The memory of the monks Eutychius and Florentius

Within the confines of the Nursian country, two husbands lived together in a sacred pagan image, leading a solitary desert life; one of them was named Euthychius, and the other Florentius.

Eutychus, warmed by a spirit of zeal, cared not only for his own salvation but also for the salvation of others and endeavored to bring all to the Lord by his soul-saving teachings and admonitions; Florentius, by his simplicity, thought only of himself, spending his whole life in prayer.

Not far from the abode of these saints Eutychius and Florentius was a monastery; it happened that in this monastery the abbot died; the monks, having gathered together, came to Eutychius and began to ask him to be abbot in their monastery.

When Eutychius heard their request, he went to them and took charge of the monastery, while his friend Florentius left one of them to climb up in that hermitage, so that the church they had there would not be empty (the church was very small).

And after he had once prayed and gone out of the temple, he saw a bear standing at the door of the temple, bowing his head to the ground, and showing nothing of his beastly nature, but showing by his meekness that he was sent to St. Florence by God for service and work.

Florent had five sheep in his cell; and not knowing who could feed and guard them, Florent ordered the bear, saying, Go, drive these sheep into the pasture, and feed them; and about the sixth hour come back with them. And always did the beast, taking upon himself the care of the sheep; thus he that was accustomed always to taste the prey, by tearing it up, shepherded the sheep, languishing with hunger and overcoming his natural disposition.

And when the man of God would fast until the ninth hour, he would call the bear to come with the sheep at the ninth hour; and the beast did so.

But when he had no intention of fasting until nine o'clock, but expressed a desire to eat at six o'clock, at that hour the bear returned; in a word, the beast obeyed every command of the man of God and never erred, never coming at nine o'clock when he was told to come at six, and vice versa, never coming at six o'clock when he was told to come at nine.

For God himself gave the beast wisdom, which he gave into the power of his will, and taught it to understand the commandment of the elder, and to do his will.

But the devil, the old enemy, has made some to envy; for when the devil sees righteous men shining in his glory, he seizes by the envy of those who have been corrupted in their morals and conduct, and leads them to destruction.

And it came to pass, when four monks, the disciples of St. Eutychius, were led by the devil, that they were very envious of Florence, because their teacher did no miracles; and yet only Florence, whom their teacher had left in a desert cell, had become so famous, that they came to Florence, and hid themselves in the place where the bear drove the sheep to pasture, and slew the bear.

And the old man was troubled, because the bear did not return to him at the time appointed; and he waited until the evening, and found neither the beast nor the sheep; and the old man was grieved that the bear, whom he had been accustomed to call his brother, had not returned to him.

The next morning Florent went out into the field to look for the beast, and also for the sheep; and when he saw the bear slain, the old man was greatly distressed; and when he had looked carefully, and understood who had slain the beast, the old man wept; but he wept not so much for the death of the bear, as for the fatal malice of the four brethren, and wept bitterly.

When the Abbot Eutychius heard of Florentius's grief, he called him to himself and began to comfort him. But the man of God, in the presence of the Abbot, with a deeply sad face, said: "I hope by Almighty God that those who killed the bear, who did no harm to anyone, will receive punishment from the Lord in this life before the eyes of all.

And it came to pass, when the Lord was pleased, that he spoke these words, and the same thing came to pass; for suddenly the four monks were smitten by the Lord with a terrible leprosy, so that all their limbs decayed, and they died of the disease.

And when the name of this man was spread abroad, there came a certain deacon from afar to him, that he might receive his blessing.

Servant of God, pray for me.

And it came to pass at that time, when the sun was shining, that the air was very clear and pure, and Florentius went out of the cell, and stood upon the ground, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and lifted up his hands to heaven, praying that the Lord would drive out these filthy things by the means that he knew.

Behold, thou, Jehovah, hast smitten the serpents; who shall deliver them? And behold, a great multitude of fowl came after his words, as many as were slain of serpents; and every bird took a serpent, and carried it away, and cast it there; and the place where the sanctuary dwelt was cleansed of the serpents.

After having lived all his days in great godliness, St. Florentius passed away to eternal life [St. Florentius died in 547]. Likewise, St. Eutychius shepherded the flock entrusted to him for many years; guiding many to the way of the heavenly kingdom and leading many to salvation, the saint turned to the Lord [St. Eutychius died about 540].

And he that did not work miracles in his life, was made a miracle worker in his name; for the garments that were left after the death of the saint were made healing to the sick, to those afflicted with various diseases; so the Lord glorified his servant.

When there was a drought, the people of the land would gather together, take the robe of St. Eutychius, bring it to the church, and, after praying to the Lord, walk with it through the villages, fields, and gardens; and immediately the Lord would send down rain that would moisten and saturate the earth.

For it was made manifest to all how great was the power of the inner virtue of the soul of the one who, in one outer garment, was brought before the Lord, and who had already turned away the wrath of the Lord.