OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XI/John Cassian/The Twelve Books/Book IV/Chapter 25

Chapter XXV.
Of the unique vase of oil thrown away by Abbot John at his senior’s command.
Thus the youth, trained up by exercises of this sort, daily increased in this virtue of obedience, and shone forth more and more with the grace of humility; and when the sweet odour of his obedience spread throughout all the monasteries, some of the brethren, coming to the elder for the sake of testing him or rather of being edified by him, marvelled at his obedience of which they had heard; and so the older called him suddenly, and said, “Go up and take this cruse of oil” (which was the only one in the desert and which furnished a very scanty supply of the rich liquid for their own use and for that of strangers) “and throw it down out of window.” And he flew up stairs when summoned and threw it out of window and cast it down to the ground and broke it in pieces without any thought or consideration of the folly of the command, or their daily wants, and bodily infirmity, or of their poverty, and the trials and difficulties of the wretched desert in which, even if they had got the money for it, oil of that quality, once lost, could not be procured or replaced.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Lenticula; the word used for a cruse of oil in the Vulgate. 1 Sam. x. 1; 2 Kings ix. 1, 3.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XI/John Cassian/The Twelve Books/Book IV/Chapter 26

Chapter XXVI.
How Abbot John obeyed his senior by trying to roll a huge stone, which a large number of men were unable to move.
Again, when some others were anxious to be edified by the example of his obedience, the elder called him and said: “John, run and roll that stone hither as quickly as possible;” and he forthwith, applying now his neck, and now his whole body, tried with all his might and main to roll an enormous stone which a great crowd of men would not be able to move, so that not only were his clothes saturated with sweat from his limbs, but the stone itself was wetted by his neck; in this too never weighing the impossibility of the command and deed, out of reverence for the old man and the unfeigned simplicity of his service, as he believed implicitly that the old man could not command him to do anything vain or without reason.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XI/John Cassian/The Twelve Books/Book IV/Chapter 29

Chapter XXIX.
Of the obedience of a brother who at the Abbot’s bidding carried about in public ten baskets and sold them by retail.
We will also not be silent about a brother whom we knew, who belonged to a high family according to the rank of this world, for he was sprung from a father who was a count and extremely wealthy, and had been well brought up with a liberal education. This man, when he had left his parents and fled to the monastery, in order to prove the humility of his disposition and the ardour of his faith was at once ordered by his superior to load his shoulders with ten baskets (which there was no need to sell publicly), and to hawk them about through the streets for sale: this condition being attached, so that he might be kept longer at the work, viz.: that if any one should chance to want to buy them all together, he was not to allow it, but was to sell them to purchasers separately. And this he carried out with the utmost zeal, and trampling under foot all shame and confusion, out of love for Christ, and for His Name’s sake, he put the baskets on his shoulders and sold them by retail at the price fixed and brought back the money to the monastery; not in the least upset by the novelty of so mean and unusual a duty, and paying no attention to the indignity of the thing and the splendour of his birth, and the disgrace of the sale, as he was aiming at gaining through the grace of obedience that humility of Christ which is the true nobility.
# Omniana/Volume 2/Phoenix

177. Phœnix.
The Phœnix lives a thousand years, "a secular bird of ages:" and there is never more than one at a time in the world. Yet Plutarch very gravely informs us, that the brain of the phoenix is a pleasant bit, but apt to occasion the head-ache. By the bye, there are few styles that are not fit for something. I have often wished to see Claudian's splendid Poem on the Phœnix translated into English verse in the elaborate rhyme and gorgeous diction of Darwin. Indeed, Claudian throughout would translate better than any of the ancients.
# Omniana/Volume 2/Quaker Preaching

