Iacobus de Voragine: LEGENDA AUREA

[...] Cum autem quadam die Maria Magdalena praedicaret, praedictus princeps dixit ei: "Putas posse defendere fidem, quam praedicas!" Cui illa: "Equidem illam defendere praesto sum, utpote quotidianis miraculis et praedicatione magistri mei Petri, qui Romae praesidet, roboratam." Cui princeps cum coniuge dixit: "Ecce dictis tuis per omnia obtemperare parati sumus, si a Deo, quem praedicas, nobis filium impetrabis. - "Propter hoc"' inquit Magdalena, "non remanebit."

[...] But when on a certain day Mary Magdalene was preaching, the aforesaid prince said to her: "Do you think you can defend the faith which you preach!" To whom she: "Indeed I stand ready to defend it, inasmuch as it has been strengthened by daily miracles and by the predication of my master Peter, who presides at Rome." To whom the prince with his spouse said: "Behold, we are prepared to obey your words in all things, if from the God whom you preach you will obtain for us a son. - "For this"' said Magdalene, "it will not remain undone."

Tunc beata Maria pro ipsis Dominum exoravit, ut sibi filium concedere dignaretur. Cuius preces Dominus exaudivit et matrona illa concepit. Tunc vir eius coepit velle proficisci ad Petrum, ut probaret, si, ut Magdalena de Christo praedicaverat, sic veritas se haberet.

Then Blessed Mary entreated the Lord on their behalf, that He would deign to grant them a son. The Lord heard her prayers, and that matron conceived. Then her husband began to wish to set forth to Peter, to prove whether, as Magdalene had preached concerning Christ, so the truth held.

Cui uxor dixit: "Quid est, domine! Putasne sine me proficisci! Absit.

To him his wife said: "What is this, my lord! Do you think to set out without me! Far be it.

Te enim recedente recedam; te veniente veniam; te quiescente quiescam." Cui vir ait:'Non sic fiet, domina, etenim cum sis gravida et in mari sint infinita pericula, de facili periclitari posses. Domi igitur quiesces et possessionibus nostris curam impendes."

"Indeed, with you departing I will depart; with you coming I will come; with you resting I will rest." To whom the husband said:'It shall not be done thus, lady; for indeed, since you are gravid and on the sea there are infinite perils, you could easily be imperiled. Therefore you will rest at home and expend care upon our estates.'

Et contra illa instabat femineum nec mutans femina morem et cum lacrimis pedibus eius obvoluta, quod petebat, tandem obtinuit. Maria ergo humeris eorum signum crucis imposuit, ne eos antiquus hostis in aliquo itinere impediret. Navem igitur omnibus necessaris copiose onerantes, ceteia, quae habebant, in Mariae Magdalenae custodia relinquentes proficisci coeperunr.

And in turn the woman pressed, not changing the feminine custom, and, with tears, wrapped about his feet, at last obtained what she was seeking. Mary therefore placed the sign of the cross upon their shoulders, lest the ancient enemy hinder them on any part of the journey. Therefore, loading the ship copiously with all necessaries, leaving the rest of the things which they had in the custody of Mary Magdalene, they began to set out.

Iamque unius diei et noctis cursu consummato coepit nimium mare intumescere, ventus flare, ita ut omnes et maxime matrona gravida et debilis tam saeva inundatione fluctuum quassati gravissimis angustiis urgerentur, in tantum, quod in eam subito dolor partus irruit et inter angustias ventris et pressuras temporis filium parturiens exspiravit. Natus igitur puerulus palpitabat et mamillarum maternarum quaerens solacia lamentabiles dabat vagitus. Proh dolor!

And now, with the course of one day and one night consummated, the sea began to swell excessively, the wind to blow, such that all, and most of all the pregnant and weak matron, shaken by so savage an inundation of the waves, were pressed by very grievous straits, to the point that upon her suddenly the pain of childbirth rushed, and amid the straits of the womb and the pressures of the time, bringing forth a son, she expired. The little boy thus born was palpitating, and seeking the solace of maternal breasts he gave forth lamentable wailings. Alas, sorrow!

Et natus est infans vivus et matricida effectus. Mori eum convenit, cum non sit, qui vitae tribuat alimentum.

And a living infant was born and proved a matricide. It is fitting that he die, since there is no one to bestow the aliment of life.

Quid faciet peregrinus, et cum uxorem mortuam videat et puerum vagientem querulis vocibus matris mammam appetentem! Lamentabatur plurimum et dicebat: "Heu miser, quid facies! Filium habere desiderasti, et matrem cum filio perdidisti." Nautae acclamabant dicentes: "Proiciatur in mare hoc corpus, antequam insimul pereamus.

