THE ROMAN GENERAL...(part-2)
The Romans were from the very birth of their dynasty
a brave and war like people; the heroes who led them on
to battle and conquest were men of consummate skill and
intelligence, and are justly immortalized on the pages of
history. In ancient times the art of warfare was rude
and undeveloped, and the whole existence of an army
depended upon the skill of its general. He had to direct
where there was no order, no intelligence, no judgment,
save that which flashed from his own superior mind ; he
moved the mighty machine of brutal and living force as
he willed ; the roughest and wildest spirits were cemented
together into the irresistible phalanx by one element
alone, it was confidence in their leader, his skill was
more to the army than numbers, position, or courage.
Thus it was that Caesar, one of the greatest warriors of
the past, said he feared more the general without an army
than an army without a general. Eustachius or Placidus
(by which name he was more generally known) was one of the great
generals of the Roman army at the commencement of the second century.
His influence and name were as great amongst the
soldiers on account of his virtues as for his triumphs and
military skill. He was admired by all for his mildness,
love of justice and charity. He was the father of his
soldiers, and treated them with leniency and justice, virtues unknown to the barbarian soldier, but loved that
moment their benign influence was felt. He was
generous and charitable to the unfortunate, and although
a pagan, he was eminently chaste. True greatness is incompatible with the indulgence of the brutal propensities of
man. The virtues and exalted position of Placidus
rendered him the most conspicuous man of the time, like
the solitary star shining through the dark masses of cloud
on a stormy night. No wonder he was signaled out by
Providence as the object of special grace and the instrument of great wonders, for Almighty God loves virtue
and order, although practiced by an infidel, and He never
fails to reward it in due time.
A soldier offered alms to St. Francis. In recompense
for this act of charity, Almighty God revealed to the Saint
the soldier's approaching death. Francis gave him the
prophetic warning, and prepared him for a happy end.
Perhaps it was charity, some silent act of benevolence in
the life of Placidus that brought down from heaven the
great grace of conversion and made him a vessel of election. This seems even more probable from the words
addressed to him by our Blessed Lord Himself, at the
moment of his call to Christianity.
One day Placidus went out according to his custom to
hunt. He proceeded with some officers of the cavalry
division over "which he had the command, to the brow of
the Sahine hills, and fell in with a troop of beautiful stags. Amongst them there was one larger and more
beautiful than the rest, and Placidus immediately pursued
it with all the ardor of the chase. In the excitement,
which huntsmen alone know, he was soon separated from
his companions, and passed over hills and rapid rivers and
on the edges of the most terrible precipices. He knew
no danger, he was not accustomed to defeat; on he
went, over mountains and through valleys, until he came
up with this magnificent prize in a wild and lonely ravine,
not far from the spot where now stands the picturesque
village of Guadagnolo. This was the moment and place
in which the providence of God destined to illumine the
mind of the great general with the light of Christianity.
The stag stood on the ledge of a rock just over him, and
between its beautiful and branching horns there was a
dazzling light; in the midst of an aureole of splendor
he saw an image of the crucifixion. Struck with wonder
and amazement, be heard a voice saying to him, " Placidus, why dost thou follow Me! Behold I have taken
this form to speak to thee; I am the Christ, whom thou
servest without knowing. Thy charity and deeds of
benevolence to the poor have stood before Me, and have
made Me follow thee with My mercy. The just man, dear
to me on account of his works, must not serve devils and
false gods, who cannot give life or reward."
Placidus dismounted in terror and confusion. He
could not remove his eyes from the beautiful vision that shone more brilliantly than the sun between the
horns of the stag, and although he heard he did not understand the voice
that spoke to him. At length gaining
courage, he cried out in an excited and trembling tone.
"What voice is this ? Who speaks ?—reveal Thyself
that I may know Thee."
