628 FOURTH PERIOD. A. D. 590-1049.
nople, for the purpose of exciting opposition to the iconoclastic efforts of the Emperor Copronymus. He died at St. Sabas ; the exact date is not known, probably 754.1 The Greek Church commemorates him upon Dec. 4th (or Nov. 29 in some Menologies) ; the Latin upon May 6.
Many legends are told of him. The most famous is that Leo the Isaurian, enraged at his opposition to the iconoclastic edicts, sent to the caliph a letter addressed to himself which purported to have come from John, and was written in imita tion of his hand and style, in which the latter proposed to the emperor to capture Damascus — a feat easily accomplished, the writer said, because of the insufficient guard of the city. More over, in the business he could count upon his support. The letter was of course a forgery, but so clever that when the caliph showed John the letter he acknowledged the similarity of the writing, while he denied the authorship. But the caliph in punishment of his (supposed) treachery had his right hand cut off, and, as was the custom, hung up in a public place. In answer to John's request it was, however, given to him in the evening, ostensibly for burial. He then put the hand to the stump of his arm, prostrated himself before an image of the Virgin Mary in his private chapel, and prayed the Virgin to cause the parts to adhere. He fell asleep : in a vision the Virgin told him that his prayer had been granted, and he awoke to find it true. Only a scar remained to tell the story of his mutilation. The miracle of course convinced the caliph of the innocence of his servant, and he would fain have retained him in office, but John requested his absolute dismission.2 This
1 Grundlehner (p. 55, n. 1) accepts the statement of the Meruza Grawrum that John of Damascus died at the age of 104, and sets the date at "about 780."
1 This famous tale falls of its own weight. Even Roman Catholics, like Alzog (Palrologie, 2d ed., p. 405) admit that it lacks support. It is certainly noteworthy that the second Nicene council apparently knew nothing of this miracle. Cf. Grundlehner, p. 42 n. ; Langen, p. 22.
\ 144. JOHN OF DAMASCUS. 629
story was manifestly invented to make out that the great de fender of image-worship deserved a martyr's crown.1
Other legends which have more of a basis of fact relate to his residence in the convent of St. Sabas. Here, it is said, he was enthusiastically received, but no one would at first under take the instruction of so famous a scholar. At length an old monk undertook it, and subjected him to the most humiliating tests and vexatious restrictions, which he bore in a very saintly way. Thus he sent him once to Damascus to sell a load of convent-made baskets at double their real value, in order that his pride might be broken by the jeers and the violence of the rabble. He was at first insulted ; but at last a man who had been formerly his servant, bought out of compassion the baskets at the exorbitant price, and the saint returned victorious over vanity and pride. He was also put to the most menial ser vices. And, what must have been equally trying, he was for bidden to write prose or poetry. But these trials ended on a hint from the Virgin Mary who appeared one night to the old monk and told him that John was destined to play a great part in the church. He was accordingly allowed to follow the bent of his genius and put his immense learning at the service of religion.
II. WRITINGS. The order of his numerous writings2 is a mere matter of conjecture. It seems natural to begin with those which first brought their author into notice, and upon which his fame popularly rests. These were his three Ora tions? properly circular letters, upon image worship, univer sally considered as the ablest presentation of the subject from the side of the image-worshippers. The first4 appeared proba bly in 727, shortly after the Emperor Leo the Isaurian had issued his edict forbidding the worship of " images," by which
1 Langen, p. 22.
'Carefully analyzed by Lnptcm and Langen.
8 De Imaginibus Orationes III., in JVIigne, XCIV. */. c. col. 1232-1284.