What is the pilgrim to do, and when he sees his wife dead and the boy wailing with querulous voices, reaching for the mother’s breast! He lamented greatly and was saying: "Alas, wretch, what will you do! You desired to have a son, and you have lost the mother together with the son." The sailors were crying out, saying: "Let this body be thrown into the sea, before we all perish together.

Quamdiu enim nobiscum fuerit, haec quassatio non cessabit." Et cum corpus appredendissent, ut illud in mare iactarent: "Parcite" inquit peregrinus, "parcite, et si nec mihi nec matri parcere volueritis, misereamini saltem parvuli vagientis. Sinite modicum et sustinete, si forte mulier prae dolore in exstasi posita adhuc valeat respirare." Et ecce non procul a navi quidam collis apparuit. Quo viso utilius esse credidit corpus et puerulum illuc deferri, quam marinis beluis ad devorandum dari et vix a nautis prece et pretio extorsit, ut illic applicarent.

"For as long as it is with us, this tossing will not cease." And when they had apprehended the body to cast it into the sea: "Spare," said the pilgrim, "spare, and if you are unwilling to spare either me or the mother, at least take pity on the wailing little one. Allow a little and hold back, if perhaps the woman, set in an ecstasy by pain, may still be able to breathe again." And behold, not far from the ship a certain hill appeared. Seeing which, he believed it would be more expedient that the body and the little boy be carried thither, than to be given to the marine beasts for devouring; and he scarcely extorted from the sailors, by prayer and by price, that they should make landfall there.

Cumque illic prae duritia foveam non potuisset effodere, in secretiori parte collis, chlamyde supposita, corpus collocavit et puerulum mammis eius apponens cum lacrimis ait: "O Maria Magdalena, ad perditionis meae cumulum Massiliae applicuisti: Cur infelix admonitione tua hoc iter arripui! Petiistine Deum, ut mulier mea hac de causa conciperet et periret! Ecce enim concepit et pariendo mortem subiit.

And when there, by reason of the durity, he had not been able to dig out a fosse, in the more secluded part of the hill, with his cloak placed beneath, he laid the body, and setting the little boy to her breasts, with tears he said: "O Mary Magdalene, to the heap of my perdition you have made landfall at Massilia: Why, unhappy one, at your admonition did I seize upon this journey! Did you petition God, that my wife for this cause should conceive and perish! Behold indeed, she conceived, and in giving birth she underwent death."

Conceptus est natus, ut pereat, cum non sit, qui enutriat. Ecce, quod prece tua obtinui, tibi enim omnia mea commendavi Deoque tuo commendo. Si potens es, memor sis animae matris, et prece tua misereatur, ne pereat natus." Tunc chlamyde sua corpus cum puero circumquaque operuit et postmodum navem conscendit.

"The conceived one is born, to perish, since there is no one to nourish him. Behold, what by your prayer I have obtained—for to you I have commended all my things, and I commend them to your God. If you are potent, be mindful of the mother’s soul, and by your prayer may He have mercy, lest the child perish." Then with his cloak he covered on every side the body with the boy, and afterward embarked the ship.

Cumque ad Petrum venisset, Petrus ei obvius fuit, qui viso signo crucis in umero suo, qui esset et unde veniret, sciscitatus est. Qui omnia sibi per ordinem narravit, cui Petrus: "Pax tibi fiat, bene venisti et utili consiiio credidisti. Nec moleste feras, si mulier tua dormit, si parvulus cum ea quiescit.

And when he had come to Peter, Peter met him, who, having seen the sign of the cross on his shoulder, inquired who he was and whence he came. He narrated everything to him in order, to whom Peter said: "Peace be to you, you have come well, and you have believed in a useful counsel. Nor bear it grievously if your wife sleeps, if the little child rests with her."

Potens enim est Dominus, cui vult, dona dare, data auferre, ablata restituere, et maerorem tuum in gaudium commutare." Petrus autem ipsum in Hierosolymam duxit et omnia loca, in quibus Christus praedicavit et miracula fecit, locum etiam, in quo passus est et in quo caelos adscendit, eidem ostendit. Cumque de fide fuisset instructus diligenter a Petro, biennii spatio iam elapso navem adscendit repatriare curans. Cum igitur navigarent, Domino disponente iuxta collem, in quo corpus uxoris cum puero positum fuerat, pervenerunt.

The Lord is powerful to give gifts to whom He wills, to take away things given, to restore things taken away, and to transmute your sorrow into joy.” But Peter led him into Jerusalem and showed him all the places in which Christ preached and wrought miracles, and also the place in which He suffered and in which He ascended to the heavens. And when he had been carefully instructed by Peter concerning the faith, with the space of two years now elapsed he boarded ship, taking care to repatriate. Therefore, as they were sailing, with the Lord disposing, they arrived near the hill on which the body of his wife with the boy had been laid.

Qui prece et pretio eos ibi ad applicandum induxit.

