Chapter LIII: A Panegyric of Ciaran

38. Most blessed Kiaranus living among men passed a life as of an angel, for the grace of the Holy Spirit burned in his face before the eyes of men. Who could expound his earthly converse? For he was young in age and in body, yet a most holy senior in mind and in manners, in humility, in gentleness, in charity, in daily labours, in nightly vigils, and in other divine works.

For now liveth he in rest without labour, in age without senility, in health without sorrow, in joy without grief, in peace without a foe, in wealth without poverty, in endless day without night, in the eternal kingdom without end, before the throne of Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth unto ages of ages. Amen.

_Here endeth the life of Saint Ciaran, Abbot of Cluain meic Nois._

[Footnote 1: The inconsistencies in the spelling of the various proper names in this translation follow those in the original documents.]

[Footnote 2: The MS. reads _lac iam... effudit_. For _iam_ we should probably read _enim_. A similar correction is made in § 38.]

[Footnote 3: _Ipsa insula semper ab Hybernia habitatur._ The sense of this passage is not clear: it may be corrupt.]

[Footnote 4: Lit.: "the shadow of the aid of thy dutifulness."]

[Footnote 5: This sentence reads very awkwardly, owing to the incorporation of two originally interlined glosses. Reference to the MS. enables us to isolate these. The sentence there runs thus: "Si ergo in isto loco mansissem non Ysseal .i. imus esset id est non paruus sed altus .i. magnus et honorabilis." Here _id est_ occurs three times, once in full, and twice represented by the common contraction .i., which is universally used in MSS. of Irish origin for the introduction of a gloss. If we write the sentence as below, we shall see the significance of the different ways in which the expression is written, and by expunging the glosses can make the sentence less clumsy and more intelligible

_.i. imus_ --"Si ... mansissem, non Ysseal esset, id est non paruus; sed _.i. magnus et honorabilis_ altus."]

[Footnote 6: Correcting the _vita_ of the MS. to _via_, in conformity with VG.]

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THE SECOND LATIN LIFE OF SAINT CIARAN

II. THE ORIGIN AND BIRTH OF CIARAN

1. A glorious man; and an abbot in life most holy, Queranus, was born of a father Boecius, of a mother Darercha. This man drew his origin from the northern part of Ireland, that is, he was of the Aradenses by race. Now he was so illuminated by divine grace from his boyhood, that it was clearly apparent of what manner he was destined to be. For he was as a burning lamp in extraordinary charity, so as to show not only the warmth of a pious heart and devotion in relieving the necessity of men, but also an unwearied sympathy for the needs of irrational animals. And because such a lamp should not be hidden under a bushel, so from his boyhood he began to sparkle with the marvels of miracles.

III. HOW CIARAN RAISED THE STEED OF OENGUS FROM DEATH

2. For when the horse of the son of the king of that territory perished with a sudden death, and the young man was much grieved at its fall, there appeared to him in dreams a man of venerable and shining countenance, who forbade him to be grieved for the death of the horse, saying unto him, "Call," said he, "the holy boy Keranus, and let him pour water into the mouth of thy horse, and sprinkle its forehead, and it shall revive. And thou shalt endow him with due reward for its resurrection."

When the king's son had wakened from sleep, he sent for the boy Keranus that he should come to him; who, when he made his presence known, and heard the dream throughout, according to what the angel taught him, sprinkled the horse with holy water and raised it from death. When this great miracle was seen, the king of that territory made over to Saint Keranus a fertile and spacious field in honour of Omnipotent God, in Whose Name his horse was resurrected.

IV. HOW CIARAN TURNED WATER INTO HONEY

3. Moreover it fell out on a certain day that the mother of Keranus himself found fault with him, for that he did not bring wild honey such as the other boys were wont to carry to their parents. When the beloved of God and men heard this, he raised his thoughts to the Boy who was subject to His parents, and blessed water, brought from a neighbouring spring, in His Name who is able to draw honey from the rock, and oil from the hardest stone; and presently that water is changed, with the help of God, into the sweetest honey, and so it is brought to his mother. This honey his parents sent to Saint Dermicius the deacon, surnamed Iustus, who baptized him.