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Dialogues
St Gregory the Dialogist, tr. P. W., 1608
Book 2, How the Iron Head of a Bill, from the Bottom of the Water, Returned to the Handle…
At another time, a certain Goth, poor of spirit, that gave over the world, was received by the man of God; whom on a day he commanded to take a bill, and to cleanse a certain plot of ground from briers, for the making of a garden, which ground was by the side of a lake. The Goth as he was there labouring, by chance the head of the bill slipped off, and fell into the water, which was so deep, that there was no hope ever to get it again.1 The poor Goth, in great fear, ran unto Maurus and told him what he had lost, confessing his own fault and negligence: Maurus forthwith went to the servant of God, giving him to understand thereof, who came straightways to the lake: and took the handle out of the Goth’s hand, and put it into the water, and the iron head by and by ascended from the bottom, and entered again into the handle of the bill, which he delivered to the Goth, saying: “Behold here is thy bill again, work on, and be sad no more.”
Notes
- Chapter VI. p. 63. “If any one whilst engaged in any work, either in the kitchen, in the cellar, in serving others, in the bakehouse, in the garden, or in any other occupation or place, shall do anything amiss, break or lose anything, or offend in any way whatsoever, and do not come at once to the abbot and community of his own accord to confess his offence and make satisfaction, if afterwards it shall become known by another he shall be more severely punished.” (Rule of St. Benedict, chap. 46, Gasquet’s translation.)