercy God doth to them that have adversity in this world, and how wroth
he is to them that have the wealth and riches of this world. Of which
thing appeareth yet the pit or foss which endureth into this day in
witness of this adventure.
When S. Ambrose beheld that avarice, which is root of all evils, grew
more and more in much people, and specially in great men and in them
that were in most great estate, which sold all for money, and with the
ministers of the church he saw simony reign, he began to pray to God
that he would take him away from the miseries of this world, and he
impetred that which he desired. Then he called his fellowship, and said
to them, in joying, that, he should abide with them unto the
resurrection of our Lord. And a little tofore that he lay sick, as he
expounded to his notary the forty-fourth psalm, suddenly, in the
presence and sight of his notary, a fire in the manner of a shield
covered his head and entered into his mouth. Then became his face as
white as any snow, and anon after it came again to his first form, and
that day he left his writing and inditing. Then began his malady to
grieve him, and the Earl of Italy which was then at Milan called the
gentlemen of the country, and said to them that if so great and good a
man should go from them it should be great pity and great peril to all
Italy, and said to them that they all should go with him to this holy
man and pray him that he would get grant of our Lord of space and
longer life. When S. Ambrose had heard their request he answered: Fair
sons, I have not so lived among you that I am ashamed to live if it
please God, ne I have no fear re dread of death, for we have a good
Lord. In this time assembled his four deacons and began to treat who
should be a good bishop after him, and they named secretly among
themselves, that unnethe they themselves heard it, Simplician. S.
Ambrose was far from them, they weened that he might not have heard
them, and he cried on high thrice: He is old and he is good. When they
heard him they were much abashed and departed, and sith after his death
they chose the same Simplician for the good witness that S. Ambrose had
borne of him.
A bishop which was named Honorius, that abode the death of S. Ambrose,
slept and heard a voice that thrice called him and said: Arise thou up
for he shall go his way anon. Then he arose anon hastily and went to
Milan and gave to him the holy sacrament, the precious body of our
Lord. And anon S. Ambrose laid his arms in form of a cross and made his
prayers, and so departed and gave up his ghost among the words of his
prayers, about the year of our Lord three hundred and eighty, the vigil
of Easter. And when his body in the night was borne in to the church
many children that were baptized, saw him, as they said, sitting in a
chair honorably, and others showed him with their fingers to their
father and others, and some said that they saw a star upon his body.
There was a priest, that sat at meat with others, which said not well
of him, but mislaid, but anon God so chastised him that he was borne
from the table and died anon after. In the city of Carthage were three
bishops together at dinner, and one of them spake evil by detraction of
S. Ambrose, and there was a man that told what was befallen for such
language to this aforesaid priest, but he mocked and japed so much that
he felt a stroke mortal; that that same day he died and was buried.
It is found written in a chronicle that the emperor Valentinian was
wroth because that in the city of Thessalonica the people had stoned to
death his judges that were sent thither in his name, and for to avenge
the same the emperor did do slay five thousand persons, great and
little, good and evil, and as well them that had not trespassed as them
that had deserved it. And when after this occision he came to Milan and
would enter into the church, S. Ambrose came against him and defended
him the entry, and said to him that after so great woodness thou
oughtest not to do so great presumption, but peradventure thy power
suffereth not thee to acknowledge thy trespass. It appertaineth that
reason surmount power. Thou art emperor, but that is for to punish the
evil people. How art thou so hardy to enter so boldly into the house of
God whom thou hast horribly angered? How darest thou with thy feet
touch his pavement? How darest thou stretch thy hands which be all
bloody, and of whom the blood of innocents run and drop off. By what
presumption darest thou put forth thy mouth to receive the precious
body and blood of our Lord, of which mouth thou hast done the
commandment of the devil? Go hence! go hence! and put not sin upon sin.
Take the bond that our Lord hath bounden thee with, for it is given to
thee in the way of medicine. When the emperor heard these words, he was
obedient and began to wail and weep, and returned into his palace and
abode there long weeping. Then Ruffin the master of his knights
demanded wherefore he so sorrowed and wept, and he answered Ruffn, thou
knowest not my sorrows, for I see that servants and poor beggars may
enter into the church that I may not enter, for Ambrose hath
excommunicated me. And he saying this, at every word he sighed. Then
said Ruffin to him, if thou wilt I shall make him anon to assoil thee.
He answered: Thou mayst not, for Ambrose doubteth not the force ne the
power of the emperor, to the end that he hold firmly the law of God.
And when Ruffin said more and more that he should make him incline to
assoil him, then he sent him to Ambrose, and the emperor followed soon
after much humbly. When S. Ambrose saw Ruffin come, he said to him:
Thou hast no more shame than an hound for to do such occision, and now
comest boldly to me. When Ruffin had prayed him long for to assoil the
emperor, which came following him, S. Ambrose said to him: Certainly I
defend to him the entry into the church, and if he will be a tyrant I
will much gladly receive the death. Then returned Ruffin to the
emperor, and recounted to him how he had done, and the emperor said:
Certainly I shall go to him that I may receive of him villainy enough,
for it is well right. When he was come to him he demanded of him
absolution much devoutly. S. Ambrose demanded of him what penance hast
thou done for so great wickedness? The emperor alleged to him that
David had sinned and after had mercy. S. Ambrose said: Thou that hast
followed him that sinned, follow also him repentant. Then said the
emperor: It appertaineth to thee to give and enjoin penance, and I
shall do it. Then he bade him do open penance and common tofore all the
people, and the emperor received it gladly and refused it not. When the
emperor was reconciled to the church he stood in the chancel. Then said
to him S. Ambrose: What seekest thou here? He answered: I am here for
to receive the sacred mysteries; and Ambrose said: This place
appertaineth to no man but to priests. Go out, for ye ought to be
without the chancel and abide there with other. Then obeyed the emperor
humbly and went out. And after, when the emperor came to
Constantinople, and he stood without with the lay people, the bishop
came and said to him that he should come into the chancel with the
clerks, he answered that he would not, for he had learned of S. Ambrose
what difference there was between an emperor and a priest. I have found
a man of truth, my master Ambrose, and such a man ought to be a bishop.
