The Confession of St.
Patrick
Translated from the Latin by Ludwig Bieler
I am Patrick, a sinner, most unlearned, the least of all
the faithful, and utterly despised by many. My father was Calpornius, a deacon, son of Potitus, a priest, of the village Bannavem
Taburniæ; he had a country seat nearby, and there I was taken captive.
I was then about sixteen years of age. I did not know the
true God. I was taken into captivity to Ireland with many thousands of people---and deservedly so, because we turned away
from God, and did not keep His commandments, and did not obey our priests, who used to remind us of our salvation. And the
Lord brought over us the wrath of his anger and scattered us among many nations, even unto the utmost part of the earth, where
now my littleness is placed among strangers.
And there the Lord opened the sense of my unbelief that I
might at last remember my sins and be converted with all my heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my abjection, and
mercy on my youth and ignorance, and watched over me before I knew Him, and before I was able to distinguish between good
and evil, and guarded me, and comforted me as would a father his son.
Hence I cannot be silent---nor, indeed, is it expedient---about
the great benefits and the great grace which the lord has deigned to bestow upon me in the land of my captivity; for this
we can give to God in return after having been chastened by Him, to exalt and praise His wonders before every nation that
is anywhere under the heaven.
Because there is no other God, nor ever was, nor will be,
than God the Father unbegotten, without beginning, from whom is all beginning, the Lord of the universe, as we have been taught;
and His son Jesus Christ, whom we declare to have always been with the Father, spiritually and ineffably begotten by the Father
before the beginning of the world, before all beginning; and by Him are made all things visible and invisible. He was made
man, and, having defeated death, was received into heaven by the Father; and He hath given Him all power over all names in
heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess to Him that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we
believe, and whose advent we expect soon to be, judge of the living and of the dead, who will render to every man according
to his deeds; and He has poured forth upon us abundantly the Holy Spirit, the gift and pledge of immortality, who makes those
who believe and obey sons of God and joint heirs with Christ; and Him do we confess and adore, one God in the Trinity of the
Holy Name.
For He Himself has said through the Prophet: Call upon me
in the day of thy trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. And again He says: It is honourable to reveal
and confess the works of God.
Although I am imperfect in many things, I nevertheless wish
that my brethren and kinsmen should know what sort of person I am, so that they may understand my heart's desire.
I know well the testimony of my Lord, who in the Psalm declares:
Thou wilt destroy them that speak a lie. And again He says: The mouth that belieth killeth the soul. And the same Lord says
in the Gospel: Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it on the day of judgement.
And so I should dread exceedingly, with fear and trembling,
this sentence on that day when no one will be able to escape or hide, but we all, without exception, shall have to give an
account even of our smallest sins before the judgement of the Lord Christ.
For this reason I had in mind to write, but hesitated until
now; I was afraid of exposing myself to the talk of men, because I have not studied like the others, who thoroughly imbibed
law and Sacred Scripture, and never had to change from the language of their childhood days, but were able to make it still
more perfect. In our case, what I had to say had to be translated into a tongue foreign to me, as can be easily proved from
the savour of my writing, which betrays how little instruction and training I have had in the art of words; for, so says Scripture,
by the tongue will be discovered the wise man, and understanding, and knowledge, and the teaching of truth.
But of what help is an excuse, however true, especially if
combined with presumption, since now, in my old age, I strive for something that I did not acquire in youth? It was my sins
that prevented me from fixing in my mind what before I had barely read through. But who believes me, though I should repeat
what I started out with?
As a youth, nay, almost as a boy not able to speak, I was
taken captive, before I knew what to pursue and what to avoid. Hence to-day I blush and fear exceedingly to reveal my lack
of education; for I am unable to tell my story to those versed in the art of concise writing---in such a way, I mean, as my
spirit and mind long to do, and so that the sense of my words expresses what I feel.
But if indeed it had been given to me as it was given to
others, then I would not be silent because of my desire of thanksgiving; and if perhaps some people think me arrogant for
doing so in spite of my lack of knowledge and my slow tongue, it is, after all, written: The stammering tongues shall quickly
learn to speak peace.
How much more should we earnestly strive to do this, we,
who are, so Scripture says, a letter of Christ for salvation unto the utmost part of the earth, and, though not an eloquent
one, yet...written in your hearts, not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God! And again the Spirit witnesses that
even rusticity was created by the Highest.
