09/08/2026
Story from the life of St. Samson of Dol:
"Now, as the rest of the rulers were changing places by turn, the brother of the said priest was made cellarer of this monastery. Moreover, it was a custom in the constitutions of this monastery to bruise herbs from the garden, such as were beneficial for the health, in a vessel and to serve it out in small quantities to the several brothers in their porringers by means of a small siphon for their health’s sake, so that when they came in from saying Terce they found the mixing vessel already prepared with garden herbs. Now the cellarer, having accepted the counsel of his wicked brother, mixed the vessel with poison for St. Samson along with its antidote, bruising a kind of lime tree that he might give it him to drink. And that he might learn to what extent it was likely to prove fatal he gave a little of it to a cat in milk. And it came to pass that, when it drank it in milk, it gave a headlong spring and forthwith was dead. Now when the cellarer saw this he was highly pleased, and doubted not that when St. Samson had drunk from this vessel he would straightway take his departure from this world. But, while St. Samson was at prayer, forthwith the Spirit of God revealed to him these things and the evil of late wrought against him. Nevertheless, trusting in the promise of the Lord, mindful of the word of the Gospel where Christ says concerning His faithful who trust in Him, “If they shall drink.” He says, “any deadly thing it shall not hurt them,” and so on, he entered the refectory exceedingly glad, and the more so because he was himself the steward of this monastery. And so, blessing the vessels for the brothers and making the sign of the Cross on his own, without any wavering of mind he drank it dry and never felt even the slightest heartache from it.
But as they were breakfasting together, on the very same day, St. Samson was heard holding a sweet and most pleasant conversation with the cellarer. “Great,” he said, “was the sweetness to my throat; and great the strength to my heart, O most loving brother, did that cup afford me, which thou gavest me the first thing today. May God heal thee of all sickness whatsoever thou hast.” When he heard these things, the brother inwardly felt compunction for the evil he had done, and promised in the presence of Almighty God that he would no longer take evil counsel with his brother against this servant of God, who, to be sure, he had come to know was aware of all things, and bore all his brother’s ill-will patiently."
