The Tales Of The Heptameron, Vol. IV. (of V.) Read online

  _TALE XXXIII_.

  _The hypocrisy of a priest who, under the cloak of sanctity, had got his sister with child, was discovered by the wisdom of the Count of Angouleme, by whose command they both were visited with punishment by law_. (1)

  Count Charles of Angouleme, father of King Francis, a pious Prince andone that feared God, happened to be at Coignac when he was told thatin a village called Cherues, (2) not far away, there dwelt a maiden wholived a marvellously austere life, and who, for all that, was now greatwith child. She made no secret of the matter, but assured every one thatshe had never known a man and that she could not tell how such a fortuneshould have befallen her, unless indeed it were the work of the HolyGhost. This explanation the people readily received, and knowing as theyall did how virtuous she had been from her youth up, and how she hadnever given a single token of worldliness, they believed and deemed hera second Virgin Mary. She used to fast not only on the days commanded bythe Church, but, from natural devotion, several times a week also; andshe never stirred from the church whenever there was a service going onthere. For these reasons she was held in such great repute among all thevulgar that every one came to see her as though she were a miracle, andthose who succeeded in touching her dress deemed themselves fortunateindeed.

  1 This tale is historical, the incidents must have occurred between 1480 and 1490.--L.

  2 Cherves-de-Cognac, now a large village of nearly 3000 inhabitants, within four miles of Cognac. The church, where some of the incidents recorded in the tale occurred, is still in existence. It dates from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and is surmounted by three cupolas.--Eu.

  The priest of the parish was her brother; he was a man advanced inyears and of very austere life, and was loved and reverenced by hisparishioners, who held him for a holy man. He treated his sisterwith such harshness as to keep her shut up in a house, to the greatdiscontent of all the people; and so greatly was the matter noisedabroad that, as I have told you, the story reached the ear of the Count.He perceived that the people were being deceived, and, wishing to setthem right, sent a Master of Requests and an Almoner, two very worthymen, to learn the truth. These repaired to the spot and inquired intothe matter with all possible diligence, addressing themselves forinformation to the priest, who, being weary of the whole affair, beggedthem to be present at an examination which he hoped to hold on themorrow.

  Early the next morning the said priest chanted mass, his sister, who wasnow far gone with child, being present on her knees; and when mass wasover, the priest took the "Corpus Domini," and in presence of the wholecongregation said to his sister--

  "Unhappy woman that you are, here is He who suffered death and agony foryou, and in His presence I ask you whether, as you have ever affirmed tome, you are indeed a virgin?"

  She boldly replied that she was.

  "How is it possible that you can be with child and yet be still avirgin?"

  "I can give no reason," she replied, "except that the grace of theHoly Ghost has wrought within me according to His good pleasure;nevertheless, I cannot deny the grace that God has shown me inpreserving me a virgin without ever a thought of marriage."

  Forthwith her brother said to her--

  "I offer you the precious Body of Jesus Christ, which you will take toyour damnation if it be not as you say; and the gentlemen here presenton behalf of my lord the Count shall be witnesses thereof."

  The maiden, who was nearly thirty years of age, (3) then swore asfollows:--

  "I take this Body of Our Lord, here present, to my damnation in thepresence of you, gentlemen, and of you, my brother, if ever man hastouched me any more than yourself."

  And with these words she received the Body of Our Lord.

  Having witnessed this, the Master of Requests and the Almoner went awayquite confounded, for they thought that no lie was possible with such anoath. And they reported the matter to the Count, and tried to persuadehim even as they were themselves persuaded. But he was a man of wisdom,(4) and, after pondering a long time, bade them again repeat the termsof the oath. And after weighing them well, he said--

  "She has told you the truth and yet she has deceived you. She said thatno man had ever touched her any more than her brother had done, and Ifeel sure that her brother has begotten this child and now seeks to hidehis wickedness by a monstrous deception. We, however, who believe thatJesus Christ has come, can look for none other. Go, therefore, and putthe priest in prison; I am sure that he will confess the truth."

  3 In the MS. followed for this edition, as well as in Boaistuau's-version of the _Heptameron_, the age is given as "thirteen." We borrow the word "thirty" from MS. 1518 (Bethune).--L.

