Note 104 — Chapter XII · ANIMISM (continued).

Petrus Damianus, ‘Vita S. Odilonis,’ in the Bollandist ‘Acta Sanctorum,’ Jan. 1, has the quaint legend attached to the new ordinance. An island hermit dwelt near a volcano, where souls of the wicked were tormented in the flames. The holy man heard the officiating demons lament that their daily task of new torture was interfered with by the prayers and alms of devout persons leagued against them to save souls, and especially they complained of the Monks of Cluny. Thereupon the hermit sent a message to Abbot Odilo, who carried out the work to the efficacy of which he had received such perfect spiritual testimony, by decreeing that November 2, the day after All Saints’, should be set apart for services for the departed.