Who by prayer and by price induced them to put in there.

Puerulus autem ibidem a Maria Magdalena incolumis conservatus frequenter ad litus maris procedebat et ibidem, ut puerorum moris est, cum lapillis et glareis ludere solitus erat. Et, cum applicuisset, vidit puerulum more solito in litore maris cum lapillis ludentem, et quid esset, admirari non desinens, de scapha exsiliit. Quem videns parvulus, cum numquam tale quid vidisset, expavit et ad solita matris recurrens ubera occulte sub chlamyde latitabat.

The little boy, however, kept safe there unharmed by Mary Magdalene, would often go to the shore of the sea, and there, as is the custom of boys, was wont to play with little stones and gravel. And, when he had made landfall, he saw the little boy in his accustomed manner on the sea-shore playing with little stones, and, not ceasing to marvel what it might be, he sprang from the skiff. Seeing him, the small child, since he had never seen such a thing, was frightened, and running back to his mother’s accustomed breasts, was hiding secretly beneath the chlamys.

Peregrinus vero, ut manifestius videret, illuc accessit et puerulum pulcherrimum matris ubera sugentem invenit et accipiens puerum ait: "0 beata Maria Magdalena, quam felix essem, quam mihi cuncta prospera advenissent, si mulier respiraret et mecum repatriare valeret. Scio equidem, scio et procul dubio credo, quod tu, quae puerum dedisti et in hac rupe per biennium pavisti, poteris matrem suam prece tua pristinae restituere sanitati."

But the pilgrim, so that he might see more manifestly, went thither and found a most beautiful little boy sucking at his mother’s breasts, and taking up the boy he said: "O blessed Mary Magdalene, how happy I should be, how all things favorable would have come to me, if the woman would breathe again and were able to repatriate with me. I know indeed, I know and without doubt I believe, that you, who gave the boy and for two years have nourished him on this rock, will be able by your prayer to restore his mother to her pristine health."

Ad haec verba mulier respiravit et quasi a somno evigilans ait: "Magni meriti es, beata Maria Magdalena, et gloriosa, quae in partus mei pressuris obstetricis implevisti officium et in omnibus necessitatibus ancillae servitium explesti." Quo audito peregrinus admirans ait: "Vivisne uxor mea dilecta?" Cui illa: "Vivo equidem et nunc primo de peregrinatione, de qua et tu venisti, venio. Et sicut beatus Petrus te Hierosolymam duxit et omnia loca, in quibus Christus passus est, mortuus et sepultus, et alia plura loca ostendit, sic et ego una cum beata Maria Magdalena duce et comite vobiscum fui et conspecta memoriae commendavi." Et incipiens loca omnia, in quibus Christus passus est, et miracula, quae viderat, adeo plene explicuit, ut nec in aliquo deviaret.

At these words the woman breathed again and, as if waking from sleep, said: "Of great merit are you, blessed Mary Magdalene, and glorious, you who in the pressures of my childbirth fulfilled the office of an obstetric midwife and in all necessities performed the service of a handmaid." On hearing this the pilgrim, marveling, said: "Are you alive, my beloved wife?" To whom she: "I live indeed, and now for the first time I come from the pilgrimage from which you too have come. And just as blessed Peter led you to Jerusalem and showed you all the places in which Christ suffered, died, and was buried, and many other places, so I too, together with blessed Mary Magdalene as leader and companion, was with you, and the things seen I committed to memory." And beginning, she explained all the places in which Christ suffered, and the miracles which she had seen, so fully that she did not stray in any respect.

Tunc peregrinus recepta coniuge et puero navem laetus conscendit et paulo post Massiliae portibus applicuerunt et ingressi invenerunt beatam Mariam Magdalenam cum suis discipulis praedicantem. Et eius pedibus cum lacrimis provoluti omnia, quae iis acciderant, narraverunt et a beato Maximino sacrum baptisma susceperunt. Tunc in civitate Massiliae omnium idolorum templa destruentes Christi ecclesias construxerunt et beatum Lazarum in eiusdem civitatis episcopum unanimiter elegerunt.

Then the pilgrim, having recovered his wife and the boy, joyfully boarded the ship, and a little later they put in at the harbors of Massilia; and having entered, they found blessed Mary Magdalene preaching with her disciples. And, prostrated with tears at her feet, they recounted all that had befallen them, and from blessed Maximinus they received the sacred baptism. Then in the city of Massilia, destroying all the temples of the idols, they built churches of Christ, and unanimously chose blessed Lazarus as bishop of that same city.

Tandem divino nutu ad Aquensem civitatem venerunt et populum illum ad fidem Christi per multa miracula adduxerunt. [...]

At length, by a divine nod, they came to the Aquensian city and led that people to the faith of Christ through many miracles. [...]