Again the heavenly sounds fell on his ears, and he
heard these word? :—
"I am Jesus Christ, who created heaven and earth out
of nothing, who threw all matter into shape, and made the
light spring from the chaos of darkness. I am He who
created the moon and the stars, and caused the day and
the night , who created man from the slime of the earth,
and for his redemption appeared in human flesh, was
crucified, and rose the third day from the dead. Go,
Placidus, to the city, and seek the chief pastor of the
Christians and be baptized. "
A ray—the last ray of the brilliant light which had
dazzled his eyes, had entered his heart, and he understood all. He remained for hours on his knees, in his
first warm and grateful prayer to the true God. When
he awoke from his deep reverie of adoration and prayer,
he found all was dark and silent. The sun had disappeared behind the mountains, and his faithful and
wearied horse and dog slept beside him. He rose, like
the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus, with the
courage of a lion, to proclaim the truth of the Christian
religion, and the wonderful. mercy of God. He roused
his horse, and returned slowly through the bleak passes
of the mountain towards the city.
In the meantime, alarms for the safety of Placidua
were increasing at his residence in the city. He was
gifted with a noble and amiable spouse ; their union had
been strengthened by long years of peace. In the similar and moral tendencies of their virtuous souls their
home presented a scene of domestic bliss rarely found in
pagan circles. The unusual absence of the general gave
her immense anxiety; all night she sat up watching for the well-known tread on the threshold, but the grey
dawn was breaking on the horizon and still no sign of
Placidus.
Starting from the momentary repose of a delusive dream
she found her slave awaiting returning consciousness to
deliver a message.
"Most noble lady, Rufus, who had accompanied the
general this morning to the hunt, has returned and prayed
an audience."
"Quick, quick, Sylvia, bring him to my presence."
She sprung from her seat, met the veteran soldier at
the door, and trembling with excitement, she addressed him:
"Say Rufus, knowest thou aught of the general ; thou
wert ever a true soldier, and kept by his side in the
darkest hour, how came you separated from him to speak,
I fear thy silence."
The veteran leaned on his halbert; after a moment's
pause, he spoke in a deep, solemn voice.
"Noble lady, I am loath to fan thy misgivings to
darker anticipations of ill, but we fear for the safety of the
general."
"I conjure thee, Rufus, tell me all," she cried frantically, " has his trusty steed fallen and cast him down the
awful precipice, have ravenous wolves fed on his mangled
corpse?
"One of these calamities, noble lady, have befallen our brave commander," interrupted Rufus. "We believe
he has but lost his way in the mountains, and shall be
here before noon. This morning I was by his side when
a large stag started from the copse ; the dogs gave chase, as our steeds flew over the rugged mountain side. The
stag was the largest ever seen in these hills, and the chase
the fleetest ever run. Our inferior horses soon fell back, and we saw
the glittering helmet of our commander rushing like a ball of fire through the woods; he was soon
lost from our sight near the ravines of Marino. We
halted under the shade of a fig tree, hoping each moment
to see our gallant commander return with the spoils of
his brilliant chase. The hours passed slowly on, anxiously we listened for the echoes
of his horn, no dog returned with blood-stained mouth to tell of victory, each
moment of anxiety made the hammer of life beat with a
heavier throb. We searched the mountain side, and
called louder and louder the name of our general, there
was no response save the mournful echoes that broke the
stillness of the olive groves. Trembling for his safety, I
hurried back to headquarters to ask a detachment of
horse to scour the mountain. Behold, noble lady, how
I am separated from the general. The life stream of my
"heart's blood is not dearer than the safety of thy lord—Rufus shall serve under no other commander but Placidus."
Whilst Rufus was yet speaking a bustle was heard outside, and some excited slaves rushed in, announcing the
general had come. Wearied and covered with dust, he
dismounted. In silence he embraced his wife, and having made a sign for all to leave the room, he addressed
his spouse.
