[55] "Et veni ... ad bonum," according to the Bollandists ought to be "ad Benam," that is to Bantry Bay.
[56] Probably S. Victricius, one of the apostles of the Morini, afterwards bishop of Rouen.
[57] An instance of the rodomontade of some of the later lives may be quoted here. They say that to escape S. Patrick's persuasive eloquence only one way lay open to him, to set fire to his house and furniture and property, and precipitate himself into the flames. As a specimen of the absurdity of some of the legends, the following will suffice. A robber stole one of S. Patrick's goats and ate it. S. Patrick called his goat, and it bleated to him out of the man's belly.
[58] Jocelin tells some absurd stories about his contest with the Magi or Wise-men. He relates how that one of them, Lochu, a great friend of the king, to show the power of his religion, rose in the air, as though ascending to the skies. Then Patrick prayed, and angelic hands flung a snow-ball at him out of heaven, which knocked him down, head foremost, on a sharp stone at Patrick's feet, and that was the end of him. Another miracle was as follows:—A house was built, one-half of green wood, the other of dry timber. A Magus was vested in S. Patrick's chasuble, and placed in the green wood part of the house; and Benignus in the Magus's habit in that part which was of dry wood. The house was set on fire. The green timber was burnt, with the Magus, but not the chasuble; the dry timber would not burn, and Benignus escaped, only his coat was reduced to ashes.
[59] This was too good a story for Jocelin not to spoil it. So he relates, in contradiction to the other historians, that the king felt no pain, and the wound was miraculously healed on S. Patrick resuming his staff.
[60] This is the date assigned by Dr. Lanigan. Dr. Todd is certainly wrong in giving 493.
[61] And in some of the most ancient lives, which speak of S. Patrick at the end of his career as Sen-Patrick, the old man Patrick.
[62] In the Life of S. Afra (Aug. 5th), it will be shown that it is a late mistake to call her a courtesan.
[63] The genuineness of this letter, in which he mentions also the finding of the cross, has been doubted. One objection is that it contains the word "consubstantial," which at that period Cyril would hardly have used. But it is by no means improbable that this word was interpolated by copyists, for the purpose of obtaining the authority of Cyril for that term.
[64] Canon VII. "Since a custom and old tradition has obtained, that the bishop of Ælia (Jerusalem) should receive honour, let him hold the second place, the metropolitan (of Cæsarea) being secured in his own dignity."