The Life of Saint Eustace

From Jacobus de Voragine’s The Golden Legend (1275)

This text is from F.S. Ellis’ slightly modernised version of William Caxton’s 1483 translation of Jacobus’ Latin text, published in the Temple Classics (1900, reprinted 1931). I have silently modernised the text still further for ease of reading.

Here follows the Life of Saint Eustace, and first of his name.

Eustace was named Placidus before his baptism, which is as much as to say as pleasant to God. And Eustace is composed of eu, that is to say, good, and statics, that is, fortune; therefore Eustace is, as it were, good fortune. He was pleasant to God in his conversation, and after, he held him in good works.

Of Saint Eustace.

Eustace, who first was named Placidus, was master of the hosts of Trajan, the emperor, and was well engaged in the merciful works; but he was a worshipper of idols. And he had a wife of the same religion, also devoted to merciful deeds, by whom he had two sons, which he had brought up according to his estate. And because he was attentive to works of mercy, he deserved to be illumined to the way of truth.

So on a day, as he was on hunting, he found a herd of deer, among whom he saw one more fair and greater than the others, which departed from the company and sprang into the thickest part of the forest. And the other knights ran after the other deer, but Placidus pursued him with all his might, and stroved to overtake him. And when the hart saw that he followed with all his power, at the last he went up on a high rock, and Placidus approaching nigh, thought in his mind how he might take him. And as he beheld and considered the hart diligently, he saw between his horns the form of the holy cross shining more clear than the sun, and the image of Christ, which by the mouth of the hart, just as aforetime Balaam by the ass, spoke to him, saying: ‘Placidus, why do you follow me hither? I have appeared to you in this beast for your own grace. I am Jesus Christ, whom you honour ignorantly, your alms have ascended up before me, and therefore I come hither so that by this hart that you hunt I may hunt you.’ And some others say that this image of Jesus Christ which appeared between the horns of the hart said these words.

And when Placidus heard that, he had great dread, and descended from his horse to the ground. And an hour after he came to himself, and arose from the ground, and said: ‘Tell me again what you have said, and I shall believe you.’ And then our Lord said: ‘I am Jesus Christ, who formed heaven and earth, who made the light to increase, and divided it from darkness, and established time, days, and hours; who formed men of the slime of the earth; who appeared on earth in flesh for the succour of human progeny; who was crucified, dead, buried, and arose on the third day.’ And when Placidus heard this, he fell down again to the earth, and said: ‘I believe, Lord, that you are he that made all things, and convert those who err.’ And our Lord said to him: ‘If you believe, go to the bishop of the city and to be baptized.’ And Placidus said to him: ‘Lord, do you desire that I hide this thing from my wife and my sons?’ And our Lord said to him: ‘Tell them they must also make themselves clean with thee. And see that you come again tomorrow hither that I may appear again to you and may show to you that which shall befall you hereafter.

And when he had come home to his house, and had told this thing to his wife in their bed, she cried: ‘My Lord!’ and said: ‘And I saw him last night, and he said to me: “Tomorrow you, your husband, and your sons, shall come to me.” And now I know that it was Christ.’ Then they went to the bishop of Rome at midnight, who baptized them with great joy, and named Placidus, Eustace, and his wife, Theospis.

And in the morning Eustace went to hunt as he did before, and when he came nigh to the place he departed from his knights as if he were seeking venison. And soon after he saw in the place the form of the first vision, and then he fell to the ground before the figure, and said: ‘Lord, I pray you, show me what you have promised me your servant.’ To whom our Lord said: ‘Eustace, you who are blessed, who have taken the cleansing of grace, for now you have surmounted the devil, who had deceived you, and trodden him under foot; now your faith shall appear. The devil now, because you have forsaken him, is armed cruelly against you, and it behoves you to suffer many things and pains. For to have the crown of victory you must suffer much, through humbling yourself from the high vanity of the world, and you shall afterward be enhanced in spiritual riches. Therefore do not fail and do not look unto your first glory. For it behoves you that by temptations you should be another Job, and when you shall so be humbled, I shall come to you, and shall restore you unto your first joy. Say to me now whether you will suffer and take temptations now, or in the end of your life?’ And Eustace said to him:’ Lord, if it must be so, command that temptation to come now; but I beseech you to grant to me the virtue of patience.’ To whom our Lord said: ‘Be constant, for my grace shall keep your souls.’ Then our Lord ascended into heaven, and Eustace returned home and related all this to his wife.

