Baring-Gould’s sources: Venerated at Venice. The Acts of this saint are purely fabulous, and are not printed by the Bollandists j1 they are to be found in Equilinus, and contracted in Peter de Natalibus.] romance of S. Nicetas, an early Christian novel, [ates that Nicetas was the son of the Emperor aximian, and that he was converted by seeing his dream Christ hanging at his Cross. He asked a certain Juliana what this meant, and she, being a Christian, explained the vision to him. The boy then determined to profess his faith before his father, and was encouraged to do so by a vision ofS. Raphael the Archangel. He was rebuked by his father with much anger, when the Emperor heard his confession. The boy then asked to be given some idols of gold and silver, and when they were presented to him he smashed them. He was then exposed to the blandishments of a beautiful girl, but biting off his tongue, he spat it in her face.2 Five thousand soldiers were 1 “Omittenda potius quam edenda," says the Bollandist. hermit. The incident is adopted thence by the romancist. S. Nicetas.

…sent against him to tear him into five thousand pieces. But he converted and baptized them all; and they went back to the Emperor without the fragments of flesh which were expected of them. For as a matter of fact they had minced the martyr into five thousand pieces, but the bits had run together again like globules of mercury, and S. Nicetas sat up again unhurt. The shock and surprise of seeing the hashed martyr open his eyes and talk, completely convinced the five thousand and led to their baptism. Maximinus then poked a red hot skewer in at one ear of his son and out at the other, without in the smallest degree affecting the hearing of the indomitable youth. Then the unnatural parent hung him up by the feet, tarred him, and set fire to him, but still could not hurt him. In despair, he flung him down a well, but S. Michael pulled him out again, and announced to all people and nations that whoever should invoke S. Nicetas would certainly obtain all he desired.

Maximinus then promised his son to believe in Christ if he would raise from the dead some corpses buried under a pillar. Nicetas at once raised a host of dead men, and as they were all heathens whom he had resuscitated, he baptized them. The Emperor then ordered his son to be beaten; thereat the Empress, who had borne patiently the hashing and skewering, remonstrated, and an insurrection having broken out, the enraged mob rushed on Maximinus and massacred him. Nicetas baptized the mob, and then tranquilly expired.

The body of S. Nicetas is shown in the church of S. Raphael at Venice. An office, with lesson from these Acts, was approved by Clement VIII.