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History of the Franks
St Gregory of Tours, tr. Dalton, 1927
Book 2, 22. Of Bishop Sidonius
The holy Sidonius was of such eloquence that often he could speak most luminously without preparation on any subject that he chose. It happened that one day he was invited to the festival of the church belonging to the monastery which I have mentioned above, where some malicious person removed the book of which he habitually made use in conducting the sacred office. But he was so well prepared beforehand that he went through the whole service of the festival in such a way that all wondered, and those present seemed to hear an angel, rather than a man. This I have more fully related in the preface to the book which I wrote on the Masses composed by him. As he was eminent in holiness and, as I have said, was one of the first senatorial families, he would often take from his home vessels of silver unknown to his wife, and give them to the poor. When she heard of it she was offended with him, whereupon he would restore the plate to his home, giving the needy its value in money.