925 again by my sin a way of return hereafter from the home of the damned. I shall incite against thee another king who shall persecute thee, and shall forsake thy teaching and follow my ways of 930 evil; then will he cast thee into the darkest and worst of terrors, that thou, racked with pain, mayst vehemently renounce the crucified King, whom thou didst formerly obey.'

Then the wise Judas, daring hero in strife, 935 answered him (the Holy Spirit was granted unto him with strength, a love hot as fire, a knowledge welling up through the learning of a warrior); and he spake this word, filled with wisdom:—'Thou needst not so mightily, ever mindful of evil, renew 940 sorrow and enkindle strife, O sinful prince of murder, inasmuch as the mighty King, who hath awakened with His word many of the dead, doth thrust thee into the nether depths, thou worker of iniquity, 945 into the abyss of torture, bereft of joy. Know thou full clearly that thou in folly didst forsake the brightest of lights and the love of the Lord and that glorious faith, and that thou hast since dwelt in a 950 bath of fire, burdened with tortures and seared with flame, and that there, with hatred in thy soul, thou shalt ever suffer woe and misery without end.'

Elene heard how the foe and the friend struggled together, the glorious and the foul on opposite sides, 955 the sinful and the blessed. And she was the gladder in heart as she heard that the hellish enemy, the Prince of evil, was vanquished; she marveled at the wisdom of the man, how in so little time he was so filled with faith, and how he who had 960 ever been so ignorant was imbued with knowledge. And she thanked God, the King of glory, that through the Son of God the joy of both these things was come unto her—on the one hand at the sight 965 of the tree of victory, and on the other at this faith which she so clearly understood as a glorious gift in the breast of this man.

14. THE EMBASSY TO CONSTANTINE.

Then was the fair news of the morning manifest among the nation, spread far throughout the people, to the vexation of many who would keep secret the 970 law of the Lord. It was heralded through the cities, as far as the sea embosoms the land, through every town, that the rood of Christ, buried of yore in the earth, had been found, best emblem of victory of them that were raised aloft before or since, holy 975 beneath the heavens. Unto the Jews, men of misfortune, it was a most bitter grief and most hated of fates that they could change neither it nor the joy of the Christians in the world. Then the queen 980 bade messengers from her noble company make them ready with haste, for they were to seek the lord of the Romans over the deep sea, and declare unto that warrior in person the best of glad tidings—how the tree of victory, that had been hidden a long 985 time before to grieve the holy ones, the Christian people, had been discovered and found in the earth through the grace of the Creator.

Then was the soul of the king rejoiced at that 990 fair news, and his heart filled with gladness. And in the city there was no want of richly-clad questioners concerning what was come from afar. The greatest comfort in the world, a joyful soul, was 995 come unto him at those glad tidings which the messengers, leaders of the army, brought to him over the eastern ways, how the warriors with the glorious queen had made a prosperous voyage over the sea into the land of the Greeks. The emperor bade them prepare themselves again for the journey with 1000 the greatest haste. The warriors made no delay when once they heard the answer, the message of the prince. He bade them, heroes hardy of soul, give greeting to Elene, renowned in war, if they should survive the sea and make a prosperous 1005 voyage unto the holy city. And Constantine furthermore bade the messengers charge her to build a church there on the mountain-slope for the weal of them both, a temple of the Lord on Calvary for 1010 the joy of Christ and the solace of men, there where the holy rood was found, fairest of all trees the dwellers on earth have ever known. 1015

15. THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE.

And thus she did when her friends brought many a kind greeting over the fastness of waters from the west. Then the queen bade seek far and near those 1020 skilled in the arts, the best of those who could work most wondrously in the laying of stone upon stone, that they might raise a temple of God upon that place. As the Lord of spirits counseled her from the heavens, she bade deck out the rood with gold and with gems, adorn it most artfully with precious 1025 stones; then to seal it with locks in a casket of silver. There hath the rood of life, best tree of victory, dwelt since then, indestructible in its nobleness. There shall it be ever ready, a solace for 1030 the ill of any disease, affliction, or sorrow. Then straightway shall men find aid and divine grace through that holy form.

16. THE CONVERSION OF JUDAS.

Then after a little space Judas received the bath of baptism, and, cleansed [of his sins], was true to 1035 Christ, dear to the Lord of life. His faith was steadfast in his heart when the Spirit of comfort had taken up his dwelling in the breast of the man, and had urged him unto repentance. He chose the better course, the gladness of glory, and forsook the 1040 worse, the way of the idolater, and cast aside his heresy, the law of unrighteousness. God, the eternal King, Creator, and Wielder of power, was gracious unto him.

Then he was baptized who many times had scorned the light; …[1] his heart was inspired 1045 unto the better life; he was turned unto glory. Verily fate decreed that he should become thus filled with faith, thus dear unto God and beloved of Christ in the kingdom of the world. This was made manifest 1050 when Elene bade bring unto the holy city Eusebius, the bishop of Rome, exceeding wise amid the councils of men, to aid in her deliberation, and to ordain Judas into the priesthood at Jerusalem 1055 as bishop for the people in the cities, prudently chosen through the grace of the Spirit for the temple of God. And in later times upon a new occasion she wisely named him Cyriacus. Henceforth 1060 the name of the man was changed for the better throughout the cities—'The law of the Lord'.

[Footnote 1: A manuscript lacuna.]

17. THE FINDING OF THE NAILS.

Then again was the mind of Elene concerned about that fair mystery with regard to the nails 1065 which pierced the feet and hands of the Saviour, wherewith the King of the heavens, the mighty Prince, was bound upon the cross. The queen of the Christians began to ask concerning them. She bade Cyriacus that he, through the might of the 1070 Holy Spirit, fulfil her desire still further regarding the wondrous mystery, and that he unlock the secret by his holy grace. And she spake this word unto the bishop—boldly she addressed him:—'O bulwark of heroes, thou didst rightly show forth unto me 1075 that noble tree, the cross of the heavenly King, whereon by heathen hands was crucified God's own Son, the Helper of souls, the Saviour of men. Now further the longing for knowledge doth make me mindful of the nails. I would thou shouldst find 1080 those that are hidden, buried deep in the earth and shrouded in darkness. Ever doth my heart mourn, sorrow in sadness, and rest not, until the