_Of the Death of Rius._
And Rius, being renewed outwardly in his body and inwardly in his
spirit, brought with him his three brothers, and came with very many to
be purified at the healing font. And after these things, Saint
Patrick, observing him to be thoroughly freed from sin, and knowing how
sin besets the slippery path of human life, inspired of the Holy
Spirit, said unto him: "Choose, now, whether in this valley of tears,
this world of tribulation and sorrow, shall thy years be prolonged, or
whether, the misery of this life being instantly ended, thou wilt be
carried up by the angels of light, and enter into the joy of the Lord
thy God." But he, trusting that he should behold the mercies of the
Lord in the land of eternal life, answered: "I choose, and I desire to
be dissolved, and to be with Christ for ever, rather than to continue
in the habitations of sinners." And he received the sacrament from the
hands of the holy bishop, and, commending his spirit unto the Lord, he
was brought unto eternal rest.