213. Quaker Preaching.
Sewel, who is more generally known by his Dutch and English Dictionary than as an English writer, was the grandson of a Brownist who emigrated from Kidderminster and settled at Utrecht. His mother, Judith Zinspenning, visited England, and was much esteemed there among the Quakers. He relates a curious anecdote of her. "She was moved to speak at the meeting at Kingston, where William Caton interpreted for her. At another time, being in a meeting at London, and he not present, and finding herself stirred up to declare of the loving kindness of the Lord to those that feared him, she desired one Peter Sybrands to be her interpreter, but he, though an honest man, yet not very fit for that service, one or more friends ​told her, they were so sensible of the Power by which she spoke, though they did not understand her words, yet they were edified by the life and power that accompanied her speech, and therefore they little mattered the want of interpretation. And so she went on without any interpreter." The good Quaker relates this anecdote with perfect simplicity, and yet he thought church-music an abomination! In these cases how much wiser are the Romanists in their generation than the children of light!
# Omniana/Volume 2/Ottar of Roses

238. Ottar of Roses.
In the Histoire Generale de l'Empire du Mogol, (T. 1, p. 327,) compiled by Catrou the Jesuit from Manouchi's papers, this perfume is said to have been discovered by accident. Nur-Jaham, the favourite wife of the Mogul Jahan-Guir, among her other luxuries had a small canal of rose water. As she was walking with the Mogul upon its banks, they perceived a thin film upon the water, . . it was an essential oil made by the heat of the sun. They were delighted with its exquisite odour, and means were immediately taken for preparing by art a substance like that which had been thus fortuitously produced.
# Omniana/Volume 2/Pelagianism

173. Pelagianism.
Our modern latitudinarians will find it difficult to suppose, that any thing could have been said in the defence of pelagianism equally absurd with the facts and arguments which have been adduced in favour of original sin (taking sin as guilt; i.e. observes a socinian wit, ​the crime of being born): But in the comment of Rabbi Akibah on Ecclesiastes, xii, 1, we have a story of a mother, who must have been a most determined believer in the uninheritability of sin. For having a sickly and deformed child, and resolved that it should not be thought to have been punished for any fault of its parents or ancestors, and yet having nothing else to blame the child for, she seriously and earnestly accused it before the Judge of having kicked her unmercifully during her pregnancy!!
I am firmly persuaded, that no doctrine was ever widely diffused, among various nations through successive ages, and under different religions, (such as is the doctrine of original sin, and redemption, those fundamental articles of every known religion professing to be revealed) which is not founded either in the nature of things or in the necessities of our nature. In the language of the schools, ​it carries with it presumptive evidence, that it is either objectively or subjectively true. And the more strange and contradictory such a doctrine may appear to the understanding, or discursive faculty, the stronger is the presumption in its favour:for whatever satirists may say, and sciolists imagine, the human mind has no predilection for absurdity. I do not however mean, that such a doctrine shall be always the best possible representation of the truth, on which it is founded, for the same body casts strangely different shadows in different places and different degrees of light; but that it always does shadow out some such truth and derives its influence over our faith from our obscure perception of that truth. Yea, even where the person himself attributes his belief of it to the miracles, with which it was announced by the founder of his religion.
# Omniana/Volume 2/Religious Epigram

189. Religious Epigram.
In the Mercurio Peruano, T. 1. f. 305, there is a remarkable religious epigram, written by a Persian poet, there called Suzeno, after he had been converted to Christianity. In the Spanish it forms a quatrain which it is beyond my skill to render in verse.
Quatro cosas, Dios mio que en tu erario no tienes, te presento;
mi nada, mi necesidad, mi culpa, y mi arrepentimiento
"Four things, O my God, I offer thee, which thou hast not in thy treasury; my nothingness, my wants, my sin, and my repentance!"
# Omniana/Volume 2/Opinions of the Edinburgh Review concerning War

