Ælfric

“ And thereupon he gave one to the noble maiden,
and the other to the youth, and said to them thus;
'Keep these crowns with a pure heart,
because I received them in the plains of paradise;
they shall never grow sere nor lose their sweetness,
nor shall their beauty turn to a worse hue,
nor shall any man see them save he who loveth chastity;
and thou, Valerian, because thou lovest chastity,
the Saviour biddeth thee ask whatsoever boon thou wilt.'
Then the youth kneeled and said to the angel:
There is nothing so dear to me living in this life as was my brother ”

“ Then Caecilia arose, and with steadfastness said:
' The Creator of all creatures begat a Son,
and sent forth of Himself the Comforting Spirit;
through the Son He created all creatures that exist,
and quickened them all through the living Spirit.'
Then answered Tiburtius: ' One God they preach,
and how namest thou three Gods as if known by name?'
Caecilia answered him: ' there is one God Almighty,
dwelling in His Majesty; Him we Christians worship
for ever in Trinity, and in very Unity,
because Father and Son and the Comforting Spirit
have one nature and one kingdom ”

“ Then they pondered with gladness and spake concerning God's will,
until his brother came blithely in the morning to them,
and kissed them both, and said with joy:
'I wonder exceedingly how now, on a winter's day,
here lily-blossom or rose's breath
smells so winsomely and so sweetly. ”

“ Then Tiburtius answered the wicked man and said:
' Oh! that the saints, whom thou hast bidden men to slay
and whom we have buried, would at least
have us as slaves in their service! '
Thus they discoursed a long time until the wicked man
commanded men to beat the second brother with clubs ”

“ Then sent he an executioner to her,
and commanded him to behead her in the hot water.
So the executioner struck her with his sword
once and again and a third time, but her neck was not pierced;
and anon he left her lying half alive,
because the senate had decreed that no executioner should
strike four times, when he slew a criminal.
Then she lived three days and instructed the faithful,
and committed her handmaidens to the illustrious pope,
and her house was consecrated as a holy church,
where, by the help of God, miracles were often wrought. ”

“ Then afterward she secretly dealt to the poor
her bridegroom's possessions and his brother's things;
and Almachius desired to know about the goods
as she was a widow, and she was then brought by compulsion
that she might sacrifice to the wicked gods.
Then wept the heathen that a maiden so beautiful
and a woman so nobly born, filled with wisdom,
should suffer death in torments, so young.
Then spake Caecilia and said to them all:
'he is not forlorn who lieth slain for God ”

“ Caecilia said to him: ' test by grasping
whether they are stones, and stony images,
those which thou callest gods, being firmly fixed in lead,
and so thou may est certainly ascertain by feeling (them) ,
if thou canst not see that they are stones.
They would quickly become lime if one put them on a burning pile;
now can they not profit themselves, nor, verily, men;
and they would become lime if one laid them on fire.'
Then the wicked judge became fiendishly angry,
and bade men take her straightway, and seethe her in water
in her own house for the Saviour's name. ”