VIII.34

 

Since the Prince of Darkness has a thousand arts of doing harm, I will relate what happened recently to certain recluses devoted to God. In an earlier book, I mentioned Vennocus the Breton, who was awarded with a presbyterial honour. He dedicated himself to abstinence in such great a way that he wore only animal skins as clothing and as food ate only the uncooked herbs of the field. As far as wine was concerned, he would merely lift the cup to his mouth, appearing to touch it with his lip instead of drinking it. However, his devotees were so open-handed in offering him goblets filled to the brim that he fell into the habit, which is a very bad one, of drinking immoderately, and he was often so far gone in liquor that on more than one occasion he was obviously drunk. The result of this was that, as time passed, his intemperance became worse and worse. He was seized by a demon and so violently harassed that he would pick up a knife or whatever weapon he could lay his hands on, sometimes a stone, sometimes a stick, and chase after people in insane fury. There was nothing for it but chain him up and lock him in his cell. Condemned to this fate, he continued to rave for two years, and then he gave up the ghost.

 

(trans. Thorpe 1974: 467–468, altered by J. Szafranowski)