Miracle of the Great St. Nicolas

Anatole France

Description

In this timeless tale, French writer Anatole France recasts the life and works of the beloved 4th century saint who was the distant ancestor of our modern-day Santa Claus. Known for his eminently generous personality, St. Nicolas has also had a number of miracles attributed to him, including the resurrection of three children who had been murdered by a crazed butcher.

Sujets

• Historical fiction

Informations

• Publié par: The Floating Press
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781776670550
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE MIRACLE OF THE GREAT ST. NICOLAS
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ANATOLE FRANCE
Translated by
D. B. STEWART
 
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The Miracle of the Great St. Nicolas First published in 1920 Epub ISBN 978-1-77667-055-0 Also available: PDF ISBN 978-1-77667-056-7 © 2014 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
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The Miracle of the Great St. Nicolas Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI
The Miracle of the Great St. Nicolas
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ST. NICOLAS, Bishop of Myra in Lycia, lived in the time of Constantinethe Great. The most ancient and weighty of those authors who havementioned him celebrate his virtues, his labours, and his worth: theygive abundant proofs of his sanctity; but none of them records themiracle of the salting-tub. Nor is it mentioned in the Golden Legend.This silence is important: still one does not willingly consent to throwdoubt upon a fact so widely known, which is attested by the ballad whichall the world knows:
"There were three little children In the fields they went to glean."
This famous text expressly states that a cruel pork-butcher putthe innocents "like pigs into the salting-vat." That is to say, heapparently preserved them, cut into pieces, in a bath of brine. This is,to be sure, how pork is cured: but one is surprised to read further onthat the three little children remained seven years in pickle, whereasit is usual to begin withdrawing the pieces of flesh from the tub, witha wooden fork, at the end of about six weeks. The text is explicit:according to the elegy, it was seven years after the crime that St.Nicolas entered the accursed hostelry. He asked for supper. The landlordoffered him a piece of ham:
"'Wilt eat of ham? Tis dainty food.' 'I'll have no ham: it is not good. 'Wilt cat a piece of tender veal? 'I will not make of that my meal. Young salted flesh I want, and that Has lain seven years within the vat. Wheras the butcher heard this said Out of the door full fast he fled."
The Man of God immediately resuscitated the tender victims by the layingof hands on the salting-tub.
Such is, in substance, the story of the old anonymous rhyme. It bearsthe inimitable stamp of honesty and good faith. Scepticism seemsill-inspired when it attacks the most vital memories of the popularmind. It is not without a lively satisfaction that I have found myselfable to reconcile the authority of the ballad with the silence of theancient biographers of the Lycian pontiff. I am happy to proclaim theresult of my long meditations and scholastic researches. The miracle ofthe salting-tub is true, in so far as essentials are concerned, but itwas not the blessed Bishop of Myra who performed it; it was another St.Nicolas, for there were two: one, as we have already stated, Bishopof Myra in Lycia; the other more recent, Bishop of Trinqueballe inVervignole. For me was reserved the task of distinguishing between them.It was the Bishop of Trinqueballe who rescued the three little boys fromthe salting-tub. I shall establish the fact by authentic documents, andno one will have occasion to deplore the end of a legend.
I have been fortunate enough to recover the entire history of the BishopNicolas and the children whom he resuscitated. I have fashioned itinto in a narrative which will be read, I hope, with both pleasure andprofit.
Chapter I
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NICOLAS, a scion of an illustrious family of Vervignole, showed marks ofsanctity from his earliest childhood, and at the age of fourteen vowedto consecrate himself to the Lord. Having embraced the ecclesiasticalprofession, he was raised, while still young, by popular acclamation andthe wish of the Chapter, to the see of St. Cromadaire, the apostle ofVervignole, and first Bishop of Trinqueballe. He exercised his pastoralministry with piety, governed his clergy with wisdom, taught the people,and feared not to remind the great of Justice and Moderation. He wasliberal, profuse in almsgiving, and set aside for the poor the greaterpart of his wealth.
His castle proudly lifted its crenelated walls and pepper-pot roofs fromthe summit of a hill overlooking the town. He made of it a refuge whereall who were pursued by the secular arm might find a place of refuge. Inthe lower hall, the largest to be seen in all Vervignole, the table laidfor meals was so long that those who sat at one end saw it lose it