231. Opinions of the Edinburgh Review concerning War.
During the Peace of Amiens the world was favoured with a new and pleasant description of war, by one of the Wise Men of the North. A Species of pecuniary commutation, he told us, had been contrived, by which it's operations were rendered very harmless; they were performed by 'some hundreds of sailors fighting harmlessly on the barren plains of the ocean, and some thousands of soldiers carrying on a scientific and regular and quiet system of warfare, in countries set apart for the purpose, and resorted to as the arena where the disputes of nations may be determined. The prudent policy had been adopted of purchasing defeat at a distance rather than victory at home: in this manner ​we paid our allies for being vanquished; a few useless millions, and a few still more useless lives were sacrificed, and the result was, that we were amply rewarded by safety, increased resources, and real addition of power,—These opinions were delivered by the Caledonian Oracle during the breathing time which Mr. Addington's experimental truce afforded to Europe. When it is remembered how shortly afterwards that war recommenced, to which no human wisdom can foresee a termination, the sagacity of the writer will be sufficiently apparent; ​the pert nonsense of his phraseology, the shallowness of understanding which it evinces, and the hardness of heart from which it must have proceeded, may be left without a comment. In the victory of the first of June, there was a monkey on board the Royal Sovereign, who making his appearance while preparations were going on, was chained in the launch on the main deck, that he might be out of the way; and there he was, to the great amusement of all who saw him, 'jumping mad,' as it is expressively called, with fear, during the whole engagement. If the gentleman who talks so pleasantly of the harmlessness of these affairs had been stationed at Pug's quarters, he might hive acquired more correct notions, . . in fit company. I doubt not he would have agreed with the Irish Major, who went a cruise in hopes of seeing what kind of business a naval action was, and when his curiosity came to be gratified, declared with ​an oath, that a sea-fight was a mighty sairious sort of a thing.
# Omniana/Volume 2/Philosophy of the Bramins

241. Philosophy of the Bramins.
The order of creation which is described in the Institutes of Menu is remarkable. "First emerges the subtle ether, to which philosophers ascribe the quality of conveying sound: from ether, effecting a transmutation in form, springs the pure and potent air, a vehicle of all scents; and air is held endued with the quality of touch: then from air, operating a change, rises light, or fire, making objects visible, dispelling gloom, spreading bright rays; and it is declared to have the quality of figure: but from light, a change being effected, comes water, with the quality of taste: and from water is deposited earth, with ​the quality of smell; such were they created in the beginning." This passage bears at least as strong a resemblance to the chemical philosophy of our days, as certain parts of the Hindoo fables bear to the mysteries of the Christian religion. But it is more difficult to account for the philosophy, (if, indeed, it be any thing more than mere theory,) than to explain how the distorted traces of Christianity found their way into the fables of Hindostan.
# Omniana/Volume 2/Propagation of Sound

230. Propagation of Sound.
Those optical phenomena which passed ​in former ages for enchantment, and which have so often been practised as miracles, have been explained by modern science. I have met with a phenomenon in acoustics which is not so easily explicable. It is said that the firing at the sieges of Rosas and Gerona in the succession war was heard distinctly at Rieux in Languedoc, a town built where the little river Rise falls into the Garonne, forty-five French leagues from the nearest of those fortresses, in a straight line, and with the Pyrenees between. "But, (says the editor of the Journal de Hambourg,) though these mountains might be considered as an obstacle, the curious of that country conjecture that the sound of the cannon acquired a new force when it was confined between the openings of the mountains; and that the vallies through which the Rise runs were better adapted than the others to preserve this sound, which was not heard either at Foix or ​at Pamiers, although those towns are less distant from Catalonia, and more towards the opening of the Pyrenees.
# Omniana/Volume 2/Ophites

