ve torments that ever shall endure, and thou shalt know, whether
thou wilt or not, that he whom we worship is very God. Then St.
Silvester was put in prison, and the provost went to dinner. Now it
happed that as he ate, a bone of a fish turned in his throat and stuck
fast, so that he could neither have it down ne up, and at midnight died
like as St. Silvester had said, and then St. Silvester was delivered out
of prison. He was so gracious that all Christian men and Paynims loved
him, for he was fair like an angel to look on, a fair speaker, whole of
body, holy in work, good in counsel, patient and charitable, and firmly
established in the faith. He had in writing the names of all the widows
and orphans that were poor, and to them he administered their necessity.
He had a custom to fast all Fridays and Saturdays. And it was so that
Melchiades, the bishop of Rome, died, and all the people chose St.
Silvester for to be the high Bishop of Rome, which sore against his will
was made pope. He instituted for to be fasted Wednesday, Friday, and
Saturday, and the Thursday for to be hallowed as Sunday.

Now it happed that the Emperor Constantine did do slay all the Christian
men over all where he could find them, and for this cause St. Silvester
fled out of the town with his clerks, and hid him in a mountain. And for
the cruelty of Constantine God sent him such a sickness that he became
lazar and measel, and by the counsel of his physicians he got three
thousand young children for to have cut their throats, for to have their
blood in a bath all hot, and thereby he might be healed of his measelry.
And when he should ascend into his chariot for to go to the place where
he should be bathed, the mothers of the children came crying and braying
for sorrow of their children, and when he understood that they were
mothers of the children, he had great pity on them and said to his
knights and them that were about him: The dignity of the empire of Rome
is brought forth of the fountain of pity, the which hath stablished by
decree that who that slayeth a child in battle shall have his head
smitten off, then should it be great cruelty to us for to do to ours
such thing as we defend to strange nations, for so should cruelty
surmount us. It is better that we leave cruelty and that pity surmount
us, and therefore me seemeth better to save the lives of these
innocents, than by their death I should have again my health, of the
which we be not yet cer