Upon This, All The People Began To Cry Aloud,
"They Are Holy!
They are holy!
It is sinful to do them any injury, for we
see now that their faith is good and holy." To this the kadi objected,
saying that he was not holy, notwithstanding he remained unhurt amid the
fire; but that his tunic, being fabricated from the wool of the land of
Habraa, had protected him: That he ought therefore to be thrown naked into
the fire, and they should then see whether or not he would be consumed.
After this, the wicked Saracens, by direction of the kadi, made a fire
twice as large as the former; and, having stripped James quite naked, they
washed his body, and anointed him abundantly with oil, besides pouring a
great quantity of oil upon the faggots which composed the fire; and when
the fire was fully kindled, they threw friar James into the midst. Friars
Thomas and Demetrius, retiring from among the people, remained on their
knees praying to GOD, with many tears. Friar James, however, came a second
time unhurt from the fire, and the people again cried out that it was
sinful to injure these holy men. Upon this the Melich, or governor of the
city, called friar James to his presence, and causing him to put on his
garments, said to the friars, "We see, brothers, that by the Grace of God
ye have suffered no harm from us: wherefore we are convinced that ye are
holy men, and that your faith is good and true; we advise you to take
yourselves away out of this land as quickly as possible, as the kadi will
do his utmost to destroy you, because you have confounded his arguments".
At this time, likewise, the people were full of astonishment and
admiration of what they had seen, and were so filled with wonder at the
miracle, that they knew not what to believe, or how to conduct themselves.
The melich ordered the three friars to be carried across a small arm of
the sea, into a village at a moderate distance from the city, where he
ordered them to be lodged in the house of an idolater.
Afterwards the kadi went to the melich, and represented to him that the law
of Mahomet would be overthrown if these people were allowed to live. He
observed farther, that, by the precepts of Mahomet in the alcoran, it was
declared, that any one who slew a Christian, acquired as much merit by that
action as by the pilgrimage to Mecca. Then said the melich unto him, "Go
thy way, and do what thou wilt." Whereupon the kadi took four armed men,
whom he directed to go and slay the friars. These men crossed over the
water while it was night, but were then unable to find the friars. In the
meantime, the melich caused all the Christians in the city to be taken up
and thrown into prison. In the middle of the night, the three friars rose
up to say matins, and being then discovered by the four armed Saracens,
they were dragged out of the village to a place beneath a certain tree,
where they thus addressed our friars: "Know ye that we are ordered by the
kadi and the melich to slay you, which we are very unwilling to do, as you
are good and holy men; but we dare not refuse, as we and our wives and
children would be put to death." Then answered the friars, "Do ye even as
you have been commanded, that by a temporal death we may gain eternal life;
since, for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified and died
for us, and in honour of our faith in his holy gospel, we are prepared
willingly to suffer every kind of torment, and even death itself." A
Christian man, who had joined company with the friars, reasoned much with
the four armed Saracens, declaring, if he had a sword, he would either
defend these holy men from death, or would die along with them. Then the
armed men caused the friars to take off their garments, and friar Thomas,
on his knees, and with his arms folded in form of the cross, had his head
smitten off. Friar James had his head divided to the eyes by the first
blow, and by a second, his head was severed from his body. They wounded
friar Demetrius at first in the breast, and then cut off his head. In the
moment of the martyrdom of these holy men, the moon shone out with unusual
splendour, and the night became so exceedingly light, that all admired
greatly: After which, it suddenly became excessively dark, with great
thunder and lightning, and violent coruscations, so that all expected to be
destroyed; and the ship, which ought to have carried away the friars, was
sunk, with all on board, so that no tidings of it were ever heard
afterwards.
In the morning, the kadi sent to take possession of the goods belonging to
the friars, and then friar Peter de Senlis, who had been left in charge of
the goods, was found, and carried before the kadi; who, together with the
other Saracens, promised him great things, if he would renounce the
Christian faith, and conform to the law of Mahomet. But friar Peter scorned
all their offers, and derided them: Whereupon they inflicted every species
of torment upon him, from morning until mid-day, which he bore with
patience and constancy in the faith, continually praising God and holding
out the belief in Mahomet to scorn and contempt. The Saracens then hung him
up on a tree; and, seeing that he bore this unhurt from the ninth hour till
evening, they cut him in two. In the morning after, when they came to look
for his body, no part of it was to be found. It was afterwards revealed to
a person worthy of credit, that God had hidden his body for a season, until
he should be pleased to manifest the bodies of his saints, and should shew
the souls of the saints, rejoicing together with GOD and his angels and the
saints, in bliss.
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