The Straw Martin Slept On

Then Postumianus exclaimed: “What you have said binds those friends of ours admirably not to go beyond the example of Martin. But I confess to you that I believe these remarks of yours will fall on deaf ears. For if we followed Martin’s ways, we would never need to defend ourselves on the matter of kissing, and we would be free of every reproach of evil suspicion. But just as you are in the habit of saying, ‘We are Gauls,’ when you are accused of being too fond of eating, so we who live in this part of the world will never be reformed, either by Martin’s example or by your talks. But while we have been discussing these points at such length, why do you keep such a stubborn silence, Sulpitius?” [a]

I replied: “Well, for my part, I am not only keeping silent now; I made up my mind long ago to be silent on such matters. I once rebuked a certain widow, a smartly dressed woman who was always out and about, who dressed expensively and lived rather loosely. I also rebuked a virgin who was following a certain young man, dear to me, in a rather unseemly way, although I had often heard her blame others who acted like that. Because of this I stirred up such hatred against myself among all the women and all the monks that both companies have declared sworn war on me. So be quiet, I beg you, or even what we are saying may add to their hostility toward me. Let us blot these people out of our memory entirely, and let us go back to Martin instead. You, my friend from Gaul, carry on the work you have taken in hand, as you began.” [c]

Then he said: “I have truly told you so many things already that my talk ought to have satisfied your desires. But since I am not free to refuse what you wish, I will go on speaking as long as the day lasts. In fact, when I glance at that straw being made ready for our beds, I am reminded of the straw Martin had lain on, and of a miracle that was worked by means of it. This is how it happened. Claudiomagus is a village on the border between the Bituriges and the Turoni. The church there is famous for the devotion of its saints, and no less renowned for the great number of its holy virgins. Martin often passed that way, and he had a room in the private part of the church. After he left, all the virgins would rush into that retreat. They kiss every place where the blessed man had sat or stood, and they share out among themselves the very straw he had lain on. A few days later one of them took part of the straw she had collected as a blessing for herself, and hung it from the neck of a possessed person whom a spirit of error was troubling. There was no delay. Sooner than one could say it, the demon was cast out and the person was cured. [d]