244. Ophites.
The Ophites must have been just ​such jugglers as always have existed, and still exist in the same countries; they are classed among heretics, because when Christianity became prevalent in Egypt, they made their snakes christian divinities, as they had before been demigods, and now are sheiks. St. Augustine's account of them makes this quite clear. "They have a snake (he says) whom they feed and worship, who, at the incantation of the priest, comes out of his cavern, and gets upon the altar, which is placed close thereto, and licks their oblations, and turning himself round them, returns into his hole. They then break the oblations for the Eucharist, as having been sanctified by the serpent Christ." St. Epiphanius adds, that each of them kissed the snake, who had either been tamed by charms, or by some operation of the devil.
The Jacob-Briantists believe that the devil invented snake worship, by way of commemorating his victory over Eve. ​They will believe any thing. The snake has been a common deity, because it is a manageable one, and that in a more extraordinary manner than any other animal.
A Malabar Bramin once played off a curious trick upon his flock. He raised money enough among them to make a golden snake and twelve golden eggs, which he carried to the pagoda in solemn procession, and there deposited, telling the people that in six weeks time the snake would be vivified, hatch the eggs, and disappear with its young to become the tutelary divinities of their country. They disappeared accordingly at the time appointed, to the infinite joy of the believers.
In those parts of Malabar where snakes are worshipped, convenience overcomes prejudice. The natives are by no means displeased when a Moor or Christian rids them of one of these venomous gods; perhaps they enjoy a double ​satisfaction in having the reptile destroyed, and in believing the infidel will be damned for destroying it.
In one of the volumes of the Asiatic Annual Register, there is a remarkable account of the manner in which monkies destroy snakes. The monkies in question inhabit a prodigious Banyan tree, on the banks of the Nerbudda, having three hundred and fifty large trunks, and above three thousand smaller columns;.. but the monkey colonies are annoyed by having snakes for their neighbours, and being perfectly aware of the danger to be apprehended from these enemies, and where it lies, they watch the snakes till they perceive them asleep, then creep towards them, seize them fast by the neck, haul them to the nearest flat stone, and then begin to "grind down the head by dint of violent friction, every now and then stopping to breathe a little, and to take a proper grin at the progress of their work. ​When the relentless operator has demolished the head so far as to be well assured that the venomous fangs are utterly destroyed, he tosses the writhing body to the young pugs for a plaything, and their exultation is conspicuous in all their motions, as they toss the unarmed reptile from one to another."
# Once a Week (magazine)/Series 1/Volume 11/Ana (December 17, 1864)

​Page:Once a Week Jun to Dec 1864.pdf/727
# Once a Week (magazine)/Series 1/Volume 11/An autumn day at Winchilsea

​Page:Once a Week Jun to Dec 1864.pdf/619 ​Page:Once a Week Jun to Dec 1864.pdf/620 ​Page:Once a Week Jun to Dec 1864.pdf/621 ​Page:Once a Week Jun to Dec 1864.pdf/622 ​Page:Once a Week Jun to Dec 1864.pdf/623 ​Page:Once a Week Jun to Dec 1864.pdf/624 ​Page:Once a Week Jun to Dec 1864.pdf/625 ​Page:Once a Week Jun to Dec 1864.pdf/626
# Once a Week (magazine)/Series 1/Volume 11/Ana (December 10, 1864)

​Page:Once a Week Jun to Dec 1864.pdf/701
# Once a Week (magazine)/Series 1/Volume 11/Ana (October 15, 1864)

​Page:Once a Week Jun to Dec 1864.pdf/476
# Once a Week (magazine)/Series 1/Volume 11/Ana (October 8, 1864)

The magazine's account book records that the first item was contributed by George Lumley and the second by Edward Walford.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XII/Gregory the Great/Register of Epistles/Book III/Chapter 20

Epistle XXXVIII.
To Libertinus, Præfect.
Gregory to Libertinus, Præfect of Sicily.
From the very beginning of your administration God has willed you to go forth to vindicate His cause, and of His mercy has reserved for you this reward, with praise attending it. For it is reported that one Nasas, a most wicked Jew, has with a temerity that calls for punishment erected an altar under the name of the blessed Elias, and by sacrilegious seduction has enticed many Christians to worship there; nay, has also, it is said, acquired Christian slaves, and devoted them to his own service and profit. Whilst, then, he ought to have been most severely punished for such great crimes, the glorious Justinus, soothed (as has been written to us) by the charm of avarice, put off avenging the injury done to God. But let your Glory institute a strict examination into all these things, and, if it should be found manifest that such things have been done, make haste to visit
them most strictly and corporally on this wicked Jew, in such sort that you may thereby both conciliate the favour of God to yourself, and shew yourself by this example, to your own reward, a model to posterity. Moreover, set at liberty, without any equivocation, according to the injunctions of the laws, whatever Christian slaves it shall appear that he has acquired; lest (which God forbid) the Christian religion should be polluted by being subjected to Jews. Do you therefore with all speed correct these things most strictly, that not only may we give thanks to you for this discipline, but also bear testimony to your goodness in case of need.

