The greatest excitement prevailed. The sound of the lead-laden scourge tearing the martyr’s flesh filled the air; a herald shouted, for the benefit of the onlookers, “Beware of blaspheming the gods and goddesses!” With a great effort, Valerianus made his voice heard above the tumult. “Citizens of Rome,” he cried, “be not discouraged by the sight of my torments from confessing the truth! Be firm in your faith and believe in the one true, holy God! Destroy the false gods to whom Almachius sacrifices, crush and annihilate them, for all who adore them will be tormented everlastingly.”
In spite of the constancy of the brothers, Almachius, frightened at the possible consequences of his acts, was at this point inclined to let them go; but the Devil, in the shape of one Tarquinius, his assessor of taxes, managed to whisper in his ear: “If you do not condemn them now, they will give all their wealth to the poor, and there will be nothing left for you—to confiscate.”
Instantly Avarice sprang to her throne in the ever docile soul of Almachius. With much pomp and severity he pronounced sentence on the “criminals.” They were to be led out to the Pagus Triopius, to the Temple of Jupiter, by the fourth milestone of the Appian Way, and there commanded to offer incense to the idol. If they refused, they were to be beheaded and their bodies left where they should fall.
CHAPTER X MARTYRDOM OF ST. CECILIA
A Glorious Martyrdom—A Vision of Heaven—The Bodies of the Martyrs—Prefect Incensed Against St. Cecilia—Preparation for Death—Her Trial—Her Victory and Martyrdom—The Miracle of Her Three Days’ Ministering—Final Honours—Martyrdom of St. Urban and His Companions—Cecilia’s Place Among Martyrs—Her Tomb in the Catacombs—Pope Paschal’s Vision of St. Cecilia—Cecilia’s Restoration to Her Own Church—History of Her Church—The Second Finding of Her Body—Her Statue.
And Cecilia? While the first chapter of the glorious tragedy was being enacted before the tribunal of Almachius, she had been immersed in fervent prayer for those she loved, asking not that their lives should be spared, but that their faith should be strengthened and that they might come triumphantly through their ordeal. Valerianus, through some Christian friend, immediately informed her of all that was taking place. Still she waited and prayed. The officer charged with carrying out the commands of Almachius was his notary, Maximus, a man of upright life and kind heart. As he led the brothers away he mourned openly over the terrible doom which they had drawn down upon themselves, and entreated them to reconsider their resolutions and save their lives, pointing out that they were throwing away all their splendid advantages of youth, wealth, and a brilliant future, for a miserable delusion. Valerianus, filled with the Spirit of God, explained to him the Christian doctrine of a future life, which so amazed the honest man that he swore, by all he held sacred, that if he could believe in eternal happiness he would sacrifice everything on earth to attain it.
“Only repent of your sins,” Valerianus replied, “and I promise you that at the moment of our death, the Heavens shall be opened to you, and you shall behold with your own eyes the glory of the Blessed.”
“I accept,” Maximus answered. “May the thunderbolts of Heaven consume me if, after you have shown me what you promise, I do not confess the One God who has prepared another life to follow this one!”
Now Valerianus was filled with a great desire to see Maximus baptised before his own death, so he asked him to delay the execution of the sentence for a few hours and to conduct his prisoners to his own house, where, as he explained, the soldiers could still keep guard over them, so that no lapse from duty could be laid to the notary’s charge. Maximus gladly consented, and led the brothers and their guards to his dwelling—we are not told where it stood—and there Cecilia hastened to rejoin them. No word is recorded of her anguish at seeing her beloved Valerianus all torn and bleeding from the lashes of the whips. Surely she kissed and washed the pitiful wounds so joyously received for Christ’s sake; but this was a time for quick and courageous action, and the one thought in her mind as in that of her husband and his brother was to save as many souls as possible in this supreme hour. She hastened to summon several priests, and, under cover of nightfall, brought them to the house of Maximus, where, by this time, many persons were assembled. The notary, his entire family, and the soldiers under his command listened eagerly to the instructions of the priests, and, before the first gleam of dawn tinged the sky, were all baptised. A great chorus of thanksgiving went up to God. Not one had been left out, not a voice but joined in that pæan.
Then, the sun rose and a great silence fell—“Facto magno silentio,” Cecilia spake, not in words of her own choosing—she repeated that splendid battle cry of St. Paul: “Arise, soldiers of Christ! Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. You have fought a good fight, you have finished your course, you have kept the Faith. Go to receive the Crown of Life which the Just Judge gives to you, and not to you only, but to all who love His coming!”