The Gaul Agrees to Speak

The Gaul said: “Well, for my part, though I am not equal to so great a task, the examples of obedience that Postumianus has told us about leave me bound not to refuse the duty you lay on me. But when I reflect that I, a man of Gaul, am about to speak in front of natives of Aquitania, I fear that my rather rough way of speaking may offend your too delicate ears. Still, you will listen to me as a dull, plain sort of man, who says nothing in an affected or high-flown way. For if you have granted that I was a disciple of Martin, grant me this too: that under the shelter of his example I may be allowed to despise the empty trappings of speech and the ornaments of words.” [a]

Postumianus replied: “Certainly. Speak in Celtic, or in Gaulish if you prefer, provided only that you speak of Martin. For my part I believe that even if you were mute, words would not fail you to speak of Martin with eloquent lips, just as the tongue of Zechariah was loosed at the naming of John. But since you are in fact a trained orator, you cleverly, like an orator, begin by begging us to excuse your lack of skill, because you really excel in eloquence. But it is not fitting for a monk to be so crafty, or for a Gaul to be so artful. Rather, get to work, and set out what you still have to say. We have already wasted too much time on other matters, and the lengthening shadow of the setting sun warns us that not much of the day remains before night is upon us.” [c]

Then, after we had all been silent for a little while, the Gaul began: “I think I must take care, first of all, not to repeat the details about Martin’s virtues that our friend Sulpitius here has told in his book. So I will pass over his early achievements, when he was a soldier, and I will not touch on what he did as a layman and as a monk. At the same time, I will tell nothing that I simply heard from others, but only events I myself saw with my own eyes.”