none durst come thither by a long way.
A deacon was in that land, who heard of this hermit, and he came at the
last to the place where this hermit was dwelling; but he saw so much
vermin about that he durst not come near: but cried out for help in
fear. The holy man came out to know who it was that cried; and he saw a
man standing there, and inquired what he would have. And the deacon
said; "holy Father, I have sought thee from far, and now I have found
thee, I should have joy enough if I might come to thee, but I cannot for
these venomous beasts that are here so many." When the holy man heard
this, he fell down on his knees, and prayed GOD that He would destroy
those worms: and all soon a grisly storm arose with a thunder, and slew
all the worms. Then said the hermit to our Lord; "Lord, these beasts lie
here so thickly, that I cannot come to him nor he to me, save we be
poisoned by them. Lo, Lord, they lie here dead, but who shall lift them
away?" At his word, many birds came, and carried them all clean away.
Hereof speaks S. Gregory:--"Because GOD'S servants withdraw themselves
from the world and its works, uselessly they cannot speak: so they bind
them to silence that they dare say no word save it be teaching others or
praising GOD: and therefore, when they ask GOD aught, He grants it at
once." But we, woful wretches, who deal with the world, that chatter all
the day like magpies; now lie, now twist, now speak evil, now quarrel,
now backbite, now swear great oaths, these defile our prayer and hinder
it, that it is not heard; for our mouth is as far from praying GOD, as
it is near the world with idle speech. Prayer is so mightful if it have
its right, that it masters the fiend, and hinders him from doing his
will. For so it did the fiend whom Julian the Emperor commanded to go to
the other side of the world to bring him tidings how it was there. When
he had flown ten days' journey thitherward, he came over the place that
Publius the hermit dwelled in, who was praying at that time. And his
prayer overtook the fiend, and held him there fast fully ten days--for
all that time, the hermit was in prayer: and when he ceased, the fiend
turned back, for he could no further go, since prayer hindered him.
When thou hast gathered home thine heart and its wits, and hast
destroyed the things that might hinder thee from praying, and won to
that devotion which GOD sends to thee through His dear-worthy grace,
quickly rise from thy bed
|