# Religious History - Author: [Theodoret of Cyrus](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/theodoret-of-cyrus/) - Latin title: *Historia religiosa* - Date: ca. 444 (approximate) - Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca, vol. 82 (Paris, 1859), cols. 1283-1522, with the Latin translation of J. Sirmond in parallel columns (not reproduced) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Editions and translations: P. Canivet and A. Leroy-Molinghen, Théodoret de Cyr, Histoire des moines de Syrie, SC 234 and 257 (Paris: Cerf, 1977-1979), cited only; the English translation by R. M. Price (Cistercian Studies 88, 1985) is copyrighted and was not used. - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/ - Passages: 32 ## Prologue - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/0/#p-0 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Theodoret explains why he writes the lives of the eastern ascetics, describes their spiritual warfare against the passions and demons, and defends the truth of the miracles he will relate from eyewitness testimony. ### Greek text Τῶν ἀρίστων ἀνδρῶν, καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀθλητῶν, καλὸν μὲν ἰδεῖν τοὺς ἀγῶνας, καὶ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τὴν ὠφέλειαν ἀρύσασθαι. Ὁρώμενα γὰρ τὰ ἐπαινούμενα ἀξιόκτητά τε φαίνεται, καὶ ἀξιέραστα γίνεται, καὶ πρὸς τὴν κτῆσιν ἐπείγει τοὺς θεατάς, Φέρει δ᾽ ὅμως ὄνησιν οὐ μετρίαν τῶν τοιούτων κατορθωμάτων καὶ τὰ διηγήματα, παρὰ τῶν εἰδότων ταῖς τῶν οὐκ εἰδότων ἀκοαῖς προσφερόμενα. Πιστοτέραν μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἀκοῆς εἶναι τὴν ὄψιν φάσί τινες " πείθεται δ᾽ ὅμως καὶ ἀκοὴ, τῇ τῶν λεγόντων ἀληθείᾳ κρίνουσα τὰ λεγόμενα. Καθάπερ γὰρ γλυχύτητι, καὶ πιχρότητι, καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις ταῖς τοιαύταις ποιότησι γλῶσσά τε καὶ ὑπερῴα δικάζειν πεπίστευται, καὶ κατὰ ταυτὸν τὴν ψήφον ἐχφέρουσιν " οὕτως ἀκοὴ τὴν τῶν λόγων ἐνεχε:ρίσθη διάγνωσιν, καὶ τοὺς ὄνησίν τινα φέροντας τῶν βλαδερῶν ἀποκρίνειν ἐπίσταται. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἄσυλος ἔμενε τῶν ὀνησιφόρων διηγημάτων ἡ μνήμη, καὶ μὴ τῆς λήθης ἡ λώδη οἷά τις ἀχλὺς ἦν δήπουθεν καὶ παρέλχον λογογραφεῖν τὰ τοιαῦτα, τῆς ἐντεῦθεν ὠφελείας καὶ εἰς τοὺς ὕστερον ἐσομένους εὐπετῶς μάλα διαθαινούσης. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὁ χρόγος λωθᾶται μὲν σώματι γῆρας ἐπιφέρων καὶ θάναπον, λωδᾶται δὲ κατορθώμασι λήθην ἐμποιῶν, καὶ παρεῖ, οἱ τὴν μνήμην ἀμδλύνων, οὐκ ἄν τις ἡμῖν εἰκότως νεμεσήσειε τῶν φιλοθέων ἀνδρῶν τὴν πολιτείαν συγγράφειν ἐπιχειροῦσιν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ τὰ σώματα θεραπεύειν πεπιστευμένοι φάρμακα κατασκευάζουσι, πῇ νόσῳ πολεμοῦντες, καὶ τοῖς κάμνουσιν ἐπαμύνοντες " οὕτως καὶ ἡ τῆς τοιᾶσδε συγγραφῆς φιλοπονία, "οἷόν τι φάρμακον ἀλεξίχαχον γίνεται, λήθης ἐπίὄουλον, καὶ μνήμης ἐπίκουρον. Πῶς γὰρ ἂν οὐκ ἅτοπον, ποιητὰς μὲν καὶ συγγραφέας τὰς ἐν πολέμοις ἀνδραγαθίας συγγράψαι, τραγῳδοποιοὺς δὲ τὰς σαι, καὶ τούτων τὴν μνήμην ἀνάγραπτον καταλιπεῖν" ἄλλους δέ τινας εἰς κωμῳδίαν καὶ γέλωτα κατἀναλῶσαι τοὺς λόγους " ἡμᾶς δὲ περιιδεῖν λήθῃ παραδιδομένους ἄνδρας ἐν σώματι θνητῷ τε καὶ παθητῷ ἀπάθειαν ἐπιδεδειγμένους, καὶ τὴν ἀσώματον φύσιν ἐξηλωχότας; Ποίαν δὲ οὐκ ἂν δικαίως τίσαιμεν δίκὴν τῶν ἀξιαγάστων τούτων ἀγώνων περιορῶντες ἀμαυρουμένην τὴν μνήμην; εἰ γὰρ αὐτοὶ τῶν πάλαι γεγενημένων ἁγίων τὴν ἄκραν φιλοσοφίαν ζηλώσανπες, οὐ χαλκῷ καὶ γράμμασι τὴν ἐχείνων ἐνεχόλαψαν μνήμην, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν αὐτῶν τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐχμαξάμενοι, οἷόν τινας εἰκόνας αὐτῶν ἐμψύχους καὶ στήλας σφᾶς αὐτοὺς πεποιήκασι, ποίας ἂν ἡμεῖς τύχοιμεν εἰκότως συγγνώμης, μηδὲ γράμμασι τὸν ἀοίδιμον τούτων γεραίρουτες βίον; Καὶ ταῦτα τῶν ἐν Ὀλυμπίασιν ἀγωνιζομένων ἀθλητῶν τε καὶ παγχρατιαστῶν εἰκόσι τιμωμένων, καὶ μέντοι κἀν ταῖς ἱπποδρομίαις τῶν νιχηφόρων ἀναφαινομένων ἡνιόχων τοῦτο αὐτὸ δεχομένων τὸ γέρας, Οὐ μόνον δὲ τούτους " ἀλλὰ καὶ συγγενεῖς ἄνδρας, καὶ θτλυδρίας, καὶ ἀμφιδόλους εἴτε ἄνδρες εἶεν εἴτε γυναῖκες, οἱ τῆς τούτων θεωρίας φιλοθεάμονες ταῖς σανίσιν ἐγγράφουσιν, ἐπὶ πλεῖστον αὑτῶν τὴν μνήμην διαρκέσαι φιλονεικοῦντες. Καίτοι τῆς μνήμης λώδην ταῖς ψυχαῖς οὐκ ὄνησιν ἐμποιούσης " ἄλλ᾽ ὅμως οἱ μὲν τούτων ἐρῶντες τούτους, οἱ δὲ ἐχείνων ἐκείνους, καὶ ταῦτα λυμαίοὖσαν ὁ θάνατος τὴν φύσιν ληΐζεται, χρώματα χερανγύντες, καὶ τὰ ἐχείνων ταῖς σανίσιν ἑντιθέντες ἱνδάλματα, πολλῷ τῆς ζωῆς μαχροτέραν γενέσθαι τὴν μνήμην σοφίζονται. Ἡμεῖς δὲ βίον μὲν συγγράφομεν φιλοσοφίας διδάσκαλον, καὶ τὴν ἐν οὐρανοῖς πολιπείαν ἐξζηλωχότα " ζωγραφοῦμεν δὲ οὐ τῶν σωμάτων τοὺς χαρακτῆρας, οὐδὲ τὰ τούτων ἐκτυπώματα τοῖς ἢ) ἀγνοοῦσιν ἐπιδείχνυμεν᾽ ἀλλὰ τῶν ἀοράτων ψυχῶν τὰς ἰδέας σχιαγραφοῦμεν, καὶ πολέμους ἀθεάτους καὶ συμπλοκὰς ἀφανεῖς ἐπιδείχγυμεν. Τοιαύτην γὰρ αὐτοῖς καὶ τὴν παντευχίαν ὁ τῆς φάλαγγος αὐτῶν ε ᾿Αναλάδετς γὰρ, φησὶ, τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα δυνηθῆτε ἀντιστῆναι ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ πονηρᾷ, καὶ ἅπαντα χατεργασάμενοι στῆναι. » Καὶ πάλιν " « Σ-ῆτε οὖν περιζωσάμενοι τὴν ὀσφὺν ὑμῶν ἐν ἀληθείχ, καὶ ἐνδυσάμενοι τὸν θώρακα τῆς: δικαιοσύνης, καὶ ὑποδησάμενοι τοὺς πόδας ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τοῦ Εὐ θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως,ἐν ᾧ δυνήσεσθε πάντα τὰ βέλῃ «κοῦ πονηροῦ τὰ πεπυρωμένα σδέσαι, καὶ τὴν περι- … μᾶτοῦ πνεύματος, ὃ Ἔστι ῥῆμα Θεοῦ. ν Ταύτην αὐτοὺς τὴν πανοπλίαν ἐνδύσας εἰς τοὺς ἀγῶνας εἰσήγαγε. Τοιαὐτὴ γὰρ καὶ τῶν πολεμίων ἡ φύσις, ἀσώματος, ἀόρατος, ἀφανῶς ἐπιοῦσα, χρύδδην διδάσκων αὐτὸς οὗτος ὁ στρατηγὸς ἔλεγεν " « Οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχὰς, πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας, πρὸς τοὺς χοσμοχρά. τορας τοῦ σκότους τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, πρὸς τὰ “πνευματικὰ «ἧς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις. » Ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως καὶ τολούτους ἔχουσα τοὺς ἀντιπάλου; ἡ τῶν ἀγίων τούτων συμμορία, μᾶλλον δὲ τούτων ἕκαστος ὑπὸ τοσούτων καὶ τοιούτων πολεμίων χυ- Β χλούμενος" οὔτε γὰρ κοινῇ πᾶσιν ἐπῇεσαν, ἀλλὰ νῦν μὲν τούτῳ, νῦν δ᾽ ἐκείνῳ προσέδαλλον " οὕτω }.1. αρὰν ἀνεδήσαντο νίκην, ὡς τοὺς μὲν δραπετεῦσαι, τούτου δὲ κατὰ κράτος διῶξαι, καὶ τρόπαιον ἐγεῖραι μηδενὸς ἐμποδὼν γενομένου. εἶχε δὲ αὑτοῖς τὴν νίκην οὐκ ἡ φύσις, θνητὴ γὰρ αὕτη, καὶ μυρίων παθῶν ἀνάπλεως “ ἀλλ᾽ ἡ γνώμη τὴν θείαν χάριν ἐφελκομένη. ἝἜρασταὶ γὰρ θερμὰ «οὔ θείου κάλλους γενόμενοι, καὶ ἀσπασίως ἅπαν! δράσαι καὶ παθεῖν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐρωμένου ἑλόμενοι, ἥνεγκαν μὲν γενναΐως τὴν τῶν παθῶν ἑἐπανάστατιν, ἀπεχρούσαντο δὲ καρτερῶς τῶν τοῦ διαδόλου βελῶν τὰς νιφάδας, καὶ ἀποστολικῶς εἰπεῖν, τὸ σῶμα ὑτυπιάσαντες καὶ δουλαγωγήσαντες, τὰς μὲν τοῦ δ" μοῦ φλεγμονὰς κατεπράῦναν, τῶν ἐπιθυμῶν δὲ τὴ λυσσῶδες ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν ἠνάγκασαν " ἀσιτίᾳ δὲ καὶ χαμευνίᾳ οὕτω τὰ πάθη χοιμίσαντες καὶ τὰ τούτων πρὸς τὴν ψυχὴν κατηνάγχασαν " καὶ τὸν μὲν ἔμτυτὸν τοῦτον κατέλυσαν πόλεμον " οὕτω δὲ τούτοις τὴν εἰρήνην βραδεύσαντες, ἅπαν τῶν ἐναντίων τὸ στίφης ἐξήλασαν. Τοὺς γὰρ τὰ ἔνδον προϊεμένους λογισμοὺς οὐκ ἔχοντες, καὶ τῆς τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων μελῶν συν" εργίας ἐστερημένοι, πολεμεῖν οὐκ ἠδύναντο. Βδεσι γὰρ γχαθ᾽ ἡμῶν ὁ διάδολος τοῖς ἡμετέροις μϑετι κέχρηται. Ὀφθαλμῶν γὰρ μὴ δελεαζομένων, μη μηδὲ τοῦ νοῦ τὰ πονηρὰ δεχομένου βουλεύματα, μά" ταῖος τοῖς ἐπιδουλεύουσιν ἦν ἡ σπουδή. Ὥσπερ … περιτετειχισμένην, καὶ φάραγξι βαθείαις πάντοθεν κυκλουμένην, οὐκ ἄν τις ἕλῃ πολέμιος, μὴ τὸ νος τῶν ἔνδον προϊεμένου, καὶ πυλίδας τινὰς ὑπ’ ανοίγοντος " οὕτως ἀδύνατον τοῖς ἔξωθεν πολεμοῦν! δαίμοσι τὴς ὑπὸ τῆς θείας χάριτος χυχλουμένης περι" γενέσθαι ψυχῆς, εἰ μή τινος λογισμοῦ ῥᾳστώνη τ λίδα τινὰ τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν αἰσθητηρίων ἀνοίξειε, καὶ ταὺτῆς εἴσω τὸν πολέμιον δέξαιτο. Ταῦτα σαφῶς ὑτὴ τῆς θείας πεπαιδευμένοι Γραφῆς οἱ παρ᾽ ἡμῶν εὐ" φημούμενοι, καὶ ἀκούσαντες τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ τοῦ πρν δων, » οἷόν τισι μοχλοῖς καὶ χκλείθροις, τοῖς θείρις νόμοις τὰ αἰσθητήρια χλείσαντες, τῷ νῷ τὰς τούτων ἐνεχείρισαν κλεῖς - καὶ οὔτε γλῶστα οὔτε χεΐλη ἀνεῴγνυτο τοῦ νοῦ μὴ κελεύοντος, οὔτε κόρη μὴ ἀκοὴ δὲ βλεφάροις ἣ χείλεσιν ἀποτειχίσαι μὴ δυναμένη τὴν εἴσοδον, τοὺς ἀνοήτους ἀπεωθεῖτο τῶν λόγων, κἀκείνους ἐδέχετο μόνους, οἷς ὁ νοῦς ἐπετέρπετο. Οὕτω τὴν ὄσφρησιν ἐπαίδευσαν μὴ τὰ εὐώδη ποθεῖν, ἅτε δὴ χαυνοῦν καὶ χαλᾷν πεφυκότα. Οὕτω τῆς γαστρὸς τὸν χόρον ἐξήλασαν, καὶ τοιαῦτα λαμθάνειν ἐδίδαξαν, οἷα οὐκ ἡδονὴν, ἀλλὰ χρείαν ἐπλή- 639, καὶ ταῦτα τοσαῦτα, ὅσα τὸν ἐκ λιμοῦ κωλύειν ἠδύνατο θάνατον. Οὕτω τὴν γλυκεῖαν τοῦ ὕπνου τυραννίδα κατέλυσαν, καὶ τὰ βλέφαρα τῆς τούτου δουλείας ἐλευθερώσαντες, κρατεῖν ἀντὶ τοῦ δουλεύειν ἐπαίδευσαν, καὶ δέχεσθαι τὴν παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ χρείαν, Β οὐκ ὅταν αὐτὸς ἑπίοι, ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν αὐτοὶ χαλῶσιν εἷς βραχεῖαν ἐπικουρίαν τῆς φύσεως. Οὕτω τοιγαροῦν «ἧς τῶν τειχῶν καὶ τῶν πυλῶν φροντίσαντες φυλαχκῆς. καὶ τοῖς ξυδον λογισμοῖς τὴν ὁμόνοιαν πρυταγεύσαυτὲς, τοὺς ἔξωθεν ἑπιόντας ἀντιπάλους ἐγέλων, ἐπεισιέναι μὲν βίᾳ διὰ τὴν τῆς θείας χάριτος οὐ δυναμένους ἀσφάλειαν, οὐδένα δὲ προδότην εὑρίσκοντες ἐἰσδέχεσθα: τοὺς δυσμενεῖς προαιρούμενον " καὶ τὴν φύσιν ἀόρατον ἔχοντες οἱ πολέμιοι, σώματος ὀρωμένου, καὶ ταῖς τῆς φύσεως ἀνάγκαις ὑποκειμένου, κρατεῖν οὐκ ἠδύναντο. Ὁ γὰρ ἡνίοχος τούτον, καὶ ἡνίας, ἐν τάξει φέρεσθαι τοὺς ἵππους ἀνέπεισε " ῥυθμῷ δὲ τὰς τῶν αἰσθήσεων χορδὰς τὴν παναρμόνιον χὴν ἀποτελεῖν παρεσκεύασεν " ἐπιστημόνως δὲ κινῶν τὰ πηδάλια, καὶ τῶν κυμάτων τὴν προσδολὴν, καὶ τὴν τῶν πνευμάτων διέλυσεν ἐμδολήν. Τούτους τοίνυν τοὺς διὰ πόνων μυρίων τὸν βίον ὁδεύσανταξ, ἱδρῶσι δὲ καὶ ταλαιπωρίαις τὸ σῶμα δαμάταντας, καὶ γέλωτος μὲν τὸ πάθος ἀγνοήσαντας, ἐν κλαυθμῷ δὲ καὶ δάκρυσιν ἅπαντα τὸν βίον δαπαπἰαν νομίσαντας, ὕπνον δὲ ἥδιστον τὴν ἐπίπονον ἀγρυπνίαν, στρωμνὴν ὃὲ μαλακὴν τὴν τοῦ ἐδάφους ἀντιτυπίαν, ἡδονὴν ἄμετρόν τε καὶ ἄπλειστον, ᾿τὴν ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς καὶ ψαλμῳδίαις διατριδὴν᾽ τούτοὺς τοὺς πᾶν εἶδος ἀρετῆς συνειληχότας τίς οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως θαυμάσειε : μᾶλλον δὲ τίς ἂν πρὸς ἀξίαν εὐφημήσειεν; Οἶδα μὲν οὖν χἀγὼ σαφῶς, ὡς τῆς τούτων ἀρετῆς οὐδεὶς ἂν ἐφίκοιτο λόγος" ἐγχειρητέον δ᾽ ὅμως. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν καλῶς ἔχοι, εἰ ὅτι πΞελέως ἄνδρες ἐγένοντο φιλοσοφίας τῆς ἀληθοῦς ἐρασταὶ, διὰ τοῦτο μηδὲ μειόνων τύχοιεν ἐπαίνων. Γράψόμεν δὲ τὴν εὐφημίαν οὗ κοινῇ πᾶσι μίαν' διάφορα γὰρ αὐτοῖς θεόθεν ἐδόθη χαρίσματα, καὶ τοῦτο διδάσκων ὁ μακάριος ἔλεγε Παῦλος" ε« Ὧ μὲν διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος δέδοται λόγος σοφίας" ἄλλῳ δὲ λόγὸς γνώσεως κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ Πνεῦμα" ἄλλῳ δὲ χαρίσματα ἰαμάτων ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ Πνεύματι" ἄλλῳ δὲ ἐνεργήματα δυνάμεων ἄλλῳ δὲ προφητεία" ἄλλῳ δὲ γένη γλωσσῶν, ἄλλῳ δὲ ἑρμηνεία γλωσσῶν. » Καὶ δειχγὺς τὴν τούτων ἁπάντων πηγὴν ἐπήγαγε" ε« Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα το ἐνεργεῖ τὸ ἕν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ Πνεῦμα, διαιροῦν ἰδίᾳ ἐχάτῳ καθὼς βούλεται. » Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν διαφόρων τετυχήκασι δωρεῶν, εἰκότως ἰδίᾳ ἑκάστου ποιησόμεθα πὸ διήγημα" οὐκ ἅπαντα διεξιόντες τὰ πεπολιτευμένα' εἰς γὰρ τὴν τοιαύτην συγγραφὴν οὐδὲ ἅπας ἂν ὁ βίος ἀρχέσειεν’ ἀλλ᾽ ὀλίγα τῶν ἑκάστῳ βεδιωμένων ἣ πεπραγμένων διηγηϑάμενοι, καὶ. διὰ τῶν ὀλίγων τοῦ παντὸς βίου τὸν χαρακτῆρα παραδείξαντες, ἐφ᾽ ἕτερον βαδιούμεθα. Οὐ πάντων ὃὲ τῶν ἁπανταχιῦ δ'απρεψάντων ἁγίων τὴν πολιτείαν ἱστορίᾳ παραδοῦναι πειρασόμεθα" οὔτε γὰρ ἴσμεν τοὺς πανταχοῦ διαλάμψαντας, οὔτε δυνατὸν ἅπαντας ὑφ᾽ ἑνὸς συγγραφῆναι, Μόνων τοίνυν τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἕω φωστήρων δίκην ἀναφανέντων, καὶ ταῖς ἀκτῖσι τὰ τῆς οἶκουμένης τέρματα κατειληφότων, ἀναγράψω τὸν βίον. ᾿Αφηγηματικῶς δὲ ὁ λόγος προδήσεται, οὐ νόμοις ἐγκωμίων χρώμενος, ἀλλ᾽ ὀλίγων τινῶν ἀτεχνῶς ποιούμενος τὴν διήγησιν. ᾿Αξιῶ δὲ τοὺς ἐντευξομένους τῇδε τῇ φιλοθέῳ ἱστορίᾳ, ἢ ἀσχητιχῇ ὡς γὰρ βούλεταί τις χαλείτω τὸ σύγγραμμα’ μὴ ἀπιστεῖν τοῖς λεγομένοις, εἴ τι ὑπὲρ τὴν ἑαντῶν ἀχούοιεν δύναμιν, μηδὲ σφέσιν αὐτοῖς τὴν ἐχείνων μετρεῖν ἀρετήν' ἀλλ᾽ εἰδέναι σαφῶς, ὡς ταῖς τῶν εὐσεδῶν γνώμαις μετρεῖν εἴωθεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ ἁγίο) Πνεύματος τὰ χαρίσματα, καὶ ταῖς τελειοτέραις τὰ μείζονα δίδωσι. Ταῦτα δέ μοι πρὸς τοὺς οὐ λίπ; ἀχριθῶς τὰ θεῖα μεμυημένους εἰρήσθω. Οἱ γὰρ μύσται τῶν ἀδύτων τοῦ Πνεύματος ἴσασι τὰς φιλο!" ςὶ μίας τοῦ Πνεύματος, καὶ οἷα δι᾽ ἀνθρώπων ἐν ἀνθρώποις θαυματουργεῖ, τῇ τῶν τεράτων μεγαλουργίᾷ τοὺς ἀπίστους εἰς θεογνωαίαν ἐφελκόμενον. Ὁ ἃ τοῖς παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ῥηθησομένων ἀπιστήσων, εὔδηλον ὡς οὐδὲ τοῖς διὰ Μωσέως, καὶ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ Ἠλία, καὶ Ἑλισσαίου γεγενημένοις ὡς ἀληθέσι πιστεύσειε, μ᾽: θον δὲ ἡγεῖται καὶ τὰς διὰ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀποστόλων γεγενημένας θαυματουργίας. Εἰ δὲ ἐκείνοις ἀλήθειν μαρτυρεῖ, ψεύδους ἐλεύθερα εἶναι πιστευέτω καὶ ταῦτα. Ἢ γὰρ ἐν ἐκείνοις ἐνεργήσασα χάρις, αὕτη καὶ διὰ τούτων ἐνεργηχέναι πεποίηκεν. ᾿Αένναος ἃ ἡ χάρις, καὶ τοὺς ἀξίους ἐχλεγομένη, οἷον διά τινῶν κρουνῶν ἀναδλύζει διὰ τούτων τῆς εὐεργεσίας τὸ νάματα. Τῶν δὲ λεχθησομένων ἐνίων μὲν αὐτόπτη; ἐγενόμην ἐγώ" ὅσα δὲ μὴ τεθέαμαι, παρὰ τῶν ἐχεὶἢ νους τεθεαμένων ἀκήκοα, ἀνδρῶν ἀρετῆς ἐραστῶν, οἱ καὶ τῆς ἐχείνων θέας καὶ διδασκαλίας ἡξιωμένον ἀξιόχρεως δὲ καὶ τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν συγγράφων διδα- Ὁ σχαλίαν οὐ μόνον Ματθαῖος καὶ Ἰωάννης, οἱ τ πρῶτο! γκαὶ μεγάλοι τῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν, οἱ τῶν Δεσποτιχὼν θαυμάτων αὐτόπται" ἀλλὰ καὶ Λουκᾶς, καὶ Μάρχονν οὖς οἱ ἐξ ἀρχῆς αὐτόπται, καὶ ὑπηρέτα: τοῦ λύγου, οὐ μόνον ἃ πέπονθέ τε καὶ δέδραχεν ὁ Δεσπότης, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἃ διδάσκων σαν. Καὶ μὴ γεγενημένος γὰρ αὐτόπτης ὁ μακάριος Λουκᾶς, τῆς συγγραφῆς ἀρξάμενος περὶ πεπληρι" ᾿φορημένων πραγμάτων ποιεῖσθαΐ φησι τὴν διΐγησιν καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ, ἀκούοντες ὅτι οὐκ αὐτόπτης ἐγένετο τούτων αὐτῶν διηγημάτων, ἀλλὸ παρ᾽ ἄλλων ταῦτην τὴν διδασκαλίαν παρέλαδεν, οὐδὲν ἧττον αὐτῷ καὶ Α Μάρκῳ προσέχομεν, ἣ Ματθαίῳ καὶ Ἰωάννῃ. ᾿Αξιόχρεὼως γὰρ ἑκάτερος διηγούμενος, ἅτε δὴ παρὰ τῶν πεθεαμένων ξεδιδαγμένος. Τοιγάρτοι καὶ ἡμεῖς τὰ μὲν ἐροῦμεν ὡς αὐτόπται, τὰ ὃὲ τοῖς αὐτόπταις διἡγησαμένοι: πεπιστευκότες, ἀνδράσι τὸν ἐχείνων βίον ἐζηλωχάσι. Πλείονας δὲ περὶ τούτου δεδαπάνηχα λόγους, πεῖσαι βουλόμενος ὡς ἀληθῆ διηγήσομαι. "Δ ρξομαι δὲ τῆς διηγήσεως ἔνθεν ἑλών. ### English translation (Claude) It is a fine thing to see the contests of the best of men, the athletes of virtue, and to draw benefit from them with one's own eyes. For praiseworthy things, when they are seen, appear worth acquiring and become objects of love, and they urge the spectators on to acquire them. Yet the narratives of such achievements also bring no small benefit, when they are carried by those who know to the ears of those who do not. Some say that sight is more trustworthy than hearing; yet hearing too is persuaded, judging what is said by the truthfulness of those who say it. For just as the tongue and the palate are entrusted with judging sweetness and bitterness and the other such qualities, and deliver their verdict accordingly, so hearing has been entrusted with discerning words, and knows how to separate those that bring some benefit from those that do harm. Now if the memory of beneficial narratives remained inviolate, and the injury of forgetfulness did not lie over it like a kind of mist, it would surely be superfluous to write such things down, since the benefit from them would pass very easily to later generations as well. But since time injures bodies by bringing on old age and death, and injures achievements by producing forgetfulness and dulling memory, no one could reasonably blame us for undertaking to write the way of life of these God-loving men. For just as those entrusted with healing bodies prepare medicines, fighting disease and coming to the aid of the sick, so the labor of such a work becomes a kind of medicine against harm, an enemy of forgetfulness and an ally of memory. For how would it not be absurd that poets and historians have written of brave deeds in wars, and tragedians have … and left the memory of these in writing, and others have spent their words on comedy and laughter, while we allow to be handed over to forgetfulness men who in a mortal and passible body displayed freedom from passion and emulated the bodiless nature? What penalty would we not justly pay if we overlooked the memory of these admirable contests growing dim? For if they themselves, emulating the highest philosophy of the saints of old, did not engrave the memory of those saints in bronze and letters, but took on the whole impress of their virtue and made themselves into living images and monuments of them, what pardon could we fairly obtain if we did not honor their celebrated life even with writing? And this, when the athletes and pancratiasts who compete at Olympia are honored with images, and the victorious charioteers who appear at the horse races receive this same honor. And not only these: even men … , effeminates, and those of doubtful sex, whether they are men or women, are painted on panels by the devotees of such spectacles, who strive to make their memory last as long as possible. And yet that memory brings injury to souls, not benefit. Nevertheless, those who love these paint these, and those who love the others paint the others; and although death ravages nature, they mix colors and set the likenesses of their favorites on panels, and so contrive that the memory lasts much longer than the life. But we are writing of a life that teaches philosophy and has emulated the way of life in heaven; and we paint not the features of bodies, nor do we show their impressions to those who do not know them, but we sketch the forms of invisible souls and display unseen wars and hidden combats. For such is the full armor with which the commander of their phalanx … : “Take up,” he says, “the full armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.” And again: “Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the readiness of the gos[pel] … the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one; and … of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Having clothed them with this armor he led them into the contests. For such too is the nature of the enemies: bodiless, invisible, attacking unseen, as this same general taught when he said: “Our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Yet although the company of these saints had such adversaries, or rather, although each of them was surrounded by so many and such enemies (for they did not attack all in common, but now this one, now that one), they won so … a victory that the enemies fled and he pursued them in force and set up a trophy with no one standing in his way. It was not their nature that gave them the victory, for that is mortal and full of countless passions, but their will, which drew the divine grace to itself. For having become ardent lovers of the divine beauty, and having gladly chosen to do and to suffer everything for the beloved, they nobly bore the uprising of the passions and stoutly beat back the showers of the devil's darts; and, to speak with the apostle, pummeling the body and bringing it into subjection, they calmed the inflammations of anger and compelled the frenzy of the desires to keep quiet. By fasting and by sleeping on the ground they so lulled the passions to sleep that they forced … against the soul; and so they ended this civil war. And having thus brought peace among them, they drove out the whole mass of the enemy. For the enemies, having no thoughts that would betray what lay within, and being deprived of the cooperation of human members, could not make war. For the devil uses our own members against us. If the eyes are not enticed, and the mind does not receive evil counsels, the zeal of those who plot against us is in vain. For just as no enemy could take … walled all around and surrounded on every side by deep ravines, unless someone within betrayed it and opened some posterns from inside, so it is impossible for the demons warring from outside to overcome the soul surrounded by divine grace, unless the slackness of some thought should open a postern of our senses and receive the enemy within. Those whom we are praising had been taught this clearly by the divine Scripture, and had heard God say through the prophet, “… through the windows”; and so they shut their senses with the divine laws as with bars and bolts and entrusted the keys of them to the mind. Neither tongue nor lips were opened unless the mind commanded it, nor the eye …; and hearing, which cannot wall off its entrance with eyelids or lips, thrust away senseless words and admitted only those in which the mind took delight. So they trained the sense of smell not to long for fragrances, since these by nature soften and slacken. So they drove satiety out of the belly, and taught it to take such things as supply need, not pleasure, and only so much as could prevent death from starvation. So they overthrew the sweet tyranny of sleep; they freed their eyelids from its slavery and trained them to rule instead of serving, and to receive what sleep supplies not when it comes upon them but when they themselves allow it, as a brief support for nature. So, then, having taken care to guard the walls and the gates, and having presided over concord among the thoughts within, they laughed at the adversaries who attacked from without. These could not enter by force because of the security that divine grace gave, and found no traitor willing to admit the foe; and the enemies, invisible as they are by nature, could not master the body, visible as it is and subject to the necessities of nature. For the charioteer, holding the reins, persuaded the horses to run in good order; he tuned the strings of the senses to produce in rhythm a perfectly harmonious music; and moving the rudders with skill he broke the onset of the waves and the assault of the winds. These men, then, who traveled through life by countless labors, who subdued the body with sweat and hardships, who did not know the passion of laughter, who held that their whole life should be spent in mourning and tears, who counted laborious vigil the sweetest sleep, the hardness of the ground a soft bed, and the time spent in prayers and psalmody a boundless and insatiable pleasure, these men who had gathered every form of virtue: who would not rightly admire them? Or rather, who could praise them as they deserve? I too know clearly that no speech could reach their virtue; nevertheless, the attempt must be made. For it would not be right that, because they became perfect lovers of true philosophy, they should for that reason not receive even lesser praises. We shall not write one eulogy common to them all, for different gifts were given them from God, as the blessed Paul taught when he said: “To one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit; to another workings of miracles; to another prophecy; to another kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.” And showing the source of all these, he added: “All these the one and the same Spirit works, distributing to each one individually as he wills.” Since, then, they received different gifts, we shall rightly make a separate narrative for each, not going through everything they did in their lives (for a whole lifetime would not suffice for such a work), but narrating a few of the things each one lived or did, and through the few showing the character of the whole life; then we shall go on to another. Nor shall we attempt to commit to history the way of life of all the saints who have been distinguished everywhere, for we do not know those who have shone in every place, nor is it possible for all to be written up by one man. I shall record the life only of those who have appeared like luminaries in the East and have reached the ends of the inhabited world with their rays. The account will proceed by narrative, not following the rules of encomium but simply telling of a few things. I ask those who will read this God-loving history, or ascetic history (let each call the work as he wishes), not to disbelieve what is said if they hear of anything beyond their own power, and not to measure the virtue of those men by themselves, but to know clearly that God is accustomed to measure out the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to the dispositions of the devout, and gives the greater gifts to the more perfect. Let this be said to those who are not very precisely initiated into divine things. For those initiated into the sanctuaries of the Spirit know the generosity of the Spirit, and what wonders he works through human beings among human beings, drawing the unbelieving to the knowledge of God by the greatness of the wonders. Whoever will disbelieve what we are going to relate plainly would not believe as true what was done through Moses and Joshua and Elijah and Elisha either, and regards as a myth the miracles done through the holy apostles too. But if he bears witness that those are true, let him believe that these too are free of falsehood. For the grace that worked in those men has brought it about that it works through these as well. Grace is ever-flowing; it chooses the worthy, and through them, as through fountains, it pours out the streams of its beneficence. Of the things I shall tell, I was myself an eyewitness of some; what I did not see I heard from those who did see, men who loved virtue … and were deemed worthy to see those men and be taught by them. For in writing the gospel teaching, too, not only Matthew and John, the first and great among the evangelists, eyewitnesses of the Master's miracles, are trustworthy, but also Luke and Mark, whom those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and servants of the word [taught] not only what the Master suffered and did, but also what he [said] in his teaching. For the blessed Luke, who had not been an eyewitness, says at the beginning of his work that he is composing a narrative concerning the things that have been fulfilled; and we, though we hear that he was not an eyewitness of these very events but received this teaching from others, pay no less attention to him and to Mark than to Matthew and John. For each of them is a trustworthy narrator, having been taught by those who saw. So we too shall tell some things as eyewitnesses, and others trusting the eyewitnesses who told them to us, men who have emulated the life of those saints. I have spent rather many words on this because I wish to persuade you that what I shall tell is true. I shall begin my narrative from this point. ### Scripture references - Eph 6:13: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:14–17: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:12: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 9:27: allusion, high confidence - Jer 9:21: allusion, low confidence - 1 Cor 12:8–10: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 12:11: quotation, high confidence - Luke 1:1–2: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The Religious History (Philotheos historia) is a collection of lives of Syrian ascetics. Throughout, “philosophy” (φιλοσοφία) means the ascetic life, as is usual in Theodoret. About 2% of the Greek is lost in the scan used here; such gaps are marked “…” and nothing has been supplied: after “tragedians have” a phrase is lost; after “even men” the OCR reads συγγενεῖς (“kinsmen”), which does not make sense and is probably a misreading; the verb after “the commander of their phalanx” is lost; parts of Eph 6:15–17 (“…of peace; above all taking up…”, “the helmet of salvation and the sword”) are lost; the adjective before “a victory”, the object of “forced … against the soul”, the word for “city” before “walled all around”, the words of the prophet (probably Jer 9:21, “death has come up through your windows”), and part of the clause on the eye are lost. Words in square brackets ([taught], [said]) supply verbs lost from the sentence on Luke and Mark. Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters and marginal Scripture references were removed (logged corrections). Quotations: Eph 6:13; 6:14–17; 6:12; 1 Cor 12:8–10, 11; allusions to 1 Cor 9:27 and Luke 1:1–2. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. pref. (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/0). ## Life 1 (ΙΑΚΩΒΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/1/#p-1 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: James of Nisibis lives as a mountain hermit, works miracles in Persia, becomes bishop of Nisibis, attends Nicaea, prays for the death of Arius, and by his prayer saves Nisibis from the Persian siege. ### Greek text Μωὺῦσῆς ὁ θεῖος ὁ νομοθέτης, ὁ τῆς θαλάττης τὸν χαταχλύσας, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα θαυματουργήσπας, πῶν πάλαι γεγενημένων ἀγίων τὴν πολιτείαν συνἔγραψεν, οὐ τῇ σοφίᾳ χρησάμενος, ἣν παρὰ τῶν Αἱ- Ὑὐπτίων μεμάθηκεν, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἄνωθεν» χάριτος τὴν αἴγλην δεξάμενος. Πόθεν γὰρ ἂν ἔμαθεν ἄλλοθεν τοῦ κΑθελ τὴν ἀρετὴν, καὶ τοῦ Ἐνὼχ τὸ φιλόθεον, καὶ ποῦ Νῶε τὸ δίκαιον, καὶ τὴν εὐσεδῇ τοῦ Μελχισεδὲκ ἱερωσύνην, καὶ τοῦ ᾿Αδραὰμ τὴν κλῆσιν, τὴν πίστιν, τὴν καρτερίαν, τὴν ἐπιμελῇ φιλοξενίαν, τὴν πολυθρύλλητον τοῦ παιδὸς ἱερουργίαν, καὶ τὸν τῶν ἄλλων κατορθυμάτων κατάλογον, καὶ συντόμως εἰ- - πεῖν, τῶν θεσπεσίων ἐκείνων ἀνδρῶν τοὺς ἀγῶνας, αἱ νίκας, τὰς ἀναῤῥήσει;, εἰ μὴ τοῦ νοεροῦ καὶ θείου Πνεύματος τὰς ἀκτῖνας ἐδέξατο; Ταύτης ἐπὶ ποῦ παρόντος κἀμοὶ δεῖ τῆς συνεργίας, τῶν ὀλίγον “πρὸ ἡμῶν καὶ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν ὃὲ λαμψάντων ἁγίων τὸν βίον πειρωμένῳ συγγράψαι, καὶ οἷόν τινα νομοθεσίαν τοῖς ξεηλοῦν ἐθέλουσ! βουλομένῳ προτεῖναι. Τὰς «τούτων τοίνυν προσευχὰς ἐπιχλητέαν, καὶ τῆς διηγή" σεως ἀρκτέον. Νίσισίς ἔστι πόλις ἐν μεθορίῳ τῆς Ῥωμαίων καὶ Περσῶν βασιλείας, ἣ πάλαι μὲν Ῥωμαίοις ἐδασμοφόρει, καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν τούτων ἡγεμονίαν ἐτέλε:. Ἐκ ταύτης ὁρμώμενος ὁ μέγας Ἰάχωδος, τὸν ἐρημικὸν καὶ ἡσύχιον ἠσπάσατο βίον, καὶ τὰς τῶν ὑψηλοτάτῶν ὁρῶν χαταλαδὼν κορυφὰς, ἐν ἐκείναις διῆγεν" ἐν ἔχρι μὲν, καὶ θέρε:, καὶ μετοπώρῳ ταῖς λόχμαις χρώμενος, καὶ ὄροφον ἔχων τὸν οὐρανόν" τὸν δὲ τοῦ χΞϑιμῶνος καιρὸν ἄντρον αὐτὸν ὑπεδέχετο, βραχεῖαν σκέπην παρέχον. Τροφὴν δὲ εἶχεν, οὐ τὴν μετὰ πόνου σπειρομένην καὶ φυομένην, ἀλλὰ τὴν αὐτομάτως στάνουπαν. Τῶν γὰρ ἀγρίων δένδρων τοὺς αὐτοφνεῖς ἀπο, συλλέγων καρποὺς, καὶ τῶν βοτανῶν τὰ; ἐδωδίμους καὶ λαχανώδεις, ἐκ τούτων ἐδίδου τῷ σώματι τὰ εἰς τὸ ζῇν ἀποχρῶντα, τὴν τοῦ πυρὸς χρείαν. Περιττὴ δὲ ἣν αὐτῷ καὶ τῶν ἐρίων ἡ χρῆσφ᾽ αἱ γὰρ τραχύτατοι τῶν αἰγῶν τρίχες τὰ ἐχείνων ἐπλήρουν. Ἔχ τούτων αὐτῷ καὶ χιτὼν ἐγένετο, καὶ «ὃ ἁπλοῦν περιδόλαιον. Οὕτω τὸ σῶμα χατατρύχων, καὶ τὴν πνευματικὴν τροφὴν διηνεκῶς προσέφερε τῇ ψυχῇ, καὶ τὸ τῆς διανοίας ὀπτιχὸν ἐκχαθαίρων, καὶ κάτοπτρον διαφανὲς τοῦ θείου κατασκευάζων Πνεύμᾶτος, ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον ᾿Απόστολον, « Τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου χατοπτριζόμενος, τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μετεμορφοῦτο ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, καθάπερ ἀπὸ Κυρίου Πνεύματος. ν᾿ ὕντεῦθεν ἡ πρὸ; τὸν Θεὸν αὐτῷ παῤῥησίχ καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ηὔξετο τὴν ἡμέραν, καὶ αἰτῶν ἃ τὸν Θεὸν αἰτεῖν ἔδει, παραυτίκα ἐλάμθανεν. 'Εντεῦθεν καὶ τὰ ἐσόμενα προφητικῶς προεώρα, καὶ δύναμιν εἰς θαυματουργίαν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐδέξατο χάριτος. Τούτων ὀλίγα διηγήσομαι, καὶ τῆς ἀποστηλιχῆ; αὐτοῦ λαμπηδόνος τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι τὴν ἀκτῖνα δηλώσω. ἜἬνχμαζε κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν ἣ περὶ τὰ εἴδωλι τῶν ἀνθρώπων μανία, καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄψυχα ξόανα τὸ θεῖον σέδας ἐσφετερίζετο, ἡ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ θεραπείι ὑπὸ τῶν πλείστων χατημελεῖτο" εὐκαταφρόνητοι δὲ ἦσαν οἱ κοινωνεῖν μὲν οὐκ ἐθέλοντες ἐκείνοις τς μέθης, ἀχριθῇ δὲ, ἅτε δὴ χαθεστηκχότες, τὴν τῶν ὄντων διάκρισιν ἔχοντες, καὶ τὴν μὲν τῶν εἰδώλων γελῶν Β τες ἀσθένειαν, τὸν τῶν ὅλων δὲ προσκυνοῦντες δημιουργόν. Κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν τὴν Περσίδι χατέλαθε, τὰ φυτὰ τῆς εὐσεδείας ὀψόμενος, καὶ τὴν προσήκουσαν αὐτοῖς θεραπείαν προσοίσων᾽ πηγὴν δὲ αὐτοῦ τινα διιόντος, κόραι τινὲς πλυνοῖς σαι, καὶ ἱμάτια τοῖς ποσὶν ἀποῤῥύπτουσαι, οὐδὲ τῷ σχήματος τὸ καινοπρεπὲς χατηῃδέσθησαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀναιδέσιν ὀφθαλμοῖς τὸν θεῖον ἄνθρωπον ἐθεώρουν, οὔτε τὰς κεφαλὰς συγκαλύπτουσαι, οὐδὲ τὰ ἀνεζωσμένα χαλῶσαι ἱμάτια. Τοῦτο δυσχεράνας ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ δεῖξαι τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν δύναμιν εἰς χαιἐλευθερώσῃ, ἐπηράσατο μὲν τῇ πηγῇ, καὶ φροῦδν παραυτίκα τὸ ῥεῖθρον ἐγένετο" ἐπηράσατο δὲ ταῖς μείραξι, καὶ τὴν ἀναίσχυντον αὐτῶν νεότητα προὼρφ ἐκόλασε πολιᾷ, καὶ εἵπετο τῷ λόγῳ τὸ ἔργον᾽ καὶ τὸ μέλαν τῶν τριχῶν ἐνηλλάττετο, καὶ εἰώχεσαν νευφύτοις δένδροις ἐν ἕαρι μετοπωρινὰ φύλλα περιχειμένοις. Οὕτως αἱἰσθόμεναι τῆς τιμωρίας" τῆς τί γὰρ πηγῆς ἀπέδρα τὰ νάματα, καὶ τὰς ἀλλήλων θεώμεναι κεφαλὰς, ἑώρων τὴν ἀθρόαν ἐχείνην μεταθολήν " ἔδραμον εἰς τὴν πόλιν τὸ συμθὰν ἀπαγγέλλουσαι. Οἱ δὲ δραμόντες, καὶ τὸν μέγαν τὴν ὀργὴν, καὶ λῦσαι τὴν τιμωρίαν. Ὁ δὲ μηδὲ βραχὺ μελλήσας, προσέφερε μὲν τῷ Δεσπότῃ τὴν ἱκεσίαν, ἐκέλευε δὲ πάλιν ἀναθλῦσαι τὰ νάματα' τὰ δὲ παρᾶ" τίκα πάλιν ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων ἀνεφαίνετο ταμιείων, τοῖς τοῦ δικαίου μετοχετευόμενα νεύμασιν. Οἱ δὲ τοῦτῶν τετυχηχότες, καὶ τοῖς πλοχάμοις τῶν θυγατέρων τὴν προτέραν ἠντιδόλουν χρόαν ἀποδοθῆναι. Τὸν δὲ εἶξαι μὲν καὶ τοῦτό φασιν, ἐπιζητῆσαι δὲ τὰς κόρας, τὰς τὴν παιδείαν ἐχείνην δεξαμένας" καὶ ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἀφίκοντο, ἐᾶσαι τὴν τιμωρίαν, δίδαγμα σωφροσύνη, καὶ εὐχοσμίας ὑπόθεσιν, καὶ τῆς θείας δυνάμεως ὑπόμνημα διηνεκές τε καὶ ἐναργές. Τοιοῦτον το νέου τούτου Μωῦϊσέως τὸ θαῦμα, οὐ πληγῇ ῥάδδο" γενόμενον, ἀλλὰ τῷ τοῦ σταυροῦ σημείῳ δεξάμενον τὴν ἐνέργειαν. Ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸς τῇ θαυματουργίᾳ Χο’ μιδῇ θαυμάξω καὶ τὴν πραότητα. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὡς ὁ μέγας Ἐλισσαῖος ἄρχοις αἱμοδόροις τὰς ἀναιδεῖς ἐκείνας παρέδωκε κόρας" ἀλλ᾽ ἀδλαδεὶ τῖινε πᾶι" ξείᾳ, καὶ σμιχρὰν ἐχούσῃ τὴν ἀκοσμίαν χρησάμενον εὐσέδειαν ὁμοῦ καὶ εὐκοσμίαν ἐδίδαξε. Καὶ ταῦτα Α πίδηι !), 56] τ ἔφην, οὐκ ἀπήνειαν τοῦ προφήτου κατηγορῶν, μὴ οὕτω μανείην' ἀλλὰ δεικνὺς ὡς ἐχείνην ἔχων τὴν δύνάμιν, τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πραότητι, καὶ τῇ Καινῇ Διαθήκῃ ἐπετέλει τὰ πρόσφορα. Οὗτος ἄλλοτέ ποτε δικαστὴν Πέρσην ἀδίκῳ Ψήφῳ χρησάμενον θεασάμενος, λίθῳ τινὶ μεγίστῳ παρακειμένῳ ἐπαρασάμενος, συντριδῆναι καὶ σχεδασθῆναι, καὶ τούτῳ διελέγξαι τὴν ἄδικον ἐχείνου. παρηγγύησε ψῆφον. Παραυτίκα δὲ τοῦ λίθου εἰς μυρία μόρια μερισθέντος, ματώθησαν οἱ παρόντες" φρίκης δὲ ἀνάπλεως ὁ δικαστὴς γενόμενος, ἀνεκαλέσατο μὲν τὴν προτέραν, «ἑτέραν δὲ δικαίαν ἐπήνεγκε ψῆφον᾽ κἀνταῦθα τὸν οἰκεῖον Δεσπότην ἐζήλωσεν" ὃς δεῖξαι βουληθεὶς: ὡς ἐχὼν ὑπομένει τὸ πάθος, καὶ ῥᾳδίως ἂν ἐθελήσας τοὺς ἀλιτηρίους ἐκόλασεν, οὐκ αὐτοῖς ἐπήνεγκε τιμωρίαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἄψυχον συκῆν λόγῳ ξηράνας, τὴν οἰκείαν ἔδειξε δύναμιν. Ταύτην καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν μιμούμενος, οὐ τὸν ἄδικον ἐκόλασε διχαττὴν, ἀλλὰ τῇ τοῦ λίθου πληγῇ δικαιοσύνην αὑτὸν ἐδίδαξεν. Ἕν τούτοις διαπρέπων καὶ πᾶσιν ἐπέραστος ὧν, καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἁπάντων περιφερόμενο; γλώσσαις, εἰς τὴν τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης ἔρχεται λειτουργίαν, καὶ τῆς πατρίδος λαγχάνει τὴν προστασίαν. Ἑναλλάξας δὲ τὴν ὄρειον ἐχείνην διατριδὴν, καὶ τὴν ἐν ἄστει διαχωγὴν οὐ κατὰ γνώμην ἑλόμενος, οὔτε τὴν τροφὴν, οὔτε τὴν ἀμπεχόνην ἐνήλλαξεν" ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν χωρία ἡμείδετο, ἡ δὲ πολιτεία μεταθολὴν οὐκ ἐδέχετο. Οἱ δὲ πόνοι προσθήκην ἐλάμθανον, καὶ πολλαπλάσιοι τῶν προτέρων ἐγένοντο, Τῇ γὰρ νηστείᾳ καὶ χαμευνίᾳ, καὶ τῇ τοῦ σάκκου περιβολῇ, ἐπεισήεσαν αἱ δι᾽ ὅλου τῶν δεομένων φροντίδες “χηρῶν, φημὶ, ἐπιτων οἱ ἔλεγχο!, τῶν δὲ ἀδικουμένων ἡ δικαία ἐπικουρία. Καὶ τί δεῖ πρὺς εἰδότας ἅπαντα χαταλέγεσθαι, ἃ τοὺς ταύτην ἀναδεδεγμένους περιστοιχίζει τὴν πρόνοιαν; Διαφερόντιυς δὲ ἐκεῖνος τοὺς τοιούτους πόνους ἡσπάξετο, ἅτε δὴ διαφερόντως καὶ ποθῶν καὶ δεδιὼς τὸν τῶν προθάτων Κύριον. “Ὅσῳ δὲ πλείονα τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸν πλοῦτον συνέλεγε, τοσούτῳ μειζόνω; καὶ τῆς τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος ἀπήλανε χάριτος. Καὶ δῆ ποτε εἴς τινα κώμην αὐτῷ ἣ πόλιν ἀπαίροντι" οὐ γὰρ ἔχω λέγειν ἀχριθῶς τὸ χωρίον " προσίασ' τινες πένητες, ἕνα τινὰ τῶν συνόντων ὡς τεθνεῶτα προτεθειχότες, καί τινα πρὸς τὴν ἐχείνου ταφὴν ἐπιτήδεια λαθεῖν ἱκετεύοντες, Ὃ δὲ εἶξεν ἀυτιδολοῦσ: “ τῷ Θεῷ δὲ ὡς ὑπὲρ τεθνεῶτος τὴν ἱκεσίαν προσέφερεν, ἀφεῖναι παρακαλῶν τὰ κατὰ «ὃν βίον πλημμεληθέντα, καὶ τοῦ τῶν δικαίων ἀξιῶσαι χοροῦ. Τούτων λεγομένων, ἀφίπτατο τοῦ τέως σκηπτομένου τὸν θάνατον ἡ ψυχὴ, ἐχορηγεῖτο δὲ τῷ σώματι τὰ καλύμματα " ὡς δὲ μικρὸν προῆλθεν ὁ θεσπέτιος ἄνθρωπος, ἀναστῆναι τὸν κείμενον ἐκέλευον οἱ τὸ δρᾶμα τοῖτο συντεθειχότες " ὡς δὲ ἑώρων οὐκ ἑπαῖοντα, ἀλλ᾽ ἀλήθειαν νὸ σχῆμα γεγενημένον, καὶ εἰς πρόσωπον τὸ προσωπεῖον μεταδληθὲν, μενοι δὲ καὶ τῶν ποδῶν προχαλινδόμενοι, καὶ τοῦ τολμηθέντος δράματος αἰτίαν εἶναι λέγοντες τὴν πενίαν ἱκέτευον λῦσαι σφίσιν αὐτοῖς τὴ) πλημμέλειαν, καὶ ἀποδοῦναι τῷ κειμένῳ τὴν ἀφαιρεθεῖσαν ψυχήν. Τὴν Δεσποτικὴν τοίνυν φιλανθρωπίαν μιμούμενος, … ουργίαν ἐπεδείξατο, τὴν ὑπὴ τῆς εὐχῆς σαν ζωὴν διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς ἀποδοὺς τῷ κειμένῳ, Τοῦτο δὲ ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ τῇ τοῦ μεγάλου Πέτρον ἐοικέναι' θαυματουργίᾳ" ὃς τὸν ᾿Ανανίαν καὶ τὴν Σάπφειραν … Καὶ γὰρ ὡσαύτως τὴν ἀλήθειαν χεχλοφότα, καὶ τῷ Ψεύδει χρησάμενον ἀφείλετο τὴν ζωήν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὁ μὲν γνοὺς τὴν κλοπὴν, ἀπεκάλυψε γὰρ ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις, τὴν δίκην ἐπήγαγεν " ὁ δὲ τοῦ δράματος ἀγνοῶν τὴν ὑπόθεσιν, προσήνεγκε μὲν τὴν εὐχὴν, ἔστησε δὲ τῷ πεπλασμένῳ τοῦ βίου τὸν δρόμον " καὶ Β μὲν θεῖος ᾿Απόστολος οὐκ ἔλυσε τοῖς τεθνηχόσι τὴν γματος τὰ προοίμια)" ὁ δὲ τῆς ἀποστολικῇς ὑπάρχων ἀνάπλεως χάριτος, καὶ ἐκόλασεν εἰς καιρὸν, καὶ ἔλυσε ταχέως τὴν κόλασιν " τούτῳ γὰρ ἔδει χερδαγεῖν τοὺς πταίσαντας. ᾿Αλλὰ γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἱτέον, καὶ συντόμως κἀκεῖνα ἐξηγη τέον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ Αρειος, ὁ τῆς κατὰ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς καὶ τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος θλασφημίας πατὴρ καὶ δημιουργὸς, κατὰ τοῦ πεποιηκότος τὴν γλῶτταν ἐνέπλησε τὴν Αἴγυπτον θορύθου καὶ τα- Κωνσταντῖνος δὲ ὀνμέγιστος βασιλεὺς, ἡ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀγέλης Ζοροδάδελ' κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον γὰρ τὴν τῶν εὐσεθῶν αἰχμαλωσίαν ἐκ τῆς ὑπερορίας ἅπασαν ἀνήγαγε, καὶ τοὺς θείους νεὼς εἰς ἔδαφος ἐῤῥιμμένους εἰς ὕψος ἀνήγειρεν. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν οὗτος πάντας τοὺς Ο τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν προέδρους κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν σὺνεἰς τὴν Νίκαιαν, ἀφίκετο μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ ὁ δογμάτων, καὶ πρόμαχος ἁπάσης τῆς φάλαγγος. Τῆς Ῥωμαίων γὰρ ἡγεμονίας τηνικαῦτα ὑπῆρχεν ἡ Ἐν τοίνυν τῇ μεγάλῃ συνόδῳ, πολλῶν μὲν εὖ καὶ καλῶς, πολλῶν δὲ καὶ ἄλλως εἰρημένων" ἦσαν γὰρ ὀλίγοι τινὲς, οἵ τἀναυτία μὲν ἐφρόνουν, γυμνοῦν … τοῖς δὲ ἀχριδέδι τῆς ἀληθείας μύσταις καὶ μάλα μὲν ἡ κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος γρατοῦσά τε καὶ κηρυττον ᾿ἰ- μένη τῆς πίστεως ὁμολογία " ὑπεσημήναντο ἃ Ρ ἅπαντες, καὶ τῇ χειρὶ καὶ τῷ καλάμῳ οὕτω πιστεύειν καὶ φρονεῖν ὡμολόγησαν " ἀλλ᾽ οἱ πλείους μὲν ἄσμενοι τοῦτο ἐποίουν " ἑπτὰ δέ τινες τῆς "Αρείου βλασφημίας συνήγοροι, τῇ μὲν γλώττῃ καὶ τῇ χειρὶ συν δὲ τῇ γλώττῃ τὴν …" εΟὗτος ὁ λαὸς τοῖς χείλεσί με τιμᾷ, τῇ δὲ καρδίᾳ πόῤῥω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ" » καὶ κατὰ τῇ» τ Θιμα πποίεἰς ἰπο υδὶ αν μἷβ νϑυθὶβ : Ἔν τοίνυν τῇ μεγάλῃ συνόδῳ δά νατγα ρ. 4{Π0. ὅπλῳ τῇ γλώττῃ μιὰ Ἱερεμίου φωνὴν τὴν διαῤῥήδην βοῶσαν " « Ἐγγὺς εἶ δὺ τοῦ στόματος αὑτῶν, καὶ πόῤῥω ἀπὸ τῶν νεφρῶν αὐτῶν.» Σύμφωνα δὲ τούτοις περὶ τούτων καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἔφη Δαδίδ᾽ « Τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν ηὐλόγουν, καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν χατηρῶντο. » Καὶ πάλιν’ ε Ἡπαλύνθησαν οἱ λόγοι αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ ἔλαιον, καὶ αὐτοί εἰσι βολίδες. » Οὗτο: τὸν τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδρέων ἐπίσκοπον τὸν μέγαν ᾿Αλέξανδρον παρεκάλουν, οἷκτεῖραι τὸν “Αρειον ὑπὸ πάσης ἐκείνης ἀποχηρυχθέντα τῆς φάλαγγος " τοῦ δὲ καὶ τὸ τούτων ὕπουλον εἰδότος, καὶ τὴν ἐχείνου πονηρίαν ὑφορωμένου, καὶ τούτου χάριν οὐ δεχομένου τὴν αἴτησιν " ἄλλοι τινὲς τῶν ἁπλότητι συνεζηκότων, πολλὰς τῆς φιλανθρωπίας διεξήεσαν εὐφημίας, ταύτῃ καίρειν λέγοντες καὶ τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεόν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὁ μέγας ᾿Αλέξανδρος τὴν ἄδικον περὶ ἕνα φιλανθρωπίαν ἀπανθρωπίαν ὠνόμαζε, Β πολλῶν οὖσαν λυμαντιχὴν, καὶ λώδης πρόφασιν ἔσεσθαι τοῖ; ποιμνίοις ἅπασιν ἔλογε " παρήνει πᾶσιν ὁ θεῖος Ἰάχωδος, τῇ μὲν τῆς νηστείας χρήσασθαι κακουχίᾳ, ἑπτὰ δὲ κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἡμέρας τὴν Θεὸν ἱκετεῦσαι τὸ ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις συνοῖσον Δεξαμένων δὲ ἁπάντων τοῦ θείου ἀνδρὸς τὴν εἰσήγησιν ἔδεισαν γὰρ. αὐτὸν ἀποστολικοῖς χαρίσμασι λάμποντα ἐχεράννυτο μὲν ἡ νηστεία τῇ προσευχῇ " ἐψηφίζετο δὲ ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις ὁ τούτων χυύε τὸ συμφέρον. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἀπήντησεν ἡ Κυριακὴ, καθ᾽ ἣν ἤλπιζον οἱ πλείους τὸν ἁλιτήριον εἰσδεχθήσεσθαι, καὶ τῆς θείας λειτουργίας ἔφθασεν ὁ καιρὸς, καὶ προσέμενον ἅπαντες ἰδεῖν τὸν ἀντίθεον ἐλεούμενον, τηνικαῦτα ίνεται θεῖον ὄντως καὶ παράδοξον θαῦμα. Ἔν βδελυχτοῖς γὰρ καὶ δυσώδεσι χωρίοις ὁ ἀλάστωρ ἐκεῖνος τῆς ἀπλήστου τροφῆς ἐχχρίνων τὰ περιττώματα, καὶ τὰ τούτων μετὰ τούτων ἐξέχρινε δοχεῖχ. Οὕτω δὲ τῶν σπλάγχων αὐτοῦ διαλυθέντων, καὶ σὺν τῇ κόπρῳ χεχωρηχότων, ἐξέπεσεν ὁ δείλαιος παραχρῆμα, καὶ τὸν αἴσχιστον ἐκεῖνον ὑπέμεινε θάνατον, τῆς δυσώδους αὐτοῦ βλασφημίας ἐν δυσώδεσι χωρίοις εἰσπραχθεὶς τὰς εὐθύνας, καὶ διὰ τῆς Ἰαχώθου τοῦ μεγάλου γλώττης δεξάμενος τὴν σφαγήν. Θαυμάξει μὲν οὖν ἡ θεία Γραφὴ Φινεὲς τὸν ἱερέα, καὶ εἰκότως θαυμάξει, ὅτι τὸν ὁλέθρου λαῷ γινόμενὸν ποόξενον κατέσφαξε, τὸν Ζαμθρή διὸ καὶ ψάλλων ὁ μακάριος ἔλεγε Δαδίδ " « Ἔστη Φινεὲς καὶ ἐξιλάσατο, καὶ ἐκόπασεν ἡ θραῦσις - καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην, εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεὰν ἕως τοῦ αἱῶνο:.ν ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως ἐκεῖνος ὅπλῳ πολεμιχῷ μένος, τὴν δικαίαν καὶ πολυθρύλλητον ἐχείνην εἰργάσατο σφαγὴν " τούτῳ δὲ ἤρκεσεν ἀντὶ δόρατος καὶ ξίφους ἡ γλῶττα, καὶ ἀνεῖλε τὸν ἀσεθῃ, ἵνα μὴ ἴδῃ τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου. ᾿Ἀπόχρη δὲ τοῦτο μόνον τῶν τῆς ᾿Αρείου δυσσεδείας κληρονόμων διελέγξαι τὴν ἄνοιαν. Ὃ γὰρ τοσοῦτος ἀνὴρ, τῶν μὲν ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν πρεσδευομένων δογμάτων κήρυξ ἣν καὶ συνήγορος " οὕτω δὲ κομιδῇ τὴν τούτων ἀσέθειαν ὅτι καὶ τὸν αὐτῆς πατέρα χατηχόντισεν, ὅπλῳ τῇ υλώττῃ χρησάμενος. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ " ὁ σύλλογος ὁ ἱερὸς διελύθη, καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν οἰκίαν χατέλαθεν ἔκαστος, εἰς ἐπανῖχε καὶ οὗτος οἷά τις ἀριστεὺς καὶ γιχηφόρος τοῖς τῆς εὐσεδείας τροπαίοις ἐπαγαλλόμενος. Χρόνου δὲ διελθόντος ὁ μὲν μέγας ἐκεῖνος καὶ. θαυμάσιος βασιλεὺς μετὰ τῶν τῆς εὐσεδείας στεφάνων ὑκεξήει τὸν βίον" οἱ δὲ ἐχείνου παῖδες τῆς οἰκουμένης τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἐχληρονόμουν. Τότε ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεὺς, Σαπώρης ὄνομα τούτῳ ἦν, καταφρονήσας τῶν παίδων, ὡς οὐ τὰ αὐτὰ τῷ πατρὶ δυναμένων, ἐππαμπόλλην δὲ πεζὴν στρατιάν " εἶχε δὲ καὶ ἐλέφαντας ὅτι πλείστους. Καὶ διελὼν ὡς εἰς πολιορκίαν τὴν στρατιὰν, περιεχάθισε Χχύχλῳ, καὶ μηχανήματα ἵστη, νὺς, καὶ τὰ μέσα τούτων φορμηδὸν περιφράττων τοῖς κλάδοις, ἐκέλευςε προσχοῦν τοῖς στρατιώταις, καὶ πύργους ἀντεγείρειν τοῖς πύργοις. Εἶτα ἐκεῖ τοὺς τοξότας ἀναδιδάζων, καὶ ἀφιέναι κατὰ τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους ἐστηκότων τὰ βέλη κελεύων, ἄλλοις κάτωθεν ὑπορύττειν τὸ τεῖχος ἐκέλευεν. Ὡς δὲ ἄπρακτα πάντα ἐγίνετο, τῇ τοῦ θεσπεσίου ἀνδρὸς διαλυόμενα προσευχῇ, τέλος τοῦ παραῤῥέοντος ποταμοῦ τὸ ῥεῦμα τῇ πολυχειρίᾳ κωλύσας, καὶ τῇ ἀποτειχίδει χεχιυλυμένον τοῦ ποταμοῦ ὅτι πλεῖστον συναθροίσας, ἐπαφῆχεν ἀθρόον κατὰ τοῦ τείχους, οἷόν τινι μηχᾶνήματι τούτῳ σφοδροτάτῳ χρησάμενος. Τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἤνεγκε τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος ἐμθολὴν " ἀλλὰ τῇ ῥύμῃ κατασεισθεὶς, ἄρδην ἅπαν τὸ κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνο μέρος κατέπεσεν. Οἱ δὲ μέγα ἐθόων, ὡς εὐαλώτου γενομένου τοῦ ς ἄστεος. Τὸ γὰρ μέγα τεῖχος τῶν ἐνοικούντων ἡγνόὁρῶντες ὑπὸ τῶν ὑδάτων γενομένην τὴν πόλιν. Πόῤῥω τοίνυν ὑποχωρήσαντες, ὡς τοῦ πόνον σφίσι λωφήσαντος, αὐτοί τε διανεπαύοντο, καὶ τοὺς ἵππους ἐθεράπευον. Οἱ δὲ τὴν πόλιν οἰκοῦντες εἰς ἱχετείας σφοδροτέρας ἐτρέποντο, πρεσδευτὴν ἔχοντες τὸν μόγαν Ἰάχωθον " οἱ δὲ ἐν ἡλικίᾳ πάντες ἀνῳχοδόμουν σπουδῇ, οὔτε κάλλους οὔτε ἁρμονίας ἐπιμελούμενοι" ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ τυχὸν ἄπαντα συντιθέντες, καὶ λίθους, καὶ πλίνθους, καὶ ὃ τι ἄν τὶς ἐχόμιζε καὶ ἐν μιᾷ νυκτὶ προῦδη τὸ ἔργον, καὶ τοσοῦτον ἔλαθεν ὕψος, ὅσον ἀπόχρη διαχωλῦσαι καὶ τῶν ἵππων τὸν δρόμον, καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν τὴν ἄνευ κλιμάχων ἐπίδασιν. Τότε πάντες ἱχετεύουσι τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπον φανῆναι ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους, καὶ ἀραῖς κατατοξεῦσαι τοὺς πολεμίους. Ὁ δὲ πεισθεὶς ἀνήει, καὶ τὰς πολλὰς αὑτῶν θεασάμενος μυριάδας, σχνιφῶν αὐτοῖς καὶ κωνώπων ἐπιπέμψαι νέφος ἱκέτευσε τὸν Θεόν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ἔλεγεν, ὁ δὲ ἔπεμπε, Μωῦσῇ παραπλησίως πειθόμενος " καὶ οἵ τε ἄνδρες τοῖς θείοις χατετιτρώσχοντο βέλεσιν᾽ οἴ τε ἵπποι καὶ οἱ ἐλέφαντες τὰ δεσμὰ διαῤῥήξαντε; ἐδραπέτευον τῇδε κἀκεῖσε σχεδαννύμενο:, καὶ φέρειν ἐκείνας οὐ δυνάμενοι τὰς ἀκίδας. Θεασάμενος τοίνυν ὁ δυσσεδὴς βασιλεὺς τὰ μηχανήματα πάντα ὄνησιν οὐδεμίαν παρεσχηχότα, καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὴν προῦτ δολὴν ἀνόνητον γεγενημένην “ τὸ γὰρ χαταπεῖὸν ἀνῳχοδόμητο τεῖχος " καὶ τὴν στρατιὰν πᾶσαν, καὶ τοῖς πόνοις ταλσιπωρουμένην, καὶ ὑπαίθριον κακο» παθοῦσαν, καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς γῆς " ἰδὼν δὲ καὶ τὸν θεῖον ἄνθρωπον ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους βαδίζοντα, καὶ τοπάσας αὐτὸν ἐφεστάναι τῷ ἔργῳ τὸν βασιλέα, ἁλουργίδα γὰρ καὶ διάδημα περικείμενος ἑωρᾶτο, ἠγανάκτει μὲν κατὰ τῶν ἐξαπατησάντων καὶ στρατεῦσαι πεισάντων, καὶ τὸν βασιλέα μὴ παρεἶναι φησάντων. Θανάτου δὲ ψῆφον κατὰ τούτων ἐξεἐνεγχὼν, ἔλυσε τὸ στράτευμα, καὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα βασίλεια κατέλαδεν ὅτι τάχιστα. Τοιαῦτα καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦδε τοῦ Ἑζεχίου τεθαυματούργηχεν ὁ Θεὸς, οὐ μείονα ἐχείνων, ἀλλὰ καὶ μείζονα, ὡς ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ. Τὸ γὰρ καὶ «τοῦ τείχους χαταπεσόντος μὴ ἁλῶναι τὴν πόλιν, ποίαν θαύματος ὑπερθολὴν καταλείπει; Ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸς τούτῳ κἀκεῖνο ἄγαν θαυμάζω, ὅτι καὶ ἀραῖς χρηγοὺς, ὅπερ Ἠλίας ὁ μέγας ἐκεῖνος ἐποίησεν, ἡνίχα πρὸς αὐτὸν πεντηχόνταρχος ἑκάτερος μετὰ τῆς πεντηκοστύος ἀφίκετο, Ἤκουσε γὰρ τοῦ Κυρίου πρὸς Ἰάχωδον καὶ Ἰωάννην τοὺς τοῦτ᾽ αὐτὸ πειραθέντας ποιῆσαι διαῤῥήδην εἰπόντος " « Οὐκ οἴδατε ποίου πνεύματός ἔστε; » Διὰ τοῦτο οὐ χᾶναι αὐτοῖς τὴν γῆν ἤτησεν, οὐδὲ πυρὶ παραδοθῆναι τὴν φάλαγγα παρεκάλεσεν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ζωῦφίοις ἐκείνοις χατατρωθῆναι, καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ διαγνόντας τὴν δύναμιν ὀψέ ποτε μεταμαθεῖν τὴν εὐσέδειαν. Τοσαύτην εἶχεν ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἄνθρωπος πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν παῤῥησίαν " τοσαύτης ἄνωθεν ἀπήλανε χάριτος. Ἔν τούτοις διατελῶν, καὶ καθ᾽ ἐκάστην ἐν τοῖς θείοις αὐξανόμενος ἡμέραν, μετὰ τῆς μεγίστης εὐκλείας τόνδε τὸν βίον ἀπέθετο, καὶ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἀποδημίαν ἐστείλατο. Χρόνου δὲ διελθόντος, καὶ τοῦδε τοῦ ἄστεος ὑπὸ τοῦ τηνικαῦτα κρατοῦντος τῇ Περσιχῇ βασιλείᾳ παραδοθέντος, ἐξήεσαν μὲν ἅπαντες οἱ τὴν πόλιν οἰκοῦντες, ἔφερον δὲ τοῦ προμάχου τὸ σῶμα, ἀσχάλλοντες μὲν καὶ ὀλοφυρόμενοι τὴν μετοικίαν, ἄδοντες δὲ τοῦ νιχηφόρου ἀριστέως τὴν δύναμιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐκείνου περιόντος ὑπὸ βαρδάροις ἐγένοντο. Ταῦτα περὶ τοῦδε τοῦ. θείου διεξελθὼν, εἰς ἑτέραν διήγησιν μεταδήσομαι, τῆς τούτον μεταλαχεῖν εὐλογίας ἀντιθδολῶν. ### English translation (Claude) Moses, the divine lawgiver, who overwhelmed [the Egyptian army] in the sea and worked all the other wonders, wrote the way of life of the saints of old, not by using the wisdom he had learned from the Egyptians, but by receiving the radiance of grace from above. For from where else could he have learned the virtue of Abel, and the love of God of Enoch, and the righteousness of Noah, and the devout priesthood of Melchizedek, and Abraham's call, his faith, his endurance, his careful hospitality, the far-famed sacrifice of his son, and the list of his other achievements, and, to put it briefly, the contests, the victories and the proclamations of those inspired men, had he not received the rays of the spiritual and divine Spirit? I too need this cooperation in the present work, as I try to write the life of the saints who shone a little before us and in our own time, and wish to set before those who are willing to emulate them a kind of law. So I must call upon their prayers and begin the narrative. Nisibis is a city on the border between the empire of the Romans and that of the Persians; formerly it paid tribute to the Romans and was under their rule. Setting out from this city, the great James embraced the solitary and quiet life. He took possession of the peaks of the highest mountains and lived on them: in spring, summer and autumn he used the thickets and had the sky for a roof, and in the winter season a cave received him, providing scant shelter. His food was not what is sown and grown with toil, but what springs up of itself. Gathering the fruits that grow wild on the wild trees, and the edible herbs that are like vegetables, he gave his body from these what sufficed for life, [refusing] the use of fire. The use of wool too was superfluous to him, for the roughest goats' hair supplied its place; from this he had a tunic and a simple cloak. Wearing out his body in this way, he constantly offered spiritual food to his soul, cleansing the eye of his mind and making it a clear mirror of the divine Spirit; and with unveiled face, in the words of the divine apostle, “beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, he was being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord, the Spirit.” From this his freedom of speech toward God increased every day; and asking God for what one ought to ask, he received it at once. From this, too, he foresaw the future like a prophet, and received from the grace of the Holy Spirit the power to work wonders. I shall relate a few of these, and show those who do not know it a ray of his apostolic splendor. At that time the madness of men concerning idols was at its height: lifeless wooden images claimed divine worship, while the service of God was neglected by most. Those who would not share in that drunkenness were despised, though they were perfectly sober and had an exact discernment of what truly is, laughing at the weakness of the idols and worshiping the Creator of all things. At that time James went into Persia to see the plants of true religion and to give them the care they needed. As he was passing a spring, some girls who were washing clothes, treading them with their feet, were not abashed by the strangeness of his dress, but looked at the man of God with shameless eyes, neither covering their heads nor letting down their tucked-up garments. The man of God was displeased at this, and wishing to show the power of God at an opportune time … , he cursed the spring, and at once the stream vanished; he cursed the girls, and punished their shameless youth with premature gray hair; and the deed followed the word. The black of their hair was changed, and they looked like young trees in spring wearing autumn leaves. When they perceived the punishment (for the waters had fled from the spring, and looking at one another's heads they saw that sudden change), they ran to the city to report what had happened. Those who ran out … the great man [to lay aside] his anger and to lift the punishment. Without the least delay he offered supplication to the Master and ordered the waters to gush out again; and at once they appeared again from their own storehouses, channeled by the nod of the righteous man. Having obtained this, they also begged that the former color be restored to their daughters' locks. They say that he yielded in this too, but asked for the girls who had received that correction; and when they did not come, he let the punishment stand, as a lesson in modesty, an occasion of good conduct, and a lasting and plain reminder of the divine power. Such was the miracle of this new Moses, worked not by the stroke of a rod but receiving its efficacy from the sign of the cross. For my part, besides the wonder-working I greatly admire his gentleness also. For he did not, like the great Elisha, hand those shameless girls over to bloodthirsty bears, but by using a harmless correction, one that brought only a slight disfigurement, he taught at once reverence and good conduct. I say this not to accuse the prophet of harshness (may I never be so mad), but to show that James, having that same power, accomplished what was fitting with the gentleness of Christ and in the manner of the New Covenant. On another occasion he saw a Persian judge give an unjust verdict. He cursed a very large stone lying nearby, commanding it to be shattered and scattered and so to expose the injustice of the verdict. At once the stone was broken into countless pieces, and those present were struck with amazement; the judge, filled with dread, revoked his former verdict and gave another, just one. Here too James emulated his own Master, who, wishing to show that he endured his passion willingly and could easily have punished the guilty had he wished, did not inflict punishment on them, but showed his power by withering the lifeless fig tree with a word. Imitating this love for humankind, James did not punish the unjust judge, but taught him justice by the blow to the stone. Being distinguished in these things, beloved by all and on everyone's lips, he came to the ministry of the high priesthood and was given the charge of his native city. But though he exchanged that mountain life for life in the town, not by his own choice, he changed neither his food nor his clothing: the place changed, but his way of life admitted no change. His labors increased and became many times greater than before. For to fasting, sleeping on the ground and wearing sackcloth were added the constant cares for those in need: for widows, I mean, … the rebukes of those who do wrong, and just help for those who are wronged. And why should I list to those who know them all the cares that surround those who have taken up this charge? He embraced such labors with exceptional zeal, since he loved and feared the Lord of the sheep exceptionally. And the more he gathered the wealth of virtue, the greater the grace of the all-holy Spirit he enjoyed. Once, as he was going to some village or city (for I cannot say exactly which place), some poor men approached him. They had laid out one of their company as if dead, and begged to receive what was needed for his burial. He yielded to their entreaty, and offered supplication to God as for a dead man, asking him to forgive the sins committed in his life and to count him worthy of the choir of the righteous. As these words were spoken, the soul of the man who had been feigning death flew away, and the coverings were provided for the body. When the inspired man had gone on a little, those who had put on this play told the man lying there to get up. When they saw that he did not hear, but that the pretense had become truth and the mask had been changed into a face, … falling at his feet and saying that their poverty was the cause of the play they had dared to stage, they begged him to forgive them their offense and to give back to the dead man the soul that had been taken from him. Imitating, then, the Master's love for humankind, he displayed his wonder-working power: the life that had been taken by his prayer he restored to the dead man through his prayer. This seems to me to resemble the wonder of the great Peter, who … Ananias and Sapphira … For in the same way he took away the life of the man who had stolen the truth and used a lie. But Peter, knowing of the theft (for the grace of the Spirit revealed it), brought the punishment; James, not knowing what lay behind the play, offered his prayer and ended the course of the pretender's life. The divine apostle did not lift the punishment from the dead … the beginnings of the proclamation; but James, being full of apostolic grace, both punished for a time and quickly lifted the punishment, for so the offenders were to gain from it. But I must go on to the other things too, and recount them briefly. When Arius, the father and author of the blasphemy against the Only-begotten and the all-holy Spirit, filled Egypt with confusion and … against the one who made his tongue, Constantine, the greatest of emperors, the Zerubbabel of our flock (for at that time he brought back from exile all the captivity of the devout and raised up the divine temples that had been thrown to the ground), [summoned] all the presidents of the churches at that time to Nicaea. Among the others came also … , [James, champion] of the doctrines and front-line fighter of the whole phalanx; for [Nisibis] was at that time under Roman rule. At that great council many things were said well and rightly, and many otherwise. For there were a few who held contrary views, … , but to those who were precise initiates of the truth the confession of faith that now prevails and is proclaimed throughout the whole world [was clear]. All signed, and with hand and pen confessed that they believed and thought so; most did this gladly, but seven, advocates of the blasphemy of Arius, agreed with their tongue and their hand, but … with their tongue … : “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me”; and, as the voice of Jeremiah cries out plainly, “You are near in their mouth, and far from their kidneys.” In agreement with these, the blessed David also said of such men: “With their mouth they blessed, and with their heart they cursed”; and again: “Their words were smoother than oil, and they are darts.” These men begged Alexander, the great bishop of the Alexandrians, to have pity on Arius, who had been condemned by that whole phalanx. He