The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-21
THE RICHEST OF ALL WOMEN.
Cardinal Ramp0lla's Account Of saint
MelaniA the Younger.


Pope Leo XIII, discovered among the
manuscripts Of the EscVrial when he was
Papal NunciO at Madrid, a biography OF
Saint Melania the Younger, which he has
lately translated, edited and had printed at
the Vatican press. What follows Is an
a~bridgment OF his narrative. i
The author OF this biography was named
Gerontius. From A. d. 4O5 until $50 he
was in the service OF and daily association
with Melania, and after her death he suo-
ceeded her as the head of a monastery which
she founded. An eyewitness, he tells who
Melania was, the amount OF her fortune
and what she did with it.
Melania and her husband were both
Christians and wished to follow literally
the Saviour's precept: 60 and sell all
that thou hast and give TO the poo and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven They
therefore resolved to devote their immense
possessions to the cause OF Christ.
History records hat during the fourth
and the beginning of the fifth century
after Christ certain patrician Roman fami-
lies amassed enormous wealth. Melania's
fortune surpassed all others and consisted OF
a villa on the CRlian at Rome which
enclosed porticoed courts, a circus, a hippo
drome and immense gardens. Its buildings
were decorated with paintings, mosaics,
statues, sculpture and precious marbles.
cared for and served by gardeners, butchers,
bakers, cooks, waiting women, Wallets and
all the host OF necessary slaves.
A rural domain at the fifth milestone on
the Appian way three miles in circum-
ference-its ruins lave yielded many mar
bles to the Vatican museum.
An estate on the northern coast OF Sicily
titled by eight thousand slaves.
Estates in Africa, Numidia, Mauritania,
in Britain. in Spain and in Gaul with enough
slaves to cultivate them.
Her yearly revenues. II is estimated,
amounted TO scores Of millions Of dollars.
They may we'll have exceeded the civil list
OF any emperor or potentate who ever lived.
and were probably greater h any other
woman ever possessed.
1t is not known what use Melania made
Of her wealth before she decided to rid her
self Of it; her biographer begins his story
only when she had 30 resolved.
Melania found it very difficult to follow
the command Of her Master; public opinion,
custom andabove all the law Of the Empire
forbade. The Roman law then prohibited,
except under certain restrictions, the
alienation Of real estate. Then. when
Jlu@ uSDdU dlu Wue utClutu 10 ODfy
Christ's command they were minors and
they could not sell their real estate without
a decree. ratified by the Roman Senate.
At the i~nstigation of a brother-in-law
the slaves of the property on the Via Appia
rose in instruction. insisting hat they
preferred slavery with its sure maintenance
to freedom with IN uncertain future, and
they we're only pacified when made over to
] tho hrNfhaH In Iau NTH n UHoknikU ~ khnOa
gold pennies apiece.
How hard it was to become poorl An
imperial ediot alone could overcome the
opposition OF relatives, of the law and OF
the Senate. This Melania secured through
the favor Of Serena, who was a niece OF the
Emperor T~heOdosius and his adopted
daughter; the wife Of StilichO and the
mother-in-law Of Honorius. the son and
successor of TheodOsius. For many Years
Stilicho and Serena had been the actual
rulers Of the western half of the Roman
Empire.
4 Public rumor. which had been busy with
Melania's future, blaming or praising as
prejudice or religious bias swayed, had
aroused the Queens curiosity and it's object
had been several times hidden to the i'm
perial palace, commands which had in
variably been disobeyed. In the spring IF
/ A. d. 404 the disobedient one remembered
that the imperial power could unmake as
we'll as make laws and could smooth her
difficult road to poverty.
Accompanied by her husband, several
Bishops and Gerontius, who chronicles the
: event, she went to the Palatine. Her train
included slaves bearing many and costly
I presents, the customary offerings to the
| powerful and their court. Closely yelled
and wearing a dress of very cheap material
: the suppIiant said to those who remon-
strated with her:
Il shall not uncover the head which ]
, nave covered for Christ's sake; ! shall moi
! change the garment which l have put on
; for my Saviour's glory"
{ Her humility had its immediate reward
= for Serena herself came for ware to meet
> and greet her, seated her at her side on the
: golden throne, and calling her court around
her. said:
Behold this woman. who could be sur.
. rounded by all that wealth could buy, yet
Z for Christ 8 sake ~renounces all the vanities
Of this world
/ Serena herself declined the gifts offered
to her, and forbade any of her c~ourtierr
or servants to accept any. At her request
, the Emperor at once gave orders to the
: rulers of his provinces to sell Melania 4
estates and remit the proceeds to her.
w were all stupefied with ama1ement,
: comments Gerontius.
Melania and her husband left Rome be.
fore Alaric captured it and went to Their
: Sicilian estate. The troubles Of the times
I delayed the sale Of their possessions fol-
years. As fast IA they could they spent
, their wealth in building and endowine
= churches, monasteries, ~nunneries, hos
. pitfalls, and endowing and adjoining theil
. affairs with vessels OF gold and Of silver.
. They relieved the necessities OF thou
! sands of the poor and needful, sending
: vessels and messengers with money and
a necessaries for them and to The hermitE
. and monks Of Egypt, Jerusalem and An
! tioch. After tw~enty-seven years Of con-
= tinuous effort they had at last reduced
Q their once colossal fortune TO the. remnant
: OF a small estate in Spain. They ther
2 went to Jerusalem, " here they ended theil
: days and were buried in a monastic retreat
, which they had built and endowed
: Gerontius never could give the number
4 - 49,