Whence I, once rustic, exiled, unlearned, who does not know
how to provide for the future, this at least I know most certainly that before I was humiliated I was like a stone Lying in
the deep mire; and He that is mighty came and in His mercy lifted me up, and raised me aloft, and placed me on the top of
the wall. And therefore I ought to cry out aloud and so also render something to the Lord for His great benefits here and
in eternity---benefits which the mind of men is unable to appraise.
Wherefore, then, be astonished, ye great and little that
fear God, and you men of letters on your estates, listen and pore over this. Who was it that roused up me, the fool that I
am, from the midst of those who in the eyes of men are wise, and expert in law, and powerful in word and in everything? And
He inspired me---me, the outcast of this world---before others, to be the man (if only I could!) who, with fear and reverence
and without blame, should faithfully serve the people to whom the love of Christ conveyed and gave me for the duration of
my life, if I should be worthy; yes indeed, to serve them humbly and sincerely.
In the light, therefore, of our faith in the Trinity I must
make this choice, regardless of danger I must make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation, without fear and frankly
I must spread everywhere the name of God so that after my decease I may leave a bequest to my brethren and sons whom I have
baptised in the Lord---so many thousands of people.
And I was not worthy, nor was I such that the Lord should
grant this to His servant; that after my misfortunes and so great difficulties, after my captivity, after the lapse of so
many years, He should give me so great a grace in behalf of that nation---a thing which once, in my youth, I never expected
nor thought of.
But after I came to Ireland---every day I had to tend sheep,
and many times a day I prayed---the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And
my spirit was moved so that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many in the night, and
this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountains; and I used to get up for prayer before daylight, through snow,
through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm, and there was no sloth in me---as I now see, because the spirit within me
was then fervent.
And there one night I heard in my sleep a voice saying to
me: `It is well that you fast, soon you will go to your own country.' And again, after a short while, I heard a voice saying
to me: `See, your ship is ready.' And it was not near, but at a distance of perhaps two hundred miles, and I had never been
there, nor did I know a living soul there; and then I took to flight, and I left the man with whom I had stayed for six years.
And I went in the strength of God who directed my way to my good, and I feared nothing until I came to that ship.
And the day that I arrived the ship was set afloat, and I
said that I was able to pay for my passage with them. But the captain was not pleased, and with indignation he answered harshly:
`It is of no use for you to ask us to go along with us.' And when I heard this, I left them in order to return to the hut
where I was staying. And as I went, I began to pray; and before I had ended my prayer, I heard one of them shouting behind
me, `Come, hurry, we shall take you on in good faith; make friends with us in whatever way you like.' And so on that day I
refused to suck their breasts for fear of God, but rather hoped they would come to the faith of Jesus Christ, because they
were pagans. And thus I had my way with them, and we set sail at once.
And after three days we reached land, and for twenty-eight
days we travelled through deserted country. And they lacked food, and hunger overcame them; and the next day the captain said
to me: `Tell me, Christian: you say that your God is great and all-powerful; why, then, do you not pray for us? As you can
see, we are suffering from hunger; it is unlikely indeed that we shall ever see a human being again.'
I said to them full of confidence: `Be truly converted with
all your heart to the Lord my God, because nothing is impossible for Him, that this day He may send you food on your way until
you be satisfied; for He has abundance everywhere.' And, with the help of God, so it came to pass: suddenly a herd of pigs
appeared on the road before our eyes, and they killed many of them; and there they stopped for two nights and fully recovered
their strength, and their hounds received their fill for many of them had grown weak and were half-dead along the way. And
from that day they had plenty of food. They also found wild honey, and offered some of it to me, and one of them said: `This
we offer in sacrifice.' Thanks be to God, I tasted none of it.
That same night, when I was asleep, Satan assailed me violently,
a thing I shall remember as long as I shall be in this body. And he fell upon me like a huge rock, and I could not stir a
limb. But whence came it into my mind, ignorant as I am, to call upon Helias? And meanwhile I saw the sun rise in the sky,
and while I was shouting `Helias! Helias' with all my might, suddenly the splendour of that sun fell on me and immediately
freed me of all misery. And I believe that I was sustained by Christ my Lord, and that His Spirit was even then crying out
in my behalf, and I hope it will be so on the day of my tribulation, as is written in the Gospel: On that day, the Lord declares,
it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.
