6 TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONT ELY. 



after Xavier's death, the Jesuit father Maff ei, who had been espe- 

 cially conversant with Xavier's career in the East, published his 

 History of India, though he gave a biography of Xavier which 

 shows fervent admiration for his subject, he dwelt very lightly 

 on the alleged miracles. But six years later, in 1594, Father Tur- 

 sellinus published his Life of Xavier, and in this appears to have 

 made the first large use of the information collected by the Portu- 

 guese viceroy. This work shows a vast increase in the number of 

 miracles over those given by all sources together up to that time. 

 Xavier is represented as not only curing the sick, but casting out 

 devils, stilling the tempest, raising the dead, and performing mir- 

 acles of every sort. 



In 1622 came the canonization proceedings at Rome. Among 

 the speeches made in the presence of Pope Gregory XV, support- 

 ing the claims of Xavier to saintship, the most important was by 

 Cardinal Monte. In this the orator selects out ten great miracles 

 from those performed by Xavier during his lifetime and describes 

 them minutely. He insists that on a certain occasion Xavier, by 

 the sign of the cross, made sea-water fresh so that his fellow- 

 passengers and the crew could drink it ; that he healed the sick 

 and raised the dead in various places, brought back a lost boat to 

 his ship, was on one occasion lifted from the earth bodily and 

 transfigured before the bystanders; and that, to punish a blas- 

 pheming town, he caused an earthquake and buried the offenders 

 in cinders from a volcano : this was afterward still more highly 

 developed, and the saint was represented in engravings as calling 

 down fire from heaven and thus destroying the town. 



The most curious miracle of all is the eighth on the cardinal's 

 list. Regarding this he states that Xavier having during one of 

 his voyages lost overboard a crucifix, it was restored to him after 

 he had reached the shore by a crab. 



The cardinal also dwelt on miracles performed by Xavier's 

 relics after his death, the most original being that sundry lamps 

 placed before the image of the saint and filled with holy water 

 burned as if filled with oil. 



This latter account appears to have deeply impressed the Pope, 

 for in the Bull of Canonization issued by virtue of his power of 

 teaching the universal Church infallibly in faith and morals, his 

 Holiness dwells especially upon the miracle of the lamp filled with 

 holy water and burning before Xavier's image. 



Xavier having been made a saint, many other Lives of him 

 appeared, and, as a rule, each surpassed its predecessor in the 

 multitude of miracles. In 1G22 appeared that by Father Vitelles- 

 chi, and in it not only are the miracles increased, but some old 

 ones are greatly improved. One example will suffice to show the 

 process. In his edition of 1590, Tursellinus had told a story how 



