its meaning. Valerian is baptized and returns to Cecilia, by whose side he finds a second spiritual visitant. This angel foretells their martyrdom, promises as a reward of Valerian's faith the salvation of his brother, Tiburtius, and places in their hands two wreaths of immortal flowers, which breathe a wonderful fragrance. The heathen, Tiburtius, hearing the rumor of his brother's conversion, appears shortly in a casual fashion at Valerian's house. His attention is, however, immediately arrested by the fragrance of the flowers, and the conversation is turned upon sacred things. Cecilia, according to some medieval versions, explains at length the doctrine of salvation, and finally Tiburtius consents to go with Valerian to Pope Urban. There he is baptized and the two brothers enter at once upon the active Christian career which is to lead to their martyrdom. They convert many pagans and at night seek for the cast-away bodies of martyrs to bury them. In this act of devotion they are at last detected and brought before Almachius, prefect of the city. Their own assurance in this ordeal is strengthened by Cecilia, who speaks to them from without the prison door and exhorts them to be stalwart knights in the service of God. Their conversation with the prefect at the time of their trial is variously elaborated in different versions, but is usually characterized by their introduction of the parable of the slothful and industrious husbandmen. At last, refusing to offer sacrifice, Valerian and Tiburtius are condemned to death, on which occasion many hundred people are converted, together with Maximus, the jailer, who sees the souls of the two martyred men borne aloft on the wings of angel messengers. Maximus speedily suffers death for his belief and the bodies of the three martyrs are cast without the city walls. Here Cecilia finds them and brings them to the catacombs for burial.

The wealth of the widowed Cecilia then appeals to the greed of the tyrant Almachius, and he sends messengers to possess themselves of all the property that can be found. Cecilia, however, convicts the messengers of sin, converts them to Christianity, and they go away empty handed, whereupon Cecilia proceeds to distribute her goods to the poor and Almachius finds his attempt baffled. He sends for Cecilia, who appears before him in all her Christian boldness and defies his power, which she asserts is as a "bladder blown full of wind." She claims her own high birth and announces her allegiance to God, who is the Lord of life, whereas Almachius is, at best, only 'dethes lord.

From the midst of a sorrowing group of men and women, Ce

cilia is led to her own house, where she is shut up in the caldarium and placed in a boiling bath, yet she emerges, after a day and a night, in all content and without injury. Then the executioner is sent, who, according to the law of the country, is allowed three blows by which to strike off a head. By the intervention of some supernatural power the blows are only partly effectual, and Cecilia, though mortally wounded, lives three days, in which time she makes complete disposition of her property, consecrating her palace as a church and home for the maidens who have been under her guidance, and converting many hundred souls through her preaching. And this was, the legend tells us, two hundred and twenty-three years after that our Lord came to earth.

This legend is greeted to-day on the one hand by the popular conception of a mystical St. Cecilia vested with the emblems of music as her sole attribute, an estimate which modern art has done much to confirm; on the other hand, by the almost universal voice of skepticism on the part of the historical critic1 as to the authenticity of her Acts.

The proof as to whether such a person as Cecilia ever existed at Rome, surrounded by the personages Valerian, Tiburtius, Maximus, Urban and Almachius, who provide the setting for the incidents of her life as set forth by monastic scribes after an interval of ten centuries, rests, so far as it can be at all determined, upon the testimony of four authorities:-First, the records of the saint as found in ancient calendars, martyrologies, and breviaries; second, the historic accounts of the early Church; third, the compilations of hagiographers, and fourth, the accumulating information of archeologists.

The Martyrologies were compiled from letters and brief records which were written, it may be supposed, under the same

I Saint Cécile est honorée comme martyre dans 1 Eglise Latine depuis le 5e siècle, mais on ignore ce que concerne sa vie, ses actions, et sa mort. L'Advocat, Dict. Hist-Portatif.

Ses actes sont plus anciens, mais

Hist. Eccles. lib. XLVI. § 41.

non pas pour y donner une entière créance. Fleury,

Ses actes qui ont peu d'autorite. Feller, Dict. de Biog. et d'Hist.

Of her life and history, however, hardly any authentic account has come down to us. C. H., Dict.

of Christ. Biog.

The legendary accounts of her are not worthy of credence. McClintock and Strong, Cyclop. of Eccles. Lit.

The acts of St. Cecily are generally considered of very small authority. Alban Butler, Lives of Saints.

It is also unfortunate for Cecilia's claim to a footing on the solid soil of history that the earliest writer who makes mention of her, Fortunatus, bishop of Poitiers, represents her to have died in Sicily between the years 176 and 180. It is absurdly stated in the Biographie Universalle that Cecilia's name is found in the most ancient martyrologies, whereas, as may be seen from Baronius, the earliest of these documents was compiled by Pope Clement I. who died A. D. 100. Encycl. Brit.

impetus as that which, in the early Christian church, collected and preserved the Apostolic records. Many early documents assure us of this activity.