After this, a few days later, the pestilence assailed his servants and his knights, and slew them all, and in a little while after, all his horses and his beasts died suddenly; and after this, some that had been his fellows, seeing his depredation, entered into his house by night and robbed him, and bore away gold and silver, and despoiled him of all other things. And he, his wife, and children thanked God, and fled away by night all naked, and because they feared shame, they fled into Egypt. And all his great possessions came to nought through the pillaging of wicked people. Then the king and all the senators sorrowed much for the general, who was so noble, because they could hear no tidings of him. And as they went they approached the sea, and found a ship, and entered into it to gain passage; and the master of the ship saw the wife of Eustace was very beautiful, and greatly desired to have her. And when they had passed over the sea, he demanded his reward for their freight, and they did not have the means to pay, so that the master of the ship commanded that the wife should be held and retained for his hire, and would have her with him.

And when Eustace heard that, he argued against it for a long time. Then the master of the ship commanded his mariners to cast him in the sea, so that he might have his wife, and when Eustace saw that, he left his wife with great sorrow, and took his two children and went weeping, and said: ‘Alas! woe am I for you, for your mother is delivered to a strange husband.’ And thus sorrowing he and his children came to a river, and because of the great abundance of water he dared not pass that river with both his sons at once, who were then young. But at the last he left one of them on the bank of the river, and carried over that other on his shoulders, and when he had passed the river, he set down on the ground the child that he had borne over, and hasted to fetch the other whom he had left on the other side of the river. And when he was in the midst of the water, there came a wolf and took the child that he had carried across, and fled straightway to the woods. And he then, despairing, went to fetch the other son, and as he went, there came a great lion which bore away the other child; and he could not catch him, for he was in the middle of the river. And then he began to weep and pull out his hair, and he would have drowned himself in the water if the divine foresight had not prevented him.

And the herdsmen and ploughmen saw the lion bearing the child all alive, and they followed him with their dogs, so that by divine grace the lion left the child all safe without hurt. And other ploughmen cried and followed the wolf, and with their staves and falchions delivered the child whole and sound from his teeth without hurt. And so both the herdmen and ploughmen were of one village, and nourished these children among them. And Eustace knew nothing thereof, but weeping and sorrowing, said to himself: ‘Alas! woe is me! for before this mishap I shone in great wealth like a tree, but now I am naked of all things. Alas! I was accustomed to be accompanied with a great multitude of soldiers, and I am now alone, and am not suffered to have my sons. O Lord, I remember what you said to me: ‘It behoves your to be tempted as Job was’. But I see that more is done to me than was to Job. For he lost all his possessions, but he had a dunghill to sit on; but to me nothing is left. He had friends who had pity on him; and I have none but wild beasts, which have borne away my sons. To him was his wife left; and my wife is taken from me and delivered to another. O good Lord, put an end to my tribulations, and keep my mouth so that my heart does not decline into words of malice and is cast from your visage.’ And thus saying and wailing, in great weeping, he went into a street of the town, and there he was hired to keep the fields of the men of that town, and so kept them for fifteen years. His sons were nourished in another town, and did not know that they were brothers; and our Lord kept the wife of Eustace, so that the strange man had nothing to do with her nor did he touch her, but died and ended his life.

In that time the emperor and the people were much tormented by their enemies, and then they remembered Placidus, how he many times had fought nobly against them. And the emperor was very sorrowful for him, and sent out into diverse lands many knights to seek him, and promised to whomever found him great riches and honour. And two knights, who had been under his command, came into the same street where he dwelled, and as soon as Placidus saw them, he knew them, and then he remembered his first dignity and became sad, and said: ‘Lord, I beseech you to grant to me that I may sometime see my wife, fo,r as for my sons I know well that they are devoured by wild beasts.’ And then a voice came to him and said: ‘Eustace, be well assured, for soon you shall recover your honour and shall have your wife and your children. And soon he met with these knights, and they knew him not, but demanded of him if he knew any strange man named Placidus who had a wife and two children. And he said ‘Nay’, yet he brought them home to his residence, and he served them. And when he remembered his first estate he could not hold back from weeping.

Then he went out and washed his face and returned to serve them. And they considered and one said to the other, ‘How this man greatly resembles him that we seek’, and that other answered: ‘Certainly he is like unto him; now let us see if he have a wound in his head which he got in a battle.’ Then they examined him and saw the sign of the wound, and then they knew well it was he whom they sought. Then they arose and kissed him and asked after his wife and children, and he said that his sons were dead, and his wife was taken away from him. And then the neighbours ran to hear this thing, because the knights told and recounted his first glory and his virtue. And they told to him the commandment of the emperor, and clad him with noble vestments. Then after the journey of fifteen days they brought him to the emperor. And when he heard of his coming he ran quickly up to him, and, when he saw him, he kissed him. Then Eustace recounted before them all the events which had happened to him. And he was re-established unto the office to be again master of the army, and was enlisted to do the office as he had done before.

