The storiesVII / IX
Saint Martin and the pine tree
He took down an altar because nobody could name the martyr buried under it. Then villagers dared him to stand where their sacred pine would fall.
Near Tours, and a village with a pine
People prayed at a roadside grave they said held a martyr. Earlier bishops had put an altar there.
Martin asked the oldest priests for a name and a date. Nobody had either.
He stayed away until he knew. Then he had the altar taken down.
Elsewhere, villagers dared him to stand where their sacred pine would fall.
He stood there. I report that the tree went the other way.
Margin noteI was not at the pine. I spoke with people who were. Judge as you like.
From the book
Chapter XI · The false martyr unmasked: The criminal’s spirit beside the altar
Let us now turn to other admirable things that Martin did as bishop. Not far from the city, very close to the monastery, there was a grave where the people had got into the…
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