TRIPARTITE LIFE.
PART I.
The people who sat in darkness saw a great light, and they who were in the land and in the shadow of death received light by which came their illumination.
Patrick, then, was of the Britons of Alcluaid by origin. Calpurnn was his father's name. He was a noble priest. Potid was his grandfather's name, whose title was a deacon. Conceis was his mother's name. She was of the Franks, and a sister to Martin. In Nemtur, moreover, the man St. Patrick was born; and the flag (stone) on which St. Patrick was born would give forth water when any one swore a false oath upon it, as if it were lamenting the false testimony. If the oath was true, however, the stone would continue in its natural condition.
When the man St. Patrick was born, he was taken to a blind, flat-faced man to be baptized. Gornias was the priest's name; and he had no water out of which he could perform the baptism until he made the sign of the cross over the ground with the infant's hand, when a fountain of water burst forth. Gornias washed his face, and his eyes were opened to him; and he, who had learned no letter, read the baptism. God wrought three miracles through Patrick in this place—viz., the fountain of water through the ground, his eyesight to the blind man, and his reading the ordo of the baptism without knowing a letter up to that time. And Patrick was subsequently baptized. A church was founded, moreover, over this well in which Patrick was baptized; and the well is at the altar, and it has the form of the cross, as the learned report.
Many prodigies and miracles were wrought through Patrick in his youth, but we shall only relate a few out of many of them. One time Patrick was in his nurse's house, in winter time, when a great flood and rain filled his nurse's residence, so that the vessels and furniture of the house were floating about, and the fire was extinguished. Patrick then cried to his nurse, as usual with children when desiring food. Then his nurse said to him: "That is not what troubles us; there is something else we would rather do than to prepare food for thee; even the fire is extinguished." When Patrick heard these words, truly, he sought a certain spot in the house to which the water had not reached; and he dipped his hand in the water, and five drops fell from Patrick's fingers, and they were suddenly changed into five sparks, and the fire glowed, and the water rose not. The names of God and of Patrick were magnified thereby. Another time, as Patrick was playing amongst his companions, in the time of winter and cold in particular, he collected his armful of pieces of ice, which he brought home to his nurse. Then his nurse said: "It would be better for you to bring us withered brambles to warm ourselves with than what you have brought." Thereupon he said to his nurse:
"Believe thou, because God is powerful thereto, that even the sheets of ice will burn like faggots." And no sooner were the pieces of ice placed on the fire, and he had breathed on them, than they burned like faggots. The names of God and Patrick were magnified through this miracle.
One time, when Patrick and his sister (i.e., Lupait) were herding sheep, the lambs came suddenly to their dams, as is customary with them, to drink milk. When Patrick and his sister saw this, they ran quickly to prevent them. The girl fell, and her head struck against a stone, so that death was nigh unto her. As soon as Patrick perceived that his sister was lying down, and that death was nigh unto her, he wept loudly; and he raised her up immediately, and made the sign of the cross over the wound, and it healed without any illness. (Nevertheless, the signs of the "white wound" would appear there.) And they came home as if no evil had happened to them. Another time, Patrick was with the sheep, when a wolf took away a sheep from him. His nurse reproved him greatly therefor. The wolf brought the sheep whole to the same place on the morrow; and the restoration in this way was wonderful—viz., the wolf's dislike regarding the habitual food.
When Patrick's nurse, therefore, saw him magnified by God in prodigies and miracles, she used to love him very much, and would not wish to go anywhere without him. One time his nurse went to milk the cow. He went with her to get a drink of new milk. The cow [became mad] in the booley, and killed five other cows. The nurse was much grieved, and asked him to resuscitate the cows. He resuscitated the cows, then, so that they were quite well, and he cured the mad cow; and the names of God and Patrick were magnified through this miracle.