  4 Charles of Angouleme, father of King Francis and Queen Margaret, had received for the times a most excellent education, thanks to the solicitude of his father, Count John the Good, who further took upon himself to "instruct him in morality, showing him by a good example how to live virtuously and honestly, and teaching him to pray God and obey His commandments."--_Vie de tres illustre et vertueux Prince Jean, Comte d'Angouleme_, by Jean du Port, Angouleme, 1589, p. 66. That Count Charles profited by this teaching is shown in the above tale.--ED.

  This was done according to his command, though not without seriousremonstrances concerning the putting of this virtuous man to open shame.

  Albeit, as soon as the priest had been taken, he made confession of hiswickedness, and told how he had counselled his sister to speak as shehad done in order to conceal the life they had led together, not onlybecause the excuse was one easy to be made, but also because such afalse statement would enable them to continue living honoured by all.And when they set before him his great wickedness in taking the Body ofOur Lord for her to swear upon, he made answer that he had not been sodaring, but had used a wafer that was unconsecrated and unblessed.

  Report was made of the matter to the Count of Angouleme, who commandedthat the law should take its course. They waited until the sister hadbeen delivered, and then, after she had been brought to bed of a finemale child, they burned brother and sister together. And all the peoplemarvelled exceedingly at finding beneath the cloak of holiness sohorrible a monster, and beneath a pious and praiseworthy life indulgencein so hateful a crime.

  "By this you see, ladies, how the faith of the good Count was notlessened by outward signs and miracles. He well knew that we have butone Saviour, who, when He said 'Consummatum est,' (5) showed that noroom was left for any successor to work our salvation."

  5 "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished."--St. John xix. 30.--M.

  "It was indeed," said Oisille, "great daring and extreme hypocrisy tothrow the cloak of Godliness and true Christianity over so enormous asin."

  "I have heard," said Hircan, "that such as under pretext of a commissionfrom the King do cruel and tyrannous deeds, receive a double punishmentfor having screened their own injustice behind the justice of the Crown.In the same way, we see that although hypocrites prosper for a timebeneath the cloak of God and holiness, yet, when the Lord God lifts Hiscloak, they find themselves exposed and bare, and then their foul andabominable nakedness is deemed all the more hideous for having had sohonourable a covering."

  "Nothing can be pleasanter," said Nomerfide, "than to speak forthfrankly the thoughts that are in the heart."

  "Yes, for profit's sake," (6) replied Longarine. "I have no doubt thatyou give your opinion according to your temper."

  6 This sentence is rather obscure in the MSS., and we have adopted the reading suggested by M. Frank. M. Lacroix, however, was of opinion that the sentence should run, "Yes, for mirth's sake."--M.

  "I will tell you what it is," said Nomerfide. "I find that fools, whenthey are not put to death, live longer than wise folk, and the onlyreason that I know for this, is that they do not conceal their passions.If they be angry, they strike; if they be merry, they
laugh: whereasthose that aim at wisdom conceal their imperfections with such exceedingcare that they end by thoroughly corrupting their hearts."

  "I think you are right," said Geburon, "and that hypocrisy, whethertowards God, man or Nature, is the cause of all our ills."

  "It would be a glorious thing," said Parlamente, "if our hearts were sofilled with faith in Him, who is all virtue and all joy, that we couldfreely show them to every one."

  "That will come to pass," said Hircan, "when all the flesh has left ourbones."

  "Yet," said Oisille, "the Spirit of God, which is stronger than Death,is able to mortify our hearts without changing or destroying the body."

  "Madam," returned Saffredent, "you speak of a gift of God that is not asyet common among mankind."

  "It is common," said Oisille, "among those that have faith, but as thisis a matter not to be understood by such as are fleshly minded, let ussee to whom Simontault will give his vote."

  "I will give it," said Simontault, "to Nomerfide, for, since her heartis merry, her words cannot be sad."

  "Truly," said Nomerfide, "since you desire to laugh, I will give youreason to do so. That you may learn how hurtful are ignorance and fear,and how the lack of comprehension is often the cause of much woe, Iwill tell you what happened to two Grey Friars, who, through failing tounderstand the words of a butcher, thought that they were about to die."

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  039a.jpg The Grey Friar imploring the Butcher to Spare his Life]

  [The Grey Friar imploring the Butcher to Spare his Life]

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