The Virgin Who Would Not See Martin

“My dear Sulpitius, I believe you remember how highly he praised to us (you were there too) that virgin who had so completely withdrawn herself from the eyes of all men that she would not let even Martin himself into her presence when he wished to visit her in the course of his duty. He was passing by the little property within which she had chastely shut herself up for several years. He had heard of her faith and her virtue, so he turned aside from his road in order, as a bishop, to pay devout honor to a gift of such outstanding merit. We who were traveling with him thought that the virgin would be glad, since she was to receive such a testimony to her virtue, with a priest of so great a reputation setting aside his usual strictness to visit her. But she would not loosen the bonds of the very strict way of life she had laid on herself, not even so far as to see Martin. And so the blessed man received her praiseworthy apology through another woman, and went away from her door full of joy, from the door of a woman who had not allowed herself to be seen or greeted. [a]

“O glorious virgin, who would not let herself be looked at even by Martin! O blessed Martin, who did not take that refusal as any insult to himself, but praised her virtue with a rejoicing heart, and was glad of an example all too rare in that region! Well, when night was coming on and forced us to stop not far from her humble dwelling, that same virgin sent the blessed man a present. And Martin did what he had never done before, for he accepted a present or gift from nobody: he refused none of the things the worthy virgin had sent him. He declared that a priest must by no means reject her blessing, since she was indeed to be ranked above many priests.

“I beg the virgins to take note of that example. If they wish to close their doors to the wicked, let them shut them even against the good; and so that those with bad intentions may have no free access to them, let them not be afraid to keep even priests out of their company. Let the whole world pay attention to this: a virgin would not let herself be looked at by Martin. And it was no ordinary priest she turned away. The girl refused to come under the eyes of a man whom it was salvation for those who saw him to look upon. But what priest besides Martin would not have taken this as an injury to himself? What irritation and fury he would have felt in his heart against that virgin! He would have thought her a heretic, and would have decided that she should be put under anathema. And how surely such a man would have preferred to that blessed soul those virgins who are always throwing themselves in the priest’s way, who put on lavish dinners, and who recline at table with the rest! But where is my speech carrying me? That rather too free way of speaking must be checked, or it may give offense to some. For words of reproach will do the unfaithful no good, while the example I have given will be enough for the faithful. At the same time, while I praise the virtue of this virgin, I do not mean to take anything away from the merit of those others who often came from distant regions to see Martin, since indeed angels often visited the blessed man for the same purpose.