Clement I. in 93 A. D. divided Rome into seven ecclesiastical districts which he apportioned to faithful chuchmen that they might search out with care the acts of the martyrs.1 Another record by Anastasius reports the continuation of this work under the papacy of St. Fabian 236-249, shortly after the supposed time of our saint. Of Pope Anteros, 235-236, we are told3 that "he diligently sought out the acts of the martyrs from the notaries, and laid them up in the church, for which thing he was made a martyr by the prefect Maximus." Cyprian' directs his church officials to record the days of the martyrs, and says that this custom has been practised by Tertullus. We know from Sozomen' that municipalities under the same civil rule frequently had their own feast days on which they celebrated their local martyrs.

These and similar records perished undoubtedly during the Christian persecutions which accompanied and succeeded these centuries, yet there is ground for belief that they provided the first authentic step in the series which finally led to the Acts of a St. Cecilia.

Eusebius in the early part of the fourth century affirms that with the judicial acts and records of the time, he has considered also the letters of the faithful in the compilation of his Martyrology. Of this only the fragment containing the lives of the Martyrs of Palestine' remains. A Latin compilation supposed to be based upon Eusebius® is preserved by the Martyrologium Vetustissimum' attributed to Jerome (330-420). It contains references to the saints of the Cecilia legend, which show some discrepancies and repetitions. These occur, as the more familiar

I Hic fecit septem regiones dividi notariis fidelibus Ecclesiæ, qui gesta martyrum sollicite et curiose unusquisque per regionem suam diligenter perquirerent. Anastasius, Lib. Pontif. iv, PATR. LAT. 127. Baronius, Ann. A. D. 95. Vol. I. 728, 729.

2 Hic regiones divisit diaconibus, et fecit septem sub diaconos, qui septem notariis imminerent, ut gesta martyrum in integro colligerent. Anast. Lib. Pontif. xxi, PATR. LAT. 127.

3 De Rossi, Rom. Sott. II. 181.

4 Cypr., Ep. 12.

5 Hist. Eccl. V. 3. Paris. 1698.

6 πᾶσάν τε τὴν πρὸς τὴν σύγχλητον ἀπολογίαν ὅτῳ διαγνῶναι φίλον, ἐχ τῆς τῶν Ἀρχαίων μαρτυρίων συναχθείσης ἡμῖν ἀναγραφῆς εἴσεται. Hist. Eccl. v. 21.

7 PATR. GR. 20, 1519.

8 For early allusion concerning the compilation of this work see Strabo, de Rebus Eccl. c. 28. PATR. LAT. 114. 962; Bede, Retract in Act. Ap. 1. PATR. LAT. 92. 997; Cassiodorus, de Inst. Div. Lect. c. 32. PATR. LAT. 70. 1147.

9 Florentinius, Patr. Lat. 30. 455.

later records give us reason to expect, on 22 November, the day of St. Cecilia, 14 April, the day of Valerian, Tiburtius, and Maximus, and 25 May, the day of the martyr Urban. Additional records are then given for 16 September and 21 April.

The reference to St. Cecilia on XVI Kal. October (September 16) is found again in the martyrology and breviary of Corbeiensus Dacherius. Also in the Epternacensian Martyrology the words "Romæ Cæcilia" occur on this day, and the Richenoviensian, the Augustan and the Labbeanian calendars give here the name "Cæcilia" without title or place. The frequent repetition of the date 16 September in these earliest calendars, gives rise to doubt concerning the authenticity of the now commonly accepted date, 22 November, for the commemoration of Cecilia's birth. The later date, some critics' believe, celebrates the consecration of the church of St. Cecilia in Trastevere in Rome. No evidence, however, is able to place this earlier than 434-440 (see p. 20). In the meanwhile the calendar of Fronto3 (pope, 372-5), and most of the Latin collections* succeeding, mark Cecilia's festival on 22 November, and those of Valerian and Tiburtius, overlooking Jerome's second allusion on XI Kal. May(April 21), on 14 April.

The early Roman Sacramentaries, consist usually of a series of prayers for intercession and praise to the appropriate saint for the day, with vague allusion to the martyrdom and triumph of the one thus commemorated. Through these, the early veneration of St. Cecilia may be traced, and some intimation gained as to the character of her acts. The Sacramentarium Leonianum, which is the oldest of the accessible church uses, is attributed by Blanchini (1735) to Pope Leo the Great (440-461). It contains a long celebration of the martyrdom of St. Cecilia on 22 Novem

1 X Kal. Decem. Romæ. Cæciliæ virginis, Valeriani, Tiburtii, Maximi.

XVIII Kal. Maii. Romæ, via Appia in cœmeterio Prætextati, natalis sanctorum Tiburtii, Valeriani, Maximi.

VIII Kal. Jun. Via Nomentana, milliaro nono, natalis Urbani episcopi.

