SAINT DENIS THE MISSIONARY

Cæsar was a pitiless enemy, but after the Gauls had once yielded, he treated them justly and kindly. Many of those nearest to Rome learned to talk Latin as if they had been born Romans, and to live quite in Roman fashion. They built handsome houses, temples, theaters, baths, and aqueducts. They learned how to drain the swamps and how to cultivate the soil so it would do its best. The Romans were always famous road-builders, and they taught the Gauls how to build the matchless stone roads that have lasted for centuries. Gallic schools were opened and libraries formed. The Gauls continued their old manufactures, and made also glass, silk, tapestry, and many other things; indeed, in some of their work they improved upon Roman methods. Everything went on prosperously.

But as the years passed, the Romans became idle and fond of luxury. If there was war, they were no longer eager to protect their country themselves, they preferred to pay others to fight for them. A great deal of money was called for, and taxes became very severe. The laws also became severe, until at length there was a law for almost every act and a heavy penalty for every violation. The Gauls had gained in order and civilization, but they had lost their freedom. Vercingetorix would have hardly recognized his country.

But something new and wonderful had come to pass. In a far-away little province of the Empire Jesus Christ was born, and his teachings made their way to Rome. Before this, both Gauls and Romans had worshiped many gods. They had gods of harvest, of springtime, of the sun, the moon, the rain, and the thunder. Missionaries and teachers now made their way into Gaul, and the wretched people learned that there was a God who cared for them and was sorry when they were unhappy.

Soon, however, the people who were rejoicing in this new faith found themselves in trouble with Rome. The Romans were perfectly willing that the Gauls should have as many gods as they chose, provided that they would now and then burn a few grains of incense before the images of some of the Roman gods or say a prayer before the statue of some emperor. To refuse to do this was looked upon as almost treason to the State; but, of course, no Christian could yield to any such command; therefore the Christians were terribly persecuted. Some were tortured and then slain; some were given to wild beasts to be devoured.

Nevertheless, the teaching of the Gospel spread, and missionaries continued to go to Gaul to teach and help the unhappy people. One of the most famous of these missionaries was Saint Denis. According to the old tradition, he set out from Rome with six companions. Perhaps he went over one of the Roman roads to Lyons, which was then the capital of Gaul; then partly by road and partly by rivers he pressed on, stopping every little while to talk to the natives about Jesus. “You pray to the sun and the moon,” he would say, “but they do not hear your prayer. Let me tell you about the one true God, who listens when you pray and cares for you.”

After a while Saint Denis came to a little town on the Seine River called Lutetia, or “the muddy place.” This was the name it bore in Cæsar’s time, three hundred years earlier; and, although it now had some excellent buildings and its people had been growing rich through the river traffic, it was still called by the same name.

The tribe living in this part of Gaul were called the Parisii. They listened eagerly to the preaching of Saint Denis and his companions. Many hundreds came to believe that what the missionaries said was true. “We will no longer worship the sun and the moon and the thunder,” they declared. “We will make our prayers to the God of the preacher, for we believe that this is the one true God.” They built a Christian church and rejoiced in their new faith.

Before long, however, the Roman emperor heard what was being done in the land of the Parisii, and he sent an officer to seize the missionaries and put them to death. The officer journeyed to Lutetia and called the preachers before him on the charge of teaching treason to the State. They were sentenced to be beheaded and were taken to Montjoie Hill, where the sentence was carried out. Their bodies were thrown into the river Seine, but a Christian woman recovered them and saw to it that they were buried with honor. A chapel was built over Saint Denis’s tomb, and for more than a thousand years the French people used to shout “Montjoie Saint Denis!” whenever they were going into battle.

Some of the pictures of Saint Denis are just a bit startling, for they represent an angel holding a crown over the martyr, although the good saint has no head on which to put it. He is doing his best, however, to supply the deficiency, for he is quietly picking up his head from the ground. People forgot that the object of such a picture was to teach, so that when any one looked at it, he would recall the manner in which the saint met his death; and the legend arose that after Saint Denis’s head was cut off, he picked it up and carried it in his arms two miles to his place of burial.