And once again, after many years, I fell into captivity.
On that first night I stayed with them, I heard a divine message saying to me: `Two months will you be with them.' And so
it came to pass: on the sixtieth night thereafter the Lord delivered me out of their hands.
Also on our way God gave us food and fire and dry weather
every day, until, on the tenth day, we met people. As I said above, we travelled twenty-eight days through deserted country,
and the night that we met people we had no food left.
And again after a few years I was in Britain with my people.
who received me as their son, and sincerely besought me that now at last, having suffered so many hardships, I should not
leave them and go elsewhere.
And there I saw in the night the vision of a man, whose name
was Victoricus, coming as it were from Ireland, with countless letters. And he gave me one of them, and I read the opening
words of the letter, which were, `The voice of the Irish'; and as I read the beginning of the letter I thought that at the
same moment I heard their voice---they were those beside the Wood of Voclut, which is near the Western Sea---and thus did
they cry out as with one mouth: `We ask thee, boy, come and walk among us once more.'
And I was quite broken in heart, and could read no further,
and so I woke up. Thanks be to God, after many years the Lord gave to them according to their cry.
And another night---whether within me, or beside me, I know
not, God knoweth---they called me most unmistakably with words which I heard but could not understand, except that at the
end of the prayer He spoke thus: `He that has laid down His life for thee, it is He that speaketh in thee'; and so I awoke
full of joy.
And again I saw Him praying in me, and I was as it were within
my body, and I heard Him above me, that is, over the inward man, and there He prayed mightily with groanings. And all the
time I was astonished, and wondered, and thought with myself who it could be that prayed in me. But at the end of the prayer
He spoke, saying that He was the Spirit; and so I woke up, and remembered the Apostle saying: The Spirit helpeth the infirmities
of our prayer. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself asketh for us with unspeakable
groanings, which cannot be expressed in words; and again: The Lord our advocate asketh for us.
And when I was attacked by a number of my seniors who came
forth and brought up my sins against my laborious episcopate, on that day indeed was I struck so that I might have fallen
now and for eternity; but the Lord graciously spared the stranger and sojourner for His name and came mightily to my help
in this affliction Verily, not slight was the shame and blame that fell upon me! I ask God that it may not be reckoned to
them as sin.
As cause for proceeding against me they found---after thirty
years!---a confession I had made before I was a deacon. In the anxiety of my troubled mind I confided to my dearest friend
what I had done in my boyhood one day, nay, in one hour, because I was not yet strong. I know not, God knoweth---whether I
was then fifteen years old: and I did not believe in the living God, nor did I so from my childhood, but lived in death and
unbelief until I was severely chastised and really humiliated, by hunger and nakedness, and that daily.
On the other hand, I did not go to Ireland of my own accord.
not until I had nearly perished; but this was rather for my good, for thus was I purged by the Lord; and He made me fit so
that I might be now what was once far from me that I should care and labour for the salvation of others, whereas then I did
not even care about myself.
On that day, then, when I was rejected by those referred
to and mentioned above, in that night I saw a vision of the night. There was a writing without honour against my face, and
at the same time I heard God's voice saying to me: `We have seen with displeasure the face of Deisignatus' (thus revealing
his name). He did not say, `Thou hast seen.' but `We have seen.' as if He included Himself, as He sayeth: He who toucheth
you toucheth as it were the apple of my eye.
Therefore I give Him thanks who hath strengthened me in everything,
as He did not frustrate the journey upon which I had decided, and the work which I had learned from Christ my Lord; but I
rather felt after this no little strength, and my trust was proved right before God and men.
And so I say boldly, my conscience does not blame me now
or in the future: God is my witness that I have not lied in the account which I have given you.
But the more am I sorry for my dearest friend that we had
to hear what he said. To him I had confided my very soul! And I was told by some of the brethren before that defence---at
which I was not present, nor was I in Britain, nor was it suggested by me---that he would stand up for me in my absence. He
had even said to me in person: `Look, you should be raised to the rank of bishop!'---of which I was not worthy. But whence
did it come to him afterwards that he let me down before all, good and evil, and publicly, in a matter in which he had favoured
me before spontaneously and gladly---and not he alone, but the Lord, who is greater than all?