These references are supplemented by the following repetitions: XI Kal. Maii. Romæ, in cœmeterio Calesti, via Appia, natalis sanctorum Valeriani, Maximi, Tiburtii.

XVI Kal. Oct. Passio Sanctæ Cæciliæ virginis. PATR. LAT. 30.

2 Das (Nov. 22) war ursprünglich nicht ihr Todestag, sondern der Kirchweihtag der Basilika in Transtevere. Das dieses Datum des 22 Nov. sich nach De Rossi auf die Translation unter Paschalis I. beziehe, berichtet Lipsius, Chron. der Röm. Bish. s. 182. Erbes, Die Heilige Cäcilia, Zeitschr. f. Kirchengesch. ix. 15.

3 Fronto, Calendarium Romanum, Paris, 1652, p. 149.

4 Kalendarium Floriacense, Antiquissimum (IX C), Stabulense, Verdinense, Martyrologium Insignis Eccl. Antissiodorensis, Mantuanum, Brixianum, Vallumbrosanum (two), Lucensis Kalendarii (fragmentum), Calendarium Anglicanum, and Veteres Litaniæ Anglicanæ. PATR. LAT. 138. 1186.

ber.1 To Gelasius I. (pope 462-496), is attributed the authorship of the Liber Sacrementorum in which In Natalis Sanctæ Cæciliæ is celebrated with similar forms on 22 November and the preceding day. It is a series of prayers on both days. Her martyrdom is also celebrated in the important sacramentary of St. Gregory I. (540-604), which is given in full.'

Parallel with the liturgical growth in the Roman church appear the independent liturgies of foreign churches. Such a liturgy belonged to the church of Milan and has been ascribed to Ambrose (334-397). This liturgy, which at all events was of very early origin, commemorates Cecilia. The office taken from a service of about the year 1130, makes the instruction concerning the offerings suitable to the occasion its most prominent feature."

The Gallican Liturgies, which also preserved a distinct type until, by the command of Charlemagne, the Roman order of service was instigated, have an independent celebration of St. Cecilia. This service is believed by Thomasius to have been in use in Gaul in the sixth century. It contains little of the history of St. Cecilia and is chiefly an ascription of honor to the saint and supplication for her intercession."

The Mozarabic Liturgy, supposed to be the ritual of Southern France and Spain at the beginning of the eighth century, and attributed to Isidore of Seville, who lived until the latter part of the seventh century, contains an elaborate office of St. Cecilia

I A part of this service is as follows: X Kal. Dec. In die festivitatis hodiernæ, qua sancta Cæcilia in tui nominis confessione martyr effecta est. Quæ dum humanis devota nuptiis, thalamos temporales contemneret, sponsum sibi, qui perpetuus esset, præsumto præmio castitatis adhibuit, & æternitatem vitæ maluit, quam ut mundo procrearet originem. In cujus gloriam etiam illud accessit, ut Valerianum, cui suerat matrimonii jure copulanda, in perpetuum sibi socians martyr casta confortium, secum duceret ad coronam. Muratori, Lit. Rom. Vet. I. 456.

2 It begins, Sanctæ martyræ tuæ Cæciliæ supplicationibus tribue nos foveri: ut cujus veneraabilem solemnitatem prævenimus obsequio; ejus intercessionibus commendemur. Per Dominum. Muratori, Lit. Rom. Vet. I. 672.

3 Deus, qui nos annua beatæ Cæciliæ martyris tuæ solemnitate lætificas: da, ut quam veneramur officio, etiam piæ conversationis sequamur exemplo. Per &c.

Super oblata. Hæc hostia, Domine, placationis & laudis quæsumus, ut interveniente beata Cæcilia martyre tua, nos propitiatione dignos semper efficiat. Per &c.

Ad complendum. Satiasti, Domine, familiam tuam muneribus sacris. Ejus semper intercessione nos refove, cujus solemnis celebramus. Per &c. Muratori, Vet. Lit. Rom. II. 129; PATR. Lat. 78. 4 Erbes, Die Heilige Cäcilia, remarks, p. 11: "Ambrosius, Hieronymus und Prudentius, die so viele anderen feiern, thun der Căcilia keine Erwähnung."

5 In Sanctæ Cæciliæ, Ebdomadariis Solidi IV. & Denarii IV. Pro Calice cannata Vini. Custodibus & Veglonibus, ut in Nativitate Sanctæ Mariæ. Muratori, Antiquitates Italicæ, (1741), IV. 930. 6 Josephus Thomasius, Codices Sacramentorum. Rom. 1680.

7 Venerabilem ac sublimem beatæ martyris Cæciliæ passionem, et sanctam solemnitatem pia devotione celebrantes, conservatorem omnium Deum, fratres carissimi, deprecemur, etc. Gallican Missal, Lib. III. XIV, in PATR. LAT. 72. 247.