A miracle-worker; applied to saints and others who are reputed to have performed miracles. (Greek, thauma ergon.)
Prince Alexander of IIohenlohe, whose power was looked upon as miraculous.
Apollonius of Tyana, Cappadocia (A.D. 3-98). (
See his
Life, by Philostratus.)
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, called “the Thaumaturgus of the West.” (1091-1153.)
St. Francis d'Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order. (1182-1226.)
J. Joseph Gassner, of Bratz, in the Tyrol, who, looking on disease as a possession, exorcised the sick, and his cures were considered miraculous. (1727-1779.)
Gregory, Bishop of Neo-Casare'a, in Cappadocia, called emphatically “the Thaumaturgus,” from the numerous miracles he is reported to have performed. (212-270.)
St. Isidorus. (See his
Life, by Damascius.)
Jannes and
Jambres, the magicians of Pharaoh who withstood Moses.
Blaise Pascal. (1623-1662.)
Plotinus, and several other Alexandrine philosophers. (205-270.) (
See the
Life of Plotinus, by Porphyry.)
Proclus. (412-415.) (
See his
Life, by Marinus.)
Simon Magus, of Samaria, called “the Great Power of God.” (Acts viii. 10.) Several of the
Sophists. (See
Lives of the Philosophers, by Eunapius.)
Sospitra possessed the omniscient power of seeing all that was done in every part of the globe. (
Eunapius: OEdeseus.)
Vincent de Paul, founder of the “Sisters of Charity.” (1576-1660.) Peter Schott has published a treatise on natural magic called
Thaumaturgus Physicus. (See below.)
Thaumaturgus. Filumea is called
Thaumaturga, a saint unknown till 1802, when a grave was discovered with this inscription on tiles: “LUMENA PAXTE CYMFI,” which, being rearranged, makes
Pax tecum Filumena. Filumena was at once accepted as a saint, and so many wonders were worked by “her” that she has been called
La Thaumaturge de Dixneuvième Siècle.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
