For drede of deth to saven hem,
And suffrede peynes harde and sore,
In hevene to dwelle for ever more.”
The bodies of martyrs are countless;[541] four thousand of them at Saint Prudence, thirteen hundred at Saint Prassede, seven thousand at Sts. Vitus and Modestus. From time to time a famous name brings up an historic glimpse, such as the account of the foundation of Rome, or an abridged life of Constantine; at first a pagan and a leper,
“In Mahoun was al his thouht.”
But according to our author’s information, he was converted and cured by Pope Sylvester. The church of St. Mary the Round formerly bore another name:
“Agrippa dude hit make
For Sibyl and Neptanes sake. . . .
He gaf hit name Panteon.”
He placed there a magnificent golden idol sitting, of a peculiar form: