Part 5
ANTHONY-----THE HAMMER OF HERETICS
 

When Anthony girded on his armor and went forth to fight the good fight, the affairs of Europe, especially the religious affairs, were in a sad state. Heresy was rife. These heretics, known as Partorini, Cathari, Waldenses, Albigenses, and others almost too numerous to mention, were more or less united in an attempted revival of Manicheism; for the most part they taught the eternal existence of the principal of evil, denied the responsibility of the rational creature, recognized fatalism, and advocated the right of rebellion.

The secret societies wherein the Jew was a rank element, had for their maxim: Jura, perjura, secretum pandere noli.-----"Swear and forswear thyself, provided thou keep the secret." Their cry was: "Down with the Pope! Death to the Catholic Church!"

That was a sorry time. In his "History of France," Michlet says: "This Judea of France, as Languedoc has been called, was not only remarkable, like ancient Judea, for its bituminous pits and olive groves: it also had its Sodoms and Gomorrahs."

"Italy," says the old Franciscan chronicle, "was all overturned and filled with confusion by all the other nations, who came in to blooden their barbarous swords in her body; invited so to do by the Italians themselves, who called them in to take part in their intestine feuds, and who were all to be in the event their prey-----as it turned out. And thus very soon there not only failed among them those sweet manners which used to make the Italians like to Angels on earth, and placed them above all nations in courtesy and charity; but there died away also in them that blessed faith, for the love of which they had renounced the empire of the world, placing their necks under the most sweet yoke of Christ and of His Holy Roman Catholic Church. And as it happens so often that people take their customs from the company they keep, even the Italians drank of that horrible chalice of heresy and abomination; and, owing to license of life, which was then at its highest point, heretics began to multiply in that land."

Anthony seemed to have been singled out by Divine Providence to combat the prevailing evils of his time; to have had all his own sweet dreams, high hopes, and noble aspirations thwarted; to have been kept in the background, a silent, unknown man, until the moment when he was called to the front, to battle and to victory; for he achieved what perhaps he alone of all men could have achieved-----a glorious and triumphant victory. How well he knew the nature and the requirements of his sacred office! He said:

"It behooves a preacher to lead on earth a Heavenly life, in keeping with the truths he is charged to announce to the people. His conversation should only be concerning holy things; and his endeavors must tend to but one end-----the salvation of souls. It is his duty to raise up the fallen, to console them that weep, to distribute the treasures of Divine grace as the clouds send down their refreshing showers. And all this must he do with perfect humility and absolute disinterestedness. Prayer must be his chief delight; and the remembrance of the bitter Passion of Christ must ever accompany him, whether in joy or adversity. If he acts in this wise, the word of God, the word of peace and life, of grace and truth, will descend upon and flood him with its dazzling light."

He not only preached, he practiced what he preached. The serenity and beauty of his countenance, the gentleness and meekness of his demeanor, were an example-----a living and a lasting sermon unto all. Having once asked one of the brethren to go with him while he preached, the two went forth, and by and by returned-----Anthony not having uttered a word during all the time. The Brother, turning to him, said: "Why have you not preached?" And Anthony answered: "We have preached: our modest looks and the gravity of our behavior are as a sermon unto those who have followed us with their eyes."

He was absolutely without fear, and proved it on many occasions. Ezzelino of Treviso, having placed himself at the head of a party of Ghibellines, made himself master of Verona, Padua, and indeed most of the cities in Lombardy. For forty years this tyrant ruled there, and his bloody and horrible reign terrorized the people. He defied the anathemas of Popes Gregory IX, Innocent IV, and Alexander IV. Hearing that the long-suffering Paduans had revolted, he put to death in one day twelve thousand of the citizens.

Ezzelino lived at Verona. The horror of his presence had caused the Veronese to fly, and the city was nearly depopulated. Armed guards, as savage as their master, patrolled the almost deserted streets. Anthony, going alone to Verona, sought audience of this monster. He entered the palace of Ezzelino and was conducted to the audience-chamber, where sat the bloodthirsty one upon a throne surrounded by his murderous troops. At a word from Ezzelino these human tigers would have fallen upon the defenseless Anthony and rent him limb from limb.

Anthony, undismayed, at once addressed the tyrant; assuring him that his plunderings, his sacrileges, were as a myriad tongues crying to Heaven for vengeance; and that his innumerable victims were living witnesses before God against him. The ferocious guards stood ready to spring upon the accuser; they awaited only the word. What was their astonishment when they saw merciless Ezzelino, pale and trembling, descending from his throne, and, putting a girdle about his neck for a halter, prostrating himself at the feet of Anthony, tearfully imploring him to intercede with God for the pardon of his sins!

When Anthony had departed, turning to his soldiers, Ezzelino said: "Be not astonished at my sudden change. I will tell you the truth. While Anthony was reproaching me I saw in his countenance a Divine splendor; and I was so terrified that, if I had dared to take vengeance, I believe that I would have been suddenly carried off by demons and cast into Hell."

Some time afterward Ezzelino, wishing to test Anthony and see if he were really more than human, sent him a costly gift. The gift-bearers were cautioned to press the treasure upon Anthony; but if he accepted it, they were to slay him at once; if he declined it, they were to come away and use no violence. These orders were obeyed. Bowing before the friar, they said: "Your faithful son Ezzelino has sent us to you. He earnestly recommends himself to your prayers, and beseeches you to accept this gift we offer you."

Anthony of course declined it, and begged that they would return to their master and say to him that it was God's wish that he should restore unto the impoverished whom he had laid waste, all that he had cruelly wrested from them; and that he should make this reparation before it was too late. With shame, they withdrew from the presence of the friar; and when they had reported to Ezzelino all that had passed between them, he replied, thoughtfully: "It is well. This is truly a man of God. Leave him in peace. I care not what he says of me."

For a considerable period after this Ezzelino showed a disposition to mend his ways: he was less cruel, less blood-thirsty, a little more considerate of the rights and the feelings of his subjects. But after the death of Anthony he relapsed into his former mood, was in 1259 taken prisoner by the Confederate princes of Lombardy, and perished miserably in close confinement.

Anthony's success as a preacher was phenomenal and unparalleled. That fine old chronicler, John Peckham, says of it:

"From all parts of the city and its neighboring villages people flocked in crowds to hear the sermons of the great Franciscan. The law courts were closed, business was suspended, labor interrupted. All life and movement were concentrated at one point-----the sermons and instructions of the mighty wonder-worker. Soon the churches could not contain the audiences: he had to preach in the open air. The plant, dried up by the heat of the sun, thirsts for the dew of the early morn; more lively and impatient was the desire of the Paduans for the coming dawn and the hour for which the conferences were announced. From midnight the city was in motion. Knights and great ladies, preceded by lighted torches, pressed round the temporary pulpit. A motely multitude covered the plain; while the bishop, accompanied by his clergy , presided at the services. The numbers often reached thirty thousand.

"At the hour fixed Anthony would appear, in outward demeanor modest and recollective, his heart burning with love. All eyes were fixed upon him; and when he began to speak, the crowds, hushed into silence, listened to his words with an immovable attention. At the conclusion of the discourse the enthusiasm of his hearers could not be contained: it burst forth in sobs, shouts of joy or applause, according to its effect upon each listener. The crowd would rush upon the Saint. Each one wished to see him closer, to kiss the hem of his habit, or his crucifix; some even went so far as to cut bits of cloth from his habit, to keep as relics. A bodyguard of young men kept near him, to prevent his being crushed by his admirers.

"But the most admirable effects he achieved were the following: Enmities were appeased, and contending families publicly reconciled; usurers and thieves made restitution of their ill-gotten goods; great sinners struck their breasts in humble repentance; abandoned women fled from the haunts of vice and gave themselves up to penance. The confessionals were besieged; vice disappeared, virtue revived; and within the space of a month the aspect of the ancient city [of Padua] was transformed."

Continued Next Page.

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