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History of the Franks
St Gregory of Tours, tr. Dalton, 1927
Book 8, 34. Of the Anchorites Who Were Tempted
Since the prince of darkness hath a thousand harmful arts, I will relate what recently befell certain hermits and persons dedicated to God. I have mentioned in an earlier book1 Winnoch the Breton, who, after he was ordained priest, vowed himself to such abstinence that he used only skins for clothing, and, for food, uncooked herbs of the field; while he would do no more than set the winecup to his mouth, seeming rather to touch it with his lips than to drink. But the pious were free-handed; he was too often given brimming cups of wine, and learned, alas! to drink beyond measure, being so overcome by his potations that he was often seen drunken. The end whereof was that, his intemperance growing upon him as time passed, he was possessed by a demon and driven to such madness that he would take a knife or any other weapon, whether a stone or a club, upon which he could lay hands, and rush after people in an insane fury, till at last he had to be bound with chains and imprisoned in a cell. Two years he passed raging in this punishment, and then gave up the ghost. Another hermit was Anatolius of Bordeaux, described as a boy of twelve. He was in the service of a merchant, and asked permission to lead the life of a recluse. His master for a long time refused, believing that the boy would but grow lukewarm, and in such tender years could never reach the goal set before him. But at last he was overcome by his servant’s entreaties, and gave him leave to do what he asked. There was in the town an ancient crypt vaulted by the ancients and finely wrought, in a corner of which was a small cell walled with hewn stones, which might scarce hold a man standing erect. The boy entered this cell, remaining in it for eight years or more, content with the scantiest food and drink, and passing all his time in prayers and vigils. But he was then seized with a great terror, and began to cry out that he was tortured by inward pains. Whence it befell that, aided, as I think, by some of the Devil’s host, he removed some of the squared stones of his prison, and flung down the wall, clapping his hands together, and shouting that the saints of God were burning him through and through. For a very long time he remained a prey to this madness; and as he often shouted the name of the holy Martin, declaring that this saint tormented him more than all others, he was brought to Tours. But the evil spirit, repressed, as I believe, by the power and greatness of the holy Martin, could in no wise maim him. He remained in Tours for the space of a year without suffering further evil, and returned home. But afterwards he fell once more into that evil from which he had been freed.
Notes
- V. 14 (21).