Then with a mighty voice cried
out that fiend 1360
Weighed down with torments, and this word
he spake:—
“Long time, O Andrew, hast thou
been well versed
In arts of sorcery; thou hast deceived
And led astray much people; but thou shalt
No longer now have power upon such works,
For grievous torments are decreed for
thee
According to thy deeds. With weary
heart,
Joyless, degraded, thou shalt suffer woes,
The bitter pangs of death. My warriors
Are ready for the battle; they will soon
Deprive thee of thy life by valiant deeds.
1370
What man on earth so mighty that he may
Release thee from thy bonds, if I oppose?”
Straightway did Andrew answer
him again:—
“Almighty God with ease can rescue
me
From all my grief—He who in
days of yore
Fettered thee fast with fiery chains in
woe.
There, shorn of glory, bound with torments
fierce,
In exile hast thou dwelt e’er since
the day 1380
When thou didst set at naught the word
of God,
Of Heaven’s King; then did thy woe
begin,
And to thy exile there shall be no end;
But thou shalt still heap up thy wretchedness
To everlasting life, and evermore
Thy lot shall grow yet harsher day by
day.”
Then fled that fiend who in the years
long past
Began a deadly feud against his God.
Then at the dawning, when
the day first broke,
A troop of heathens came to find the saint,
A mighty throng, and gave command to lead
1390
That valiant-hearted thane a third time
forth.
They wished straightway to overcome the
soul
Of that bold saint—but it was
not to be.
Then was the battle stirred up once again,
Cruel and very fierce. The holy man,
Bound fast with cunning skill, was sorely
scourged,
Pierced through with wounds, until the
daylight failed;
And, sad of heart, he cried aloud to God
Bravely from prison with his holy voice;
Weary of soul, he spake these words with
tears:— 1400
“Ne’er have I suffered by
God’s holy will
A lot more grievous under heaven’s
vault,
In lands where I have had to preach His
law!
My limbs are wrenched apart, my body sore
Is broken, and my flesh is stained with
blood;
My thews are torn and bloody. Lo,
Thou too,
Ruler of victory, Redeeming Lord,
Wast filled with grief among the Jews
that day
When from the cross, Thou, everlasting
God,
Glory of kings, creation’s mighty
Lord, 1410
Called to the Father, and thus spake to
him :—
’Father of angels, source of light
and life,
Oh why hast Thou forsaken me, I pray?’
Torments most cruel I have had to bear
For three long days. I beg thee,
Lord of hosts,
That I may give my soul into Thy hands,
Thy very hands, Thou Nourisher of souls!
For Thou didst promise by Thy holy word,