Enough of this. I must not, however, hide God's gift which
He bestowed upon me in the land of my captivity; because then I earnestly sought Him, and there I found Him, and He saved
me from all evil because---so I believe---of His Spirit that dwelleth in me. Again, boldly said. But God knows it, had this
been said to me by a man, I had perhaps remained silent for the love of Christ.
Hence, then, I give unwearied thanks to God, who kept me
faithful in the day of my temptation, so that today I can confidently offer Him my soul as a living sacrifice---to Christ
my Lord, who saved me out of all my troubles. Thus I can say: `Who am I, 0 Lord, and to what hast Thou called me, Thou who
didst assist me with such divine power that to-day I constantly exalt and magnify Thy name among the heathens wherever I may
be, and not only in good days but also in tribulations?' So indeed I must accept with equanimity whatever befalls me, be it
good or evil, and always give thanks to God, who taught me to trust in Him always without hesitation, and who must have heard
my prayer so that I, however ignorant I was, in the last days dared to undertake such a holy and wonderful work---thus imitating
somehow those who, as the Lord once foretold, would preach His Gospel for a testimony to all nations before the end of the
world. So we have seen it, and so it has been fulfilled: indeed, we are witnesses that the Gospel has been preached unto those
parts beyond which there lives nobody.
Now, it would be tedious to give a detailed account of all
my labours or even a part of them. Let me tell you briefly how the merciful God often freed me from slavery and from twelve
dangers in which my life was at stake---not to mention numerous plots, which I cannot express in words; for I do not want
to bore my readers. But God is my witness, who knows all things even before they come to pass, as He used to forewarn even
me, poor wretch that I am, of many things by a divine message.
How came I by this wisdom, which was not in me, who neither
knew the number of my days nor knew what God was? Whence was given to me afterwards the gift so great, so salutary---to know
God and to love Him, although at the price of leaving my country and my parents?
And many gifts were offered to me in sorrow and tears, and
I offended the donors, much against the wishes of some of my seniors; but, guided by God, in no way did I agree with them
or acquiesce. It was not grace of my own, but God, who is strong in me and resists them all---as He had done when I came to
the people of Ireland to preach the Gospel, and to suffer insult from the unbelievers, hearing the reproach of my going abroad,
and many persecutions even unto bonds, and to give my free birth for the benefit of others; and, should I be worthy, I am
prepared to give even my life without hesitation and most gladly for His name, and it is there that I wish to spend it until
I die, if the Lord would grant it to me.
For I am very much God's debtor, who gave me such grace that
many people were reborn in God through me and afterwards confirmed, and that clerics were ordained for them everywhere, for
a people just coming to the faith, whom the Lord took from the utmost parts of the earth, as He once had promised through
His prophets: To Thee the gentiles shall come from the ends of the earth and shall say: `How false are the idols that our
fathers got for themselves, and there is no profit in them'; and again: `I have set Thee as a light among the gentiles, that
Thou mayest be for salvation unto the utmost part of the earth.'
And there I wish to wait for His promise who surely never
deceives, as He promises in the Gospel: They shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac
and Jacob---as we believe the faithful will come from all the world.
For that reason, therefore, we ought to fish well and diligently,
as the Lord exhorts in advance and teaches, saying: Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men. And again
He says through the prophets: Behold, I send many fishers and hunters, saith God, and so on. Hence it was most necessary to
spread our nets so that a great multitude and throng might be caught for God, and that there be clerics everywhere to baptize
and exhort a people in need and want, as the Lord in the Gospel states, exhorts and teaches, saying: Going therefore now,
teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world. And again
He says: Go ye therefore into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned. And again: This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the
whole world for a testimony to all nations, and then shall come the end. And so too the Lord announces through the prophet,
and says: And it shall come to pass, in the last days, saith the Lord, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And upon
my servants indeed, and upon my handmaids will I pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And in Osee,
He saith: `I will call that which was not my people, my people; ...and her that had not obtained mercy, one that hath obtained
mercy. And it shall be in the place where it was said: ``You are not my people,'' there they shall be called the sons of the
living God.'
