ate. But the saint pronounced the opinion
of men to differ from the righteousness of Him who searcheth the reins
and the heart, whose judgments are a deep abyss; and he declared that
he saw the soul of that rich man plunged by the demons into hell; but
the spirit of the poor man, whose life was accounted as foolishness,
and his end without honor, was reckoned among the children of God, and
his lot of blessedness was among the saints. "Truly," said he, "the
sons of men are vain, and their judgments are false in the weight; but
the just God loveth justice, and his countenance beholdeth
righteousness; and in the balance of his righteousness weigheth he the
pleasures and the riches of this evil man, and the sins of this poor
man, haply whereby he hath merited the wrath and the misfortunes which
he bore; and the one from his honor and his glory he adjudged unto
present torment; and the other, which had atoned in the furnace of
poverty and of affliction, mercifully sent he unto the heavenly joys."
Nor did the saint behold this of these men only, but often of many
others did he behold and relate such things. Thus what the word of
truth had before told of the rich man clothed in purple and the poor
man covered with sores did this friend of truth declare himself to have
beheld of other.

CHAPTER CLXXXII.

_Saint Vinvaloeus is miraculously stayed by Saint Patrick from his
purposed Journey._

And in Lesser Britain lived a venerable man, named Vinvaloeus, who was
even from his infancy renowned for signs and wonders; for as his acts
are recorded, very many exceeding great miracles are attested to have
been done by him. And he, the south wind so blowing that all his
perfumes breathed forth, heard the holy name of Saint Patrick, and
earnestly desired he to hasten unto the odor of his virtues. And long
time he pondered and desired; and at length determined he to leave his
country and his parents, and to go unto Hibernia to serve Christ under
the discipulate and disciplinate of Saint Patrick; but when the night
came, with the morrow whereof he purposed to begin his journey, he
beheld in a vision that most illustrious man standing before him,
clothed in his pontifical vestments; and then said he unto him: "Know
thou me, beloved Vinvaloeus, to be the Patrick unto whom thou purposest
to travel; yet weary thou not thyself, nor seek thou him whom thou
canst not find; for the hour of my dissolution draweth nigh, when I
shall go