"Stella, I have a strange tale to tell thee. Thou
knowest the terrors of war and the crash of empires have
ever been my ambition "and my joy. Heretofore I feared
nothing, and I knew no God but my sword, but since last
I sat under the shadow of these ancestral towers and the
beams of thy loving smile, a change has come over my
dream of ambition. Like the sunrise bursting from a
thick bank of clouds, a vision from the invisible world
passed before these eyes—a Deity greater than the gods of this Empire manifested Himself to me. Stella, I am a
Christian!
"With many tears he described his vision—the miraculous interposition of Divine Providence to call him to the
light of faith. That day he arranged his affairs to abandon himself generously to the call of divine grace. Messengers were secured to guide him to the Catacombs,
where the Christian Bishop ruled the Church of God.
In spite of the remonstrance of his timid spouse, who
dreaded the awful consequences involved in the profession of Christianity in these days of terror, he hastened
the first hour after nightfall to the crypts on the Salarian
Way. Amongst the sublime lessons taught him in his
vision on the mountains, was the folly of
"Leaving to the mercies of a moment
The vast concerns of an eternal scene.
It is probable that the terrible persecution of Domitian
was but subsiding at this time. The Christians were
obliged to seek shelter in the Catacombs from the fury of
the storm, and whilst Almighty God permitted that they
could not preach the law of grace and redemption
publicly to the world, He supplied the ministry by the
interior operations of grace, and gave to His suffering
and banished Apostles the consolation of a more fruitful
harvest. If, as we imagine, the martyrdom of Eustachius did not take place until about sixteen years after
his baptism, the holy Pope Anacletus (according to
Baronius) must have been sitting in the chair of St. Peter.
Trajan was at this time Emperor, and of his character
and reign, we have already spoken in the life of St.
Ignatius.
The holy Pope had taken shelter from the storms of
persecution in a crypt in the Catacombs of St. Priscilla on
the Via Salara. God vouchsafed to inform him in a
vision of the conversion of Placidas. He was kneeling
before a rude crucifix placed on the marble slab that covered a martyr's tomb, and constituted the altar of the
dread sacrifice of the Mass. A small oil lamp cast a
dim flickering light on the sepulchral slabs , the silence
of those corridors of the dead was only broken by the
gentle murmur of prayer, or the faint echo of the hammer and axe of the fossores. Suddenly the holy father
saw the walls of the archisolium fade before his view,
and in their stead a charming scene in the Appenines.
On the ledge of a rock he saw a majestic stag bearing in
Iris horns, amidst a sun of light, the sacred sign of redemption, and
prostrate in prayer lay the Roman General. The vision faded away again, and the holy father,
who understood the mercy God had shown to a noble
soul, remained long wrapped in grateful prayer.
When night had enveloped the city a mysterious party,
thickly veiled and concealed under large cloaks, passed
through the Salarian Gate. No questions were asked, for
the military cloak of Placidus was a guarantee of protection. Two little children of three and five years held
with childish fear their mother's garments, and their quick little steps
pattered musically on the massive pavement with the solemn strides of their military father. In
silence they passed through the stately villas that adorned either side
of the road, and soon reached the gentle declivity known to the ancient Christians as the Clivum
Cuurneris. The guide brought them down through the long
narrow corridors and introduced them to the presence of
the holy pontiff, who rose and embraced Placidus as if he
had known and loved him in years gone by.
We can imagine with what joy the holy Pope poured
the regenerating waters of baptism on the heads of the
Roman general and his family. It was on this occasion
he received the name of Eustachius, his wife was called
Theopista, and the two children Agapius and Theopiston,
all names derived from the Greek, expressing favor with
God. The parting words of the venerable Pontiff to the
neophyte family were to take up their cross manfully, and
bear it, like their crucified Master, to the very utmost of
human endurance ; they were called to glorify the Church
in the days of its trouble, the Christian must be tried in
the furnace of affliction; " through many tribulations we
must enter the kingdom of heaven." He seemed to speak
with a prophetic spirit, for our next chapter will show
Placidus proved and found faithful.
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