Hence, how did it come to pass in Ireland that those who
never had a knowledge of God, but until now always worshipped idols and things impure, have now been made a people of the
Lord, and are called sons of God, that the sons and daughters of the kings of the Irish are seen to be monks and virgins of
Christ?
Among others, a blessed Irishwoman of noble birth, beautiful,
full-grown, whom I had baptized, came to us after some days for a particular reason: she told us that she had received a message
from a messenger of God, and he admonished her to be a virgin of Christ and draw near to God. Thanks be to God, on the sixth
day after this she most laudably and eagerly chose what all virgins of Christ do. Not that their fathers agree with them:
no---they often ever suffer persecution and undeserved reproaches from their parents; and yet their number is ever increasing.
How many have been reborn there so as to be of our kind, I do not know---not to mention widows and those who practice continence.
But greatest is the suffering of those women who live in
slavery. All the time they have to endure terror and threats. But the Lord gave His grace to many of His maidens; for, though
they are forbidden to do so, they follow Him bravely.
Wherefore, then, even if I wished to leave them and go to
Britain---and how I would have loved to go to my country and my parents, and also to Gaul in order to visit the brethren and
to see the face of the saints of my Lord! God knows it! that I much desired it; but I am bound by the Spirit, who gives evidence
against me if I do this, telling me that I shall be guilty; and I am afraid of losing the labour which I have begun---nay,
not I, but Christ the Lord who bade me come here and stay with them for the rest of my life, if the Lord will, and will guard
me from every evil way that I may not sin before Him.
This, I presume, I ought to do, but I do not trust myself
as long as I am in this body of death, for strong is he who daily strives to turn me away from the faith and the purity of
true religion to which I have devoted myself to the end of my life to Christ my Lord. But the hostile flesh is ever dragging
us unto death, that is, towards the forbidden satisfaction of one's desires; and I know that in part I did not lead a perfect
life as did the other faithful; but I acknowledge it to my! Lord, and do not blush before Him, because I lie not: from the
time I came to know Him in my youth, the love of God and the fear of Him have grown in me, and up to now, thanks to the grace
of God, I have kept the faith.
And let those who will, laugh and scorn---I shall not be
silent; nor shall I hide the signs and wonders which the Lord has shown me many years before they came to pass, as He knows
everything even before the times of the world.
Hence I ought unceasingly to give thanks to God who often
pardoned my folly and my carelessness, and on more than one occasion spared His great wrath on me, who was chosen to be His
helper and who was slow to do as was shown me and as the Spirit suggested. And the Lord had mercy on me thousands and thousands
of times because He saw that I was ready, but that I did not know what to do in the circumstances. For many tried to prevent
this my mission; they would even talk to each other behind my back and say: `Why does this fellow throw himself into danger
among enemies who have no knowledge of God?' It was not malice, but it did not appeal to them because---and to this I own
myself---of my rusticity. And I did not realize at once the grace that was then in me; now I understand that I should have
done so before.
Now I have given a simple account to my brethren and fellow
servants who have believed me because of what I said and still say in order to strengthen and confirm your faith. Would that
you, too, would strive for greater things and do better! This will be my glory, for a wise son is the glory of his father.
You know, and so does God, how I have lived among you from
my youth in the true faith and in sincerity of heart. Likewise, as regards the heathen among whom I live, I have been faithful
to them, and so I shall be. God knows it, I have overreached none of them, nor would I think of doing so, for the sake of
God and His Church, for fear of raising persecution against them and all of us, and for fear that through me the name of the
Lord be blasphemed; for it is written: Woe to the man through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed.
For although I be rude in all things, nevertheless I have
tried somehow to keep myself safe, and that, too, for my Christian brethren, and the virgins of Christ, and the pious women
who of their own accord made me gifts and laid on the altar some of their ornaments and I gave them back to them, and they
were offended that I did so. But I did it for the hope of lasting success---in order to preserve myself cautiously in everything
so that they might not seize upon me or the ministry of my service, under the pretext of dishonesty, and that I would not
even in the smallest matter give the infidels an opportunity to defame or defile.
When I baptized so many thousands of people, did I perhaps
expect from any of them as much as half a scruple? Tell me, and I will restore it to you. Or when the Lord ordained clerics
everywhere through my unworthy person and I conferred the ministry upon them free, if I asked any of them as much as the price
of my shoes, speak against me and I will return it to you.
On the contrary, I spent money for you that they might receive
me; and I went to you and everywhere for your sake in many dangers, even to the farthest districts, beyond which there lived
nobody and where nobody had ever come to baptize, or to ordain clergy, or to confirm the people. With the grace of the Lord,
I did everything lovingly and gladly for your salvation.
All the while I used to give presents to the kings, besides
the fees I paid to their sons who travel with me. Even so they laid hands on me and my companions, and on that day they eagerly
wished to kill me; but my time had not yet come. And everything they found with us they took away, and me they put in irons;
and on the fourteenth day the Lord delivered me from their power, and our belongings were returned to us because of God and
our dear friends whom we had seen before.
You know how much I paid to those who administered justice
in all those districts to which I came frequently. I think I distributed among them not less than the price of fifteen men,
so that you might enjoy me, and I might always enjoy you in God. I am not sorry for it---indeed it is not enough for me; I
still spend and shall spend more. God has power to grant me afterwards that I myself may be spent for your souls.
Indeed, I call God to witness upon my soul that I lie not;
neither, I hope, am I writing to you in order to make this an occasion of flattery or covetousness, nor because I look for
honour from any of you. Sufficient is the honour that is not yet seen but is anticipated in the heart. Faithful is He that
promised; He never lieth.
But I see myself exalted even in the present world beyond
measure by the Lord, and I was not worthy nor such that He should grant me this. I know perfectly well, though not by my own
judgement, that poverty and misfortune becomes me better than riches and pleasures. For Christ the Lord, too, was poor for
our sakes; and I, unhappy wretch that I am, have no wealth even if I wished for it. Daily I expect murder, fraud, or captivity,
or whatever it may be; but I fear none of these things because of the promises of heaven. I have cast myself into the hands
of God Almighty, who rules everywhere, as the prophet says: Cast thy thought upon God, and He shall sustain thee.
So, now I commend my soul to my faithful God, for whom I
am an ambassador in all my wretchedness; but God accepteth no person, and chose me for this office---to be, although among
His least, one of His ministers.
Hence let me render unto Him for all He has done to me. But
what can I say or what can I promise to my Lord, as I can do nothing that He has not given me? May He search the hearts and
deepest feelings; for greatly and exceedingly do I wish, and ready I was, that He should give me His chalice to drink, as
He gave it also to the others who loved Him.
Wherefore may God never permit it to happen to me that I
should lose His people which He purchased in the utmost parts of the world. I pray to God to give me perseverance and to deign
that I be a faithful witness to Him to the end of my life for my God.
And if ever I have done any good for my God whom I love,
I beg Him to grant me that I may shed my blood with those exiles and captives for His name, even though I should be denied
a grave, or my body be woefully torn to pieces limb by limb by hounds or wild beasts, or the fowls of the air devour it. I
am firmly convinced that if this should happen to me, I would have gained my soul together with my body, because on that day
without doubt we shall rise in the brightness of the sun, that is, in the glory of Christ Jesus our Redeemer, as sons of the
living God and joint heirs with Christ, to be made conformable to His image; for of Him, and by Him, and in Him we shall reign.
For this sun which we see rises daily for us because He commands
so, but it will never reign, nor will its splendour last; what is more, those wretches who adore it will be miserably punished.
Not so we, who believe in, and worship, the true sun---Christ---who will never perish, nor will he who doeth His will; but
he will abide for ever as Christ abideth for ever, who reigns with God the Father Almighty and the Holy Spirit before time,
and now, and in all eternity. Amen.
Behold, again and again would I set forth the words of my
confession. I testify in truth and in joy of heart before God and His holy angels that I never had any reason except the Gospel
and its promises why I should ever return to the people from whom once before I barely escaped.
I pray those who believe and fear God, whosoever deigns to
look at or receive this writing which Patrick, a sinner, unlearned, has composed in Ireland, that no one should ever say that
it was my ignorance if I did or showed forth anything however small according to God's good pleasure; but let this be your
conclusion and let it so be thought, that---as is the perfect truth---it was the gift of God. This is my confession before
I die.