## Footnotes

* ↑ In some mss. prætori, in others exprætori. It seems probable from the contents of this letter that Libertinus had succeeded Justinus (see I. 2) as prætor of Sicily.
* ↑ See I. 2.
* ↑ In Cod. lib. 1, tit. 10; “Judæus servum Christianum nec comparare debebit, nec largitatis aut alioquocunque titulo consequetur. Quod si aliquis Judæorum…, non solum mancipii damno multetur, verum etiam capitali sententia puniatur.” Eusebius also (De Vita Constantini, lib. iv. c. 27) speaks of a law passed by Constantine forbidding Jews to have Christian slaves, and ordering any that might be found to be set at liberty, and the Jew to be fined. Cf. II. 21.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XII/Gregory the Great/Register of Epistles/Book III/Chapter 16

Epistle XXXII.
To Honoratus, Archdeacon.
Gregory to Honoratus, Archdeacon of Salona.
The mandates of ourselves and of our predecessor had reached thy Love not long ago, in which thou wert acquitted of the charges calumniously brought against thee; and we ordered thee to be reinstated without any dispute in the order of thy rank. But, inasmuch as again after no great lapse of time, thou camest to the city of Rome complaining of some improper proceedings among you concerning the alienation of sacred vessels, and as, while we had persons with us here who might have replied to thy objections, Natalis, thy bishop, departed this life, we have judged it necessary to confirm further by this present letter those same mandates, both our predecessor’s and our own, which (as has been said) we sent not long ago for thy acquittal. Wherefore, acquitting thee fully of all the charges brought against thee, we will that thou continue without any dispute in the rank of thy order, so that the question raised by the aforesaid man may not on any pretext prejudice thee in the least degree.  Moreover, as to the heads of thy complaint, we have straitly charged Antoninus, subdeacon and rector in your parts of the patrimony of holy Church over which, by God’s providence, we preside, that, if he should find ecclesiastical persons implicated in them, he decide these cases with the utmost strictness and authority. But, in case of the business being with such persons as the vigour of ecclesiastical jurisdiction cannot reach, he is to deposit the proofs under each particular head among the public acts, and transmit them to us without any delay, that, being accurately informed, we may know how, with the help of Christ, to dispose of the matter.

## Footnotes

* ↑ See I. 19, note 5.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XII/Gregory the Great/Register of Epistles/Book III/Chapter 17

Epistle XXXIII.
To Dynamius, Patrician.
Gregory to Dynamius, Patrician of Gaul.
He who administers faithfully what is other’s shews how well he dispenses what is his own. And this your Glory makes manifest to us in that, intent on your annual offering, you have rendered the blessed Peter, Prince of the apostles, the fruits of his revenues. In paying him what is his faithfully, you have made these gifts to him your own. For indeed it becomes the glorious people of this earth who think of eternal glory so to act that in virtue of their excelling in temporal power, they may procure for themselves a reward that is not temporal. Accordingly, addressing to you the greeting which we owe, we implore Almighty God both to replenish your life with present good, and to extend it to the lofty joys of eternity. For we have received through our son Hilarus (al Hilarius) of the aforesaid revenues of our Church four hundred Gallican solidi. We now send you as the benediction of the blessed apostle Peter a small cross, wherein are inserted benefits from his chains, which for a time bound his neck: but may
they loose yours from sins for ever. Moreover in its four parts round about are contained benefits from the gridiron of the blessed Laurence, whereon he was burnt, that it, whereon his body was consumed by fire for the truth’s sake, may inflame your soul to the love of the Lord.

## Footnotes

* ↑ As to Gallic money, cf. VI. 7, and note.
* ↑ Cf. I. 26, note 3.