And then he counted how many knights there were, and saw there were but few as to the regard of their enemies, and commanded that all the young men should be gathered in the cities and towns, and it happed that the country where his sons were nourished should make and send two men of arms. Then all the inhabitants of that country chose these two young men, his sons, most suitable above all others for to go with the general; and then when the master saw these young men of noble form and adorned honestly with good manners, they pleased him much and he ordered that they should be with the first of his table.

Then he went thus to the battle, and when he had subdued his enemies, he made his host rest three days in the town where his wife dwelt and kept a poor hostelry. And these two young men, by the providence of God were lodged in the habitation of their mother, without knowing who she was. And on a time about midday, as they spoke to each other of their childhood, their mother, who was there, listened to what they said very attentively. And that the older one said to the younger: ‘When I was a child, I remember none other thing, save that my father, who was master of the knights, and my mother, who was very beautiful, had two sons, that is to say, me and another, younger than I, who was very fair. And they took us and went out of their house by night, and entered into a ship to go I know not where. And when we went out of the ship our mother was left in the ship, I know not in what manner, but my father bore me and my brother away with great weeping. And when he came to a water, he passed over with my younger brother and left me on he bank of the water; and when he returned a wolf came and bore away my brother. And before my father could come to me, a great lion came out of the forest, and took me up and bore me to the wood; but the herdmen that saw him took me from the mouth of the lion, and I was raised in the town that you know well, and I could never find out what happened to my brother or where he is.’ And when the younger heard this he began to weep and say: ‘Truly, just as I hear, I am your brother, for they who raised me said that they had taken me from a wolf.’ And then they began to embrace and kiss each other and weep.

And when their mother had heard all this conversation, she considered long whether they were her two sons because of the events they had told of befalling them. And the next day she went to the general and asked him, saying: ‘Sir, I pray you, command that I may be brought again to my own country, for I am of the country of the Romans, and here I am a stranger.’ And in saying these words she saw in him signs and knew by them that he was her husband, and then she could no longer forbear but fell down at his feet and said to him: ‘Sir, I pray you to tell of your first estate, for I believe that you are Placidus, master of the knights, who earlier was called Eustace, whom the Saviour of the world has converted, and have suffered great temptation and such. And I your wife was taken from you in the sea, but nevertheless have been kept from all corruption; and you had two sons by me: Agapitus and Theospitus.’ And Eustace, hearing this, diligently examined and scrutinised her, and quickly knew that she was his wife, and wept for joy and kissed her; and praised the glory of our Lord God, who comforts the discomforted. And then said his wife: ‘Sir, where are our sons?’ And he said that they were slain by wild beasts, and recounted to her how he had lost them. And she said: ‘Let us give thanks to God, for I suppose that just as God has given to us grace to find each other, so shall he give us grace to recover our sons.’ And he said: ‘I have told you that they have been devoured by wild beasts’; and she then said: ‘I sat yesterday in a garden and heard two youngsters describing their childhood, and I believe that they are our sons. Ask them and they shall tell you the truth.’

Then Eustace called them, and heard of their childhoods and knew that they were his sons. Then he embraced them and the mother also, and kissed them also. Then all the host shared in the joy of the finding of his wife and children, and for the victory over the barbarians.

And when he returned, Trajan was had died, and Hadrian succeeded in the empire, which was worst in all crimes. And as much for the victory as for the finding of his wife and children, he received them very honourably and had prepared a great dinner and feast. And on the next day after, he went to the temple of the idols to sacrifice for the victory over the barbarians. And then the emperor seeing that Eustace would not do sacrifice, neither for the victory, nor because he had found his wife and children, warned him and commanded him that he should do sacrifice. To whom Eustace said: ‘I adore and do sacrifice to our Lord Jesus Christ, and only serve him.’ And then the emperor, filled with anger, put him, his wife, and his sons in a certain place, and sent to them a very cruel lion, and the lion ran to them and inclined his head to them, just as if he had worshipped them, and departed. Then the emperor had a fire made under an ox of brass or copper, and when it was fire-hot he commanded that they should be put therein all quick and alive. And then the saints prayed and commended them unto our Lord, and entered into the ox, and there yielded up their spirits unto Jesus Christ. And the third day after, they were drawn out before the emperor and were found all whole and not touched by the fire, nor was as much as a hair on them burnt, nor any other thing on them. And then the Christian men took their bodies and laid them honourably in a very noble place, and built an oratory over them. And they suffered death under Hadrian the emperor, which began about the year one hundred and twenty in the calends of November.

Return to Top