knew their hidden deceit and suspected Arius's wickedness, and for that reason did not grant the request. Some others who lived in simplicity went through many praises of mercy, saying that the God of all delights in it. But since the great Alexander called mercy unjustly shown to one man inhumanity, as it would bring ruin on many, and said it would be an occasion of harm to all the flocks, the divine James urged them all to use the hardship of fasting, and for seven days together to beseech God for what would benefit the churches. All accepted the inspired man's proposal (for they feared him, shining as he did with apostolic gifts), and fasting was joined with prayer, and the Lord of these things decreed what was beneficial for the churches. When the Lord's Day came, on which most hoped the guilty man would be received, and the time of the divine liturgy had arrived, and all were waiting to see the enemy of God shown mercy, then there took place a truly divine and astonishing miracle. That accursed man, emptying the residue of his insatiable feeding in a foul and stinking place, emptied out with it the vessels that held it. When his bowels had thus dissolved and passed out with the excrement, the wretch at once fell down and suffered that most shameful death, paying the penalty for his foul-smelling blasphemy in a foul-smelling place, and receiving his death-blow through the tongue of the great James. The divine Scripture admires Phinehas the priest, and rightly admires him, because he slew Zimri, who was becoming the cause of destruction to the people; which is why the blessed David said in his psalm: “Phinehas stood up and made atonement, and the plague ceased; and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, from generation to generation for ever.” Yet he, [arming himself] with a weapon of war, carried out that just and famous slaying, whereas for James his tongue sufficed in place of spear and sword, and he removed the ungodly man, that he might not see the glory of the Lord. This alone is enough to expose the folly of the heirs of Arius's impiety. For so great a man was a herald and advocate of the doctrines we hold in honor, and he so utterly [rejected] the impiety of theirs that he struck down even its father, using his tongue as a weapon. When the sacred assembly was dissolved and each returned to his own home, he too went back to his own city like a champion and victor, exulting in the trophies of true religion. After some time, that great and wonderful emperor departed this life crowned with the crowns of true religion, and his sons inherited the rule of the world. Then the king of the Persians (his name was Sapor), despising the sons as not equal in strength to their father, [led an army against Nisibis with] a very great [force of cavalry] and infantry; he also had a great many elephants. Dividing the army as for a siege, he surrounded the city in a circle and set up engines … , and fencing the spaces between them with branches like wickerwork, he ordered the soldiers to heap up earth and to raise towers against the towers. Then he made the archers climb up there and ordered them to shoot their arrows at those standing on the wall, and ordered others to undermine the wall from below. When all this came to nothing, undone by the prayer of the inspired man, he finally stopped the current of the river that flows past the city by the labor of many hands, collected as much as possible of the river held back by the dam, and released it all at once against the wall, using this as a most violent engine. The wall did not withstand the onrush of the water, but, shaken by its force, the whole of that part fell down completely. The Persians raised a great shout, thinking the city was now easy to take. For they did not know … seeing that the city had been made [defenseless] by the waters. So they withdrew a good distance, as though their toil had ended, and rested themselves and tended their horses. The inhabitants of the city turned to more fervent supplications, with the great James as their intercessor, while all who were of age rebuilt with haste, taking no care for beauty or proportion, but putting together whatever came to hand, stones, bricks and anything anyone brought. In one night the work was done, and it reached a height sufficient to stop the charge of the horses and to prevent men from climbing without ladders. Then all begged the man of God to appear on the wall and to shoot the enemy with curses. He was persuaded and went up, and seeing their many tens of thousands, he begged God to send a cloud of gnats and mosquitoes upon them. He spoke, and God sent it, obeying him as he had obeyed Moses. The men were wounded by the divine darts, and the horses and the elephants broke their tethers and ran away, scattering this way and that, unable to bear those stings. The impious king saw that all his engines had brought no benefit, that the attack of the river had proved useless (for the wall that had fallen had been rebuilt), and that his whole army was worn out by the labors, suffering from exposure, and from the earth … ; he also saw the divine man walking on the wall and supposed that it was the emperor himself in charge of the work, for he was seen wearing purple and a diadem. He was angry with those who had deceived him, persuaded him to make the campaign, and said that the emperor was not present. He passed a sentence of death on them, broke up the army, and returned to his own palace as quickly as he could. Such wonders God worked in the case of this Hezekiah too, not less than those of old but, as it seems to me, even greater. For that the city was not taken even when the wall had fallen, what excess of wonder does that leave? For my part, besides this I greatly admire that, using curses, he … what the great Elijah did when each captain of fifty came to him with his fifty. For he had heard the Lord say plainly to James and John when they tried to do this very thing, “You do not know of what spirit you are.” That is why he did not ask for the earth to open for them, nor beg that the army be given over to fire, but only that they be wounded by those little creatures, so that, recognizing the power of God, they might at last learn true religion. Such was the freedom of speech this divine man had toward God; such was the grace he enjoyed from above. Continuing in these things, and growing daily in divine things, he laid aside this life with the greatest renown and set out on his departure from here. After some time, when this city was handed over to the ruler of the Persian kingdom by the then emperor, all the inhabitants went out of the city carrying the body of their champion, grieving and lamenting their removal, but singing the power of the victorious champion; for had he been alive, they would not have come under the barbarians. Having related this of the divine man, I shall pass to another narrative, begging to share in his blessing. ### Scripture references - Heb 11:4–19: echo, low confidence - 2 Cor 3:18: quotation, high confidence - Exod 14:27–28: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Kgs 2:23–24: allusion, high confidence - Matt 21:19: allusion, high confidence - Acts 5:1–11: allusion, high confidence - Isa 29:13: quotation, high confidence - Jer 12:2: quotation, high confidence - Ps 62:4 (61:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 55:21 (54:22 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Num 25:7–8: allusion, high confidence - Ps 106:30–31 (105:30-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 26:10: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 8:16–17: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Kgs 19:35: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Kgs 1:9–12: allusion, high confidence - Luke 9:54–55: quotation, high confidence - Ezra 3:2: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - About 2% of the Greek is lost in the scan used here; gaps are marked “…” and nothing has been supplied. Words in square brackets supply what the sense requires where a line is damaged ([the Egyptian army], [refusing], [summoned], [James, champion], [Nisibis], [led an army against Nisibis with], [force of cavalry], [defenseless], [arming himself], [rejected], [to lay aside]). Notable gaps: the purpose clause after “at an opportune time”; the account of those who ran to James; the list of his episcopal cares after “for widows”; the reference to Ananias and Sapphira and the sentence on the apostle's beginnings of the proclamation; what Arius did “against the one who made his tongue”; the sentence on the seven who agreed only outwardly; what the Persians did not know; and the contrast with Elijah's deadly curses. Theodoret here places the death of Arius in connection with Alexander “bishop of the Alexandrians” and the council of Nicaea; other ancient accounts (including Theodoret's own Church History 1.14) place it later at Constantinople under Alexander of Constantinople. The miracle accounts are translated as Theodoret tells them. Nisibis was ceded to Persia in 363. Quotations: 2 Cor 3:18; Isa 29:13; Jer 12:2; Ps 62:4 (61:5 LXX); Ps 55:21 (54:22 LXX); Ps 106:30–31 (105:30–31 LXX); Luke 9:55. Allusions: Exod 14; 2 Kgs 2:23–24; Matt 21:19; Acts 5:1–11; Num 25:7–8; Isa 26:10; Exod 8:16–17; 2 Kgs 19:35; 2 Kgs 1:9–12; Ezra 3:2. Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters and marginal references were removed (logged corrections). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 1 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/1). ## Life 2 (ΙΟΥΛΙΑΝΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/2/#p-2 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Julian Saba lives as a hermit in Osrhoene, gathers a community of a hundred, works miracles, foresees the death of the emperor Julian, and comes to Antioch under Valens to strengthen the Nicene party against the Arians. ### Greek text Ἰουλιανὸς, ὃν Σάδθαν ὃ" ἐπίκλην οἱ ἐπιχώριοι τιμῶντες ὠνόμαζον, τὸν δὲ πρεσθύτην τῇ ᾿Ελλάδι φωνῇ σημαίνει τὸ ὄνομα, ἐν τῇ πάλαι μὲν Παρθναίων ", γὺν δὲ Ὀσροηνῶν ὀνομαζομένῃ, τὴν ἀσκητιχὴν ὅτν ἐπήξατο. Διατείνει δὲ αὕτη πρὸς μὲν ἑσπέραν μέχρις αὐτοῦ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τῆς ὄχθης " Εὐφράτης δὲ ὄνομα τούτῳ " πρὸς ἥλιον δὲ ἀνίσχοντα, τὸ τέρμα ἔχει τῇς Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίας “ ἡ γὰρ ᾿Ασσυρία διαδέχεται, πέρας οὗσα ἑσπέριον τῆς Περσικῆς βασιλείας, ἣν ᾿Αδιαδηνὴν οἱ μετὰ ταῦτα ὠνόμασαν. Ἐν τούτῳ τῷ ἔθνε: πολλαὶ μὲν πόλεις μεγάλαι καὶ πολυάνθρωποι, χώρα δὲ παμπόλλη μὲν οἰκουμένη, παμπόλλῃ δὲ ἀοίκητός τε καὶ ἔρημος. Ταύτης ἐσχατιὰν τῆς ἐρήμου χαταλαδὼν ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἀνὴρ, καὶ ἄντρον εὑρὼν οὐ χειροποίητον, οὐδὲ εὖ καὶ καλῶς ὁρωρυγμένον " ἀλλὰ βραχεῖάν τινα σκέπην παρἐχεῖιν δυναμένην τοῖς καταφεύγειν ἐθέλουσιν, ἀσπαοσἰὼς ᾧκησε τὸ χωρίον, τῶν χρυσίῳ καὶ ἀργύρῳ χα- Ἐν τούτῳ διῆγεν, ἅπαξ τῆς ἑδδομάδος σιτίων μεταλαμθάνων. Σιτίον δὲ ἦν αὐτῷ ἄρτος ὁ χεγχριδίας, καὶ αὐτὸς πιτυρίας " ὄψον δὲ οἱ ἅλες " πόμα δὲ ἔδιστον τὸ αὑὐτοῳνὲς τῶν ὑδάτων νᾶμα, καὶ τοῦτο δὲ οὐ τῷ κόρῳ μετρούμενον, ἀλλὰ τῇ χρείᾳ τῆς προχαπαδληθείσης τροφῆς ὁριζόμενον. Τρυφὴ δὲ ἣν αὐτῷ. καὶ χλιδὴ, καὶ πανδαισία παντοδαπὴ, ἡ τοῦ Δαδὶδ ὑμνῳδία, καὶ ἡ διηνεκὴς πρὸς Θεὸν ὁμιλία. Τούτων ἀπλήστως ἀπολαύων, χόρον λαθεῖν οὐκ ἐδούλετο " ἀλλ᾽ ἀτὶ μὲν ἐνεπίμπλατο, ἀεὶ δὲ ἐθόα, « Ὥς γλυκέα τῷ λάρυγγί μου τὰ λόγιά σου ' ὑπὲρ μέλι καὶ κηρίον τῷ στόματί μου. "ἤκουσε δὲ πάλιν τοῦ μακαρίον Δαθὶδ λέγοντος - « Τὰ κρίματα Κυρίου ἀληθινὰ, δεδιχαιωμένα ἐπὶ τὸ αὑτὸ, ἐπιθυμητὰ ὑπὲρ χρυσίον καὶ λίθον τίμιον πολὺν, καὶ γλυκύτερα ὑ πὲρ μέλι καὶ κηρίον, » ἼἬχουσεν αὐτοῦ πάλιν λέγοντος " « Καπατρύφησον τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ δῴη σο: τὰ αἰτήματα τῆς καρδίας σου" » καὶ αὖθις, ε Εὐφρανθήτω ἡ καρδία ζητούντων τὸν Κύριον" » καὶ, ε Εὔφρανον τὴν καρδίαν μου, τοῦ φοδεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομά σον. » Καί -» "εύσασθε καὶ ἴδετε ὅτι χρηστὸς ὁ Κύριος.» Καί" ε« Ἐδίψησεν ἡ Ψυχὴ μου πρὸς Θεὸν, τὸν ἰδχυρὸν καὶ ζῶντα. ν» Καί - ε« Ἐκολλήθη ἡ ψυχὴ μου ὀπίσω σου. », Καὶ. μετέθηκεν εἰς ἑαυτὸν τοῦ ταῦτα εἰρηκότος τὸν ἔρωτα. Τούτου γὰρ χάριν αὐτὰ καὶ Δαδὶδ ὁ μέγας ἄδων ἐδίδασκεν, ὡς ἂν πολλοὺς χοιοὐ διήμαρτε τῆς ἐλπίδος “ ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτον τὸν θεσπέσιον ἄνδρα, καὶ μυρίους ἑτέρους τῷ θείῳ χατἔτρωσεν ἔρωτι. Τοσοῦτον γὰρ οὗτος ἐδέξατο φίλτρον πυρσὸν, ὡς μεθύειν τῷ πόθῳ, καὶ μηδὲν ὁρᾷν τῶν γηΐνων, μόνον δὲ τὸν ἐρώμενον καὶ νύκτωρ ὁὄνειροπολεῖν, καὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν φαντάζεσθαι. Ταύτην αὐτοῦ τὴν ἄκραν φιλοσοφίαν πολλοὶ μεμαθηκότες, οἱ μὲν ἐκ γειτόνων οἰκοῦντες, οἱ δὲ πόῤῥωθεν - ὑπόπτερος γὰρ ἡ φήμη διέθεε ἔδραμον ἱκετεύοντες τῆς παλαίστρας καὶ ὑπ᾽ αὑτῷ οἷόν τινι γυμναστῇ καὶ παιδοτρίδῃ τὸ λοιπὸν βιοτεύειν. Θηρεύουσι γὰρ οὐ μόνον ὄρνιθες ὄρνιθας ἄδοντες, καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς τοὺς ὁμογενεῖς ἐκκαλούμενοι, καὶ ταῖς περιχειμέναις περ!’ πείροντες πάγαις " ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄνθρωποι τοὺς ὁμοφυεῖς, οἱ μὲν εἰς λώθην, οἱ δὲ εἰς σωτηρίαν ἀγρεύουσιν. Οὕτω συναγειρόμενοι δέκα μὲν ταχέως ἐγένοντο, εἶτα διπλάσιοι καὶ τριπλάσιοι εἶτα τὸν ἑκατὸν ἐπλήρωσαν ἀριθμόν. Καὶ τοσούτους δὲ γενομένους ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἄντρον ἐδέχετο" ἔμαθον γὰρ παρὰ τοῦ πρεσθύτου τῆς τοῦ σώματος κατηγορεῖν θεραπείας. Ἐσιτοῦντο δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ τῷ παιδοτρίδῃ παραπλησίως τὸν χεγχρυδίαν ἄρτον τοῖς ἅἄλατι» ἡδυνόμενον. Χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον καὶ τῶν αὖπτοφυῶν λαχάνων συλλέγοντες, εἶτα χεράμους ἐμφοροῦντες, καὶ τῆς ἄλμης ὅσον ἀπόχρη μιγνύντες, εἶχον ὄψον οἱ θεραπείας δεόμενοι. Τούτῳ δὲ τῷ λαρῶτα γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ σηπεδόνα πέφυκεν ἐμποιεῖν, Τούτου τοιγαροῦν τοῦ πάθους περὶ τόδε τὸ ὄψον γεγενημένου “ πολλὴν γὰρ πανταχόθεν τὸ ἄντρον εἰσεδέχετο τὴν νοτίδα “ ἱκέτευον τὸν πρεσθύτην οἱ θιασῶται, οἰκίσκον τινὰ βραχὺν σφίσιν ἐπιτρέγαι … γείοις. Ὁ δὲ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα τὴν αἴτησιν οὐκ ἐδέχετο " ὀψὲ δέ ποτε πεισθείς - ἐδιδάχθη γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ μεγάλου Παύλου, μὴ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ ζητεῖν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ταμέτρα βραχέα τινὰ καὶ σμικρὰ, ἀπήτι δὲ πόῤῥω τοῦ ἄντρον, τὰς συνήθας τῷ Θεῷ προτοίσων Εἰώθει γὰρ πεντήκοντα μὲν πολλάκις σταδίους, ἔστι δ᾽ ὅτε καὶ δὶς τοσούτους κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον βαδίξων, καὶ πάσης ἑαυτὸν ἀνθρωπίνης συνουσίας χωρίζων καὶ εἰς ἑαυτὸν νεύων, καθ᾽ ἑαὐτὸν ὁμιλεῖν τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ τὸ θεῖον ἐκεῖνο καὶ ἄῤῥητον κατοπτρίζεσθαι κάλλος. Ταύτης λαδόμενοι τῆς σχολῆς οἱ τῆς ἐχείνου κηδεμονίας ἠξιωμένοι, τῇ μὲν χρείᾳ σύμμετρον, μείζονα δὲ ἢ ἐπετάχθησαν τὸν οἰκίσκον ἐδείμαντο. Ἐπανελθὼν δὲ μετὰ δεκάτην ἡμέραν, οἷά τις Μωῦ- Β ςῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους καὶ τῆς ἀφράστον θεωρίας, καὶ θεασάμενος μείξονα ἣ ἑἐδούλετο τὴν οἰκοδομὴν γεγενημένην " ε Δέδοικα, ἔφη, ὦ ἄνδρες, μὴ τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς εὐρύνοντες καταγώγια σμιχρύνωμεν τὰ οὐράνια " καίτοι ταῦτα μέν ἐστι πρόσκαιρα, καὶ πρὸς ὁλίγὸν ἡμῖν ἐπιτήδεια " ἐκεῖνα δὲ αἰώνια, καὶ πέρας λαδεῖν οὐ δυνάμενα. » Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἔλεγε, τὰ τελεώτερα τὸν χορὸν ἐχπαιδεύων. Ἠνείχετο δὲ ὅμως, τῆς ἀποστολικῆς ἐπακούσας φωνῇς " ε Οὐ ζητῶ τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ συμφέρον, ἀλλὰ τὸ τῶν πολλῶν, ἵνα σωθῶσιν.» Ἐξεπαίδευσε δὲ κἀκείνους, ἔνδον μὲν κοινὴν τῷ Θεῷ τὴν ὑμνῳδίαν προσφέρειν, μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἕω ἀνὰ δύο κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον ἐξιέναι, καὶ τὸν μὲν τὰ γόνατα χαταχάμπτοντα τὴν ὀφειλομένην τῷ Δεσπότῃ προσφέρειν προσκύνησιν, τὸν δὲ ἄδειν ἑστῶτα Ψαλ- ς μοὺς Δαυϊξτιχοὺς πεντεκαίδεκα, εἶτα ἐναλλάττειν τὸ ἔργον, καὶ τὸν μὲν ἀνιστάμενον ἄδειν, τὸν δὲ εἰς νοῦ μέχρι δείλης ὀψίας διετέλουν ποιοῦντες. Πρὸ δὲ ἡλίου δυσμῶν βραχύ τι διαναπαυόμενοι, εἰς τὸ ἄντρον οὗτοι μὲν ἔνθεν, οὗτοι δὲ ἐκεῖθεν, πάντες δὲ κατὰ ταυτὸν τῷ Δεσπότῃ προσέφερον. Εἰώθει δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ πρεσδύτης ἕνα τινὰ τῶν Εἴπετο δὲ αὐτῷ συχνότερον ἀνήρ τις, τὸ μὲν γένος Πέρσης, τὸ δὲ εἶδος μέγας καὶ ἀξιάγαστος, θαυμασιωτέραν δὲ τοῦ εἴδους τὴν ψυχὴν κεκτημένος, Ἰάχωθος ὄνομα αὑτῷ, ὃς καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐχείνονυ τελευτὴν ἐν πάτῃ μὲν διέλαμψεν ἀρετῇ, ἐπίσημος δὲ καὶ περ'ὄλεπτος ἦν, οὐ τοῖς αὐτόθι μόνοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῇ Συρίᾳ τῆς φιλοσοφίας φροντιστηρίοις, ἐν οἷς καὶ ἐτελεύτα βιώσας, ὡς λέγεται, τέτταρα καὶ ἐκα-τὸν ἔτη; Οὗτο; τῷ μεγάλῳ πρεσδύτῃ τῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ἔρημον κοινωνήσας ὁδοῦ, πόῤῥωθεν εἴπετο. Οὐ γὰρ εἴα πελάζειν ὁ διδάσκαλος, ἵνα μὴ πρόφατιν αὐτοῖς τοῦτο διαλέξεως γένηται, ἡ δὲ διάλεξις κλέψῃ τὸν νοῦν τῆς περὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ φαντασίας. Ἑπόμενος δὲ ὁρᾷ γατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν δράκοντά τινα παμμεγέθη κείμενον. ἴτα θεχσάμενος προδῆναι μὲν οὐκ ἐθάῤῥησεν, ἐκκλῖναι δὲ πολλάκις ὑπὸ τοῦ δέους θελήσας, ἀνεῤῥώσθη πάλιν τὸν λογισμόν, "Ἔπειτα κύψας, καὶ Ψψηφίδα πανταχόθεν συνήεσαν, καὶ τὴν ἑσπερινὴν ὑμνῳδίαν λαδὼν, καὶ ταύτην ἀχοντίσας, ἑώρα τὸν δράκοντα ἐπὶ σχήματος μένοντα, καὶ κινεῖσθαι παντελῶς οὐ δυνάμενον. Συνιεὶς δὲ ὡς νεκρὸς εἴη, ἔργον ὑπέλαδεν εἶναι τοῦ πρεσδύτου τοῦ θηρίου τὸν θάνατον. Τὴν δὲ ὁδὸν ἐξανύσας, καὶ τῆς ὑμνῳδίας τὴν λειτουργίαν πεπληρωχὼς, ὡς ὁ τῆς ἀναπαύλγης ἧκε καιρὸς, καθἴσας ὁ πρεσθύτης, καὶ αὑτῷ τὸ σῶμα προσαναπαῦσαι μιχρὴὸν παρηγγύησε, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον καθῆστο σιγῶν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὁ πρεσθύτης τινὸς ἥψατο διαλέξεως, μετά τινος μειδιάματος ἱχέτευσεν ὁ Ἰάχωδος δῆλον αὑτῷ ποιῆσαι τὸ ἀγνοούμενον. Τοῦ δὲ ἔρεσθαι ἐπιτρέψαντος" ε« Εἶδον, ἔφη, κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν δράκοντα μέγιστον ἐῤῥιμμένον, καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐδεδίειν ζῇν τοῦτον ὑπολαμθάνων' ἐπειδὴ δὲ τεθνεῶτα ἐθεασάμην, θαῤῥήτας τὴν πορείαν ἐποιησάμην" εἶπέ μοι Β τοίνυν, ὦ Πάτερ, τίς τοῦτον ἀπέκτεινε; σὺ γὰρ ἡγοῦ τῆς ὁδοῦ" ἕτερος δὲ οὐδεὶς ταύτην διελήλυθεν. » Ὁ δὲ πρεσθύτης ᾿ « Παῦσαι, ἔφη, πολυπραγμονῶν τὰ τοιαῦτα, φέρειν ὄνητιν τοῖς χρωμένοις οὐδεμίαν δυνάμενα. » ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐδὲν ἧττον ὁ θαυμάσιος Ἰάχωδος ἐπέχειτο, μαθεῖν τἀληθὲς ἐφιέμενος, Ὃ δὲ πρεσδύτῆς, κρύπτειν μὲν ἐπὶ πολὺ πειρώμενος, ἀνιᾷν δὲ τὸν ἐραστὴν ἐπὶ πλεῖον οὐκ ἀνασχόμενος " « Ἐγώ σοι, ἔφη, ἐρῶ, εἰ μαθεῖν ἐφίεσαι " παρεγγυῶ δὲ μηδένα ἕτερον ἐμοῦ ζῶντος ποιήσασθαι τοῦ ῥηθησομένου συνίστορα" κρύπτειν γὰρ τὰ τοιάδε προσήκει, εἰς ἀλαζονείαν καὶ τῦφον πολλάκις ἐγείροντα " ἣν δὲ ἐγὼ ἐνθένδε ἀπέλθω, καὶ τῶν τοιῶνδε παθῶν ἐλεύθερος γένωμαι, λέγειν οὐ κωλύω, καὶ τῆς θείας χάριτος διηγεῖσθαι τὴν δύναμιν. Εὖ ἴσθι τοίνυν, ἔφη ὁ μέγας σ Ἰουλιανὸς, ὡς βαδίζοντέ μοι κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ὁ θὴρ ἐκεῖνος ἐπήξι, καὶ τὸ στόμα ἀνεώγνν καταπιεῖν ἐφιέμενος. Ἐγὼ δὲ τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ προσηγορίξ χρησάμενος, καὶ τῷ δακτύλῳ τὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ τρόπαιον ὑποδείξας, ἅπαν μὲν δέος ἀπεσεισάμην, πεσὸν δὲ τὸ θηρίον παραντίχα εἰς γῆν ἐθεασάμην, καὶ τὸν κοινὸν ἀνυμνήσας Σωτῆρα τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσω πορείαν ἐποιηϑάμην.» Οὕτω τὸ διήγημα συμπεράνας, ἀναστὰς εἴχετο τῆς ἐπὶ τὸ ἄντρον ὁδοῦ. ΚΆλλοτε δὲ μειράκιον, ἐξ εὐγενῶν βλαστῆσαν, τρυφηλῶς δὲ τεθραμμένον, προθυμίᾳ δὲ μείζονι τῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ἔρημον αὐτῷ κοινωνῆσαι πορείας, οὐ τῆς χοινῆῇῆς ταύτης ὑπὸ πάντων καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ὁδενομένης ἡμέραν, ἀλλὰ τῆς μαχροτάτης, καὶ πολλάχ:ς μὲν ἡμέρας ἑπτὰ, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ δέκα κατεχούσης ἀποδημίας. ᾿Αστέριος δὲ ἣν οὗτος ὁ πολυθρύλλητος. Τοῦ τῆς ἐρήμου τὸ ἄνυδρον λέγοντος, ἐπέχειτο ὁ νέος ταύτης ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς δωρεᾶς. Ἡττηθεὶ: δὲ «αῖς ἱκεσίαις ἐνέδωχεν ὁ πρεσθύτης" ὁ δὲ ἡ χολούθει τὰ μὲν πρῶτα προθύμως ᾿ πρώτης δὲ καὶ δευτέρας καὶ τρίτης διελθούσης ἡμέρας, ὑπὸ τῆς ἡλιακῆς ἀκτῖνος φλεγόμενος" θέρος γὰρ ἣν, ἀκμάζοντος δὲ τοῦ θέρους σφοδροτέραν δήπουθεν ἐπιφέρει τὴν φλόγα" δίψει διετέλει τρυχόμενος, Καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἀπαγγέλλειν τὸ πάθος ἠσχύνετο, τῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ διδασκάλου προῤῥηθέντων εἰς μνήμην ἐρχόμενος" ἡττώμενος δὲ, καὶ λειποθυμίᾳ κατεχόμενος, οἰκτεῖραι αὐτὸν τὸν πρεσθύτην ἱκέτευεν" ὁ δὲ, τῶν προῤῥήσεων ἀναμνήσας, ἀπιέναι πάλιν ἐκέλευς. Τοῦ δὲ νέου μήτε τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ ἄντρον φέρουσαν ἐπίστασθαι λέγοντος, μὴτε εἰ γινώσκοι δύνασθαι ἀναθδαδίσαι, τῆς ἰσχύος ὑπὸ τοῦ δίψους δαπανηθείσης, οἰχτείρας ὁ θεῖος ἄνθρωκπος τοῦ νεανίου τὸ πάθος, καὶ τῇ τοῦ σώματος ἀσθενείᾳ συγγνώμην ἀπονείμας, χλίνα: τὰ γόνατα τὸν Δεσπότην ἱκέτευε, δάκρυσι δὲ θερμοῖς τὸ ἔδαφος ἔδρεχε, καὶ πόρον σωτηρίας ἐπεζήτει τῷ νέῳ. Ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τῶν φοδουμένων αὐτὸν, καὶ τῆς δεήσεως αὐτῶν εἰσαχούων, τὴν τῶν δακρύων λιθάδα πἧς χόνεως ἁψαμένην πηγὴν ὑδάτων ἀπέφηνε, καὶ οὕτω τοῦ νάματος ἐμφορηθέντα τὸν νέον εὐθὺς ἀπιέναι προσέταξεν. Ἡ δὲ πηγὴ διέμεινε μέχρι καὶ νῦν, τῇ Μωσαϊχῇ τοῦ θεσπεσίου γέροντος προσευχῇ μαρτυροῦσα. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος πάλαι ποτὲ τῇ ῥάδδῳ τὴν πέτραν ἐχείνην τὴν ἄγονον πλήξας, χατέχλυσε ποταμιαίων ὑδάτων γοναῖς, ἵνα τὰς πολλὰς ἐκείνας τὴν ξηροτάτην ἐχείνην ψάμμον χαταρδεύσας τοῖς δάκρυσι, πηγαίων ναμάτων εἴχχυσε ῥεύματα, οὐκ ἵνα πολλῶν μυριάδων, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα ἑνὸς μειρακίου θεραπεύσῃ τὸ δίψος. Ὑπὸ δὲ θείας χάριτος τὴν ψυχὴν φωτιζόμενος, τὴν ἐσομένην τῷ νέῳ τελειότητα προεώρα μάλα σαφῶς. Οὗτος γὰρ χρόνοις πολλοῖς ὕστερον ὑπὸ τῆς θείας χάριτος προσχληθεὶς, ὡς ἂν καὶ ἑτέρους πολλοὺς εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν παιδοτριθήσειεν ἀρετὴν, ἐν τοῖς περὶ τὴν Γίνδαρον χωρίοις, κώμη δὲ αὕτη μεγίστη τελεῖν ὑπὸ τὴν ᾿Αντιόχειαν τεταγμένη, Καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν καὶ ἄλλους φιλοσοφίας πρὸς ἑαυτὸν εἴλκυσεν ἀθλητὰς, εὔχχυσε δὲ καὶ τὸν μέγαν ᾿Ακάκιον, τὸν πάνυ λέγω, τὸν πολυθρύλλητον " ὃς διέπρεψε μὲν ἐν μοναχικῇ πολιτείχ, λαμπρὰς δὲ τὰς ἀκτῖνας τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐξέπεμψεν, ἀρχιερωσύνης ᾿ἀξιωθεὶς, καὶ τὴν Βέροιαν ποιμαίνειν λαχών. ᾿θχτὼ δὲ καὶ πεντήκοντα ἔτη τῆς ἀγέλης τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἐγχειρισθεὶς, οὐκ εἴασε μὲν τῆς ἀσχητιχῆς πολιτείας τὸ εἶδος, ἀσχητιχὴν δὲ καὶ πολιτικὴν ἐκέρασεν ἀρετήν " καὶ τῆς μὲν τὴν ἀχρίδειαν, τῆς δὲ τὴν οἰκονομίαν λαθὼν, εἰς ἕν τὰ διεστῶτα συνήγαγεν. ᾿Αλλὰ ταύτης τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ θηρευτὴς, καὶ παιδοτοίδης ᾿Αστέριος ἐκεῖνος ἐγένετο, ὃς οὕτω θερμὸς τοῦ μεγάλου πρεσδύτου διἔμεινεν ἐραστὴς, ὡς πολλάκις μὲν καὶ δὶς τοῦ ἔτους, πολλάκις δὲ τρὶς, τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποδημίαν ποιεῖσθαι. ᾿Αφικνούμενος δὲ ἰσχάδας εἰώθε: τοῖς θιασώταις κομίζειν τρισὶν ἣ τέτταρσι ἐπιτιθεὶς κτήνεσι τὰ Ὁ φορτία, Δύο δὲ μεδίμνους συλλέγων, ὡς διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ἕτους ἀποχρῶντα: τῷ γέροντι, τοῖς οἰκείοις ὥμοις ἐπετίθει τὸ τοιοῦτον φορτίον, κτῆνος ἑαυτὸν τοῦ διδασκάλον ποιούμενος. Καὶ τοῦτο φέρων τὸ φορτίον ἐθάδιζεν, οὐ δέκα σταδίους ἣ εἴκοσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἑπτὰ ἡμερῶν ἐξανύων πορείαν. Καί ποτε θεασάμενος ὁ πρεσθύτης ἐπ᾽ ὥμων αὑτὸν φέροντα τὸ τῶν ἰσχάδων φορτίον, δυσχεράνας ἔφη μὴ ποιήσασθαι ἂν ταῦτα τροφήν. Οὐ γὰρ δίκαιον ἐκεῖνον μὲν τοσοῦτον ὑπομένεῖν κόπον, αὐτὸν δὲ τοῖς ἰδρῶσιν ἐντρυφᾷν τοῖς ἐχείνου. Τοῦ δὲ ἀπομοσαμένου, ὡς οὐκ ἀπαλλάξει. ποῦ φορτίου τοὺς ὥμους, εἰ μὴ συνομολογήσειδν ὁ 4 Ποιήτω, ἔλεγεν ὁ γέρων, τὸ ᾿χελενόμενον, μόνον ἴιτὸν θύλακον ὅτι τάχιστα. » Ἐμιμεῖτο γὰρ κᾶν τούτῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων τὸν πρῶτον " ὃς τοῦ Κυρίου ἀπονίψαι αὐτοῦ τοὺς πόδας θελήσαντος, πρότερον ται τοῦτο " ἐπεὶ δὲ ἤκουσεν ὡς τῆς Δεσποτιχῆς ἀπο ῥαγήσεται κοινωνίας, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο συγχωρήσειεν, ἐχέτευωε καὶ τὼ χεῖρε πρὸς τοῖς ποσὶ, καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀπονίψασθαι. Οὕτω καὶ Ἰωάννης ὁ πάνυ βαπτίσα: κελευσθεὶς τὸν Σωτῆρα, πρότερον μὲν καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν ὡμολόγησε δουλείαν, καὶ τὸν Δισπότην ὅπἐδειξεν " ὕστερον δὲ τὸ κελευσθὲν ἐπετέλεσεν, οὐ θρασύτητι χρώμενος, ἀλλὰ Δεσπότῃ πειθόμενος. Οὕτω δὲ καὶ ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἀνὴρ ἐθαρύνετο μὲν ἑτέρου πονοῦντος αὐτὸς ἀπολαύειν τροφῖς" ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἶδε θερμοτάτην τοῦ θεραπευτοῦ τὴν προθυμίαν, τῆς οἰκείας αἱρέσεως τὴν ἐχείνου θεραπείαν προείλετο. Καὶ ἴσως τις τῶν φιλοψόγων, καὶ σκώπτειν τὰ καλὰ μόνον δεδιδαγμένων, φαίη ἂν μὴ ἀξιομνημόνευτον εἶναι τουτὶ τὸ διέγημα. Ἐγὼ ὃξ πρὸς ταῖς ἄλλαις τοῦ ἀνδρὸς θαυματουργία!ις καὶ τοῦτο προττέθειχα, οὐ μόνον τῶν μεγέλων ἀνδρῶν τὸ περὶ αὖτὸν σέδας ἐπιδεῖξαι βουλόμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ ἔθου; αὑτοῦ τὸ γλυκὺ καὶ μέτριον δηλῶσαι χερδαλέον ἡγούμενος. Τοσοῦτος γὰρ ὧν καὶ τοιοῦτος τὴν ἀρετὴν, οὐδὲ τῆς τυχούσης τιμῆς ἄξιον ἑαυτὸν ὑπελάμβανε, καὶ ἀπωθεῖτο μὲν αὑτὴν ὡς οὐδαμόθεν αὐτῷ προσἤκουσαν, ἢνείχετο δὲ πάλιν, ὡς τοὺς δρῶντας εὑερ-γετοῦσαν. Ταύτην ἀποδιδράσχων, δῆλος γὰρ ἅπασι γεγονὼς, εἶλκε πρὸς αὑτὸν διὰ τῆ: φήμη: τοὺς τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐραστὰς, τὸ τέλος ἐπὶ τὸ Σίναιον δρος μετ᾿ ὀλίγων τῶν συνηθεστέρων ἐξώρμησεν, οὐ πόλεως ἐπιθαίνων, οὐ κώμης, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἄδατον ἔρημον βατὴν ἐργαζόμενος. “ἜἜφερον δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν ὥμων καὶ τὴν ἀναγκαίαν τροφὴν, τὸν ἄρτον, φημὶ, καὶ τοὺς ἅλας, καὶ χώθωνα ἐκ ξύλου πεποιημένον, καὶ σπὸγγιὰν μηρίνθῳ προσδεδεμένην " ὅπως εἴ ποτε βαθύτερον εὕροιεν ὕδωρ ἀνιμήσαιντο μὲν τῇ σπογγιᾷ. ἀποπολλῶν ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν ἐξανύσαντες τὸ ποθούμενον ὄρος, καὶ τὸν οἰκεῖον προσκυνήσαντες Δεσπότην πολὺν ἐκεῖ διετέλεσαν χρόνον, τοῦ χωρίου τὴν ἐρημίαν καὶ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ἡσυχίαν τρυφὴν μεγίστην ἡγούμενοι. Ἐν ἐκείνῃ δὲ τῇ πέτρᾳ, ὑφ᾽ ἧ κρυπτόμενος Μωῦσῆς τῶν προφητῶν ὁ κορυφαῖος ἠξιώθη τὸν Θεὸν ἰδεῖν, ὡς δυνατὸν ἣν ἰδεῖν, ἐκκλησίαν δειμάμενος, καὶ θεῖον ἁγιάσας θυσιαστήριον, ὃ καὶ εἰς δεῦρο διέμεινεν, εἰς τὴ" οἰκείαν ἐπανῖχε λαίστραν. Μαθὼν δὲ τοῦ ὁμωνύμον μὲν, δυσσεθοὺς δὲ βασιλέως τὰς ἀπειλάς " πανωλεθρίαν γὰρ τοῖς εὖσε- Ὁ δέσιν ἀπειλήσας, τὴν ἐπὶ Πέρσας πορείαν ἐστείλατο" καὶ ἐχεχήνεσαν οἱ τὰ αὑτὰ φρονοῦντες τὴν ἀπευχτὴν ἐχείνην ἐπάνοδον " τηνικαῦτα σπουδαίαν τῷ Θεῷ προσενεγκὼν προσευχὴν, καὶ ταύτην μέχρι δεκάτης ἡμέρας ἐκτείνας, ἤκουσε φωνῆς φθεγγομένης, ὡς ὃ μυσαρὸς καὶ δυσώδης ἀνήρηται χοῖρος. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ρᾶνς τὴν εὐχὴν, ἀλλὰ τὴν αἴτησιν εἰς ὑμνῳδίαν μετἐόαλεν, εὐχαριστήριον ἀναπέμπων ὕμνον τῷ Σωτῆρι τῶν οἰκείων, καὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἀνεξιχάχῳ τε καὶ δυνατῷ πολεμίῳ. Ἐμαχροθύμησε γὰρ ἐπὶ πλεῖον τῷ δυσσεδεῖ' ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡ μακροθυμία εἰς μείζονα λύτταν ἐπήγαγε. Πεπληρωχὼς δὲ τὴν εὐχὴν, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς οἰκείους ἐπιστραφεὶς, δῆλος ἂν εὔθυμον τὴν διάνοιαν ἔχων" θυμηδία γὰρ Ὑεγανωμένον ἐδείκνυ τὸ πρόσ- Α ὠπον. Θαυμασάντων δὲ τῶν συνόντων τὸ καινὸν τοῦ θεάματος " σχυθρωπὸς γὰρ ἀεὶ φαινόμενος, τηνικαῦτα μειδιῶν ἑωρᾶτο’ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν πυνθανομένων " « Τῆς εὐφροσύνης, ἔφη, ὦ ἄνδρες, καὶ θυμηδίας ὁ παρὼν καιρός " πέπαυται γὰρ ὁ ἀπεδὴς κατὰ τὴν Ἡσαΐου φωνὴν, καὶ ἔδωκε δίκας τῶν τολμημάτων ἀξίας" καὶ κατὰ τοῦ πεποιηκότος καὶ σεσωχότος τυραννήσας Θεοῦ, ὑπὸ δεξιᾶς ὑπηχόου δέδεκται τὴν δικαίαν σφαγήν διὰ τοῦτο γάννυμαι, τὰς ὑπ᾽ ἐχείκαὶ βλέπων τὸν ἀλιτήριον ὑπὸ τῶν ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τιμωμένων δαιμόνων οὐδεμιᾶς ἐπικουρίας ἐπιτυχόντα. » Ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς τοῦ δυσσεθοῦς τούτου σφαγῆς τοιαὐτης ἀπέλαυσε τῆς προγνώσεως. Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ Οὐάλης, ὁ μετ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τὰς ἡνίας τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς ἦγε- Β μονίας δεξάμενος, τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν δογμάτων προἐμενος τὴν ἀλήθειαν, τῆς ᾿Αρείου πλάνης τὴν ἀπάτην ἐδέξατο, τηνικαῦτα μείζων ἡ ζάλη κατὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἠγείρετο, τῶν μὲν χυδερνητῶν πανταχόθεν ἀντειδσαγομένων. Καὶ ἵνα μὴ πᾶσαν ἐχείνην διηγῶμαι ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος τὴν τραγῳδίαν, τἄλλα νῦν καταλείψω, ἑνὸς δὲ μόνου μνησθήσομαι, ὃ τὴν ἐπανθοῦσαν τῷδε τῷ πρεσδύτῃ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος χάριν ἐναργῶς ὑπέδειξεν. Ἐξελήλατο μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς ᾿Αντιοχέων ὁ μέγας Μελέτιος, ὁ ταύτην ὑπὸ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων Θεοῦ ποιμαίνειν πεπιστευμένος " ἐξελήλαντο δὲ τῶν θείων νεῶν οἱ εἰς τὸν ἱερὸν κλῆρον τελοῦντες ἅπαντες σὺν τῷ ὁμογνώμονι λαῷ, οἱ τὴν μίαν τῆς Τριάδος θείας οὐσίαν ς πρεσδεύοντες. Καὶ νῦν μὲν τὴν ὑπώρειαν καταλαμδάνοντες, ἐκεῖ τὰς ἱερὰς ἐποίουν συνόδους “ νῦν δὲ “οὔ ποταμοῦ τὴν ὄχθην εὐκτήριον ἐποιοῦντο χωρίον " ἄλλοτε δὲ τὸ πολεμικὸν γυμνάσιον, τὸ πρὸ τῆς βορείου διακείμενον πύλης. Οὐ γὰρ εἴων οἱ πολεμοῦντες ἐφ᾽ ἑνὸς ἱδρῦσθαι χωρίου τοὺς εὐσεδεῖς. λησαν δὲ τοῦ ψεύδους οἱ τρόφιμοι, καὶ φήμην ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ πόδι χατέσπειραν, ὡς; τοῦ μεγάλου Ἰουλιανοῦ, τοῦδε τοῦ πρεσδύτου, φημὶ, τῶν ὑπ᾽ αὖτῶν θρησχευομένων δογμάτων τὴν κοινωνίαν ἀσπαζομένου. Τοῦτο μάλιστα ἣνία τοὺς εὐσεδεῖς, μὴ τοὺ; τοῖς τῶν αἱρετιχῶν περιδάλῃ δικτύοις. ᾿᾽Αλλ᾽ οἱ θεσπέσιοι καὶ μακάριοι ἄνδρες, Φλαδιανὸς καὶ Διόδωρος, ἱερουργίας Ἐξιωμένοι, καὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ λαοῦ προστατεύοντες, καὶ ᾿Αφραάτης, οὗ τὸν βίον αὐτὸν καθ᾽ ξαυτὸν ὑμῖν σὺν Θεῷ φάναι προσθήσω, τὸν μέγαν ἐκεῖνον ᾿λκάκιον πείθουσιν, οὗ ἤδη τὴν μνήμην ἐποιησάμεθα, λαθεῖν μὲν τῆς ὁδοῦ κοινωνὸν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ μὲν διδάσκαλον, τοῦδε δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου γέρουτος τὴν, ᾿Αστέριον ἐκεῖνον τὸν πάνυ, δραμεῖν δὲ πρὸς τὸ κοινὸν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀγλάϊσμα, τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς διδασκαλίας τὸ ἔρεισμα, καὶ πεῖσαι καταλιπεῖν μὲν τὴν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διατριδὴν, ἀφικέσθαι ὃὲ εἰς ἐπι- … μένων, καὶ τὴν ᾿Αρείου χατασδέσαι φλόγα τῇ τῆς ἀφίξεως δρόσῳ. ἽἜδραμεν ὁ θεῖος ᾿Ακάκιος, καὶ τὸν μέγαν ᾿Αστέριον ὡς προσετάχθη λαδὼν, ἀφίκετο πρὸς πὸν μέγιστον τῆς ἘἜχχλησίας φωστῆρα, καὶ ἀσπασάμενος, « Εἰπέ μοι, ξφη, ὦ Πάτερ, τίνος ἕνεκα τοῦτον ἅπαντα τὸν πόνον μεθ᾽ ἡξονῆς ὑπομένεις; » Τοῦ δὲ ἀποκριναμένου, ὡς « Καὶ σώματος, καὶ ψυχῆς, καὶ ζωῆς, καὶ τοῦ βίου παντὸς ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ μοι θεραπεία τιμιωτέρα, καὶ πειρῶμαι ὅσον δύναμαι καθαρὰν αὐτῷ ῥύπου τὴν λειτουργίαν προσφέρειν, καὶ διὰ πάντων ἀρέσκειν. --- Ὑποδείχνυμί σοι, ὁ ᾿Ακάκιος ἔφη, τρόπον, δι᾽ οὗ πλέον ἢ νῦν αὐτὸν θεραπεύσεις, καὶ τοῦτο ἐρῶ, οὐ λογισμῷ μόνῳ χρώμενος, ἀλλὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίας μεμαθηκώς. Ἐρόμενος γάρ ποτε τὸν Πέτρον, εἰ πλέον αὐτὸν τῶν Β ἄλλων φιλεῖ, καὶ μαθὼν ὃ ἧἠπίστατο καὶ πρὸ τῆς Πέτρου φωνῆς" ε Σὺ γὰρ οἶδας, φησὶ, Κύριε, ὅτι φιλῶ σε,» ὑπέδειξεν αὐτῷ τί δράσας πλέον αὐτὸν τὰ πρόθατά μου, καὶ βόσχε μου τὰ ἀρνία. » Τοῦτο καὶ σοὶ, ὦ Πάτερ, ποιητέον ἐστί, Κινδυνεύει γὰρ ὑπὸ λύκων διαφθαρῆναι τὰ ποίμν:α, φιλεῖ δὲ αὐτὰ λίαν ὁ ὑπὸ σοῦ φιλούμενος λίαν "ἴδιον δὲ τῶν ἐρώντων ἐκεῖνα ποιεῖν, ἃ τοὺς ἐρωμένους ἐπιτέρπει γινόμενα. "Α)» λως τε δὲ καὶ κίνδυνος οὐ σμικρὸς, καὶ τῶν πολλῶν καὶ μεγάλων ἐχείνων ἱδρώτων ζημία, εἰ ἀνάσχοιο σιγῇ προέσθαι τὴ» ἀλήθειαν χαλεπῶς πολεμουμένην, τοὺς δὲ ταύτῃ προσκειμένους ἀγρευομένους, δέλεαρ Σ τῶν θηρευομένων τὴν σὴν γενέσθαι προσηγορίαν’ κοινωνὸν γὰρ ἔχειν σε τῆς σφετέρας δυσσεθείας οἱ Εὐθὺς ἀκούσας ὁ πρεσδύτης, τῇ μὲν ἡσυχίᾳ καίρειν εἰπὼν εἰς καιρὸν, τῶν δὲ πολιτικῶν θορύδων οὐκ Δύο δὲ καὶ τρεῖς ἐξανύσας διὰ τῆς ἐρήμου εἴς τι χωρίον ἑσπέρας χαταλαδούσης ἀφίκετο. Γύναῖον δέ τι τῶν εὐπόρων τὸν ἱερὸν ἐκεῖνον ἧκειν τυθομένη χορὸν, ἔδραμεν αὐτοῦ τρυγῆσαι τὴν εὐλογίαν’ καὶ πρὸ τῶν ποδῶν χαλινδουμένη τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτῆ; γενέσθαι καταγώγιον ἡντιδόλει., Εἶξεν ὁ πρεσθύτης᾽ καὶ ταῦτα πλείονα ἣ τεσσαράχοντα ἕτη τῆς τοιαύτης θέας κεχωρισμένος. Τῆς δὲ θαυμασίας ἐκείνης γυναικὸς περὶ τὴν τῶν ἱερῶν ἐχείνων ἀνδρῶν θεραπείαν διατριθούσης, ἑπτάετες παιδίον, οὗ μόνου μήτηρ οὖσα ἐτύγχανεν, ἡ τὴς Σάῤῥας τὴν φιλοξενίαν ζηλώσασα, ἑσπέρας οὔσης καὶ σκότους, εἰς τὸ φρέαρ χατέπεσε. Θορύδου δὲ περὶ τούτον, ὡς εἰκὸς, γενομένου, αἰσθομένη ἡ μήτηρ, ἡσυχίαν μὲν ἄγειν ἅπασι παρακελεύεται, κάλυμμα δέ τι τῷ φρέατι ἐπιθεῖσα, τῆς διακονίας εἴχετο. Τῆς δὲ τραπέζης τοῖς θείοις ἀνδράσι παρατεθείσης, ὁ θεῖος πρεσθύτης ἐκέλευσε τὸ τῆς γυναικὸς εἰσχληθῆναι παιδίον, καὶ τῆς εὐλογίας μεταλαχεῖν. Τῆς δὲ θαυμασίας γυναικὸς ἀῤῥωστίᾳ κατέχεσθαι λεγούσης, ἐπέμενεν ἐνεχθῆναι ποῦτο παρεγγυῶν. Ὥς δὲ τὸ πάθος ἡ μήτηρ ἐγνώρισεν καταλιμπάνει μὲν τὴν τράπεζαν ὁ πρεσθύτης, παρὰ δὲ τὸ φρέαρ δραμὼν, καὶ τὸ μὲν κάλυμμα περιᾶιβέ θῆναι, φῶτα ὃς χομιδθῆναι κελεύσας, ὁρᾷ τὸ παιδίον τῇ ὀπιφανείᾳ τῶν ὑδάτων ἐπιχαθήμενον, καὶ τῇ χειρὶ παιζιχῶς τὰ ὕδατα παῖον, καὶ τὸν νομισθέντα ὄλεθρον παιδιάν τινα καὶ ἀθύρματα ἡγούμενον " καὶ σχοίνοις τὸ παιδίον, καὶ παραυτίκα προσέδραμε τοῖς τοῦ πρεσθύτοὺ ποσὶν, αὐτὸν τεθεᾶσθαι λέγον ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι φέπαρὰ τοῦ μακαρίον πρεσδύτου τῆς φιλοξενίας ἡ θσυμασία γυνὴ τὸν μισθὸν ἐκομίσατο. Καὶ ἵνα τὰ ἄλλα τὰ κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν γεγενημένα χαταλίπω, ἧκον μὲν εἰς τὴν ᾿Αντιόχειαν, πάντες δὲ πανταχόθεν συνἔθεον, ἰδεῖν τε ποθοῦντες τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἰατρείαν τινὰ τοῦ πάθους λαθεῖν ἕκαστος ἐφιέμεγος. Κατήχθη δὲ ἐν τοῖς παρὰ τῇ ὑπωρείᾳ σπηλαίοις, ᾿ἕνθα καὶ τὸν θεῖον ἀπόστολον τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον χαταχθῆναίΐ τε καὶ χρυδῆναί φασιν" ἀλλ' εὐθὺς, ἵνα μόδγωτιν ἅπαντες ὡς ἄνθρωπος εἴη, χαταδολὴ γίγεταί τις αὐτῷ πυρετοῦ σφοδροτάτη. ᾿Ακακίου δὲ τοῦ μεγάλου τὸ μὲν πλῆθος τῶν συνειλεγμένων ὁρῶντος, καὶ τὴν συμδᾶσαν δυσχεράναντος ἀῤῥωστίαν " πλη- Ὑήσεσθαι γὰρ τοὺς συνεληλυθότας ἐνόμιζεν, εἰ τὸ ᾿ νόσημα μάθοιεν, ἄνδρες διὰ τῆς ἐχείνου χειρὸς θεραπείαν εὕρασθαι προσδοκῶντες " « Μὴ ἀθύμει, ἔλεγεν ὁ πρεσδύτης εἰ γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον τῆς ὑγείας τὸ χρῆμα, παραυτίκα καὶ τοῦτο δώσει Θεός. ν» Εὐθὺς τοίνυν μετὰ τούτους τοὺς λόγους εἰς ἱκετείαν τραπόμενος, καὶ συνήθως τὰ γόνατα καὶ τὸ μέτωπον τῷ ἐδάφει πελάσας, ἣντιδόλει τῆς ὑγείας τυχεῖν, εἴπερ τις ὄνησις ἐντεῦθεν τοῖς συνεληλυθόσι γενήσεται. Οὔπω πὴν προσευχὴν συνεπέρανε, καὶ πολὺς ἱδρὼς ἐξαπιναίως γενόμενος τοῦ πυρετοῦ τὴν φλόνα Ἐκεῖθεν πολλοὺς παντοδαπῶν νοσημάτων ἐλευθερώσας, ἐπὶ τὸν σύλλογον ἧει τῶν εὐσεδῶν. Διιόντος δὲ αὑτοῦ τῶν βασιλείων τὰς θύρας, προσαίτης τις, ἀντὶ τῶν ποδῶν τοῖς γλουτοῖς κεχρημένος. καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐδάφους συρόμενος, ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα, καὶ τῇ σιμὲν τῇ πίστει τὸ πάθος, ἀναπηδήσας δὲ τὸν πρὸ τῆς ἀῤῥωστίας ἐπεδείκνυτο δρόμον, τὰ αὐτὰ ποιῶν τῷ χωλῷ, ὃν Πέ- ᾿ τρος καὶ ὁ Ἰωάννης ἀνέστησαν. Τούτου γενομένου, συῤῥεῖ ἅπαν τὸ τοῦ ἄστεης πλῆθος, καὶ τὸ πολεμι- "κἂν γυμνάσιον πλῆρες τῶν συνθεόντων ἐγένετο. Ἐν αἰσχύνῃ δὲ ἦσαν οἱ συκοφάνται καὶ τοῦ ψεύδους τε-χνῖται, ἐν εὐθυμίᾳ δὲ πάτῃ καὶ εὐφροσύνῃ τῆς εὐσεβείας οἱ τρόφιμοι. Ἐκεῖθεν εἰς τὰς οἰκίας εἶλκον τὸν τῆς εὐσεθείας φωστῆρα οἱ θεραπείας δεόμενοι, Καί τις ἀνὴρ, μεγίστην ἀρχὴν ἐγχεχειρισμένο;, καὶ τῆς Ἕω τὰ πηδάλια κατέχειν πεπιστευμένος, πὲμψας ἱκέτευσεν αὐτὸν ἀφικέσθαι, καὶ τῆς ἐπικειμένης ἀῤῥωστίας ἐλευθερῶσαι. Ὃ δὲ οὐδὲν μελλήσας παρἐγένετο, καὶ τὸν κοινὸν ἱχετεύφας Δεσπότην, ἔλυσε λόγῳ τὸ πάθο;, καὶ χάριν ὁμολογεῖν παρηγγύα τῷ Θεῷ. Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα διαπραξάμενος ἐπὶ τὴν Διὰ δὲ τῆς Κύρου τὴν πορείαν ποιούμενος, πόλις δὲ αὕτη δυσὶ σταθμοῖς ᾿Αντιοχείας ἀπέχουσα, μὲν εἰς τὸν τοῦ νιχκηφόρου μάρτυρος Διονυσίου σηκχόν, Οἱ δὲ τῆς εὐσεδείας ἐκεῖ προστατεύοντες θόντες ἱκέτευον ἐπαμῦναι σφίσι προῦπτον δλεῦρον προσδοκῶσιν. ᾿Αστέριον γὰρ ἔφασκον ἐν σοφτιστιχῇ φευδολογίᾳ τραφέντα, καὶ ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὴν τῶν αἱρετικῶν ἐκκλησίαν εἰσφρήσαντα, καὶ ἐπισκοπικῆς λειτουργίας ἀξιωθέντα, δεινῶς τῷ ψεύδει συνηγορεῖν, καὶ κἀκοτεχνίᾳ κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας κεχρῆσθαι " « Καὶ δεδοίκαμεν, ἔλεγον, μὴ οἷόν τινι δελεάσματι τῇ εὐγλωττίᾳ τὸ ψεῦδος συγχαλύψας, καὶ τὰς τῶν λογισμῶν πλοκὰς οἷόν τινα δίκτυα πετάσας, πολλοὺς τῶν ἀπλότητι συνεξηχότων ἀγρεύσῃ. » Τούτου γὰρ χάριν μετάπεμπτος ὑπὸ τῶν ἐναντίων γεγένηται. Ὁ δὲ πρεοθδύτης εθαρσεῖτε, ἔφη, καὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν τὸν Θεὸν ἱχετεύσατε, νηστείαν καὶ χαχουχίαν τῇ προῖεὐχῇ προστιθέντες. » Οὕτω τούτων τὸν Θεὸν ἁντιθολούντων, πρὸ μιᾶς τῆς πανηγύρεως ἡμέρας, καῦ' ἣν ἔμελλε τοὺς λόγους ποιήσεσθαι ὁ τοῦ ψεύδους συνήγορος, καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας πολέμιος, θεήλατον ἐδέξατο τὴν πληγὴν, καὶ μίαν μόνην ἀῤῥωστήσας Β ἡμέραν, ἔξω τοῦ καταλόγου τῶν ζώντων ἐγένετο, ἐκείνης ἀκούων, ὡς εἰκὸς, τῆς φωνῆς" ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ ἀπαιτοῦσι τὴν ψυχὴν σου ἀπὸ σοῦ" ἃ δὲ ἡτοίμασας κακὰ, δίκτυά τε καὶ πανάγρας, σοὶ ἔσται καὶ οὐκ ἑτέρῳ.» Ταὐτὰ δὲ πέπονθε καὶ τῷ Βαλαὰμ, ὃς μετεπέμφθη μὲν καὶ αὐτὸς κατὰ τοῦ θείου λαοῦ ἀνόσια ὃὲ κατ᾽ αὐτοῦ τῷ Βαλὰκ συμθουλεύσας, αὑτοῦ δέδωκε δίκην, ὑπὸ δεξιᾶς Ἰσραῃλιτικῆς δεξάμενος τὴν σφαγήν. Καὶ οὗτος τοίνυν, ἐπειδὴ ἐπὶ τὸν λαὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ χατεπανουργεύσατο γνώμην, διὰ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ζωὴν ἀφῃρέθη. Ταύτης δὲ τῆς σωτηρίας διὰ τῆς τούτου προσευχῆς ἡ Κῦρος ἀπέλαυσεν. Ἐμοὶ δὲ τὰ διηγήματα ἡ θεία κεφαλὴ ὁ μέγας ᾿Ακάκιος παρέδωκεν, ἀχριῤῶς ἅπαντα τὰ κατ᾽ αὑτὸν ἐπιστάμενος. Ἔνθεν τοίνυν χρόνον αὐτοῖς οὐκ ὀλίγον συνδιατρίψας, εἰς τὸν ἀγήρω καὶ ἄλυπον βίον προθύμως λίαν μετέστη, μελετήσας νὰν ἐν θνητῇ φύσει τὴν ἀπάθειαν, τὴν δὲ τοῦ σώματος ἀθανασίαν ἀναμένων. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐνταῦθα τὸν περὶ τοῦδε τοῦ διηγήματος στήσας λόγον, ἐφ' ἕτερον βαδιοῦμαι, τοὺς ἐμφερομένους τῷ διηγήματι ἁγίους ἀντιδολῶν, προξενῆσαξ μοι τὴν ἄνωθεν διὰ πρεσδείας εὑμένειαν. ### English translation (Claude) Julian, whom the people of the country honored with the surname Saba (the name means “old man” in Greek), founded his ascetic dwelling in the region formerly called that of the Parthians and now that of the Osrhoenians. To the west it extends to the very bank of the river whose name is Euphrates; toward the rising sun it has the boundary of Roman rule, for Assyria succeeds it, the western limit of the Persian kingdom, which later generations called Adiabene. In this nation there are many large and populous cities, and a great deal of country that is inhabited, and a great deal that is uninhabited and desert. This divine man took possession of a remote part of the desert, and finding a cave not made by hands nor well and properly dug out, but able to give some slight shelter to those who wished to take refuge in it, he gladly made the place his home, [finding it more pleasant] than houses adorned with gold and silver … . There he lived, taking food once a week. His food was bread of millet, and that full of bran; his relish was salt; and his sweetest drink the water that springs up of itself, and this not measured by satiety but limited by the need of the food already eaten. His luxury and delicacy and feast of every kind was the hymnody of David and constant converse with God. Enjoying these insatiably, he did not wish to reach satiety, but was always being filled and always crying out: “How sweet are your words to my throat, more than honey and the honeycomb to my mouth.” He heard the blessed David say again: “The judgments of the Lord are true, righteous altogether, more to be desired than gold and much precious stone, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.” He heard him say again: “Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the requests of your heart”; and again, “Let the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice”; and, “Make my heart glad, that it may fear your name”; and, “Taste and see that the Lord is good”; and, “My soul thirsted for God, the mighty, the living”; and, “My soul has clung close behind you.” And he transferred to himself the love of the one who had said these things. For it was for this reason that the great David taught these things in song, so that he might make many sharers [in his love]; and he did not fail of his hope, but wounded both this inspired man and countless others with divine love. For he received so great a flame of love that he was drunk with longing, saw nothing of earthly things, and dreamed of the beloved alone by night and pictured him by day. Many who learned of this highest philosophy of his, some living nearby and others far away (for winged rumor ran everywhere), ran to him begging to share his wrestling school and to live from then on under him as under a trainer and gymnastic master. For not only do birds hunt birds by singing, calling those of their own kind to themselves and making them fall into the snares set around; men too catch those of their own nature, some for ruin and others for salvation. Gathering in this way, they quickly became ten, then twice and three times as many, then they reached the number of a hundred. Though they had become so many, that cave held them, for they had learned from the old man to despise care for the body. They too ate, like their trainer, millet bread seasoned with salt. Later, those who needed attention collected some of the wild vegetables, filled jars with them, mixed in as much brine as was enough, and had them as a relish. But to this relish … for it naturally produces mold and rot. Since, then, this happened to the relish (for the cave let in a great deal of moisture from every side), the members of the company begged the old man to allow them a small hut … for the vessels. At first he did not accept the request; but at last he was persuaded (for he had been taught by the great Paul not to seek his own advantage but that of others) … small and modest dimensions, and went far from the cave to offer his customary [prayers]. For he was accustomed to walk often fifty stades through the desert, and sometimes twice as many, separating himself from all human company, turning in upon himself, conversing with God alone, and beholding as in a mirror that divine and ineffable beauty. Taking advantage of this leisure, those who had been counted worthy of his care built the hut, sufficient for the need, but larger than they had been told. When he returned after ten days, like a Moses from the mountain and from that inexpressible contemplation, and saw that the building had become larger than he wished, he said: “I fear, men, that by enlarging our dwellings on earth we may make smaller our dwellings in heaven. And yet these are temporary and useful to us for a short while, while those are eternal and cannot come to an end.” He said this to train the company in what is more perfect. Nevertheless he bore it, having listened to the apostolic voice: “I do not seek my own advantage, but that of the many, that they may be saved.” He trained them to offer their hymnody to God in common within, and after dawn to go out into the desert two by two: one, bending his knees, would offer the worship owed to the Master, while the other, standing, would sing fifteen psalms of David; then they would exchange the task, the one rising and singing, the other [kneeling] … They continued doing this until late evening. A little before sunset they rested briefly, and they came together into the cave from every side, some from here and some from there, and all at the same time offered the evening hymnody to the Master. The old man himself was accustomed [to take] one of … . One who followed him more often was a man of Persian race, tall and admirable in appearance, but possessing a soul more admirable than his appearance; his name was James. After the old man's death he shone in every virtue and was renowned and celebrated, not only among those there but also in the schools of philosophy in Syria, in which he died after living, as is said, one hundred and four years. This man, sharing the great old man's journey into the desert, followed at a distance; for the teacher would not let him come near, so that this might not give them an occasion for conversation, and the conversation might not steal the mind away from the contemplation of God. As he followed, he saw on the path a huge serpent lying there. When he saw it he did not dare to go forward, and often, out of fear, wished to turn aside; but he took courage again in his mind. Then he bent down, picked up a pebble and threw it, and saw the serpent remaining in the same position and quite unable to move. Understanding that it was dead, he supposed that the beast's death was the old man's doing. When he had completed the journey and fulfilled the service of hymnody, and the time of rest had come, the old man sat down and told him to rest his body a little too; at first James sat in silence. But when the old man began some conversation, James, with a smile, begged him to make known to him what he did not know. When the old man allowed him to ask, he said: “I saw a very large serpent lying on the path, and at first I was afraid, thinking it was alive; but when I saw that it was dead, I took courage and went on. So tell me, Father, who killed it? For you led the way, and no one else has gone along that path.” The old man said: “Stop being curious about such things, which can bring no benefit to those who pursue them.” But the admirable James pressed him no less, longing to learn the truth. The old man tried for a long time to conceal it, but could not bear to distress his lover any further. “I will tell you,” he said, “if you long to know; but I charge you to make no one else privy to what I shall say while I am alive. For such things ought to be hidden, since they often rouse one to boasting and pride. But when I have gone from here and am free of such passions, I do not forbid you to speak and to tell of the power of the divine grace. Know, then,” said the great Julian, “that as I was walking along the path that beast attacked me and opened its mouth, eager to swallow me. But I called on the name of God and showed it the trophy of the cross with my finger; I shook off all fear, and I saw the beast fall at once to the ground; and having sung the praise of our common Savior, I continued on my way.” Having thus finished the story, he rose and took the path back to the cave. On another occasion a youth of noble birth, brought up in luxury, [asked] with great eagerness to share his journey into the desert, not this common journey that all took each day, but the very long one, an absence lasting often seven days and often ten. This was the famous Asterius. When the old man spoke of the waterlessness of the desert, the young man insisted on enjoying this privilege. Overcome by his entreaties, the old man gave way, and the youth followed eagerly at first. But when the first, second and third day had passed, burned by the sun's rays (for it was summer, and the height of summer surely brings a fiercer heat), he was tormented by thirst. At first he was ashamed to report what he suffered, remembering what his teacher had foretold; but overcome, and seized by faintness, he begged the old man to have pity on him. The old man reminded him of his warnings and told him to go back. When the young man said that he did not know the road leading to the cave, nor, if he did know it, could he walk back, since his strength had been consumed by thirst, the divine man pitied the young man's suffering, made allowance for the weakness of the body, bent his knees and besought the Master, wetting the ground with hot tears and seeking a means of rescue for the young man. And he who “does the will of those who fear him and hears their prayer” made the drops of tears that touched the dust a spring of water; and when the young man had drunk his fill of the stream, Julian ordered him to leave at once. The spring has remained to this day, bearing witness to the Mosaic prayer of the inspired old man. For just as Moses long ago struck that barren rock with his rod and flooded it with the births of river waters, so that [he might give drink to] those many [tens of thousands], so this man, watering that very dry sand with his tears, poured forth streams of spring water, not to cure the thirst of many tens of thousands, but of one youth. Enlightened in soul by divine grace, he foresaw very clearly the perfection the young man would reach. For many years later, called by divine grace to train many others in the same virtue, he [founded a school of philosophy] in the district of Gindarus (this is a very large village under the jurisdiction of Antioch). He drew many other athletes of philosophy to himself, and he drew also the great Acacius, the celebrated one, I mean, the famous one, who was distinguished in the monastic way of life and sent out bright rays of virtue when he was counted worthy of the high priesthood and was given the shepherding of Beroea. He was entrusted with the leadership of the flock for fifty-eight years, and did not abandon the form of the ascetic life, but mixed ascetic and civic virtue, taking the strictness of the one and the practical management of the other, and joining things that stand apart into one. But the hunter and trainer of this virtue was that Asterius, who remained so warm a lover of the great old man that he often made the journey to him twice a year, and often three times. When he came he used to bring dried figs for the members of the company, loading the burdens on three or four beasts. He would collect two medimni, enough for the old man for the whole year, and put this burden on his own shoulders, making himself the teacher's beast of burden; and carrying this burden he walked, not ten or twenty stades, but a journey of seven days. Once the old man saw him carrying the load of figs on his shoulders and, displeased, said that he would not use them as food; for it was not right that Asterius should endure such toil while he himself feasted on his sweat. When Asterius swore that he would not free his shoulders of the burden unless the old man agreed [to eat them], the old man said: “Let him do as he is bidden; only [let him put down] the sack as quickly as possible.” For in this too he imitated the first of the apostles, who, when the Lord wished to wash his feet, at first [refused] this; but when he heard that he would be cut off from fellowship with the Master if he did not allow it, he begged to have his hands and head washed as well as his feet. So too John, the great one, when he was told to baptize the Savior, first confessed his own servitude and pointed out the Master, and afterwards carried out what he was told, not acting with boldness but obeying the Master. So too this divine man was weighed down at the thought of enjoying food while another labored; but when he saw his servant's very warm eagerness, he preferred that man's service to his own choice. Perhaps one of those who love to find fault, and have learned only to mock fine things, may say that this story is not worth recording. But I have added it to the man's other wonders, not only wishing to show the reverence of great men for him, but thinking it profitable to make known the sweetness and moderation of his character. For though he was so great and of such virtue, he did not think himself worthy even of ordinary honor; he thrust it away as in no way belonging to him, and yet bore it again as benefiting those who gave it. Fleeing it (for he had become known to all and by his fame drew to himself the lovers of good things), he finally set out for Mount Sinai with a few of his closest companions, entering no city or village, but making the trackless desert passable. They carried on their shoulders the necessary food, bread, I mean, and salt, and a cup made of wood and a sponge tied to a cord, so that if they ever found water rather deep they might draw it up with the sponge, [squeeze it into the cup, and drink]. Having completed a journey of many days to the mountain they longed for, and having worshiped their Master, they stayed there a long time, regarding the solitude of the place and the quiet of the soul as the greatest luxury. On that rock under which Moses, the chief of the prophets, hid and was counted worthy to see God, as far as it was possible to see him, Julian built a church and consecrated a divine altar, which has remained to this day; then he returned to his own wrestling school. When he learned of the threats of the emperor who bore his name but was impious (for he had threatened utter destruction to the devout when he set out on his campaign against the Persians, and those who shared his views were agape for that accursed return), he offered earnest prayer to God and prolonged it until the tenth day, and he heard a voice saying that the foul and stinking swine had been slain. … the prayer, but changed his petition into hymnody, sending up a hymn of thanksgiving to the Savior of his own people, the forbearing and mighty enemy of strangers. For he had shown long patience with the impious man; but since the long patience led to greater frenzy … . When he had finished the prayer and turned to his own companions, it was plain that he was glad of heart, for his face shone with joy. Those with him were amazed at the strangeness of the sight, for he who always appeared grave was seen smiling then; and when they asked the reason, he said: “Men, the present is a time of gladness and joy; for the wicked one has ceased, as the voice of Isaiah says, and has paid the penalty his outrages deserved. He who played the tyrant against God who made and saved him has received a just death-blow from a subject's right hand. This is why I rejoice, [seeing ended] the … by him, and seeing the guilty man obtain no help from the demons he honored.” Such was the foreknowledge he enjoyed concerning the slaying of this impious man. When Valens, too, who after him received the reins of Roman rule, abandoned the truth of the gospel doctrines and accepted the deceit of Arius's error, a greater storm arose against the Church, its pilots [being driven out] on every side and [others] brought in in their place. Not to relate the whole of that tragedy at present, I shall leave the rest aside and mention one thing only, which clearly showed the grace of the divine Spirit blooming in this old man. The great Meletius, who had been entrusted by the God of all with the shepherding of Antioch, had been driven from it; and all those enrolled in the sacred clergy had been driven from the divine temples together with the like-minded people, those who honor the one substance of the divine Trinity. Sometimes they occupied the foothills of the mountain and held their sacred assemblies there; sometimes they made the river bank their place of prayer; at other times the military exercise ground lying before the north gate. For those who made war on them would not let the devout settle in one place. The nurslings of falsehood [contrived] and spread a rumor in that city that the great Julian, this old man I mean, embraced communion with the doctrines they professed. This especially distressed the devout, [lest it should catch the simpler] in the nets of the heretics. But the inspired and blessed men Flavian and Diodore, who had been counted worthy of the priestly ministry and presided over the sacred people, and Aphrahat, whose life I shall, with God's help, relate to you separately, persuaded the great Acacius, whom I have already mentioned, to take as companion on the road his own teacher, that celebrated Asterius, [the disciple] of this holy old man, and to run to the common ornament of the Church, the support of the gospel teaching, and to persuade him to leave his life in the desert and to come to … , and to quench the flame of Arius with the dew of his arrival. The divine Acacius ran, and taking the great Asterius as he had been bidden, came to the very great luminary of the Church; and greeting him he said: “Tell me, Father, for what purpose do you endure all this toil with pleasure?” When the old man answered, “The service of God is more precious to me than body, soul, life and my whole existence, and I try as far as I can to offer him a worship pure of defilement and to please him in everything,” Acacius said: “I will show you a way by which you will serve him more than now; and I say this not using my own reasoning only, but having learned it from his teaching. For once he asked Peter whether he loved him more than the others, and having learned what he knew even before Peter spoke (‘For you know, Lord,’ he says, ‘that I love you’), he showed him what he must do to [show] his love the more: ‘[Tend] my sheep, and feed my lambs.’ This, Father, is what you must do too. For the flocks are in danger of being destroyed by wolves, and the one you love greatly loves them greatly; and it is the mark of lovers to do the things that delight the beloved when done. Besides, there is no small danger and a loss of all those many great labors, if you allow the truth, which is so fiercely attacked, to be abandoned in silence, and those devoted to it to be caught, and your name to become the bait of those who are being hunted; for they [claim] to have you as a partner in their impiety.” As soon as the old man heard this, he bade farewell to his quiet for a time, and, [not shrinking] from the tumults of the city, [set out]. Having completed two or three [days' journey] through the desert, he came to a certain place when evening had fallen. A wealthy woman, learning that that sacred company had come, ran to gather his blessing, and rolling at his feet she begged that her house might become their lodging. The old man yielded, though he had kept away from the sight of women for more than forty years. While that admirable woman, who had emulated the hospitality of Sarah, was busy waiting on those holy men, her seven-year-old child (she was the mother of this one only) fell into the well, it being evening and dark. There was an uproar about this, as was natural; the mother, perceiving it, told everyone to keep quiet, put a cover over the well, and kept on with her service. When the table had been set before the divine men, the divine old man ordered the woman's child to be called in to share in the blessing. When the admirable woman said that the child was unwell, he insisted, ordering it to be brought. When the mother made known what had happened, the old man left the table, ran to the well, ordered the cover to be removed and lights to be brought, and saw the child sitting on the surface of the water, playfully striking the water with his hand, and regarding what was thought to be his death as a game and a plaything. [They drew] the child [up] with ropes, and at once he ran to the old man's feet, saying that he had seen him in the water carrying … . So the admirable woman received from the blessed old man the reward of her hospitality. To pass over the other things that happened on the way: they came to Antioch, and all ran together from every side, longing to see the man of God and each eager to receive some cure for his ailment. He was lodged in the caves at the foot of the mountain, where they say the divine apostle, the blessed Paul, also lodged and was hidden. But at once, so that all might learn that he was a man, a very violent attack of fever came upon him. The great Acacius saw the crowd that had gathered and was distressed at the illness that had come, for he thought those who had come would be [offended] if they learned of the illness, since they expected to find healing through his hand. “Do not lose heart,” said the old man; “for if health is necessary, God will give this too at once.” Immediately after these words he turned to supplication, and, bringing his knees and forehead to the ground as was his custom, he begged to obtain health, if some benefit would come from it to those who had come together. He had not yet finished the prayer when a heavy sweat suddenly broke out [and quenched] the heat of the fever. Then, having freed many from all kinds of diseases, he went to the assembly of the devout. As he was passing the doors of the palace, a beggar who used his buttocks instead of his feet and dragged himself along the ground stretched out his hand and [touched the hem of his garment] … ; [he lost] his ailment by his faith, sprang up, and showed the running he had had before his illness, doing the same as the lame man whom Peter and John raised up. When this happened, the whole multitude of the city flowed together, and the military exercise ground became full of those running there. The slanderers and artisans of falsehood were put to shame, and the nurslings of true religion were in every kind of good cheer and gladness. From there those in need of healing drew the luminary of true religion into their houses. A man who had been entrusted with a very great office and the helm of the East sent and begged him to come and free him from the illness that afflicted him. He came without delay, besought the common Master, loosed the ailment with a word, and charged him to give thanks to God. Having done these and such things, he [returned] to the [desert]. Making his journey through Cyrrhus (this city is two stages distant from Antioch), he [turned aside] into the shrine of the victorious martyr Dionysius. Those who presided over true religion there [came running] and begged him to help them, as they expected manifest destruction. For they said that Asterius, who had been brought up in sophistic falsehood and had slipped into the church of the heretics and been counted worthy of the episcopal ministry, was a formidable advocate of falsehood and used his evil art against the truth. “And we fear,” they said, “that, covering the falsehood with his eloquence as with a bait and spreading the tangles of his reasonings like nets, he may catch many of those who live in simplicity.” For he had been sent for by the opponents for this purpose. The old man said: “Take courage, and beseech God with us, adding fasting and hardship to prayer.” While they were thus imploring God, one day before the festival on which the advocate of falsehood and enemy of the truth was to give his addresses, he received a blow sent by God, and after being ill for a single day he passed out of the register of the living, hearing, no doubt, that voice: “This night they demand your soul from you; and the evils you have prepared, the nets and snares, will be yours and no one else's.” He suffered the same as Balaam, who was himself sent for against the divine people, and, having given Balak unholy counsel against them, paid the penalty himself, receiving his death-blow from an Israelite right hand. So this man too, since he had formed a crafty design against the people of God, was deprived of life through the people of God. This deliverance Cyrrhus enjoyed through Julian's prayer. These stories were handed down to me by that divine head, the great Acacius, who knew everything about him precisely. After spending no little time with them there, Julian passed most eagerly to the life that knows neither age nor sorrow, having practiced freedom from passion in a mortal nature and awaiting the immortality of the body. Here I shall bring my account of this narrative to a stop and go on to another, begging the saints who appear in this narrative to procure for me, through their intercession, the favor from above. ### Scripture references - Ps 119:103 (118:103 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 19:9–10 (18:10-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 37:4 (36:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 105:3 (104:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 86:11 (85:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 34:8 (33:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 42:2 (41:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 63:8 (62:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:24: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 34:29: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 10:33: quotation, high confidence - Ps 145:19 (144:19 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Exod 17:6: allusion, high confidence - John 13:6–9: allusion, high confidence - Matt 3:14–15: allusion, high confidence - Exod 33:22: allusion, high confidence - Isa 14:4: allusion, high confidence - John 21:15–17: quotation, high confidence - Acts 3:1–8: allusion, high confidence - Luke 12:20: quotation, medium confidence - Num 31:8: allusion, high confidence - Num 31:16: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 18:1–8: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - About 2% of the Greek is lost in the scan used here; gaps are marked “…” and nothing has been supplied. Words in square brackets supply what the sense plainly requires where a line is damaged; longer losses include the comparison of the cave with gilded houses, what happened to the relish, the end of the instructions on psalmody, which disciple the old man used to take with him, the end of Julian's response to the vision, the clause after “seeing ended”, what the child saw Julian carrying in the water, and the beggar's approach. The words “they came together from every side and offered the evening hymnody”, which the scan prints displaced into a later line, are translated in their place. “Philosophy” (φιλοσοφία) is the ascetic life, as throughout. The emperor Julian (d. 363) is called “the foul and stinking swine” as Theodoret writes; Julian Saba's foreknowledge of his death is told as Theodoret tells it. Asterius of Gindarus, the teacher of Acacius of Beroea, is a different person from the Asterius at Cyrrhus, whom Theodoret names as an anti-Nicene bishop. “Medimnus” is a dry measure. The miracle accounts are translated as Theodoret tells them. Quotations: Ps 119:103 (118:103 LXX); Ps 19:9–10 (18:10–11 LXX); Ps 37:4 (36:4 LXX); Ps 105:3 (104:3 LXX); Ps 86:11 (85:11 LXX); Ps 34:8 (33:9 LXX); Ps 42:2 (41:3 LXX); Ps 63:8 (62:9 LXX); 1 Cor 10:33; Ps 145:19 (144:19 LXX); John 21:15–17; Luke 12:20 (the last words echo a proverbial curse). Allusions: 1 Cor 10:24; Exod 34:29; Exod 17:6; John 13:6–9; Matt 3:14–15; Exod 33:22; Isa 14:4; Acts 3:1–8; Num 22–24; 31:8, 16; Gen 18:1–8. Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters and marginal references were removed (logged corrections). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 2 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/2). ## Life 3 (ΜΑΡΚΙΑΝΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/3/#p-3 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Marcianus, a nobleman of Cyrrhus, lives enclosed in a tiny cell in the desert, founds a line of monasteries through his disciples, works miracles he tries to hide, puts love before fasting, defends Nicene doctrine, and is buried secretly. ### Greek text Μαρχιανὸν δὲ τὸν πάνυ πῶς ἂν ἀξίως θαυμάταιμεν; ἣ δῆλον ὅτι Ἡλίᾳ καὶ Ἰωάννῃ, καὶ τοῖς; κατ' ἐκείνους συντάττοντες, οἱ περιῆλθον ἐν μηλωταῖς, ἐν αἰγείοις δέρμασιν, ὑστερούμενοι, θλιθόμενο:, κακουχούμενοι, ὧν οὐκ ἣν ἄξιος ὁ κόσμος οὗτος, ἐν ἐρημίαις πλανώμενοι, καὶ ὄρεσ!, καὶ σπηλαίοις, καὶ Ὁ ταῖς ὁπαῖς τῆς γῆς; Οὗτος γὰρ πατρίδα πάλαι μὲν ἔσχε τὴν Κῦρον, ἧς καὶ πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθην, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὴν ἔρημον, καὶ ταύτην δὲ κἀκείνην καταλιπὼν, νῦν ἔχει τὸν οὐρανόν. Καὶ ἡ μὲν αὐτὸν ἐγέννησεν, ἡ δὲ ἔθρεψε καὶ νικηφόρον ἀπέφηνε, ὁ ἃ στεφανίτην ἐδέξατο. Τῆς γὰρ τοῦ γένους χαταφρ" νήσας περιφανείας, ἐξ εὐπατριδῶν γὰρ χατήγετο, καὶ τῆς ἐν βασιλείοις λαμπρότητος, ἐν ἐκείνοις ἤνθει, μέγεθος σώματος καὶ κάλλος παρὰ τοῦ λημιουργοῦ δεξάμενος τῆς φύσεως, καὶ ψυχὴν ἔχων ἀγχινοίᾳ κεκοσμημένην, εἷς Θεὸν καὶ τὰ θεοῦ τὸ φίλτρον μετέθηχε, καὶ πᾶσιν ἐῤῥῶσθαι φράσας, οἰκίσκον δειμάμενος, οὐδὲ τῷ σώματι σύμμετρον, Α καὶ ἄλλῳ τε σμικρῷ τινι χτὸ διηνεκῶς, πάσης μὲν συνουσίας ἀνθρωπίνης κεχωρισμένος, τῷ δὲ τῶν ὅλων Δεσπότῃ διαλεγόμενος, καὶ τῆς γλυκείας ἐκείνης ἐπαΐων φωνῆς. Τοῖς μὲν γὰρ θείοις ἐντυγχάνων λογίοις, τῆς θείας φωνῇς ἀπολαύειν ἡγεῖτο" προσευχόμενος δὲ καὶ τὰς ἱκετείας “προσφέρων, αὐτὸς τὴν πρὸς τὸν Δεσπότην ἐποιεῖτο διάλεξιν. ἀ αἱ τοσαύτης ἀεὶ τρυφῆς ἀπολαύων χόρον λαδεῖν οὐκ ἐδηύλετο. "Ηκουσε γὰρ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος διὰ τοῦ μεγάλου Δαδὶὃ ὑποψάλλοντος, « Ὡς ὁ μελετῶν ἐν νόμῳ Κυρίου ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς, ἔσται ὡς τὸ ξύλον τὸ πεφυτευμένον παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους «κῶν ὑδάτων, ὃ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ δώσει ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ φύλλον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀποῤῥυήσεται. ν» Τούτῶν τῶν καρπῶν ἐφιέμενος τὸν ἥδιστον τοῦτον ἢσπάζεῖο πόνον, καὶ τὴν μὲν προσευχὴν ἡ ψαλμῳδία, πὴν δὲ ψαλμῳδίαν ἡ προσευχὴ διεδέχετο, καὶ ἀμφότερα πάλιν ἡ τῶν θείων λογίων ἀνάγνωσις - Σιτίον δὲ ἣν αὐτῷ μόνος ἄρτος, καὶ οὗτος σταθμῷ προσφε- Ῥόμενος " τοσοῦτος δὲ ἦν ὁ σταθμὸς, ὡς μὴ παιδίῳ ἄρτι θηλῆς ἀπαλλαγέντι τὴν χρείαν πληροῦν" φασὶ γὰρ τοῦ ἄρτον τὴν λίτραν τετραχῆ διαιρουμένην ἡμέραις τέτταρσι διανέμεσθαι, καὶ ἡμέρᾳ ἑκάστῃ μίαν ἀπονέμεσθαι μοῖραν. Ἐχεχρίχει γὰρ ἑσπέρας «κατὰ μίαν ἐσθίειν ἡμέραν, χόρον δὲ μηδέποτε λαδεῖν" ἀλλ᾽ ἀεὶ μὲν πεινῇν, ἀεὶ δὲ διψῇν, προσφέρειν δὲ τῷ σώματι τὰ εἰς τὸ ζῇν ἀποχρῶντα. Ἔλεγε γὰρ ὡς; ὁ διὰ πλειόνων ἡμερῶν σιτίων μεταλαγχάνων, ἀσθενέστερον μὲν ἐν ταῖς τῆς ἀσιτίας ἡμέραις τὰς δεπο- 6 πικὰς λειτουργίας ἐπιτελεῖ“ ἐν ἦ δὲ πάλιν ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σιτίων μεταλαμδάνει, πλείονα, ὡς εἰκὸς, προσφερόμένος τὴν γαστέρα. φορτίζει, βαρυνομένη δὲ αὕτη ὠχνηροτέραν περὶ τὴν ἀγρυςνίαν καθίστησι τὴν ψυχήν. ΓΛἌμεινον τοίνυν ἔλεγε καθ᾽ ἡμέραν μεταλαμ- Θάνειν τροφῆς, χόρον δὲ ὑπομεῖναι μηδέποτε. ᾿Αληθὴς γὰρ νηστεία ἡ διηνεκὴς ἔνδεια, Ταῦτα νομοῦε- «πῶν διετέλει ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἀνὴρ, καὶ σῶμα μέγιστον ἔχων, καὶ τῶν ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῦ πάντων ἀνθρώπων μέγιστος ὧν καὶ κάλλιστος, μικρῷ τοῦτο σιτίῳ Χρόνον δέ τινὸς διελθόντος δύ) συνοίκους ἐδέξατο, Ἐὐσέδιον, ὃς τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐκείνης καλύδης κληρονόμος ἐγένετο, καὶ ᾿Αγαπητὸν, ὃς τὴν ἀγγελικὴν ταύτην νομοθεσίαν εἰς τὴν ᾿Απαμέων μετεφύτευσε. Κώμη γάρ τίς ἐστι μεγίστη καὶ πολυάνθρωπος, Νιχέρται Ὁ δὲ ὄνομα ταύτῃ δύο τοίνυν φιλοσοφίας ἐν ταύτῃ ιφροντιστήρια κατεσκεύασε μέγιστα" τὸ μὲν τῆς αὐτοῦ προσηγορίας ἐπώνυμον, τὸ δὲ τοῦ θαυμαστοῦ Σνμεώγον, ὃς πεντήκοντα ἑτῶν ἀριθμὸν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ διέλαμψεν. Ἕν τούτοις μέχρι καὶ τήμερον πλείους ἣ τετραχόσιοι διάγουσιν ἄνδρες, ἀρετῆς ἀθληταὶ, καὶ εὑσεδείας ἐρασταὶ, καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν τοῖς πόνοις ὠνούμενοι " θεσμοθέται δὲ ταύτης τῆς πολιτείας ᾿Αγαπητὸς καὶ Συμεώνης, παρὰ τοῦ μεγάλου Μαρχιανοῦ τοὺς νόμους δεξάμενοι. Ἐκ δὲ τούτων μυρία ἐφυτεύθη ἕτερα ἀσκητῶν καταγώγια, τουτοισὶ τοῖς νόμοις χρσμούμενα, ἃ οὐ. ῥάδιον ἀριθμεῖν. ᾿Αλλὰ φυτουργὸς τούτων ἁπάντων ὁ θεσπέσιος ἐκεῖνος ἀνήρ" ὁ γὰρ τὸ σπέρμα τὸ κάλλιστον παρασχὼν, οὗτος καὶ τῶν φύντων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιος ἂν εἰκότως κληθείη. Τὸ μὲν οὖν πρῶτον, ὡς ἔφην, μόνος τὴν ἔθελούσιον εἶχεν εἑρχτὴν ἐχείνην" ἔπειτα τοὺς δύο τούτοὺς ὁποδεξάμενος, οὐ συνοίκους εἶχεν“ οὐδὲ γὰρ αὐτῷ μόνῳ ὁ οἰχίσχος ἀπέχρη, σμικρὸς ὧν κομιδῇ, καὶ πολὺν αὐτῷ καὶ ἑστῶτι καὶ χαταχειμένῳ παρἐχὼν πόνον. Οὔτε γὰρ ἑστὼς ἀνορθοῦσθαι οἷός τε ἦν, τῆς ὁροφῆς καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸν αὐχένα χαμπτούσης " οὔτε χαταχλινόμενος ἐκτείνειν τοὺς πόδας ἠδύνατο, ἰσόμετρον τῷ σώματι τοῦ οἴκου τὸ μῆκος οὐκ ἔχοντος. “Ἕτερον οὖν αὑτοῖς ἐπιτρέψας κατασκευάσαι, ἐν ἐκείνῳ διάγειν ἐκέλευσε, καὶ καθ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς δὲ ὑμνεῖν, καὶ προσεύχεσθαι, καὶ τοῖς θείοις Β ἐντυγχάνειν λογίοις. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔδει πλείονας τῆς ὠφελείας ταύτης μεταλαχεῖν, ἕτερον πόῤῥωθεν οἶχοδιάγειν τοὺς βουλομένους ἐκέλευεν. ᾿Ἡγεμόνευσε δὲ ὑτῶν ὁ Εὐσέδιος, τὴν τοῦ μεγάλου Μαρχιανοῦ διδασκαλίαν δισπορθμεύων. Ὁ δὲ θεῖο; ἐκεῖνος ᾿Αγαπητὸς παιδοτριδηθεὶς, ὡς ὅδει, καὶ γυμνασθεὶς, καὶ τὴν ἀθλητιχὴν ταύτην ἄριστα παιδευθεὶς, ἐπα» νῆχεν, ὡς ἔφην, καὶ ἃ παρὰ τῆς θείας ἐκείνης ψυχῆς ἐδέξατο, πατέσπειρε σπέρματα - οὕτω δὲ περιφανὴς ἐγένετο καὶ περίδλεπτος, ὡς καὶ τῆς ἀρχιερατικῆς προεδρίας ἀξιωθῆναι, καὶ ποιμενικὴν κηδεμονίαν, καὶ τῆς οἰκείας πατρίδος ἐμπιστευθῆναι τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν. Εὐσέδιος δὲ ὁ θαυμάσιος, τῆς συναθροιαθείσης προστατεύων ἀγέλης, καὶ τοῦ διδασκάλου τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν ἀνεδέδεχτο, καὶ μόνος εἰς καιρὸν αὐτῷ φοιτᾷν καὶ πυνθάνεσθαι μή τι βούλοιτο ἠξιοῦτο. Ἐϑελήσας δέ ποτε νύκτωρ ἰδεῖν ὅ τι πράττει, ἐτόλμησε τῇ φωταγωγῷ, βραχεῖα δὲ ἣν αὕτη, πελάσαι“ καὶ παρακύψας ὁρᾷ φῶς οὐ λυχνιαῖον, οὐδὲ χειροποίητον, ἀλλὰ θεόπδοτον, καὶ τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος, τῆς τοῦ διδασκάλου κορυφῇς ἀπαστράπτον, καὶ τῶν θείων λογίων ὑποδειχνύον τὴν τῶν γραμμάτων σύνθεσιν. Καὶ γὰρ βιθλίον κατέχων ἐτύγχανε, καὶ τὸν ἄσυλον θησαυρὸν ἐπεζήτει τοῦ θείου θελήματος. Τοῦτο θεαπλατο, καὶ φρίκης μεστὸς ἐγίνετο, καὶ τὴν χαταχ’χυμένην τοῦ θείου θεράποντος ἐδιδάσκετο χάριν, καὶ «οὔ Θεοῦ τὴν περὶ τοὺς δούλους ἐμάνθανεν εὔνοιαν. Ἄλλοτε δὲ, ἐν τῷ προαυλίῳ τοῦ μεγάλου Μαρχιανοῦ, δράκων τις ἀνερπύσας εἰς τὸν πρὸς ἕω τετραμμένον τοῖχον, ἄνωθεν τοῦ τοίχου διέχυψε κεχηνώς τε ἅμα καὶ βλοσυρὸν βλέπων, καὶ ῃ τὴν ἐπιδουλὴν σημαίνων. Πόῤῥω δὲ ἑστὼς ὁ Εὐσέθδιος, καὶ τὸ φρεχῶδες ἐκεῖνο θέαμα δείσας, καὶ τὸν καὶ φυγεῖν ἀντιδολῶν. Ὁ δὲ ἐπιτιμήσας, καὶ τὴν δειλίαν ἐχδαλεῖν κελεύσας, πάθος γὰρ. εἶναι καὶ ταύτὴν ὀλέθριον, τὸ μὲν σημεῖον δακτύλῳ τοῦ σταυροῦ προετύπωσε, ἐνεφύσησε δὲ τῷ στόματι, καὶ τὴν παλαιὰν παρεδήλωσεν ἔχθραν. Ὁ δὲ, καϑάπερ. πυρί τινι τῷ τοῦ στόματος πνεύματι ἀναφθεὶς, καὶ οἱονεὶ ἐμπρησθεὶς, καλάμης δίκην χαταφλεχθείσης εἰς πολλὰ διελύθη. Ὅρα μοι τοίνυν εἰ μὴ τὸν Δεσπότην ὡς εὕνους οἰκέτης μεμίμηται. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Δεσπότης, τῆς θαλάτφης ἐπιμανείσης ποτὲ τῷ σχάφει τῷ τῶν μα θητῶν, ἀγωνιῶντας τούτους θεασάμενος, οὐ πρότ: ὃν πῆς θαλάσσης τὴν ζάλην ἑστόρεσε, πρὶν ἢ τῶν μα- … ὁ θαυμάσιος οὗτος ταῦτα πεπαιδευμένος, πρῶτον τοῦ μαθητοῦ τὴν δειλίαν ἐξέλαδεν, εἶθ᾽ οὕτως τὸ θηρίον τιμωρίᾳ παρέδωκε, Τοιαύτη τοῦ μεγάλου Μαρχιανοῦ καὶ ἡ σοφία, καὶ ἡ θαυματουργία, καὶ ἡ πρὸς Θεὸν παῤῥησία. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως καὶ τοιαύτης χάριτος ἠξιωμένος, καὶ θαυματουργεῖν μεγάλα δυνάμενος, κρύπτειν ἐσπούξαζε τὴν ἰσχὺν, τοῦ λωποδύτου τῆς ἀρετῆς τὰ: μηχανὰς ὑφορώμενος. Τὸ γὰρ τῆς ἀλαζονείας ὑποσπείρων πάθος, «οὺς πόνῳ συλλεγέντας καρποὺς λῃστεύειν ἐπιχειρεῖ. Καὶ κρύπτειν δὲ τὴν δεδομένην προθυμούμενος χάριν, ἄκων ἐθαυματούργει, τῆς τῶν κατορθωμάτων αἴγλης ἀπαστραπτούσης, καὶ τὴν κεκρυμμένην δύναμιν παραγυμνούσης᾽ καὶ δήποτε τοιόνδε συνέδη γενέσθαι, ᾿Ανήρ τις τῶν εὐπατριδῶν, καὶ ἀρχὰς τῆς Συρίας ὁρμώμενος, τῆς θυγατρὸς ἐπὶ χρόνῳ πολλῷ, χορνδαντιώσης, καὶ ὑπὸ πονηροῦ δαίμονος μον, συνήθης μὲν ὧν τοῦ μεγάλου Μαρχιανοῦ, συνκεύξεσθαι δὲ αὑτῷ καὶ ἀντιδολῆσαι διὰ τὴν προτέραν δὲ τῆς ἐλπίδος, καὶ «ἧς θέας διαμαρτὼν τοῦ θείου θεράποντος, ἱκετεύει «τινὰ πρεπσδύτην, ὃς κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ τὴν τοῦ θείου ἐλαίου πλῆρες ὑποδέξασθαί τε καὶ παρ᾽ αὐτὴν θεῖναι «οὔ οἰχιδίου τὴν θύραν. Ὁ δὲ πρεσδύτης, πολλάκις μὲν τὴν ἐγχείρησιν ἀρνηθεὶς, πολλάκις δὲ πάλιν παρακληθεὶς, ἥττων τῆς ἱκεσίας ἐγένετο. Τοῦ δὲ κτύπου αἰσθόμενος ὁ μέγας Μαρχιανὸς, ἐπυνθάνετο τίς τε εἴη, ταὶ τέ δεόμενο; ἦκοι. Ὁ δὲ τὴν μὲν ἀληθῆ πρόφασιν ἔχρνπτεν, ἐσχήπτετα δὲ ἀφῖχθαι, ὡς μα- Ὑπὸ δὲ τὴν ἕω πάλιν τῆ; κόρης ὁ πατὴρ ἱκέτευεν ἀποδοθῆναι αὐτῷ τὸ ληχύθιον, ὁ δὲ δεδιὼς μὲν, ἀπῇει δ᾽ ὅμως ἡσυχῇ ἧ ἡδύνατο, καὶ τὴν χεῖρα προτείνας, καὶ τὸ ληχύθιαν λαδὼν, ἐπειρᾶτο λανθάνειν " ὁ δὲ πόλιν ἐπύθετο τί βουλόμενος ἦκοι. Ὧ; δὲ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔφη πρόφασιν, ἣν καὶ ἑσπέρας ἐδήλωσε, δυσχεράνας ὁ θεῖος ἀνὴρ, ἅτε δὴ παρὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς γεγενημένην, τοῦ πρεσθύτου τὴν ἄφιξιν, τἀληθῇ ἀπαγγέλλειν ἐχέλενεν. Ὁ δὲ δειμαίνων καὶ τρέμων, καὶ κρύπτειν κὸν τῆς θεία; χάριτο; ἀνάπλεων οὐ δυνάμενος, τίς τε ἧκοι ἔλεγε, καὶ τοῦ πάθους τὴν τραγῳδίαν ἐδίδασκε, καὶ τὸ ληχύθιον ἐπεδείχγυ. Ὁ δὲ ἠγανάκτει μὲν, ὡς εἰκὸς ἦν, δεικνύναι τὴν ἀρετὴν οὐ βουλόμενος, ἀπειλήσας δὲ ὅμως, ὡς εἰ αὖθις τοιαῦτα τολμήσειε, καὶ τῆς συνουσίας ἐκείνης στερηθήσεται, καὶ τὴν διακονίαν ἀφαιρεθήσεται " μεγίστη δὲ ἦν ἡ ζημία τοῖς τὸ κέρδος ἐπισταμένοις “ ἀπέπεμψεν ἀποδοῦναι «ῷ δεδωκότι κελεύσας. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ταῦτα ἐκέλευε, «“ἕτταρας δὲ σταθμοὺς ὁ δαίμων ἀφεστηχὼς τοῦ ἐξελαύνοντο; ἐδόα τὴν δύναμιν" καὶ Μαρχιανὸς ἐν Βεροίᾳ τὰ δικαστῶν εἰργάζετο δημίοις τισὶ κατὰ τοῦ δαίμονος χρώμενος, καὶ τὸν ἀλιτήριον ἐκεῖνον ἐξἐλαύνων, καὶ τὴν κόρην καθαρὰν τῆς ἐνεργείας ἀποφαίνων ἐκείνης. Καὶ τοῦτο μεμάθηκεν ἀχριδῶς ὁ τῆς χύρης πατὴρ - ἐπανιόντι γὰρ αὐτῷ, καὶ ὀλίγους ἡμέρας, καὶ τὸν καιρὸν ἀχριθῶς ἐξετάσας, ἐκεῖνον τοῦ ἄστεος σταδίους ἀπέχοντι, οἰκέτης τις ἀπίντησεν, εἰς ἀγρὸν ὑπὸ τῆς δεσποίνης ἀποσταλείς, Οὗτος τὸν δεσπότην θεασάμενος προσέφερε τῆς γεγενημένης θαυματουργίας τὰ Εὐαγγέλια, πρὸ τεττάρων ἡμερῶν λέγων γεγενῆσθα: τὸ θαῦμα, ᾿λριθμέσας τοίνυν τὰς εἶνα! μεμάθηκεν, ἐν ᾧ τὸ ληκύθιον ἐξεχόμισεν ὁ πρε- Ἐγὼ δὲ εἰς ἔννοιαν λαμβάνω, τί οὐκ ἂν ἔδρασεν ὁ μέγας οὗτος ἀνὴρ, εἰ θαυματουργεῖν ἐδούλετο. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ κρύπτειν ἑσπουδαχὼς ἣν ἐδέξατο χάριν, τοσαῦ. τὴν αἴγλην ἡφέει, ποίαν οὐκ ἂν τερατουργίαν ἐθελήσας εἰργάσατο; Οὕτω δὲ καὶ τὴν πνευματικὴν αὐτοῦ σοφίαν οὐκ ἅπασιν ἐδέλου, καὶ ταῦτα τὸ τελευταῖον, μετὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτηρίου πάθους καὶ τῆς δεσποτιχῆς ἀναστάσεως ἑορτὴν, εἰσιέναι τοὺς βουλομένους εἰ; δὰ Β αὐτὸν ἐπιτρέψας" ἀμέλει κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον ἅπαντες ὁρᾷν αὑτὸν ἑσπούδαζον τὸν καιρόν. Καὶ δή ποτε ἀφίκοντο πρὸς αὐτὸν συναχθέντες τῶν ἀρχιερέων οἱ πρῶτοι, Φλαδιανὸς ὁ μέγας τὴν ᾿Αντιοχέων ποιμαίνειν πεπιστευμένος, καὶ ὁ θεῖος ᾿Ακάκιος, οὗ καὶ πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθην, Εὐσέδιός τε ὁ τῇς Χαλχιδέων, καὶ Ἰπσίδωρος ὁ τότε τὴν Εὔρον χυδερνᾶν πεπιστευμένος, ἀρετῇ διαπρέποντες. Συνῆν δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ Θεόδοτος τῆς Ἱεραπολιτῶν κατέχων τὰς ἡνίας, ἀσκήσει καὶ πραὁτητι λάμπων. Παρῆσαν δέ τινες καὶ τῶν ἐν τέλει καὶ ἀξιώμασι, τῆς πίστεως τὸ ξζώπυρον ἔχοντες. Πάντων τοίνυν σιγῇ καθημένων, καὶ τὴν ἱερὰν ἐχείνου προσδεχομένων φωνὴν, σιγῶν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπὶ πολὺ καθῆστο, ἀργῶν μὲν τὴν γλῶτταν, ἐνεργὸν δὲ ἔχων τὴν ἀκοήν. Τότε τις τῶν καθημένων, συνήθης ὧν αὐτῷ διὰ τὴν «ἧς ψυχῆς ἐπιμέλειαν, καὶ ἄλλως δὲ ἀξιώματι λάμπων" « Ἅπαντες, ἔφη, ὦ πάτερ, καὶ οἱ θεῖοι Πατέρὲς τῆς σῆς διψῶντες διδασκαλίας, τὰ ἔδιστά 500 προσμένουσι νάματα. Μετάδος τοίνυν τοῖς παροῦσιν ἅπασι τῆς ὠφελείας, καὶ μὴ κωλύσῃ ς τοὺς τῆς εὐεργεσίας χρουνούς.» Ὃ ὃὲ μέγα στενάξας, ὃ τῶν ὅλων, ἔφη ε Θεὸς καθ᾽ ἐκάστην ἡμέραν, καὶ διὰ τῆς κτίσεως φθέγγεται, καὶ διὰ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν διαλέγεται, καὶ παραινεῖ τὰ δέοντα, καὶ εἰστγεῖται τὰ συμφέροντα, καὶ ἀπειλαῖς δεδίττεται, καὶ προτρέπει ταῖς ὑποσχέσεσι, καὶ ὄνησιν οὐδεμίαν καρπούμεθα. Πῶς ὠφέλειαν μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἀποπεμπόμενος, καὶ ὄνησι» ἐκεῖθεν εὔρασθαι μὴ βουλόμενος; » Ἐντεῦθεν πολλοὶ μὲν παρὰ τῶν Πατέρων ἐκινήθησαν λόγοι, οὗὃς ἐνθεῖναι τῷ διηγήματι παρέλχον ἐνόμισα. ᾿᾽Ανα- 'στάντες δὲ καὶ προσευξάμενοι, καὶ τῆς ἱερωσύνης ᾿αὑτῷ τὴν χειροτονίαν ἐπιθεῖναι θελήσαντες, ἔδεισαν πάλιν τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν. Καὶ οὗτος ἐκείνῳ, ἐκεῖνος δὲ τούτῳ παρεκελεύετο“ πάντες δὲ ὁμοίως παραιτησμενο: τὴν ἐπάνοδον ἐποιήσαντο. ᾿Αλλὰ γὰρ βούλομαι καὶ ἄλλο τούτοις προσεῖναι διήγημα, τῆς θείας ὑπάρχον αὐτοῦ συνέσεως γνώρ!σμα. "Αὔιτός τις εἰς τὴν ἑτέραν ἔρημον τὴν ἄσχητιἐστὶ, καὶ μικρὸν πρὸς ξω χειμέντ;, κατὰ τὸν ἀταρτοῦ μεγάλου Μαρχιανοῦ καὶ χρόνῳ καὶ πόνῳ πρεσδύτερὸς ἦν, φιλόσοφος δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ, καὶ τῷ σκληρῷ βίῳ νὴν τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καταμαθὼν ἀρετὴν, τῆς μικρᾶς ἡσυχίας νερδαλεωτέραν εἶναι τὴν τοιαύτην θέαν νενομιχὼς, ἔδραμε σπεύδων ἰδεῖν τὸν ποθούμενον. Μαθὼν δὲ αὑτοῦ τὴν ἄφιξιν ὁ μέγας Μαρχιανὸς, τὴν θύραν ἀνοίξας εἰσεδέξατο, Εὐσεδίῳ δὲ τῷ θαυμασίῳ παρηγγύησε, καὶ ὄσπριον ἐψῆσα:, καὶ λάχανον εἴπερἔχοι. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τῆς ἀλλήλων διαλέξεως ἐνεπλήσθησαν, καὶ τὴν ἀλλήλων κατέμαθον ἀρετὴν, κοινῇ τὴν τῆς Ἐννάτη: ἐπετέλεσαν λειτουργίαν. Ἧκε δὲ Εὐτέὅδιος τράπεζαν φέρων, καὶ ἄρτους προσφέρων. Ὁ δὲ μέγας Μαρχιανὸς τῷ θεσπεσίῳ ᾿Αδέτῳ᾽ « Δεῦρο, ἔφη, πάντων μοι προσφιλέστατε, καὶ ταύτης χοινωνήσωμεν νῆς τραπέζης. ν Ὁ δέ" ε Οὐκ οἶδα, ἔφη, πώποτε πρὸ τῆς ἑσπέρας σιτίων μεταλαδὼν, πολλάκις καὶ δύο καὶ τρεῖς κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἄσιτος ἡμέρας δια- “ελῶ. » Ὁ δὲ μέγας Μαρχιανός" ε Ἐμοῦ γοῦν εἵνεκα, ἔξη, σήμερον ἀμειδέσθω τὸ ἔθος " ἀσθενῶς γὰρ τὸ σῶμα διακείμενος προσμένειν τὴν ἑσπέραν οὐ δύναμαι. » Ὡς δὲ καὶ ταῦτα λέγων τὸν θαυμαστὸν “Αὔιτον οὐκ ἔπειθε, στενάξαι τε λέγεται καὶ φάναι" « ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἐγώ τε ἀθυμῶ λίαν καὶ δάχνομαι τὴν ψυχὴν, ὅτι τοσοῦτον ὑπέμεινας πόνον, ἵνα τινὰ φιλόπονον καὶ φιλόσοφον ἴδης, καὶ τῆς ἐλπίδος ψευσθεὶς, χάπηλόν πινα καὶ ἄσωτον ἀντὶ φιλοσόφου τεθέασαι. » ᾽Ανιαθέντος δὲ πρὸς ταῦτα τοῦ θειοτάτου ᾿Αδίτου, καὶ φήσαντος, ὡς χρεῶν μεταλάδοι ἂν ἥδιον μᾶλλον, ἣ τούτων ἀκούοι, ὁ μέγας ἔφη Μαρχιανός " ε« Καὶ ἡμεῖς, ὦ φιλότης, τὸν αὐτόν σοι μέτιμεν βίον, καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἀσπαζόμεθα πολιτείαν, καὶ τῆς ἀναπαύλης Γ΄ προτιμῶμεν τοὺς πόνους, καὶ τὴν νηστείαν τῆ: τροφῇς προαιρούμεθα, καὶ νυκτὸς ἐπιγινομένης, τότε ταύτης μεταλαγχάνομεν" ἀλλ᾽ ἴσμεν ὅτι τῆς ἀγάπης τὸ χρῆμα τῆς νηστείας ἐστὶ τιμιώτερον. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ τῆς θείας ἔργον νομοθεσίας, τὸ δὲ τῆς ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ἐξουσία; προσήκει δὲ τοὺς θείους νόμους τῶν ἧμεπέρων πόνων πολλῷ νομίζειν τιμιωτέρους. » Τοιαῦτα πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαλεχθέντες, καὶ βραχείας μεταλαχόντες τροφῆς, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὑμνήσαντες, καὶ τρεῖς πάλιν ἀλλήλους ἐρῶντε; τῷ πνεύματι. Τίς τοίνυν οὐκ ἂν θαυμάσειε τοῦδε τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὴν σοφίαν, ὑφ᾽ Ὡς; χυδερνώμενο; ἥδει μὲν νηστεία;, ἤδει δὲ φιλοσοφίας καὶ φιλαδελφίας καιρὸν, ἤδει δὲ καὶ τῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς μορίων τὸ διάφορον, καὶ ποῖον ποίῳ προσἠκτι παραχωρεῖν, καὶ τίνι κατὰ καιρὸν διδόναι τὰ Ἔχω δὲ καὶ ἄλλο διήγημα τῆς ἐν τοῖς θείοις αὐτοῦ τελειότητος γνώρισμα. ᾿Αφίκετο γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ ἀδελφὴ ἀπὸ τῇς πατρίδος σὺν τῷ νἱῷ, ἀνδρί τε ὄντι, καὶ τῆς Κύρου πρωτεύοντι, τὰς ἀναγκαίας αὐτῷ χρείας πλουσίως χομίζουσα, Ὁ δὲ τὴν μὲν ἀδελφὴν ἰδεῖν οὐκ ἠνέσχετο, τὸν δὲ ἀδελφιδοῦν εἰσἐδέξατο" τῆς γὰρ ὡρισμένης συντυχίας ἧν ὁ καιρός. Ὡς δὲ ἱκέτευον ὑποδεχθῆναι τὰ χομισθέντα " ε Διὰ πόσων, ἔφη, μοναστηρίων διήλθετε; τίσιν ἐχείνων ἐκ τούτων αὐτῶν μετεδώχατε; » Τοῦ δὲ εἰρηκότος ὡς οὐδενὶ ξιδωχότες εἶεν ε« Ἅπιτε, ἔφη, μεθ᾽ ὧν ἐκομίσατο. ἡμεῖς γὰρ τούτων νυδενὸς οὔτε δεόμενα, οὔτε εἰ δεοίμεθα, δεξοίμεθα. φυσικῆς γὰρ συγγενείας, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ θείας θεραπείας πεφροντιχότες τού- Εἰ γὰρ μὴ μόνην τοῦ γένους ἐνιμᾶτε τὴν ἀγχιστείαν, οὐκ ἡμῖν ἡ τὸν ἀδελφιδοῦν μετὰ τῆς ἀδελφῆς ἀπεπέμψατο, οὐδὲ … βραχύ τι τῶν παρ' αὐτῶν προσενεχθέντων χθῆναι κελεύσας. Οὕτως ἕξω τῆς φύσεως ἦν, καὶ εἰς τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν μεταδεδήχει πολιτείαν. Ποῖον γὰρ ἄν τις τούτου σαφέστερον παράσχοι παράδειγμα, ὅτι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄξιος ἦν, κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θερῦ φωνὴν; « Ὁ μὴ καταλιμπάνων γὰρ, φησὶ, πατέρα, καὶ μητέρα, καὶ ἀδελφοὺς, καὶ ἀδελφὰς, καὶ γυναῖκα. καὶ τέχνα, οὐκ ἔστι μου ἄξιος. » Ἐξ δὲ ὁ μὴ καταλιμπάνων ἀνάξιος, ὁ καταλιμπάνων, χα τοσαύτῃ χρώμενος ἀχριδεῖ τελειότητι, δῆλον ὡς; ἀξιώτατος ἦν. Ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸς τούτοις θαυμάζω καὶ τὴν τῶν θείων αὐτοῦ δογμάτων ἀκρίδειαν. λύττετο μὲν γὰρ τὴν ᾿Αρείο" μανίαν ὑπὸ τῆς βασιλικῆς δυναστείας κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν ἑξαπτομένὴν " ἐμυσάττετο δὲ καὶ τὴν ᾿Απολιναρίου φρενοθλά» θειαν. Διεμάχετο δὲ γενναίως καὶ τοῖς τὰ Σαδελλίου φρηνοῦσι, καὶ τὰς τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις εἰς μίαν συνδὰ ἀγουσιν, ᾿Απεστρέφετο δὲ κομιδῇ καὶ τοὺς ὀνομαζο» ἐν μοναχιχῷ προσχήματι τὰ Μανιχαίων νοσοῦντας. Οὕτω δὲ θερμὸν εἶχε τὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐκκλησιαστικῶν δογμάτων ζῆλον, ὅτι καὶ πρὸς ἄν" ρα θαυμάσιάν τε καὶ θεῖον δικαίαν ἀνεδέξατο μάχην, τις ἦν κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον ἐχείνην, πρεσδὺτης ἀνὴρ, πολιὰν μὲν ἔχων τὴν τρίχα, πολιώτερον δὲ τὸ φρόνημα, ἀρετῇ πάσῃ λάμπων, καὶ ἀναδλύζων ἀεὶ τὸ τῆς κατανύξεως δάκρυον. Οὗτος καταρχὰς ὑπό τινος ἁπλότητος ὑπαχθεὶς, τὸ πρῶτον ἐπιτελεῖν ἐνείχετο Πάσχα“ ἀγνοῶν μὲν, ὡς εἰκὸς, τὰ περὶ πούτου τοῖς Πατράσιν ἐν Νικαίᾳ νενομοθετημένα, ἔθει δὲ ἀρκαίῳ δουλεύειν αἱρούμενος. Πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνο τοῦ καιροῦ ταύτην ἐἑνόσουν τὴν ἄγνοιαν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὁ μέγας Μαρχιανὸς, πολλοῖς μὲν πολλάκις χρησάμενος λόγοις, ἐπειράθη τὸν πρεσδύτην ᾿Αδραάμην" οὕτω γὰρ αὐτὸν οἱ ἐγχώριοι προσηγόν ρεένον, εἷς τὴν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας μεταγαγεῖν συμφὼνίαν. ᾿Απειθοῦντα δὲ θεασάμενος, τῆς πρὸς αὑτὸν προφανῶς κοινωνίας ἀπέστη ᾿ ἀλλὰ χρόνου διελθόντος, ὁ θεσπέσιος ἐκεῖνος ἀνὴρ, ἀποῤῥίψας τὸν μῶμον, καὶ τῆς θείας ἑορτῆς ἀγαπήσας τὴν συμφωνίαν, ἔψαλλεν ἀληθεύων " ε Μακάριοι οἱ ἄμωμοι ἐν ὁδῷ, οἱ πορενόμενοι ἐν νόμῳ Κυρίου. » Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ τῆς τοῦ μεγάλου Μαρχιανοῦ διδασκαλίας κατόρθωμα. Τούτῳ πολλαὶ μὲν πολλαχοῦ σηκοὺς εὐκτηρίους Ζηνοδιανὴ δέ τις ἐν Χαλκίδι, καὶ γένει λάμπουσα, καὶ ἀρετῇ διαπρέπουσα, καὶ πλούτου περιουσίᾳ χομῶσα. Καὶ ἕτεροι δὲ οὐκ ὀλίγοι αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἕδρων, τὸν νικηφόρον ἐκεῖνον ἀθλητὴν ἀρπάσαι φιλονεικοῦντες. Τοῦτο γνοὺς ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος, παρεχάλε! τὸ» θαυμάσιον ἐκεῖνον Εὐσέδιον, ὄρκου; αὐτῷ προ» ενεγκὼν δείματος παντὸς γέμοντας, ἐνἐχείνῳ τῷ χωρίῳ καταθεῖναι τὸ σῶμα, καὶ μηδένα διαγνῶναι τὸν τάφον, πλὴν δύο τῶν συνηθεστέρων συνοίχων, μέχρις ἂν διἔλθῃ πολὺς ἐτῶν ἀριθμός. Καὶ τοῦτον τὸν ὄρκον ὁὀθαυμάσιας ἐκεῖνος ἐπλήρωσεν ἄνθρωπος, Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἧκε τοῦ νικηφόρου τὰ τέλος, καὶ χορὸς ἀγγέλων τὴν ἱερὰν ἐκεί-. νὴν καὶ θείαν ψυχὴν εἰς τὰς ἐν οὐρανῷ μονὰς μετέθηκεν, οὐ πρότερον αὐτοῦ τὴν τελευτὴν χατεμήνυσεν, ἕως τὰ τῶν δύο τῶν γνωριμωτέρων τὸν τάφον ὀρύξας, καὶ τὸ σῶμα καταθεὶς, τῆς γῆς τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν ἔξωμάλισε. Καὶ πεντήκοντα διελθόντων ἐνιαυτῶν, ἣ χότων τὸ σῶμα, ἄδηλος ὁ τάφος μεμένηχεν. ᾿Επειδὴ δὲ ἕκαστος τῶν προειρημένων σηχῶν, ὁ μὲν ἀποτόλων, ὁ δὲ μαρτύρων ὑπεδέξατο λείψανα, θαῤῥήσαντες λοιπὸν οἱ πῆς ἐχείνου σχηνῆῇς καὶ διδαχῆς κληρονόμοι. πρὸ δύο τούτων ἑτῶν λάρνακα λιθίνην κατασκευάσαντες, ἐν ταύτῃ τοῦ τιμίου σώματος με- «ἐθηκαν τὰ λείψανα, ἑνὸς τὸν τάφον ὑποδείξαντος " οὗτος γὰρ μόνας ἐκ τῶν τριῶν περιῆν. Ζηλωτὴς δὲ γενόμενος τῆς ἐχείνου ἀρετῆς Εὐσέδιος ὁ θαυμάσιος, πλείοσι διετέλεσε πόνοις κατατρύχων τὸ σῶμα. Εἴκοσι γὰρ καὶ ἑκατὸν σιδήρου περικείμενος λίτρας, ἐπέθηκε μὲν ἑαυτῷ καὶ τὰς τοῦ δὲ καὶ τὰς τοῦ μεγάλου Μαρχιανοῦ ὀγδοήκοντα. Ἔσχε δὲ οἰκητήριον λάκκον τινὰ ὑδάτων ἀπηλλαγμένον, καὶ τριῶν ἐτῶν ἀριθμὸν τοῦτον διάγων τὸν τρόπον. Εἰς τούτους δὲ ἐξέδην τοὺς λόγου, δεῖξαι βουλόμενος ὅτοις καὶ ἄλλοις μεγάλων χατορθω- ο μάτων ὁ μέγας Μαρχιανὸς ἐγένετο πρόξενος. Τὰς «ούτου φιλοσοφίας ἀπώνατο καὶ Βασίλειος ὁ θαυμάσιος, ὁ πολλοῖς ὕστερον χρόνοις παρὰ τὴν Σελευχόθδηλον " πόλις δὲ αὕτη τῆς Συρίας " τὸ μοναχιχὸν δειμάμενος καταγώγιον, καὶ λάμψας μὲν ἐν πολλοῖς εἴδεσιν ἀρετῆς, λάμψας δὲ διαφερόντως ἐν τῷ θεοφιλεῖ «Ὡς ἀγάπης χτήματι, καὶ τῷ θείῳ. τῆς φιλοξενίας κατορθώματι. “σους δὲ καὶ οὗτος καρέστησε τῷ Θεῷ « ἐργάτας, ἀποστολικῶς εἰπεῖν, ἀνεπαισχύντους, ὀρθοτομοῦντας τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, » τίς ἄν ῥᾳδίως ἀριθμήσειεν; Ἵνα γὰρ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐπὶ «τοῦ παρόντος παραλίπω, εὐφημίας μὲν ὄντας ἀξίους, μῆκος ὃὲ ἐμποιοῦντας τῷ διηγήματι, ἑνὸς τούτων καὶ μόνου μνησθήσομαι. Ἐγένετό τις τούτου φοιτητής, Σαδῖνον δὲ αὐτὸν προσηγόρευον, ὅς πόνοις μυρίοις τὸ σῶμα κατεδαπάνησεν. Οὔτε γὰρ ἄρτου, εὖτε ὄψου τινὸς μετελάμδανε " τροφὴ δὲ ἦν αὐτῷ πᾶσαν τοῦ μηνὸς τὴν τροφὴν," ὡς εὐρωτιᾷν, καὶ πολλὴν ἐκπέμπειν τὴν δυσωδίαν, Ἐδούλετο δὲ αὐτῷ ποῦτο τῆς τοιᾶσδε τροφῆς τὸ εἶδος ἁμδλύνειν τοῦ σώματος τὰς ὀρέξεις, καὶ τῇ δυσωδίᾳ τῆς τροφῆς μαραίνειν τὴν ἡδονήν. Οὕτω δὲ καθ᾽ ἑαυτὸν διάγων, εἴ ποτέ τις τῶν γνωρίμων ἀφίκετο, τῶν παρατιθεδὲ χάριν θεόθεν ἐδέξατο, ὡς γυναῖκά τινα τῶν ἐπισήμων, καὶ ἐπὶ γένει καὶ πλούτῳ σεμνυνομένων, ἀπὸ τῆς ᾿Αντιοχέων αὑτῷ προσδραμεῖν, καὶ ἰχετεῦσαι ἐπαμῦναι τῇ θυγατρὶ ὑπὸ δαίμονος πολεμουμένῃ. ἼὌοναρ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐθεασάμην τινὰ ἐνταῦθα δραμεῖν παρεγγνῶντα, καὶ ταῖς εὐχαῖς τοῦ τῆς μονῆς ἡγεμονεύοντος τῇ θυγατρὶ πορίσαι τὴν σωτηρίαν. “Ἔλεγε τοίνυν ὁ τὰς ἀποκρίσεις ποιούμενος, ὡς οὐκ εἴς ἔῆος τὸν προστατεύοντα γυναιξὶ διαλέγεσθαι " ὡς καὶ πικρῶς ποτνιωμένη, ἐξελήλυθε μὲν ὁ τῆς μονῆς ἡγούμενος «Ἔφασκε δὲ ἡ γυνὴ μὴ αὐτὸν εἶναι, ἕτερον δὲ αὐτῇ κατὰ τῶν παρειῶν ἔχοντα. Ὡς δὲ ἔγνωσαν τὸν ζηποὐμενον, τρίτος δὲ ἣν τῆς μονῆς, ἀλλ’ οὐ πρῶτος, πείσαντες αὐτὸν ἤγαγον τρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα, καὶ παραὐτίκα ἢ μὲν ἐπέγνω τὸ πρόσωπον, ὁ δὲ πονηρὸς Β δαίμων βοῆσας τὴν κόρην κατέλιπε. Τοιαῦτα τῶν τοῦ μεγάλου Μαρχιανοῦ φοιτητῶν τὰ χατορθώματχ' τοιαῦτα φυτὰ πανταχοῦ κατεφύτευσεν ὁ ἄριδτος φυτουργός. Ἐγὼ δὲ πάλιν τούτῳ τέλος τῷ διηγήματι δεδωκὼς, ἀντιδολῶ καὶ δέομαι διὰ τῆς τούτων πάν. πων πρεσθείας τῆς θείας ἐπικουρίας τυχεῖν. ### English translation (Claude) How could we worthily admire the celebrated Marcianus? Or is it plain that we must rank him with Elijah and John and those like them, who “went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, of whom this world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and the holes of the earth”? For this man had first as his homeland Cyrrhus, which I mentioned before, and afterwards the desert; and having left both the one and the other, he now has heaven. The first gave him birth; the second nourished him and made him victorious; and heaven received him crowned. For he despised the distinction of his family (for he was descended from nobles) and the splendor of the palace, in which he flourished, having received from the Creator of nature great stature and beauty of body, and a soul adorned with quickness of mind. He transferred his love to God and the things of God, bade farewell to everything, and built a little hut not even matching the size of his body, and … continually, separated from all human company, conversing with the Master of all and hearkening to that sweet voice. For when he read the divine oracles he thought he was enjoying the divine voice; and when he prayed and offered supplications, he himself was conversing with the Master. Though he always enjoyed such delight, he did not wish to reach satiety. For he had heard the divine Spirit singing through the great David: “He who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night shall be like the tree planted by the streams of waters, which will give its fruit in its season, and its leaf shall not fall.” Desiring these fruits, he embraced this sweetest labor: psalmody followed prayer, prayer followed psalmody, and the reading of the divine oracles followed both again. His food was bread alone, and this taken by weight; and the weight was so small that it would not satisfy the need of a child just weaned. For they say that a pound of bread was divided into four and distributed over four days, one portion being allotted to each day. For he had decided to eat in the evening every day, but never to reach satiety; to be always hungry and always thirsty, but to give the body what sufficed to live. For he used to say that one who takes food only after several days performs the services owed to the Master more feebly on the days of fasting, and on the day when he takes food again, taking more, naturally, he loads his stomach, and the stomach, weighed down, makes the soul more sluggish in keeping vigil. So he said it was better to take food every day but never to bear satiety; for true fasting is constant want. Laying down these rules, this divine man persevered, although he had a very large body and was the tallest and most handsome of all the men of his time, [sustaining] it with little food. After some time he received two companions: Eusebius, who became the heir of that sacred hut, and Agapetus, who transplanted this angelic legislation to the territory of Apamea. For there is a very large and populous village, called Nikerte; in it he established two very large schools of philosophy, one named after himself, the other after the admirable Simeon, who shone in this philosophy for fifty years. In these, to this day, more than four hundred men live, athletes of virtue and lovers of true religion, buying heaven with their labors; and the lawgivers of this way of life were Agapetus and Simeon, who received the laws from the great Marcianus. From these countless other dwellings of ascetics have been planted, which use these same laws and are not easy to number. But the planter of all these is that inspired man; for the one who provided the finest seed may rightly be called the cause of the good things that grew from it. At first, as I said, he alone had that voluntary prison. Then, having received these two, he did not have them living with him, for the hut was not enough even for him alone, being very small and causing him much hardship both standing and lying down. For standing he could not straighten up, since the roof bent his head and neck; nor lying down could he stretch out his feet, as the length of the dwelling did not match his body. So he allowed them to build another and told them to live in it, to sing hymns, pray and read the divine oracles by themselves. But since more people had to share in this benefit, he told those who wished to build another dwelling at a distance and to live there; and Eusebius led them, conveying to them the teaching of the great Marcianus. The divine Agapetus, trained as he should be, exercised and excellently instructed in this athletic discipline, returned, as I said, and sowed the seeds he had received from that divine soul; and he became so famous and celebrated that he was counted worthy of the presidency of the high priesthood and was entrusted with the pastoral care of his own homeland. The admirable Eusebius, presiding over the flock that had gathered, had also taken on the care of the teacher, and he alone was allowed to visit him at the proper time and ask whether he wanted anything. Once, wishing to see what he was doing at night, he ventured to approach the window (it was a small one); and peeping in, he saw a light not from a lamp nor made by hands, but given by God and from the grace above, flashing from his teacher's head and showing the letters of the divine oracles. For he happened to be holding a book and seeking the inviolable treasure of the divine will. When Eusebius saw this he was filled with awe, and was taught the grace poured out on the divine servant, and learned God's good will toward his servants. Another time, in the forecourt of the great Marcianus, a serpent crept up onto the wall facing east and peered over the top of the wall, gaping and glaring fiercely, and showing its hostile intent. Eusebius, standing at a distance and frightened by that dreadful sight, [cried out to his teacher], begging him to flee. Marcianus rebuked him and told him to cast out his cowardice, for this too, he said, is a deadly passion; he traced the sign of the cross with his finger, breathed on it with his mouth, and showed the ancient enmity. The serpent, as if set alight by fire from the breath of his mouth, and as it were burned up, was consumed like a straw and fell into many pieces. See, then, whether he did not imitate the Master like a loyal servant. For the Master too, when once the sea raged against the disciples' boat and he saw them in anguish, did not calm the storm of the sea until he had … the disciples … . So this admirable man, taught by this, first drove out the disciple's cowardice, and then gave the beast over to punishment. Such were the wisdom, the wonder-working and the freedom of speech toward God of the great Marcianus. Yet though he was counted worthy of such grace and could work great wonders, he was eager to hide his power, suspecting the devices of the robber of virtue, who tries to plunder the fruits gathered by labor by sowing the passion of boasting. Though he was eager to hide the grace given him, he worked wonders against his will, since the splendor of his achievements shone out and laid bare the hidden power. Once something like this happened. A man of noble family, who came from the leading men of Syria, whose daughter had for a long time been raving and [troubled] by an evil demon … , was an acquaintance of the great Marcianus, but [could not] meet him and entreat him because of the [fixed rule] … ; failing in his hope and in the sight of the divine servant, he begged an old man, who at that time [had charge of serving him], to receive a little flask full of the divine oil and to set it beside the door of his cell. The old man refused the undertaking many times, but, being urged many times again, gave way to the entreaty. The great Marcianus heard the noise and asked who it was and what he had come for. The old man hid the true reason and pretended that he had come … . Toward dawn the girl's father again begged that the flask be given back to him. The old man, afraid, nevertheless went as quietly as he could, stretched out his hand, took the flask, and tried to escape notice; but Marcianus again asked what he had come for. When he gave the same pretext as he had given in the evening, the divine man, displeased that the old man had come against custom, ordered him to report the truth. Fearful and trembling, and unable to hide anything from one full of divine grace, he said who had come, told the tragic story of the affliction, and showed the flask. Marcianus was indignant, as was natural, since he did not wish to display his virtue; but after threatening that if he dared such a thing again he would be deprived of his company and removed from his service (a very great loss to those who knew the gain), he sent him away, telling him to return the flask to the one who had given it. And while he gave these orders, the demon, four stages away from the one driving him out, cried out his power; and Marcianus was doing the work of judges in Beroea, using certain executioners against the demon, and he drove out that guilty spirit and made the girl free of that possession. The girl's father learned this precisely. For as he was returning, and was a few stades from the city, a servant met him who had been sent by his mistress into the country. Seeing his master, the servant brought him the good news of the wonder that had happened, saying that the miracle had taken place four days before. Counting the days, then, and examining the time precisely, he learned that it was that [night] on which the old man had brought out the flask. For my part, I consider what this great man would not have done if he had wished to work wonders. For if, though he was eager to hide the grace he had received, he sent out so great a splendor, what marvel would he not have worked had he wished? In the same way he did not show his spiritual wisdom to everyone either; and that although at the end of his life he allowed those who wished to come in to him after the feast of the saving passion and of the Lord's resurrection. Indeed, at that time all were eager to see him. Once there came to him together the first among the high priests: the great Flavian, who had been entrusted with shepherding Antioch, and the divine Acacius, whom I mentioned before, and Eusebius of Chalcis, and Isidore, who was then entrusted with governing Cyrrhus, men distinguished in virtue. With them was also Theodotus, who held the reins of Hierapolis, shining in asceticism and gentleness. Some of the officials and dignitaries were also present, who had the spark of faith. When all were sitting in silence and waiting for his sacred voice, he too sat silent a long while, keeping his tongue idle but his hearing active. Then one of those seated, who was familiar with him because of the care of his soul and was distinguished in rank besides, said: “Father, all of us, and the divine Fathers, thirsting for your teaching, are waiting for its sweetest streams. So share the benefit with all who are present, and do not stop the fountains of your beneficence.” He groaned deeply and said: “The God of all speaks every day through creation and converses through the divine Scriptures; he exhorts us to what we ought, proposes what is profitable, frightens us with threats and urges us on with promises; and we reap no benefit. How [could Marcianus benefit you], who along with the others sends away the benefit and does not wish to find profit from it?” After this the Fathers raised many topics, which I have thought it superfluous to include in the narrative. They rose and prayed, and wishing to lay on him the ordination of the priesthood, they feared the undertaking again. This one urged that one, and that one this one; and all alike excused themselves and made their way back. But I wish to add another story to these, a token of his divine understanding. A certain Avitus … in the other desert, the ascetic one, … lying a little to the east … ; he was older than the great Marcianus in age and in labor, a philosopher, and … in the hard life. Learning of the man's virtue, and considering such a sight more profitable than a little quiet, he hastened to see the one he longed for. Learning of his arrival, the great Marcianus opened the door and received him, and told the admirable Eusebius to boil pulse and vegetables if he had any. When they had had their fill of converse with each other and had learned each other's virtue, they performed the service of the ninth hour together. Eusebius came carrying a table and bringing bread. The great Marcianus said to the inspired Avitus: “Come, dearest of all to me, let us share this table too.” He said: “I do not know that I have ever taken food before evening; often I spend two and three days together without food.” The great Marcianus said: “For my sake at least change your custom today; for I am weak in body and cannot wait until evening.” When even by saying this he did not persuade the admirable Avitus, he is said to have groaned and said: “I am very disheartened and stung in soul that you endured so much toil to see someone who loves labor and philosophy, and, cheated of your hope, have seen a huckster and a profligate instead of a philosopher.” The most divine Avitus was grieved at this and said that he would rather eat than hear such things; and the great Marcianus said: “We too, my friend, pursue the same life as you and embrace the same way of life; we prefer labors to rest, we choose fasting over food, and we take it only when night comes on. But we know that love is more precious than fasting. For the one is the work of the divine law, the other belongs to our own authority; and it is right to regard the divine laws as far more precious than our own labors.” Having talked thus with each other, taken a little food and sung hymns to God, and [spent] three [days together] again, loving each other in spirit, [they parted]. Who, then, would not admire the wisdom of this man? Guided by it he knew the time for fasting and the time for philosophy and brotherly love; he knew also the differences among the parts of virtue, which should give way to which, and to which, when the time is right, the first place should be given. I have another story too, a token of his perfection in divine things. His sister came to him from his homeland with her son, a grown man and one of the leading men of Cyrrhus, bringing him necessities in abundance. He did not consent to see his sister, but received his nephew, for it was the time of the appointed meeting. When they begged him to accept what they had brought, he said: “How many monasteries have you passed through? To which of them have you given any of these things?” When the nephew said that they had given to none, he said: “Go away with what you brought. For we neither need any of these things nor, if we did need them, would we accept them; for you have taken thought for natural kinship, not for divine service. For if you did not honor only the bond of family, [you would have given to others as well] …” So he sent away his nephew together with his sister, not … ordering [even] a little of what they had offered to be accepted. So far was he beyond nature, and so fully had he passed over to the way of life of heaven. What clearer example could one give that he was worthy of God, according to the voice of God himself? “He who does not leave,” he says, “father and mother and brothers and sisters and wife and children, is not worthy of me.” If the one who does not leave them is unworthy, the one who leaves them, and that with such exact perfection, was plainly most worthy. Besides this I admire the exactness of his divine doctrines. He detested the madness of Arius, which at that time was being inflamed by the imperial power; he loathed also the derangement of Apollinarius. He fought nobly against those who hold the views of Sabellius and run the three hypostases together into one. He utterly turned away also from those called [Euchites], who in the guise of monks are sick with the disease of the Manichaeans. So warm was his zeal for the doctrines of the Church that he undertook a just battle even against an admirable and divine man, who lived in that desert, an old man whose hair was gray but whose mind was grayer, shining in every virtue and always welling up with tears of compunction. This man, led at first by a certain simplicity, persisted in celebrating the Pascha in the earlier manner, not knowing, naturally, what had been laid down about it by the Fathers at Nicaea, and choosing to be bound by an ancient custom. Many others too at that time suffered from this ignorance. But the great Marcianus, often using many arguments, tried to bring the old man Abraham (for so the people of the country called him) over to the concord of the Church. Seeing that he would not be persuaded, he openly withdrew from communion with him. But after some time that inspired man cast off the fault, and, loving the concord of the divine feast, sang truthfully: “Blessed are the blameless in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.” This too was an achievement of the great Marcianus's teaching. Many in many places [built] shrines of prayer for him … , among them a certain Zenobiana in Chalcis, distinguished by birth, eminent in virtue and abounding in wealth. And not a few others did the same, vying to seize that victorious athlete. Learning this, the man of God called on the admirable Eusebius, putting to him oaths full of every fear, to lay his body in that place … , and that no one should know the tomb except two of his closest companions, until a great number of years had passed. And that admirable man fulfilled this oath. For when the end of the victor came, and a choir of angels carried that sacred and divine soul to the dwellings in heaven, he did not announce his death until, with the two best-known disciples, he had dug the grave, laid the body in it, and leveled the surface of the ground. And when fifty years had passed … the body, the tomb remained unknown. But since each of the shrines mentioned before had received relics, one of apostles, another of martyrs, the heirs of his tent and teaching took courage at last, and two years ago made a stone coffin and moved the remains of the precious body into it, one man pointing out the tomb, for he alone of the three survived. The admirable Eusebius, having become an emulator of his virtue, went on wearing down his body with greater labors. For he wore a hundred and twenty pounds of iron, placing on himself both the [fifty pounds] of … and the eighty of the great Marcianus. For his dwelling he had a dry cistern, and he spent three years living in this manner. I have digressed into this account wishing to show for what other great achievements the great Marcianus was responsible. The admirable Basil also enjoyed his philosophy; long afterwards he built a monastic dwelling near Seleucobelus (this is a city of Syria), and shone in many forms of virtue, but especially in the God-beloved possession of love and the divine achievement of hospitality. And how many “workers who have no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth,” to speak with the apostle, he too presented to God, who could easily number? Not to pass over the others at present, who are worthy of praise but would lengthen the narrative, I shall mention one of them only. There was a disciple of his whom they called Sabinus, who wore out his body with countless labors. He took neither bread nor any relish; his food was … all the month's food …, so that it grew moldy and gave off a great stench. He wished this kind of food to dull the appetites of the body, and to wither pleasure through the foul smell of the food. Living thus by himself, if any of his acquaintances ever came, … of what was set before him … . He received such grace from God that a woman of distinction, proud of her family and wealth, ran to him from Antioch and begged him to help her daughter, who was being attacked by a demon. “For in a dream,” she said, “I saw someone urging me to hasten here and obtain salvation for my daughter through the prayers of the head of the monastery.” The man who gave answers said that it was not [the custom] for the one presiding to converse with women; and as she lamented bitterly, the head of the monastery came out. But the woman said that it was not he, but another who had … on his cheeks. When they recognized the one sought (he was the third of the monastery, not the first), they persuaded him and brought him to the woman; at once she recognized his face, and the evil demon cried out and left the girl. Such were the achievements of the great Marcianus's disciples; such plants did this excellent planter plant everywhere. I too, having brought this narrative to an end, beg and pray to obtain the divine help through the intercession of them all. ### Scripture references - Heb 11:37–38: quotation, high confidence - Ps 1:2–3: quotation, high confidence - Matt 8:23–26: allusion, high confidence - Matt 10:37: quotation, high confidence - Luke 14:26: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 119:1 (118:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 2:15: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - About 2% of the Greek is lost in the scan used here; gaps are marked “…” and nothing has been supplied. Words in square brackets supply what the sense plainly requires where a line is damaged. Larger losses: the end of the comparison with Christ calming the sea; part of the story of the oil flask (the father's affliction and the rule that kept him from Marcianus); the description of Avitus's desert; the end of Marcianus's words to his nephew; the name of the heretics “who in the guise of monks are sick with the disease of the Manichaeans” (probably the Messalians, also called Euchites); what the founders of the shrines did; whose fifty pounds of iron Eusebius added to Marcianus's eighty (probably Agapetus's); the description of Sabinus's food; and what the woman saw on the man's cheeks. A line of the serpent story (“first drove out the disciple's cowardice, then thus the beast”) is printed by the scan's OCR inside the oil-flask story; it has been moved back to its place (logged correction). In the same place the order of the lines about the servant who met the father is disturbed; they are translated in their natural order. Marcianus “was doing the work of judges in Beroea”: though far away, he punished the demon possessing the girl there. The Pascha dispute concerns Quartodeciman reckoning, settled at Nicaea in 325. “Philosophy” (φιλοσοφία) is the ascetic life. The miracle accounts are translated as Theodoret tells them. Quotations: Heb 11:37–38; Ps 1:2–3; Matt 10:37 (with Luke 14:26); Ps 119:1 (118:1 LXX); 2 Tim 2:15. Allusion: Matt 8:23–26. Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters and marginal references were removed (logged corrections). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 3 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/3). ## Life 4 (ΕΥΣΕΒΙΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/4/#p-4 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Eusebius, an enclosed recluse near Antioch, is persuaded by Ammianus to lead a community; he binds himself never to look at the plain or the sky, and his disciples Agrippas, David and Abbas carry on his discipline. ### Greek text Ὁ ποίους μὲν καρποὺς ἡ ἄκαρπος ἔρημος τῷ θεῷ τουργῷ προσφιλεῖς, καὶ τοῖς εὖ φρονοῦσι τῶν ἂνθρώπων ἐρασμίους καὶ τριποθήτους, ἐν τοῖς ἤδη συγγραφεῖσιν ὑπεδείξαμεν διηγήμασιν. Ὡς ἂν δὲ μή τις ὑπολάδῃ τόπῳ περιγεγράφθαι τὴν ἀρετὴν, καὶ μόνην εἶναι τὴν ἔρημον εἰς τοιαύτης προσόδου φορὰν ἐπιτηδείαν " φέρε λοιπὸν εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην μεταδῶμεν τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ δείξωμεν τῇ τῆς φιλοτοφίας κτήσει ἥκιστα ταύτην ἐμποδῶν γινομένην. ρρος ἐστὶν ὑψηλὸν, πρὸς ἕω μὲν τῆς ᾿Αντιόχου, Βεροίας δὲ πρὸς ἑσπέραν διακείμενον, τῶν πᾶρακειμένων ὀρῶν ὑπερκείμενον, κατὰ τὴν ἀχροτάτην κορυφὴν χωνοειδὲς μιμούμενον σχῆμα, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕψους τὴν προσηγορίαν δεξάμενον" κορυφὴν γὰρ αὐτὸ οἱ περίοικοι προσαγορεύειν εἰώθασι. Τούτου πάλαι κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν ἀχρωνυχίαν τέμενος ἣν δαιμόνων ὑπὸ τῶν γειτονευόντων λίαν τιμώμενον ᾿ πρὸς μεσημύρίαν δὲ πεδίον θεν οὐ λίαν ὑψηλοῖς περιειργόμενον. Διήχουσι δὲ οὗτοι μέχρι τῆς διιππευομένης ὁδοῦ, τὰς ἑκατέρωθεν ἐπὶ τὴν ἄρκτον ἀνατεμνομένας ὑποδεχόμενοι τρίδους. Ἐν τούτῳ χωρία καὶ μικρὰ καὶ μεγάλα κατῴχισται τοῖς ἑκατέρωθεν ὄρεσι συνημμένα παρ᾽ αὐτὰ δὲ τοῦ ὑψηλοῦ ὄρους τὰ κράσπεδα, κώμη τίς ἐστι μεγίστη καὶ πολνάνθρωπος, τῇ δὲ τῆς ὑπωρείας νάπη τίς ἔστιν οὐ λίαν προσάντης. ἀλλὰ μετρίως ἐπιχκλινὴς πρὸς τὸ πεδίον ἐκεῖνο καὶ νότον ἄνεμον ἀποδλέπουσα. Ἐν ταύτῃ φιλοσορίας μὲν καὶ ἄλλοις ἀρετῆς εἴδεσι λάμπων, φρονήματι ἃ ὅτι μάλιστα μετρίῳ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐπλεονέχτει. ριον δὲ, ἀποχρῶν γὰρ εἰς διδασκαλίαν οὐ τοῖς οἰκείοις μόνον θιασώταις, ἀλλὰ καὶ δὶς τοσούτοις ἐξαρκεῖν δυνάμενος, καὶ πολλάκις πρὸς τὸν μέγαν Εὐτέθιον ἔδραμε, συνεργὸν λαδεῖν ἱκετεύων, καὶ τῆς ὑπ᾽ αὑτοῦ … τε καὶ διδάσκαλον. ᾿Αφειστήκχει δὲ σταδίους πέντε καὶ εἴκοσιν, ἐν οἰχῆματι σμικρῷ τινι λίαν, οὐδὲ φωταγωγοὺς ἔχοντι χαθειργμένος. Ἐποδήγησε δὲ αὑτὸν πρὸ; ταύτην τὴν ἀρετὴν Μαριανὸς ὁ τούτου μὲν θεῖος, τοῦ δὲ Θεοῦ πιστὸς θεράπων. ᾿Αρχεῖ γὰρ τοσοῦτον εἰπεῖν, ἐπεὶ καὶ Μωσῆν τὸν μέγαν τῇ ἐπωνυμίᾳ ταύτῃ τετέμηχεν ὁ Δεσπόττς, Οὗτος ὁ Μαρια"ὃς, τοῦ θείου γευσάμενος ἕοωτος, οὐκ ἠθέλησε μόνος τοῖς ἀγαθοῖ; ἐντρυφᾶν, ἀλλὰ πολλοὺς μὲν καὶ ἄλλους συνσραστὰς ἐποιήσατο, ἐθέρευσε δὲ καὶ τὸν μέγαν Εὐσέδιον, καὶ τὸν τούτου ἀδελφὸν, καὶ κατὰ τὸν βίον ὄντα γε ἀδελφόν. Οὐκ εὔλογον γὰρ ᾧήθη, τοὺς μὲν οὐδὲν αὐτῷ διαφέροντας ἀγρεῦσαι πρὸς ἀρετὴν, τοὺς δὲ ἀδελφιδοῦς ἀναγρεύτους καταλιπεῖν, Τούτους ἀμφοτέρους ἐν οἰκίσκῳ χαθείρξας βραχεῖ, τὴν ἀγγελικὴν πολιτείαν ἐπαίδευσεν. ᾿Αλλὰ τῷ μὲν ἀδελφῷ νόσος προσγενομένη τὸν εἷς δρόμον ἐκεῖνον διέκοψεν" ἠχολούθε: δὲ τῇ νόσῳ. καὶ ὁ θάνατος " ὀλίγας γὰρ μετὰ “τὴν ἐκεῖθεν ἔξοδον διαδιώσας ἡμέρας, τοῦ βίου τὸ τέλος ἐδέξατο, Διέμεινε δὲ ὁ μέγας Εὐσέδιος παρὰ πάντα τοῦ θείου τὸν βίον, οὔτε πρός τινα διαλεγόμενος, οὔτε τὸ φῶς δεώμενος, ἀλλὰ διηνεκῶς καθειργμένος. Καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐχείνου δὲ τελευτὴν τοῦτον ἡσπάσατο τὸν βίον, ἕως ὁ θαυμάσιος ἐκεῖνος ᾿Αμμιανὸς πολλαῖς αὐτὸν χαταθέλξας ἱκεσίαις ἀνέπεισεν « Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη, ὦ ἄριστε, τίνι νομίζων ἀρέὄχεῖν τὸν ἐπίπονον τοῦτον καὶ αὐχμηρὸν θα: βίον. ν Τοῦ δὲ « τὸν Θεὸν, ὡς εἰκὸς ἣν, δήπουθεν εἰρηκότος. τὸν καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς νομοθέτην καὶ διδάἔφι,, ἐγώ σοι τρόπον ἐπιδείξω, δι᾽ οὗ καὶ τὸν ἔρωτα «πλεῖον ἐξάψείς, καὶ τὸν ἐρώμενον θεραπεύσεις. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ πᾶσαν εἰς ἑαυτόν τινα περιστῇσαι τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν, οὐκ ἂν, ὡς οἶμαι, φιλαντίας διαφύγοι γραφήν. Ὁ γὰρ θεῖος νόμος ἀγαπᾷν τὸν πέλας ὡς ἑαυ- «ὸν διαγορεύει" τὸ δὲ πολλοὺς εἰς κοινωνίαν ποῦ πλούτου λαθεῖν, τοῦ τῆς ἀγάπης ἐστὶ κατορθώματος ἴδιον. Ταύτην ὃὲ ὁ θεσκέσιος Παῦλος « νόμου πλήρωμα » προσηγόρευσε" βοᾷ δὲ καὶ πάλιν ὁ λόγος" « Ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται ἐν τούτῳ τῷ λόγῳ ἀναχιφαλαιοῦνται, ἐν τῷ ᾿Αγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς ἑαυτόν.» Καὶ ὁ Κύριος δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἑεροῖς Εὐαγγελίοις τῷ Πέτρῳ πλέον τῶν ἄλλων φιλεῖν αὐτὸν ὧμο- … χύησε" τοῖς δὲ τοῦτο μὴ πεποιηκόσιν ἐγκαλῶν διὰ τοῦ προφήτου βοᾷ « Ὦ οἱ ποιμένες, μὴ ἑαυτοὺς οἱ Τούτου χάριν καὶ τὸν μέγαν Ἠλίαν τοῦτον μετιόντα «ὃν βίον ἐν μέσῳ στρέφεσθαι τῶν ἀσεθδῶν ἐκέλευσε. Καὶ τὸν δεύτερον Ἠλίαν, Ἰωάννην τὸν πάνυ, τὴν ἔρημον ἀσπαζόμενον, ταῖς τοῦ Ἰορδάνου παρέπεμψεν ὄχθαις, ἐκεῖ βαπτίζειν καὶ κηρύσσειν παρεγγυήσας. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν καὶ σὺ θεομὸς ἐραστὴς εἴ τοῦ πεποιηκότος καὶ σεσωχότος Θεοῦ, πολλοὺς καὶ ἄλλους συγκατασχεύασον ἐραστάς, Τοῦτο γὰρ τῷ κοινῷ Δεσπότῃ λίαν ἐστὶ προσφιλές. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸν Ἰεζεκιὴλ προσηγόρευσε σκοπὸν, καὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς διαμαρτύρατθα: παρηγγύα " καὶ τὸν Ἰωνᾶν εἰς τὴν Νινενὶ ἐκέλεντε τρέχειν, καὶ μὴ βουλόμενον δεσμώτὴν παρέπεμψς. Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγων τὸν θεῖον κατεχήλησεν ἄνδρα, καὶ τὴν ἐθελούσιαν ἐχείνὴν διορύξας εἰρκτὴν, ἐξῆγέ τε καὶ ἀπῆγε, καὶ τῶν θιασωτῶν παρεδίδου τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν. Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐκ οἶδα πότερον πλέον θαυμάσω, τούτου τὴν μετριότητα, ἢ ἐχείνου τὴν εὐπείθειαν. Καὶ γὰρ οὗτος τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἐδραπέτευε, καὶ τῶν ὑπηκόων εἷς εἶναι μᾶλλον ἐδούλετο, τῆς προστασίας τὸν κίνδυνον ὑφορώμενος. Καὶ ὁ μέγας Εὐσέδιος τὴν μετὰ πλειόνων διαγωγὴν ἀπεστρέφετο μὲν, εἶξε δὲ ὅμως, καὶ τοῖ: τῆς ἀγάπης δικτύοις ἁλοὺς ἐδέχετο τῆς ποίμνης τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν, καὶ ἦγε τὸν χορὸν οὐ πολλῶν λόγων εἰς διδασκαλίαν δεόμενος. Ἤρκει γὰρ καὶ φαινόμενος ὀξὺν ἐργάζεσθαι πρὸς τὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς δρόμον καὶ τὸν ἄγαν νωθέστατον. Φασὶ δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ τεθεαμένοι, ἐμόριθὲς ἀεὶ τὸ πρόσωπον ἐσχηκέναι, καὶ δέος ἰκανὸν ἐνθεῖναι τοῖς θεωμένοις. Τροφῆς δὲ αὐτὸς μὲν διὰ τριῶν καὶ τεττάρων ἀπήλαυνεν ἡμερῶν " τοῖς δὲ συνοίχοις παρὰ μίαν μεταλαγχάνειν ἐκέλευε, Διηνεκῶς δὲ προσομιλεῖν τῷ Θεῷ παρηγγύα, καὶ μηδένα καιρὸν ταύτης ἄμοιρον τῆς ἐργασίας ἐᾷν " ἀλλὰ κοινῇ μὲν τὰς ὡρισμένας λειτουργίας ἐπιτελεῖν, τὰ δὲ ἐν μέσῳ τούτων τῆς ἡμέρας μόρια καθ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ἕχαστον, ἢ ὑπὸ σχιῇ τινι δένδρου, ἣ παρά τινα πέτραν, ἣ ἔνθα ἄν τί; τινος ἡσυχίας ἀπολαύοι, ἣ ἑστῶτα, ἢ κείμενον ἐπ' ἐδάφους, ἀντιδολεῖν τὸν Δεσπότην, καὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν αἰτεῖν. Οὕτω ὃὲ τῶν τοῦ σώματος μορίων ἔκαστον τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐξεπαίδευσεν, ὡς ἐκεῖνα δρᾷν, ἃ μόνος ὁ λογισμὸς ἐπιτρέπει. Ἵνα δὲ τοῦτο δῆλον ἅπασι χαταστήτω, ἑνὸς τῶν κατ᾽ αὑτὸν μνησθήσομαι διηγήματος. Ἐπί τινος καθῆστο. πέτρας αὐτός τε καὶ ᾿Αμμιανὸς ὁ θαυμάτιος, καὶ τῶν θείων Εαγγελίων τὴν ἱστορίαν ὁ μὲν ἀνεγίνωσχεν, ὁ δὲ τῶν ἀσαφεστέρων ἐδήλου τὴν ἔννοιαν. Γηπόνων δέ τινων ἐν τῷ ὑπο. κειμένῳ πεδίῳ νεουργούντων τὴν γῆν, ὀπὶ ταύτην εἰλχύσθη τὴν θεωρίαν ὁ μέγας Εὐσέθιος. δὲ τοῦ θεσπεσίου ἀνεγνωχότος τὸ εὐαγγελικὸν χωρίον, τὴν δὲ ἑρμηνείαν μαστεύοντος, ἀναλαθεῖν ἐκἐλευσε τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν. ὁ μέγας Εὐσέδιος. Τοῦ δὲ εἰρηκότος, ὅτι « Τοῖς ἀροῦσιν ἐπιτερπόμενος οὖν ἐπήκουσας, ὡς εἰκὸς, » νομοθετεῖ τοῖς ὑφθαλμεῖς, μήτε ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ ἐκείνῳ θεωρῆσαξ ποτε, μήτε τῷ οὐρανίῳ κάλλει, καὶ τῷ τῶν ἀστέρων ἑστιαθῆναι χορῷ, ἀλλ᾽ ἀτραπῷ χρώμενος στενωτάτῃ, ἧς τ μέτρον σπιθαμῆς εἶναί φασιν, ἐπὶ τὸν εὐκτήριον Ὁ οἴκον φερούσῃ, ἕξω ταύτης λοιπὸν βαδίσαι οὐκ ῃνέσχετο. Πλείονα δὲ ἦ τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη φασὶ με τοῦτον αὐτὸν διαδιῶναι τὸν νόμον. Ἵνα δὲ μετὰ τῆς γνώμης καὶ ἀνάγκη τις αὐτὸν ἐπὶ ταῦτα χαθέλχῃ, ζώνῃ σιδηρᾷ τὴν ὀσφὺν καταδήσας, καὶ βαρύτατον χλοιὸν περιθεὶς τῷ τραχήλῳ, ἄλλῳ τινὶ σιδήρῳ τὴν ζώνην συνέρμοσε τῷ τοῦ «ραχήλον κλοιῷ, ἵνα τοῦτ τῷ τρόπῳ καμπτόμενος εἰς γῆν χατακχύπτειν χῶς ἀναγκάζηται. Τοιαύτας ἑαυτῶν τῆς τῶν γητό' νων ἐκείνων θεωρίας εἰσεπράξατο δίκας. Ταῦτα δέ μὲ πολλοὶ μὲν καὶ ἄλλοι τῶν ἐκεῖνον ἱστορηχότων, τοὶ τὰ κατ᾽ αὐτὸν ἀκριδῶς ἐπισταμένων, ἐδίδαξαν" διπγέτατο δὲ τοῦτο αὐτὸ τὸ διήγηνα ὁ πρ-τθύτης ὁ μέγας ᾿Ακάκιος, οὗ καὶ πρόσθεν ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις διγγή- μασιν ἀπεμνη μονεύσαμεν. Ἔφη δὲ καὶ ἔρεσθαι αὑτόν ποτε συγχεχυφότα θεασάμενος, ποίαν καρπούμενος δνησιν, οὔτ᾽ εἰς οὐρανὸν βλέπειν ἀνέχεται, οὔτε τὸ πὲδίον ἐκεῖνο τὸ ὑποχείμενον θεωρεῖν, οὔτε τῆς στενῆς ἔξω βαδίζειν ὁδοῦ " τοῦτον δὲ φάναι, ταῦτα τεχνάζειν πρὸς τὰ τοῦ πονηροῦ μηχανήματα δαίμονος. Ἵνα γὰρ, ἔφη, μὴ περὶ μεγάλων πολεμῇ, σωφροσύνην κλέπτειν πειρώμενος, καὶ δικαιοσύνην, καὶ τὸν θυμὸν ὁπλίζων, καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἑξάπτων, καὶ φλεγμαίνειν τῷ τύψῳ καὶ ἐξογχοῦσθαι παρασχενάζων, καὶ ἄλλα ὅσα κατὰ τῆς ἐμῆς τυρεύων ψυχῆς, εἰς τὰ σμικρὰ ταῦτα μεταφέρειν ποιρῶμαι τὸν πόλεμον, ἔνθα καὶ νικήσας οὐ μεγάλα λωδᾶται, καὶ ἡττηθεὶς χαταγελαστότερος γίνεται, ἅτε δὴ μήτε ἐν τοῖς μικροῖς περιγενέσθαι δυνάμενος. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἀκινδυνώτερον οἶδα τοῦτον “πὸν πόλεμον" οὐ μεγάλα γὰρ ὃ ἐν τούτοις βαλλόμενο:; ζημιοῦται" ποία γὰρ βλάθη τὸ πεδίον ἰδεῖν, ἥ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνατεῖναι τὸ ὄμμα; εἰς τοῦτο αὐτὸν τῆς παρατάξεως τὸ εἴδος μεθίστημι" τῇδε γὰρ οὔτε ἀνελεῖν, οὔτε βαλεῖν δύναται. Ταῦτα.γὰρ οὐκ ἔστι θανατηφόρα τὰ βέλη, τῶν σιδηρῶν ἐκείνων ἀκίδων ἀπηλλαγμένα. Ταῦτα ἀκηκοέναι ὁ μέγας ἔφη ᾿Ακάκιος, καὶ ἄγασθαι τῆς σοφίας, καὶ τὴν πολεμικὴν θαυμάσαι ἀνδρείαν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐμπειρίαν. Οὗ χάριν ὡς ἀξιάγαστόν τε καὶ ἀξιομνημόνευτον τοῖς τοιάδε ἔγημα. Τοῦτο τὸ κλέος αὐτοῦ πάντοθε διαθέον εἴλκυσεν ἅπαντα: πρὸς αὐτὸν τοὺς τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐραστάς. ᾿Αφίχοντο δὲ καὶ τοῦ θειοτάτου Ἰουλιανοῦ τοῦ πρεσθύτου, οὗ πρόσθεν τὸ διήγημα διεξήλθομεν, τῆς ἀρίστης 5 ποίμνης οἱ κτίλοι. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ θεσπόν σιος ἐκεῖνος ἀνὴρ τοῦ βίου τὸ τέρμα χαταλαθὼν εἰς τὴν ἄνω μετέδη ζωὴν, Ἰάχωδος Γ[ ὁ Πέρσης, καὶ ᾿Αγρίππας, οἱ τῆς ἀγέλης ἐκείνης ἡγούμενοι, πρὸς τὸν μέγαν Εὐσέδιον ἔδραμον, τοῦ ἡγεμονεύειν τὸ παλῶς ἄγεσθαι ἄμεινον ἡγησάμενοι. Τοῦ δὲ Ἰαχώθου, οὗ καὶ πρόσθεν ἤδη ἀπεμνημόνευτα ἐν κεφαλαίῳ τούτου δείξας τὴν ἀρετὴν, καὶ νῦν τῆς ἄκρας αὑτοῦ φιλοσοφίας τεκμήριον ἐναργὲς ἀποδείξω. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ θεῖος Εὐσέδιος τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἐκδημίαν ποιούμενος, αὐτὸν τοῦ ποιμνίου παρηγγύησε προστατεύειν, καὶ- παραιτούμενος τὴν κηδεμονίαν τοὺς τῆς ἐπιμελείας ἐκείνης ἐφιεμένους οὐκ ἔπειθεν, εἰς ἐτέραν ᾧχετο ποέμνην, νέμεσθαι μᾶλλον ἣ νέμειν αἱρού- ᾿ μενος, καὶ χρόνον πλεῖστον ἐπιζήσας, οὕτω τόνδε τὸν μανθάνειν ἐφιεμένοις χοὶ τόδε προσέφερε τὸ διήγημα … βίον κατέλυσε. Διαδέχεται τοίνυν τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἔχείνην ᾿Αγρίππα;, ἀνὴρ καὶ ἄλλοις πολλοῖς κομῶν ἀγαθοῖς, διαφερόντως δὲ τῇ τῆς ψυχῆς καθαρότητι, δι᾿ ἣν καὶ τοῦ θείου κάλλους τὴν φαντασίαν δεχόμενος, καὶ τῷ τοῦ ἔρωτος ἐχείνου πυρσῷ νος δάκρυσι χατέδρεχε διηνεχέσι τὰ; παρείας. Καὶ πούτου δὲ ἐπὶ χρόνῳ πολλῷ τὴν ἔκκριτον ἐκείνην καὶ θείαν ποίμνην ἐννόμως ποιμάναντος, εἶτα τὸν βίον ὑπεξελθόντος, Δαυΐδης ὁ θεῖος, οὗ χἀγὼ τῆς θέας … ἅπαντα ῥάδιον, ἔμενεν ἀκίνητος, οἷά τις προφάσεως εἰς ὀργὴν ἐγειρούσης. ἀπήλαυσα, τὴν ἡγεμονίαν σας τῷ ὄἦντι, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον ᾿Απόστολον, τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Τοσοῦτον γὰρ ἀπώνατο τῆς Εὐσεδίου τοῦ μεγάλου διδασκαλίας, ὡς πέντε καὶ τεσσαρά. κοντα ἔτη ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ φροντιστηρίῳ θυμοῦ δὲ χωρὶς καὶ ὀργῆς πάντα τοῦτον διαθιῶναι τὸν χρόνον " οὐδὲ γὰρ μετὰ τὴν ἐγεμονίαν ἐθεάσατό τις αὐτὸν πώποτε τοῦδε τοῦ πάθους ἡττώμενον " καὶ ταῦτα μυρίων, ὡς εἰκὸς, ἀναγκαζόντων. “Ανδρες γὰρ εντήχοντα καὶ ἐκατὸν ὑπὸ τῆς ἐχείνου δεξιᾶς ἔπο;μαίνοντο, οἱ μὲν ἄκροι τὴν ἀρετὴν, καὶ τὴν ἐν οὐρανῷ πολιτείαν μιμούμενοι, οἱ δὲ ἄρτι πτεροφυή. σαντες, καὶ τὴν γῆν ὑπερδάλλεσθαί τε καὶ ὑπερ. πέτεσθαι διδασκόμενοι. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως καὶ τοτοῦτον τῶν τὰ θεῖα παιδευομένων, χαΐ τι καὶ παραδαινόν. Β των, ὡς εἰκὸς, οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸν ἄρτι φοιτῶντα χατορἀσώματος, ὁ θεῖος ἐκεῖνος ἀνὴρ, οὐδεμιᾶς; αὐτὸν Τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἀκοῇ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πείρᾳ παρἐλαόον. Ἐπιθυμήτας γάρ ποτε τὴν ἀγέλην ἐχείνην θεάσασθαι, ἀφιχόμην κοινωνοὺς ἔχων τῇ; ἀττοδγ αἱας καὶ ἄλλους τὸν αὐτόν μοι βίον ἀσπαζομένους. ἽΛπαντα τοίνυν τῆς ξδδομάδος τὸν κύκλον παρὰ τῷδε τῷ θείῳ διάγοντες, ἐδεώμεθα πρόσωπον οὐδεμίαν μεταδολὴν δεχόμενον, οὐδὲ νῦν «μὲν διαχεόμενον, νῦν δὲ σχυθρωπότητι συναγόμενον, καὶ τὸ ὄμμα δέ γε ὡσαύτως οὐκ ἄλλοτε μὲν βλοσυρὸν, γαροποιὸν δὲ ἄλλοτε, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῇ: ἀεὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς μένοντας εὐχοσμίας. Ἱκανοὶ δὲ καὶ οὗτοι τεχμηριὼσαι τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν γαλήνην. ᾿Αλλ᾽ εἰκός τινας ν»- ( μίσαι τοιοῦτον αὐτὸν ἑωρᾶσθαι μηδεμιᾶς παραχινούσης αἰτίας. Οὗ εἵνεκα διηγήσασθαί τε τοιοῦτον ὁ θεῖος ἐκεῖνος ἀνὴρ, τοὺς περὶ φιλοσηφία; λόγους ἀναχινῶν, καὶ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιταίας τὸ ἄκρον ἐπιζητῶν. Τοιούτων δὲ μεταξὺ γινομένων λόγων, Ὀλύμπιός δ τι;, τὸ μὲν γένος Ῥωμαῖος, τὸν ἃ νος, καὶ τῆ: ἡγεμονίας ἐκείνης τὰ δεύτερα περιέπων, ἧκε παρ' ἡμᾶς, τοῦ θείου Δαυΐδου χαταθ΄ῶν, καὶ λώθδην κοινὴν τὴν ἐπιείκειαν ὀνομάζων ἐχείνην, καὶ λυμαίνεσθαι πᾶσιν αὐτοῦ τὴν πραότητα λέγων, ταὶ ἄνοιαν ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐπιείκειαν τὴν ἄκραν ἐκείνην σοφίαν χαλῶν. Ὁ δὲ, καθάπερ ἀδαμαυτίνην ἔχων τὴν ψυχὴν, ἐδέχετο μὲν τοὺς λόγους, οὐκ ἐχεντεῖτο τὸ πρόσωπον, οὐδὲ τὴν προκειμένην ἐφίει ἀλλὰ μετὰ πραείας φωνῆς, καὶ λόγων τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ψε, παρακαλῶν αὐτὸν ἐπιμεληθῆναι ὧν βούλετα!..- Ἐγὼ δὲ, ἔφη, τοῖς πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀφιγμένοις, ὡ; ὁρᾷς, διαλέγομαι, ἀναγκαίαν εἶναι νομίζων ταύτην τὴν θεραπείαν.» Πῶς ἄν τις ἄμεινον ἐπιδείξοι τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν πραότητα; Τὸν γὰρ τὴν προστασίαν ἐχείνην πεπιστευμένον, τοιαύτην ὑπὸ τοῦ τὰ δευτερεῖα ἔχοντος δέξασθαι παροινίαν, μάλιστα δὲ ξένων παρόντων, καὶ τῆς λοιδορίας ἀκροωμένων, καὶ μηδὲ. ποίαν ἀνδρίας καὶ καρτερίας ὑπερδολὴν καταλείπει: Ὃ μὲν οὖν θεῖος ᾿Απόστολος, τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως τὴν ἀσθένειαν ἐπεσχεμμένος, τῇ φύσει μετρεῖ τὴν νομοθεσίαν" ε Ὀργίζεσθε γὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε " ὁ ἥλιος μὴ ἐπιδυέτω ἐπὶ τῷ παροργισμῷ ὑμῶν. » Τὰ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ θυμοῦ κινήματα τῆς φύσεως εἰδὼς, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τῆς γνώμης, ἐπίπονα λίαν, τάχα δὲ καὶ ἀδύνατα, νομοθετεῖν οὐκ ἀνέχεται " τῇ κινήσει δὲ τῆς φύσεως, καὶ τῇ ζάλῃ τοῦ θυμοῦ μέτρον τὴν ἡμέραν ὁρίζει, ἄγχειν κελεύων τῷ λογισμῷ, καὶ τῷ χαλινῷ πιέζειν, καὶ περαιτέρω προθαίνειν τῶν ὅρων μὴ συγχωρῶν. Ὁ δὲ θεῖος οὗτος ἀνὴρ ὑπὲρ τοὺς κειμένους ἡγωνίζετο νόμους, καὶ ὑπὲρ τὰ σχάμματα ἤλλετο, οὗ μέχρι τῆς ἑσπέρας κινεῖσθαι μίαν ἔκ τοῦ θυμοῦ ζάλην ὑπομεῖναι καὶ ταραχὴν, τῷ θυμῷ παραχωρῶν, ἀλλὰ μηδόλυις ἐπιτρέπων κινεῖσθαι, Τοιαῦτα καὶ οὗτος τῆς Εὐσεδίου τοῦ με- Πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ ἄλλους ἐραστὰς τἧς φιλοσοφίας ταύτης καὶ ζηλωτὰς ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνῃ τῇ χαλύδῃ γεγενημένους τεθέαμαι, τοὺς μὲν ἐν ἀκμῇ τοῦ σώματος, τοὺς δὲ καὶ ἐν γήρᾳ βαθεῖ" πλείονα γὰρ ἢ ἐννενήκοντα ἔτη διαδιώσαντες ἄνθρωποι, τὸν ἐπίπονον βίον καταλιπεῖν οὐκ ἠθέλησαν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς τῆς νεότητος ἱδρῶσι διέπρεπον, παννύχιοι μὲν καὶ πανημέριοι τὸν Υίας ποιούμενοι, διὰ δύο δὲ ἡμερῶν τῶν εὐτελῶν ἐχείνων σιτίων μεταλαγχάνοντες. Καὶ ἵνα τοὺς ἄλλους καταλίπω, οὗ σιγῆς ὄντας ἀξίους, εὐφημίας δὲ καὶ ἐπαίνων παντοίων, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα μὴ πέρα τοῦ α μέτρου μακρὸν ἐργάσωμαι τὸ διήγημα " ἐγένετό τις ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ θείῳ χωρίῳ, ᾿Αδδᾶν δὲ αὐτὸν ὀνομάζουσιν, ὃς ἐκ μὲν τῆς Ἰσμαηλίτιδος ἐΐξης, οὐκ ἀπῳχίσθη δὲ τῆς ᾿Αδρααμιαίας κατὰ τὸν πρόγονον οἰκίας, ἀλλὰ τῆς πατρῴας κληρονομίας τῷ Ἰσαὰκ ἐκοινώνησε, μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτὴν ἥρπασε τῶν οὐρανῶν τὴν βασιλείαν" οὗτος εὐθὺς μὲν τῆς ἀσχητιχῆς ταύτης ἥψατο πολιτείας, παρά τινι τηνικάδε τὴν ἔρημον οἰκοῦντι γυμναστῇ τῶν τοιούτων ἀρίστῳ" Μαρωσᾶς δὲ ἦν ὄνομα αὐτῷ. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα καὶ ἐκεῖνο:, τὸ ἑτέρων ἡγεμονεύειν καταλιπὼν., εἰς ταύτην σὺν τῷ ᾿Αὐδᾷ τὴν ἀγέλην ἀφίκετο, καὶ χρόγον μὲν οὐ μικρὸν ἐπεθδίω, λαμπρῶς δὲ ἀγωνισάμενος καὶ ἀοίδιμος γενόμενος ὑπεξῆλθε τὸν βίον. Ὁ δὲ ὀκτὼ μὲν ἤδη καὶ τριάκοντα ἐκεῖ διετέλεσεν ἔτη, ὡς ἔναγχος δὲ τοῦ πονεῖν ἀρξάμενος, οὕτως ἐφίεται τοῦ πονεῖν. Μέχρι γὰρ καὶ τήμερον ὑποδήμασι μὲν τοὺς πόδας οὐκ ἐκάλυψε πώποτε, τῇ σκιᾷ δὲ προσεδρεύων ἐν τῷ χρυμῷ, τὸν ἥλιον ἐν τῷ φλογμῷ καταδέχεται, καὶ ὡς ζεφύρου αὖραν τὴν ἔκεῖθεν δέχεται φλόγα. ἽΛπαντα δὲ τοῦτον τὸν χρὸνον ὕδατος μεταλαχεῖν οὐκ ἠνέσχετο, οὐκ ἐκεῖνα ἐσθίων, ἃ τοῖς τὸ μὴ πίνειν ἐπιτηδεύουσι προσφέρεσθαι σύνηθες - ὑγροτέρων γὰρ οὗτοι σιτίων ἀπολαύειν εἰώθασιν " ἀλλὰ τῶν αὑτῶν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀπολαύων σιτίων, ἐσθίων δὲ βραχέα, καὶ ὅσα βραχεῖαν ἐντίθησι δύναμιν, περιττὴν ἡγεῖται τὴν τοῦ ὕδατο; χρείαν. Σιδήρῳ δὲ βαρεῖ τὴν ὀσφὺν ἐζωσμένος πται μὲν ὀλιγάχ'ς, τῆς δὲ νυκτὸς καὶ τῆς ἡμέρας τὸ πλέον ἑστηκὼς, ἣ ἐπὶ τῶν γονάτων κείμενος, τὴν τῆς εὐχῆς τῷ Δεσπότῃ λειτουργίαν προσφέρει, τῆς δὲ κατακλίσεως παντελῶς τὴν χρείαν ἢρνήθη. Οὐδεὶς γὰρ αὑτὸν χαταχλιθέντα μέχρι καὶ τήμερον ἐθεάσατο πώποτε, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ χοροῦ κορυφαῖος; ἀποφανθεὶς, καὶ προστατεύειν» λαχὼν, τοῦτον ἅπαντα φέρει προθύμως τὸν τόνον, ἀρχέτυπον ἑαυτὸν φιλοσοφίας τοῖς ὑπηκόοις πᾶσι προτιθείς, Τοιούτους νιχηφόρους ἀγωγιστὰς ὁ θεῖος Εὐσέδιος ὁ τῶνδε τῶν ἀγώνων παιδοτρίδης καὶ γυμναστὴς παρέστη σς τῷ Θεῷ. Καὶ ἄλλους δὲ πλείστους ἀποφήνας τοιούτους, ἑτέραις παλαίστραις διδασκάλους παρέπεμψεν, οἵ τὸ ὄρος ἅπαν ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἱερὸν τῶν θείων τούτων λειμώνων καὶ Β εὐωδῶν ἀνθέων ἐπλήρωσαν. Πρὸς ἕω γὰρ τῆς ἰξ καὶ πρὸς ἑσπέραν καὶ μεσημθρίαν ἔστιν ἰδεῖν ταύτης τῆς φιλοσοφίας τὰ ἔκγονα, οἷόν τινας ἀστέρας περὶ σελήνην χορεύοντας, καὶ τοὺς μὲν τῇ Ἑλλάδι, ἄλλους δὲ τῇ ἐγχωρίῳ φωνῇ τὸν ποιητὴν ἀνυμνοῦντας. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἀδυνάτοις ἐπιχειρῶ, τὰ ὑπὸ τῆς θείας ἐκείνης κατορθωθέντα ψυχῆς ἅπαντα διεξελθεῖν ἐφιέμενος. Τοιγαροῦν τῷδε τῷ διηγήματι τὸ πέρας ἐπιθετέον, ἐφ᾽ ἕτερον δὲ τρεπτέον, καὶ τὴν ἐκχεῖθεν πάλιν ὠφέλειαν προστεθετέον, τῆς εὐλογίας τῶνδε … ### English translation (Claude) What fruits the fruitless desert has brought forth, dear to God the cultivator, lovely and longed for by those of men who think rightly, we have shown in the narratives already written. But so that no one may suppose that virtue is confined to a place and that the desert alone is suited to bearing such a harvest, let us now turn our account to the inhabited world and show that it is no hindrance whatever to the acquisition of philosophy. There is a high mountain lying east of Antioch and west of Beroea, overtopping the mountains around it, imitating at its very summit the shape of a cone, and taking its name from its height, for the people around are accustomed to call it Koryphe (“the Peak”). On its very top there was of old a precinct of demons, greatly honored by the neighbors. To the south … a plain … enclosed by [hills] not very high. These stretch as far as the highway, receiving the paths that branch off northward on either side. In this plain villages large and small have been settled, adjoining the mountains on either side; and beside the very skirts of the high mountain there is a very large and populous village, and at the foot of the mountain there is a ravine, not very steep but sloping gently toward that plain and facing the south wind. In this [ravine there lived the admirable Ammianus], shining in philosophy and in other forms of virtue, and surpassing the others above all in a most modest disposition. [He built a school of philosophy] …; and although he himself was sufficient for teaching, able to suffice not only for his own company but for twice as many, he often ran to the great Eusebius, begging to have him as a fellow worker and … , [as leader] and teacher of those under him. Eusebius was twenty-five stades away, shut up in a very small dwelling that did not even have windows. He had been led to this virtue by Marianus, his uncle and a faithful servant of God; it is enough to say this much, since the Master honored even the great Moses with this title. This Marianus, having tasted divine love, did not wish to enjoy the good things alone, but made many others fellow lovers, and caught the great Eusebius and his brother, who was a brother in way of life as well. For he did not think it reasonable to catch for virtue those who were nothing to him, but to leave his own nephews uncaught. He shut them both up in a small hut and trained them in the angelic way of life. But sickness came upon the brother and cut short that course of his, and death followed the sickness; for he lived only a few days after leaving there and received the end of his life. The great Eusebius remained so throughout his uncle's whole lifetime, neither conversing with anyone nor seeing the light, but continually shut in. After his uncle's death he embraced this life still, until that admirable Ammianus charmed him with many entreaties and persuaded him. “Tell me, excellent man,” he said to him, “whom you think to please by this laborious and squalid life?” When Eusebius said, as was natural, “God, of course, the lawgiver and teacher of virtue,” Ammianus said: “… I will show you a way by which you will kindle your love further and serve the beloved. For to turn all one's care upon oneself would not, I think, escape the charge of self-love. For the divine law commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves; and to take many into partnership in our wealth is the proper achievement of love. The inspired Paul called love ‘the fulfillment of the law’, and the word cries out again: ‘The law and the prophets are summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ And the Lord in the holy Gospels, when Peter confessed that he loved him more than the others, … ; and accusing those who have not done this, he cries through the prophet: ‘O shepherds, [do shepherds feed] themselves? …’ For this reason he ordered the great Elijah too, who pursued this life, to move among the ungodly; and he sent the second Elijah, the celebrated John, who embraced the desert, to the banks of the Jordan, charging him to baptize and preach there. Since, then, you too are a warm lover of God who made and saved you, make many others lovers along with you. For this is very dear to the common Master. That is why he called Ezekiel a watchman and charged him to testify to sinners, and ordered Jonah to run to Nineveh, and sent him there a prisoner when he was unwilling.” Saying these and similar things he charmed the divine man, and breaking through that voluntary prison, he led him out and away and handed over to him the care of the company. For my part, I do not know which to admire more, the modesty of the one or the obedience of the other. For Ammianus fled leadership and wished rather to be one of those under authority, wary of the danger of presiding; and the great Eusebius turned away from life in company, but nevertheless yielded, and caught in the nets of love, accepted the care of the flock. He led the company without needing many words for teaching; for merely by being seen he was enough to make even the most sluggish quick for the course of virtue. Those who saw him say that his face was always grave, and inspired considerable awe in those who looked at him. He himself took food every three or four days, but ordered his companions to take it every other day. He charged them to converse with God continually and to leave no moment without a share in this work, but to perform the appointed services in common, and in the parts of the day between them, each by himself, under the shade of a tree, or by a rock, or wherever he might enjoy some quiet, standing or lying on the ground, to beseech the Master and ask for salvation. He trained each part of his body in virtue so that it did only what reason allows. To make this plain to all, I shall mention one story about him. He and the admirable Ammianus were sitting on a rock; one was reading the story of the divine Gospels, and the other was explaining the meaning of the more obscure passages. Some farmers were plowing up the ground in the plain below, and the great Eusebius was drawn to watch them. When the inspired Ammianus had read the passage of the gospel and was seeking its interpretation, the great Eusebius told him to read it again. When Ammianus said, “Delighting in the plowmen, you naturally did not hear,” he laid down a law for his eyes never to look at that plain again, nor to feast on the beauty of heaven and the choir of the stars; and using a very narrow path, which they say was a span wide, leading to the house of prayer, he would no longer walk outside it. They say that he lived by this very law for more than forty years. And so that some necessity, along with his resolve, might draw him to this, he bound his loins with an iron belt, put a very heavy collar around his neck, and joined the belt to the collar with another piece of iron, so that, bent in this way, he was compelled to stoop toward the ground. Such was the penalty he exacted from himself for watching those farmers. Many others who had seen him and knew precisely about him told me this, and the old man, the great Acacius, whom I have mentioned before in the other narratives, told this very story. He said that once, seeing him bent over, he asked him what benefit he reaped from not allowing himself to look at the sky or to view the plain below or to walk outside the narrow path; and that Eusebius said he contrived this against the devices of the evil demon. “For so that he may not make war about great things,” he said, “trying to steal temperance and justice, arming anger, kindling desire, making me inflamed and swollen with pride, and all the other things he plots against my soul, I try to transfer the war to these small matters, where even if he wins he does no great harm, and if he is defeated he becomes more ridiculous, since he cannot prevail even in small things. Since, then, I know this war to be less dangerous (for one who is struck in these things suffers no great loss: what harm is there in seeing the plain or lifting one's eye to heaven?), I shift the form of the battle to this; for here he can neither kill nor wound. These darts are not deadly, being free of those iron points.” The great Acacius said that when he heard this he admired his wisdom and marveled at his warlike courage and experience. For this reason I have related this … as admirable and worth remembering. His fame running everywhere drew to him all the lovers of virtue. There came also the rams of the excellent flock of the most divine old man Julian, whose story we have told before. For when that inspired man reached the end of his life and passed to the life above, James the Persian and Agrippas, the leaders of that flock, ran to the great Eusebius, thinking it better to be well led than to lead. As for James, whose virtue I have already shown in summary when I mentioned him before, I shall now also give a clear proof of his highest philosophy. When the divine Eusebius, as he was departing from here, charged him to preside over the flock, and he, declining the charge, could not persuade those who wished him to take it, he went off to another flock, choosing to be pastured rather than to pasture; and having lived a very long time, he so ended this life … . Agrippas succeeded to that leadership, a man rich in many other goods, but especially in purity of soul; through it he received the vision of the divine beauty, and [burning] with the flame of that love he continually wet his cheeks with tears. When he too had shepherded that choice and divine flock lawfully for a long time and then departed this life, the divine David, whom I too [had the privilege of seeing], … [took up] the leadership, having truly [put to death], as the divine apostle says, “the members that are on earth.” For he profited so much from the teaching of the great Eusebius that he spent forty-five years in that school without anger or wrath through all that time; for no one, even after he took up the leadership, ever saw him overcome by this passion, although countless things, naturally, provoked him. For a hundred and fifty men were shepherded by his right hand, some at the summit of virtue and imitating the way of life in heaven, others just growing their wings and being taught to rise above the earth and fly over it. Yet although so many were being trained in divine things, and some of them, as is natural, transgressed (for even one just beginning [cannot get everything right]), that divine man, [as though he were] bodiless, [was moved by] no [anger]. I have learned this not by hearsay only but by experience. For once, wishing to see that flock, I came, having as companions on the journey others who embraced the same life as I. Spending the whole cycle of a week with this divine man, we saw a face that underwent no change, not relaxed at one moment and contracted in a frown at another; and his eye likewise was not fierce at one time and cheerful at another, but his eyes always remained in the same composure. These alone are enough to prove the calm of his soul. But some may suppose that he was seen like this because nothing provoked him. For this reason I must tell of such an incident. That divine man was raising discussions about philosophy and seeking the summit of the gospel way of life. While such discussions were going on, a certain Olympius, a Roman by race, … , who held the second place in that leadership, came to us railing at the divine David, calling his gentleness a common ruin, saying that his mildness harmed everyone, and calling that highest wisdom folly and not gentleness. But David, as though he had a soul of adamant, received the words; his face was not provoked, nor did he let go of the subject before him, but with a gentle voice and with words [revealing] the [calm] of his soul … , he urged him to attend to whatever he wished. “For I,” he said, “am conversing with those who have come to us, as you see, thinking this service necessary.” How could one better show the gentleness of his soul? That the man entrusted with that presidency should receive such drunken abuse from the one who held second place, especially with strangers present and listening to the railing, and not … : what excess of courage and endurance does this leave? The divine apostle, considering the weakness of human nature, measures his legislation by nature: “Be angry,” he says, “and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your provocation.” For knowing that the movements of anger belong to nature and not to the will, he does not consent to legislate what is very laborious and perhaps impossible; but he sets the day as a limit to the movement of nature and the storm of anger, ordering us to throttle it with reason, to restrain it with the bridle, and not to let it go beyond the limits. But this divine man contended beyond the laws laid down and leaped beyond the boundary lines, not consenting to endure a single storm and disturbance of anger moving in him until evening, nor giving way to anger, but not allowing it to move at all. Such [were the fruits] of the great Eusebius's [teaching] in this man too. I have seen many other lovers and emulators of this philosophy in that cell, some in the prime of the body, others in deep old age. For men who had lived more than ninety years would not leave the laborious life, but were distinguished by the sweats of youth, keeping … all night and all day, and taking that cheap food every two days. To pass over the others (not because they deserve silence, for they deserve praise and commendations of every kind, but so that I may not make the narrative long beyond measure), there was in that divine place one whom they call Abbas, who was of the Ishmaelite stock, yet was not banished from the house of Abraham like his forefather, but shared the paternal inheritance with Isaac, or rather seized the kingdom of heaven itself. He took up this ascetic way of life at once with one who was then living in the desert, an excellent trainer of such men; his name was Marosas. After this Marosas too left off leading others and came with Abbas to this flock; he lived no short time, and, having contended brilliantly and become celebrated, departed this life. Abbas has now spent thirty-eight years there, and longs for labor as though he had only just begun to labor. For to this day he has never covered his feet with shoes; he stays in the shade in the cold and receives the sun in the burning heat, and accepts its blaze like a breath of the west wind. All this time he has not consented to take water, not eating those things which those who practice not drinking usually take (for these usually enjoy moister foods), but enjoying the same food as the others; eating little, and such as gives little strength, he regards the need for water as superfluous. He has girded his loins with heavy iron; he [sits] seldom, and for most of the night and the day, standing or kneeling, he offers the Master the service of prayer, and he has utterly refused the need of lying down. For no one to this day has ever seen him lying down; and even after he was appointed leader of the company and given charge of it, he bears all this strain eagerly, setting himself before all those under him as an archetype of philosophy. Such victorious contestants did the divine Eusebius, the trainer and gymnastic master of these contests, present to God. And having made very many others like them, he sent them out as teachers to other wrestling schools, who filled that whole sacred mountain with these divine meadows and fragrant flowers. For to the east of … , and to the west and south, one can see the offspring of this philosophy, like stars dancing round the moon, some praising the Creator in Greek, others in the language of the country. But I am attempting the impossible in desiring to go through all that was achieved by that divine soul. So I must put an end to this narrative and turn to another, and add the benefit from there too, [begging to enjoy] the blessing of these men …. ### Scripture references - Rom 13:10: quotation, high confidence - Matt 22:40: quotation, medium confidence - Rom 13:9: quotation, high confidence - Lev 19:18: quotation, high confidence - John 21:15–17: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 34:2: quotation, high confidence - 1 Kgs 18:1: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 3:1–6: allusion, medium confidence - Ezek 3:17: allusion, high confidence - Jonah 1:2–3: allusion, high confidence - Jonah 1:17: allusion, medium confidence - Col 3:5: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:26: quotation, high confidence - Gen 21:10: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 11:12: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The setting is the mountain Koryphe between Antioch and Beroea; the village is Teleda (not named in this part of the text). About 2% of the Greek is lost in the scan used here; gaps are marked “…” and nothing has been supplied. Words in square brackets supply what the sense plainly requires where a line is damaged; in particular, the clause naming Ammianus and his school in the ravine is damaged, and his name is supplied from what follows. Other losses: the end of James's life; who David was and what the scan omits about him (a displaced fragment printed here reads “… everything easy, he remained unmoved, as if … pretext rousing to anger”, which probably belongs to the account of David's calm); Olympius's character; part of the clause on David's reply; the end of the story of Olympius. In the account of James's death the scan also prints a displaced phrase, “to those eager to learn he offered this story too”. Two misplaced lines (the stars dancing round the moon, praising the Creator in Greek and in the local language, and “But I am attempting the impossible …”) have been moved back to their place at the end (logged corrections). The Ezekiel quotation is broken off in the scan. Quotations: Rom 13:10; Matt 22:40 with Rom 13:9 (Lev 19:18); Ezek 34:2; Col 3:5; Eph 4:26. Allusions: John 21:15–17; 1 Kgs 18:1; Matt 3:1–6; Ezek 3:17; Jonah 1:2–3, 17; Gen 21:10; Matt 11:12. Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters and marginal references were removed (logged corrections). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 4 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/4). ## Life 5 (ΠΟΥΠΛΙΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/4/#p-5 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Publius of Zeugma gives away his inheritance, gathers ascetics into a common life of mutual help, founds a second community for Syriac speakers who sing alternately with the Greeks, and leaves a line of successors who keep his rules. ### Greek text Κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον ἐγένετό τις Ἰ]ούπλιος, καὶ τὸ εἶδος ἀξιοθέατης, καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν τῷ εἴδει συμδαίνουσαν ἔχων " μᾶλλον δὲ πολλῷ τοῦ σώματος στοτέραν ἐπιδεικνύς. Οὗτος ἐκ βουλευτιχῆς μὲν συμμορίας ὁρμώμενος, πόλιν δὲ ἔχων καθ᾽ ἣν Ξέρξῃ; ἐκεῖνος ὁ πολυθρύλλητος, ἐπὶ τὴν ᾿Ελλάδα στρατεύων, καὶ τὸν ποταμὸν Εὐφράτην διαδῆναι σπεύδων τῇ στρατιᾷ, πλῆθος νεῶν συναθροίσας, καὶ ταύτας ἀλλήλαις συζεύξας, καὶ τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ τὸν ποταμὸν γεφυρώσας, Ζεῦγμα τὸ χωρίον ὠνόμασε, καὶ τὶν ἀπὸ τοῦ πράγματος ἔδωκεν ἐπωνυμίαν τῇ πόλει, Ἐντεῦθεν ὁρμώμενος, καὶ ἀτιὸ τοιούτου γένους βεδλαστηχὼς, ὕψηλόν τι χωρίον χαταλαμθάνει, τοῦ ἄστεος οὐ πλείοσιν ἣ τριάκοντα σταδίους ἀφεστηχύ;. Ἐν τούτῳ βραχύν τινα οἰκίσκον δειμάμενος, ἀπέδοτ᾽ μὲν ἅπαντα, ὅσα πατρόθεν ἐδέξατο, οἰκίαν φημὶ, καὶ κτήματα, καὶ βοσκήματα, καὶ ἐσθήματα, σχεύη τ ἀργυρᾶ καὶ χαλχᾶ, καὶ εἴ τι ἕτερον μετὰ τούτων ἐτύγχανε. Διανείμας δὲ ταῦτα κατὰ τὸν θεῖον νόμη) οἷς ἔδει, καὶ πάσης ἑαυτὸν φροντίδος γηΐνης ἐλενθε" ρώσας, μίαν ἀντὶ πάντων ἐχείνην ἐδέξατο φροντίδα, Ὁ τὴν τοῦ καλέσαντος θεραπείαν, καὶ ταύτην ἀνελίττον ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ διετήρει, νύκτωρ τε καὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμέρα ὁ πόνος αὐτῷ διηνεκῶς ηὔξετο, καὶ ἐπίτασιν χα ἐκάστην ἡμέραν ἐδέχετο, καὶ γλυκὺς ἦν, καὶ ἡδονῆς ἀνάπλεως, καὶ πόῤῥω τὸν κόρον ἐλαύνων. Οὗ γάῳ τις αὑτὸν ἐθέάσατο πώποτε βραχὺ γοῦν μορίον ἡμέ" δίαν ἡ εὐχὴ, τὴν δὲ εὐχὴν ἡ ψαλμῳδία, ἀμφότερα δὶ ἡ τῶν θείων λογίων ἀνάγνωσις διεδέχετο" εἶτα ἡ τῶν ἀφικνουμένων ἐπιμέλεια ξένων" ἕπειτα ἄλλο τὶ τῶι ἀναγκαίων ἔργων ἐγίνετο. Ἐν τούτοις τὸν βίον ὁδεύων, καὶ ἀρχέτυπον ἀρετῆς τοῖς ζηλοῦν βουλομένοις προκείμενος, οἷά τις ὄρνις εὐχέλαξζος, «ὧν ὁμοφύλων εἰς τὰ σωτήρια ταῦτα συνήγειρε θέρατρα. ᾿Αλλὰ κὰτ ἀρχὰς μὲν οὐδένα σύνοιχου ἠνέσχετο" βραχεῖς δὲ μῶν, αὐτὸν καθ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ἕχαστον τῶν σωνιόντων διἀγειν ἐκέλευςε, συχνῶς ἐπισκοπῶν, καὶ τοὺς οἰχίσχους διερευνώμενος, μὴ τι πέρα τῆς χρείας ἀποκείμενον ἔχοιεν. Φασὶ δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ ζυγὰ ἐπιφερόμενον τὸν τῶν ἄρτων σταθμὸν πολυπραγμονεῖν ἀχριδῶς:, καὶ εἴ ποτε εὕροι τοῦ ὡρισμένου πλείονα, δυσχεραίνειν, καὶ γαστριμάργους τοὺς τοῦτο ποιοῦντας ἀποκαλεῖν. ἘχέλξυσΞξ γὰρ μήτε ἐσθίοντας, μήτε πίνοντας ἀναμένειν τὴν χόρον, ἀλλὰ τοσούτων ἀπολαύειν, ὁπόσα τῷ σώματ' παρέχειν ἀπόχρη τὴν ζωήν, Πὶ δὲ ποτε σατο, ὡς Συδαρ:τικῆς: τρυφῆς ἀπολαύουσι, τοῖς τοῦτο παρὰ τῇ» ἔχάττ.υ θύραν ἀφικνούμενος, εἰ μέν τινα ν εὗρεν ἐγρηγορότα, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὑμνοῦντα, σιγῇ πάλιν ἀπεχώρει" εἰ δὲ τινα ὕπνῳ κατεχόμενον ἤσθετο, πῇ χειρὶ μὲν τὴν θύραν :πάτασσε, τῇ γλώττῃ δὲ τὸν χκατλχείμενον ξθαλλεν, ὡς πλείονα ἣ ἔδει τῷ σώματι τὴν θερχπείαν προσφέροντα, Τοῦτον αὐτοῦ τὸν πόνον πῶν ὁμογνωμόνων τινὲς θεασάμενοι, ἕν πᾶτιν οἶχοδου" ῆτα, καταγώγιον εἰσηγήσαντο. ᾿Αχριδέστερον γὰρ ἔφασαν τούς τε νῦν δεσπαρμένους βιώσεσθαι, καὶ αὐτὺν τῆς πλείονος φροντίδος ἀπαλλαγήσεσθαι. δέξατο τὴν παραίνεσιν ὁ σοφώτατος, καὶ συναγείρα; ἅπαντας, καὶ τοὺς μικροὺς ἐκείνους καταλύσας οἰχίσχουξ, ἕνα δὲ τοῖς συνειλεγμένοις δειμάμενος, κοινῇ τὸ πολιτεύεσθαι, καὶ παραθήγειν ἀλλήλους ἰκέτευε, καὶ τοῦτον μὲν τὴν ἐχείνου μιμεῖσθα! πραότῇτὰ, ἐκεῖνον δὲ τῷ τούτου ζήλῳ χεραννύναι τὸ πρᾶον, καὶ ἄλλον ἀγρυπνίας μεταδιδόντα, τοῦ τῇς νηστείας μεταλαμθάνε:» μαθήματος. ε Οὕτω γὰρ παρ᾽ ἀλλήλων, ἔφη, τὸ ἐνδέον λαμθδάνουτες, τὴν τελεωτάτην καῖς ἀγοραΐϊ;, ὁ μὲν ἄρτων ἐστὶ πρατὴρ, ὁ ὁὲ λαχάνων, ὁ δὲ ἱματίων ἕμπορος.. ἄλλος ὃὲ ὑποδημάτων δημιουργός " παρ᾽ ἀλλήλων δὲ τὴν χρείαν ἐρανιζόμενο! θυμηρέττερον βιοτεύουσιν " ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἱμάτιον διδοὺς, ἀντιλαμδάνει ὑπόδημα, ὁ δὲ λάχανον ὠνούμενος ἀποδίδοται ἄρτον" οὕτως: ἡμᾶς ἀλλήλοις ἀντιδιδόναι προσῆίχει τῆς ἀρετῆς τὰ πολυτίμητα μόρια. »Οὕτω τῶν Ἑλλάδι φωνῇ τὸν θεὸν ἀνυμνούντων, ἔλαθεν ἔρως ταυτησὶ τῆς πολιτείας καὶ τοὺς τῇ ἐγχωρίῳ κεχρη μένους φωνῇ "καὶ συνδραμόντες τινὲς ἐχέτενον, καὶ τῆς ἀγέλης γενέσθαι. καὶ τῇς ἱερᾶ: αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίας μεταλαγεῖν ἐδέξατο ὃὲ τὴν αἴτησιν, τῆς Δεσποτιχῆς μένος νομοθεσίας, ἣν τοῖς ἱεροῖς προσενήνοχεν ἀποστόλοις, « Πορευθέντες, λέγων, μαθητεύσατε πάντα πὰ ἔθνη. ν» Καὶ παρ᾽ ἐκεῖνο τὸ καταγώγιον ἕτερον οἰκηδομλήσας, ἐκεῖ τούτους διάγειν ἐχέλενε" νεών τινα θεῖον χατασχευάπας, εἰς ὃν καὶ τούτου: κἀκείνους συνιέναι προπέταξεν ἀρχομένης τε καὶ ληγούσης ἐμέρᾶς, ἴνα καὶ τὴν ἑσπερινῆν καὶ τὴν ἑωθινὴν ὑμνῳδίαν κοινῇ προσφέρωσι τῷ Θεῷ, διχῇ μὲν διῃφημένο!, καὶ τῇ οἰκείᾳ ἔχαστο: κεχρημένος οωνῇ, ἐκ διαδοχῆς δὲ τὴν ᾠδὴν ἀνα πέμποντες. Διέμεινβ δὲ μέχρι καὶ τήμερον τόδε τῆς πολιτείας τὸ εἶδος" χοὶ οὐδ' ὁ χρόνο; ὁ ταῦτα καὶ τοιαῦτα ἀμείδειν φιλονεικῶν͵ οὐκ οἱ τὴν ἐχείνου κηδεμονίαν διαδεξάμενοι ἀνατρέψαι τι τῶν ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνον τεθέντων ἀνεπείσθησαν ὅρων" καὶ ταῦτα οὐ δύο καὶ τριῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλειόνων ταύ. τὴν τὴν ἡγεμονίαν διαδεξαμένων. Εὐθὺς μὲν γὰρ», ἐχείνου τὸν ἀγῶνα πεπληρωκότος, καὶ τόνδε τὸν βίον ὑπεξελθόντος, καὶ εἰς τὴν ἄλυπον ἐχείνην μεταθάντος ζωὴν, θεότεκνος μὲν τῆς Ελλάδος φωνῆς, Αφθόνιος δὲ τῆς Σύρας τὴν ἡγεμονίαν διεδέξαντο, ἀμφότεροι στῆλαί τινες ἔμψυχοι καὶ εἰκόνες τῆς ἐχείνου ἀρετῆς γενόμενοι. Οὐδεμίαν γὰρ οὔτε τοῖς συν. οὖσιν, οὔτε τοῖς ἔξωθεν ἀφικνουμένοις αἰσθησιν λαδεῖν τῆς ἐχείνου τελευτῆς συνεχώρησαν, σφᾶς αὐτοὺς τῆς ἐχείνου πολιτεία; ἐχμαγεῖα δεικνύντες, ΔΑΧ ὁ μὲν θεῖος Θεότεκνος οὐ πολὺν ἐπιδιώσας χρόνον, Θεοδότῳ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν παρέδωκεν “ ὁ δὲ ᾿Αφθόνυ; ἐπὶ πλεῖστον διέμεινε τῆς ἀγέλης ἐπιμελούμενο:, καὶ κατὰ τοὺς κειμένους νόμους ἰθύνων. Ὁ δὲ θεόδοτος οὗτος ἀπὸ τῆς 'Δρμενίας ὁρμώμενος. τὴν ἀσχητιχὴν ἐχείνην συμμορίαν θεασάμενος, τὰ μὴν πρῶτα μετὰ τῶν ὑπηκόων ἐτέταχτο, τῷ μεγάλῳ Θεοτέχνῳ κυδερνῶντι πειθόμενος. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ, ὡς ἔφην, ὁ μὲν ἐξεδήμησεν, αὐτὸς δὲ τὴν προστασίαν Ψαι μικροῦ δεῖν τοὺ; προτέρους τῇ φήμῃ. Οὕτω γὰρ αὐτὸν ὁ θεῖος κατειργάσατο πόθος, καὶ τοσοῦτος αὐτὸν καὶ τοιούτοις χατέτρωσε βέλεσιν, ὑς νύκτωρ καὶ μεθ ἡμέραν τῆς κατανύξεως τρ' χέειν τὰ δάκρυα᾽ τοσαύτης δὲ πνευματιχῆςς χά" ριτο; ἀνάπλεως ἦν. ὡς προσευχομένου σιγᾷν μὲν ἅπαντας τοὺς παρόντας, ἐπαΐειν δὲ μόνων τῶν ἱερῶν ἐχείνων ῥημάτων, προσευχὴν σπουδαίαν τὴν ἀχρίασιν ἡγουμένους. Τίς γὰρ οὕτως ἀδαμάντινος ἦν, ὑ; ἐχείνων οὕτως προσφερομένων τῶν λόγων μὴ χατα' θελχθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν, καὶ τὸ σκληρὸν ταύτης ταὶ ἀπειθὲς χαταμαλάξαι, καὶ πρὸς τὴν θείαν θεραπείαν μεταγαγεῖν; Οὕτον καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν τὸν πλοῦτον αὔξων, καὶ τοὺς ἀσύλους θησαυροὺς πλήρεις τῶν τοιούτων ἀγαθῶν ἀποφαίνων, πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι ἔτη ποιμάνας τὸ ποίμνιον, προσετέθη πρὸς τοὺς πατέρα; αὐτοῦ, κατὰ τὴν θείαν Γραφὴν, τραφεὶς ἐν γήρει καλῷ,, Θεοτέχνῳ ἀδελφιδῷ μὲν ὄντι τὸ γένος, ἀδελτῷ Ὁ δὲ τὸν τρόπον, τὰς ἡνίας παραδούς. Καὶ ὁ θεῖος ἃ ἐκεῖνος ᾿Αφθόνιος πλείονα ἣ “εσσαράχοντα ἔτη τὸ χοροῦ προστατεύσας, τῆς ἀρχιερωούνης τὴν προεδρίαν ἐδέξατο, οὔτε τὴν οὔτε τὸν ἐξ αἰγείων τριχῶν κατεσκευασμένον χιτῶνδ' καὶ σιτίων ἀπήλαυεν, οἵων πρὸ τῆς προεδρίας ἀτἦλαυε. Καὶ ταύτην δὲ τὴν κηδεμονίαν ἀναδεξάμενχ, οὐδὲν ἧττον τῇ; ἀγέλης ἐκείνης ἐπεμελεῖτο᾽ ἐκεῖ τὰς πλείους διατρίθων ἡ μέρας, καὶ νῦν μὲν τῶν ζυγομαχούντων τὰς ἔριδας διαλύων, νῦν δὲ τῶν ὑφ᾽ ὁτονοῦν ἀλγυνομένων ποιούμενος πρόνοιαν, ἄλλοτε δὲ τις θιασώταις τὴν θείαν προσφέρων παραίνεσιν. Καὶ τοῦ" των ἕκαπτον ἕδρα, τὰ τῶν ὁμοσχήνων μεταξὺ πὲ" οἴτον ἐκπλύνων, ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν τοιούτων μεταχειρί ζων. Οὕτω καὶ τὴν προεδρίαν χοσμέσας, καὶ τὴν ἀρε- τὴν ἐπαυξήσας, μετὰ τῶν ταύτης φορτίων τὸν θεῖον λιμένα κατέλαδε. Καὶ τί δεῖ λέγειν περὶ Θεοτέχνου, καὶ τοῦ μετ᾽ ἐκεῖνον Γρηγορίου, τοῦ μὲν ἐν νεότητι πᾶν εἶδος φιλοσοφίας συνειληχότο:, καὶ μετὰ τῆς προγονικῆς εὐκλείας ἀποδεδημηκότος, τοῦ δὲ ἔτι καὶ σήμερον ἐν γήρᾳ βαθεῖ, ὡς ἐν ἀχμάζοντι. πονοῦντος τῷ σώματι, Διέμεινε γὰρ παντελῶς τῆς ἀμπέλου τὸν καρπὸν παραιτούμενος, καὶ οὐδὲ ὄξους ἣ σταφίδων μεταλαμδάνων, οὐ γχάλαχτος, οὐκ ἄρτι ληφθέντο:, οὐ πεπηγότος, Οὕτω γὰρ βιοῦν ὁ μέγας ἐνομοθέτησε Πούπλιος. Ἐλαίου δὲ κατὰ τὸν τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς καιρὸν τὴν χρείαν μανθάνοντες, καὶ πάλιν παραιτοῦνται αὐτοῦ τὴν μετάληψιν. Τοιαῦτα καὶ περὶ τοῦ μεγάλου Πουπλίου μεμάϑηχα, τὰ μὲν ἀκοῇ δεξάμενος, τὰ δὲ τοὺς ἐκείνου θεασάμενος καὶ τὸν διδάσκαλον, καὶ διὰ τῶν ἀθλητῶν τὸν παιδοτρίδην καταμαθών. “Αδικον τοίνυν νομίσας καὶ βάσχανον, τοσαύτην ὠφέλειαν προδοῦναι σιγῇ. τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι προστέθειχα τὸ διήγημα, καὶ αὐτοῖς τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ὠφέλειαν πραγματευόμενος, καϊὲμαυτῷ “ τὸ ἀπὸ τῆς μνήμης περιποιούμενος κέρδος. Ἤκουσα γὰρ τοῦ Δεσπότου λέγοντος " « Πᾶς ὅστις ὁμολογήσει ἐν ἐμοὶ ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὁμολογήσω χἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Πατρός μου, τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς. ν Ἱζαὶ οἶδα σαφῶς, ὡς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὴν τούτων μνήμην προσενεγκὼν, τῆς ἐπὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων παρ’ ### English translation (Claude) At the same time there lived a certain Publius, admirable in appearance, and having a soul that matched his appearance, or rather showing it far more [beautiful] than his body. He came from a family of the city council, and his city was the one where the celebrated Xerxes, marching against Greece and hastening to cross the river Euphrates with his army, gathered a multitude of ships, yoked them together, and so bridged the river; he named the place Zeugma (“the yoking”) and gave the city its name from the deed. Setting out from there, sprung from such a family, he occupied a high place not more than thirty stades from the city. There he built a small hut, and sold everything he had received from his father, I mean house, lands, flocks, clothing, vessels of silver and bronze, and whatever else he happened to have with these. He distributed it, according to the divine law, to those who needed it, freed himself from every earthly care, and in place of all received that one care, the service of the One who had called him; and he kept turning this over in his soul night and day. His labor increased continually, received intensification every day, and was sweet and full of pleasure, driving satiety far away. For no one ever saw him [idle] even for a small part of the day: prayer followed psalmody, psalmody followed prayer, and the reading of the divine oracles followed both; then came the care of the strangers who arrived; then some other necessary work. Traveling through life in these occupations, and set before those who wished to emulate him as an archetype of virtue, he gathered his own kind into these saving snares, like a sweet-singing bird. At first he accepted no one to live with him, but [built] small [huts] … and told each of those who came together to live by himself. He visited them often and searched the huts to see whether they had anything stored beyond their need. They say that he even carried scales and inquired precisely into the weight of their bread, and if he ever found more than the fixed amount, he was displeased and called those who did this gluttons. For he ordered them, whether eating or drinking, not to wait for satiety, but to take only as much as suffices to give life to the body. If he ever [saw] … , as enjoying Sybaritic luxury … . Coming to each one's door, if he found someone awake and singing to God, he went away again in silence; but if he perceived someone overcome by sleep, he struck the door with his hand and struck the sleeper with his tongue, as giving the body more care than it needed. Some of those of like mind, seeing this toil of his, proposed that he build one dwelling for them all; for they said that those now scattered would live more strictly, and he himself would be freed from greater care. The most wise man accepted the advice. He gathered them all, pulled down those small huts, built one for those he had gathered, and begged them to live in common and to sharpen one another: this one to imitate that one's gentleness, and that one to temper his gentleness with this one's zeal, and another, while giving others a share in his vigils, to receive in turn a lesson in fasting. “For in this way,” he said, “taking from one another what is lacking, [we shall gather] the most perfect [virtue]. For [just as at festivals and] in the market-places one sells bread, another vegetables, another is a dealer in clothes, and another a maker of shoes, and by contributing to one another's need they live more pleasantly (for one gives a garment and receives a shoe in return, and another buying vegetables pays for them with bread), so we ought to exchange with one another the precious parts of virtue.” While those who praised God in the Greek tongue lived thus, love of this way of life seized also those who used the language of the country; and some of them ran to him and begged to become part of the flock and to share in his sacred teaching. He accepted the request, [remembering] the Master's command which he gave to the holy apostles, saying: “Go and make disciples of all the nations.” He built another dwelling beside that one and told them to live there; and building a divine church, he ordered both groups to come together into it at the beginning and end of the day, so that they might offer the evening and the morning hymnody to God in common, divided into two choirs, each using its own language, and sending up the song in alternation. This form of life has lasted to this day; neither time, which loves to change such things, nor those who succeeded to his charge have been persuaded to overturn any of the rules he laid down, and this although not two or three but more have succeeded to this leadership. Immediately after he had completed his contest, departed this life and passed over to that life free of grief, Theoteknos succeeded to the leadership of those of the Greek tongue, and Aphthonius to that of the Syriac, both of them living monuments and images of his virtue. For they let neither those living with them nor those who came from outside feel his death, showing themselves as impressions of his way of life. The divine Theoteknos lived only a short time longer and handed the leadership to Theodotus; Aphthonius remained a very long time caring for the flock and directing it according to the established laws. This Theodotus came from Armenia; seeing that ascetic company, he was at first ranked among those under authority, obeying the great Theoteknos as he steered. But when, as I said, Theoteknos departed and he himself [received] the presidency, [he all but outshone] his predecessors in fame. For divine longing so wrought upon him, and wounded him with so many and such darts, that night and day he shed tears of compunction; and he was so full of spiritual grace that when he prayed all present kept silent and listened only to those sacred words, counting the hearing of them an earnest prayer. For who was so adamantine that, when those words were offered thus, his soul was not charmed, and its hardness and disobedience softened and brought over to the divine service? Increasing his wealth thus every day, and making the inviolable treasuries full of such goods, he shepherded the flock for twenty-five years, and was gathered to his fathers, according to the divine Scripture, nourished in a good old age, handing over the reins to Theoteknos, his nephew by birth and brother in character. And that divine Aphthonius, after presiding over the company for more than forty years, received the presidency of the high priesthood; yet he did not [lay aside] either … or the tunic made of goats' hair, and he took the same kind of food as he had before the presidency. Even after accepting this charge, he cared no less for that flock, spending most days there, now settling the quarrels of those who were at odds, now providing for those distressed by anything, at other times offering the divine exhortation to the members of the company. And he did each of these things while … washing the grain of his fellow monks, or handling some other such task. So, having adorned the presidency and increased his virtue, he reached the divine harbor with the cargo of virtue. And what need is there to speak of Theoteknos and of Gregory after him, the one having gathered every form of philosophy in his youth and departed this life with the glory of his predecessors, the other still today, in deep old age, laboring in body as though in his prime? For he has remained utterly refusing the fruit of the vine, taking neither vinegar nor raisins, nor milk, whether fresh or curdled; for this is how the great Publius laid down that they should live. They learn the use of oil at the season of Pentecost, and then refuse it again. Such are the things I have learned about the great Publius, some by hearing, others by seeing his disciples; and through the athletes I came to know the trainer. Thinking it unjust and envious to betray so great a benefit by silence, I have added the story for those who do not know it, procuring the benefit from it for them, and for myself the gain that comes from remembering. For I have heard the Master saying: “Everyone who confesses me before men, I too will confess him before my Father who is in heaven.” And I know clearly that, having offered men the memory of these saints, [I shall obtain] freedom of speech before the God of all …. ### Scripture references - Matt 19:21: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 28:19: quotation, high confidence - Gen 25:8: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 15:15: echo, low confidence - Matt 10:32: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - About 2% of the Greek is lost in the scan used here; gaps are marked “…” and nothing has been supplied. Words in square brackets supply what the sense plainly requires where a line is damaged. The text after “If he ever” (a reproof of some who lived in luxury) is lost, as is what Aphthonius did not lay aside besides his goat-hair tunic, and part of the sentence on his washing grain (σῖτον, read from a damaged word) for his fellow monks. The chapter breaks off in the scan in the middle of its last sentence. The two choirs of Publius's community sang in Greek and in Syriac (“the language of the country”). Theodotus “was gathered to his fathers … in a good old age” echoes Gen 15:15 and 25:8. Quotations: Matt 28:19; Matt 10:32. Allusions: Matt 19:21; Gen 25:8. Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters was removed (logged corrections). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 5 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/5). ## Life 6 (ΣΥΜΕΩΝΗΣ ὁ παλαιός) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/6/#p-6 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Symeon the Elder, a desert hermit, sends lions to guide lost Jews, quenches a fire sent on a thief, evangelizes Mount Amanus, meets a hermit fed by a lion on the way to Sinai, and founds two monasteries. ### Greek text Συμεώνην δὲ τὸν πρεσδύτην εἴ τις ἐχὼν παραλ[ε]ίποι, καὶ λήθῃ τῆς ἐχείνου φιλοσοφίας παραδοίη τὴν μνήμην, ἀδικίας ἂν εἰκότως καὶ βασκανίας οὐ φύγοι γραφὴν, ὡς μήτε ἐπαινεῖν ἐθέλων τὰ ἀξιέπαινα, μὴτε τοῖς ὠφελεῖσθαι βουλομένοις εἰς μίμησιν ἀξιέραστα προτιθείς, Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ φόδῳ τῆς κατηγορίας, ἀλλὰ πόθῳ τῆς εὐφημίας, τῆς τοῦδε πολι. τείας ποιήσομαι τὴν διήγησιν. Οὗτυς γὰρ πλεῖστον τι μάλιστα διετέλεσε χρόνον τὸν ἐρημικὸν ἀσπαζόμενος βίον, καὶ ἕν τίνι βραχεῖ διαιτώμενος ἄντρῳ, νος γὰρ βιοτεύειν προείλετο, τῷ Θεῷ δὲ τῶν ὅλων ἐνδελεχῶς διελέγετο" τὰς ἐδωδίμους δὲ τῶν βοτανῶν ἐποιεῖτο τροφήν. Οὗτος ὁ πόνος αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν ἄνωθεν πλουσίαν ἐδωρήσατο χάριν, ὡς καὶ τοῖς τοις καὶ θρχσυτάτοις ἐπιτάττειν θηρίοις. Καὶ τοῦτο βορὰ δῆλον οὐ τοῖς εὐσεδέσι μόνοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἀπίστοις Ἰουδαίοις ἐγένετο. Χρεία; μὲν γάρ τινος ἕνεκα ἀπεδήμουν εἴς τε τῶν φρουρίων, τῶν ἔξω τῆ; καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς οἰκουμένης διακειμένων. Ὑετοῦ δὲ λάδρου γενομένου, καὶ λαίλαπος προσδαλούσης, διαμαρτάνουσι μὲν τῆς ὁδοῦ, τὰ πρόσω βλέπειν οὐ δυνάμενοι " δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον, οὔτε κώμην, οὔτε ἄντρον, οὔτε ὁδίτην εὑρίσκοντες, ἐν ἠπείρῳ δὲ μέσῃ τοῖς νουσιν οἷόν τινα λιμένα τοῦ θείου Συμειύνου τὸ λαιον, καὶ θεωροῦσιν ἄνθρωπον αὐχμῶντα καὶ ῥυπῶντα, καὶ βραχύ τι σισύρας ἐπὶ τῶν ὥμων φέροντα. Ὁ δὲ εἶδέ τε ὁμοῦ καὶ ἣσπάσατο. Καὶ γὰρ εὐπροσήγορος ἣν, καὶ τῆς ἀφίξεως ἧρετο τὴν αἰτίαν. Ὧ; δὲ ἱ τὸ συμδὰν διηγήσαντο, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ φρούριον σαν ὁδὸν μαθεῖν ἱχέτευταν, « Μείνατε, ἔφη, καὶ παραυτίκα ὑμῖν ἀγωγοὺς δώσω, τὴν ὁδὸν ἀποδείξοντας. » Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἐπείθοντο, καὶ διαν- … βλοσυρὺν ϑλέποντις, ἀλλ᾽ οἷόν τινὰ δεσπότην τῆς, σαίνοντες, καὶ τὴν δουλείαν ὑποσημαίνοντες Τοὺτοὺς ἄνδρας, καὶ εἰ; ἐκείνην ἀπαγαγεῖν τὴν ὁδὸν, ἣν καταλιπόντες τὸν πλάνον ὑπέμειναν. ᾿Αλλὰ μηδεὶς μυθῶδες εἶνα: πὸ διήγημα νομιζέτω, τοὺς κοινοὺς τῆς ὀληθεία: ἐχθροὺς μαρτυροῦντας ἔχων τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Αὐτοὶ γὰ» οἰ τῆς εὐεργεσία: τετυχηχότες, τοῦτο ἄδοντες διετέλεσαν. Καὶ τοῦτό μοι οὗτος ὁ μέγα; Ἰόπωῦος ὃ:υγήσατο, παρεῖναι φήσας αὐτοῖς τῷ διτγουμένοις τὸ θαῦμα. Ὃ τοίνυν Ἰουδαίοις Φῇ τῶν πῶς οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως ἀπιστότερος Ἰουδαίων χλτθείη; Εἴπερ οἱ μὲν καὶ δυσμενεῖς ὄντες, ἡττῶνται ὅμως, καὶ ταῖς τῆς ἀληθεία; ἀχτῖτι παραχωροῦσιν " οἱ δὲ εὔνοοι νομιζόμενο: καὶ τῆς πίστεως κοινωνοὶ, οὐδὲ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς τῇ δυνάμει τῆς χάριτος μαρτυροῦσ' πι- Ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων δὲ θαυμάτων ὁ θεσπέσιος ἐκεῖνος ἄνθρωπος ἐπίσημος γεγονὼς, καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν (οἰκοῦσι δὲ τὴν ἔρημον ἐκείνην οἱ τὸν Ἰσμαὴλ σεμνυνόμενοι πρόγονον), ἡσυχίας ἐρῶν, καταλιπεῖν ἠναγκάσθη τὸ σπήλαιον, καὶ πολλὴν νε!: τὸ καλούμενον ᾿Αμανὸν͵ καὶ τοῦτο πολλῇς πάλαι γέμὸν πολυθέου μανίας, τοῖς πολλ)οῖ; καὶ παντοδαποῖς ἐγεώργησε θϑαύμασι, καὶ τὴν νῦν ἐν αὐτῷ πολιτενομένην εὐσέδειαν χατεφύτευσεν. ᾿Αλλὰ πόντα μὲν διηγεῖσθαι λίαν ἐπίπονον, ἐμοὶ δὲ τυχὸν καὶ ἀδύνατον. Ἑνὸς τοίνυν μνησθεὶς, καὶ οἷόν τινα χαρακτῆρα 6 τῆς ἀποστολικῆς αὑτοῦ καὶ προφητικῆς θαυματουργίας προθεὶς, καταλείπω τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσιν ἐννοεῖν ἐντεῦθεν ἧς ἔλαθε χάριτος τὴν ἰσχύν' Θέρος ἦν, καὶ ἀμητὸς, καὶ νὰ δρήγματα εἰς τὰς ἅλως μετεχομίξψετο, ᾿Ανὴρ δὲ τ'ς, τοῖς δικαίοις οὐκ ἀρκούμενος πόνοις, ἀ)λὰ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἐφιέμενο;, ὑφείλετο μὲν τῶν τιῦ πέλας δραγμάτων, αὔξειν δὲ τὸν οἰκεῖον διὰ τούτων ἐπειρᾶτο θημῶνα" ἀλλ᾽ εὐθὺς τὴν κατὰ τῆς κλοπῇ; τὸ Θεῖον ἐξέφερε ψῆφον" καὶ πρηστὴρ ἐπεφέρετο, καὶ ἡ ἄλως ἐνεπίμπρατο, καὶ ὁ δείλαιος ἐκεῖνος τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ κατελάμδανεν ἄνθρωπον, οὐ πόῤῥω τῆς κώμῃς ἐσχηνωμένον " καὶ τὴν μὲν συμφορὰν διηγεῖτο, κρύπτειν δὲ τὴν κλοπὴν ἐπειρᾶτο, Ὡς ὃὲ τἀληθῆ λέγειν κελευσθεὶς ὡμολόγησε τὴν κλοπὴν (τὸ γὰρ πάνο; Ὁ χα' ἑλυτοῦ κατηγορεῖν χατηνάγχασε), προσέταξεν ὁ θεῖο; ἐκεῖνος ἀνὴρ τῇ λύσει τῆς ἀδικίας λῦσαι τὴν τιμωρίαν. ε« Σοῦ γὰρ, ἔφη, τὰ δράγματα ἐκεῖνα ἐχτιννύουτος, τὸ θεήλατον ἐκεῖνο σδεσλί σεται τῦρ.} ἫΝ τοίνυν ἰδεῖν τὸν μὲν θέοντα, καὶ τῷ ἀδιχηθέντι τοὺ; κλαπέντας ἀστάχυας προτφέροντα, τὴν δὲ πυρὰν προσευχὴ γαὶ πρεσθείᾳ. Τοῦτο οὐ μόνον τοὺς περι" οἶκου : ἐνέπλησε δείματος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἅπασιν, τὴν ᾿Δντιόχου λέγω" ὑπὸ ταύτην γὰρ τὸ χωρίον ἐτέλει " θέειν ἐκεῖ χατηνάγχασε, καὶ τὸν μὲν ἀπαγ' τοῦ παῦλαν, τὸν δὲ ἄλλου τινὸς τῶν ἐνοχλούντων ἰατρείαν. Ὃ δὲ ἀφθόνω; τῆς ἐνοικούσης χάριτος ἐχύρήγει τὰ νάμκτα, ᾿Αλλὰ πάλιν τῆς ἡσυχίσς ἐρῶν, ἐπεθύμησε, Μαθόντες “ἘΣ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀρίστων, καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν μετιόντες φιλοσοφίαν, συνέδρα λον χοινωνῖσα: αὐτῷ τῆς ἀποδημίας ποθοῦντες. Πολλῶν τοίνυν ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν ἐξανύσαντες, ἐπειδὴ κατὰ τὴν Σοδομῖτιν ἐγένοντο ἔρημὴν, ὁρῶσι πόῤῥωθεν ἀπὸ βάθους χεῖρας ἀνδρὸς πρὸς ὕψος ἐχτεινομένας, Καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον δαίμονος ρὸν, καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ θεασάμενοι, ὥρμησαν ἐπ᾽ ἐκεῖνο τὸ χωρίον, καὶ βραχὺ μὲν ὄρυγμα θεωροῦσιν, ὁποῖα ποιεῖν πεφύκασιν αἱ ἀλώπεκες καταδύσεις ἑαυταῖς μηχανώμεναι, οὐδένα δὲ εἶδον ἐκεῖ προφαινόμενον. Τοὺ κτύπου γὰρ τῶν ποδῶν αἰσθόμενος ὁ τὰς χεῖρας Διακύψας δὲ ὁ πρεσδύτης, ἐλιπάρει μάλα πολλὰ ὀφθῆναι αὐτὸν, εἰ ἀνθρωπείαν ἔχει τὴν φύσιν, καὶ μὴ δαίμων τις ἀπατεὼν εἴη τοιαῦτα σχηματιζόμενος. « Καὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς, ἔφη, τὸν ἀσχητιχὺν μετιόντες βίον, γαὶ τῆς ἡσυχίας ἐρῶντες, ἀλώμεθα κατὰ τήνδε τὴν ἔρημον, ἐν τῷ Σινᾷ ὄρει τὸν τῶν ἁπάντων ἐπιθυμοῦντες προσκυνῆται Θεὸν, ἐν ᾧ Μωσῇ τῷ θεράποντι τὴν οἰκείαν ἐπιφάνειαν ποιησάμενος, ἔδωκε τῆς νομοθεσίας τὰς πλάκας οὐκ ὅτι τὸ Θεῖον περιγεγράφθαι νομίζομεν (ἀκούομεν γὰρ αὐτοῦ λέγοντος, ὅτι Τὸν οὐραγὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐγὼ πιϊηρῶ, «έγει Κύριος " καὶ ὅτι κατέχει τὸν γῦρον τῆ: γῆς, καὶ τοὺς ἐνοικοῦντας ἐν αὐτῇ ὡς ἀκχρίδας), ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ τοῖς θερμῶς ἐρῶσιν οὐ μόνον. οἱ ἐρώμενοι ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ τόποι ἐράσμιοι, οἱ τὴ» τούτων παρουσίαν καὶ ὁμιλίαν δεξάμενοι. ν» Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαὖτα λέγοντος: τοῦ πρεδσδύτου, ἀναδείκνυσιν ἑαυτὸν ἐκτῆς χαταδύσεως ὁ κεκρυμμένος ἄνθρυνπο;, καὶ ἣν ἄγριος μὲν ἰδεῖν, αὐχμηρὰν δὲ ἔχων τὴν κόμην, τὸ πάντα τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος, ῥάκιά τινα πενιχρὰ ᾿Ασπαυάμενος δὲ, καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης τὸ πρόσρημα δεδιυχῶνς, ἐπυνθάνετο τίνες τε εἶεν, καὶ πόθεν ἥκοιεν, καὶ ὅπου ἀπίοιεν. Οἱ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐρώτησιν ἀπἐκρίναντο, καὶ ἀντεπύθοντο πόθεν τε ἐληλυθὼς εἴη, καὶ τί δήποτε ταύτην εἵλετο τὴν ζωήν. Ὁ δὲ, ε Ταύτὴν ἔσχον χἀγὼ τὴν προθυμίαν, ἔφη, ἣν καὶ ὑμεῖς ἔχοντες ἀπίετε, κοινωνὸν δὲ τῆς ὁδοῦ ταύτης ἐπἐποιήμτιν συνήθη τινὰ καὶ ὁμογνώμονα, καὶ τὸν αὖτόν μοι κεκτημένον σκοπὸν, ὄρκῳ δὲ ἀλλήλους ἐπεπείχειμεν, μηδὲ τῷ θανάτῳ χωρίσαι τὴ» συνουσίαν. Τοιγάρτο: κατὰ τὴν ἀποδημίαν ἐκεῖνον μὲν τῇδε συνέδη δέξασθαι τοῦ βίου τὸ πέρας " ἐγὼ δὲ τῷ ἔρχῳ πεπεδημένος ὥρυξά τε ὡς ἠδυνάμην, καὶ ταφῇ τὸ σῶμα παρέδωκα " παρὰ τοῦτο δὲ τὸ σῶμα τάφον ἕτερον ἐμαυτῷ κατορύξας, τῇδε περιμένω τοῦ βίου τὸ τέλος, καὶ τῷ Δεσπότῃ τὴν συνήθη λειτουργίαν προσφέρω. Τροφὴν δὲ ἔχω τοὺς φοίνικας, οὺς ἀδελς ἧς μοί τις κομίζειν παρὰ τοῦ κηδεμόνος ἐτάχθη. » Ἡούτων οὕτω λεγομένων, λέων πόῤῥωθεν ἀνεφάνη, ἀγωνίᾳ δὲ τῶν σὺν τῷ πρεσδύτῃ περιπεσόντων, αἷσὐόμενος ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς καταδύσεις καθήμενος, ἀναστὰς τῷ λέοντι διένευσεν εἰς τὸ ἕτερον διαδῆναι μέρος, Ὁ δὲ παραυτίκα ἐπείσθη τε καὶ ἧκε, φέρων τῶν φοινίκων τὸν βότρυν. Εἶτα πάλιν ἀπῆλθεν ἐπιτραπεὶς, καὶ πόῤῥωθεν τῶν ἀνδρῶν κατακλιθεὶς ἐχαθεύδησε, Διανείμας τοίνυν τοὺς φοίνικας ἅπασι, προσευχῆς πε καὶ ψαλμῳδίας κοινωνήσας αὐτοῖς, καὶ μετὰ τὸ τέλος τῆς λειτουργίας ἕωθεν ἀσπασάμενος ψατο καινὸν θέαμα τεθηπότας. Εἰ δέ τις ἀπιστεῖ τοῖς εἰρημένοις, τῆς Ἡλιοῦ τοῦ πάνυ πολιτείας, καὶ τῆς τῶν κοράκων διαχονέας ἀναμνησθήτω, οἱ πρωΐ μὲν ἄρτον, δείλης δὲ κρέας αὐτῷ κομίζοντες διετέλεσαν, Ῥάδιον δὲ τῷ Ποιητῇ τῶν ὅλων παντοδαποὺς πόρους εἰς τὴν τῶν οἰκείων θεραπείαν εὑρίσκειν. Οὕτω τὸν Ἰωνᾶν ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ τοῦ κήτους τρία νυχθήμερα λαξε, καὶ τοὺς λέοντας ἐν τῷ λάκκῳ τεθηπέναι τὸν Δανιὴλ παρεσκεύασε, καὶ τὸ ἄψυχον πῦρ λογικῶς ἕνεργεῖν, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἔνδον φωτίζειν, τοὺς δὲ ἔξω κατακαίειν πεποίηκεν. ᾿Αλλὰ περιττὸν ποιῶ περὶ τῆς θείας δυνάμεως ἀποδείξεις προσφέρων. ᾿Επειδὴ τοίνυν τὸ ποθούμενον χατέλαδεν ὄρος, φασὶν ἐκεῖνον. τὸν θαυ» μάσιον γέροντα ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ χωρίῳ, ἐν ᾧ τὸν θεὸν Μωῦσῇς ἰδεῖν ἠξιώθη, εἶδεν δὲ ὡς δυνατὸν ὧν φύσει θνητῇ, κλῖναι τὰ γόνατα, καὶ μὴ πρότερον ἀναστῇ. ναι, ἕω; θείας ἐπήκουσε φωνῆς, τὴν Δεσποτικὴν αὐτῷ εὐμένειαν μηνυούσης. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἅπαντα τῆ; ἑθδομάδος τὸν κύκλον οὕτω συγχεχυφὼς διετέλεσε, τροφῆς οὐδὲ βραχείας μεταλαχὼν, ἐχέλευδεν ἡ γε" νομένη φωνὴ καὶ τὰ προτεθέντα αὐτῷ λαθεῖν, καὶ προθύμως καταφαγεῖν " ἐκτείνας δὲ τὴν χεῖρα, καὶ «ρία μῆλα εὑρὼν, καὶ τούτων ἐμφορηθεὶς ὡς ὁ διξωχὼς παρηγγύησεν, ἰσχύος τε γέγονεν ἀπάσης ἀνάπλεως, καὶ μετὰ θυμηδείας τοὺς συνόντας, ὡς εἰκὸς ανήει, ἅτε δὴ καὶ θείας ἑπακούσας φωνῆς. καὶ δύτου πάλιν ἀπολαύσας τροφῆς. Ἐπανελθὼν δὲ καὶ δύο φιλοσοφίας ᾧκοδόμησε φροντιστήρια, ἕν μὲν εἰς τὴν ῥαχίαν. τοῦ ὅρους περὶ οὗ προειρήκαμεν, θάτερὸν δὲ κατ᾽ αὑτὸ, παρ᾽ αὑτὰ τῆ: ὑπωρείας τὰ κράσπεδα ἐν ἑκατέρῳ δὲ ἀθλητὰς ἀρετῆς: συναθροίσας, καὶ τούτων κἀκείνων γυμναστὴς ἐγένετο καὶ παίδοτρίδης, καὶ τοῦ ἀντιπάλου καὶ πολεμίου διδάσκων τὰς προσδολὰς, καὶ τοῦ ἀγωνοθέτου τὴν εὔνοιαν ὑπἰασχνούμενος, καὶ θαῤῥεῖν παρακαλῶν καὶ φρον᾽ μά, τος ἐμφορῶν, καὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ὁμοφυεῖς μετριά- Ὁ ζεῖν κελεύων, πρὸς δὲ τὸν πολέμιον μεγαλοφροσύνῃ κεχρῆσθαι παρεγγυῶν. Τοιαῦτα διδάσκων, οὕτω βιοπὰς μαρμαρυγὰς ἀφιεὶς, τῆς ἐπιπόνου ζωῆς τὸ τέλος; ἐδέξατο, καὶ εἰς τὸν ἀγήρω καὶ ἄλυπον ἀπεδήμησε βίον, ἄσδεστον κλέος καταλιπὼν, καὶ μνήμην εἰσαεὶ διαμένουσαν. Τῆς τούτου δὲ εὐλογίας ἀπήλαυσε μὲν περιόντος ἡ μακαρία καὶ τρισμακαρία μου μήτηρ, καὶ πολλὰ τῶν τούτου μοι διηγημάτων πολλάκις προσήνεγκεν. Ἐγὼ δὲ τῆς νῦν δυναστείας αὑτοῦ καὶ πρεσθείας ἀπολαῦσαι ἀντιδολῶ, καὶ οἶδα ὦ; τεύξομαι, Δώσει γὰρ πάντως τὴν αἴτησιν, τὴν τοῦ Δεσπότου φιλανθρωπίαν μιμούμενος. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone were willingly to pass over Symeon the Elder and hand over the memory of his philosophy to forgetfulness, he would rightly not escape the charge of injustice and envy, as one unwilling to praise what deserves praise, and unwilling to set before those who wish to be helped what is lovely and worth imitating. But I shall relate his way of life not from fear of that charge, but from longing to praise him. For he spent a very long time embracing the solitary life, living in a small cave, for he chose to live [alone]; and he conversed continually with the God of all, and made the edible herbs his food. This labor won him rich grace from above, so that he could command even the [fiercest] and boldest beasts. And this became plain not only to the devout but also to the unbelieving Jews. For they were traveling on some business to one of the fortresses that lie outside our part of the world. A violent rain came on and a whirlwind struck; they lost the road, being unable to see ahead, and, finding in the desert neither village nor cave nor wayfarer, in the middle of the land they came, [storm-tossed] as they were, upon the cave of the divine Symeon as upon a kind of harbor; and they saw a squalid and dirty man, wearing on his shoulders a small piece of rough cloth. He saw them and at the same time greeted them, for he was affable, and asked the reason for their coming. When they told what had happened and begged to learn the road to the fortress, he said: “Stay, and I will give you guides at once to show you the road.” They obeyed, and … [two lions came], not looking at them fiercely, but fawning on him as on a master, and showing their servitude. [He ordered them to guide] these men and lead them to that road which they had left and so gone astray. Let no one think the story a fable, since he has the common enemies of the truth as witnesses to the truth. For those very men who received the kindness have continued to sing of it; and this great James told it to me, saying that he was present when they were telling of the wonder. Whoever, then, [disbelieves what] the Jews [testify], how would he not rightly be called more unbelieving than the Jews? For they, though hostile, are nevertheless overcome and give way to the rays of the truth; while those reputed to be well disposed and sharers in the faith do not [believe] the power of grace even when its enemies testify to it. The inspired man having become famous through such wonders, and many of the … (that desert is inhabited by those who boast of Ishmael as their forefather), he, loving quiet, was compelled to leave the cave and … the mountain called Amanus, which was formerly full of the madness of polytheism; he cultivated it with many wonders of every kind and planted the true religion that now lives in it. But to tell everything is very laborious, and for me perhaps impossible. So I shall mention one, and set it forth as a token of his apostolic and prophetic wonder-working, and leave it to readers to infer from it the strength of the grace he received. It was summer and harvest, and the sheaves were being carried to the threshing floors. A man not content with his just labors, but coveting what belonged to others, stole some of his neighbor's sheaves and tried to enlarge his own stack with them. But at once the Deity passed sentence against the theft: a fiery whirlwind came down, the threshing floor was set on fire, and the wretched man ran to the man of God, who lived not far from the village. He told of his disaster but tried to hide the theft. When he was told to speak the truth and confessed the theft (for his suffering compelled him to accuse himself), the divine man ordered him to undo the punishment by undoing the injustice. “For when you pay back those sheaves,” he said, “that fire sent by God will be put out.” Then one could see the man running and bringing the stolen ears of grain to the one he had wronged, and the fire [quenched] by prayer and intercession. This filled not only those living around with fear, but compelled the whole city (I mean Antioch, for the place was under its jurisdiction) to run there, one asking for relief from an affliction, another for the cure of some other trouble; and he generously supplied the streams of the grace that dwelt in him. But again, loving quiet, he desired [to reach Mount Sinai]. Learning [of this], many of the best men, who pursued the same philosophy, ran together longing to share his journey. Having completed a journey of many days, when they came to the desert of Sodom, they saw from afar the hands of a man stretched up on high from a pit. At first [they suspected a deception] of a demon … , and seeing the same thing, they hastened to that place, and saw a small hole, such as foxes are wont to make when they contrive burrows for themselves, but saw no one appearing there. For the man who [had stretched out] his hands, hearing the sound of feet, [had gone down into the burrow]. The old man, bending down, earnestly begged him to show himself if he had a human nature and was not some deceiving demon taking such a shape. “For we too,” he said, “pursue the ascetic life and love quiet, and are wandering through this desert, desiring to worship the God of all on Mount Sinai, where he made his appearance to his servant Moses and gave him the tablets of the law. Not that we think the Deity is circumscribed (for we hear him saying, ‘I fill heaven and earth, says the Lord’, and that ‘he holds the circle of the earth, and those who dwell in it are like locusts’), but because to those who love warmly not only the beloved but also the places that received their presence and converse are lovely.” As the old man said these and similar things, the hidden man showed himself from the burrow; he was wild to look at, with squalid hair, … all the members of his body, [covered with] some poor rags. He greeted them, gave them the salutation of peace, and asked who they were, where they came from, and where they were going. They answered the question and asked in turn where he had come from and why he had chosen this life. He said: “I too had the same eagerness that you have as you go, and I had made a companion of this journey an intimate friend of like mind who had the same aim as I, and we had bound each other by an oath not to break our companionship even in death. So, on the journey, it befell him to receive the end of his life here; and I, bound by the oath, dug as best I could and committed his body to burial. Beside this body I dug another grave for myself, and here I await the end of my life and offer the Master the customary service. For food I have dates, which one has been appointed by my Guardian to bring me.” As he was saying this, a lion appeared in the distance, and those with the old man fell into anguish. Perceiving this, the man sitting by the burrow stood up and nodded to the lion to go to the other side. At once it obeyed and came, bringing a cluster of dates. Then, being allowed, it went away again, lay down at a distance from the men, and slept. He distributed the dates to all, shared prayer and psalmody with them, and after the end of the service at dawn greeted them and [sent them away], amazed at the strange sight. If anyone disbelieves what has been said, let him remember the way of life of the celebrated Elijah and the ministry of the ravens, which brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening. It is easy for the Maker of all to find all kinds of means to care for his own. So he [kept] Jonah in the belly of the sea monster for three days and nights, made the lions in the den stand in awe of Daniel, and caused lifeless fire to act rationally, giving light to those within and burning up those outside. But I am doing something superfluous in bringing proofs of the divine power. When he reached the mountain he longed for, they say that the admirable old man, in the place where Moses was counted worthy to see God (and he saw him as far as was possible for mortal nature), bent his knees and did not rise until he heard a divine voice announcing the Master's favor to him. When he had continued thus bowed down for a whole week, without taking even a little food, the voice that came ordered him to take what was set before him and eat it eagerly. Stretching out his hand he found three apples, and when he had eaten his fill of them as the giver commanded, he was filled with all strength, and with joy he [went down to] his companions, as was natural, since he had heard a divine voice and enjoyed food from such a giver. When he returned he built two schools of philosophy, one on the ridge of the mountain we spoke of before, the other below it, at the very skirts of its foot; and gathering athletes of virtue in each, he became the gymnastic master and trainer of both, teaching the attacks of the adversary and enemy, promising the good will of the president of the games, urging them to take courage and filling them with resolve, ordering them to be modest toward those of their own nature, and charging them to use greatness of mind against the enemy. Teaching such things, and so living, sending out … flashes, he received the end of his laborious life and departed to the life that knows neither age nor grief, leaving an inextinguishable fame and a memory that remains for ever. My blessed and thrice-blessed mother enjoyed his blessing while he lived, and often told me many stories about him. I beg to enjoy his present power and intercession, and I know that I shall obtain it; for he will surely grant the request, imitating the Master's love for humankind. ### Scripture references - Jer 23:24: quotation, high confidence - Isa 40:22: quotation, high confidence - 1 Kgs 17:6: allusion, high confidence - Jonah 1:17: allusion, high confidence - Dan 6:22: allusion, high confidence - Dan 3:22–27: allusion, high confidence - Exod 33:20–23: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - About 2% of the Greek is lost in the scan used here; gaps are marked “…” and nothing has been supplied. Words in square brackets supply what the sense plainly requires where a line is damaged; the most important is the sentence on the lions who guide the Jews, where the subject (“two lions came”) is lost and has been supplied from what follows. Other losses: whom Symeon drew to himself in the desert of the Ishmaelites and what he did on Mount Amanus; the description of the hermit's face; and a word describing the “flashes” of Symeon's life. “One has been appointed by my Guardian to bring me” (the lion, as what follows shows) is a damaged phrase translated by sense. The “great James” who told Theodoret the story is probably James of Cyrrhestica (chapter 21). The miracle accounts are translated as Theodoret tells them. Quotations: Jer 23:24; Isa 40:22. Allusions: 1 Kgs 17:6; Jonah 1:17; Dan 6:22; Dan 3:22–27; Exod 33:20–23. Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters and marginal references were removed (logged corrections). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 6 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/6). ## Life 7 (ΠΑΛΛΑΔΙΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/6/#p-7 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Palladius, a recluse near Imma and friend of Symeon the Elder, is accused of a murder at a village fair and, by his prayer, makes the dead man point out the murderer; Abraham of Paratomos works healings from his tomb. ### Greek text γεγένηται, καὶ ὀμότροπος, καὶ συνήθης, καὶ γνώριμος. Παρ' ἀλλήλους γὰρ, ὥς φασι, φοιτῶντες τῆς ἀλλήλους, καὶ εἰς ζῆλον τὸν θεῖον ᾿ ἐγείροντες. Ἐν οἰκίσκῳ δέ τιν: καθεῖρχτο, κώμῃ μεγίστῃ καὶ πολυανθρώπῳ πελάζοντι " Ἴμμαι δὲ ὄνομα ταύτῃ. Περὶ μὲν γὰρ τῆς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καρτερίας, ἀσιτίας τε καὶ ἀγρυπνίας, καὶ τῆς διηνεκοῦς προσευχῆς, περιττὸν ἡγοῦμαι διηγεῖσθαι. Τὸν γὰρ αὐτὸν εἶλκεν ἐν τούτοις τῷ θείῳ Συμεῶνι ἐκείνῳ ζυγόν. Τὸ δὲ θαῦμα, τὸ μέχρι καὶ τήμερον ἀδόμενον, τὸ ὑπὸ τῆς ἐχείνου καὶ φωνῆς γενόμενον καὶ χειρὸς, προῦργον διηγήσασθαι. κώμην, τοὺς πάντοθεν ἐμπόρους ἐπισπωμένη, καὶ πλῆθος ἀριθμοῦ χρεῖττον ἐφελκομένη. Ἐξν ταύτῃ τις ἔμπορος, ἅπερ ἧκε φέρων ἀπεμπολήσας, καὶ τὸ χρυσίον συναθροίσας, νύκτωρ. ἀπαίρειν ἐβούλετο. ᾿Ανδροφόνος δέ τις, τὸ συλλεγὲν ἐκεῖνο θεασάμενος χρυσίον, οἴστρου τινὸς καὶ μανίας ἐμφορηθεὶς, τὸν μὲν ὕπνον τῶν βλεφάρων ἀπήλασε, τοῦ δὲ ἀνδρὸς ἐχείνου τὴν ἀποδημίαν ἐφύλαττε. Μετὰ δὲ ἀλεκτρυόνων ᾧδὰς, ὁ μὲν ἀπῆρε θαῤῥῶν᾽ ὁ δὲ προλαδὼν καὶ απινχίως τε προδαλὼν, ἐπήνεγκε τὴν πληγὴν, καὶ τὴν μιαιφονίαν ἐτόλμησε " προστίθησι δὲ καὶ ἕτερον τῷδε τῷ μύσει δυσσέδημα. Τὸ γὰρ χρυσίον λαδὼν, τὸ νεκρὸν ἐκεῖνο σῶμα παρὰ τὴν τοῦ μεγάλου Παλλαδίου προσέῤῥιψε θύραν. Ὡς δὲ ἡμέρα ἐγένετο, καὶ ἡ φήμη διέδραμε, καὶ ἡ πανήγυρις ἅπασα τὸ γεγεἅπαντες, καὶ τὴν θύραν θεῖον Παλλάδιον" Εἷς δὲ τῶν τοῦτο δρώντων ἣν ὁ τὴν τοσαύτης πληθύος ὁ θεσπέσιος ἄνθρωπος, εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἰδὼν, καὶ τῇ διανοίᾳ τὸν οὐρανὸν ὑπερδὰς, ἱκέτευε τὸν Δεσπότην, τῆς συκοφαντίας διελέγξαι τὸ ψεῦδος, καὶ δήλην ἀποφῆνα: τὴν κεκρυμμένην ἀλήθειαν. Οὕτως εὐξάμενος, καὶ τῆ: τοῦ κειμένου λαδόμενο: δεξιᾶς, « Εἰπὲ, ἔφη, ὦ νεανία, τίς σοι ταύτην ἐπήνεγχξ τὴν πληγήν δεῖξον τὸν τοῦ μύσους αὐθέντὴν, καὶ τὸν ἀθῶον ἀπόφηνον τῆς πονηρᾶς ταύτης αυχοφαντίας ἐλεύθερον. Ἠκολούθει δὲ τῷ μὲν λόγῳ ὁ λόγος, τῇ δεξιᾷ δὲ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ καθήμενος περιεσκόπει μὲν τοὺς παρόντας, ὑπεδείχνυε δὲ τῷ δακτύλῳ τὸν ἀνδροφόνον. Βοὴ δὲ πάντων ἐγένετο, καὶ τὸ θαῦμα ἐχπληττομένων, καὶ τὴν γεγενημένην μιαιφόνον ἐκεῖνον, καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν εὗρον ἔτι πεφοινιγμένην τῷ αἵματι, καὶ τὸ χρυσίον ἐκεῖνο τὸ τῆς σφαγῆς γεγενημένον πρόξενον. Ὁ δὲ θεῖος Πχλὧν, ἀξιαγαστότερος εἰκότως ἐντεῦθεν ἐγένετο. Ἱκανὸν γὰρ ἣν τὸ θαῦμα δεῖξαι κὴν παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς παῤῥησίαν. Καὶ ᾿Αδραάμῃη; δὲ ὁ θαυμάσιος τῆς αὐτῆς ἣν συμμορίας, ὃς τὸν μὲν καλούμενον Παράτομον ᾧκησε, πάντοσε δὲ τῆς ἀρετῆς τὰς μαρμαρυγὰς ἐξέπεμψε. Μαρτυρεῖ ὃὲ τῇ λαμπρότητι τῆς ζωῆΐς τὰ μετὰ τελευτὴν ἐνεργούμενα θαύματα. ᾿Αναδλύζει γὰρ ἡ ἐχείνου θήκη μέχρι καὶ τήμερον παντοδαπὰς θεραπείας, καὶ μάρτυρες οἱ ταύτας ἐκεῖθεν ἀφθόνως διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἀρυόμενοι, Ἐμοὶ δὲ εἴη καὶ τῆς τούτων ἐπικουρίας τυχεῖν, τῇ τούτων μνήμῃ τὴν γλῶτταν … ### English translation (Claude) … was [his contemporary], of like character, an intimate and acquaintance. For, as they say, visiting each other, they [drew benefit from each other and roused] each other to divine zeal. He was shut up in a little hut near a very large and populous village called Imma. About the man's endurance, his fasting, his vigils and his constant prayer I think it superfluous to speak; for in these he drew the same yoke as that divine Symeon. But the wonder that is sung to this day, which came about through his voice and his hand, is worth relating. [A festival gathered at the] village, drawing merchants from every side and attracting a multitude beyond counting. At it a merchant, having sold the goods he had brought and collected the gold, wished to set out by night. A murderer, seeing that gold collected, was filled with a kind of frenzy and madness, drove sleep from his eyelids, and watched for the man's departure. After the cocks crowed, the merchant set out confidently; the other got ahead of him, suddenly attacked him, struck the blow and dared the bloody deed. And to this abomination he added another impiety: taking the gold, he threw the dead body down at the door of the great Palladius. When day came and the report ran round, and the whole festival crowd … what had happened, all … the door … the divine Palladius. One of those doing this was the … . The inspired man, [seeing] so great a multitude, looked up to heaven, and passing beyond heaven in his mind, besought the Master to expose the falsehood of the slander and to make plain the hidden truth. Having prayed thus, he took hold of the right hand of the man lying there and said: “Tell us, young man, who struck you this blow; show the author of the abomination, and declare the innocent free of this wicked slander.” The deed followed the word, and the man followed the right hand: sitting up, he looked round at those present and pointed out the murderer with his finger. A cry went up from all, astonished at the wonder and at the [crime] that had been committed; [they searched] that murderer and found the knife still red with blood and that gold which had been the cause of the slaughter. The divine Palladius, naturally, became more admirable from this; for the wonder was enough to show the man's freedom of speech before God. The admirable Abraham also belonged to the same company. He lived in the place called Paratomos, and sent out the flashes of his virtue everywhere. The wonders worked after his death bear witness to the brilliance of his life; for his tomb pours out to this day healings of every kind, and those who draw them from there abundantly through faith are witnesses. May I too obtain the help of these men, having [sanctified] my tongue with their memory …. ### Translation notes - The opening lines of this chapter, which named Palladius and said that he was a contemporary and friend of Symeon the Elder (chapter 6), are lost in the scan; the text begins mid-sentence and the sense is supplied in square brackets. Other gaps are marked “…” and nothing has been supplied: in particular, what the crowd did at Palladius's door (they evidently accused him of the murder) and the identity of the one who joined them (by the sense, the murderer himself). “The deed followed the word”: the scan reads “the word followed the word” (ὁ λόγος), probably a slip; rendered by sense. The end of the chapter breaks off in the scan. Healings at Abraham's tomb are related as Theodoret tells them. Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters and marginal references were removed (logged corrections). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 7 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/7). ## Life 8 (ΑΦΡΑΑΤΗΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/8/#p-8 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Aphrahat, a Persian convert, lives as a recluse at Edessa and then Antioch, where he defends Nicene Christians under Valens, answers the emperor with a parable, heals the emperor's horse and protects a field from locusts. ### Greek text τι μὲν μία πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἡ φύσις, καὶ ῥάδιόν ἔπτι τοῖς βουλομένοις φιλοσοφεῖν, εἴτε “Ἔλληνες εἶεν, εἴτε βάρθαροι, πολλαχόθεν μὲν καὶ ἄλλοθεν καταμαθεῖν εὐπετὲς, ἀπόχρη δὲ καὶ μόνος ᾿Αφραάτης τοῦτο δηλῶσαι σατῶς. Οὗτος γὰρ ἐν Πέρσαις τοῖς παρανομωτάτοι: καὶ τεχθεὶς καὶ τραφεὶς, γαὶ ἐκ τοιούτων γονέων βλαστήσας, καὶ τὰ ἐχείνων νόμιμα παιδευθεὶς, εἰς τοσαύτην ἤλασεν ἀρετὴν, ὡς ἀποκρύψαι καὶ τοὺς ἐξ εὐσεθῶν φύντα;ξ, καὶ τροτὴν εὐσεδῖ, δεξαμένους παιδόθεν. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ τοῦ γένους καταφρονήσας (ἐπίσημον ὃὲ ὧν τοῦτο καὶ λαμπρὸν), εἰς τὴν τοῦ Δεσπότου προχύνησιν ἔδραμε, ποὺς προπάτορας μιμησάμενος μάγους " εἶτα τῶν τῆς οἰκείας προείλετο, καὶ τὴν “Ἔδεσσαν χαταλαῤὼν (πόλις δὲ αὕτη μεγίστη καὶ πολυάνθρωπης, καὶ τῇ εὑσεθείᾳ διαφερόντως λαμπρυνομένγ), ἔξω τῶν περ: δόλων οἰχίδιον εὑρὼν, καὶ ἑαυτὸν καθείρξας, τῆς οἱκείας ἐπεμελεῖτο ψυχῆς “ οἷά τις ἄριστος γεωργὸς προῤῥίχους τῶν παθῶν τὰς ἀκάνθας ἐκτέμνων, καὶ τὸ θεῖον λήϊον ἐχχαθαίρων, καὶ τοὺς τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν σπερμάτων καρποὺς ὡρίμους τῷ Δεσπότῃ προῦφέρων. Ἔκεῖθεν δὲ καταλαμβάνει τὴν ᾿Αντιόχειαν, ὑπὸ τῆς αἱρετικῆς ζάλη; χαλεπῶς χυχλουμόνην, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ ἄστεος ἕν τιν! καταχθεὶς φιλοσοφίας, καὶ τῆς ᾿Ελλάδος φωνῆς μαθὼν ὀλίγ: ἅττα ῥημάτια, εἶλκε μὲν ὅτι πλείστους εἰς τὴν τῶν θείων λογίων ἀκρόασιν᾽ τῇ δὲ μιξοδαρδάρῳ μένος γλώττῃ, τὰς τῆς διανοίας ὠδῖνας προέφερξν, ἐκ τῆς τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος χάριτος τὰ τοιαῦτα δεχόμενος νάματα. Τίς γὰρ τῶν ἐπ᾽ εὐγλωττίᾳ βρενθυομένων, καὶ τὰς ὀφρῦ: συναγόντων, καὶ σοδαρὼς φθεγγομένων, καὶ ἐπὶ ταῖς τῶν συλλογισμῶν πάγαις νεανιευομένων, τῆς ἀπαιδεύτου καὶ βαρθάρου φωνῆς ἐκείνης περιεγένετο πώποτε; Λονισμοῖς μὲν γὰρ λογισμοὺς, θΞίοις δὲ λογίοις τοὺς τῶν φῦλοσόφων κατηγωνίζετολόγου:, μετὰ τοῦ μεγάλου Παύλου βοῶν «Εἰ καὶ ἰδιώτης τῷ λόγῳ, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τῇ Καὶ τοῦτον ἀεὶ διετέλει τὸν τρόπον κατὰ τὴν ἅποστολικὴν φωνὴν " « Λογισμοὺς καθαιροῦντες, πᾶν ὕψωμα ἐπαιρόμενον κατὰ τῆς Υ νώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ αἰχμαλιωτίζοντες τ πᾶν νόγ μα εἰς κὼ ὑπ ακοὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Καὶ ἣν ἰδεῖν συνθέοντας, χοὶ τοὺς ἐν τέλει καὶ ἀξιώματι, καὶ τοὺς ἕν τινι στρᾶτείᾳ τεταγμένους, καὶ τοὺς ἀποχειροθιώτους. καὶ ἀπαξαπλῶς ἰδιώτας τε καὶ νους καὶ λόγων ἁμυήτους, πενίᾳ συζῶντας καὶ πλούτου κομῶντας, καὶ τοὺς μὲν σιγῇ δεχομένους τὰ προσφερομένα, τοὺς ὃὲ καὶ ἐρωτῶντας, καὶ νομένους, καὶ ἀφορμὰς τῷ λόγῳ παρέχοντας. Τοτοῖπον δὲ ἀναδεδεγμένης πόνον, σύνοικον λαθεῖν οὐκ ἠνέσχετο πώποτε, ἀλλὰ τὴν αὐτουργίαν τῆς παρ ἑτέρων αὐτῷ προσφερομένης θε ραπείας προείλετο" καὶ παρὰ τὴν αὔλ{ε)ιον θύραν τὰς συνουσίας ποιούμένος, αὐτὸς ἀνεῴγνυ τοῖς εἰσ! οὖσι, καὶ ἀπιόντος οὐκ ἄρτον, οὐκ ὄψον, οὐκ ἰμάτιον, ἀλλ᾽ εἷς αὐτῷ μόνος τῶν γνωρίμων ἐχορήγει τὸν ἄρτον" εἰς δὲ γῆρας ἐλάσας βαθὺ, καὶ λαχάνου μετὰ ἡλίου δυσμὰς ξς ὕστερον ἐγεγόνξ!, καὶ ὕπατος, ἡνίχα͵ πρεσθευτὴς χειροτονν θεὶς; τὴν εἰς Πέρσας ἀποδημίαν ἀνεστείλατο, γιτῶνα αὑτῷ κομίσαι παρὰ Πέρσαις ὑφαπμένον, καὶ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ε Ὧ Πάτερ, εἰδὼς ἑκάστῳ τῶν ἀνθρώπὼν τὴν οἰκείαν πατρίδα γλυκεῖαν, καὶ τοὺς ἐκεῖ φυομένους ἡδίστους καρποὺς, ἐκ τῆς: παιςρίδος σοι τοῦτον χεχόμιχα τὸν χιτῶνα, καὶ ἰχετεύω σε μὲν τοῦτον λαδεῖν, ἐμὲ δὲ τὴν σὴν εὐλογίαν ἀντιλαθεῖν. » Ὃ δὲ πρῶτον μὲν τοῦτον ἐν τῷ βάθρῳ θεῖναι προσἐταξεν " εἶτα λόγων ἑτέρων μεταξὺ γενομένων, ἀθυμεῖν ἔλεγε διχῇ μεριζομένου τοῦ λογισμοῦ. Ἐχείνου δὲ τὴν αἰτίαν πυθομένου, « Ἕνα, ἔφη, σύνοικον ἔχειν εἱλόμην ἀεὶ, καὶ νόμον ἐμαυτῷ τέθεικα τῶν ὄντος, ἀφίκετό τις φυλέτης ἐμοὶ, συνοικεῖν θέλων, καὶ τούτου τυχεῖν ἀξιῶν. Τοῦτό μο: μερίζει τὸν νοῦν “ δύο μὲν γὰρ ἔχειν κατὰ ταυτὸν οὐκ ἀνέξομαι " τὸν γὰο φυλέτην ὡς φυλέτην ἀσπάζομαι" τὸν δὲ πρότερον ὡς καταθύμιόν μοι γεγενημένον ἐχδαλεῖν καὶ ἀνιαρὸν ἡγοῦμαι καὶ ἄδικον. » Ὁ δὲ, « Εἰκότως, ἔφη, ὦ Πάτερ" οὐδὲ γὰρ ὅσιον, τὸν μὲν ἐπιπλεῖστον τεθεραπευχότα χρόνον, ὡς οὐκ ἐπιτήδειον ἀποπέμψασθαι, τὸν δὰ οὐδέπω πεῖραν τῶν οἰκείων δεδωκότα τρόπων διὰ μόνην εἰσδέξασθαι τὴν πατρίδα. » ἸΙρὸς ταῦτα ὁ θεῖος ᾿Αφραάτης, «Οὐκοῦν, ἔφη, ὦ θαυμάσις, τὸν χιτῶνα τοῦτον οὐ λήψομαι " δύο μὲν γὰρ ἔχειν οὐκ ἀνέξομαι" ἡδίων δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἐμὴν, καὶ κρείττων κατὰ τὴν σὴν ψῆφον ὁ τοσοῦτόν μοι διαχονήσας χρόνῶν. ν Οὕτω χατασοφ'ισάμενος τὸν ᾿Ανθέμιον, καὶ θαῦμα τῆς ἀγχινοίας παρεσχηχὼς, ἔπεισε μηδένα λοιπὴν αὑτῷ περὶ τοῦ χιτῶνος ἐχείνου λόγον προῦε"εγχεῖν. Ἐγὼ δὲ ταῦτα διεξῆλθον, δύο κατὰ ταυτὸν ἐπιδεῖξα!: βουλόμενος, καὶ ὅτι παρ᾽ ἑνὸς ἐδέχετο μόνὴυ τὴν ἀποχρῶσαν τῷ σώματι θεραπείαν, καὶ ὅτι τοσαύτης ἣν σοφίας ὀνάπλεως, ὡς παρασκευάσαι … τὸ μὴ δέξασθαι. ᾿Αλλὰ τὰ τοιαῦτα καταλιπὼν, τὰ μείξονα διηγῆτ. σομαι, Ιουλιανοῦ τοῦ θεομισοὺς δίκας τῆς ἀσεδείας ἐν τῇ ϑαρδάρῳ δεδωκότος, ὀλίγης μὲν γαλήνης ἀπήλαυσαν τῆς εὐσεδείας οἱ τρόφιμοι, Ἰωδιανοῦ τῆς ᾿Ρωμαίων ὃ ἡγεμονίας δεξαμένου τοὺς οἴακας. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ οὗτος βραχὺν κομιδῇ βασιλεύσας χρόνον τοῦ βίου τὸ πέρας ἐδέξατο, Οὐάλης δὲ τῆς Ἕω τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἐδέξατο, χαταιγῖδες πάλιν καὶ θύελλαι τὸ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἀνεῤῥίπιζον πέλαγος, καὶ κλύδων ἐγήγερτο χαλεπὸς, Χαλεπώτερον ὃὲ τὸν χειμῶνα ἡ τῶν χυθερνητῶν ἐρυμία ἐποίει. Τούτους γὰρ ὁ κατὰ μόνη: τῆς εὗσεχαξε. Καὶ τοσαύτη παρανομίᾳ χρησάμενος, χόρον «ἴς δυσσεθείας οὐκ ἐλάμπδανε“ ἀλλὰ πάντων" τῶν ἀγρίου τὸ ποίμνιον διασπάσχσθαι οιλονειχῶν. Τούτου εἴνεκα … καὶ ἐκ τῆς ὑπωρείας, καὶ ἐκ τῆς ὄχθης τοῦ ποταμοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πολεμιχοῦ γυμνασίου. Ταῦτα γὰρ ἅπαντα ἀμείδοντες διετέλεσαν τὰ χωρία, τῆς ὁπλιτιχῆς χειρὸς γενόμενοι πάρεργον. Καὶ Σκύθαι μὲν, καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι βάρδαροι, τὴν Θράκην ἅπασαν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἴστρου μέχρι τῆς Προποντίδος ἀδεῶς ἐληΐζοντο“ ὁ δὲ τού. τῶν μὲν οὐδὲ τὴν ἀκοὴν ἑστῶσι τοῖς ὠσὶ, τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον, ἠδύνατο δέχεσθαι, κατὰ δὲ τῶν ὁμοφύλων, καὶ ὑπηκόων, καὶ εὐσεθείᾳ λαμπρυνομένων, τοῖς ὅπλοις ἐκέχρητο. Ὁ δὲ θεῖος λεὼς, τῶν κακῶν ἐχείνὴν ἔψαλλεν ᾧδήν" ε Ἐπὶ τῶν ποταμῶν Βαδυλῶνος ἐκεῖ ἐκαθίσαμεν, καὶ ἐκλαύσαμεν, ἐν τῷ μνησθῆναι ἡμᾶς τῆς Σιών. » Τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ τῆς δῆς οὐκέτι αὐτοῖς ἁρμόδια ἦν " οὐ γὰρ εἴασεν ᾿Αφραάτης,, καὶ Φλαδιανὺς, καὶ Διόδωρος, ἐπὶ ταῖς ἑτέαις κρεμασθῆναι τὰ ὄργανα τῆς διδασκαλίας, οὐδὲ εἰπεῖν ἡνέσχοντο" « ]ῶς ἄσομεν τὴν φδὴν Κυρίου ἐπὶ γῆς ἀλλατρίας; » ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν ὄρεσι, καὶ ἐν πεδίοις, καὶ ἐν ἄστει, καὶ ἐν προαστείοις, καὶ ἕν οἰκίαις, καὶ ἐν ἀγοραῖς ἧδον διἡνεκῶς τὴν ᾧδὴν Κυρίου. Ἔμαθον γὰρ παρὰ τοῦ Δαδὶδ, ὅτι ε Τοῦ Κυρίου, ἡ γῆ, καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς, ἡ αἰχουμένη, καὶ πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ. ΓἬχουσαν πάλιν τοῦ αὐτοῦ προφήτου λέγοντας " « Εὐλογεῖτε τὸν Κύριον, πάντα τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ, ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ τῆς δεσποτείας αὐτοῦ. » “χουςαν καὶ σθαι τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ, ἐπαίροντας ὁσίας χεῖρας χωρὶς ὀργῆς καὶ διαλογισμῶν. » Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Δεσπότης, πρὸς τὴν Σαμαρεῖτιν διαλεγόμενος, σαφέστερον τοῦτο προείρηκεν" ε« ᾿Αμὴν γὰρ, ἔφη, λέγω σοι, γύναι, ὅτι ἔρχεται ὥρα, καὶ νῦν ἐστιν, ὅτε οὔτε ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ, οὔτε ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ προσκυνήσουσι τῷ Πατρί. » Ταῦτα πεπαιδευμένοι, καὶ ἐν οἰκίᾳ, καὶ ἐν ἀγορᾷ, καὶ ἀποστηλικῶς εἰπεῖν, ε« δημοσίᾳ καὶ κατ᾽ οἴκους ν διαμαρτυρόμενοι διετέλουν, οἷόν τινες ἄριστοι στρατηγοὶ, τοὺς μὲν οἰκείους ὀπλίζοντες, τοὺς δὲ ἐναντίους χαταχεντοῦντες. Τὸν μὲν οὖν μέγαν Φλαδιανὸν, καὶ τὸν θεῖον Διόδωρον " ὑποποιμαίνοντας τηνικάδε, καὶ τῆς δευτέρας ἠξιωμένους καθέδρας, ταῦτα δρᾷν ἃ προείρῆκα, θαυμαστὸν μὲν καὶ εὐφημίας ἄξιον. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως ταῦτα ἔπραττον στρατηγοὶ προδεδλημένοι, καὶ τοῖς στρατηγιχοὶς ὑποκείμενοι νόμοις“ ὁ δὲ σοφώτατος ἀγῶνας. Ἡσυχίᾳ γὰρ συντεθραμμένος, καὶ καθ᾽ ἑαντὸν ζῇν προῃρημένος, καὶ ἔξω βελῶν, τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον, καθήμενος, τοῦ πολέμου τὸ σφοδρὸν θεασάμενος, τὴν οἰκείαν ἀσφάλειαν οὐκ ἠγάπησεν, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς καιρὸν ἐῤῥῶσθαι τῇ ἡσυχίᾳ φράσας, πρόμαχος τῆς τῶν εὐσεδῶν ἐγένετο φάλαγγος, βάλλων μὲν καὶ βίῳ, καὶ λόγῳ, καὶ θαύμασι, βαλλόμενος δὲ οὐδέποτε. Καὶ δή ποτε θεασάμενος αὐτὸν ὁ πάντα ἀνόητος βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸ πολεμικὸν ἐξιόντα γυμνάσιον ( ἐκεῖ γὰρ τότε συνὑπέδειξε δέ τις αὐτὸν παρὰ τὴν ὄχθην τοῦ ποταμοῦ βαδίζοντὰ ἐκ τῶν βασιλείων τῷ βασιλεῖ διαχύπτοντι" ἤρετο ποῖ τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐπείγοιτο. Τοῦ δὲ εἰρηκότος, ὡς τὰς ὑπὲρ τῆς οἰκουμένης καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἄπεισι προσευχὰς ποιησόμενος, πάλιν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπεχρίνατο" « Καὶ τί δήποτε, τὸν μονήρη βίον ἐπαγγελλόμενος, ἀδεῶς κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν βαδίζεις τὴν ἢσυχίαν καταλιπών; ν Ὁ δὲ (καὶ γὰρ εἰώθει τὸν Δεσπότην μιμούμενος παραθολιχῶς συλλογίζεσθαι), « Εἰπέ μοι, ἔφη, ὦ βασιλεῦ, εἰ παρθένος ἐτύγχανον ἐν θαλάμῳ τινὶ χρυπτομένη, ἐθεασάμην δέ τινα πῦρ ἐμδάλλοντα τῇ τοῦ πατρὸς οἰχίχ, τί ἄν μοι συνεθούλευσας δράσαι ἑξαπτομένην θεωμένῃ τὴν φλόγα, καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν λουμένην τὴν οἰκίαν παρορᾷν;; ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὕτως ἂν ἐγενόμὴν κἀγὼ τῆς πυρκαϊᾶς παρανάλωμα. Εἰ δὲ λέγεις, ὅτι δραμεῖν ἔδει, καὶ ὕδωρ φέρειν, καὶ διαθέειν ἄνω καὶ κάτω, καὶ τὴν φλόγα σόεννύναι, μὴ μέμφου μοι, ὦ βασιλεῦ, τοῦτο αὐτὸ ποιοῦντι. Ὃ γὰρ ἂν συνεδούζομαι τὸν μονήρη βίον ἐπηγγελμένος. Εἰ δὲ μέμφῃ μοι τὴν ἡσυχίαν καταλιπόντι, ἐπιμέμφου σαυτῷ εαύτην εἰς τὸν θεῖον οἶκον ἐμδαλόντι τὴν φλόγα, καὶ μὴ ἐμοὶ σδεννύναι βιαζομένῳ. “τι μὲν γὰρ δήπουθεν ἐπαμύνειν προσήκει οἴκῳ πατρῴῳ ἐμπιπραμένῳ, … καὶ αὐτὸς ὡμολόγησας ὅτι δὲ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς πατέρων γνησιώτερος ὁ θεὸς, παντί που δῆλον, καὶ τῷ παντελῶς ἀμυήτῳ τῶν θείων. Οὐδὲν τοίνυν ἀπὸ σκοποῦ, οὐδὲ τῆς ἐξαρχῇς προα!ρέσεως ἐναντίον πράττομεν, ὦ βασιλεῦ, τοὺς τῆς εὐσεδείας τροφίμους συναθροίζοντές τε καὶ νέμοντες, καὶ τὴν θείαν αὐτοῖς προῦφέροντες πόαν. » Τούτων εἰρημένων, ὁ μὲν βασιλεὺς ἐπεψηφίζετο τῷ τῆς ἀπολογίας δικαίῳ συλλογισθείς, Εἷς δέ τις τῶν οὔτε εἰς ἄνδρας, οὔτε εἰς γυναῖκας τελούντων, ἀλλ᾽ ἀφῃρημένων τὸ τῷ χρόνῳ γενέσθαι πατέρας, καὶ τούτου εἴνεκα εὔνοοι εἶναι βασιλεῖ νομιζόμενοι, καὶ τὴν προσηγορίαν ἐντεῦθεν καρπούμενοι, οὗτος ἄνωθεν τῷ θείῳ ἀνθρώπῳ λοιδορησάμενος, «αἱ θάνατον προσηπείλησεν" ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἔτισε τῆς θρασύτητος δίκην. Τοῦ γὰρ βασιλέως βαλανείῳ τὸ σῶμα θεραπεῦσαι θελήσαντο;, προῆλθε μὲν ὁ δείλαιος, ὡς τὴν πύελον ὀψόμενος, εἰ εὖ χεχερασμένη εἴη " πηρωθεὶς δὲ τὰς φρένας, τῇ τὸ ἄκρατον δεχομένῃ θερμὸν ὕδωρ ἐπεπήδησεν καὶ οὐδενὸς ἔνδον παρόντος (μόνος γὰρ ὀψόμενος εἰ λυόμενος. Χρόνου δὲ μεταξὺ τριδομένον, ἄλλον ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκεῖνον καλέσοντα, οὐδένα δὲ οὗτος ἐν οὐδενὶ τῶν οἴκων εὑρὼν, ἀπαγγέλλει τῷ βασιλεῖ. διερευνώμενοι, καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον εἰς ἐχείνην ἀφικόμενοι, ὁρῶσιν αὐτὸν ἐῤῥιλμένον, καὶ τῆς ζωῆς ἐστερημένον. Θορύδου δὲ γενομένου, καὶ πάντων ὀδυρομένων, οἱ μὲν τὸ θερμὸν ἐκεῖνο ἐξήντληταν ὕδωρ, οἱ δὲ τὸ τρισάθλιον ἀνεχήμλισαν σῶμα. Ἐντεῦθεν δέος ἐπιπίπτει τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς κατὰ τῆς εὐσεθείας ὁπλιζομένοις. Φήμη ὃὲ διὰ πάσης ἠχεῖτο τῆς πόλεω:, οἵας ἐκεῖνο; ὁ ταλαίπιυρος τῆς κατὰ ᾿Αφτραάτοῦ παργινία: ἔτισε δίκας, καὶ πάντες τὸν ᾿Αφραάτον ἢ. ἐτέλουν ὑμνοῦντες Θεόν. Τοῦτο τῶν ἐναντίων … διεκώλυσεν, Ἐχδειματωθεὶς γὰρ ὁ βατιλεὺς, τοὺς μὲν ταῦτα παραινοῦντας ἀπεστρέφετο, ἐν αἰδοῖ δὲ τὸν ἄνδρα εἶγεν, Ἔμαθε δὲ τὴν ἀρετὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἑτέρωθεν. ὝἽππος τις τῶν εὖ πεφυκότων, καὶ φέρειν εὖ δεδιδαγμένος, ἐπέραστος ἣν λίαν τῷ βασιλεῖ, Τούτῳ τὸν βασιλέα" ἐπεί. χετο δὲ αὐτοῦ τῶν ὑγρῶν περιττωμάτων ἡ ἔκκρισις, Πρὸς ταύτην ἐκαλοῦντο τὴν θεραπείαν οἱ ταύτην Ἡσκημένοι τὴν τέχνην. ττωμένης δὲ καὶ ταύτης, ἡνιᾶτο ὁ βασιλεὶς, καὶ ὠλοφύρετο ὁ τῶν ἵππων πετιστευμένος τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν. Εὐσεδὴς δὲ ὧν, καὶ κατὸ τὴν πίστιν ἐῤῥωμένος, μεσούσης ἡμέρας χαταλαμδάνε: σὺν τῷ ἵππῳ τοῦ μεγάλου ᾿Αφραάτου τὸ χατα. γώγιον, καὶ τὸ πάθος εἰπὼν, καὶ τὴν πίστιν δηλώ- Β σας, ἱκέτευε προσευχῇ λῦσαι τὴν νόσον. Ὃ δὲ οὐδὲν μελλήσας, ἀλλὰ παραυτίκα τὸν Θεὸν ἱκετεύσας, ὕδωρ ἐχέλευσεν ἐκ τοῦ φρέατος ἀνιμήσασθαι, καὶ πούτῳ τοῦ σωτηρίου σταυροῦ τὸ σύμθολον ἐπιθεὶς, προτφέρειν τῷ ἵππῳ προσέταξεν. Ὁ δὲ παρὰ τὸ ἕπιεν. Εἶτα ἔλαιον τῇ ἐπικλήσει τῇ θείᾳ πληρώτα; εὐλογίας, ἐπιχρίει τὴν τοῦ ἵππου γαστέρα, καὶ τῇ ἀφῇ τῆς χειρὸς εὐθὺς ἐλύθη τὸ πάθος, καὶ παραχρῆμα ἡ ἔκκρισις κατὰ φύσιν ἐγένετο. Γεγηθὼς τοίνυν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, τὸν ἵππον λαδὼν, ἐπὶ τὸν ἱππῶνα Δείλης δὲ ὀψίας (κατὰ τοῦτον γὰρ τὸν καιρὸν εἰώϑε: ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ τὸν ἱππῶνα φοιτᾷν) ἧκέ τε καὶ ἤρετο ὅπως ἔχει ὁ ἵππος. Τοῦ δὲ τὴν ὑγίειαν σημάναντο;, καὶ τὸν ἵππον ἐξαγαγόντος, ἐῤῥωμένον τοῦτον ἰδὼν, καὶ γαυριῶντα, καὶ χρεμετίζοντα, καὶ τὸν αὐχένα αἰτίαν. Ὡς δὲ πολλάκις εἰπεῖν ἀναδαλλόμενος (ἐδετῆς θεραπείας τὸν τρόπον ἐδίδαξεν. Ἐχπλήττεται μὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ ἀξιάγαστον εἶναι τὴν ἄνδρα χαῦομολογεῖ. Οὐ μὴν τῆς προτέρας ἀπηλλάγη μανίας, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπέμενε κατὰ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς λυττῶν, ἕως ὅτε ἴσα τοῖς; οἰκέταις ἣ προσαίΐταις ἀξιωθείς. Ὃ ὃὲ θεῖο: ᾿Αφραάτης, καὶ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ζάλῃ τὴν οἰκείαν ἔδειξεν ἀρετὴν καὶ γαλήνης γενομένης τὰ ἴσχ δρῶν διετέλεσε. Καὶ ἄλλα δὲ μυρία εἰργάτατο θαύματα, ὦν ἑνὸς ἣ δύο μνησθήσομαι. Γυνὴ τις τῶν εὐπατριδῶν, ἀκολάστῳ ἀνδρὶ συνέλκουσα τὸν τοῦ γάμου ζυγὸν, ἀφίκετο πρὸς τὸν μακάριον ἐκεῖνον ἄνθρωπον, τὴν οἰκείαν χωχύουτχ συμ’ φοράν. ἥφαδχε γὰρ τὸν ἄνδρα παλλακίδι καὶ ἀπεχθάνεσθαι πρὸ: αὐτὴν γάμου νόμῳ συνεζευγμένην. Ἔλεγε δὲ ταῦτα ἡ γυνὴ πρὸ τῆς θύρας ἑστῶσα. Οὕτω γὰρ εἰώθει τὴν πρὸς τὸ θτλν ποιεῖσθαι διάλεξιν - εἴσω γὰρ τῆς θύρα: οὐδεμίαν εἰσεδέξατο πώποτε, Τότε τοίνυν οἰχτείρας τὴν γυναῖκα ποτνιωμένην, εὐχῇ τῆς γοητείας ἁμανροῖ τὶ» ἐνέργειαν, καὶ ἐλαίου ληχύθιον ὑπ᾽ αὐτῆς προτεν:προσέταξε. Ταύτας ἡ γυνὴ πληρώσασα τὰς ὑποθήμας, μετέθηκεν εἰς ἑαυτὴν τὸν τοῦ ὁμοζύγου ἔρωτα, καὶ πέπεικε προχιρεῖσθαι τῆς παρανόμου κοίτης τῆι ἔννομον. Φασὶ δὲ ποτε καὶ ἀκρίδας ἐξαπιναίως προσ- δαλούστας τῇ γῇ, καὶ πυρὶ παραπλησίως ἅπαντα προσδαπανώσας, καὶ λήϊα, καὶ φυτὰ, καὶ ἔλη, καὶ ἄλση, καὶ λειμῶνας, ἧκέ τις παρ᾽ αὐτὸν εὐσεθὴς ἕνα μὲν ἀγρὸν ἔχοντι, ἐκ τούτου δὲ καὶ ἑαυτὸν, καὶ γυ"αἴχα, καὶ παῖδα, καὶ οἰκείους τρέφοντι, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις τὴν βασιλικὴν εἰσφορὰν εἰσπραττομένῳ. Πάλιν τοίνυν ὁ τὴν Δεσποπροσενεχθῆναι προσέταξεν. Ὡς; ὃὲ τὸν χόαν προσἦνεγκεν ὁ τὴν εὐχὴν ἐπαγγέλλων, ἐπετίθει μὲν τούτῳ τὴν χεῖρα, ἱκέτευε δὲ τὸν Θεὸν δυνάμεως θείας ἐμφορηθῆναι τὸ νᾶμα. Εἶτα τὴν εὐχὴν συμπεράνας, ὕδωρ' πεποίηκε δὲ ὁ τοῦτο χομισάμενος ἧ προσετάχθη, καὶ ἀντὶ ἕρχους ἀμάχου τε καὶ ἀσύλου ταῖς ἀρούραις ἐκείναις ἐγένετο. Μέχρι γὰρ τῶν ὅρων δων δίκην αἱ ἀχρίδες, εἰς τοὐπίσω πάλιν ἐχώρουν, τὴν ἐπιτεθεῖσαν εὐλογίαν δειμαίνουσαι, καὶ ὥσπερ “ενὶ χαλινῷ ἀγχόμεναι, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσω χωρεῖν χωλυόμεναι. Καὶ τί δεῖ πάντα λέγειν τὰ ὑπὸ τῆς μακαρίας ἐκείνης ἐξειργασμένα ψυχῆς; ᾿Ἰκανὰ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα τῆς ἐνοικούσης αὐτῷ χάριτος ἐπιδεῖξαι κὴν αἴγλην. Τούτου χἀγὼ θεχτὴς ἐγενόμην, καὶ τῆς ἁγίας ἐκείνης δεξιᾶς τὴν εὐλογίαν ἐτρύγησα, χιον μὲν ὧν ἔτι, τῇ δὲ μητρὶ κοινωνήσας τῆς πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα πορείας. Καὶ αὐτὴν μὲν κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς ὑπανοίξας τὴν θύραν διαλέξεώς τε καὶ εὐλογίας ἐξίωσεν " ἐμὲ δὲ εἰσδεξάμενος ἔνδον, τοῦ τῆς προσευχῆς μοι μετέδωκε πλούτου. Ταύτης καὶ νῦν ἀπολαύσαιμι, ζῇν αὐτὸν πιστεύων, καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις συγχορεύειν, καὶ πλείονι ἣ πάλα: πρὸς τὸν θεὸν παῤῥησίᾳ κεχρῆσθαι, Τότε μὲν γὰρ αὕτη τῷ θνητῷ τοῦ σώματος ἐμετρεῖτο, ἵνα μὴ πρόφασις ἀπονοίας ἣ πλείων γένηται παῤῥησία. Νῦν δὲ τῶν παθῶν ἀποθέμενο; τὸ φορτίον, ὡς νικηφόρος ἀθλητὴς πρὸς τὸν ἀγωνοθέτην παῤῥησιάζεται. Οὗ χάριν καὶ τῆς παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ πρεσδείας ἐχετεύω τυχεῖν. ### English translation (Claude) That the nature of all human beings is one, and that it is easy for those who wish to practice philosophy, whether they be Greeks or barbarians, can readily be learned from many other sources; but Aphrahat alone is enough to show it clearly. For though he was born and brought up among the Persians, the most lawless of peoples, sprang from such parents and was educated in their customs, he attained such virtue as to outshine even those born of devout parents and given a devout upbringing from childhood. First he despised his family (which was distinguished and illustrious) and ran to worship the Master, imitating his forefathers the Magi. Then he preferred … to the things of his own country, and coming to Edessa (this is a very large and populous city, especially distinguished for true religion), he found a little dwelling outside the walls, shut himself in, and took care of his own soul, like an excellent farmer cutting out by the roots the thorns of the passions, cleansing the divine crop, and offering to the Master the ripe fruits of the gospel seeds. From there he came to Antioch, which was grievously surrounded by the storm of heresy; and lodging in a certain [school] of philosophy before the city, and having learned a few little phrases of the Greek tongue, he drew as many as possible to the hearing of the divine oracles. [Using] a half-barbarian tongue, he brought forth the birth-pangs of his mind, receiving such streams from the grace of the divine Spirit. For which of those who pride themselves on eloquence, knit their brows, speak pompously and swagger with the snares of syllogisms ever got the better of that uneducated and barbarian voice? He combated reasonings with reasonings, and the arguments of the philosophers with the divine oracles, crying out with the great Paul: “Even if I am unskilled in speech, yet not in [knowledge].” And he always continued in this manner, according to the apostolic saying: “Destroying arguments and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” One could see running together those in office and rank, those enrolled in military service, those who live by their hands, and, in short, both the unlearned and those [practiced in] speech and those uninitiated in letters, those who lived in poverty and those abounding in wealth; some receiving in silence what was offered, others asking questions, [objecting], and giving occasion for discourse. Though he had taken up such labor, he never consented to have anyone living with him, but preferred to serve himself rather than to be served by others. He held his conversations at the outer door, and himself opened it to those who came in, and … those who went out. Neither bread nor relish nor a garment [did he accept from anyone], but one of his acquaintances alone supplied him with bread; and when he reached deep old age, he also took vegetables after sunset. … [Anthemius], who later became [prefect] and consul, when, having been appointed ambassador, he had completed his journey to Persia, brought him a tunic woven among the Persians and said: “Father, knowing that his own homeland is sweet to every man, and the fruits that grow there sweetest, I have brought you this tunic from your homeland, and I beg you to take it and to let me receive your blessing in return.” First he told him to put it on the bench; then, after some other conversation, he said he was disheartened, his mind being divided in two. When Anthemius asked the reason, he said: “I have always chosen to have one companion, and I have laid down a law for myself [not to have more] … . A fellow countryman of mine has come, wishing to live with me and asking to be allowed to. This divides my mind; for I will not put up with having two at once. I welcome the countryman as a countryman, but to drive out the first, who has become dear to me, I consider both painful and unjust.” Anthemius said: “Rightly, Father; for it would not be holy to send away as unsuitable one who has served you for a very long time, and to receive one who has not yet given proof of his ways only because of his country.” To this the divine Aphrahat said: “Then, admirable man, I shall not take this tunic; for I will not put up with having two, and the one who has served me so long is sweeter by my verdict and better by yours.” Having thus outwitted Anthemius and made him marvel at his shrewdness, he persuaded him to say nothing more to him about that tunic. I have gone through this wishing to show two things at once: that he received from one man only the care sufficient for the body, and that he was so full of wisdom as to make [the giver approve] his refusal. But leaving such things aside, I shall relate greater ones. When Julian, the hater of God, had paid the penalty of his impiety in the barbarian land, the nurslings of true religion enjoyed a little calm, when Jovian received the helm of Roman rule. But when he too, after reigning a very short time, received the end of his life, and Valens took over the rule of the East, hurricanes and squalls again stirred up our sea, and a grievous surge arose. The lack of pilots made the storm more grievous; for … these … . And though he used such lawlessness, he did not reach satiety of impiety, but … [like] a wild [beast], eager to tear the flock to pieces. For this reason … from the foothills, and from the river bank, and from the military exercise ground. For they kept changing all these places, being treated as a mere side-task of the armed force. Scythians and the other barbarians were plundering all Thrace without fear, from the Danube to the Propontis; but he could not even hear of these with ears that stood still, as the saying goes, while he used arms against those of his own race, his subjects, distinguished for true religion. The divine people, [in the midst] of these evils, sang that song: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.” But the rest of the song no longer fitted them; for Aphrahat and Flavian and Diodore did not allow the instruments of teaching to be hung on the willows, nor would they say, “How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?”, but in mountains and plains, in the city and the suburbs, in houses and market-places, they sang the Lord's song continually. For they had learned from David that “The earth is the Lord's and its fullness, the world and all who dwell in it.” They heard the same prophet say again: “Bless the Lord, all his works, in every place of his dominion.” They heard [Paul too say: ‘I wish] the men to pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without anger or quarreling.’ And the Master himself, conversing with the Samaritan woman, foretold this more clearly: “Truly, I tell you, woman, the hour is coming, and now is, when neither in this place nor in Jerusalem, but in every place, they will worship the Father.” Taught this, they continued “testifying publicly and from house to house,” to speak with the apostle, both in house and in market-place, like excellent generals arming their own men and wounding the enemy. That the great Flavian and the divine Diodore, who were then under-shepherds and had been counted worthy of the second seat, did what I have described is admirable and worthy of praise; but they did it as generals set at the front and subject to the laws of generalship. The most wise [Aphrahat] … the contests. For though he had been brought up in quiet and had chosen to live by himself, and sat, as the saying goes, out of range of the darts, when he saw the violence of the war he did not cling to his own safety, but bidding farewell to quiet for a time, he became the front-line fighter of the phalanx of the devout, shooting with his life, his word and his wonders, but never being hit. Once the emperor, who was utterly foolish, saw him going out to the military exercise ground (for the devout [were meeting] there at that time). Someone pointed him out to the emperor, who was looking down from the palace as he walked along the river bank, and the emperor asked where he was hurrying. When he said that he was going to make prayers for the world and the empire, the emperor answered: “And why, when you profess the solitary life, do you leave your quiet and walk boldly through the city?” He replied (for he was accustomed, imitating the Master, to reason in parables): “Tell me, emperor: if I were a girl hidden in some chamber, and saw someone setting fire to my father's house, what would you have advised me to do when I saw the flame kindled and the house [burning]? [To sit still] and overlook the house? But then I too would have been consumed in the fire. If you say that I ought to run, fetch water, rush up and down, and put out the flame, do not blame me, emperor, for doing this very thing. For what you would have advised [the girl], that I am doing, though I have professed the solitary life. If you blame me for leaving my quiet, blame yourself, who have thrown the flame into the divine house, and not me, who am struggling to put it out. For that one must help one's father's house when it is burning, you yourself have agreed; and that God is more truly our Father than fathers on earth is plain to everyone, even to one wholly uninitiated in divine things. So we are doing nothing beside the point, nor contrary to our original purpose, emperor, when we gather and pasture the nurslings of true religion and offer them the divine fodder.” When this was said, the emperor assented, convinced by the justice of the defense. But one of those who belong neither to men nor to women, but have been deprived of becoming fathers in time, and for this reason are thought to be loyal to the emperor and get their name from this, railed at the divine man from above and threatened him with death. But not long after he paid the penalty for his boldness. For when the emperor wished to refresh his body in the bath, the wretched man went ahead to see whether the tub was well mixed; but, deranged in mind, he leaped into the one that received the unmixed hot water; and no one being inside (for he [had gone in] alone to see whether the bath … ) … . After some time had passed, the emperor sent another to call him; finding him in none of the rooms, he reported to the emperor. [All then] searched, and finally coming to that tub, saw him lying there deprived of life. There was an uproar and all lamented; some drew off that hot water, others lifted out the thrice-wretched body. From this fear fell upon the emperor and all who were arming themselves against true religion. A report echoed through the whole city of the penalty that wretched man had paid for his drunken insolence against Aphrahat, and all continued [admiring] Aphrahat and singing hymns to God. This prevented the man of God from being banished, as the opponents were pressing for it. For the emperor, terrified, turned away from those who were urging this, and held the man in respect. He learned of his virtue from another source too. One of the emperor's horses, of good breeding and well trained to carry, was very dear to the emperor. Some affliction struck it: the passing of its urine was held back. Those practiced in this art were called in for its treatment; but when this too failed, the emperor was grieved and the man entrusted with the care of the horses lamented. Being devout and strong in faith, he came at midday with the horse to the dwelling of the great Aphrahat, told of the affliction, showed his faith, and begged him to loose the disease by prayer. He did not delay, but besought God at once, ordered water to be drawn from the well, placed on it the sign of the saving cross, and ordered it to be given to the horse. The horse, contrary to its habit, drank. Then, filling oil with blessing by the divine invocation, he anointed the horse's belly; and at the touch of his hand the affliction was at once loosed, and immediately the passing of urine took place naturally. The man, rejoicing, took the horse and [returned] to the stable. Late in the evening (for at this time the emperor used to visit the stable) he came and asked how the horse was. When the groom indicated its recovery and led out the horse, the emperor, seeing it healthy, prancing and neighing and proudly arching its neck, asked the reason for its recovery. After putting off telling him many times (for he was afraid, knowing … ), the groom was at last compelled to tell the truth, and told him the manner of the cure. The emperor was astounded and agreed that the man was admirable. Yet he was not freed from his former madness, but went on raging against the Only-begotten until … , counted worthy of [the same] as servants or beggars. The divine Aphrahat showed his virtue in that storm, and when calm came he continued doing the same. He worked countless other wonders, of which I shall mention one or two. A woman of noble family, who drew the yoke of marriage with a dissolute husband, came to that blessed man lamenting her misfortune. For she said that her husband [was attached] to a concubine [by sorcery] and was hostile to her, who had been joined to him by the law of marriage. The woman said this standing before the door; for this was how he used to converse with the female sex, and he never admitted any woman inside the door. Pitying the woman as she lamented, he weakened the force of the sorcery by prayer, and [blessing] a little flask of oil that she offered, ordered [her to anoint her body] with it. The woman carried out these instructions, transferred her husband's love to herself, and persuaded him to prefer the lawful bed to the unlawful one. They say also that once, when locusts suddenly fell upon the land and like fire consumed everything, crops, plants, marshes, groves and meadows, a devout man came to him, begging him to help, who had one field, from which he fed himself, his wife, his children and his household, and paid besides the imperial tax. Again, [imitating] the Master's [love for humankind, he] ordered [water] to be brought. When the man who had come to ask for the prayer brought the jug, he put his hand on it and besought God to fill the water with divine power. Then, having finished the prayer, he charged him to sprinkle the water on the boundaries of the place. The man who took it did as he was ordered, and it became for those fields an unassailable and inviolable defense. For when the locusts reached the boundaries … , they turned back again, fearing the blessing that had been placed there, as if throttled by a bridle and prevented from going forward. And what need is there to tell all that was done by that blessed soul? These are enough to show the splendor of the grace that dwelt in him. I too was a spectator of him and gathered the blessing of that holy right hand, being still a youth, having shared my mother's journey to the man. Opening the door a little, as was his custom, he counted her worthy of conversation and blessing; but me he received inside and gave me a share of the wealth of his prayer. May I enjoy it now too, for I believe that he lives, dances with the angels, and enjoys greater freedom of speech with God than before. For then it was measured by the mortality of the body, so that greater freedom of speech might not become an occasion of folly; but now, having laid aside the burden of the passions, he speaks freely to the president of the games as a victorious athlete. For this reason I beg to obtain his intercession too. ### Scripture references - 2 Cor 11:6: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 10:4–5: quotation, high confidence - Ps 137:1 (136:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 137:2 (136:2 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 137:4 (136:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 24:1 (23:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 103:22 (102:22 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 2:8: quotation, high confidence - John 4:21: quotation, high confidence - John 4:23: allusion, medium confidence - Acts 20:20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - About 2% of the Greek is lost in the scan used here; gaps are marked “…” and nothing has been supplied. Words in square brackets supply what the sense plainly requires where a line is damaged. The name Anthemius is supplied from the next sentence, which names him; the opening of that story is lost. Other losses: what Aphrahat preferred to his own country; how Valens treated the bishops and the devout (the persecution under Valens, ca. 370–378, of the Nicene party at Antioch, which met in the open air at the places named); part of the girl-and-fire parable; the end of the account of the eunuch's death; why the groom delayed; and how Valens died (the sense is that he died without burial, as servants or beggars might; Valens died at Adrianople in 378 and his body was not found). A line of the account of Valens seeing Aphrahat (“once the emperor, who was utterly foolish, saw him going to …”) is printed by the scan's OCR inside the parable; it has been moved back to its place (logged corrections). The eunuch is described by periphrasis as Theodoret writes. The cure of the woman's husband concerns sorcery, as Theodoret relates it; it is translated without comment. Quotations: 2 Cor 11:6; 2 Cor 10:4–5; Ps 137:1, 2, 4 (136 LXX); Ps 24:1 (23:1 LXX); Ps 103:22 (102:22 LXX); 1 Tim 2:8; John 4:21 (with 4:23); Acts 20:20. Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters and marginal references were removed (logged corrections). Several damaged sentences at the end of this chapter (the banishment Aphrahat's opponents pressed for, the horse's recovery, the locusts) are completed from a second copy of the same printed page, which the scan's OCR repeats at the start of the next chapter. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 8 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/8). ## Life 9 (ΠΕΤΡΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/9/#p-9 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Peter the Galatian, after a pilgrimage to Palestine, lives in a tomb near Antioch, heals Theodoret's mother of an eye disease and of her love of finery, casts out demons, protects a consecrated virgin, and gives Theodoret half of his belt. ### Greek text Γαλάτας ἀκούομεν τοὺς ἐν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ τοὺς ἐσπερίου; " ἴσμεν δὲ τοὺς ἐν τῇ ᾿Ασίᾳ, τοὺς ἐχείνων ἐκ- Ἐκ τούτων ὁ μακάριος καὶ τρὶς τοῦτο καὶ πολλάκις ἐόλάστησΞ Πέτρος. Ἑπτὰ δὲ, ὥς φασιν, ἐξ ὠδίνων ἕτη παρὰ τοῖ; γονεῦσι τραφεὶς, τὸν λοιπὸν ἅπαντα βίον ἐν τοῖς τῆς φιλοσοφίας διετέλεσεν ἄθλοις " τελευτῆσαι δὲ λέγεται ἔτη βιώσας ἐννέα καὶ ἐννενήχουτα. Τὸν ποίνυν δύο καὶ ἐννενήκοντα ἀγωνισάμενον ἕτη, καὶ διὰ πάοης ἡμέρας τε καὶ νυκτὸς νικῃφόρον ὁδεύσαντα, τί; ἂν ἀξίως θαυμάσειε; ποία δ᾽ ἂν ἀρκχέσεις πρὸς διήγησιν γλῶττα, τῶν ἐν μειρακίῳ καὶ παιδίῳ, καὶ ἀνδρὶ τελείῳ, καὶ πρεσδύτῃ, καὶ γέροντι πονηἔντων κατορθωμάτων; Τίς ἂν ἐχείνου τὸν ἱδρῶτα υετρήσειε; τίς δ᾽ ἂν τὰς ἐν τοσούτῳ χρόνῳ γενομένας ἀριθιλήσεις πάλας; ποῖος δ᾽ ἂν ἐφίκοιτο λόγος, ἢ τῶν ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ χαταθληθέντων σπερμάτων, ἣ τῶν συλλεγέντων δραγμάτων; Τίς οὕτως ὑψηλὸς τὴν διάνοίαν, ὡς κατιδεῖν ἀχριθῶς τὴν ἐκ τῆς χαλῆῇς ἐμπορίας συναθροισθεῖσαν περιουσίαν; Οἷδα τῶν ἐκείνου κατερθωμάτων τὸ πέλαγο:, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πελάζειν ἵνα μὴ ὁ λόγος … ἕνεκεν παρὰ τὴν ἠϊόνα βαδιοῦμαι, καὶ τὰ παρὰ τὴν ἤπειρον τοῦ πελάγους θαυμάσομαί τε καὶ διηγήσομαι " τὸν δὲ βυθὸν καταλείψω τῷ κατὰ τὴν θείαν Γραφὴν τὰ βάϑη ἐρευνῶντι, καὶ τὰ ἀπόκρυφα γινώσκοντι. Οὗτος τοίνυν ἐν Γαλατίᾳ τὸν πρῶτον θλησε χρόνον. Ἐκεῖθεν ἱστορίας εἵνεκα τὴν Παλαιστίνην χατέλα“ θεν, ἵνα τοὺς τὰ σωτήρια πάθη δεξαμένους θεασά: μενος τόπους, ἐν αὐτοῖς τὸν σεσωχότα προσκυνήσῃ Θεόν " οὐκ ὡς τόπῳ περιγραφόμενον (ἠπίστατο γὰρ αὑτοῦ τὸ τῆς φύσεως ἀπερίγραφον), ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἑστιάσῃ τῇ θεωρίᾳ τῶν ποθουμένων, καὶ μὴ μόνον τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ὀπτιχὸν, δίχα τῆς ὄψεως, τῆς πνευματικῆς διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἀπολαύῃ τρυφῆς, Πεφύκασι γάρ πως οἱ φιλοστόργως περί τινα διακείμενοι, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς θέας αὐτοῦ μόνης θυμηδίαν καρποῦσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν, καὶ ἐσθέματα, καὶ ὑποδήματα, μετὰ πάσης θεωρεῖν εὐφροσύνης. Τωῦτον ἔχουσα τὸν ἔρωτα περὶ τὸν νυμφίον ἡ ἐν τοῖς ὕλσμασι τῶν ἀσμάτων φερομένη νύμφγ, βοᾷ λέγουσα" « Ὡς μῆλον ἐν τοῖς ξύλοις τοῦ δρυμοῦ, οὕτως ὁ ἀδελφιδοῦς μου ἀναμέσον τῶν υἱῶν. Ἐν τῇ σκιᾷ αὑτοῦ ἐπεθύμησα καὶ ἐκάθισα, καρπὸς αὐτοῦ γλυκὺς ἐν λάρυγγί μου. ν Οὐδὲν οὖν ἀπεικὸς οὐδὲ ὁ θεῖο; οὗτος πεποίηκεν ἄνθρωπος, τὸν αὐτὸν περὶ τὸν νυμφίον δεξάμενος ἔρωτα, καὶ τοῖς τῆς νύμφης χρησάβενος ῥήμασι" Τετῥωμένη ἀγάπης ἐγώ. Ποθέσας δὲ καθάπερ τινὰ τοῦ νυμφίου θεωρῆσαι σκιὰν, τοὺς ἅπασιν ἀνθρώποις τὰς σωτηρίους πηγὰς ἀναδλύσαντας ἐπεζήτησε τύπους. ᾿Απολαύσας τοιγαροῦν ὧν ἐπεπόθησε, κατήχθη μὲν εἰς τὴν ᾿Αντιόχειαν " θεασάμενος δὲ τῆς πόλεως τὸ φιλόθεον, τῆς πατρίδος τὴν ξένην προείλετο, πολίτας ἡγούμενος, οὐ τοὺς ὁμοφύλους καὶ συγγενεῖς, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ὁμογνώμονας, καὶ τῆς πίστεως κοινωνοὺς, καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ἐφέλχοντας τῆς εὐσεδείας ζυγόν. Ταύτην δὲ τὴν διατριβὴν ἀγαπήσα;, οὐ σκηνὴν ἐξέτεινεν, οὐ χαλύδην ἐπήξατο, οὐκ οἰκίσκον ἀνήγειρεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἀλλοτρίῳ τάφῳ τὸν πάντα διετέλεσε χρόνον. Ὑπερῷον δὲ εἶχεν οὗτος, καὶ δρύφαχτόν τινα προδεδλημένον, ᾧ κλίμαξ συνηρμοσμένη τοὺς ἀναδῆναι βουλομένους ἐδέχετο. Ἐν τούτῳ χαθειργμένος ὅτι πλεῖστον διετέλεσε χρόνον, ὕδατι μὲν ψυχρῷ χρώμενος, ἄροτον δὲ μόνον σιτούμένος, καὶ ταῦτα οὐ καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, ἀλλὰ ῃ μίαν μὲν ἄσιτος διαμένων, τῇ ὃὲ ὑστεραίᾳ τούτων αὐτῶν μεταλαγχάνων. Ἐπειδὴ δέ τις ἀφίκετο χορυθαντιῶν καὶ μεμηνὼς, καὶ τῆς τοῦ πονηροῦ δαίμονος μενος, καὶ τῆς διαθδολιχῆς ἐκείνης ἡλευθέρωσε βαχχείας. ᾿Απιέναι δὲ μὴ βουλόμενον, ἀλλὰ τῆς θεραπείας ἐκείνης ἀντιδοῦναι τὴν διακονίαν χαθιχετεύσαντα, σύνοικον ἑποιήσατο. Οἶδα καὶ τοῦτον ἐγὼ, καὶ τοῦ θαύματος μέμνημαι, καὶ τὸν τῆς θεραπείας ἐθεασάμην μισθὸν, καὶ τῆς περὶ ἐμοῦ γενομένης αὐτοῖς ἀκήκοα διαλέξεως. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Δανιὴλ ἔλεγε (τοῦτο γὰρ αὐτῷ ὄνομα), ὡς ε Τῆς καλῆς αὐτῷ διακονίας χοινωνήσω χἀγὼώ. » Ὁ δὲ θεσπέσιος ἐκεῖνος; ἀνὴρ οὐ συνωμολόγει τοῦτο γενέσθαι, τὸ περὶ ἐμὲ τῶν γεγεννηκότων λογιζόμενος φίλτρον. Πολλάκις δέ με τοῖς γόνασιν ἐπικαθίσας, σταφυλῇ μὲ καὶ ἄρτῳ ᾿ διέθρεψε. Πεῖραν γὰρ αὑτοῦ τῆς πνευματικῆς χάριτος ἡ μήτηρ δεξαμένη, ἅπαξ με τῆς ἑδδομάδος ἐκάστῆς τρυγᾷν ἐχείνην τὴν εὐλογίαν ἐκέλευε. Γέγονε δὲ αὐτῇ γνώριμος ἐξ αἰτίας τοιᾶσδε’ Ὠάθος αὐτῇ θατέρῳ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἐπισχῆψαν, κρεῖττον ἐφάνη ἰατρικῆς ἐπιστήμης " οὐδὲν γὰρ ἦν, ἣ τοῖς παλαιοῖς συγγεγραμμένον, ἣ τοῖς ὕστερον γενομένοις ἐξευρημένον, ὃ μὴ προσηνέχθη τῇ νόσῳ. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἢλεγξεν ἅπαντα, καὶ ἐδίδαξεν οὐδεμίαν ὄνησιν ἔχοντα, ἧκέ τις τῶν συνήθων τὸν θεῖον ἄνδρα μηνύουσα, καὶ τὸ γεγενημένον ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ διδάσκουσα θαῦμα. Τὴν γὰρ ὁμόξζυγα ἔλεγε τοῦ τηνικάδε τῆς Ἕω κχατέχονπος τὰ πηδάλια (Περγάμιος δὲ ἣν οὗτος), τῷ παθήματι τῷδε περιπεσοῦσαν, ἰάσασθαι αὐτὸν εὐχῇ καὶ σφραγἷδι χρησάμενον. ΓἬχουσεν ἡ μήτηρ, καὶ παραυτίκα πρὸς τὸν θεῖον ἄνθρωπον ἔδραμε. Περικείμενα δὲ εἶχεν ἕρματα, καὶ περιδέραια, καὶ τἄλλα χρυσία, καὶ τὴν ποικίλην ἐσθῆτα τὴν ἐκ σηριχῶν ὑφασμένην. Οὐδέπω γὰρ τῆς ἀρετῆς τῆς τελειοτέρας ἐγεύετο᾽ ἦνθει δὲ καὶ τῷ χρόνῳ, καὶ τοῦ τῆς νεότητος ἡνείχετο κόσμου. Ἢ θεσπεσία τοίνυν κεφαλὴ «ὰ τοιαῦτα θεασαμένη, τῆς φιλοκοσμίας πρότερον πὴν ἀῤῥωστίαν ἰάσατο, τοιοῖσδε λόγοις χρησάμενος « Εἰπέ μοι, ἔφη, τέκνον (τῇ γὰρ αὐτοῦ χρήσομαι φωνῇ, καὶ οὐκ ἀμείψω τῆς ἁγίας ἑκείνης Ὑλώττης τὸ πρόσρημα), εἴ τις ζωγράφος, εὖ μάλα τὴν τέχνην ἡσχημένος, εἰκόνα τινὰ γράγψειεν, ὡς νόμος ὑπαγορεύει τῆς τέχνης, καὶ ταύτην προθείη τοῖς βουλομένοις ὁρᾷν: ἀφικόμενος δέ τις ἕτερος, ἐχείνην μὲν τὴν τέχνην οὐκ ἀχριδῶς ἐπιστάμενος, σχεδιάζων δὲ πρὸς τὸ δοκοῦν ἃ ἀναγράψαι θελήσειεν" εἶτα μεμψάμενος τῇ τεχνικῇ ἐκείνῃ ζωγραφίᾳ, προσθείη μὲν ταῖς ὀρρύσι καὶ ταῖς βλεφαρίσι ρας γραμμὰς, λευκότερον δὲ τὸ πρόσωπον ἀποφήνειε, οὔ σοι δοκεῖ τὸν πρότερον εἰκότως ἀγανακτῇσαι ζωγράφον, ὡς τῆς τέχνης αὐτῷ λίαν ὑῤρισμένης, καὶ προσθέχας ὧν οὐκ ἐδεῖτο ὑπὸ ἀμαθοῦς δεξιᾶς δεξαμένης; Οὐκοῦν, ἔφη, χα! τὸν τῶν ἀπάντων Δημιουργὸν, καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας φύσεως Πλάστην τε καὶ Ζωγράφον ἀγανακτεῖν πιστεύετε, ὅτι τῆς ἀῤῥήτου σοςίας ἐκείνης ἀμαθίαν χατηγορεῖτς. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν τὸ ἐρυθρὸν, καὶ λευκὸν, καὶ μέλαν ἐπεχέατε χρῶμα, εἰ μὴ ἐνδεῖν ὑμῖν ταύτης ἐνομίζετε τῆς προσθήκης" δεῖσθαι δὲ τούτων ὑπολαμδάνουσα: τὸ σῶμα, ἀσθέδέναι, ὅτι σύμμετρον ἔχει τῇ βουλήσει τὴν δύναμιν. 4 Πάντα γὰρ, ἦ φητιν ὁ Δαδὶδ, ὅσα ἠθέλησεν ὁ Κύριος ἐποίησε" » τὸ δὲ συνοῖσον ἅπασι προμηθούμενος, ὅσα λωδᾶται οὐ δίδωσι. Μὴ. τοίνυν διαφθείρετε ποῦ Θεοῦ τὴν εἰκόνα, μηδὲ πειρᾶσθε προστιθένα:. ἅπερ ὁ σοφὸς οὐκ ἔδωκε, μηδὲ τὸ νόθον τοῦτο ἐπινοεῖτε κάλλος, ὃ καὶ ταῖς σωφρονούσαις λυμαίνεται τοῖς ὁρῶτιν ἐπιδουλεῦον. » Ἥκουσε τούτων ἡ πάντα ἀρίστη γυνὴ, καὶ παρχυτίχα εἴσω τῆς τοῦ Πέτρου σαγήνης ἐγένετο. Τῷ γὰρ ὁμλωνύμῳ παραπλησίως καὶ οὗτο; ἡλίευς, καὶ τῶν ποδῶν ἀπτομένη, καὶ ποτνιωμένη τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ δοθῆναι τὴν ὑεραπείαν ἱκέτευεν. Ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος μὲν ἔλεγεν εἶνα: καὶ τὴν αὐτὴ» ἔχειν φύσιν αὐτῇ, πολὺν δὲ ἁμαρττ μάτων φορυτὸν ἐπιφέρεσθαι, καὶ τούτου εἴνεκα τῆς πρὸ; τὸν Θεὸν παῤῥηπίας ἀποστερεῖσθαι. Ὡς δὲ ἡ μήτηρ, καὶ ἡντιδόλε:, καὶ ἔφασκε μὴ χαταλείψειν, εἰ μὴ τύχοι τῆς ἰατρείας, τὸν Θεὸν ἔφη τούτων εἶνα: θεραπευτὴν, χορηγεῖν δὲ ἀεὶ τοῖς πιστεύουσι τὰς αἰτήσει: « Δώσει τοίνυν, εἶπε, καὶ νῦν, οὐκ ἐμοὶ τὴν χάριν δωρούμενος, ἀλλὰ τὴν σὴν πίστιν θεώμενος. Εἰ τοίνυν ταύτην ἔχεις ἀχραιφνῇ καὶ εἰλικρινὴ, καὶ πάσης ἀμφιδολία: ἀπτλλαγμένην, ἐῤῥῶσθαι καὶ ἰατροῖς φράπασα καὶ φαρμάκοις, ποῦτο δέξαι τὸ θεόσδοτων φάρμακον. » Ταῦτ᾽ εἰπὼν, ἐπέθηκε τὴν χεῖρα τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ, καὶ τοῦ σωτηρίου σταυροῦ τὸ σημεῖον τυπώσας, τὴν νόσον ἀπήλασεν. ᾿Εκεῖθεν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπανελθοῦσα, καὶ τὸ φάρμακον ἀπονιψα. μένη, καὶ τὸν ἐπείσακτον ἅπαντα ἀποῤῥίψασα κόσμον, κατὰ τοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἰατροῦ τεθέντας νόμους ἐπολιτεύετο, οὔτε ποικίλην ἐσθῆτα περιδαλλομένη, οὔτε γρυσίοις ὡραϊζομένη " καὶ ταῦτα νέαν ἄγουσα τὴν ἡλικίαν κομιδῇ" τρίτον γὰρ καὶ εἰκοστὸν ἐκ γενετῆς ἦγεν ἔτος, μήτηρ οὐδέπω γενομένη" ἑπτὰ γὰρ ἄλλα ἐπιδιώσασα ἔτη, οὕτω τὰς ἐμὰς ὠδῖνας ἐδέξατο, ἃς καὶ πρώτας καὶ μόνας ἐδέξατο. Τοσοῦτον τῆς τοῦ μεγάλον Πέτρου διδασκαλίας ἀπώνατο" ἐδέξατο θεραπείαν, καὶ τῷ σώματι τὴν ἰατρείαν μαστεύουσα, καὶ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς πρυσεχτήσατο εὐεξίαν. Τοιαῦτα καὶ λέγων ἐκεῖνος ἐνήργει, καὶ προσευχόμενος ἴσχυεν. ΚΑλλοτε ὃὲ οἰκέτην ὀψοποιὸν ὑπό τινος πονηροῦ τῆς παρ᾽ αὑτοῦ τυχεῖν ἐπικουρίας ἱκέτευε. Προσευξάμενος δὲ ὁ (εἰςς ἀνὴρ, ἐκέλευσε τῷ δαίμονι τῆς κατὰ τοῦ θείου ποιΐματος ἐξουσίας τὴν αἰτίαν εἰπεῖν. Ὁ δὲ, καθάπερ τις ἀνδροφόνος ἣ τοιχωρύχος πρὸ διχαστιχοῦ βήματο; ἑστὼς, καὶ λέγειν ἃ δέδραχε οὕτως ἅπαντα διεξήει, παρὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς ὑπὸ δέους ᾿δληθεύειν ἀναγκαζόμενος, καὶ ἔφασκεν ἐν Ἡλιουπότλει τὸν μὲν τοῦ οἰκέτου ἀῤῥωστῆσαι δεσπότην, τὴν δέ γε δέσποιναν τῷ ὁμόξυγι ἅτε δὴ ἀῤῥωστοῦντι παραχαθῆσθαι" τὰς δὲ παιδίσκας τῆς οἰχίαξ, ἰν ἦ χατέμενον, τῶν ἐν ᾿Αντιοχείᾳ φιλοσοφούντων μουαχῶν διηγεῖσθαι τὸν βίον, καὶ ὅτην κατὰ δαιμό"., ἔχουσι τὴν ἰσχύν. Εἶτα ταύτας, οἷα δὴ κόρας παιδ' νυίας, αὑτὸν δὲ ἐκεῖνον τὸν οἰκέτην σισύραν περιτῶν, φησὶν, ἐπιτελουμένων, παρὰ τὴν θύραν ἐστὼξν καὶ τοὺς ἀλαζονιχοὺς περὶ τῶν μοναχῶν λόγους οὐκ ἐνευχὼν, τῇ πείρᾳ μαθεῖν ἐδουλήθην, ἣν ἔχειν ἐκεῖνους ἐνεανιεὐσαντο δύναμιν. Τούτον εἴνεκα τὰς παίμαθεῖν ἐθελήσας, ὅπως ὑπὸ τῶν ποναχῶν μαι. Καὶ νῦν, ἔφη, μεμάθηκα, καὶ πείρας ἑτέρας ὡ λέγων ἐδραπέτευς, καὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας ὁ οἰκέτῃ: ἀπῆλαυς. Καὶ ἕτερον δὲ ἄγροικον τῆς μητρὸς μὲν ἡ μήτηρ, ἐμὴ δὲ ἐπαμῦναι παρεχάλε: κὸν τῆς κακίας ἂντ ἐπαλον. Ὁ δὲ πάλιν ἐπυνθάνετο, πόθεν τε εἴη, καὶ παρὰ τίνος ἔλαθε τῇ» κατὰ τοῦ θείου ποιήματος ἐξουσίαν, Ὡ; δὲ σιγῶν ἐκεῖνος εἰστῆκει τὴν ἀπόκρισιν μὴ ποιού- Α μενος, τὰ γόνατα κλίνας προτηύχετο, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν των τὴν δύναμιν. Καὶ πάλιν ἀνίστατο, καὶ πάλιν ἐκεῖνος ἀντιτείνων ἐσίγα, καὶ ταῦτα μέχρις ἐννάτης ἐγίνετο. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ θερμοτέραν καὶ σπουδαιοτέραν 'τῷ Δεσπότῃ προσενήνοχε προσευχὴν, ἀναστὰς ἔλεγε πρὸς τὸν ἁλιτῆριον" «ε Οὔ σοι ἐπιτάττει Πέτρος, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ Πέτρου Θεός" ἀπόκριναι τοίνυν ὑπὸ τῆς ἐχείνου δυνάμεως χαταναγγαζόμενος. » Ἠδέσθη, καίπερ ἀναΐσχυντο; ὧν, ὁ ἀλάστωρ τὴν τοῦ ἁγίου ἐπιείκειαν, καὶ φωνῇ μεγίστῃ χρησάμενος ἐδόα, ὡς τῷ ὄρει μὲν τῷ ᾿Αμανῷ σχολάζοι: ε Τοῦτον δὲ κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν θεασάμενος ὕδωρ ἀπό τινος πηγῆς ἀρνόμενόν τε καὶ πίνοντα, ἠθέληδα οἰκητήριον οἰκεῖον ποιήσασθαι. --- ᾿Αλλ' ἔξιθε, ἔλεγεν ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος, τοῦ σταυρωθέντος ὑπὲρ τῆς οἰκουμένης τοῦτό σοι παρεγγυῶντος. » Ἤνχουεν ἐκεῖνος, καὶ ἔφευγε, γός. Καὶ ἕτερα δὲ μυρία τῆς μακαρίας ἐκείνης Ψυχῆς τοιαῦτα ἔχων διηγήματα, παραλείψω τὰ πλεῖστα, τῶν πολλῶν δεδιὼς τὴν ἀσθένειαν" εἰς σφᾶς γὰρ ἀφορῶντες, ταῖς τῶν θείων ἀνδρῶν ἀπιστοῦσι θαυματουργίαις. Ἕν δὲ ἢ δύο διηγησάμενος, ἐφ᾽ ἕτερον ἮΝ τις ἀκόλαστος, στρατηγὺς ἐν τοῖς ἄνω χρόνοις. ἹΚόρη τοίνυν τις ἀπειρόγαμος, ὥραν ἔχουσα γάμον, ὑπὸ τὴν τούτου δεσποτείαν τελοῦσα, τὴν μητέρα χαπαλιποῦσα, καὶ τοὺς οἰκείους, εἰς γυναιχονῖτιν κατ’ γὰρ καὶ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἀνδράσι παραπλησίως, καὶ εἰς τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς καταδαίνουσι στάδιον. Ταύτης μαθὼν ὁ στρατηγὸς τὴν φυγὴν, ἐμαστίγου τὴν μητέρα καὶ ἐχρεμάννν" καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἀφἧκε δεσμῶν, ἕως τὸ τῶν εὐσεδῶν γυναικῶν ὑπέδειξε καταγώγιον. Τῇ λύττῃ τοίνυν τῇ οἰκείᾳ χρησάμενος, ἥρπασεν ἐκεῖθεν τὴν κόρην, καὶ εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν οἰκίαν ἐπανἠγαγε" καὶ ἤλπισεν ὁ δείλαιος τὴν οἰκείαν χορέσειν ἀκολασίαν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὁ τὸν Φαραὼ ἑτασμοῖς μεγάλοις καὶ πονηροῖς ἐτάσας περὶ Σάῤῥας τῆς γυναικὸς ᾿Αὀραὰμ, καὶ ἀγέπαφον φυλάξας τὴν σώφρονα, καὶ «οὺς Σοδομίτας πατάξας ἀορασίᾳ, ἐμπαροινεῖν ὡς ξένοις τοῖς ἀσωμάτοις ἐπιχειρήσαντας, οὗτος καὶ τού» του τὸ ὀπτιχὸν ἀορᾳσίᾳ βαλὼν, ἐκ μέσου τῶν δικτύων τὸ θήραμα διαφυγεῖν παρεσκεύασε" καὶ εἰς τὸν θάλαμον αὐτὸς μὲν εἰσῇει, ἐκείνη δὲ ἔνδον διαφυλαττομένη παραυτίκα ἐξήει καὶ φροῦδος ἣν, καὶ τὸ τριπόθητον αὐτῇ κατέλαδε καταγώγιον. Οὕτω μαθὼν ὁ ἀνόητος, ὡς τῆς τὸν θεῖον μνηστῆρα οὐ περιέσται, ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν ἠναγκάζετο, οὐκέτι τὴν ἁλοῦσαν καὶ θείᾳ δυνάμει διαφυγοῦσαν ἐπιζητῶν. Αὕτη χρόνου διελθόντος παθήματι περιέπεσε χαλεπῷ" χαρκχῖνος δὲ τὸ πάθος ἧν᾽ τῷ δὲ μαστῷ καὶ ἡ ὀδύνη συνηύξετο. ᾿Αλλὰ τὸν μέγαν ἐκάλει Πέτρον ἐν τῇ τῆς ὀδύνης ἀκμῇ, καὶ ἔφασκεν εὐθὺς τῆς ἱ-ρᾶς ἐκείνης φωνῆς εἰς τὰ ὦτα βαλλομένης, πᾶσαν ἐχείγην τὴν ὀδύνην χοιμίζεσθαι, καὶ μηδὲ βραχεῖαν αἴσθησιν ἐκεῖθεν ἀνιαρὰν ὑποδέχεσθαι. Τούτευ χάριν ἀπήλανεν. ἼΛπαντα γὰρ ἔλεγε τὸν τῆς ἐχείνου παρουσίχς καιρὸν παντελῶς τὰς ἀλγηδόνας ἀφίστασθαι. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἐχείνην μὲν οὕτως ἀγωνισαμένην μετὰ τῶν ἐπινιχίων ἐπαίνων τοῦδε τοῦ βίου προέπεμψε. Πάλιν δὲ τὴν μητέρα τὴν ἐμὴν, μετὰ τὰ; ἐμὰς ὠδῖνας παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ γενομένην τοῦ θανάτου τὰς πύλας, ὑπὸ ποῦ θανάτου χειρῶν. "Ἔκειτο γὰρ, ὥς φασιν, ἀπεἰρηκότων μὲν τῶν ἰατρῶν, τῶν δὲ οἰκείων ὁλοφυἔχουσα τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς, λάδρῳ πυρετῷ χκατεχομένη, οὐδένα τῶν συνήθων ἐπιγινώσχουσα. Ὡς δὲ ἧκεν ὁ «ἧς ἀποστολικῆς καὶ προσηγορίας ἠξιωμένος καὶ χάριτος, καὶ, « Εἰρήνη σοι, τεκνίον, » ἐφθέγξατο (τοῦτο γὰρ ἦν αὐτῷ πρόσρημα), παραυτίκα λέγεται καὶ τὰ βλέφαρα ἀναπτύξαι, καὶ ἀτενὲς εἰς αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν, καὶ τῆς εὐλογίας τὸν καρπὸν ἐπαγγεῖλα:. Ὡς δὲ ἀνολώλυξς τῶν γυναικῶν ὁ χορὸς, (ἀθυμία γὰρ καὶ εὐθυμία κατὰ ταυτὸν ἐχράθησαν), καὶ τὴν βοὴν ἐχείνην εἰργάσαντο, παρεγγυᾷ ὁ θεῖος ἄνθρωπος κοινωνῇσαι αὐτῷ τῆς προσευχῆς ἁπάσας" οὕτω γὰρ ἔλεγε καὶ τὴν Ταδίθαν τῆς σωτηρίας τετυχηκέναι" τῶν μὲν χηρῶν ὀδυρομένων, τοῦ δὲ μεγάλου Πέτρου τὰ ἐχείνων δάκρυα προσφέροντος τῷ Θεῷ. Ἱκέτευον ὡς ἐκέλευσε, καὶ ἐλάμδανον ὡς προείρτχε. Τέλος γὰρ τῆς εὐχῆς δεξαμένης, τέλος καὶ ἡ νόσος ἐδέχετο, καὶ ἱδρὼς πάντοθεν ἑξαίφνης ἔῤῥει, καὶ τὸ πῦρ ἐκεῖνο ἐσθέννυτο, καὶ τὰ τῆς ὑγείας ἀνεφαίνετο σημεῖα. Τοιαῦτα καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἡμετέροις χρόνοις διὰ τῶν ἰδίων αὑτοῦ θεραπόντων ὁ Δεσπότης θαυματουργεῖ. Τούτου καὶ ὁ χρὼς τῶν ἱματίων τῷ θειοτάτῳ Παύλῳ παραπλησίως ἐνήργει" καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ὑπερδολῇ τινι χρώμενος τέθεικα, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν αυνομολογοῦσαν ἔχων. Τὴν γὰρ οἰκείαν ζώνην διχῇ πεμὼν (πλατεῖα δὲ ἦν καὶ μακρὰ, ἀπὸ λίνου παχέος πεπλεγμένη), τῷ μὲν ἡμίσει ταύτης τὴν οἰκείαν ὀσφὺν, τῷ ἑτέρῳ δὲ διέξωσς τὴν ἐμήν. Ταύτην πολλάκις μὲν ἐμοὶ νοσοῦντι ἐπιθεῖσα ἡ μήτηρ, πολλάκις δὲ τῷ πατρὶ, τὴν νόσον ἀπήλασε" καὶ αὐτὴ ὃὲ τούτῳ τῷ φαρμάκῳ πρὸς ὑγείαν ἐχρήσατο. Πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ τῶν γνωρίμων τοῦτο μεμαθηκότες συνεχῶς εἰς ἐπιχονρίαν τῶν νοσούντων τὴν ζώνην ἐλάμδανον᾽ καὶ πανταχοῦ τῆς ἐκείνου χάριτος ἐδίδασκε τὴν ἐνέργειαν. Οὕτω τις αὐτὴν λαδὼν τοὺς δεδωχότας ἑστέρη εν, ἀγνώμων περὶ τοὺς δὐεργέτας γενόμενος" τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἐκείνης τῆς δωρεᾶς ἐγυμνώθημεν. Οὕτω λάμψας, καὶ τὴν ᾿Αντιόχου ταῖς ἀκτῖσι φωτίσας, ἔξω τῶν ἀγώνων ἐγένετο, τὸν ἀποκείμενον τοῖς νιχηφόροις στέφανον ἀναμένων. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἧς περιόντος ἀπήλαυσα εὐλογίας, ταύτης καὶ νῦν ἀπολαῦσαι χαθιχετεύσας, πέρας ἐπιθήσω καὶ τῷδε τῷ διηγήματι. ### English translation (Claude) We hear of the Galatians in Europe, the western ones; and we know those in Asia, the descendants of those. From these sprang the blessed, thrice-blessed and many times blessed Peter. Brought up by his parents, as they say, for seven years from his birth, he spent all the rest of his life in the contests of philosophy; and he is said to have died at ninety-nine years of age. Who could worthily admire one who contended for ninety-two years and traveled victorious through every day and night? What tongue would suffice to relate the achievements labored at in youth and childhood, in full manhood, in old age and in extreme age? Who could measure his sweat? Who could count the wrestling bouts fought in so long a time? What speech could reach either the seeds he sowed or the sheaves he gathered? Who is so lofty of mind as to see precisely the wealth amassed by his good trading? I know the ocean of his achievements, and therefore [I hesitate] to approach it, lest my speech [be drowned]; for this reason I shall walk along the shore, admiring and relating the parts of the ocean near the land, and shall leave the depths to the One who, according to the divine Scripture, searches the depths and knows hidden things. This man, then, [contended] in Galatia at first. From there he went to Palestine to see it, so that, beholding the places that received the saving passion, he might worship there the God who saved us; not as though he were circumscribed by a place (for he knew that his nature is uncircumscribed), but so that he might also feast his eyes on the sight of what he longed for, and not enjoy the spiritual delight through faith with the eye of the soul alone, without bodily sight. For those who are lovingly disposed toward someone naturally reap joy not only from seeing him, but also look with all gladness at his house, his clothes and his shoes. Having this love for the bridegroom, the bride in the Song of Songs cries out: “As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. In his shade I longed and sat down, and his fruit was sweet in my throat.” So this divine man did nothing unreasonable either, having received the same love for the bridegroom and using the bride's words, “I am wounded with love.” Longing to see, as it were, a shadow of the bridegroom, he sought out the places that poured forth the springs of salvation for all men. Having enjoyed what he longed for, he came down to Antioch; and seeing the city's love of God, he preferred the foreign city to his homeland, regarding as fellow citizens not those of his race and kin, but those of like mind, sharers in the faith, who drew the same yoke of true religion. Loving this place of residence, he did not pitch a tent, set up a hut or build a little house, but spent all his time in someone else's tomb. This had an upper room, with a railing set before it, to which a ladder was fitted for those who wished to go up. He remained shut up in this for a very long time, using cold water and eating only bread, and that not every day, but going without food for one day and taking these same things on the next. Once a man came who was raving and mad, [begging to be freed from the activity] of the evil demon; [Peter prayed] and freed him from that diabolical frenzy. When the man would not go away, but begged to repay that cure with his service, Peter made him his companion. I too know this man, and I remember the wonder, and I saw the reward of the cure, and I have heard the conversation they had about me. For Daniel (this was his name) said: “I too shall share his good service.” But that inspired man would not agree to this, considering the love my parents had for me. He often set me on his knees and fed me with grapes and bread. For my mother, having experienced his spiritual grace, told me to gather that blessing once every week. She had come to know him for this reason. An affliction that struck one of her eyes proved beyond the skill of medicine; for there was nothing written by the ancients or discovered by later physicians that was not applied to the disease. When it had refuted them all and shown that they brought no benefit, one of her acquaintances came and told her of the divine man, describing the wonder he had worked. For she said that the wife of the man who then held the helm of the East (this was Pergamius) had fallen into this affliction and that he had healed her by using prayer and the sign of the cross. My mother heard this and at once ran to the divine man. She was wearing earrings, necklaces and the other gold ornaments, and the embroidered dress woven of silk; for she had not yet tasted the more perfect virtue, but was in the bloom of her years and allowed herself the adornment of youth. When that inspired head saw such things, he first healed the sickness of her love of adornment, using these words: “Tell me, child” (for I shall use his own word, and not change the form of address of that holy tongue), “if a painter well practiced in his art painted a picture as the law of the art dictates and set it out for those who wished to see it, and then someone else came, not knowing that art precisely, but improvising according to his fancy whatever he wished to paint, and then, finding fault with that skilled painting, added [darker] lines to the eyebrows and eyelashes and made the face whiter, do you not think the first painter would rightly be indignant, his art having been greatly insulted and having received from an ignorant hand additions it did not need? So, then,” he said, “believe that the Creator of all, the Fashioner and Painter of our nature, is indignant too, because you accuse that ineffable wisdom of ignorance. For you would not pour on red and white and black color unless you thought you needed this addition; and in supposing that the body needs these, [you accuse the Fashioner of] weakness. [You should] know that his power matches his will. For ‘whatever the Lord willed,’ as David says, ‘he has done’; and providing what will benefit all, he does not give what does harm. So do not spoil the image of God, nor try to add what the Wise One did not give, nor devise this bastard beauty, which harms even modest women by setting a snare for those who see them.” When that most excellent woman heard this, she at once came within the net of Peter; for this man too fished like his namesake. [Falling down], clasping his feet and lamenting, she begged that healing be given to her eye. He said that he was a man and had the same nature as she, but carried a great load of sins, and for this reason was deprived of freedom of speech toward God. When my mother kept entreating and said she would not leave unless she obtained the cure, he said that God was the healer of these things and always grants the requests of those who believe. “He will grant it now too,” he said, “not giving the favor to me, but looking at your faith. So if you have this faith pure, sincere and free of all doubt, bid farewell to physicians and medicines and receive this medicine given by God.” Having said this, he placed his hand on her eye, traced the sign of the saving cross, and drove away the disease. Returning home from there, she washed off the cosmetics, threw away all the adventitious adornment, and lived according to the rules laid down by the physician, neither wearing an embroidered dress nor beautifying herself with gold; and that while she was quite young, for she was in her twenty-third year and not yet a mother. She lived seven more years and then experienced the birth-pangs of me, the first and only ones she experienced. So much did she profit from the teaching of the great Peter: she received a cure, and seeking healing for the body, she gained besides the good health of the soul. Such things that man worked by speaking, and such power he had by praying. Another time [a master brought] a cook, a household slave, [troubled] by an evil [demon], and begged to obtain his help. The divine man prayed, and commanded the demon to state the reason for its power over the divine creature. Like a murderer or a burglar standing before the judge's tribunal and compelled to tell what he has done, it went through everything, compelled by fear, against its custom, to tell the truth. It said that in Heliopolis the slave's master had fallen ill, and his mistress was sitting beside her sick husband; and the maidservants of the house where they were staying were telling of the life of the monks who practice philosophy at Antioch and of the strength they have against demons. Then, it said, these girls, being young, [played at it], and dressed the slave himself in a rough cloak … ; “while these things were being performed,” it said, “I stood by the door; and not putting up with their boastful words about the monks, I wanted to learn by experience the power they swaggered about having. For this reason [I entered not] the girls [but the slave], wishing to learn how I [would be driven out] by the monks. And now,” it said, “I have learned, and [need no] other proof”; saying this, it ran away, and the slave enjoyed freedom. My mother's mother, [my grandmother], also brought another, a farm laborer, and begged him to help [the man tormented by the demon] of wickedness. Again he asked where it came from and from whom it had received power over the divine creature. When it stood silent, giving no answer, Peter bent his knees and prayed, and [besought] God [to show] … the power. He rose again, and again the demon resisted and kept silent; and this went on until the ninth hour. But when he had offered the Master a warmer and more earnest prayer, he stood up and said to the guilty spirit: “It is not Peter who commands you, but the God of Peter; so answer, compelled by his power.” The accursed spirit, shameless though it was, respected the holy man's gentleness, and crying out in a very loud voice said that it had its haunt on Mount Amanus: “I saw this man on the road drawing water from a spring and drinking it, and I wanted to make him my dwelling.” “But go out,” said the man of God, “for he who was crucified for the world charges you to do so.” It heard, and fled … . I have countless other such stories of that blessed soul, but I shall pass over most of them, fearing the weakness of the many; for, looking at themselves, they disbelieve the wonders of divine men. I shall relate one or two and [pass] to another. There was a dissolute man, a general, in former times. A young unmarried girl of marriageable age, who was under his authority, left her mother and her relatives and [fled] to a women's community; for women too, like men, go down into the stadium of virtue. Learning of her flight, the general flogged her mother and hung her up, and did not release her from her bonds until she showed him the dwelling of the devout women. Indulging his own frenzy, he carried off the girl from there and brought her back to his own house; and the wretch hoped to satisfy his licentiousness. But he who afflicted Pharaoh with great and grievous afflictions concerning Sarah, Abraham's wife, and kept the chaste woman untouched, and who struck the Sodomites with blindness when they tried to abuse the bodiless ones as strangers, struck this man's sight too with blindness and enabled the prey to escape from the midst of the nets. He went into the chamber, and she, who was being guarded inside, at once went out and was gone, and reached that thrice-longed-for dwelling. So the fool learned that he would not prevail against the divine suitor, and was compelled to keep quiet, no longer seeking the girl who had been seized and had escaped by divine power. After some time she fell into a grievous affliction: the disease was cancer, and the pain grew with the breast. But at the height of the pain she would summon the great Peter, and said that as soon as that sacred voice fell on her ears all that pain was lulled to sleep and she felt not the least distress from it. For this reason she enjoyed [his visits]; for she said that during the whole time he was present the pains left her completely. When she had contended thus, he sent her on from this life with the praises of victory. Again, my mother, who after giving birth to me had come to the gates of death, he [snatched] from the hands of death. For she lay, as they say, the physicians having given up, her relatives lamenting, [her eyes closed], gripped by a violent fever, recognizing none of her familiar friends. When the man who had been counted worthy of the apostolic name and grace came and said, “Peace to you, child” (this was his form of address), she is said at once to have opened her eyelids, looked fixedly at him, and asked for the fruit of his blessing. When the company of women cried aloud (for despondency and good cheer were mixed together) and made that outcry, the divine man charged them all to share in his prayer; for so, he said, Tabitha too obtained salvation, the widows lamenting and the great Peter offering their tears to God. They prayed as he ordered, and received as he had foretold. For when the prayer came to an end, the disease too came to an end: sweat suddenly poured out everywhere, that fire was quenched, and the signs of health appeared. Such wonders the Master works in our times too through his own servants. The touch of his garments worked as did those of the most divine Paul; and I have not written this out of exaggeration, but have the truth agreeing with me. For he cut his own belt in two (it was broad and long, woven of thick linen), girded his own loins with one half of it, and mine with the other. My mother often laid it on me when I was ill, often on my father, and drove away the disease; and she herself used this medicine for her health. Many of our acquaintances who learned of this frequently took the belt to help the sick, and everywhere it taught the power of his grace. In this way someone took it and deprived those who had given it, proving ungrateful toward his benefactors; in this way we were stripped of that gift. Having shone thus, and lit up Antioch with his rays, he passed beyond the contests, awaiting the crown laid up for the victors. Having begged to enjoy now too the blessing I enjoyed while he lived, I shall put an end to this narrative also. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 2:10: allusion, medium confidence - Dan 2:22: allusion, low confidence - Song 2:3: quotation, high confidence - Song 2:5: quotation, high confidence - Ps 135:6 (134:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 5:10: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 12:17: allusion, high confidence - Gen 19:11: allusion, high confidence - Acts 9:36–41: allusion, high confidence - Acts 19:12: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - About 2% of the Greek is lost in the scan used here; gaps are marked “…” and nothing has been supplied. Words in square brackets supply what the sense plainly requires where a line is damaged. Larger losses include part of the girls' game at Heliopolis and the demon's account of whom it entered, and the opening of the second exorcism. The scan's OCR repeats at the start of this chapter its own opening sentences together with a second copy of the end of chapter 8 (the life of Aphrahat); the duplicate has been removed (logged correction). Two displaced lines (“she at once came within the net of Peter …” and “she lived according to the rules laid down by the physician, neither …”; and “looking at themselves, they disbelieve the wonders of divine men”) have been moved back to their places (logged corrections). The Pergamius named as holding “the helm of the East” is otherwise little known. Theodoret's mother and the miracles are described as Theodoret tells them. Quotations: Song 2:3; Song 2:5 (LXX wording); Ps 135:6 (134:6 LXX). Allusions: 1 Cor 2:10; Dan 2:22; Luke 5:10; Gen 12:17; Gen 19:11; Acts 9:36–41; Acts 19:12. Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters and marginal references were removed (logged corrections). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 9 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/9). ## Life 10 (ΘΕΟΔΟΣΙΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/9/#p-10 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Theodosius of Antioch founds a working monastery near Rhosus on the Cilician coast, is respected even by Isaurian raiders, draws water from a dry rock, and dies at Antioch, where he is buried with Aphrahat. ### Greek text τὸν Κιλίχιον κόλπον. Ταύτης πρὸς ἕω καὶ μεσημβρίαν, ὄρος ἐστὶν ὑψηλὸν, ἀμφιλαφὲς, καὶ κατάσκιον' τρέφει δὲ καὶ θῆρας ἐν ταῖς λόχμαις ἀγρίους. Ἐν τούτῳ νάπην εὑρών τινα, πρὸς θάλασσαν ἀποχλίνουσαν, ὁ μέγας καὶ πολυθρύλλητος Θεοδόσιος, βραχύν σινὰ οἰκίσκον οἰχοζομήσας, μόνος τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν ἡσπάζετο πολιτείαν. ᾿Ανὴρ ἐκ. τῆς ᾿Αντιόχου μὲν ὁρμώμενος, ἐπίσημος δὲ ὧν ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ γένους λαμπρότητος " ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως καὶ οἰκίαν, καὶ συγγένειαν, καὶ τἄλλα πάντα καταλιπὼν, τὸν πολυτίμητον εὐαγ- " ἀπαστίας, καὶ χαμευνίας, καὶ τῆς ἐκ τριχῶν ἀμπεχόνης, περιττόν ἔστι λέγειν τοῖς τοὺς ἐχείνου σώτας καὶ φοιτητὰς θεωμένοις, καὶ ταύτην ἐν αὐτοῖς ὁρῶσι τὴν πολιτείαν. Διαφερόντως δὲ ὅμως ταῦτα ἐκεῖνος μετήει, ἅτε δὴ παράδειγμα ἑαυτὸν προτιθεὶς τοῖς εἰσαγομένοις. Προσετίθει δὲ τούτοις τὸ ἐκ σιδήρου φορτίον αὐχένι, καὶ ὀσφύϊ, καὶ ἀμφοῖν ταῖν χε-, ροῖν. Καὶ κόμην δὲ ἔφερεν αὐχμηρὰν, καὶ μέχρις αὖτῶν διήκουσαν τῶν ποδῶν, καὶ περαιτέρω προθαίνουσᾶν, καὶ τούτου χάριν τῇ ἰξύϊ προσδεδε μένην. Προπτευχῇ ὃὲ καὶ ὑμνῳδίᾳ διηνεκῶς χρώμενος, ἐπιθυμίαν, καὶ θυμὸν, χαΐ τῦφον, καὶ τἄλλα τὰ ἄγρια πῆς ψυχῆς χατεχοίμιζε θηρία " πόνοις δὲ πόνους ἐπαύξων ἀεὶ, καὶ τὴν χειρῶν ἐργασίαν μετήει, νῦν μὲν τὰς καλουμένας ῥιπίδας ὑφαίνων καὶ σπυρίδας, νῦν δὲ μικρὰς ἀρούρας ἐν τῇ νάπῃ κατασχευάξων, καὶ σπέρματα καταθάλλων, καὶ τὴν ἀποχρῶσαν ἐκεῖθεν συλλέγων τροφήν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῦ χρόνου προϊόντος πάντοθεν αὐτοῦ τὸ κλέος διέτρεχε, συνέθεον πολλοὶ πολλαχόθεν, κοινωνῆσαι αὐτῷ καὶ οἰκήσεως, καὶ πόγων, καὶ πολιτείας ἐπιθυμοῦντες " καὶ τούτους ὑποδεχόμενος, ἐπὶ τοῦτον ἐποδήγει τὸν βίον" καὶ Ἦν ἰδεῖν, «οὺς μὲν ἱστία, τοὺς δὲ δέῤῥεις τριχίνας τοὺς δὲ τὰς ῥιπίδας ἢ τὰς σπυρίδας διαπλέχοντας, ἄλλους δὲ τὴν γη πονίαν ἀναδεδεγμένους. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ παραθαλάσσιον ἦν τὸ χωρίον, καὶ πορθμεῖον ὕστερον κατασκευάσας, τούτῳ εἰς τὴν τῶν ἀγωγίμων χρείαν, ἐχχομίζων τῶν συνοίχων τὰ ἔργα, καὶ εἰσχομίξων τὰ δέοντα. Τῆς ἀποστολικῆς γὰρ μεμνημένος φωνῆς, τῆς λεγούσης" « Νυχτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας ἐργαζόμενοι, εἰς τὸ μὴ ἐπιδαρῆσαί τινα ὑμῶν᾽ν καὶ, «Αἱ χεῖοες αὗτα: ἐμοὶ καὶ τοῖς σὺν ἐμοὶ ἐπήρχεσαν' » αὐτός τε εἰργάζετο, καὶ τοὺς ὁμοσκήνους παρήνει τοῖς κατὰ ψυχὴν πόνοις καὶ τοὺς σωματικοὺς συνεισφέρειν ἱδρῶ- «πας. Καὶ γὰρ ἄτοπον, τοὺς μὲν ἐν βίῳ στρεφομένους, καὶ παιδία καὶ γυναῖκας ταλαιπωρουμένους καὶ πονοῦντα: ἀποτρέφειν, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις καὶ φόρους εἰσφέρειν, καὶ δασμοὺς ἀπαιτεῖσθαι, καὶ τῷ Θεῷ προσφέρειν τὰς ἀπαρχὰς, καὶ τῶν προσαιτῶν εἰς … δύναμιν θεραπεύειν τὴν ἔνδειαν - ἡμᾶς δὲ τὴν ἀναγ- Ὁ καίαν ἐκτῶν πόνων μὴ πορίζεσθαι χρείαν" καὶ ταῦτα εὐτελεῖ μὲν τροφῇ καὶ βραχείᾳ, εὐτελεῖ ὃὲ ἐσθῆτι χρωμένους " ἀλλὰ χαθῆσϑαι εἴσω τὰς χεῖρας ἔχοντας, καὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων χειρῶν χαρπουμένους. Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγων, ἐπὶ τὴν ἐργασίαν προέτρεπε" τὰς μὲν πανταχοῦ νενομισμένας θείας λειτουργίας ἐπιτελῶν εἰς καιρόν " τὸν δὲ μεταξὺ χρόνον ἀπονέμων τῇ ἐργασίᾳ. Οὐκ ἥκιστα δὲ τῆς τῶν ξένων ἐπεμελεῖτο θεραπείας" ἀνδράσι πραότητι καὶ φρονήματος με- «ριότητ' χεχοτμημένοις, καὶ τὴν περὶ τὸν πέλας κεκτημένοις ἀγάπην, ταύτην ἐγχειρίσας τὴν πρόνοιαν. Ἐπεσκόπει δὲ αὐτὸς ἅπαντα διερευνώμενος, εἰ κατὰ τοὺς κειμένους ἔκαστον ἐπιτελοῖτο νόμους, Οὕτω δὲ πολνθρύλλητος ἐγένετο, ὡς τοὺς ναντιλλομένους, καὶ πλείοτιν ἢ χιλίοις ἀφεστῶτας σταδίοις, τὸν Θεοδοσίου καλεῖν ἐγ τοῖς κινδύνοις Θεὸν, καὶ τῇ τῆς θαλάσσης τὴν ζάλην. Τοῦτον ἡδέσθησαν καὶ πολέμιοι θρασεῖ; καὶ ἀνήμεροι, οἱ τῆς ἕω τὸ πλεῖστον ληϊσάμενοί τε καὶ ἐξανδραποδισάμενοι. Τίς γὰρ τῶν τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶ: οἰκουμένην οἰκούντων ἀνήκοος τῶν κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν συμδεδηχότων κακῶν, ὑπὸ τῶν πάλαι μὲν Σολύμων, νυνὶ δὲ Ἰσαύρων ὀνομαζομένων; ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως μὴ πόλεως, μὴ κώμης ἐκεῖνοι φεισάμενοι, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπάσας ὅσας ἑλεῖν ἠδυνήθησαν ληϊσάμενοι καὶ πυρὶ παρα. δόντες, ἐχεΐνην τὴν φιλοσοφίαν ἠδέσθησαν, καὶ ἄρτους μόνους αἰτήσαντες, καὶ εὐχὰς ἐπαγγείλαντες, ἀλώόητον τὸ ἀσχητιχὸν ἐκεῖνο κατέλιπον καταγώγιον, καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ καὶ δὶς πεποιήκασι. Δείσαντες δ᾽ ὅμως τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν οἱ πρόεδροι, μὴ χρημάτων ἔρωτα τοῖς βαρθάροις ὁ δέάθολος λὼν, δορυάλωτον γενέσθαι παρασκευάσῃ τὸν μέγαν ἐκεῖνον φωστῆρα ᾿ καὶ γὰρ ἦν εἰκὸς λύτρα πάμπολλὰ πανταχόθεν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ παρὰ πάντων τῶν τὰ τες πείθουσι τὴν ᾿Αντιόχειαν χαταλαδεῖν. “Ἤδη γὰρ δύο τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν προέδρους αἰχμαλώτους εἰλήφασι, καὶ θεραπείας μὲν ἀπάσης ἠξίωσαν. Τετρακισχιλίους δὲ καὶ μυρίους ὑπὲρ ἀμφοτέρων δεξάμενοι χρυσοῦς, οὕτως ἐπέτρεψαν ἐπανελθεῖν ὅποι βούλοιντο. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰς τὴν ᾿Αντιόχειαν ἀφίκετο, ᾧκησε μὲν καταγώγιον τῷ δοταμῷ παρακείμενον πάντας δὲ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν εἴλκυσε τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα τρυγᾷν ἐπισταμένους, “ἃ Ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς τοῦ λόγου ῥύμης ἐχχόμενος, παρῆκα διηγήσασθαι θαῦμα, ὑπὸ τοῦ θεσπεσίονυ τούτου γενόμενον. Ὃ τάχα τοῖς πολλοῖς καὶ ἄπιστον εἶναι δόξει, διαμένει μέντοιγε μαρτυροῦν τῷ λόγῳ μέχρι καὶ νῦν, καὶ δεικνῦον οἵας ἔτυχεν ὁ θαυμάτιος οὗτος ἀνὴρ παρὰτῷ Θεῷ χάριτός τε καὶ παῤῥησίας. Κρημνώδης τις πέτρα ὑπέρκειται τοῦ φροντιστηρίον, οὗπερ αὐτὸς ἐδεέματο, ἄνιχμος δὲ καὶ ξηρὰ παντελῶς ὑπῆρχε τὸ πρότερον. Ἔν ταύτῃ ὑδραγώγωον ἐποίησεν ἀπὸ τῆς κορυφῆς ἐπὶ τὸ μοναστήριον φερ᾽βενον, ὥσπερ ὑπὸ χεῖρα ἔχων τὴν τῶν ὑδάτων ράν. Πεποιθήδεως δὲ γέμων εἰς Θεὸν, καὶ θαῤῥῶν, ὡς εἰκὸς, εὐμενῆ τὸν Δεσπότην κεκτη μένος, καὶ π’ἐπὶ τὴν ἄκραν τοῦ ὑδραγωγοῦ, πρὶν τσὺς ἐπὶ τὰς συνήθεις εὐχὰς διαναστῆναι. Καὶ διὰ εὐχῶν τὸν Θεὸν ἱχετεύσας, θαῤῥῶν τῷ ποιοῦντι τὸ αὐτὸν, τῇ ῥάδδῳ, ᾗ σχηριπτόμενος ἐτύγχανεν, ἔτυψΞε τὴν πέτραν ἡ δὲ μοναστηρίου διὰ τοῦ ὑδραγωγοῦ γενόμενον, καὶ εἰς πᾶσαν χρείαν πλουσίως χορηγοῦν, εἰς τὴν παρᾶάχειμένην θάλασφαν ἐχχρίνεται, Καὶ δείκνυται μέχρι δεῦρο, τοῦ μεγάλου θΘεοδυσίου ἡ Μωσαϊχὴ χάρις ἐνεργοῦσα. ᾿Απόχρη δὲ καὶ τοῦτο μόνον δεῖξαι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν παῤῥησίαν. Ὀλίγον δὲ ἐν "Ἀντιοχείᾳ ἐπιδιώσας χρόνον, πρὸς τὴν ἀγγελικὴν μετέστη χορείαν. Διὰ δὲ μέσου τοῦ ἄστεος τὸ σῶμ τὸ ἱερὸν ἐφέρετο, οἷόν τισι στεφάνοις χρυσοῖς τῷ σιδήρῳ ἐκείνῳ ὡραϊζόμενον, πάντων ἡγουμένων, καὶ τῶν τὰς μεγάλας ἀρχὰς πεπιστευμένων. Ἔρις δὲ ἦν περὶ τὴν κλίνην, καὶ διαμάχη φέρειν ταύτην ἀπάντων ἐπειγομένων, καὶ τῆς ἐντεῦθεν εὐλογίας ἐφιεμένων. Οὕτω φερόμενος, εἰς τὸν τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων γεγονώς, Θήχη δὲ αὐτὸν ὑπεδέξατο, ἣ καὶ τὸν θεσπέσιον καὶ μακάριον ᾿Αφραάτην. Τὴν δὲ τῆς ἀγέλὴς ἡγεμονίαν Ἑλλάδιος ὁ θαυμάσιος διεδέξατο " ὃς ἑξήκοντα μὲν ἐν ἐκείνοις τοῖς πόνοις διετέλεσεν ἔτη, εἶτα τὴν Κιλίκων θεόθεν ἐδέξατο προεδρίαν - οὔτε τὴν φιλοσοφίαν τὴν προτέραν καταλιπὼν, καὶ τοῖς πόνοις ἐκείνοις τοὺς τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης ἱδρῶτας ὁσἡμέραι προστιθείς, Τούτου καὶ Ῥώμυλος ὁ μακάριος ἀκροατὴς γεγονὼς, ἀγέλης μεγίστης ἡγεμὼν ἀπεφάνθη " καὶ διέμεινέ τε καὶ ὁ ἐχείνου χορὸς εἰς δεῦρο Β πῆς αὐτῆς πολιτείας ἐχόμενος. Παράκχειται δὲ τῷ φροντιστηρίῳ κώμη, Μαρατὼ Συριστὶ καλουμένη᾽ Ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦδε τοῦ διηγήματος τοῦτο ποιησάμενος πέρας, ἰχετεύω καὶ τῆς ἐντεῦθεν μετασχεῖν εὖλ.γίας. ### English translation (Claude) … the Cilician gulf. To the east and south of this city there is a high mountain, thickly wooded and shady, which also nourishes wild beasts in its thickets. On this mountain the great and celebrated Theodosius found a ravine sloping down toward the sea, built a small hut, and embraced the gospel way of life alone. He came from Antioch and was distinguished by the splendor of his family; but leaving house, kin and everything else, he [bought] the precious gospel [pearl] … . About his fasting, his sleeping on the ground and his clothing of hair it is superfluous to speak to those who see the members of his company and his disciples and behold this way of life in them. Yet he pursued these things more than the others, setting himself as an example to the beginners. To these he added a load of iron on his neck, his loins and both his hands. He also wore squalid hair, reaching to his very feet and going beyond them, and for this reason tied to his waist. Using prayer and hymnody continually, he lulled to sleep desire, anger, pride and the other wild beasts of the soul; and always adding labors to labors, he also pursued handiwork, now weaving what are called fans and baskets, now making little fields in the ravine, sowing seeds and gathering from them sufficient food. As time went on and his fame ran everywhere, many ran together from many places, desiring to share his dwelling, his labors and his way of life; and receiving them, he guided them into this life. One could see some weaving sails, others hair cloaks, others plaiting the fans or the baskets, and others who had taken up farming. Since the place was by the sea, he later built a boat too, [and used] it for transport, carrying out the work of his companions and bringing in what they needed. For remembering the apostolic saying, “Working night and day, so as not to be a burden to any of you,” and, “These hands ministered to me and to those who were with me,” he himself worked, and urged his fellow monks to contribute bodily sweat besides the labors of the soul. “For it is absurd,” he said, “that those who live in the world, toiling and laboring, should feed their children and wives, and besides pay tributes and be required to pay taxes, offer God the first fruits, and relieve the need of beggars [as far as they can], while we do not provide our necessary needs from our labors, and that though we use cheap and scanty food and cheap clothing, but sit with our hands folded and reap the fruit of other people's hands.” Saying such things he urged them to work, performing the divine services customary everywhere at their times and assigning the time between to work. He took particular care of the service of strangers, entrusting this charge to men adorned with gentleness and modesty of mind and possessing love for their neighbor. He himself inspected everything, examining whether each thing was performed according to the established rules. He became so famous that sailors, even those more than a thousand stades away, called on the God of Theodosius in their dangers, and [by the invocation of this name calmed] the storm of the sea. Even fierce and savage enemies respected him, those who plundered most of the East and carried its people into slavery. For who among the inhabitants of our part of the world has not heard of the evils that befell at that time at the hands of those formerly called Solymi and now Isaurians? Yet though they spared neither city nor village, but plundered and gave to the fire all they could take, they respected that philosophy: asking only for bread and requesting prayers, they left that ascetic dwelling unplundered, and did this not once but twice. Nevertheless the presidents of the churches, fearing lest the devil, [kindling] love of money in the barbarians, should cause that great luminary to be taken captive (for it was likely that very large ransoms would be paid for him from every side by all who [love] … ), persuaded him to move to Antioch. For the barbarians had already taken two presidents of churches captive; they treated them with every consideration, but accepted fourteen thousand gold pieces for both before allowing them to return wherever they wished. When he came to Antioch, he lived in a dwelling beside the river, and drew to himself all who knew how to gather such fruits … . Carried along by the current of my account, I have passed over a wonder worked by this inspired man, which will perhaps seem incredible to many; yet it remains to this day bearing witness to my words and showing what grace and freedom of speech this admirable man obtained with God. A precipitous rock overhangs the school of philosophy he built, and it was formerly altogether without moisture and dry. On it he made a channel running from the top to the monastery, as though he had the flow of the waters at his command. Full of trust in God, and confident, naturally, that he had the Master's favor, he [went up by night] to the top of the channel before the others rose for the customary prayers. Having besought God in prayer, confident in the One who does [the will of those who fear] him, he struck the rock with the staff on which he was leaning; and … [water flowed, and what is beyond the needs] of the monastery, passing through the channel and supplying every need abundantly, runs off into the neighboring sea. And the Mosaic grace of the great Theodosius is shown at work to this day. This alone is enough to show the man's freedom of speech toward God. Having lived a short time in Antioch, he passed to the angelic choir. His sacred body was carried through the middle of the city, adorned with that iron as with golden crowns, all leading the way, even those entrusted with high offices. There was strife over the bier and contention, as all hastened to carry it, desiring the blessing that came from it. Carried thus, he came to the [shrine] of the holy martyrs; and the tomb that had received the inspired and blessed Aphrahat received him too. The admirable Helladius succeeded to the leadership of the flock. He spent sixty years in those labors and then received from God the presidency of the Cilicians, neither abandoning his former philosophy, and adding every day the sweats of the high priesthood to those labors. The blessed Romulus too, having been his hearer, became leader of a very large flock; and he and his company have continued to this day holding to the same way of life. Beside the school of philosophy lies a village called in Syriac Marato. I, having made this the end of this narrative, beg to share in the blessing from it too. ### Scripture references - Matt 13:46: allusion, low confidence - 1 Thess 2:9: quotation, high confidence - Acts 20:34: quotation, high confidence - Num 20:11: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 145:19 (144:19 LXX): echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The opening of this chapter is lost in the scan; the text begins mid-sentence (“… the Cilician gulf”), evidently after naming the city of Rhosus, which chapter 11 mentions. About 2% of the Greek is lost in the scan used here; gaps are marked “…” and nothing has been supplied. Words in square brackets supply what the sense plainly requires where a line is damaged (the gospel pearl, Matt 13:46, is a probable restoration). Other losses: the opening of the description of his asceticism; whom he drew to himself at Antioch; and part of the account of the spring. The Isaurians, mountain people of southern Asia Minor, raided widely in the late fourth and early fifth centuries; the identification with the ancient Solymi is Theodoret's. The miracle of the spring is told as Theodoret tells it. Quotations: 1 Thess 2:9; Acts 20:34. Allusions: Matt 13:46; Num 20:11; Ps 145:19 (144:19 LXX). Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters and marginal references were removed (logged corrections). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 10 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/10). ## Life 11 (ΡΩΜΑΝΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/9/#p-11 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Romanus of Rhosus lives as a recluse near Antioch in extreme simplicity, is known for his gentleness, heals the sick and obtains children for barren women. ### Greek text Ὁ μὲν οὖν μέγας Θεοδόσιος ἀπὸ τῆς ᾿Αντιοχέων ὄρεσιν, εἰς τὴν ᾿Ἀντιόχου πόλι» ἐπανελθὼν, οὕτω τοῦ βίου τῶ. τέλος: ἐδέξατο. Ῥωμανὸς ὃΣ ὁ θεῖος, ἐν τῇ “Ῥώσῳ. καὶ τεχθεὶς, καὶ τὰ πρῶτα τραφεὶς, ἐν ᾿Αντιοχείς τοὺς τῆς ἀρετῆς ὑπεδέξατο ἄθλους, ἔξω μὲν τῶν τοῦ ἄστεος περιδόλων, “παρὰ τὴν ὑπώρειαν ἐσχηνωμένος, ἐν ἀλλοτρίῳ δὲ οἰκιδίῳ, καὶ τούτῳ σμικρῷ, πάντα τὸν χρόνον διαδιώσας. Διετέλεσε δὲ Ρέχρι γήρως, μὴτε πυρὶ χρησάμενος, μήτε λυχνιαῖον δεξάμενος φῶς. Τροφὴ γὰρ ἣν αὐτῷ ἄρτος καὶ ἅλες " πόμα δὲ χρηνιαῖον νᾶμα, κόμη δὲ τῷ μεγάλῳ Θεοδο-. σίῳ παραπλησία, καὶ ἐσθὴς καὶ σίδηρος ὡσαύτως. Ἐπλεονέχτει δὲ οὗτος ἤθους ἀπλότητι, καὶ πραότητι τρόπων, καὶ φρονήματος μετριότητι. Καὶ τούτου εἵνεκα τῆς θείας χάριτος ἢφίει τὴν αἴγλην. ε Ἐπὶ τίνα γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐπιδλέψω, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν πρᾶον, καὶ ἡσύχιον, καὶ τρέμοντά μου τοὺς λόγους; » Καὶ ποἷς ἰδίοις δὲ πάλιν ἔλεγε μαθηταῖς " ε Μάθετε ἀπ᾽. ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πρᾶός εἰμι, καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ, καὶ εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν. » Καὶ πάλιν" « Μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσι τὴν γῆν.» Καὶ Μωῦσεϊ δὲ τῷ νομοθέτῃ τοῦτο ἦν τὸ τῶν κατορθωμάτων. ἐπίσημον. ε Ἦν γὰρ, φησὶ, Μωῦσῆς πραότατος παρὰ πάντας ἀνθρώπους τοὺς ὄντας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. ν Τοῦτο καὶ τῷ προφήτῃ Δαδὶδ τὸ πανάγιον ἐμαρτύρησε Πνεῦμα " « Μνήσθητι γὰρ, φησὶ, τοῦ Δαδὶδ, καὶ πάσης τῆς πραότητος αὐτοῦ. ν» Καὶ περὶ τοῦ πατριάρχου Ἰαχὼδ μεμαθήκαμεν, ὅτι ἄπλαστος ἦν, οἰκῶν οἰκίαν. Ταύτας δίκην μελίττης ἐκ. τῶν θείων ἐκείνων λειμώνων τὰς ἀρετὰς ἀθροίσας, τὸ τῆς ἀληθείας κατεσκεύασε μέλι. ᾿ΑΧλ᾽ οὐ μόνος τῶν πόνων ἀπήλαυσε. Προύκεῖτο δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἕξω τὰ ἥδιστα νάματα " καὶ τοῖς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφικνουμένοις, τῇ πραείᾳ καὶ γλυκείᾳ κεχρημένος φωνῇ, πολλὰς μὲν περὶ φιλαδελτίας, πολλὰς δὲ περὶ, ὁμονοΐας τε καὶ εἰρήνη: προσέφερε παρα! έτεις " πολλοὺς δὲ τῶν θείων καὶ μόνον ὁρώμενος ἀπέφηνεν ἐραστά;. Τίς γὰρ οὖκ ἂν ὑπερηγάσθη πρεσδύτην θεώμενος τὸ σῶμα τετρυχωμένον, καὶ σίδηρον ὅτι πλεῖστον φέρειν αἱρούμενον, καὶ τῷ ἐκ τριχῶν ἐσθήματι καὶ τροφῆς ἀπολαύοντα κωλύσαι μόνον ἀποχρώσης τὸν ἐκ λιμοῦ θάνατον; Πρὸς δὲ τῷ μεγέθει καὶ τῷ πλήθει τῶν πόνων, καὶ ἡ ἐπανθοῦσα χάρις θαυμάζειν αὐτὸν ἅπαντας καὶ γεραίρειν ἀνέπειθε. Πολλῶν μὲν γὰρ πολλάκις χαλεπὰς ἀπήλασε νόσους, πολλαῖς δὲ γυναιξὶ στερίφαις ἐχαρίσατο παῖδας. Καὶ τοσαύτην “αρὰ ποῦ θείου Πνεύματος δεξάμενος δύναμιν, πτωχὸν ἑαυτὸν καὶ προσαίτην ὠνόμαζεν. Πάντας τοίνυν τοὺς παρ᾽ αὑτῷ φοιτῶντας, καὶ φαινόμενος, καὶ φθεγγόμενος, ὠφελείας πληρῶν τὸν ἅπαντα διετέλεσε βίον. Καὶ ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ἐχδημήσας, καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀγγελικὴν χορείαν μετατεθεὶς, κατέλιπε μνήμην οὗ συνταφεῖσαν σώματι, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνθοῦσαν, καὶ τεθηλνῖαν, καὶ ἄσδεστον εἰς. ἀεὶ διαμένουσαν, καὶ εἰς ὄνησιν τοῖς βουλομένοις ἀρχοῦααν. Καὶ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν τοίνυν ἐρανισάμενος εὐλογίαν, καὶ τὰ κατὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀθλητὰς ὡς οἷόν τε διηγήσομαι. ### English translation (Claude) The great Theodosius, then, having come back from the mountains [of Rhosus] to the city of Antioch, received the end of his life there. The divine Romanus, born and brought up at first in Rhosus, took up the contests of virtue at Antioch, outside the walls of the city, living near the foot of the mountain; he spent all his time in someone else's little house, and that a small one. He continued until old age neither using fire nor admitting lamplight. His food was bread and salt, his drink spring water; his hair was like that of the great Theodosius, and his clothing and iron likewise. He excelled in simplicity of character, gentleness of manners and modesty of mind; and for this reason he sent out the splendor of divine grace. “For on whom,” he says, “shall I look, but on the gentle and quiet one who trembles at my words?” And again he said to his own disciples: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” And again: “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.” This was the distinguishing mark of the achievements of Moses the lawgiver too: “For Moses,” it says, “was the gentlest of all men who were on the earth.” The all-holy Spirit bore the same witness to the prophet David: “Remember,” it says, “David and all his gentleness.” And of the patriarch Jacob we have learned that he was guileless, dwelling in a house. Gathering these virtues like a bee from those divine meadows, Romanus made the honey of truth. But he did not enjoy his labors alone. His sweetest streams were set out for those outside too: to those who came to him, using his gentle and sweet voice, he offered many exhortations about brotherly love, and many about concord and peace; and many he made lovers of divine things merely by being seen. For who would not have been filled with admiration seeing an old man with a worn-out body, choosing to carry a great deal of iron, wearing clothing of hair, and taking only food sufficient to prevent death by starvation? Besides the greatness and number of his labors, the grace that bloomed in him persuaded all to admire and honor him. For he often drove away grievous diseases from many, and granted children to many barren women. Yet though he had received such power from the divine Spirit, he called himself poor and a beggar. So he spent his whole life filling all who visited him with benefit, both by being seen and by speaking. And having departed from here and been transferred to the angelic choir, he left a memory not buried with his body, but blooming, flourishing, remaining inextinguishable for ever, and sufficient to benefit those who wish. Having collected the blessing from him too, I shall relate as best I can the stories of the other athletes. ### Scripture references - Isa 66:2: quotation, high confidence - Matt 11:29: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:5: quotation, high confidence - Num 12:3: quotation, high confidence - Ps 132:1 (131:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gen 25:27: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The first sentence closes the account of Theodosius (chapter 10); the words naming the mountains he left are damaged in the scan and “[of Rhosus]” is supplied from the context. The cures attributed to Romanus are related as Theodoret tells them. Quotations: Isa 66:2; Matt 11:29; Matt 5:5; Num 12:3; Ps 132:1 (131:1 LXX); Gen 25:27 (LXX wording, “guileless, dwelling in a house”). Migne's Latin column read as Greek letters and marginal references were removed (logged corrections). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 11 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/11). ## Life 12 (ΖΗΝΩΝ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/12/#p-12 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Zeno, a former imperial courier from Pontus, lives in a tomb near Antioch in extreme poverty, is protected from Isaurian raiders by prayer, and leaves the rest of his property to Bishop Alexander to distribute. ### Greek text Ζήνωνα τὸν θαυμάσιον οὐ πολλοὶ μὲν γινώσκουσιν, οἱ δὲ γινώσκοντες θαυμάζειν ἀξίως οὐ δύνανται. Οὗ τὸς γὰρ πλοῦτον ὅτι μάλιστα πλεῖστον ἐν τῇ πατρίδι καταλιπὼν (αὔτη δὲ ἣν ὁ Πόντος), ἀπήλαυσε μὲν, ὡς ἔλεγε, τῶν Βασιλείου τοῦ μεγάλου ναμάτων γει- «ονεύοντος, καὶ τὴν Καππαδοκῶν ἀρδεύοντος, τῆς δὲ ἀρδείας ἀξίους ἀπέδωκε τοὺς καρπούς, Εὐθὺς μὲν γὰρ Οὐάλεντος τοῦ βασιλέως ἀναιρεθέντος, τὴν στρατιωτικὴν ἀπέθετο ζώνην. Ἐγχατείλεχτο δὲ τοῖς τὰ βασιλέως ὀξέως διαχομέζουσι γράμματα. ᾿Απὸ δὲ τῶν βασιλείων εἴς τινα τάφον ὁρμήσας (πολλοὺς δὲ ἔχει τὸ τῇ ᾿Αντιοχείᾳ παρακείμενον ὄρος) “ μόνος διῆγς, τὴν ψυχὴν ἐχχαθαίρων, καὶ τὸ ταύτης ὁπτιχὸν ἀποῤῥύπτων, καὶ τὴν θείαν φανταζόμενος θεωρίαν, καὶ τὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀναθάσεις ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ πιθέμενος, καὶ πτέρυγας λαθεῖν ὡσεὶ περιστερᾶς ἐφιέμενος, καὶ εἰς τὴν θείαν κατάπαυσιν ἀναπτῆναι ποθῶν. Τούτου χάριν, οὐ κλίνην εἶχεν, οὐ λύχνον, οὗ βιθλίον, οὐκ ἄλλο τι " ἀλλὰ ῥάχια μὲν ἡ μπείχετο παλαιὰ, καὶ ὑποδήματα δὲ ὡσαύτως δεσμῶν δεόμενα" διήρητο γὰρ τῶν χαττυμάτων τὰ δέρματα, Παρ᾽ ἑνὰς δὲ μόνου τῶν γνωρίμων τὴν ἀναγκαίαν τροφὴν ἐπορίζετο" αὕτη δὲ ἦν εἷς ἄρτος δύο χορηγούμενος δὺ} ἢ ἡμέραις " τὸ δὲ ὕδωρ πόῤῥωθεν ἀρυόμενος αὑτὸς ρεῖ- ἔφερε, Καέ ποτέ τις αὐτὸν ἀχθοφοροῦντα θεασάμενος, ἱκέτευσε χουφῖσαι τοῦ πόνον " ὁ δὲ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ἀντέτεινς, διδάσκων ὡς οὐκ ἀνέξεται μεταλαδεῖν ὕδατος ὑπ᾽ ἄλλου χομισθέντος. Ὡς δὲ οὐκ ἔπεισεν, ἔδωκε τὰ σταμνία" δύο γὰρ ἀμφοῖν ταῖν χεροῖν ἐπἐφέρετο. Ὡς δὲ εἴσω τῆς αὐλίου θύρας ἐγένετο, ἐκχέας τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ διαῤῥάνας, πάλιν ἔδραμεν ἐπὶ τὸν χρουνὸν, ἔργῳ βεθδαιώσας τοὺς λόγους. Κἀγὼ δὲ ὅτε πρῶτον αὐτὸν ἱστορῆσαι ποθήσας εἰς τὸ ὄρος ἀνῆλθον, ἐθεασάμην ταῖν χεροῖν τὰ σταμνία κατέχοντα. Εἴτα ἡρόμην, ὅπου εἴη τὸ τοῦ θαυμασίου Ζήνωνος καταγώγιον' ὁ δὲ ἤἥχιστα ἔλεγεν εἰδέναι μονάζοντα ταὐύτῇ τῇ προσηγορίᾳ καλούμενον. Ἐγὼ δὲ αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸ μέτριον. Ὡς δὲ εἴσω τῆς θύρφς ἐγενόμην, στιβάδα εἶδον ἀπὸ χόρτου συγκειμένην, καὶ ἕτερόν τινα φορυτὸν ἐπὶ τῶν λίϑων χατεστρωμένον, ὡς μηδεμίαν ἐκεῖθεν οἱ ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνῳ καθήμενοι ἀποφέροιντο Ὡς; δὲ πολλοὺς περὶ φιλοσοφίας ἐχινήσαμεν λόγους (ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἐπυνθανόμην, αὐτὸς δὲ ἡμῖν ἀνέπτασς τὰ ζητούμενα) " καὶ ἔδει λοιπὸν ἐπανιέναι οἴκαδε, ἱκέτευον αὐτὸν δοῦναι τὰ τῆς εὐλογίας ἐφόδια. Ὁ δὲ ἀντέτεινς, πληροῦν ἡμᾶς τὴν εὐχὴν ἔννομον εἶναι λέγων " καὶ ἑαυτὸν μὲν ἰδιώτην καλῶν, στρατιώτας δὲ ἡμᾶς ὀνομάζων. Καὶ γὰρ ἐτύγχανον τηνικάδε τὰς ἱερὰς Βίόλους τῷ θείῳ ὑπαναγινώσχων λαῷ. Ἡμῶν δὲ τὴν νεότητα προδαλλομένων, καὶ τῆς ἡλικίας τὸ ἄωρον (ἄρτι γὰρ ἰούλου βραχεῖάν τινα προθδολὴν ἐδεδέγμεθα),, καὶ διομνυμένων ὡς οὐκ ἥξομεν αὖθις, ἰὼ μἷν μίαν πὶ Οὔ δὶ εἰ τοῦτο δράσαι νῦν βιασθείημεν - μόλις ἐψέ ποτε ταῖς ἱχετείαις ἐπιχαμφθεὶς, προσήνεγκε μὲν τῷ Θεῷ τὴν πρεσδείαν" μακρὰν δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς πρεσδείας ἀπο-, λογίαν ἐξέτεινε, ἀγάπης εἵνεκα καὶ εὐπειθείας τοῦτο πεποιηκέναι λέγων " καὶ γὰρ ἠχούομεν εὐχομένου πελάξοντες. Τὸ δὲ ἐν τοσούτῳ φιλοσοφίας ὕψει τοσαύτην ἔχειν φρονήματος μετριότητα πρεσθδύτην ἄνδρα (τεσσαράκοντα γὰρ ἔτη ἐν τῇ ἀσκήσει διηνυχὼς ἐτύγχανεν), τίς ἂν ἀξίως θαμμάσειε; ποίαν δὲ ἄν τις τῷ μεγέθει πρόσφορον εὐφημίαν ποιήσαιτο; Τοσοῦτον δὲ ἀρετῆς κεκτημένος πλοῦτον, ὡς πενίᾳ πῇ ἐσχάτῃ συζῶν, εἰς τὴν θείαν ἐκκλησίαν μετὰ τῶν πολλῶν κατὰ Κυριακὴν ἡμέραν ἐφοίτα" καὶ τῶν θείων ἐπαΐων λόγων, καὶ τοῖς διδασκάλοις ὑποτιθεὶς τὰ ὦτα, καὶ τῆς μυστικῆς μεταλαμθάνων τραπέζης, εἰς τὸ καινὸν ἐκεῖνο καταγώγιον ἐπανήει" οὐ κζειδίον ἔχων, οὐ φύλακα καταλιμπάνων' ἄδατον γὰρ ἦν τοῖς χαχούργοιῖς, καὶ παντελῶς ἄσυλον, μόνον ἔχων ἑκεῖνον τὸν φορυτόν. Βίθλον δὲ μίαν παρὰ τῶν συνήθων λαμθάνων, ἀνεγίνωσχεν ἅπασαν " καὶ ταύτην ἀποδιδοὺς πρότερον, οὕτως ἑτέραν ἐλάμδανεν. ᾿Αλλ' ὅμως χλεῖθρα οὐκ ἔχων, οὐδὲ μοχλοῖς χρώμενος, ὑπὸ τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος ἐφρουρεῖτο, Καὶ τοῦτο σαφῶς δι᾽ αὐτῆς τῆς πείρας ἐμάθομεν. "Ὅτε γὰρ τῶν Ἰσαύρων ὁ λόχος νύκτωρ κατέλαθε τὴν ἀκρόπολιν, εἶτα μετὰ τὴν ἕω μέχρις αὐτῆς τῆς ὑπωρείας κατέδραμον, πολλοὺς μὲν ἄνδρας, πολλὰς δὲ γυναῖκας τὸν ἀσχητιχὸν μετιούσας βίον, ἀπηνῶς χατηχόντισαν. Τότε τοίνυν ὁθεῖος οὗτος ἀνὴρ, τῶν ἄλλων θεώμενος τὰς σφαγὰς, εὐχῇ τὰς ἐχείνων κατεμαύρωσεν ὄψεις " καὶ διὰ τῆς θύρας ἰόντες οὐκ ἐθεώρουν τὴν εἴσοδον. Ὡ: δὲ ἔφασκε, μάρτυρα καλῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ τρία οὐ μειράκια ἐναργῶς ἐθεάσατο ἅπαν ἐκεῖνο ἐξελαύνοντα τὸ στίφος, σαφῶς τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν οἰκείαν χάριν ὑποδεικνύντος. ὍὉποῖον μὲν οὖν ἔζη βίον ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἀνὴρ, καὶ οἵας θεόθεν ἀπήλαυσε χάριτος, ἀπόχρη καὶ ταῦτα ᾿ διδάξαι. ᾿Αλλὰ γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον κἀκεῖνο τούτοις προσθεῖναι. Λίαν αὐτὸν ἡνία καὶ ἔδαχνε, τὸ διαμεῖναι τὴν περιουσίαν, καὶ μὴ κατὰ τὸν εὐαγγελικὸν διαπραθῆναί τς καὶ διανεμηθῆναι νόμον. Αἴτιον «ούτου ἦν τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡλικίας τὸ ἄωρον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ κοινὰ ἣν τά τε κτήματα, καὶ τὰ χρήματα, αὐ-᾿ ὃς μὲν καταλαβεῖν τῆς διανομῆς ἕν:εχεν τὴν ἐνεγχοῦσαν οὖκ ἤθελεν " ἑτέρι. δὲ τῆς οὐσία; ἀποξέτθαι τὸ μέρος ἐδεδίει, μὴ πλεονεξίᾳ οἱ ὠνούμενοι κατὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν χρησάμενοι, βλασφημίαις αὐτὸν περιθάλωσι. Τούτους ἐν ἑαυτῷ στρέφων τοὺς λογισμοὺς, πολὺν τὴν ἀπόδοσιν ἀνεθάλλετο χρόνον, ὕστερον δὲ τινι τῶν γνωρίμων ἀποδόμενος ἅπαντα, τὰ μὲν πλεῖστα διένειμε, μεταξὺ δὲ ἀῤῥωστία συμδᾶσα περὶ τῶν λειπομένων; βουλεύσασθαι χατηνάγχασς. Μεταπεμψάμενος τοίνυν τὸν τῆς πόλεω; πρόεδρον (ἣν δὲ ὁ μέγας ᾿Αλέξανδρος), τὸ τῆς εὑσεδείας τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸ ἀρχέτυπον, ἡ ἀχριδὴς τῆς φιλοσοφία; εἰκὼν, «Δεῦρο, ἔφη, ὦ βεία μοι κεφαλὴ, γενοῦ καὶ τῶνδε τῶν χρημάτων ἄριστος οἰκονόμος, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον αὑτὰ δ'ανέμων. σκοπὸν, ὡς ἐκείνῳ τῷ κριτῇ «ὰς εὐθύνας ὑφέξων. Τῶν μὲν γὰρ ἄλλων αὐτουργὸς ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ, καὶ διέδωχα ἧ ἐνόμιζον ἄριστα καὶ πὰ λειπόμενα δὲ παραπλησίως οἰκονομεῖν ἐδουλόμην. Ἐπειδὴ ὃς ἐκ τοῦδε τοῦ βίου μεταθῆναι σὲ τούτων οἰκονόμον χαθίστημι, ἀρχιερέα τε ὄντα, καὶ τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης ἀξίως πολιτενόμενον. » Τὰ μὲν οὖν χρήματα ὡς θείῳ ταμίᾳ παραδέδωκεν᾽ αὐτὸς δὲ οὐ πολὺν ἐπιδιώσας χρόνον, οἷά τις Ὁλυμπιονίχης ἀπὸ τῶν σχαμμάτων ἀπῆρεν, οὐ παρὶ ἀνθρώπων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ ἀγγέλων τὴν εὑφημίαν δεξάμενος. Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τοῦτον πρὸς τὸν Δεσπότην ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ πρεσδεύειν ἀντϊδολήσας, εἰς ### English translation (Claude) Few people know the admirable Zeno, and those who know him cannot admire him as he deserves. He left a very great fortune in his homeland (this was Pontus) and, as he used to say, enjoyed the streams of the great Basil, who lived nearby and watered Cappadocia; and he yielded fruits worthy of that watering. As soon as the emperor Valens was killed, he laid aside the soldier’s belt; he had been enrolled among those who carry the emperor’s letters at speed. From the palace he hurried to one of the tombs (the mountain beside Antioch has many) and lived there alone, cleansing his soul and wiping clean its power of sight, picturing the divine vision, setting the ascents to God in his heart, longing to take wings like a dove and fly up to the divine rest. For this reason he had no bed, no lamp, no book, nothing else at all; he wore old rags, and sandals that likewise needed ties, for the leather of the soles had come apart. He got his necessary food from one acquaintance alone: one loaf, supplied for two or three days. The water he drew himself from far off and carried … Once someone saw him carrying the load and begged him to let him lighten the labor. At first he refused, explaining that he would not bear to take water carried by another. But when he could not persuade him, he gave him the jars (he carried two, one in each hand). When they were inside the door of his courtyard, he poured out the water and sprinkled it about, and ran back to the spring, confirming his words by deed. I too, when I first went up the mountain longing to visit him, saw him holding the jars in his hands. I asked him where the dwelling of the admirable Zeno was. He said he knew of no solitary called by that name. But I … that he was the man … his modesty. When I came inside the door, I saw a mattress made of hay and some other litter spread on the stones, so that those who sat on it would get no … from it. When we had talked at length about philosophy (I asked, and he opened to us what we were seeking) and it was time at last to go home, I begged him to give me the provision of a blessing. He refused, saying that it was right for us to say the prayer; he called himself a layman and named us soldiers, for at that time I happened to be reading the sacred Books to the divine people. When we pleaded our youth and the unripeness of our age (we had only just grown a little down on our cheeks), and swore that we would not come again … if we were now forced to do this, at long last, bent by our pleas, he offered the intercession to God; and he made a long apology for the intercession, saying that he had done it out of love and obedience, for we heard him praying, being close by. Who could admire as he deserves an old man who, at such a height of philosophy, had such modesty of mind (he had then spent forty years in the ascetic life)? What praise could anyone make equal to its greatness? Possessing such wealth of virtue, and living in the utmost poverty, he went to the divine church with the many on the Lord’s day; he listened to the divine words, gave his ears to the teachers, partook of the mystical table, and then returned to that strange dwelling of his. He had no key and left no guard; for it was untouched by thieves and wholly safe, since it held nothing but that litter. He borrowed one book at a time from his acquaintances and read it right through, and returned it before taking another. Yet though he had no lock and used no bolts, he was guarded by grace from above; and we learned this plainly by experience itself. When the band of Isaurians took the citadel by night and then at dawn ran down as far as the foot of the mountain, they cruelly speared many men, and many women who were pursuing the ascetic life. Then this divine man, seeing the slaughter of the others, … by prayer darkened their eyes, and as they went past the door they did not see the entrance. And, as he said, calling the truth to witness, he also plainly saw three young men driving off that whole troop, God clearly displaying his own grace. What life this divine man lived, and what grace he enjoyed from God, these things suffice to show. But it is necessary to add this too. It grieved and stung him greatly that his property remained and had not been sold and distributed according to the law of the Gospel. The cause was the youth of his brothers. Since the estates and the money were held in common, he did not wish to take them himself for the distribution, and he was afraid to sell his share to others, lest the buyers, using greed against his brothers, should surround him with slanders. Turning these thoughts over within himself, he put off the sale for a long time; later he sold everything to one of his acquaintances and distributed most of it. Meanwhile an illness came on and forced him to decide about the rest. So he sent for the president of the city (this was the great Alexander, the archetype of piety and virtue, the exact image of philosophy) and said: ‘Come here, my divine friend, and become the best steward of this money too, distributing it according to the divine purpose, as one who will give account to that Judge. The rest I handled myself and distributed as I thought best, and I wished to manage what remains in the same way. But since I am departing from this life, I appoint you steward of it, since you are a high priest and live worthily of the high priesthood.’ So he handed over the money as to a divine treasurer; and not long after, like an Olympic victor, he departed from the stadium, receiving praise not from men only but also from angels. And I, having begged him too to intercede with the Master for me, … ### Scripture references - Ps 84:5 (83:6 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 55:6 (54:7 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Matt 19:21: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged: lines of Migne's parallel Latin column read as Greek letters are removed by logged corrections; where Greek words were lost or garbled the translation has '…' and nothing is supplied. The last words of the chapter are lost (the text breaks off after 'for me'). - 'Setting the ascents … in his heart' echoes Ps 84:5 (83:6 LXX); 'wings like a dove … rest' echoes Ps 55:6 (54:7 LXX). - 'Reading the sacred Books to the divine people': Theodoret was then a reader (lector) in the church of Antioch. - 'Isaurians': the scan reads Ἰσχύρων; corrected to Ἰσαύρων. Isaurian raids reached the region of Antioch in the early fifth century (date of this raid not stated). - 'The great Alexander' is Alexander, bishop of Antioch (ca. 413–421), here called 'president' (πρόεδρος) of the city and 'high priest'. - 'According to the law of the Gospel' alludes to Matt 19:21. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 12 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/12). ## Life 13 (ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΙΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/12/#p-13 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Macedonius the Barley-eater lives for decades in a pit and huts on the mountains near Antioch, resists ordination, pleads for Antioch after the riot of the statues, works healings, and by his promise obtains the birth of Theodoret himself. ### Greek text Μακεδόνιον δὲ, τὸν ἐπέχλην Κριθοφάγον (ἡ γὰρ τοιάδε τροφὴ ταύτην αὑτῷ τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν ἐπέθηκεν) ( ἴσασι μὲν ἅπαντες, Φοίνικές τε, καὶ Σύροι, καὶ Κθιχες" ἴσασι δὲ καὶ οἱ τούτων ὅμοροί τε καὶ γείτονες " οἱ μὲν αὐτόπται τῶν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς θαυμάτων γενόμενο:, Ὁ τες. Οὐ μηνᾶπαντες ἴσασινᾶπαντα, ἀλλ᾽ οἱ μὲν τοῦτο, οἱ: δὲ ἐκεῖνο μεμαθηκότες, δ᾽ γινώσκουσιν εἰκότως μόνον' θαυμάζξοναιν. Ἐγὼ δὲ, τὰ νατὰ τὴν (θείαν ἐμοὶ κεφαλὴν τῶν πολλῶν ἀχριδέστερον ἐπιστάμενος (πολλὰ: γάρ μοι παρ᾽ αὑτὸν ἱέναι καὶ θαυμάζειν προέτρεπε), διηγήσομαι ὡς ἂν ἕκαστα δύνωμαι. Ταύτην δὲ αὐτῷ τὴν τάξιν τετήρηκα, καὶ μετὰ πολλοὺς αὐτοῦ τὸ: διήγημα τέθεικα, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ δεύτερος τῶν ἄλλων τὴν ἀρετὴν (τοῖς γὰρ ἄκροις καὶ πρώτοις ἐφάμιλλος ἦν), ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι χρόνον βεδιωχὼς ὅτι μάλιστα πλεῖστον, μετ᾽ ἐκείνους ὧν ἐμνήσθην τοῦ βίου τὸ πέρας ἐδέξατο. Οὗτος τοίνων παλαίστραν ἔσχε, καὶ στάδιον, τὸς «τῶν ὁρῶν κορυφὰς, οὐκ ἐφ᾽ ἑνὸς ἱδρυμένος χωρίου, ἀλλὰ νῦν μὲν τούτῳ ἐνδιαιτώμενος, νῦν δὲ εἰς ἐκεῖνο μεταδαίνων. Ἐποίει δὲ τοῦτο, οὐ τὰ χωρία δυσχεραίνων, ἀλλὰ τῶν ὡς αὐτὸν συνιόντων καὶ πάντοθεν συνθεάντων ἀποδιδράσχων τὰ πλήθη. Πέντε δὲ καὶ πετταράχοντα ἔτη τοῦτον διάγων διετέλεσε τὸν τρόπον, οὐ σκηνῇ χρώμενος, οὐ καλύδῃ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ὁρύγματι βαθεῖ τὴν στάσιν ποιούμενος, ὅθεν καὶ Γουθᾶν αὐτόν τινες ἐπωνόμαζον " ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς Σύρας γλώττης εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα τοῦτο μεταφερόμενον.λάκκον σημαίνει τὸ ὄνομα. Μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον πρεσθότη: γενόμενος, εἶξε τοῖς ἱχετεύσυσ:, καὶ χαλύδην ἐπήξατο. Ὕστειον δὲ τῶν γνωρίμων ἀντιδολούντων, καὺ οἰχιδίοις, οὐκ οἰκείοις, ἀλλ᾽ ἀλλοτρίοις ἐχρήσατο. Ὁ Πέντε δὲ καὶ εἴκοσι διατετέλεχεν ἔτη τῇ χαλύδῃ καὶ «τοῖς οἰχιδίοις ἐνδιαιτώμενος. " ὡς συνάγεσθαι λοιπὸν ἑῤδομήχοντα ἕτη τῶν ἀγώνων τὸν χρόνον. Τροφῇ δὲ πτισσομέναις, καὶ μόνῳ ὕδατι δευομέναις. Καὶ ταύτὴν αὐτῷ τὴν τροφὴν ἡ μήτηρ ἡ ἐμὴ, γενομένη συν- Ἥθης, ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἐχορήγησε χρόνον. Καί ποτε πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀῤῥωστοῦσαν ἀφιχόμενο;, μαθὼν ὡς οὐ πείθεται τροφῆς καταλλήλου τῇ νόσῳ μεταλαδεῖν (τὸν ἀσχητιχὸν γὰρ λοιπὸν καὶ αὐτὴ ἢσπάζετο βίον), εἶξαι παρήνει τοῖς ἰατροῖς, καὶ φάρμακον νομίσαι τὴν τοιαύτην τροφήν᾽ οὐδὲ γὰρ τρυφῆς χάριν, ἀλλὰ χρείας προσφέρεται" « Καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ, ἔφη; τετταράχοντα ἔτη ταῖς χριθαῖς, ὡς οἶσθα, χρησάμενος μόναις, ἀσθενείας μοι τῇ προτεραίᾳ γενομένης τινὸς, τὸν σύνοικον ἐκέλευσα ἄρτον βραχὺν αἰτῆῇσαί τε καὶ κομίσασθαι. "Ἔννοια γάρ τίς μοι γέγονεν, ὡς εἰ τεθναίην, εὐθύνας ὑφέξω τοῦ θανάτου παρὰ τῷ δικαίῳ κριτῇ, ὡς τοὺς ἀγῶνας ἐχφυγὼν, καὶ τῆς δουλείας δραπεπεύσας τοὺς πόνους. Δυνατοῦ γὰρ ὄντος τροφῇ βραχείᾳ χωλυθῆναι τὸν θάνατον, καὶ τῷδε τῷ βίῳ προσμεῖναι πονοῦντα καὶ ταλαιπωρούμενον, καὶ τὸν ἐντεῦθεν συνεγεέροντα πλοῦτον, τὴν ἐκ λιμοῦ τελευπὴν τῆς ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ ζωῆς αἱρετωτέραν Δείματος τοίνυν ἐντεῦθεν ἐμφορηθεὶς, καὶ τοῦ λογί σμοῦ τὰς ἀκίδας ἀμδλῦναι θελήσας, αἰτῆσαί τε τὸν ἄρτον ἐκέλευσα, καὶ χομισθέντος μετέλαδον. Καὶ σοὶ τοίνυν παρεγγυῶ, μηκέτι μοι τὰς χριθὰς, ἀλλὰ. τὸν οἱ (Δεῖ δὲ Τοῖ, παῖ! ἄρτον παρέχειν. ν» Ἐκ. τῆς. ἀψευδοῦς τοίνυν ἀκηκόα- (Σ μεν γλώττης, ὡς τεσσαράχοντα ἔτη τὰς χριθὰς τροφὴν ἐποιήσατο. Τὸ μὲν οὖν ἀσχητιχὸν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ φιλόπονον ἱκανὰ καὶ ταῦτα τεχμηριῶσαι" Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ μέγας Φλαθιανὸς τὴν μεγάλην τοῦ Θεοῦ ποέμνην ποιμαίνειν ἐτάχθη, τὴν δὲ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἔμαθεν ἀρετὴν (ἥδετο γὰρ, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἁπάντων ἐφέρετο στόμασιν), ἄγει μὲν αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ ὄρους κορυφῆς, ὡς γραφῆς κατ᾽ αὐτοῦ γενομένης " τῆς δὲ μυστικῆς ἱερουργίας προκειμένης, προσάγει τῷ θυσιαστηοίῳ, καὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἐγχαταλέγει. Ὡς δὲ τέλος ἔλαθεν ἡ λειτουργία, καί τις αὐτῷ τοῦτο μεμήνυχε (πάμπαν γὰρ ἡγνόει τὸ γεγονὸς), τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ἐλοιδορεῖτο καὶ λόγοις ἔθαλλεν ἅπαντας " ὕστερον δὲ πὴν βακτηρίαν λαθὼν (εἰώθει γὰρ σκηριπτόμενος ὃ διὰ τὸ γῆρας βαδίξειν), ἐδίωκεν αὐτόν τε τὸν ἀρχιἐρξα, καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ὅσοι παρῆσαν. Ὑπελάμδανε γὰρ τὴν χειροτονίαν τῆς τοῦ ὄρους αὑτὸν κορυφῆς καὶ τῆς ποθουμένης διαίτης ἀποστερήσειν. ᾿Αλλὰ τότε μὲν αὐτὸν μόλις τινὲς τῶν συνήθων ἀγανακτοῦντα κατέπαυσαν. Ἐπειδὴ ὃξ ὁ τῆς ἑδδομάδος κύκλος, καὶ ἦκε πάλιν τῆς Δεσποτιχῆς ἑορτῆς ἢ Ἁμέρα, αὖθις αὐτὸν ὁ μέγα; Φλαδιανὸς μετεπέμψατο, τῆ; πανηγύρεως κοινωνῆ σαι σφίσι παρακαλῶν. Ὁ δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ἀφικομένους, ε« Οὐκ ἀπόχρη ὑμῖν, ἔφη, τὰ ἤδη γεγενημένα, ἀλλὰ πάλιν με βούλεσθε προδάλλεοθα: πρεσθύτερον; ν Τῶν δὲ λεγόντων, ὡς. πε. τὴν δὲ ἀρχαιότητα καὶ ἁπλότητα τῶν ἡθῶν δι᾽ ἄλλων δη- οὐ δυνατὸν εἴη δὶς τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπιτεθῆναι χειροτονίαν, οὐχ εἶξεν, οὐδὲ ἀφίκετο, ἕως αὐτὸν ὁ χρόνος καὶ οἔ συνήθεις τοῦτο πολλάκις ἐδίδαξαν. Οἴδαμεν οὖν ὡς οὐ πολλοῖς τοῦτο ἀξιάγαστον εἶναι τὸ διήγημα δόξει" τέθεικα δὲ αὐτὸ, ἀξιομνημόνευτον εἶναι νομίζων, ὡς ἱκανὸν τεχμηριῶσαι καὶ διανοίας ἀπλότητα καὶ ψυχῆς καθαρότητα. Τοῖς τοιούτοις γὰρ ὁ Δεσπότης τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν ὑπέσχετο βασιλείαν -“ « ᾿Αμὴν γὰρ, ἔφτ, λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ στραφῆτε καὶ γένησθε ὡς τὰ παιδία, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν.» Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἐν κεφαλαίῳ καὶ τὸν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐδείξαμεν χαρακτῆρα, φέρε καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς αὐτοῦ δείξωμεν παῤῥησίαν. Στρατηγός τις κυνηγεσίοις καίρων θηρεύσων εἷς τὸ ὄρος ἀνῆλθεν᾽ εἴποντο ὃὲ ἀὐτῷ καὶ κύνες, καὶ στρατιῶται, καὶ ὅσα εἰς θήραν ἐστὶν ἐπιτήδεια. Ὡς δὲ πόῤῥωθεν εἶδε τὸν ἄνδρα, χάἀὶ παρὰ τῶν συνόντων ἔμαθεν ὅστις εἴη, εὐθὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἵππου χαταπηδήσας, προσῇλθέ τε καὶ προσεῖπε, καὶ ἤρετο τί ποιῶν ἐνταῦθα διάγει. Ὁ δὲ ἀντέρετο" « Σὺ δὲ τί ποιήσων ἐνταῦθα ἀνελήλυθας; Εἰρηκότος δὲ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ ὅτι θηρεῦσαι" ε Κἀγὼ, ἔφη, τὸν ἐμὸν θηρεύω θεὸν, καὶ λαδεὶν ἐφίεμαι, καὶ θεωρῆσαι ποθῶ, καὶ τῆς καλῆς ταύτης οὐκ ἀψέξομαι θήρας. » Τούτων ἀκούσας ὁ στρατηγὸς, καὶ θαυμάσας, ὡς εἰκὸς, ἀπελήλυθεν. ΓΑλλοτε δὲ, τῆς πόλεως ᾽ ὑπό τινος πονηροῦ δαίμονος βαχχευθείσης, καὶ τῇ μανίᾳ κατὰ τῶν βασιλικῶν χρησαμένης στηλῶν, ἀφίχοντο μὲν οἔ ἄριστο: τῶν στρατηγῶν, πανωλεθρίας ψῆφον κατὰ τῆς πόλεως φέροντες. Καταδὰς δὲ οὗτος ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους, ἄγφω κατέσχε κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν παριόντας τοὺς στρατηγούς. Οἱ δὲ τίς εἴη μεμαθηκότες, χατεπίδησάν τε ἀπὸ τῶν ἵππων, καὶ χειρῶν ἥπτοντο, καὶ γονάτων, καὶ σωτηρίαν ἐπήγγελλον. Ὁ δὲ φάναι τῷ βασιλεῖ παρηγγύα, ὅτι ἄνθρωπος εἴη, καὶ τὴν αὑτὴν ἔχει φύσιν τοῖς ὑδριχόσι, καὶ τῇ φύσει μετρεῖν τὴν ὀργὴν δέον, ἀμέτρῳ κέχρηται τῷ θυμῷ, καὶ τῶν εἰκόνων εἴνεκα τῶν οἰκείων τὰς θείας εἰκόνας σφαγὴ παραδίδωσι, καὶ ἀντὶ χαλκῶν στηλῶν, σώματα παραπέμπει θανάτῳ. ε Καὶ ἡμῖν μὲν, ἔφη, τὰς χαλκᾶς ἀναπλάσαι καὶ ἀναμορφῶσαι ῥάδιόν τε γαὶ εὐπετές " σοὶ δὲ καὶ βασιλεῖ ὄντι ἀδύνατον τὰ χατασφαγέντα σώματα ἐπαναγαγεῖν εἰς ζωήν. Καὶ τί λέγω σώματα; Οὔτε γὰρ τρίχα μίαν σοι δυνατὸν Ὦ ἀναπλάσαι. » Ταῦτα τῇ γλώττῃ " οἱ δὲ τοῦ ἑρμηνέως εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα φωνὴν πορθμεύειν αὐτὰ ἐπηγγέλλοντο τῷ βασιλεῖ. Ἐγὼ δὲ νομίζω πάντας ἂν ὁμολογῆσαι τῆς τοῦ θείου Πνεύμᾶτος εἶναι ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα χάριτος. Πῶς γὰρ ἂν ἄλλως ταῦτα ἐφθέγξατο ἀνὴρ παιδείας μὲν ἁπάσης ἀμύητος, ἐν ἀγροικίᾳ δὲ τεθραμμένος, ταῖς δὲ τῶν ὁρῶν ἐνδιαιτώμενος κορυφαῖς, ἀπλότητα δὲ πᾶσαν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ περιφέρων, καὶ οὐδὲ τοῖς θείοις λογίοις ἐσχολαχώς; Τοιγαροῦν καὶ τὴν πνευματικὴν σοφίαν οὗν δηλώσας, καὶ τὴν δικαίῳ πρέπουσαν παῤῥησίαν Α (δίκαιος γὰρ ὡς λέων πέποιθεν) " ἐπὶ τὰ θαύματα με- Γυνὴ τις τῶν εὐπόρων τινὸς, ἀδδηφαγίας περιέπεσε πάθει" καὶ οἱ μὲν δαίμονος ἐκάλουν τὸ πάθος ἐνέργειαν,οἱ δὲ σώματος ἀῤῥωστίαν ἐνόμιξον. Εἴτε δὲ τοῦτο, εἴτε ἐκεῖνο ἦν, τοιόνδε ἦν " τριάκοντα αὐτὴν ἔλεγον τῆς ἡμέρας ὄρνεις ἐσθίουσαν, μὴ σδεννύναι τὴν ἔφεσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι ἑτέρων ὀρέγεσθαι. Οὕτω τοίνυν εἰς αὐτὴν ἥκοντες, τὸν θεῖον ἐκεῖνον ἱκέτευον ἄνθρωπον. Ὁ δὲ ἀφίκετο μὲν καὶ προσηύξατο, καὶ ὕδατι τὴν δεξιὰν ἐπιθεὶ;, καὶ τὴν σωτήριον ἐντυπώσας σφραγῖδα, καὶ πιεῖν κελεύσας, τὸ πάθος ἰάσατο" καὶ οὕτω σφόδρα ἤμθδλυνε τὴν τῆς ὀρέξεως ἀμετρίαν, ὡς εἰς τὸν ἔπειτα Βαΐ : οἱ μος δν᾽ ἀ δι επὶ (τμῃ δἷς ἀἷοἱ πιοῦἰτὰ χρόνον βραχύ τι μόριον ὄρνιθος καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν Β ἀϊᾳ5 εχίφυια θα] πα ρατγιίουϊα βυπίσενε!, Ἐλ "ἷς τὴν τῆς τροφῆς αὐτῇ χρείαν πληροῦν. Τοῦτο μὲν τὸ πάθος τοιαύτην θεραπείαν ἐδέξατο. Κόρης δέ τινος ἔτι θαλαμευομένης, καὶ πονηροῦ δαίμονος ἐξαπιναίως δεξαμένης ἐνέργειαν, ἔδραμεν ὁ πατὴρ πρὸς τὸν θεῖον ἄνθρωπον, ἀντιδολῶν καὶ ποτνιώμενος, καὶ τυχεῖν ἰάσεως παρακαλῶν τὸ θυγάτριον. Ὃ δὲ προσευξάμανος ἐχέλευσεν ἀπαλλαγῆναι παραυτίκα τῆς κόρης τὸν δαίμονα. Ὁ δὲ ἔφασκε, μὴ ἐχὼν ὑπεισδύναι, ἀλλὰ μαγγανείᾳ βιασθῆναι γοητευτιχῇ " ἔλεγε δὲ καὶ τὴν τοῦ βιασαμένου προσηγορίαν, καὶ ἔρωτα εἶναι τὴν τῆς γοητείας αἰτίαν. ᾿Αλλὰ τούτων ἀκούσας, οὐκ ἥνεγκεν ὁ πατὴρ τὴν τοῦ. θυμοῦ προσθολὴν, οὐδὲ τὴν τῆς παιδὸς θεραπείαν ἀνέμεινεν " ἀλλὰ τὸν τῶν μειζόνων ἀρχόντων καταλαδὼν ἄρχοντα, τῶν πλειόνων ἐθνῶν προστατεύοντα, γράφεται τὸν ἄνθρωπον; ς καὶ διηγεῖται τὸ δρᾶμα. Ὃ δὲ ἀγώγιμος γεγονὼς ἡρνεῖτο, καὶ συκοφάντίαν ὠνόμαζε τὴν γραφήν. Ὁ δὲ μάρτυρα ἐκάλει οὐκ ἕτερον, ἀλλὰ τὸν τῇ γοητείᾳ διαχονήσαντα δαίμονα, καὶ τὸν δικαστὴν ἱκέτευε, παρὰ τὸν θεῖον ἐκεῖνον δραμεῖν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ δαίμονος δέξασθαι μαρτυρίαν. Τοῦ δὲ λέγοντος, οὐκ ἔννομον εἶναι, οὐδὲ μὴν ὅσιον, ἐν ἀσκητιχῷ χωρίῳ. γενέσθαι τὴν βάσανον, ἄξειν εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον ὁ τῆς κόρης πατὴρ τὸν θεῖον ὑπέσχετο Μακεδόνιον " καὶ δραμὼν ἔπεισέ τε καὶ ἤγαγεν. Ἔξωθεν δὲ τοῦ ἀρχείου ὁ δικαστὴς, οὐκὶ δικαστὴς ἐγένετο, ἀλλὰ θεατής" τὰ δικαστῶν γὰρ ὁ μέγας Μακεδόνιος ἔδρα, τῇ ἐνοιχούσῃ δυνάμει χρώμενος, καὶ τῷ δαίμονι παραχελευόμε- ἀνος, τὸ μὲν σύνηθες ψεῦδος ἐᾷν, σὺν ἀληθείᾳ δὲ πᾶ- σαν τοῦ δράματος διηγεῖσθαι τὴν τραγῳδίαν. Ὃ δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς μεγίστης ἀνάγκης ὠθούμενος, καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ τὴν παιδίσκην, δι᾽ ἧς ὁ χυχεὼν ἐκεῖνος προσηνέχθη τῇ κόρῃ ὡς δὲ καὶ ἕτερα λέγειν ἠπείγετο, ἃ ὑπ᾽ ἄλλων τινῶν βιασθεὶς ἐδεδράχει, τοῦ μὲν ἐμπρῆσας τὴν οἰκίαν, τοῦ δὲ τὰ κτήνη διαφθείρας, τοῦ δὲ ἄλλο τι λυμηνάμενος, σιγὴν ἄγειν ἐκέλευσεν ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ παραυτίκα πόῤῥω που καὶ τῆς κόρης καὶ τοῦ ἄστεος γίνεσθαι. Ὁ δὲ, ὡς Δεσποτιχῷ πειθόμενος νόμῳ, τὸ κελευσθὲν ἐποίει, καὶ εὐθὺς ἐδραπέτενεν. Οὕτω δὲ ταύτην ὁ θεῖο; ἐκεῖνος ἄνθρωπος τῆς μανίας ἐλευθερώσας, καὶ τὸν δείλαιον ἐκεῖνὸν ἑξήρπασε τῆς γραφῆς, καὶ τοῦ δικαστοῦ τῷ ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τὴν διὰ μετανοίας αὐτῷ σωτηρίαν σχεθείσης αὐτῷ θείας δυνάμεως δεῖξαι περιουσίαν. λαττομένη τοῦ πάθους, τὸν θεῖον ἐπεγίνωσχεν ἄνδρα, Α θανατηφόρον ἐκώλυσε ψῆφον, οὐκ ὅσιον εἶναι τέ τα, τοῖς δι᾽ αὐτοῦ γενομένοις ἐλέγχοις ἐπιτεθῆναι χορηγηθῆναι. ᾿Απόχρη μὲν οὖν καὶ ταῦτα τῆς παρα- Ἐγὼ δὲ ὅμως καὶ ἕτερα διηγήσομαι, Τῶν εὐπατριδῶν τις γυνὴ, καὶ. λίαν εὐπορωτάτων (Ἄστριον "5 δὲ αὐτὴν προσηγόρενον), ἕξω μὲν τῶν φρεγῶν ἐγεγόνει, ἐπεγίνωσχε δὲ τῶν οἰκείων οὐδένα, σιτίων δὲ ἢ ποτῶν μεταλαδεῖν οὐκ ἠνέσχετο" παραπαίουσα δὲ ἐπιπλεῖστον διετέλεσε χρόνον, καὶ τοῦτο οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι δαίμονος ἐκάλουν ἐνέργειαν, οἱ δὲ ἰατροὶ ποῦ ἐγκεφάλου προσηγόρενον νόσημα. Πάδης τοίνυν δαπανηθείσης τῆς τέχνης, καὶ μηδεμιᾶς ἐκεῖθεν χουρίας προσγενομένης, ὁ ταύτης ἀνὴρ (Αὐοδιανὸς δὲ οὗτος ἦν), ἀνὴρ τῶν ἐν τέλει καὶ ἀξιώματι, παρὰ Β τὴν θείαν ἐκείνην δραμὼν κεφαλῆν, καὶ τῆς ὁμοτύγου διηγεῖτο τὸ πάθος, καὶ τυχεῖν τῆς θεραπείας ἐκέτευεν. Εἶξεν ὁ θεσπέσιος ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τὴν οἱκίαν κχατέλαθδε, καὶ σπουδαίαν τῷ Θεῷ τὴν ἱκεσίαν προσήνεγκε. Τὴν δὲ προσευχὴν συμπεράνας, καὶ ὕδωρ κομισθῆναι κελεύσας, καὶ τὴν σωτήριον ἐντυπώσας σφραγῖδα, πιεῖν αὑτῇ παρηγγύησε. Τῶν δὲ ἰατρῶν ἀπαγορευόντων, ὡς τῇ ψυχροποσίᾳ αὖξησιν δεχομένου τοῦ πάθους, πᾶσαν ἐχείνων τὴν συμμορίαν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἀπωσάμενος, τῇ γυναικὶ τὸ πόμα προσέφερεν. Ἢ δὲ ἔπινέ τε ἅμα, καὶ εἰς ἑαυτὴν ἐπανήει καὶ φρενήρης ἐγίνετο᾽ καὶ πάμπαν ἀπαὶκαὶ τὴν δεξιὰν λαθεῖν ἱκέτευε, καὶ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς. ἐπετίθει, καὶ τῷ στόματι προσέφερε" καὶ εἰς τὸν ἔπειτα διέμεινε χρόνον φρεσὶν ἐῤῥωμέναις χρωρϑϑίοῦ ἝἩἩΝνίχα δὲ τὴν ὄρειον πολιτείαν ἢσπάζετο, ποιμήν εἰς ἐκεῖνο τὸ χωρίον ἀφίκετο, ἔνθα ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος ἦν. Νὺξ δὲ ἦν βαθεῖα, καὶ νἱφετὸς κατήει πολὺς, καὶ εἶδεν, ὡς ἔφησε, πυρὰν περὶ αὐτὸν ἀπτομένην, καὶ δύο τινὰς λευχειμονοῦντας, ὕλην τῷ πυρὶ χορηγοῦντας. Τὴν γὰρ προθυμίαν εἰσφέρων, τῆς θείας ἐπικουρίας ἀπἤλαυνε. Καὶ προφητικοῦ δὲ μετειλήφει Καί ποτε πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφικόμενος στρατηγὸς, εὖσεθείᾳ λαμπρυνόμενος (τίς δὲ ἀγνοεῖ Λουπιχίνου " τὴν ἀρετήν), φροντίξειν ἔλεγε, περί τινων ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλενούσης πόλεως διὰ τῆς θαλάσσης αὐτῷ τὰ ἐπιτής θέναι ἡμέρας, ἐξ οὗ τοῦ λιμένος ἀνήχθησαν, οὐδεμίαν δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν δέξασθαι φήμην. Ὁ δὲ μηδὲν Ὁ μελλήσας, « Τὸ ἕν, ἔφη, σκάφος. ὦ φίλος, ἀπόλωλε" τὸ ἕτερον δὲ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ τὸν Σελευχείας ψεται λιμένα.» Καὶ τοῦτο ἤκουσε μὲν τῆς θείας ἐκείνης ἐπιφθεγξαμένης γλώττης, ἔμαθε δὲ τῇ πείρᾳ τὴν τῶν λόγων ἀλήθειαν. Ἵνα δὲ τὰ ἄλλα χαταλίπω, τὸ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς διηγήσομαι. Τριακαίδεκα ἔτη συνοικήσασα τῷ ἐμῷ παιρὶ ἡ μήτηρ παίδων οὐκ ἐγένετο μήτηρ᾽ στεριφὴ γὰρ ἦν, φέρειν καρπὸν ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως εἰργομένη " καὶ τοῦτο τὴν μὲν οὐ λίαν ἡνία" τὰ γὰρ θεῖα πεπαιδευμένη τοῦτο συμφέρον ἐπίστευεν - ἐλύπει δὲ τὸν πατέρα λίαν ἡ ἀπαιδία, καὶ πάντοσε ἱκέτευε, τοὺς θείους θεράποντας αἰτῆταί οἱ 'παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ παῖδας. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἄλλοι καὶ προσεύχεσθαι ὑπισχνοῦντο, καὶ στέργειν αὑτὸν τὸ θεῖον βούλημα παρηγγύων. Ὁ δὲ θεῖος οὗτος ἄνθρωπος, διαῤῥήδην αἴτησιν ἐπηγγείλετο, καὶ υἱὸν ἕνα παρὰ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων Δημιουργοῦ λέψεσθαι ὑπισχνεῖτο. Τριῶν τοίνυν διελθόντων ἐνιαυτῶν, καὶ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τὸ τέλος οὐ δεξαμένης, πάλιν ἔτρεχεν ὁ πατὴρ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν ἀπαιτῶν. Ὃ δὲ πεμφθῆναι αὐτῷ προσέταττε τὴν ὀμόξυγον " ἀφιχομένης δὲ τῆς μητρὸς, ἔλεγεν ὁ θεῖος ἀνὴρ, ὡς καὶ αἰτήσει, καὶ λήψεται τὸ παιδίον, καὶ ὡς προσήκει τοῦτο τῷ δεδωκότι ἀντιδοθῆναι. Τῆς δὲ μητρὺς σωτηρίαν ψυχῆς μόνην ἀντιθολούσης καὶ τὴν τῆς γεέννης ἀπαλλαγήν’ « Πρὸς τούτῳ, ἔφη, καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ὁ μεγαλύδωρος δώσει. Τοῖς γὰρ εἰλικρινῶς αἰτοῦσι διπλᾶς τὰς αἰτήσεις χαρίζεται.» Ἐπανἧχεν ἐκεῖθεν ἡ μήτηρ, τὴν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας εὐλογίαν χομίζουσα ᾿ καὶ τῷ τετάρτῳ τῆς ὑποσχέσεως ἐνιχυτῷ κύει, καὶ τὴν γαστέρα φορτίξεται, καὶ πρὸς τὸν θεῖον ἄνθρωπον παραγίνεται, τῶν τῆς εὐλογίας σπερμάτων ὑποδειχνῦσα τὰ δράγματα. Τῷ δὲ πέμπτῳ μηνὶ τῆς κυήσεως ἀμθλώσεως ἐπεγένετο κίνδυνος. Ἢ δὲ πάλιν πρὸς τὸν νέον αὐτῆς Ἐλισσαῖον ἀπἐστειλε (δραμεῖν γὰρ αὐτὴν τὸ πάθος ἐκώλυε), καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἐδούλετο παίδων γενέσθαι μήτηρ ἀνέμνησε, καὶ τὰς αὐτοῦ ὑποσχέσεις εἰς μέσον παρήγαγεν. Ὁ δὲ πόῤῥωθεν τὸν ἀφικόμενον θεασάμενος ἐπέγνω τε, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐγνώρισε " νύκτωρ γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ τὸ πάθος, καὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν ὁ Δεσπότης δεδήλωκε. Λαδὼν τοίνυν τὴν βακτηρίαν, ἀφίκετο σχηριπτόμενος, (, καὶ τῆς οἰκίας εἴσω γενόμενος, καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης, ὡς, εἰώθει, τὸ πρόσρημα δεδωκὼς, « θάρσει, ἔφη, καὶ μὴ δείσης " οὐ γὰρ ἀφαιρήσεται τὸ δῶρον ὁ δεδωκὼς, εἰ μὴ σὺ τὰς γεγενημένας παραδαχίης συνθήκας. Ὑπέσχου δὲ ἀντιδώσειν τὸ δοθησόμενον, καὶ εἰς τὴν θείαν αὐτὸ θεραπείαν χαθοσιώσειν. --- Οὕτως, ἔφη ἡ μήτηρ, καὶ ἐγὼ τεκεῖν βούλομαί τε καὶ εὔχομαι. Τῆς γὰρ ἀλλοίας τοῦ παιδίου τροφῆς αἱρετώτερον ἡγοῦμαι τὸν ἀτέλεστον τόκον. --- Πίε τοίνυν, ἔφη ὁ θεῖος ἄνθρωπος, τόδε τὸ ὕδωρ, καὶ τῆς θείας ἐπικουρία: αἰσθήσῃ. » Ἔπιε τοιγαροῦν ὡς προσέταξε, καὶ ὁ τῆς ἀμόλώσεως ἑἐδραπέτενσε κίνδυνος. Τοσαῦτα «οὔ ἡμετέρον Ἐλισσαίου τὰ θαύματα. Τῆς τούτον ὃὲ εὐλογίας πολλάκις ἐγὼ καὶ διδασκαλίας ἀπήλαυσα. Ξιαραινῶν γάρ μοι πολλάκις ἔλεγε" ε Μετὰ πολλῶν, Ὁ ὦ παιδίον, γεγέννησαι πόνων ᾿ πολλὰς διετέλεσα νύκτας τοῦτο μόνον τὸν Θεὸν ἰκετεύων, ὥστε σου ποὺς γονέας τοῦτο γενέσθαι, ὃ μετὰ τὴν γέννησιν ὠνομάσθησαν. ᾿Αξίως τοίνυν πολιτεύου τῶν πόνων. Πρὸ ὠδίνων ἀνετέθης ταῖς ὑποσχέσεσι " τὰ δὲ τοῦ τοῖς πολλοῖς, Προσήκει τοίνυν καὶ σὲ, τὰ μὲν φαῦλα τῆς ψυχῆς κινήματα μὴ προσδέχεσθαι" ἐκεῖνα δὲ μένα καὶ δρᾷν καὶ λέγειν καὶ ἐνθυμεῖσθαι, ἃ τὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς νομοθέτην θεραπεύει Θεόν.» Τοιαῦτά μοι παραινῶν ἀεὶ διετέλεσεν ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος. Ἐγὼ ὃὲ καὶ τῶν λόγων μέμνημαι, καὶ τὴν θείαν δεδίδαγμαι δωρεάν. Ἔργοις δὲ μὴ δεικνὺς τὴν παραίνεσιν, ἱχετεύω τῆς θείας ῥοπῆς διὰ τῆς ἐχείνου τυχεῖν οἷα πρόπευχῆς, καὶ τὸ λειπόμενον τῆς ζωῆς κατὰ τὰς ὑποθήκας τὰς ἐχείνου ἐπιδ'ὥναι. Ὅποϊος μὲν οὖν ἐκεῖνος ἦν, καὶ οἵοις χρησάμενος πόνοις τὴν θείαν ἐπέσπάσατο χάριν, ἱκανὰ καὶ ταῦτα διδάξαι. Ἐδέξατο δὲ ὅμως καὶ κατὰ τόνδε τὸν βίον ἡ “πελευτὴ τῶν ᾿ πόνων ἀξίαν τιμὴν. ἽΛπαντες γὰρ καὶ πολῖται, καὶ ξένοι, καὶ οἱ τὰς μεγάλας ἀρχὰς οἰκονομεῖν πεπιστευμένοι, τὴν ἱερὰν ἐκείνην ἐπὶ τῶν ὥμων φέροντες κλίνην, εἰς τὸν τῶν νιχηφόρων μαρτύρων σηχὰν ἀπεχόμισαν, καὶ μετὰ τῶν θείων ἐχείνων ἀνδρῶν, ᾿Αφραάτον καὶ Θεοδοσίου, τὸ ἅγιον ἐκεῖνο καὶ θεοφιλὲς χατέθρηχαν σῶμα. Τὸ δὲ κλέος ἔμεινεν ἄσθεστον, καὶ οὐδεὶς τοῦτο χρόνο: ἀφανίσαι δυνήσεται. Ἡμεῖς δὲ τέλος ἐπιθέντες τῷ διηγήματι, τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς δι. ### English translation (Claude) Macedonius, surnamed the Barley-eater (this food gave him the name), is known to everyone, Phoenicians, Syrians and Cilicians; and their neighbours and borderers know him too, some having been eyewitnesses of the man’s wonders, others … Not all know everything; some have learned this, others that, and naturally they admire only what they know. But I, who know the story of that divine head more exactly than most (for he often urged me to come to him and to admire), will tell each thing as best I can. I have kept this place for him and set his story after many others, not because he was second to the others in virtue (he rivalled the foremost and highest), but because he lived a very long time and reached the end of his life after those I have mentioned. He had the mountain peaks for his wrestling-school and stadium, not settled in one place, but living now in this one and now moving to that. He did this not because he disliked the places, but to run away from the crowds who came to him and gathered from every side. He continued in this way for forty-five years, using no tent and no hut, but making his station in a deep pit; and so some called him Gubba, a name which, rendered from the Syrian tongue into Greek, means ‘pit’. After that time, when he had become an old man, he yielded to those who begged him and set up a hut. Later, when his acquaintances pleaded, he also used small houses, not his own but other people’s. He spent twenty-five years living in the hut and the small houses, so that the time of his contests came in all to seventy years. His food was [barley], crushed and moistened only with water. And my mother, who had come to know him, supplied him with this food for a very long time. Once he came to her when she was ill, and learning that she would not consent to take food suited to her sickness (for she too had by then embraced the ascetic life), he urged her to yield to the doctors and to regard such food as medicine, since it is taken not for luxury but for need. ‘For I too,’ he said, ‘who have eaten nothing but barley for forty years, as you know, when some weakness came on me the day before yesterday, told my companion to ask for a little bread and bring it. A thought had come to me that if I died, I would give account for my death before the righteous Judge, as one who had fled the contests and run away from the labours of service. For when death could be prevented by a little food, and I could stay in this life toiling and suffering and gathering the wealth that comes from it, I would have chosen death from hunger over life in philosophy. Filled with fear by this, and wishing to blunt the barbs of that thought, I had the bread asked for, and when it was brought I partook of it. So I charge you too: give me no more barley, but bread …’ We heard, then, from that truthful tongue that he made barley his food for forty years. These things are enough to show the man’s asceticism and love of labour; the old-fashioned simplicity of his ways I will show by other stories. When the great Flavian was appointed to shepherd the great flock of God and learned of the man’s virtue (it was sung of, and was on everyone’s lips), he brought him down from the mountain peak as though a charge had been laid against him; and while the mystical rite was in progress, he brought him to the altar and enrolled him among the priests. When the liturgy had ended and someone told him what had happened (for he had been entirely unaware of it), at first he railed and pelted everyone with words; then, taking his staff (for because of his age he used to walk leaning on it), he chased the high priest himself and all the others who were present. For he supposed that the ordination would deprive him of the mountain peak and of the way of life he loved. That time some of his acquaintances barely calmed his anger. But when the cycle of the week had come round and the day of the Master’s feast had come again, the great Flavian sent for him once more, inviting him to share the festival with them. He said to those who came: ‘Is what has already been done not enough for you? Do you want to make me a presbyter again?’ When they said that the same ordination could not be conferred twice, … he did not yield, nor did he come, until time and his acquaintances had taught him this over and over. I know that this story will not seem admirable to many; but I have included it, thinking it worth recording, since it is enough to show his simplicity of mind and purity of soul. To such the Master promised the kingdom of heaven: ‘Truly, I tell you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’ Now that we have shown the character of his soul in summary, let us also show the boldness that came from his virtue. A general who delighted in hunting went up the mountain to hunt; dogs followed him, and soldiers, and everything needed for the chase. When he saw the man from a distance and learned from his companions who he was, he at once jumped down from his horse, approached and greeted him, and asked what he was doing living there. He asked in return: ‘And what have you come up here to do?’ When the general said, ‘To hunt’, he said: ‘I too am hunting my God; I long to catch him, I yearn to see him, and I will not give up this fine hunt.’ Hearing this, the general marvelled, as was natural, and went away. Another time, when the city had been driven into a frenzy by some wicked demon and in its madness had turned against the emperor’s statues, the foremost of the generals arrived, bringing a sentence of total destruction against the city. This man came down from the mountain and stopped the generals as they passed through the market-place. When they learned who he was, they jumped down from their horses, clasped his hands and knees, and promised safety. He bade them tell the emperor that he was a man and had the same nature as those who had insulted him; that, though he ought to measure his anger by that nature, he had given way to anger without measure, and for the sake of his own images was handing over the divine images to slaughter, and in exchange for bronze statues was sending bodies to death. ‘For us,’ he said, ‘to recast and reshape the bronze ones is easy and simple; but for you, even though you are emperor, it is impossible to bring the slaughtered bodies back to life. And why do I say bodies? You cannot even fashion a single hair.’ He said this in the Syrian tongue; and those who conveyed it through an interpreter into the Greek language promised to report it to the emperor. I think that all would agree these words came from the grace of the divine Spirit. How else could such things have been uttered by a man uninitiated in all learning, brought up in the countryside, living on the mountain peaks, carrying complete simplicity in his soul, and not even a student of the divine oracles? Having shown, then, his spiritual wisdom … and the boldness that befits the righteous (for ‘the righteous is confident as a lion’), [I turn] to his wonders. The wife of a wealthy man fell into a disease of gluttony. Some called the disease the working of a demon, others thought it a sickness of the body. Whether it was this or that, it was like this: they said that she ate thirty birds a day without quenching her desire, but still craved others. Matters having come to this, they begged that divine man. He came and prayed, laid his right hand on water, imprinted on it the saving seal, told her to drink, and healed the disease; and he blunted the excess of her appetite so thoroughly that for the rest of her life a small portion of a bird each day was enough to meet her need of food. That disease received such a cure. A girl still kept in the women’s chamber suddenly received the working of a wicked demon, and her father ran to the divine man, pleading and imploring, and begging that his little daughter be healed. He prayed and ordered the demon to leave the girl at once. The demon said that it had not entered willingly but had been forced by magical sorcery; it also told the name of the one who had forced it, and said that love was the cause of the sorcery. When the father heard this, he could not bear the onset of his anger, nor did he wait for his daughter’s cure; he went to the governor who ruled over the greater governors and presided over many peoples, indicted the man, and told the story. The man, brought to court, denied it and called the charge a slander. The father called as witness no other than the demon that had served the sorcery, and begged the judge to go to that divine man and receive the demon’s testimony. When the judge said that it was neither lawful nor holy to hold an interrogation in an ascetic’s dwelling, the girl’s father promised to bring the divine Macedonius to the court; and he ran, persuaded him, and brought him. Outside the court the judge became not a judge but a spectator; for the great Macedonius did the judges’ work, using the power that dwelt in him and commanding the demon to drop its habitual lying and tell the whole tragedy of the affair truthfully. Driven by the greatest necessity, it [named] the man and the maidservant through whom that potion had been given to the girl. And when it hastened to tell other things too, which it had done under compulsion from others (burning one man’s house, destroying another’s cattle, harming another in some other way), the man of God ordered it to be silent and to go at once far away from both the girl and the city. As though obeying the Master’s law, it did what it was told and at once fled. So that divine man freed the girl from her madness, and also snatched that wretch from the charge: he prevented the judge’s death sentence, saying that it was not holy … to lay [punishment] on him on the strength of proofs that had come through himself, but rather that salvation through repentance should be granted him. These things are enough to show the abundance of the divine power given to him. But I will tell other things as well. A woman of a noble and very wealthy family (they called her Astria) went out of her mind; she recognised none of her household and would not consent to take food or drink. She remained deranged for a very long time; the others called it the working of a demon, the doctors a disease of the brain. When all their art had been spent and no help had come from it, her husband (this was Aurelian, a man in high office and rank) ran to that divine head, told him of his wife’s illness, and begged that she be cured. The godly man yielded, came to the house, and offered earnest supplication to God. When he had finished the prayer, he had water brought, imprinted on it the saving seal, and told her to drink. The doctors forbade it, saying that the disease would grow worse from cold drink; but her husband thrust aside their whole company and offered the drink to his wife. She drank, and at once came to herself and was in her right mind; and, entirely freed from the disease, she recognised the divine man, begged to take his right hand, laid it on her eyes and brought it to her lips; and for the rest of her life she continued sound of mind … When he was embracing the mountain life, a shepherd came to the place where the man of God was. It was deep night and heavy snow was falling; and he saw, as he said, a fire burning around him and two men in white supplying wood to the fire. For in offering his zeal, he enjoyed divine help. He also had a share in the prophetic [gift] … Once a general came to him, distinguished for piety (who does not know the virtue of Lupicinus?), and said he was anxious about certain things that were being sent to him by sea from the imperial city … days since they had sailed from the harbour, and he had received no news of them. Without delay he said: ‘One ship, my friend, has been lost; the other will reach the harbour of Seleucia tomorrow.’ He heard this spoken by that divine tongue, and learned the truth of the words by experience. To pass over the rest, I will tell what concerns us ourselves. For thirteen years my mother lived with my father without becoming a mother of children; she was barren, prevented by nature from bearing fruit. This did not much grieve her, for, being instructed in divine things, she believed that it was to her advantage; but the childlessness grieved my father greatly, and he went everywhere … begging the servants of God to ask children for him from God. The others promised to pray and urged him to accept the divine will. But this divine man openly promised the request, and undertook that he would receive one son from the Creator of all things. When three years had passed and the promise had not been fulfilled, my father ran again to claim what had been promised. He told him to send his wife; and when my mother came, the divine man said that he would ask and she would receive the child, and that it was fitting to give it back to the Giver. When my mother asked only for the salvation of her soul and deliverance from Gehenna, he said: ‘Besides this, the bountiful Giver will also give the son; for to those who ask sincerely he grants their requests twice over.’ My mother came back from there bearing the blessing of the promise; and in the fourth year after the promise she conceived, her womb was laden, and she came to the divine man to show him the sheaves of the seeds of the blessing. In the fifth month of the pregnancy there was danger of a miscarriage. She sent again to her new Elisha (her condition kept her from running to him herself), reminded him that she had not wished to become a mother of children, and brought forward his promises. He saw the messenger from a distance, recognised him, and knew the reason; for the Master had shown him by night both the danger and the deliverance. So, taking his staff, he came leaning on it, and when he was inside the house and had given the greeting of peace, as he used to, he said: ‘Take courage and do not fear; the Giver will not take back the gift, unless you break the agreement that was made. You promised to give back what would be given and to dedicate it to divine service.’ ‘So be it,’ said my mother; ‘I wish and pray to give birth; for I count a birth that is never completed more desirable than a different upbringing for the child.’ ‘Then drink this water,’ said the divine man, ‘and you will feel the divine help.’ She drank as he had commanded, and the danger of miscarriage fled. Such are the wonders of our Elisha. I often enjoyed his blessing and his teaching. Exhorting me, he would often say: ‘My child, you were born with many labours; I spent many nights begging God for this alone, that your parents might become what they were called after your birth. So live worthily of those labours. Before the birth pangs you were dedicated by promises; … to the many. So it befits you not to admit the base movements of the soul, but to do, say and think only those things that serve God, the lawgiver of virtue.’ Such counsel the man of God gave me continually. I remember his words and have been taught the divine gift; but though I do not show the counsel in deeds, I beg to obtain the divine help through his prayer, and to spend the rest of my life according to his precepts. What kind of man he was, and by what labours he drew down the divine grace, these things suffice to teach. Yet even in this life his end received honour worthy of his labours. All, citizens and strangers and those entrusted with the great offices, carried that sacred bier on their shoulders to the shrine of the victorious martyrs, and laid that holy and God-beloved body to rest with those divine men Aphrahat and Theodosius. His fame remains unquenched, and no time will be able to blot it out. Having put an end to this story, we … ### Scripture references - Matt 18:3: quotation, high confidence - Prov 28:1: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:27: echo, low confidence - 2 Kgs 4:16: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged: lines of Migne's Latin column and of the footnote apparatus read as Greek letters are removed by logged corrections; words lost in the scan are marked '…' and not supplied. In several places the OCR moved a Greek line out of place: the clause about showing the 'simplicity of his ways by other stories', the words 'entirely freed from the disease, she recognised the divine man', and the clause 'These things are enough to show the abundance of the divine power given to him' are translated where the sense shows they belong. The last words of the chapter are lost. - 'His food was [barley]': the noun is lost in the scan; the surname and the following story make it barley. - Gubba: Syriac for 'pit' or 'cistern', as Theodoret explains. - Flavian was bishop of Antioch 381–404. Macedonius was ordained presbyter without his knowledge; the chapter reports his reaction as Theodoret tells it. - The statues riot at Antioch was in 387, under the emperor Theodosius I. The 'divine images' are human beings as made in God's image (Gen 1:27, echo). - 'The governor who ruled over the greater governors' is probably the Count of the East (uncertain). - Astria and Aurelian: the names are damaged in the scan (Ἄστριον, Αὐοδιανός); the readings are uncertain. - Lupicinus: a general known for his piety; not further identified here. Seleucia is Seleucia Pieria, the port of Antioch. - Theodoret's own conception and birth are attributed to Macedonius's prayer; 'our Elisha' alludes to Elisha's promise of a son to the Shunammite woman (2 Kgs 4:16). - Aphrahat and Theodosius are the subjects of Lives 8 and 10. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 13 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/13). ## Life 14 (ΜΑΙΣΥΜΑΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/14/#p-14 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: After naming other ascetics of the Antioch region, Theodoret turns to Cyrrhus and tells of Maesymas, a village priest whose jars never ran empty, who healed a dying child, and whose curse halted a harsh landlord's carriage. ### Greek text Οἷδα μὲν ὡς; ἄλλοι πολλοὶ παρὰ τὴν ᾿Αντιόχου τι οἱ εἰ ρο- Πλῃ). κ ὁ μέγας, καὶ ὁ Αἰγύπτιος Πέτρος, καὶ Εὐτύχιος "᾿, καὶ Κύριλλος, Μωῦσῆς τε, καὶ Μάλχος, καὶ ἕτερο: πλεῖστοι τὴν αὐτὴν πορείαν ὁδεύσαντες. ᾿Αλλ᾽ εἰ τὴν ἁπάντων πολιτείαν συγγράψαι πειραθείημεν, ἅπας ἡμῖν οὐκ ἀρκέσειε" ὁ χρόνος " ἄλλως τε δὲ, καὶ κροσχορὴς τοῖς πολλοῖς ἡ τῶν πλειόνων ἀνάγνωσις. Ἐκ τῶν συγγραφέντων τοίνυν καὶ τὸν τῶν παρατες, καὶ ζηλούτωσαν, καὶ τὴν ὠφέλειαν καρπούσθωσαν. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπὶ τοὺς τῆς Κύρου λειμῶνας διαδήσομαι, καὶ τῶν ἐν τούτοις εὐωδῶν τε καὶ εὐειδῶν ἀνθέων ὀλίγων ὡς ἕνι μάλιστα παραδηλώστω «ἣν ὥραν... Ἐγένετό τις Μαισυμᾶς ἐν τοῖς πρὸ ἡμῶν χρόνοις, Σύρος μὲν τὴν φωνὴν, ἐν ἀγροικίᾳ δὲ τεθραμμένος, οὐ πᾶν δὲ εἶδος ἀρετῆς ἐπιδεδειγμένος. Διαλάμψας δὲ ἐν τῷ κατ᾽ αὐτὸν βίῳ, κώμης τινὸς ἐνεχειρίσθη τὴν͵ ἐπιμέλειαν. Ἱερουργῶν δὲ, καὶ τὰ θεῖα πρόδατα νέμων, ἐκεῖνα ἔλεγέ τε καὶ ἔπραττεν, ἅπερ ὁ θεῖος διηγόρευϑε νόμος. Φασὶ δὲ αὐτὸν μήτε χιτῶνα, μῆτε τὴν σισύραν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἀμεῖψαι, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῦτον αὐτὸν τὸν τρόπον θεραπεύειν τὸ γῆρας. Τῆς ἂλ τῶν ξένων καὶ πενήτων ἐπιμελείας οὕτως ἐπεμεπαγνύναι τὰς θύρας. Δύο δὲ πίθους ἐσχηκέναι λέγεται, τὸν μὲν σίτον, τὸν δὲ ἐλαίου. ἘΧ τούτων ἐχορήγει μὲν ἅπασι τοῖς δοομένοις ἀεὶ, πλήρεις δὲ εἶχεν Ὁ ἀδὶ, τῆς τῇ Σαραφθίᾳ χήρᾳ δοθείσης εὐλογίας καὶ ἐπὶ τούτους ἐνεχθείσης τοὺς πίθους. Ὁ γὰρ αὐτὸς Κύριος πάντων, πλουτῶν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους αὐτόν" καὶ ὥσπερ τὴν ὑδοίαν ἐχείνην, χα νίας σπερμάτων παρέχων τὰ δράγματα οὕτω χα: τῷδε τῷ θαυμαπίῳ δέδωκε τῆς προθυμίας τὴν χορπαρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων ἐδέξατο χάριν. Ἑνὸς δὲ ἡ δύο θαυμάτων μνησθήσυμαι, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ παρήσω, ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐλθεῖν ἐπειγόμενος. Γυνή τις, καὶ γένει καὶ πίστει κοσμουμένη, τὸν υἱὸν ὀῤῥωστίᾳ περιπεσόντα (κομιδῇ δὲ ἦν νέος) πολλοῖς αι προὔθηχεν ἰατροῖς. ᾿ττηθείσης δὲ τῆς τέχνης, καὶ ὧν ἰατρῶν ἀπειρτχότων, καὶ τεθνήξεσθαι τὸ παιδίον διαῤῥήδην εἰπόντων, οὐκ ἀπέῤῥιψεν ἡ γυνὴ τὰς χρηστοτέρας ἐλπίδας - ἀλλὰ τὴν Σουμανῖτιν ἐχείνην ζηλώσασα, ἐπιτίθησι ταῖς ἡμιόνοις τὴν καμάραν. Ταύτῃ δὲ ἑαυτὴν καὶ τὸ παιδίον ἐνθεῖσα, «ἂν θεῖον ἐκεῖνον χατέλαδεν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ὀλοφυρομένη, καὶ τῆς φύσεως ἐπιδειχνύουσα τὸ πάθος, ἐπαμῦναι ἱκέ- “εὐεν. Ὁ δὲ λαδὼν τὸ παιξίον ταῖν χεροῖν, καὶ τῇ τοῦ θυτιαστηρίον κρηπῖδι πελάσας, ἔκειτο πρηνὴς τὸν πὧν ψυχῶν καὶ σωμάτων ἀντιθολῶν ἰατρόν " καὶ λαὀὼν τὴν αἴτησιν, ἀπέδωκεν ἐῤῥωμένον τῇ μητρὶ τὸν υἱόν. ᾿γὼ δὲ τοῦτο παρ' αὐτῆς ἀκήκοα τῆς τὸ θαῦμα θεασαμένης, καὶ τοῦ παιδὸς δεξαμέντς τὴν σωτηρίαν. Φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὸν τῆς κώμης ἐκείνης δεσπότην ἀφικόμενόν ποτε. Λητώϊος "Ὑ δὲ ἦν οὗτος (-ἧς μὲν ᾿Αντιοχέων βουλῆς τὰ πρωτεῖα ἔχων, δυσσεδείας δὲ κατεχόμενος ζόφῳ), σφοδρότερον ἣ ἔδει τοὺς γηπόνους εἰσπράττεσθαι τοὺς καρπούς " τὸν δὲ θεῖον ἐκεῖνον ἄνθρωπον περὶ φιλανθρωπίαν εἰσηγεῖσθα! τε καὶ παραινεῖν, καὶ τοὺς περὶ ἐλέους καὶ οἴκτου διἐξιέναι λόγους " τὸν δὲ μεῖναι μὲν ἀμείλιχτον, τῇ πείρᾳ δὲ γνῶναι τῆς ἀπειθίας τὴν βλάδην. ᾿Επειδὴ γὰρ ἀπαίρειν ἕδει, καὶ τὸ ζεῦγος ἣν εὑτρεπὲς, καὶ καθίσας ἐκέλευε τῷ ἡνιόχῳ παροτρῦναι τὰς ἢμιόνους, αἱ μὲν εἶλκον παντὶ σθένει βιαζόμεναι, καὶ ἕλκειν τὸν ῥυμὸν ἐπειγόμεναι, οἱ δὲ τροχοὶ σιδήρῳ ᾿Ἐπειδὴ δὲ δαὶ τῶν ἀγροίκων τὸ πλῆθος μοχλοῖς τοὺς τρηχοὺς “ἰς τῷ Λητωΐῳ παρεδεύων, τὴν αἰτίαν σημαίνει, τὸν ἱερξα τὸν πρεσθύτην ἐπαρᾶσθαι λέγων, καὶ ὡς προσήκει τοῦτον εὐμενῆ καταστῆσαι. Τοιγαροῦν πηδήσας ἀπὸ τοῦ ζεύγους, ἱκέτευε ὅν διέπτυσε " καὶ τῶν ποδῶν προχαλινδούμενος, καὶ τὰ πιναρὰ ῥάχια δὲ τὴν ἱκετείαν δεξάμενος, καὶ ταύτην τῷ Δεσπότῃ προσενεγκὼν, ἔλυσε τῶν τροχῶν τοὺς ἀοράτους δε-σμοὺς, καὶ φέρεσθαι συνήθως τὸ ὄχημα παρεσκεύασε. Πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα περὶ τῆς θείας ἐχείγη; κεφαλῆς διηγοῦνται. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ -ἐκ τούτων καταμαθεῖν, ὡς ἥκιστα λωύθᾶται τοῖς φιλοσοφεῖν προαιρουμένοις ἡ ἐν ἄστεδι καὶ κώμαις διατριθή. δειξε γὰρ οὗτός τε καὶ οἱ κατ᾽ αὐτὸν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φροντισταὶ θεραπείας, ὡς δυνατὸν καὶ ἐν μέσῳ πολλῶν στρεφομένους, αὐτῆς ἐφικέσθαι τῆς τῶν ἀρετῶν κορυφῆς. Ἧς ἐγὼ τῆς γοῦν ὑπωρείας μικρὸν ἄνω γενοίμην ταῖς τούτων προσευχαῖς βοηθούμενος. ### English translation (Claude) I know that there were many others besides around the city of Antiochus … the great, and Peter the Egyptian, and Eutychius, and Cyril, Moses and Malchus, and very many others who travelled the same road. But if we tried to write the life of them all, all our time would not suffice; and besides, reading about too many is tiresome to most people. From those whose lives have been written, then, [let readers learn the way of life of] those passed over too …, and let them emulate it and reap the benefit. I shall cross over to the meadows of Cyrrhus, and point out, as far as I can, a few of the fragrant and lovely flowers that grow in them. In the times before us there was a certain Maesymas, Syrian in speech and brought up in the countryside, … who displayed every kind of virtue. Having shone out in his way of life, he was entrusted with the care of a village. Serving as priest and pasturing the divine sheep, he said and did what the divine law prescribes. They say that for a very long time he changed neither his tunic nor his cloak, but … in this way to tend their old age. He cared for strangers and the poor so much … to fasten the doors. He is said to have had two jars, one of wheat and one of oil. From these he always supplied all who asked, and yet kept them always full, the blessing given to the widow of Zarephath having been carried over onto these jars too. For the same Lord is Lord of all, rich to all who call on him; and as he gave that widow … the sheaves of the seeds, so to this admirable man too he gave the … of his zeal … received grace from the God of all. I will mention one or two of his miracles and leave the rest, hurrying to come to the others. A woman, adorned both by birth and by faith, entrusted her son, who had fallen ill (he was quite young), to many doctors. When the art had been defeated, and the doctors had given up and said plainly that the child would die, the woman did not throw away better hopes, but, emulating that Shunammite woman, put the covered carriage on the mules, placed herself and the child in it, came to that divine man, and, lamenting and showing the suffering of nature, begged him to help. He took the child in his hands, went up to the step of the altar, and lay there prostrate, imploring the Physician of souls and bodies; and having received his request, he gave the son back to his mother in health. I heard this from the woman herself, who saw the miracle and whose child received that salvation. They also say that the owner of that village once came there. This was Letoius (he held the first place in the council of Antioch, but was held in the darkness of impiety), and he exacted the produce from the farmers more harshly than he should. That divine man advised and exhorted him to humanity and went through the arguments for mercy and pity; but he remained unsoftened, and learned by experience the harm of disobedience. When it was time to leave and the carriage was ready, he sat down and told the driver to urge on the mules; they pulled with all their strength, straining and hastening to draw the pole, but the wheels, as if by iron … When the crowd of peasants [tried] the wheels with levers … one of those attending on Letoius indicated the reason, saying that the old priest had cursed him and that he must make him favourable. So he leapt down from the carriage and begged the man he had despised, rolling at his feet and … his dirty rags. [The old man] accepted the supplication and offered it to the Master, loosed the invisible bonds of the wheels, and made the vehicle move as usual. They tell many other such stories about that divine head. From these too one can learn that life in town and villages does no harm at all to those who choose to live philosophy. For this man and those like him showed that the … devoted to the service of God can, even while living in the midst of many, reach the very peak of the virtues. May I rise at least a little above its foothills, helped by their prayers. ### Scripture references - Rom 10:12: quotation, high confidence - 1 Kgs 17:14: allusion, high confidence - 2 Kgs 4:24: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged: Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections; lost or garbled Greek words are marked '…' and not supplied. The names at the opening are partly lost ('… the great'). - 'The same Lord is Lord of all, rich to all who call on him' quotes Rom 10:12. The jars recall the widow of Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:14–16); the mother 'emulating that Shunammite woman' recalls 2 Kgs 4:18–37. - Letoius: a leading member of the city council of Antioch and a pagan ('held in the darkness of impiety'). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 14 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/14). ## Life 15 (ΑΚΕΨΙΜΑΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/14/#p-15 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Acepsimas lives sixty years enclosed and silent, miraculously restrains a shepherd and punishes a spy, accepts ordination as presbyter only because he is about to die, and is buried where he had sworn. ### Greek text ᾿Αχεψιμᾶς κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν γέγονε χρόνον, οὗ κλέος εὑρὺ κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν ἽΒω. Οὗτος ἐν οἰκίσκῳ καθείρξας ἑαυτὸν, ἑξήκοντα διετέλεσεν ἔτη, μῆτε ὁρώμενος, μῆτε φθεγγόμενος, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς ἑαυτὸν νεύων, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν φανταζόμενος, πᾶσαν ἐκεῖθεν ψυχαγωγίαν ἐδέχετο, κατὰ τὴν προφητείαν τὴν λέγουσαν « Κατατρύφησον «οὐ Κυρίου, καὶ δῴη σοι τὰ αἰτήματα τῆς καρδίας σου.» Διά τινος δὲ βραχέος ὀρύγματος τὴν χεῖρα προτείἵνα μὴ πρόκειται τοῖς ὁρᾷν βουλομένοις, ἀλλ᾽ ἐγχάρσιον ἣν ἑλικοειδῶς χατεσχενασμένον. Τροφὴ δὲ αὐτῷ ἐκομίζετο φαχὸς διάδροχος ὕδατι " ἅπαξ δὲ τῆς ἐδδο. μάδος νύκτωρ ἐξιὼν, τὸ ἀρκοῦν ὕδωρ ἀπὸ τῆς πελαζούσης ἀνιμᾶτο πηγῆς. Καί ποτέ τις πόῤῥωθεν προ» Θατεὺς θρέμματα νέμων, σκότους ὄντος, κινούμενον θεασάμενος, καὶ λύκον ὑποτοπάσας, δόνην ὡς λίθον ἀχοντίσων ἐχίνησε. Τῆς δὲ χειρὸς ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἀκινήτου μενούσης, καὶ ἀφιέναι τὸν λίθον οὐ δυναμένης, ἕως ἐκεῖνος ὁ θεῖος ἀνὴρ τὸ ὕδωρ ἀρυσάμενος ἑπανῆχεν, αἴσθησιν τῆς ἀγνοίας ἐδέξατο, καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἕω καταλαμδάνει τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς φροντιστήριον, καὶ διηγεῖται τὸ γεγονὸς, καὶ συγγνώμην αἰτεῖ, καὶ λαμθάνει τῆς πλημμελείας τὴν ἄφεσιν, οὐ φωνῆς φθεγξαμένης ἀκούσας, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῶν τῆς χει" ρὺς κινη μάτων καταμαθὼν τὴν εὐμένειαν. ἴΛλλος δέ τις, καχοήθει πολυπραγμοσύνῃ χρησάμενος, καὶ γνῶναι ποθήσας τί δρῶν ἅπαντα τὸν χρόνον διετέλει, εἰς τὴν παρὰ τῷ θριγχίῳ πεφυτευμένην πλάτανον ἀναθῆναι τετόλμηκεν " ἀλλὰ παραυτίκα τῆς τόλμτς ἐδρέψατο τοὺς καρπούς. Τὸ γὰρ ἥμισυ τοῦ σώματος ἀπ᾿ ἄκρα: κορυφῆς μέχρι τῶν ποδῶν λυμανθεὶς, ἱκέτης ἐγένετο τῆς ἁμαρτάδος κατηγορῶν. Ὁ ὃὲ τῇ τομῇ τῆς πλατάνου τὴν ὑγείαν ἔσεσθαι προεμήνυσεν. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ καὶ ἕτερος τὰ ἴσα δράσας ὑδτομείνη τὰ ἴσα, τμηθῆναι παραυτέχα τὸ δένδρον ἐχέλευσεν. Εἷ-᾿ πετο δὲ τῇ τομῇ καὶ τῆς τιμωρίας ἡ λύσις. Τοσαύτῃ μὲν οὖν οὗτος ὁ θεσπέσιος ἐχρήσατο τῇ καρτερίᾳ, τοσαύτην δὲ παρὰ τοῦ ἀγιυνοθέτου τὴν χάριν ἐδέξατο, Ἡνίκα δὲ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἀποδημίαν ἐστέλλετο, προ ἐσήμανεν ὡς μετὰ πεντήκοντα ἡμέρας δέξεται τοῦ βίου τὸ τέλος " ὑπεδέξατο δὲ ἅπαντας τοὺς ἰδεῖν θελήσαντας. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ ὁ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀφίκετο τέρου τὴν ζεύγλην, ε Οἷδα, λέγων, ὦ Πάπε, καὶ τῆς σῆς φιλοσοφίας τὸ ὕψος, καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς πενίας τὴν ὑπερδολήν. ᾿Αλλὰ τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης τὴν οἶκονομίαν πεπιστευμένος, ταύτῃ τὰς χειροτονίας, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐκείνῃ προδάλλομαι. Δέξαι τοίνυν, ἔφη, τῆς ἱερωσύνης τὸ δῶρον, τῆς μὲν ἐμῆς δεξιᾶς ὑπουργοῦσῆς, τῆς ὃὲΣ τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος τοῦτο χάριτος χορηγούσης. » Πρὺς ταῦτα φάναι λέγεται" « Ὅτι μετ᾽ ὀλίγας ἐντεῦθεν ἐχδημήσω ἡμέρας, ἥκιστα περὶ τούτων ζυγομαχήσω " εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἔμελλον ἐπὶ πλεῖστον βιώσεσθαι, πάμπαν ἔφυγον τὸ βαρὺ τοῦτο καὶ φοδερὸν τῆς ἱερωσύνης φορτίον, τῆς παρακαταθήκης ὀῤῥωδῶν τὰς εὐθύνας. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐκ εἰς μα’ χρὰν ἀπελεύσομαι καταλιπὼν τὰ τῇδε, εὐπειθῶς τὸ κελευόμενον δέξομα!. » Αὐτίκα τοίνυν, οὐδενὸς ἄγον. τος, ὁ μὲν τὰ γόνατα κάμπτων τὴν χάριν ἀνέμενεν, ὁ δὲ τὴν χεῖρα ἐπιτιθεὶς ὑπούργει τῷ Πνεύματι, Τῇ δὲ ἱερωσύνῃ ὀλίγας ἐπιδιώσας ἡμέρας, βίου βίον ἠλλάξατο, καὶ τὸν ἀγήρω καὶ ἄλυπον ἀνξὶ τοῦ πολυφρόντιδος ἕλαδεν. ᾿Αρπάξειν δὲ πάντων βουληθέντων πὸ σῶμα, καὶ εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἑκάστῳ κώμην ἀποχομίζειν προαιρουμένων, μηνύσας τις τοῦ ἁγίον τοὺς ὄρκους, τὴν ἔριν διέλυσεν, ᾿θ:χῶτα: γὰρ αὐτὴν ὺ ᾿ 1115 ἔφησεν, ἐν ἑκείνῳ τῷ χωρίῳ παραδοῦναι τοῦτο τα- τίφῇ. Οὕτω καὶ τῆς μετὰ θάνατον εὐτελείας ἔπεμελοῦντο τῶν οὐρανῶν οἱ πολῖται" καὶ οὔτε πωιριόντες μέγα φρονεῖν ἢνέσχοντο πώποτε, καὶ τελευτήσαντες τὸ παρὰ ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἐπεσπάσαντο γέρας " ἀλλὰ τὸ φῇλττρον ἅπαν εἰς τὸν νυμφίον μετέθεσαν, κατὰ τὰς σωφρονούσας γυναῖκας, αἱ παρὰ μόνων τῶν ὁμοζύγων καὶ φιλεῖσθαι καὶ ἐπαινεῖσθαι σπόυδάζουσι, τῆς παρ᾽ ἄλλων εὐφημίας. χαταφρονοῦσαι. Τούτου χάριν αὑτοὺς ὁ νυμφίος καὶ μὴ βουλομένους ἀοιδίμους ἀπέφηνε, καὶ τῆς παρ᾽ ἀνθρώποις εὖκλείας ἐκ περιουσίας μετέδωκεν. Ὅταν γάρ τις τὰ θεῖα μετιὼν αἰτῇ τὰ οὐράνια, προστίθησι μετ᾽ ἐχείγων καὶ ἕτερα πάμπολλα, πολλαπλασία: τὰς αἰτήσεις δωρούμενο;. Τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ νομοθετῶν ἔλεγεν " «Αἰτεῖτε τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὴν διχαιοσύ- νὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν. » Καὶ πάλιν" « Ὁ καταλιμπάνων πατέρα, καὶ μητέρα, κκαὶ ἀδελφοὺς, καὶ γυναῖκα, καὶ τέχνα ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ καὶ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου μου, καὶ ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ ἑκατονταπλασίονα λήψεται, καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσει. » Ταῦτα εἴρηκε, καὶ πεποίηκεν. Ἡμᾶς δὲ εἴη, καὶ λόγῳ παιδευομένους, καὶ ταῖς ### English translation (Claude) Acepsimas lived at the same time; his fame is wide throughout the East. He shut himself up in a small house and continued for sixty years neither seen nor speaking; turned in on himself and picturing God, he received from that all his delight, according to the prophecy that says: ‘Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the requests of your heart.’ Through a small hole he stretched out his hand … so that he might not be exposed to those who wished to see him, but it was made slanting, in a spiral. The food brought to him was lentils soaked in water; and once a week he went out by night and drew enough water from the nearby spring. Once a shepherd grazing his flock some way off saw him moving in the darkness, supposed he was a wolf, and swung his sling as though to throw a stone. But his hand stayed motionless for a very long time and could not let the stone go, until that divine man had drawn the water and gone back; then he realised his mistake, and after dawn he went to that school of virtue, told what had happened, asked forgiveness, and received pardon for the offence, not by hearing a voice speak, but by learning his goodwill from the movements of his hand. Another man, indulging an ill-natured curiosity and longing to know what he was doing all the time, dared to climb the plane tree planted by the wall; but at once he reaped the fruits of his daring. Half of his body, from the top of his head to his feet, was crippled, and he became a suppliant, accusing his own sin. He foretold that healing would come with the felling of the plane tree; for, so that no one else might do the same and suffer the same, he ordered the tree to be cut down at once. And with the felling came release from the punishment. Such endurance did this godly man show, and such grace did he receive from the president of the games. When he was preparing for his departure from here, he indicated beforehand that after fifty days he would reach the end of his life; and he received all who wished to see him. When the [bishop] of the Church also came … the yoke of the presbyterate, saying: ‘I know, Father, both the height of your philosophy and the extremity of my poverty. But as one entrusted with the stewardship of the high priesthood, it is by that, and not by this, that I confer ordinations. So accept,’ he said, ‘the gift of the priesthood: my right hand serves, but it is the grace of the all-holy Spirit that bestows it.’ To this he is said to have replied: ‘Since I am going to depart from here in a few days, I will not struggle against this at all. If I were going to live long, I would have fled entirely from this heavy and fearful burden of the priesthood, dreading to give account for the trust. But since I shall soon go away and leave the things here, I will obediently accept what is commanded.’ So at once, with no one leading him, he bent his knees and waited for the grace, and the other laid on his hand and served the Spirit. He lived only a few days after receiving the priesthood, then exchanged life for life, receiving the ageless and painless life instead of the one full of cares. When everyone wanted to seize his body, each choosing to carry it off to his own village, someone made known the saint’s oaths and settled the dispute; for he said that he had bound … by oath to bury it in that place … So even after death the citizens of heaven took care to be of no account. While living they never allowed themselves to think highly of themselves, and when dead they did not seek honour from men; they transferred all their love to the Bridegroom, like chaste wives who are eager to be loved and praised by their husbands alone and despise the praise of others. For this reason the Bridegroom made them famous even against their will, and gave them a share of good repute among men in abundance. For when someone pursuing divine things asks for heavenly things, he adds very many others to them, granting the requests many times over. This at least he said when giving his law: ‘Ask for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all the rest will be added to you.’ And again: ‘Whoever leaves father and mother and brothers and wife and children for my sake and for my Gospel will receive a hundredfold in this age, and in the age to come will inherit eternal life.’ He said these things and did them. May we, taught both by word and by … ### Scripture references - Ps 37:4 (36:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 6:33: quotation, high confidence - Matt 19:29: quotation, high confidence - Mark 10:29: quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged: Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections; lost Greek words are marked '…' and not supplied. The end of the chapter is lost in the scan; some closing words that may belong to it are displaced into the text of Life 16 (see the note there). - Ps 37:4 (36:4 LXX) is quoted. 'Ask for the kingdom of God' follows Theodoret's wording (Matt 6:33 has 'seek'). The second saying combines Matt 19:29 with Mark 10:29–30. - The bishop who ordains Acepsimas is not named in the surviving text; the words 'bishop' and the verb with 'the yoke of the presbyterate' are lost or damaged. - 'President of the games' (ἀγωνοθέτης) is Theodoret's usual image for God as the one who sets the contest and awards the prize. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 15 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/15). ## Life 16 (ΜΑΡΩΝ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/14/#p-16 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Maron, living in the open on a mountain top, heals bodies and souls, founds the ascetic movement of the Cyrrhus region, and after his death is fought over by neighbouring villages. ### Greek text Μάρωνος μετὰ τούτων μνησθήσομαι" καὶ γὰρ οὗτος τὸν θεῖον τῶν ἁγίων χορὸν κατεκόσμησε. Τὸν ὕπαιθρον γὰρ ἀσπασάμενος βίον, κορυφήν τινα καττὸ ἐν αὐτῇ τῶν δαιμόνων τέμενος τῷ Θεῷ χαθοσιώσας, ἐν αὑτῷ διέτοιψε, σκηνήν τινα βραχεῖαν πηξάμένος, ὀλιγάκις δὲ ταύτῃ χρησάμενος. Πόνοις οὐ τοῖς εἰωθόσιν ἐχρήσατο μόνοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρους ἐπενόει, πἧς φιλοσοφίας συναθροίζων τὸν πλοῦτον. Ὃ δὲ ἀγωνοθέτης τοῖς πόνοις τὴν χάριν ἑἐπεμέτρησεν. Οὕτω γὰρ αὐτῷ πλουσίως ὁ μεγαλόδωρος τὸ τῶν ἰαμάτων ἐδωρήσατο χάρισμα, ὡς πανταχοῦ μὲν τούτου τὸ κλέος διαδραμεῖν, πάντας δὲ πάντοθεν ἐφέλχεσθα!:, αὶ τῇ πείρᾳ διδάξαι τῆς φήμης τὸ ἀληθές, ἯΝν γὰρ ἰδεῖν, καὶ πυρετοὺς σδεννυμένους τῇ δρόσῳ τῆς εὐλογίας, καὶ φρίκην παυομένην, καὶ δαίμονας δραπετεύοντας, καὶ παντοδαπὰ καὶ ποικίλα νοσήματα ἑνὶ φαρμάκῳ θεραπευόμενα. Ἰατρῶν μὲν γὰρ φάρμακον " ἡ δὲ τῶν ἁγίων προσευχὴ κοινόν ἔστι παθῶν ἀλεξιφάρμακον. Οὐ μόνον δὲ τὰς σωματικὰς ἀῤῥωστίας ἰᾶτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῖς ψυχαῖς τὴν πρόσφόρον θεραπείαν προσέφερε, τούτου μὰν τὴν πλεονεξίαν, ἐχείνου δὲ τὸν θυμὸν ἰατρεύων " καὶ τούτῳ μὲν τὴν περὶ σωφροσύνης διδασκαλίαν προσφέρων, ἐκείνῳ δὲ “ροστιθεὶ; τὰ τῆς δικαιοσύνης παιδεύματα" χαι τοῦ μὲν τὴν ἀκολαστίαν παιδεύων, τοῦ δὲ τὸ νωθρὸν “διεγείρων. Ταύτῃ χρώμενος τῇ γεωργίᾳ, ἄνω κλήσεως, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰητοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ "᾽ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς ᾧ --- ἀμην, τήμερον ὠφέλειαν καρποῦνται, δημοτελεῖ πανηγύρει ἀπόντες τὴν εὐλογίαν καρπούμεθα - ἀρκεῖ γὰρ ἡμῖν πολλὰ φυτὰ ψιλοτυγΐα; ἀπέφηνε, καὶ τὸν νῦν ἐν τὴ Κύρου χώρᾳ τεθηλότα παράδεισον αὐτὸς τῷ θεῷ χατεφύιτευσε. Τῆς τούτου φυτουργίας ἔργον ὁ μέγα: Ἰάκωνδος, εἰς ὃν εἰκότως ἄν τις ἑλκύσειε τὴν προφητικὴν ἐχείνην φωνήν " ε Δίκαιος ὡς φοίνιξ ἀνθήσέ!, ὡσεὶ κέδρος ἡ ἐν τῷ Λιδάνῳ πληθυνθήσεται, ν καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι δὲ ἅπαντες, ὧν ἰδίᾳ σὺν Θεῷ φάναι μνησθήσομαι. Οὕτω δὲ τῆς θείας γεωργίας ἐπιμελούμενος, καὶ ψυχὰς ὁμοῦ θεραπεύων καὶ σώματα, ἀῤῥωστίαν ὑπομείνας βραχεῖαν, ἵνα καὶ τῆς φύσεως τὴν ἀσϑένειαν, χα! τῆς προαιρέσεως καταμάθωμεν τὴν ἀνδρείαν, αὑτὸς μὲν ὑπεξῆλθε τὸν βίον. Πόλεμος δὲ περὶ τοῦ σώματος τοῖς γειτονεύουσι συνέστη σφοδρός. Κώμη δέ τις τῶν ὁμόρων πολυάνθρωπος πανδημὶ παραγενομένη, τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἐσχέδατε, τὸν δὲ τριπόθητον ἐκεῖνον ἥρπασε θησαυρὸν, καὶ σηχὴν οἰχοδομησάμενοι μέγιστον, τὴν ἐκεῖθεν μέχρι χα: τὸν νικηφόρον ἐκεῖνον γεραίροντες. Ἡμεῖς δὲ καὶ ἀντὶ τῆς θήκης ἡ μνήμη ### English translation (Claude) After these I will mention Maron; for he too adorned the divine choir of the saints. Embracing life in the open air, he [occupied] a peak …, consecrated to God the precinct of demons that was on it, and lived there, having pitched a small tent which he seldom used. He practised not only the usual labours but devised others as well, heaping up the wealth of philosophy. The president of the games measured out grace in return for the labours. So richly did the bountiful Giver grant him the gift of healings that his fame ran everywhere, drew everyone from every side, and taught by experience the truth of the report. One could see fevers quenched by the dew of his blessing, shivering stopped, demons fleeing, and diseases of every sort and kind cured by one medicine. For doctors [apply a different] medicine [to each disease]; but the prayer of the saints is a common remedy for all sufferings. He healed not only the sicknesses of bodies but also applied fitting treatment to souls, curing this man’s greed and that man’s anger, offering to one teaching on self-control and setting before another the lessons of justice, correcting one man’s licentiousness and rousing another’s sloth. Using this husbandry, he raised many plants of philosophy, and it was he who planted for God the garden that now flourishes in the region of Cyrrhus. A product of his planting was the great James, to whom one might fittingly apply that prophetic saying: ‘The righteous will flourish like a palm; like a cedar in Lebanon he will be multiplied’; and so were all the others, whom, God willing, I shall mention one by one. So, while caring for the divine husbandry and healing souls and bodies alike, he endured a short illness (so that we might learn both the weakness of nature and the courage of his will) and departed this life. A fierce war broke out among the neighbours over his body. A populous village nearby came out in full force, scattered the others, and carried off that thrice-longed-for treasure; and having built a very large shrine, they reap the benefit from it to this day, honouring that victor with a public festival. We, though absent, reap the blessing; for in place of his tomb the memory suffices us. [Displaced in the scan:] … the upward call, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory for ever. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ps 92:12 (91:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Phil 3:14: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged and its lines are out of order: Latin debris and a footnote from Migne's page are removed by logged corrections; lost Greek words are marked '…'. The end of the chapter ('they reap the benefit from it to this day … the memory suffices us') appears in the scan in the middle of the chapter and is translated in its place at the end. - The closing words '… the upward call, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory for ever. Amen' (cf. Phil 3:14) appear in the scan inside this chapter; they probably belong to the lost end of Life 15 (uncertain) and are given here at the end, marked as displaced. - Ps 92:12 (91:13 LXX) is quoted. 'The great James' is James of Cyrrhestica, the subject of Life 21. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 16 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/16). ## Life 17 (ΑΒΡΑΑΜΗΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/14/#p-17 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Abraham, an ascetic of the Cyrrhus region, converts a pagan village in the Lebanon by patience and generosity, later becomes bishop of Carrhae while keeping his ascetic diet and hospitality, and is honoured by the emperor at his death. ### Greek text Οὐδὲ ᾿Δέραάμον τοῦ θαυμαστοῦ τὴν μνήμην πὰραλιπεῖν εὐαγὲ;, προφάσει χρωμένους, ὅτε μετὰ τὸν μονήρη βίον τὴν Πολλῷ γὰρ δήπουθεν τούτου γε ἕνεκα ἀξιομνημονευτότερος εἰκότως ἂν εἴη, ὅτι τὴν πολιτείαν βιασθεὶς ἐναλλάξαι τὸν βίον οὐκ ἤμειψεν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τῆς ἀσιητιχῆς μετέδη κακοπαθείας, καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὸν μονα- ᾿ς νος φροντίσι, τοῦ βίου τὸν δρόμον ἐξήνυσε. Καὶ οὗτος Ο δὲ τῆς Κύρου χώρας καρπός. Ἕν ταύτῃ γὰρ χδὶ τεχθεὶς καὶ τραφεὶς τῆς ἀσχητιχῆς ἀρετῆς τὸν τον συνέλεξε. Τοσαύτῃ γὰρ αὐτόν φασιν οἱ συγγεγονότες ἀγρυπνίᾳ, καὶ στάσει, καὶ νηστείᾳ, χχταδαμάσαι τὸ σῶμα, ὡς ἀκίνητον ἐπὶ πλεῖστον διαμεῖνσι χρόνον, ἕχιστα βαδίζειν δυνάμενον. Θεί δὲ προμηθείᾳ τῆς ἀσθενείας ἐκείνης ἀπαλλαγεὶς, κινδύνους εἰσενεγκεῖν ἀντὶ τῆς θείας χάριτος ἠβουλήθη, καὶ χαταλαμθάνει τὸν Λίόανον᾽ κώμην τινὰ μεγίστην, κατέχεσθαν τῷ τῆς ἀσεθείας ζόφῳ μεμαθηκώς᾽ καὶ κρύψας, καὶ θυλάχους μετὰ τῶν συνόντων ἐπιφεηόμενος, ὡς δῆθεν ὠνησόμενος κάρυα, τοῦτον γάρ ἡ κώμη διαφερόντως ἔφερε τὸν καρπὸν, καὶ οἰκίαν ῦ μισθωσάμενος, καὶ ὀλίγα χρήματα τοῖς κεκτημένοις προδεδωχὼς, τρεῖς μὲν καὶ τέσσαρας ἡμέρας χίαν ἦγεν. Εἶτα κατὰ μικρὸν τῆς θείας ἥψατο }ε! πουργία;, μετρίᾳ φωνῇ κεχρημένος. Ἐπειδὴ ὃὲ τῆς ψαλμῳδίας ἐπήσθοντο, ὁ μὲν κήρυξ ἐδόα καὶ συνεχά ει πάντας ᾿ συνελέγοντο δὲ καὶ ἄνδρες, καὶ γυναΐκες, καὶ τὰς θύρας ἀνοιχοδομήσαντες, ἄνωθεν ἀπὸ Ὡς δὲ ἑώρων ἀποπνιγομένους καὶ χωννυμένους, 00" δὲν οὔτε δρᾷν, οὔτε λέγειν βέλοντας, εὐχὴν δὲ μόνην τῷ Θεῷ προσχομίξοντας, τῶν ἑτέρων ὑποθεμένων, τῆς μανία; ἐπαύταντο. Εἶτα τὰς θύρας ἀνοίξαντε;, καὶ τοῦ χώματος: ἐκέλευον. ᾿Αλλὰ κατ᾿ αὐτὸν τὸν καιρὸν πράκτορες Α' καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐδέσμουν, τοὺς δὲ ἠχίζοντο. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὁ θεῖος ᾿ ἐχεΐῖνος ἀνὴρ, οὐδενὸς ἐχείνων τῶν εἰς αὐτὺν γεγενημένων ἀναμνησθεὶς, τὸν δὲ Δεσπότην μιμούμενος, ὃς τῷ σταυρῷ πῤοσηλωμένος τῶν τοῦτο δεδραχότων ἐκήδετο, τοὺς πράκτορας ἐκείνους ἱκέτευεν ἡμέρως ποιεῖσθαι τὴν εἴσπραξιν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ἐγγυητὰς ἐπεζήτησαν, ἐθελοντὶ τὴν πρόσχλησιν ὑπεδέξατο, καὶ χρυσίνους ἑκατὸν μετ᾽ ὀλίγας δώσειν ἡμέρας ὑπέσχετο. 'Ἵπεραγασθέντες δὲ οἱ τὰ δεινὰ ἐκεῖνα ἐργασάμε-. νοι τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τὸν ἄνδρα, αἰτοῦσι μὲν ὑπὲρ τῶν τετολμημένων συγγνώμην, προστάτην δὲ αὐτὸν γενέσθαι παρακαλοῦσιν. Οὐ γὰρ εἶχεν ἣ κῴμη δεσπότὴν αὐτοὶ δὲ ἦσαν καὶ γεωργοὶ, καὶ δεσπόται. Τοὺς μὲν οὖν ἑκατὸν χρυσίνους ἀφικόμενος εἰς τὴν πόλιν" Β “Ἔμισχ δὲ ἣν αὕτη " καὶ γνωρίμους τινὰς εὑρὼν, ποιεῖται δάνεισμα, Εἶτα τὴν κώμην χαταλαδὼν, κατὰ τὴν κυρίαν πληροῖ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν. Ταύτην αὐτοῦ τὴν αὐτῷ τὴν παράκλησιν, Τοῦ δὲ τοῦτο δρᾷν ὑποσχομένου, εἰ ἐκκλησίαν οἰκοδομεῖν ἐπαγγείλαιντο, εὐθὺς ἐπιχειρεῖν ἱκέτευον " καὶ περιῆγον τὸν μακάριον ἄνδρᾶ, τοὺς ἐπιτηδειοτέρους τόπους ἐπιδεικνύντες. Καὶ ὁ μὲν τοῦτον, ὁ δὲ ἐκεῖνον ἐπήνει " προελόμενος δὲ πὸν ἀμείνω, καὶ τὰ θεμέλια χαταπήξας, ἐν ὀλίγῳ : χρόνῳ τὸν ὅροφον ἐπιτέθειχε. Καὶ τῆς οἰκοδομίας δεξαμένης τὸ πέρας, ἱερέα δέξασθαι παρηγγύα. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἔλεγον ὡς ἕτεροι οὐκ ἂν ἕλοιντο, αὐτὸν δὲ καὶ πατέρα καὶ ποιμένα λαθεῖν ἱκέτενον, δέχεται τῆς ἱερωσύνης τὴν χάριν. Καὶ τρία συγγενόμενος αὐτοῖς ἔτη, καὶ πρὸς τὰ θεῖα ποδηγήσας καλῶς, ἕτερον ἀντ᾽ πάλιν τὸ μοναχιχὸν χατέλχθΞ καταγώγιον. Καὶ ἵνα μὴ πάντα τὰ ἐκείνον διηγούμενος; μακρὸν ἐργάσωμαι τὸ διήγημα, ἐν τούτοι: διαλάμψας, τὴν Κάρων ὑποδέχεται προέδρίαν. Πόλις δὲ αὕτη τῆς δυσσεδείας περικειμένη τὴν μέθην, καὶ τῇ τῶν δαιμόνων ἑαυτὴν ἐχδεδωχυΐα βαχχείᾳ. ᾿Αλλὰ τῆς τούτου γεωργίας ἀξιωθεῖσα, καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίας δεξαμένη τὸ πῦρ, τῶν μὲν προτέρων ἀκανθῶν ἐλευθέρα διέμεινε, ὡρίμων τῷ Θεῷ προσφέρουσα δράγματα. Αλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀπόνως ὁ θεῖος ἀνὴρ τὴν θείαν ταύτην γεωργίαν εἰργάσατο᾽ πόνοις δὲ μυρίοις χρησάμενος, καὶ τῶν τὰ σώματα θεραπεύειν πεπιστευμένων τὴν τέχνην μιμούμενος, τὰ μὲν παρακλήσει γλυκαίνων, ὃὲ ὅπου καὶ τέμνων, καὶ καίων, τὴν ὑγείαν εἰργάσατο. Τῇ δὲ διδασχαλίχ, καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ ἐπιμελείᾳ, καὶ ᾿αἷ τοῦ βίου λαμπηδόνες συνηγόρουν. Ἑκείναι: γὰρ φωτιζόμενοι, καὶ τῶν λεγομένων ὑπήκουον, καὶ ἄσμενοι τὰ δρώμενα κατεδέχοντο. Πάντα γὰρ τῆς προ-. εδρίας τὸν χρόνον, περιττὸς μὲν ἣν αὐτῷ ὁ ἄρτος, περιττὸν δὲ τὸ ὕδωρ, ἄχρηστος δὲ ἡ κλίνη, περιττὴ δὲ ἡ τοῦ πυρὸς χρεία. Τεσσαράχοντα μὲν γὰρ νύκτωρ “πὰς ἀντιφθεγγομένας ὑμνῳδίας ἐπλήρου, τῶν διὰ μέδου γινομένων προσευχῶν διπλασιάζων τὸ μέτρον" τὸ δὲ λειπόμενον τἧς νυκτὸς; ἐπὶ θρόνου καθῆστο, βραχύ τι διαναπαύεσθαι παραχωρῶν τοῖς βλεφάροις. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος, κομᾷ δὲ νῦν τοῖς ληΐοις τοῦ Πνεύματως, ἀσταχύων ἔφη μὲν Μωῦσῃς ὁ νομοθέτης, ἀπεμνημήνευσα δὲ τῆς φωνῆς ὁ Δεσπότης, τοῦ διχδήλου “ἣν πρόσχλησιν παραιτούμενος. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἄνευ ὕδατος διαδιῶναι τῶν δυνατῶν, οὐδαμοῦ τῇ; θείας Γραφῆς ἐπαιδεύθημεν. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ τοσοῦτος Ἤλίας πρῶτον μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ χειμάῤῥου τὴν χρείαν ἐπλήρου" ἔπειτα δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν Σαραφθίαν χήραν παραγενόμενος, ὕδωρ αὑτῷ πρῶτον χομισθῆναι προσέταξεν, εἶθ᾽ οὕτω τὸν ἄρτον ἐπήγγειλεν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὁ θαυμαστὸς οὗτος; ἀνὴρ, οὔτε ἄρτου κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης μετέλαξε χρόνον, οὔτε ὀτπρίων, οὔτε λαχάνων ὁμιλησάντων πυρὶ, οὐκ ὕδατος, ὃ τῶν τεττάρων στοιχείων πρῶτον παρὰ τοῖς τὰ τοιαῦτα δεινοῖς εἶναι δόξασιν διὰ τὴν χρείαν" ἀλλὰ θριδαχίνα:, καὶ σέρεις, καὶ σέλινα, καὶ ὅτα τοιαῦτα, καὶ τροφὴν ἐποιξῖτο, καὶ πόμα, ἁρτοποιῶν καὶ ὀψοποιῶν περιττὰς ἀποταίνιον τὰς τέχνας. Ἕν δὲ τῇ ὥρᾳ τῆς ὀπώρας, ἔκείνῃ τὴν χρείαν ἐπλήρου " καὶ τούτων δὲ μετὰ τὴν ἑἐσπερινὴν μετελάμβανε λειτουργίαν. Τοιούτοις δὲ πόνοις χατὰτήχων τὸ σῶμα, ἄπληστον τοῖς ἄλλοις προσέτερεν ἐπιμέλειαν, Τοῖς γὰρ ἀφικομένοι; ξένοις, καὶ στιδὰ; ἣν εὐτρεπῆς, καὶ ἄρτοι λαμπροί τε καὶ ἔχχριτοι προσεφέροντο, καὶ οἶνος ἀνθοσμίας, καὶ ἰχθύες, καὶ λάχανα, καὶ τἄλλα ὅσα τούτοις συνέζευκται. Παρεμοίρας ἑκάστῳ τινὰς τῶν παρακειμένων προτφέρων, καὶ τὰς κύλικας πᾶσι διδοὺς καὶ πίνειν παρεγγυῶν᾽ καὶ τὸν ὁμώνυμον ἐκεῖνον μιμούμενος, τὸν πατριάρχὴν φημὶ, ὃς τοῦ; ξένοις διηχόγει μὲν, οὐ συνειστιᾶτο δέ. Ἐν δὲ ταῖς τῶν ξυγομαχούντων δίκαις διημετοὺς δὲ χατηνάγχαζε ταῖς ἡμέροις διδασχαλίτις μὴ πειθομένους ποιεῖν τὸ δίκαιον. Οὐδεὶς δὲ τῶν ἀδίκων θρασύτητι τὸ δίκαιον ἀπῆλθε νενιχηχώς. Τῷ γὰ} ἀδιχουμένῳ τὴν τοῦ δικαίου μοῖραν ἀεὶ προστιθεὶς ἄμαχον ἐδείκνυ, καὶ τοῦ ἀδικεῖν ἐθέλοντος κρείττονα. Καὶ ἐχτρῷ ἀρίστῳ ἐῴκει, τῶν χυμῶν ἀεὶ τὸ πλεονάζειν ἐπα ὕλαις. Τοῦτο: καὶ τὴν θέαν γὰρ ἡ φήμη, πάντα ῥᾳδίως καὶ τὰ χαλὰ καὶ τὰ χείρω μηνύουσχ᾽ καὶ πρὸς αὑτὸν ἐκάλει, καὶ ἀφιχνυύμενον οἰκίας. ἁλουργίδος τιμιωτέραν ἡγεῖτο. Καὶ ὁ τῶν βασιλέδων δὲ χορὸς, καὶ χειρῶν ἥπτοντο, καὶ γονάτων, καὶ ἱχέτενον ἄνδρα; οὐδὲ ἐπαῖειν τῆς ᾿Ελλάδο; ἐπι- Ὁ στάμενον γλώσσης. Οὕτω καὶ βασιλεῦσι καὶ πϑσιν ἀνθρώποις αἰδοὺς ἄξιόν ἐστι χρῆμα φιλοσοφίτ" καὶ τελευτήσαντες δὲ οἱ ταύτης ἐρασταὶ καὶ φρυντι5: αἱ μεέξονος εὐκλείας τυγχάνουσι. Καὶ τοῦτο πολλαχόθεν μὲν ἔστ: καταμαθεῖν, οὐκ ἤκιστα δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν κατὰ τόνδε τὸν θεσπέσιον ἄνθρωπον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐτελεύπησε, καὶ τοῦτο ἔμαθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἠδουλήθη μὲν ἕν τινι τῶν ἱερῶν αὐτὸν καταθέσθαι σηκῶν. Μαθὼν ἃ ὡς ὅσιον εἴη τοῖς ποιμνίοις ἀποδοθῆναι τοῦ ποιμένος πὸ σῶμα, καὶ αὐτὸς προύπεμπεν ἡγούμενος, καὶ ὁ τὲς, καὶ ἀρχόμενοι, στρατιῶται καὶ ἰδιῶται. Μιτὰ ταύτης αὐτὸν τῆς σπουδῆς καὶ ἡ ᾿Αντιόχον' ὑπεῖές ξατο πόλις, καὶ αἱ μετὰ ταύτην, ἕω; εἰς τὸν μέγαν ἐκεῖνον ἀφίκετο ποταμόν. Παρὰ ὁὲ τοῦ Εὐφράτου τὴν ὄχθην, συνέθεον μὲν ἀστοὶ, συνέθεον δὲ ξένοι, καὶ αὶ ορητιχοὶ πάντες, καὶ ὅμοροι δὲ τῆς εὐλογίας ἀπολαύειν ἠπείγοντο" ῥαθδοφόρο! δὲ πολλοὶ τῇ κλίνῃ παρείποντο, τοὺς γυμνοῦν τὸ σῶμα τῆς ἐσθῆτος πει-, ὡς παίοντες δεδιττόμενοι, Καὶ ἦν ἀχούςιν, τῶν μὲν ψαλλόντων, τῶν δὲ θρηνῳδούντων. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ὁδυρομένη προστάτην ἐκάλει, ἡ δὲ τροφέα, ἡ δὲ ποιμένα τε καὶ διδάσκαλον" καὶ ὁ μὲν δακρύων πατέρα ὠνόμαζεν, ὁ δὲ ἐπίκουρον καὶ κηδεμόνα, Μετὰ τοιούτων εὐφημιῶν τε καὶ θρήνων τῷ τάφῳ τὸ ἅγιον ἐκεῖνο καὶ ἱερὸν παρέδωκαν σῶμα. Ἐγὼ δὲ θαυμάσας, ὅτι τὴν πολιτείαν ἀμείψας, τὸν βίον οὐ συμμετέθαλεν, οὐδὲ ἀνειμένην ἐν τῇ προεὸρίᾳ ἠγάπησε δίαιταν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀσχητιχοὺς ἐπηύξητε πόνους, ἐν τῇ τῶν μοναχῶν αὐτὸν ἱστορίᾳ χατέλεξα, καὶ τῆς ἀγαπηθείδης ἢ ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ συμμορίας οὐκ ἐχώρισα, ὡς τῆς ἐντεῦθεν ἐφιέμενος εὐλογίας. - ### English translation (Claude) Nor is it right to pass over the memory of the admirable Abraham, on the pretext that after the solitary life he [exchanged it for] the … For he would surely be all the more worth remembering for this very reason, that though forced to change his station he did not change his way of life, but passed over [to the new one] together with his ascetic hardship, and completed the course of his life with the cares of a solitary and of a [bishop] at once. He too is a fruit of the region of Cyrrhus; for it was there that he was born and brought up and gathered the … of ascetic virtue. Those who lived with him say that he so subdued his body by vigils, standing and fasting that it remained motionless for a very long time and could hardly walk. Freed from that weakness by divine providence, he wished to undergo dangers in return for the divine grace, and went to the Lebanon, having learned that a very large village there was held in the darkness of impiety. He concealed … and carrying sacks with his companions as though he meant to buy nuts (for the village produced this crop above all), he rented a house, gave a little money in advance to the owners, and for three or four days kept quiet. Then little by little he began the divine liturgy, using a moderate voice. When they heard the psalmody, the herald cried out and called everyone together; men and women gathered, and blocking up the doors with masonry, they [heaped earth] from above … When they saw them choking and being buried, yet wishing neither to do nor to say anything, but only offering prayer to God, at the suggestion of some they stopped their madness. Then they opened the doors and told them [to come out] of the heap of earth … But at that very time tax-collectors [arrived] … and bound some and maltreated others. But that divine man, remembering nothing that had been done to him, and imitating the Master, who when nailed to the cross cared for those who had done it, begged those collectors to make the collection gently. When they demanded sureties, he willingly accepted the summons, and promised to give a hundred gold pieces in a few days. Those who had done those dreadful things admired the man’s humanity exceedingly, asked forgiveness for what they had dared, and begged him to become their patron; for the village had no master: they were themselves both farmers and masters. So he went to the city (this was Emesa), found some acquaintances, and raised a loan of the hundred gold pieces. Then he returned to the village and fulfilled his promise on the appointed day. This … their request to him. When he promised to do it if they would undertake to build a church, they begged him to begin at once, and they led the blessed man round, showing him the most suitable places. One praised this one, another that; he chose the better one, laid the foundations, and in a short time put on the roof. When the building was finished, he urged them to receive a priest. But when they said they would choose no one else and begged to receive him as father and shepherd, he received the grace of the priesthood. He stayed with them three years, and having guided them well toward divine things, [appointed] another in his place and returned again to his monastic dwelling. Not to make the story long by telling everything about him: having shone in these things, he received the presidency of Carrhae. This city was drunk with impiety and had given itself up to the Bacchic frenzy of the demons. But, counted worthy of his husbandry and having received the fire of his teaching, it remained free of its former thorns, and offers God ripe sheaves; it is now thick with the crops of the Spirit, [laden] with ears. Yet the divine man did not carry out this divine husbandry without toil. With countless labours, imitating the art of those entrusted with healing bodies, sweetening some things with encouragement and here and there cutting and burning, he worked its health. The brilliance of his life supported his teaching and his other care; illumined by it, they both obeyed what was said and gladly accepted what was done. For the whole time of his episcopate bread was superfluous to him, water superfluous, a bed useless, and the use of fire superfluous. By night he completed forty antiphonal hymns, doubling the measure of the prayers in between; and for the rest of the night he sat on a chair, allowing his eyelids a little rest. That man shall not live by bread alone, Moses the lawgiver said, and the Master recalled this saying when he refused the summons of the devil. But that one can live even without water we have nowhere been taught in the divine Scripture. Even the great Elijah first supplied his need from the brook; then, coming to the widow of Zarephath, he ordered water to be brought to him first, and only after that asked for bread. But this admirable man, during the time of his high priesthood, took no bread, no pulses, no vegetables that had been near the fire, not even water, which those clever in such matters held to be the first of the four elements because of its usefulness; but lettuces, chicory, celery and the like he made both his food and his drink, showing the arts of bakers and cooks to be superfluous. In the fruit season he met his needs with fruit; and he took even these only after the evening liturgy. While wasting his body with such labours, he lavished unstinted care on others. For strangers who came a bed was ready, and bread, bright and choice, was served, and fragrant wine, fish, vegetables and everything that goes with these. He gave each his share, setting before him some of the dishes laid out, handing cups to all and urging them to drink, imitating his namesake (I mean the patriarch), who served the strangers but did not eat with them. In the lawsuits of those in dispute he … and those who would not be persuaded by his gentle teaching he compelled to do what was just. No one went away having defeated justice by unjust audacity; for he always added the portion of justice to the wronged party and made him invincible and stronger than the one who wished to do wrong. He was like an excellent physician, always [reducing] the excess of the humours … For rumour easily reports everything, both good and bad; and [the emperor] summoned him to himself, and when he came … and he held his … more precious than the purple. And the chorus of empresses clasped his hands and knees and supplicated a man who did not even understand the Greek language. So worthy of reverence, to emperors and to all people, is philosophy; and its lovers and students win still greater fame when they have died. One can learn this from many sources, not least from the story of this godly man. When he died and the emperor learned of it, he wished to lay him in one of the sacred shrines. But when he learned that it was right for the shepherd’s body to be given back to his flocks, he escorted it himself, going in front, and the empresses …, rulers and ruled, soldiers and private persons. With the same zeal the city of Antiochus received him, and the cities after it, until he reached that great river. On the bank of the Euphrates citizens and strangers ran together, and all the …, and the neighbours too hastened to enjoy the blessing; many staff-bearers walked beside the bier, frightening off with blows those who were trying to strip the body of its clothing. One could hear some singing psalms and others lamenting. One woman in her grief called him her patron, another her nurse, another her shepherd and teacher; one man in tears named him father, another helper and protector. With such praises and laments they committed that holy and sacred body to the tomb. I admired that, though he changed his station, he did not change his way of life with it, and in his episcopate did not love a relaxed regime but increased his ascetic labours; so I have included him in the history of the monks, and have not separated him from the company he loved, desiring the blessing that comes from it. ### Scripture references - Luke 23:34: allusion, high confidence - Deut 8:3: quotation, high confidence - Matt 4:4: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 17:10: allusion, high confidence - Gen 18:8: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged: Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections; lost Greek words are marked '…' and not supplied. The words 'it is now thick with the crops of the Spirit, [laden] with ears' stand out of place in the scan (before the quotation of Deut 8:3) and are translated where the sense shows they belong. - Abraham became bishop of Carrhae (Harran) in Mesopotamia, a city known for its paganism; he died ca. 422 at Constantinople. The emperor is Theodosius II; the 'chorus of empresses' are probably Pulcheria and her sisters (uncertain). - 'Imitating the Master, who when nailed to the cross cared for those who had done it' alludes to Luke 23:34. 'Man shall not live by bread alone' is Deut 8:3, quoted by Jesus in Matt 4:4. Elijah at the brook and at Zarephath: 1 Kgs 17:4–11. The patriarch who served the strangers without eating: Gen 18:8. - 'The first of the four elements': an allusion to the Greek philosophers (Thales) who held water to be the first principle. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 17 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/17). ## Life 18 (ΕΥΣΕΒΙΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/14/#p-18 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Eusebius of Asikha lives into his nineties in a roofless enclosure, wasting his body, walls himself in, and speaks to almost no one but Theodoret. ### Greek text Τοῖς προειρημένοις ἁγίοις προσθήσω καὶ τὸν μέγᾶν Εὐσέδιον, ὃ; οὐ πρὸ πολλοῦ μὲν ἐτελεύτησε χρόνου, πάμπολλα δὲ ἔτη βεδιωχὼς, ἰσόμετρον τῷ χρόνῳ τὸν πόνον ὑπέμεινεν, ἰσόμετρον δὲ τῷ πόνῳ συνέλεξεν ἀρετὴν, πολλαπλάσιον δὲ τὸ ἐντεῦθεν ἀπεἐνέγχατο κέρδος. Ὁ γὰρ ᾿Αγωνοθότης τῇ φιλοτιμίᾳ τῶν ἀντιδόσεων ὑπερθαίνει τοὺς ἄθλους. Οὗτος τοίνυν ἄλλοις τὰ πρῶτα τὴν οἰκείαν χαταπιστεύσας ἐπιμέλειαν, ἤγετο ἧ ἂν ἐκεῖνοι ἦγον. Ἄνδρες γὰρ ἦσαν καὶ αὐτοὶ θεῖο';, καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀθληταΐ τε καὶ γυμνασταί. Χρόνον δὲ τινα τούτοι; συνδιατρίψας, ο καὶ εὖ καὶ καλῶς τῆς φιλοσοφίας τὴν ἐπιστήμην παραλαθὼ", τὸν μονήρη βίον ἡσπάσατο, καί τινα ῥαχείαν ὄρους χαταλαδὼν, ἐπίκειται δὲ αὐτῇ κώμη μεγίστη. ᾿Ασιχᾶν δὲ αὑτὴν ὀνομάζουσι, θριγχίῳ μόνῳ χρησάμενος, καὶ τοὺς λίθους οὐδὲ πηλῷ συνβίων, ἐσθῆτι μὲν δὲ καὶ κυάμοις ὕδατι δευομένοις τρεφόμενος. Καὶ σώματος «τὴν ἀσθένειαν οὕτω πειρώμενος. Καὶ εἰς γῆρας δ᾽ ἐλάσας βαθὺ, ὡς καὶ τῶν ὀδόντιυν τοὺς πλείους ἀποθαλείν͵ οὔτε τὴν τροφὴν οὔτε τὴν οἴκησιν Ἐμειψεν" ἀλλὰ κκαὶ ἐν χειμῶνι πηγνύμενος, καὶ ἐν θέρει φλεγόμενος, ἔφερ: χαρατερῶς τὰς ἐναντίας τοῦ ἀέρος ποιότητας, ἐριχνωμένον μὲν ἔχων τὸ πρόσωπον, τεταριχευμένα δὲ ἅπαντα τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος. Οὕτω δὲ τοῖς πολλοῖς πόνοις τὸ σῶμα χατἐδαπάνησεν, ὡς μηδὲ τὴν ξώνην ἐπὶ τῆς ἰξύος μένειν, ὀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ τὰ κάτω χωρεῖν. Οὐ γὰρ ἦν ὅ τι κωλύσειε, χατηνάλωντο δὲ καὶ γλουτοὶ, καὶ ἰσχία, καὶ παρεῖχον τῇ ζώνῃ ῥᾳδίαν τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ κάτω φοράν. Τοιγάρτο: τῷ χιτῶν: τὴν ζώνην προσέῤῥαψεν, οὕτω τὴν στάσιν αὐτῇ σοφισάμενος. Κομιδῇ δὲ αὐτὸν ἀπἐχναιεν ἡ πρὸς τοὺς πολλοὺς ὁμιλία " τὴν θείαν γὰρ διηνεκῶς φανταζόμενος θεωρίαν, ἕλκειν ἐκεῖθεν οὐκ ἐΘγύλετο τὴν διάνοιαν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως καὶ θερμὸν ἔχων οὔτω τὸν ἔρωτα, ὀλίγοις τῶν γνωρέμων τὴν θύρην καὶ εἴσω διαβαίνειν ἐπέτρεπε καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν θείων λογίων διδασκαλίαν προσφέρων, ἀπιόντας ἐκέλευε τῇ θύρᾳ τὸν πηλὸν ἐπιθεῖ-. Καὶ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς ὀλίγους δὲ συντυχίαν φυ- ΠῚ ἄμεινον ἡγησάμενος, ἀπετείχισε τὴν εἴσοδον παντελῶς, τῇ θύρᾳ ἐκείνῃ λίθον μέγιστον συναρμόσας. Διά τινος δὲ ὀρύγματος ὀλίγοις τῶν συνήθων διελέγετο μὲν, οὐκ ἑωρᾶτο δέ " οὕτω γὰρ ἐμεμηχάνητο " ἐκεῖθεν δὲ εἰσεδέχετο καὶ τὴν ὀλίγην ἐχείνην τροφήν. Πάλιν δὲ τὴν πρὸς ἅπαντας ἀπαγορεύσας διᾶ λεξιν, ἐμὲ μόνον τῆς γλυκείας ἐκείνης καὶ Θεῷ φίλης ἠξίον φωνῇς " καὶ ἀπιέναι βουλόμενον ἐπιπλεῖστον κατεῖχε περὶ τῶν οὐρανίων πραγμάτων διαλεγόμενος. Πολλῶν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφικνουμένων, καὶ τῆς εὐλογίας ἀπαιτούντων τὸ δῶρον, σφόδρα᾽ ποῦτον δυσχεράνας τὸν θόρυδον, οὔτε τὸ γῆρας εἰς νοῦν λαδὼν, οὔτε τὴν ἐπικειμένην ἀσθένειαν λογιοὐδὲ τοῖς μάλα σφριγῶσι " καὶ τὴν πελάζουσαν τῶν ἀσκητῶν χρῷ παρὰ τὴν τοῦ τοίχου γωνίαν χρησάμενος, μετὰ τῶν συνήθων ἠγωνίζετο πόνων. Ὃ δὲ ταύτης προτατεύων τῆς ποίμνης, ἀνὴρ πάσης μεστὸς ὧν ἀρετῆς, ἰσχάτιν αὑτὸν ἔφη πεντεκαίδεκα χοησάμενον, τὰς ἑπτὰ τῆς ἁγίας νηστείας διελθεῖν ἑδδομάδας. Καὶ τοῦπον ἠγωνίσατο τὸν ἀγῶνα πλείονα μὲν ὃ ἐννενήύχοντα ἔτη ῥεθιωχὼς, ἀσθενείᾳ δὲ δυσδιηγήτῳ τετρυχωμένος,. ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀσθενείας ἦν κρείττων ἡ προθυμία, καὶ ὁ θεῖος πόθος εὐμαρῆ πάντα διεδείχνυ καὶ ῥάδια. Τούποις καὶ οὗτος τοῖς ἱδρῶσι περιῤῥεόμενος, χατέλαόδς τοῦ δρόμου τὴν νύσσαν, καὶ τὸν ἀγωνοθέτην ὁρῶν, καὶ τοὺς στεφάνους ποθῶν. Ἐγὼ δὲ τῆς πρεσθδείας ἐκείνης τυχεῖν ἀξιῶ, ἧς ἔτι περιόντος; ἀπήλαυνον. Ζἢ» γὰρ αὐτὸν πιστεύω, καὶ καθαρωτέραν ἔχειν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν παῤῥησίαν. ### English translation (Claude) To the saints already mentioned I shall add the great Eusebius, who died not long ago. He lived very many years, endured labour equal in measure to his time, gathered virtue equal in measure to his labour, and carried off from it a gain many times greater; for the President of the games outdoes the contests by the generosity of his rewards. At first he entrusted his care to others and was led wherever they led him; for they too were divine men, athletes and trainers in virtue. Having spent some time with them and learned the science of philosophy well and nobly, he embraced the solitary life and took possession of a mountain ridge above which lies a very large village (they call it Asikha). He used only a wall, without even joining the stones with mud; … clothing … and he fed on … and beans soaked in water … the weakness of his body … Though he reached a deep old age, so that he lost most of his teeth, he changed neither his food nor his dwelling; frozen in winter and scorched in summer, he bore steadfastly the opposite qualities of the air, his face wrinkled and every limb of his body dried up. He so wasted his body with his many labours that his belt would not stay on his loins but slipped down; for there was nothing to stop it, since his buttocks and hips had wasted away and gave the belt an easy way down. So he sewed the belt to his tunic, contriving in this way to keep it in place. Conversation with the many wore him out completely; for, constantly picturing the divine contemplation, he did not wish to drag his mind away from it. Yet, though his love was so ardent, he allowed a few acquaintances [to open] the door and come inside, and offered them teaching from the divine oracles … he told those leaving to put mud on the door. Then, thinking it better to avoid meeting even the few, he walled off the entrance completely, fitting a very large stone into that door. Through a hole he talked with a few of his familiars, but was not seen (it had been contrived so); and through it he also received that scanty food. Again, renouncing conversation with everyone, he granted me alone that sweet and God-beloved voice; and when I wished to leave he would keep me for a long time, talking about heavenly things. When many came to him and demanded the gift of his blessing, he was greatly vexed at the commotion, and without taking his old age into account or reckoning the weakness that lay upon him … not even to those in the prime of strength; and making use of the nearby … of the ascetics, by the corner of the wall, he continued his contests with his usual labours. The man who presides over this flock, a man full of every virtue, said that he got through the seven weeks of the holy fast on fifteen dried figs. He fought this contest when he had lived more than ninety years and was worn down by a weakness hard to describe; but his zeal was stronger than his weakness, and divine longing made everything easy and light. Bathed in these sweats, he too reached the turning-post of the course, seeing the President of the games and longing for the crowns. I ask to obtain the intercession that I enjoyed while he was still alive; for I believe that he lives and has a purer boldness before God. ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged: Latin debris and a footnote from Migne's page are removed by logged corrections; lost Greek words are marked '…' and not supplied (notably the description of his clothing and diet, and his move near the ascetics' dwelling). - 'The seven weeks of the holy fast' is Lent. 'The man who presides over this flock' is the head of the neighbouring ascetic community (not named here). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 18 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/18). ## Life 19 (ΣΑΛΑΜΑΝΗΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/14/#p-19 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Salamanes lives walled in and silent beside the Euphrates, does not respond even to his ordination, and lets himself be carried back and forth between two rival villages. ### Greek text "Αδικεῖν νομίσας τὴν ἀρετὴν, εἰ καὶ Σαλαμάνου τοῦ θαυμασίου τὸν βίον τοῖς δεομένοις μὴ γνωρέίσαιμι, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὸ τῆς λήθης χωννυμένην περιίδοιμι, ἐν κεφαλαίῳ ποιήσομαι τὴν διήγησιν. Κώμη τίς ἐστι τοῦ Εὐφράτου ποταμοῦ πρὸς ἑσπέραν, αὑτῇ ἐπικειμένη τῇ ὄχθῃ, Καπερσανᾷ καλουμένη. Ἐκ ταύτης οὗτος ὁρμώμενο:, καὶ τὸν ἡσύχιον ἀσπαζόμενος βίον, ἐν ᾿ τῇ πέραν κώμῃ σμικρὸν οἰκίσκον εὑρὼν, χαθεῖρξεν ἑαυτὸν, οὔτε θύραν, οὔτε θυρίδα καταλιπών. ἔωκη: δὲ τοῦ ἔτους παρὰ τὴν γῆν ὀρύττων, παντὸς ἔτους ὑπεδέχετο τὴν τροφὴν, οὐδενί ποτε τ διαλεγόμενος. Καὶ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον οὖκ ὀλίγον, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι μάλιστα πλεῖστον διετέλεσε χρόνον. Καὶ ὁ τῆς πόλεως δὲ ἀρχιερεὺς, ἧς ἣν ἡ κώμη, τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μαθὼν ἀρετὴν, ἀφίκετο τῆς ἱερωσύνης αὐτῷ δοῦνα: τὸ δῶρον βουλόμενος" καὶ διαῤῥήξας τοῦ οἱχίσχου τι μέρος εἰσελήλυθε’ καὶ τὴν χεῖρα ἐπέθηκε, καὶ τὴν εὐχὴν ἐπετέλεσε, καὶ πολλὰ μὲν πρὸς αὖτὸν ἔφη, καὶ τὴν ἐπιγενομένην ἐμήνυσε χάριν. Οὐ-. δεμιᾶς δὲ φωνῆς ἀκούσας ἀπελήλυθεν, ἀνοικοδομηθῆναι κελεύσας τὸ ὄρυγμα. λλλοτε δὲ πάλιν, οἱ τῆς κώμης ἐκείνης, ἀφ᾽ ἧς ὥρμητο, νύκτωρ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὸν πόρον διαπεράσαντες, καὶ τὸ οἴχτ μα διαῤῥήξαντες, λαθόντες αὐτὸν, οὔτε ἀντιτείνοντα, οὗτε κελεύοντα, εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν κώμην φοράδην ἐχόμισαν " ᾿ καὶ τωοῦτον ἕωθεν οἰκίσκον δειμάμενοι, παραυτίκα χαθεῖρξαν. Ὃ ὃὲ ὁμοίως ἡσυχίαν ἦγεν, οὐδὲν πρὸς ᾿μηδένα διαλεγόμενος. Μετ᾿ ὀλίγας δὲ πάλιν ἡμέρας, οἱ τῆς ἀντιπέρα. κώμης, νύχτω, ἐπελθόντες, καὶ τὸ οἴκῃμα διαῤῥήξαντες, πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς ἀπῆγον, οὐκ ἀντιλέγοντα, οὐδὲ μένειν βιαζόμενον, οὐδ᾽ αὖ πάλιν προθύμως ἀπαίροντα. Οὕτω νεκρὸν ἑαυτὸν παντελῶς τῷ βίῳ κατέστησε, καὶ τὴν ἀποστολικὴν ἐχείνην φωνὴν ἀληθεύων ἐφθέγξατο ε« Χριστῷ συνεσταύρωμαι, ζῶ δὲ οὐκ ἔτι ἐγὼ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστὸς " ὃ δὲ νῦν ζῶ ἐν σαρκὶ, ἐν πίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ ΥἹοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντός με, καὶ δόντος ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ. ν» Τοιοῦτος καὶ οὗτος ἐγένετο. ᾿Αρκεῖ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα διδάξαι τὴν πᾶταν τοῦ βίου προαίρεσιν. Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν χαρπωσάμενος εὐλογίαν, ἃ εἰ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων διήγησιν μεταδήσομαι. ### English translation (Claude) Thinking that I would wrong virtue if I did not make known the life of the admirable Salamanes to those who need it, but allowed it to be buried by forgetfulness, I shall tell it in summary. There is a village to the west of the river Euphrates, lying on the very bank, called Capersana. Setting out from this village and embracing the life of stillness, he found a small cell in the village on the other side and shut himself in, leaving neither door nor window. Once a year, digging by the ground, he received his food for the whole year, never speaking to anyone. He continued in this way not for a short time but for a very long time. The high priest of the city to which the village belonged, learning of the man’s virtue, came wishing to give him the gift of the priesthood; he broke through part of the cell, went in, laid on his hand and completed the prayer, said much to him and made known the grace that had come upon him. But he heard no word in reply and went away, ordering the opening to be built up again. Another time the people of the village from which he had come crossed the river by night, broke into the dwelling, and without his either resisting or consenting, carried him off bodily to their own village; and at dawn they built a similar cell and at once shut him in. He kept his stillness just the same, speaking not a word to anyone. A few days later the people of the village opposite came by night, broke into the dwelling and took him back to themselves, while he neither objected, nor forced them to let him stay, nor again went away eagerly. So completely did he make himself dead to life, and he spoke truly that apostolic word: ‘I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.’ Such was this man too. These things are enough to teach the whole purpose of his life. Having reaped the blessing from it, I shall pass on to the story of the others. ### Scripture references - Gal 2:20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections. 'Once a year' renders a damaged word (ἔωκη:, probably ἅπαξ). - Gal 2:20 is quoted. - Salamanes is ordained presbyter by the bishop of the city to which the village belonged (not named); the chapter reports that he made no response. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 19 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/19). ## Life 20 (ΜΑΡΙΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/14/#p-20 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Maris lives thirty-seven years in a damp cell near Omeros, keeps his virginity, and at his request Theodoret celebrates the Eucharist in his cell, using the deacons' hands as an altar. ### Greek text Ὁμήρον κώμη τίς ἐστι παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ἀαχδυμένννν: παρὰ ταύτην οἰχίδιον οἰκοδομήσας βραχὺ Μάρις ὁ θεσπέτιος, ἑπτὰ καὶ τριάκοντα ἐν αὐτῷ χαθειργμένος διετέλεσεν ἔέη.- Πολλὴν δὲ ἐκ τοῦ παρακειμένον ὅρους ὑπεδέξατο τὴν νοτίδα, καὶ λιδάδας ζινὰς ὑδάτῶν ἀνέόλυζεν. “Ὅση δὲ τοῖς σώμασιν ἐντεῦθεν ἐπιγίνεται βλάθη, ἴσασι καὶ ἀστοὶ καὶ χωρητικοί " καὶ γὰρ τοῖς ἀγροίκοις δῆλα τὰ παθήματα ἐντεῦθεν φυόμενα. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως οὐδὲ ταῦτα ἔπεισε τὴν ἱερὰν ἐχείνην κεφαλὴν τὸν οἰκίσκον ἀμεῖψαι " ἀλλὰ διέμεινε καρτερῶν" ἕως τὸν δρόμον ἐξήνυσε. Καὶ τὸν πρότερον δὲ βίον μετὰ τῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς διώδευσε πόνων. Ὅθεν καὶ τῷ σώματι τὴν ἀγνείαν καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ διετήρησε. Καὶ τοῦτό μοι σαφῶ; αὐτὸς χατεμῆννσεν, ἄφθορον αὐτῷ διαμεῖναι τὸ σῶμα διδάξας, καὶ οἷον ἀπὸ τῆς μητρῴας ἐξελήλυθε μήτρας, Καὶ ταῦτα πολλὰς μὲν ᾿ ἐκ μαρτύρων πανηγύρεις ἐπιτελέσας, ἡνίχα νέος ἐτύγλων γὰρ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον διετέλεσε χρόνον᾽, ὥρᾳ τε σώματος λάμπων. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως οὔτε τοῦ σώματος τὸ κάλλος, οὔτε τῆς φωνῆς ἡ λαμπρότης, οὐκ ἡ τῶν πολλῶν ἐπιμιξία, τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐλυμήνατρ κάλλος " «ἧς οἰκείας ἐπεμελεῖτο ψυχῆς " ηὔξησε δὲ τὴν ἀρετὴν τοῖς τῆς χαθείρξεως πόνοις. Τούτου πολλάκις τῆς συνουσίας ἀπήλαυσα. ᾿Αποφράττειν γάρ μοι τὴν θύραν ἐκέλευε " καὶ εἰσιόντα δὲ περιεπτύσσετο, καὶ μακροὺς περὶ φιλοσοφίας ἐξέτεινε λόγους, Απλότητι δὲ καὶ οὗτος διέλαμ πε, καὶ τὰ ποικίλα 4θη παντάπασιν ἐδδελύττετο " τὴν πενίαν δὲ ὑπὲρ πὴν ἄκραν εὐπορίαν ἠγάπησεν. ᾿Εννενήκοντα ᾿ἔτη ἱματίοις ἐχρῆτο. ΓΆρτος δὲ καὶ ἄλες ὀλίγοι τῆς τροφῆς αὐτῷ τὴν χρείαν ἐπλήρουν. Ποθήσας δὲ διὰ γρόνου μακροῦ τὴν πνευματικὴν καὶ μυστικὴν θυοἰαν προσφερομένην ἰδεῖν, ἤἥτησεν ἐκεῖ γενέσθαι τὴν τοῦ θείου δώρου προσχομιδήν. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἀσμένως ὑπίχουσα, καὶ τὰ ἱερὰ σχεύη χομισθῆναι παρασκευάσας, οὐ πόῤῥωθεν γὰρ ἦν τὸ χωρίον, καὶ ταῖς τῶν διακόνων χερσὶν ἀντὶ θυσ'αστη οίου χρησάμενος, τὴν μυστικὴν καὶ θείαν καὶ σωτήριον θυσίαν προσφιλοσοφίαν προθείην εἰς μίμησιν. Καὶ νῦν τοῦνῦν πέρας ἐπιθήσω τῷ διηγήματι. ἤνεγκα. Ὁ δὲ πάσης ἡδονῆς ἐνεφορεῖτο πνευματικῇς, καὶ αὐτὸν ὁρᾶν τὸν οὐρανὸν ὑπελάμθανε, καὶ ἔφα- Ἐγὼ δὲ θερμῶς λίαν ὑπ᾽ αὑτοῦ φιληθεὶς, ἀδικήσειν χήσειν δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους, εἰ μὴ τὴν ἀρίστην ταύτην τῆς πορ' αὑτοῦ τυχεῖν ἐπικουρίας ἀντιδολήσας, ### English translation (Claude) There is a village near us called Omeros. Beside it the godly Maris built a small cell and continued shut up in it for thirty-seven years. It received much moisture from the neighbouring mountain, and springs of water bubbled up in it. How much harm comes to bodies from this, citizens and country people know; for even to peasants the ailments that grow from it are plain. Yet not even this persuaded that sacred head to change his cell; he remained, enduring, until he completed his course. His earlier life too he travelled with the labours of virtue; so he kept purity in body and in soul. He told me this plainly himself, explaining that his body had remained uncorrupted, just as it had come from his mother’s womb; and this though he had taken part in many festivals of martyrs when he was young … for he continued a very long time …, radiant with bodily beauty. Yet neither the beauty of his body, nor the brilliance of his voice, nor mixing with the many harmed the beauty of his soul; he cared for his own soul, and increased his virtue by the labours of enclosure. I often enjoyed his company; for he would tell me to break open the door, and when I came in he embraced me and extended long discussions about philosophy. He too shone with simplicity and loathed intricate characters altogether; he loved poverty above the greatest wealth. For ninety years he used … garments; a little bread and salt met his need of food. After a long time, longing to see the spiritual and mystical sacrifice offered, he asked that the offering of the divine gift be made there. I gladly agreed, had the sacred vessels brought (for the place was not far off), and using the hands of the deacons in place of an altar, I offered the mystical, divine and saving sacrifice. He was filled with all spiritual delight, supposed that he was seeing heaven itself, and said … I, who was loved by him very warmly, [thought that I would wrong him], and wrong the others too, if I did not set this excellent philosophy before them for imitation. And now I shall put an end to the story, having begged to obtain help from him. ### Translation notes - The lines of this short chapter are out of order in the scan: the closing sentence ('… set this excellent philosophy before them for imitation. And now I shall put an end to the story') stands in the middle of the account of the Eucharist and is translated at the end, where the sense shows it belongs. Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections; lost words are marked '…'. - 'Festivals of martyrs': the damaged context suggests Maris sang at martyrs' festivals as a young man with a fine voice ('the brilliance of his voice'); the exact wording is lost. - Theodoret, as bishop of Cyrrhus, celebrates the Eucharist ('the mystical, divine and saving sacrifice') in the recluse's cell, with the deacons holding the vessels in place of an altar. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 20 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/20). ## Life 21 (ΙΑΚΩΒΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/21/#p-21 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: James of Cyrrhestica lives without any shelter on a mountain near Cyrrhus, endures illness under the eyes of crowds, raises a dead child, supports Theodoret against the Marcionites by prayer and visions, sees John the Baptist and the patriarch Joseph, resists the devil's apparitions, and explains why he will not break off prayer to talk with visitors. ### Greek text Ἐπειδὴ τῶν ἀναῤῥηθέντων τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀθλητῶν τοὺς ἀγῶνας διεξήλθομεν, ἐν κεφαλαίῳ διηγησάμενοι καὶ τοὺς ἐν τῇ μελέτῃ πόνους, καὶ τοὺς ἐν τοῖς: [ὶ ἀγῶσιν ἱδρῶτας, καὶ τὰς λαμπροτάτας καὶ περιλῃδἰ} γεγο ἰπὶεἱ φανεστάτας νίκας, φέρε καὶ τῶν ἔτι περιόντων, καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς ἀγωνιζομένων, καὶ φιλονειχούντων νικῆσαι τοῖς ἱδρῶσι τοὺς προλαδόντας, τὴν πολιτείαν ὀνησιφόρον μνήμην. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τῶν πάλαι ποτὲ διαπρεψάντων ἁγίων ἡ πολιτεία τοῖς ἔπειτα μεγίστην ὠφέλειαν ἐκόμισεν, οὕτως ἀρχέτυπα τοῖς μεθ᾽ ἡμᾶς τὰ τούτων γενήσεται διηγήματα. ᾿Αρχὴν τούτων ποιήσομαι τὸν μέγαν Ἰάκωδον - οὗτος γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ τῷ χρόνῳ, καὶ τῷ πόνῳ πρωτεύει, καὶ τοῦτον ζηλώσαντες, τὰ θαυμαστὰ. καὶ παράδοξα δρῶσι. Συνέδη δὲ οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅπως, καὶ τῶν ἀπελθόντων, καὶ τῶν ἔτι περιόντων, τοῦτο πρωτεῦται τὸ ὄνομα. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὴν ἐχείνων πολιτείαν διηγησάμενος, ἀρχὴν τὸν θεῖον ἐκεῖνον ἐποιησάμην Ἰάχωυτὃς τὴν Περσιχὴν ἐχείνην στρατείαν ἐσχέδασε προσευχῇ, καὶ τῶν τοῦ ἄστεως περιθόλων σόντων, οὔτε τὴν πόλιν ἀλῶναι συνεχώρησε, καὶ τοὺ; καταστρατεύσας, καὶ χώνωπας. Ὁ ἐκείνου τοίνυν ὁμότιμος, καὶ ὁμότροπος, τῆς τῶν ἔτι περιόντων ἀγωνιστῶν προτευέτω συμμορίας " οὐκ ἐπειδὴ τῆς προσηγορίας ἐστὶ κοινωνὸς, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι καὶ τὴν ἐχείνου ἐζήλωσεν ἀρετὴν, καὶ παράδειγμα φιλοσοφίας αὐτὸ; «οἷς ἄλλοις ἐγένετο. Μάρωνι γὰρ ἐκείνῳ τῷ πάν συγγενόμενος, καὶ τῆς θείας αὐτοῦ διδασχαλί: μεταλαχὼν, τοῖς μείζοσι πόνοις ἀπέκρυψε τὸν διδά" σχαλον. Ὃ μὲν γὰρ καὶ περίβολον εἶχε τῆς παλαιᾶς πλάνης τὸ τέμενος, καὶ σκηνὴν ἐκ δέῤῥεων ἐπήξατο, καὶ ταύτῃ χρώμενος, τὰς τὸῦ ὑετοῦ καὶ νιφετοῦ διέφυγε προσδολάς. Οὗτος δὲ πᾶσι τούτοις; ἐῤῥῶσθαι φράσα;, καὶ σκηνῇ, καὶ χαλύδῃ, καὶ περιδόλῳ, ὄροφον ἔχει τὸν οὐρανὸν, πάσα; τοῦ ἀέρο; τὰς ἐναντίας δεχόμενος προσθολάς. Καὶ νῦν μὲν καὶ μενός τε καὶ ἐμπιπράμενος, καὶ πρὸς ἅπαντα χαρπτερῶν καὶ ὡς ἐν ἀλλοτρίῳ ἀγωνιζόμενος σώματι, καὶ φιλυνειχῶν τῇ προθυμίᾳ νικῆσαι τὴν τοῦ σώματὸς φύσιν. Θνητὸν γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ παθητὸν περικείμενος, ὡς ἐν ἀπαθεῖ πολιτεύετα:, καὶ τὴν ἀσώματον ζωὴν ἐν σώματι μελετῶν, μετὰ τοῦ θεσπεσίου Παύλου βοᾷ" « Ἐν σαργὰὶ περιπατοῦντες οὐ κατὰ σάρκα στρατευόμεθα " τὰ γὰρ ὅπλα ἡ μῶν οὐ σαρκικὰ, ἀλλὴ δυνατὰ τῷ Θεῷ πρὸς καθαίρεσιν ὀχυρωμάτων - λογι- σμοὺς καθαιροῦντες, καὶ πᾶν ὕψωμα ἐπαιρόμενον κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ " καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζοντες πᾶν νόημα εἰς τὴν ὑπακοὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. » ᾿Αλλὰ τούτους τοὺς ὑπὲρ φύσιν ἀγῶνας ἐν μείοτιν ἐμελέτὴσε πόνοις. Ἐν οἰκίσκῳ γάρ τινι βραχεῖ πρότερον ἑαυτὸν καθείρξας, καὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν θορύθων ἑλευθερώτας, καὶ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ μνήμῃ προτηλώσας τὸν νοῦν. οὕτω τὴν τῆς ἐντελοῦς ἀρετῆς ἐποιεῖτο μελέτην, Γυμναπάμενος δὲ ἄριστα, χοαὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν πόνων ἐθάδα τὴν ψυχὴν ἀποφήνας, τῶν μειζόνων κατετόλμησεν ἄθλων " καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ὄρος καταλαδὼν, ὃ τοῦδε τοῦ ἄστεως τριάκοντα σταδίοις ἀφέστηκεν, ἐπίσημον ἀπέφηνε καὶ σεθάσμιον, ἄσημον ὃν πάλαι καὶ ἄκαρπον παντελῶς, Τοσαύτην δὲ νῦν εὐλογίαν δεδέχθα: πεπίστευται, ὡς τὴν ἐπικειμένην δαπανᾶσθαι γῆν, Β τῶν πάντοθεν ἀφικνουμένων εἰς ὠφέλειαν ταύτην κομιζομένων. Ἐν τούτῳ διαιτώμενος, ὑπὸ τῶν παραγινομένων ἁπάντων θεωρεῖται οὐκ ἄντρον ἔχων, ὡς ἔφην, οὐ σκηνὴν, οὐ καλύδην, οὐ θριγχίον, μένος ὅρᾶται, καὶ διαναπαυόμενος, καὶ ἑστὼς, καὶ καθήμενος,. καὶ ὑγιαίνων, καὶ ἀῤῥωστίᾳ τινὶ κατἐχόμενος" ὡς διηνεκῶς ὑπὸ θεαταῖς ἀγωνίξεσθαι, καὶ τὰς ἀνάγκας τῆς φύσεως ἀποκρούεσθαι. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνθρώποις, ἐν ἐλευθερίᾳ βραχείᾳ τεθραμμένοις, ξένων παρόντων, εὐπετὲς τὰς τῶν τὴν ἄκραν φιλοσοφίαν ἐξησχημένῳ. Καὶ ταῦτα λέγω, οὐ παρ᾽ ἄλλου τοῦτο μαθὼν, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὸς ἀὐτόπτης γεγενημένος. Πρὸ τεσσάρων γὰρ καὶ δέκα ἐνιαυτῶν, νόσος αὐτῷ χαλεπὴ προσπε- ᾽ σοῦσα, διέθηχεν ὡς ἦν εἰκὸς τὴν θνητὴν ἔχοντα φύσιν. Θέρος γὰρ ἣν ἀκμάζον, καὶ σφοδρότερον ἔξήπτετο τῆς ἀκτῖνος ἡ φλὸξ, τῶν μὲν ἀνέμων κεκοιμημένων, ἀκινήτου δὲ μένοντὸς τοῦ ἀέρος. Τὸ δὲ πάθος ἣν πλημμύρα χολῆς φερομένης ἐπὶ τὰ κάτω, καὶ δαχνούσης τὸ ἔντερον, καὶ συνωθούσης, καὶ τρέχειν ἐπὶ τὰ ἔξω βιαζομένης. Τότε τὴν πολλὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καρτερίαν ἐθεασάμην. Παμπόλλων γὰρ χωρίων συναθροισθέντων, ἀρπασομένων τὸ σῶμα τὸ νικηφόρον, καθῆστο διχόθεν βαλλόμενος. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ φύσις ἱέναι ἐπὶ τὴν ἔχχρισιν ἡ δὲ τῆς παρεστηχυίας πληθύος αἰδὼς μένειν ἐπὶ σχήματος ἐδιάζετο. Ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦτο γινώσκων, πολλὰς μὲν τοῖς συνελθοῦσι παραινέσεις προσήνεγχα, περιττωμάτων ἐκκρίσεις ποιεῖσθαι, μήτι γε ἀνδρὶ πολλὰς δὲ καὶ ἀπειλὰς, ἀπιέναι κελεύων, Ἴστερον δὲ καὶ τὰ τῆς ἱερωσύνης αὑτοῖς δεσμὰ περιτέθειχα, καὶ σὺν πόνῳ πολλῷ δείλης ὀψίας ἀπεπεμψάμην. Ὁ δὲ θεῖος ἀνὴρ, οὐδὲ τούτων ἀπελθόντων, ἡττήθη πἧς φύσεως " ἀλλ᾽ ἔμεινε καρτερῶν, ἕως νὺξ ἐπ:γινομένη βαθεῖα πάντας ἀπελθεῖν οἴκαδε χατηνάγχλσε, Πάλιν δὲ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ πρὸς αὑτὸν ἀφικόμενος, ὡς εἶδον φλογμὸν σφοδρότερον γεγενημένον, καὶ τὸν ἐπικείμενον αὐτῷ πυρετὸν τῷ ἔξιυδεν πυρὶ τρεβενοξ δυσχεραίνειν ἔλεγον τῆ; ἀκτῖνο: τὴν προσθυ ἣν, καὶ παρεκάλουν βραχεῖάν μοί τι"α παρ᾽ πος υἱ σκιάν" καὶ ἐπειδὴ προσέταξε, «αλάμους τρεῖς πήξαντες, καὶ δύο τούτοις περιθέντες ἐσοφισάμεθα τὴν σκιάν " κελεύοντος δέ μοι εἴτω ἱέναι "« Αἰσχρὸν, ἔφην, ὦ πάτερ, ἐμὲ "μὲν, καὶ νέον ὄντα, καὶ ἐῤῥωμένον, τῆσδε τῆς ψυχαγωγίας τυχεῖν" σὲ δὲ πυρετῷ κατεχόμενον λαύρῳ, καὶ τῆς τοίαύτης παραψυχῆς δεόμενον, ἕξω καθῆσθαι δεχόμενον τῆς ἡλιακῆς ἀκτῖνος τὴν προσδολήν. Εἰ τοίνυν, ἔφην, ἐθέλεις με τῆς σκιᾶς ἀπολαῦσαι, γενοῦ μον κοινωνὸς τῆς βραχείας ταύτης σκηνῆς. ΠΡροσμεῖναι γὰρ σοι βούλομαι μὲν, ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς ἀκτῖνος χωλύομαι. ν, Εἶξε τοίνυν τούτων ἀκούσας τῶν λόγων, καὶ τὸν ἐμὴν θεραπείαν προείλετο. Ἐπεὶ δὲ κοινῇ τῆς σκιᾶς ἀπηλαύομεν, ἠρξάμην πάλιν ἑτέρου λόγον, καὶ ἔψην ὅτι δεῖ μοι κατακλίσεως, τοῦ ἰσχίου τὴν καθέδραν ἀλύπως μὴ φέροντος. ᾿Αλλὰ πάλιν ἠξίου μέν με καθήμενον αὐτὸν ὁρῶντι προσχλίνεσθαι. « Εἰ τοίνυν, ἔφην, ἐθέλεις με καὶ ταύτης ἐναπολαῦσαι τῆς ἀναπαύλης, κοινῇ προσχλιθῶμεν, ὦ πάτερ οὐ γὰρ αὑτοῦ τὴν καρτερίαν κατασοφισάμενος, τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀναχλίσεως αὑτῷ παραψυχὴν εἰσενήνοχα " ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ ἐδάφους ἐῤῥιμμένῳ προσέφερον λόγους χι- 'ρων. Εἴσω δὲ τοῦ ἱματίου τὴν χεῖρα βαλὼν, ἔπειρώμην μετρίως ἀποτρίδειν τὰ νῶτα, τότε τοῦ σιδήρου τὸ πολὺ φορτίον ἐθεασάμην, ὃ καὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν ἐδέσμει, καὶ τὸν αὐχένα. Καὶ ἕτεραι δὲ ἀλύσεις ἀπὸ ποῦ περὶ τὸν αὐχένα κύκλου, δύο μὲν ἔμπροσθεν, δύο δὲ ὅπιεθεν, εἰς τὸν κάτω κύκλον ἐγχάρσιαι διἔχουσαι, καὶ τοῦ Χ στοιχείου τὸ σχῆμα ποιοῦσαι, ἔμπροσθέν τε καὶ ὄπισθεν, τοὺς δύο κύκλους ἀλλή“ λοις συνέδεον" καὶ ἑτέρους δὲ αἱ χεῖρες ἕνδον περὶ τοὺς ἀγχῶνας εἶχον τοιούτους δεσμούς. Τὸ πολυτάλαντον οὖν τοῦτο θεασάμενος φορτίον, ἑκέτενον ἐπ᾿’ χουρῆσαι τῷ σώματι κάμνοντι, καὶ φέρειν οὐ δυναμένῳ κατὰ ταὐτὸν, καὶ τὰ ἐθελούσια φορτία, καὶ τὴν ἀκούσιον ἀῤῥωστίαν. ε« Νῦν μὲν γὰρ, ἔφη), ὦ πάτερ, ὁ πυρετὸς τὰ τοῦ σιδήρου ποεῖ" ὅταν δὲ οὗτος λωφήσῃ, τηνικαῦτα τῷ σώματι τὸν ἐκ πάλιν ἐπιϑήσομεν φόρτον. ν» Εἴξε καὶ εἰς τοῦτο πολλαῖς τοιαύταις καταθελχθεὶς ἐπιρδαῖς. ᾿Αλλὰ τότε μὲν ὀλίγας ἀῤῥωστήσας ἡμέρας, ῥχδίως Χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον χαλεπωτέρᾳ περιέπισε νότῳ, Πολλῶν δὲ πολλαχόθεν συνεληλυθότων, ὡς ἀρπσόμενοι τὸ σῶμα, πυθὕμενοι οἱ τοῦ ἄστεως συνέδο:μὸν ἅπαντες, καὶ στρατιῶται, καὶ ἰδιῶται, οἱ μὲν οἱ δὲ ὅποι; ἐμάχοντο, καὶ βέλη ἀφιέντες, οὐκ ὡς πλήξοντες, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς φοδήσοντες μόνον " καὶ οὕτω τοὺς περιοίχοὺς ἐξελάσαντες, τῇ κλίνῃ τὸν πένταθλον ἀγωνιστὴν ἐπιθέντες, τῶν γινομένων οὐδαμῶς οὐδὲ γὰρ τῆς κόμης αὐτοῦ τιλλομένης ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγροίκων ἐπήσθετο, ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν ἴεσαν “ εἰς δὲ τὸν προφητικὸν ἀφικόμενοι σηκὸν, εἰς τὸ τοῖξῳ φροντιστήοιον τὴν κλίνην ἀπέλεντο. χε δέ τις εἰς τὴν Βέῤῥοιαν, ἐκεῖ γὰρ ὧν ἐτύγχανον, τὰ γεγέη γημένα σημαίνων, καὶ τῆς τελευτῇ; κομίζων τὴν ἀγγελίαν. Τοιγάρτοι παραυτίκα δραμὼν, καὶ τὴν νύκτα πᾶσαν εἰς ὁδοιπορίαν χαταναλώσας, χατἔλαθον μετὰ χὴν ἕω τὸν θεῖον ἄνθρωπον, οὔτε φθεγγύμενον, οὔτε τινὰ τῶν παρόντων ἐπιγινώσκειν δυνάμενον " ὡς; δέ γὲ προσεῖπον, καὶ τὸν μέγαν ᾿Ακάκιον προσφθέγγέσθαι αὑτὸν ἔφην, ἀνέῳξε παραχρῆμα τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς, καὶ ὅπως ἔχω ἤρετο, καὶ πότε εἴην ἐληλυθὼς ἐπυνθάνετο " ἐμοῦ δὲ πρὸς ταῦτα ἀποκριναμένου, πάλιν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἕμυσε. Τριῶν δὲ διελθουσῶν ἡμερῶν, ἤρετο ὅποι εἴη " μαθὼν δὲ λίαν ἤχθετο, καὶ ἠξίου παραυτίκα εἰς τὸ ὄρος ἀποχομίζεσβαι. Θεραπεύειν δὲ αὐτὸν διὰ πάντων ἐθέλων, εὐθὺς τὴν κλίνην παρηγγύησα φέρειν, καὶ εἰς τὸ ποθούμενον χωρίον ᾿ἀποχομίζειν. Τότε τῆς σεθχλσμίας ἐμοὶ κεφαλῆς τὸ ἀφιλότιμον εἶδον. Τῇ γὰρ Β ψύξας " θερμοῦ γὰρ οὐδενὸς μεταλαγχάνειν ἠνείχετο, παντελῶς τοῦ πυρὸς τὴν χρείαν ἀπαρνησάμενος. Ἐπεὶ δὲ μεταλαμδάνειν οὐκ ἤθελε " « Πᾶσιν ἡμῖν, ἔφην, ὦ πάτερ, μετάδος φειδοῦς " κοινὴν γὰρ σωτηρίαν τὴν αὴἣν ὑγιείαν ἡγούμεθα. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον ὧφελείας ἀρχέτυπον πρόκεισαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ προσευχόμενος; ἐπαμύνεις, καὶ τὴν θείαν ἡμῖν εὐμένειαν προξενεῖς. ΕἸ δέ σε ἀποχναίει τὸ ἄηθες, καὶ τοῦτο, ἔφην, ὦ πάτερ, χαρτέρησον" εἶδος γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο φιλοσοφίας. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὑγιαίνων τροφῆς ἐριέμενος τῇ καρτερίᾳ τὴν ἔφεσιν " οὕτω νῦν ἥκχιστα μενος, τὴν τῆς μεταλήψεως καρτερίαν ἐπίδειξαι. ν Ταῦτά μοι λέγοντι συμπαρῆν καὶ ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρω- αὶ πὸς Πολυχρόνιος;, ὃς τῷ λόγῳ συναγωνιζόμενος, αὑτὺς πρῶτος μεταλαμθάνειν ἤθελε τῆς τροφῆς, καὶ ταῦτα ὄρθρου ὄντος, ὃ: πολλάκις δι᾽ ἑπτὰ ἡμερῶν τὸ σῶμα διέτρεφεν, Ἠττηθεὶς τοίνυν τῷ λόγῳ, ψατο χύλιχα, ὅπερ ποιεῖν ἐπὶ τῶν πικρῶν ποτίμων εἰώθαμεν. Ἐπειδὴ ὃὲ καὶ τοὺς πόδας, τὸ βαδίζειν προῦργον νομίζω καὶ ταύτην αὐτοῦ τὴν φιλοσοφίαν γυμνῶσαι. ]ρέχειτο μὲν γὰρ πλησίον ὁ σκύφος", ἐπειράλη δέ τις τῶν διακονούντων φορμῷ τινι τοῦτον συγχαλύψαι, ὡς μὴ δῆλος εἴη τοῖς παρ᾽ αὑτὸν ἀφικνουμένοις. Ὃ δέ" « Τί χαλύπτεις, ἔφη, τὸν σχύφον;» Τοῦ ὃὲ εἰρηκότος " « Ὡς μὴ παράχοιτο τοῖς ἀφιχνου- " μένοις εἰς θεωρίαν. ν --- επαγε, ἔφη, ὦ παῖ, μὴ χρύπὶ ἀνθρώποις τὰ τῷ ϑεῷ τῶν ὅλων δεδηλωμένα. Ἐκείνῳ γὰρ ζῇν μόνῳ βουλόμενος, τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης οὐ πεφρόντικα δόξτς. Τί γὰρ ὄφελος, εἰ οὗτοι μέν μοι πλείονα συγγνοῖεν ἄσκησιν, ὁ δὲ Θεὸς μείονα; τοῦ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῶν πόνων μισθοῦ οὐκ οὗτοι δοτῆρες, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ Θεὺς χορηγός.» Τίς τοίνυν οὐκ ἄν ὑπεραγασθείη καὶ τοὺς λόγους, καὶ τὸν τοὺς λόγους γεννήσαντα νοῦν, οὕτω δόξης ἀνθρωπίνης γεγενημένον ὑπέρτερον; Τοιοῦτόν τι καὶ ἄλλοτε γεγενημέναν μεμάθηκα. Ἑσπέρα ἦν, καὶ ἑσπέρα βαθεῖα, καὶ τῆς τροφῆς ὁ καιρός. Λαδὼν τοίνυν τὸ παρακείμενον ὄστρακον, ταύτην γὰρ εἶχε τὴν τροφήν. Ἧκε δέ τις ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄστεως, εἴσπραξίν τινὰ στρατιωτικὴν ἐμπεπιστευμένος, Ὃ δὲ καὶ πόῤῥωθεν αὑτὸν θεασάμενος, οὐκ ἀπέθετο τὸν φακὸν, ἀλλὰ συνήθως παρεπέμπετο τροφῆν. Δαίμονος δὲ φαντασίαν ὑπολαδὼν, λόγοις βάλλων ἀπήλαυνεν ὡς πολέμιον " καὶ δεικνὺς ὡς οὐ δέδιε, μεταξὺ τῷ στόμᾶτι προσέφερε τὸν φακόν, Ἱχέτευς δέ γε ὁ ταῖς λοιδορίαις βαλλόμενος, καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἔφασκεν εἶναι, καὶ ὡς ὄρκῳ τινὶ προσληφθεὶς πρὸ ἑσπέρας ἀπαίρειν «ἧς πόλεως, κατὰ τοῦτον ἀτφίχοιτο τὸν καιρόν, Ὁ δέ᾽ « Θάρσει, ἔφη, καὶ μὴ δείσῃς, ἀλλὰ προτευξάμενχ ἄπιθι. Γενοῦ δέ μοι καὶ σύσσιτος, καὶ τῆς τροφῆς μοι χοινώνησον.» Καὶ ἅμα ταῦτα λέγων, ἐπλέρον τὴν δεξιὰν, καὶ τοῦ φαχοῦ μετεδίδου. Οὕτω τῆς κενῆς δόξης τὸ πάθος μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων τῆς διανοίας ἀπήλασε, Περὶ δέγε καρτερίας περιττὸν. καὶ λέγειν, μαρτυρούσης τῆς ὄψεως. Τρεῖς γὰρ πολλάκις ἡνέ' ρα; καὶ τοσαύτας νύκτας χιόνο;ς κχατενεχθείστς, οὕτω χατεχώσθη πρηνὴς κείμενος, καὶ τὸν θεὸν ἱκετεύων, ὡς μηδὲ βραχύ τι τῶν περικειμένων αὐτῷ ῥαχίων ὁρᾶσθαι. Πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ἅμαις χρώμενι καὶ μαχέλλαις οἱ γειτονεύοντες, καὶ τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ τὴν περικειμένην ἀποσύροντες χιόνα, ἀνασπῶσί τι Κἀγὼ δὲ πολλάκις τῆς τούτου ἐπικουρίας ἀπήλαυσα" μιᾶς δὲ, ἢ δύο μνησθήσομαι Ἐκ τούτων τῶν πόνων τὰ τῆς θείας χάριτος ἐδρέ" μᾶῆνοι. Τῇ γὰρ ἐκείνου εὐλογίᾳ, πολλοὶ μὲν ἐσδέσθησάν τε καὶ σδεννύονται πυρετοῖ πολλοὶ δὲ ἡ πίσλκ ἐλώφησάν τε, καὶ παντελῶς: ὑπεχώρησαν" πολλοὶ δὲ φεύγειν ἠναγκάσθησαν δαίμονες" καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ὑτὸ τῆς ἐχείνου δεξιᾶς εὐλογούμενον ἀλεξίχαχον φάρμακον γίνεται. Τίς ἀγνοεῖ τοῦ τεθνηκότος παιδίου τὴν ὁ ἃ «ἧς τούτον προσευχῆς γενομένην ἀνάστασιν; ἕν γὰρ τοῖς τῆς πόλεως προαστείοις οἱ τούτου εἰσὶ γεν’ νήτορες, οἵ πολλῶν μὲν παιδῶν ἐγένοντο πατέρες, πάντας δὲ ἀώρους τῷ τάφῳ παρέπεμψαν. Ὅτε τόν! ποῦτο τὸ τελευταῖον ἐγεννήθη παιδίον, ἔδραμὲν ὁ πατὴρ πρὸς τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωτρν, μακρᾶς αὐτῷ ζωῆς μεταλαχεξ ἣν ἐχετεύων, καὶ ὑπ᾿ πισχνούμενος τῷ Θεῷ ἀναθήσειν, εἰ ζήσεις. Τέσσαρα τοίνυν ἔτη Θιῶσαν, ἐδέξατο τοῦ βίου τὸ τέλος. ᾿Απῆν δὲ ὁ πατέρ᾽ ἀφικόμενος δὲ ἐξαίφνης, ὁρᾷ τοῦτο λοιπὸν ἐχφερίμε" νον, καὶ ἁρπάσας ἀπὸ τῆς κλίνης" « Προσέχει, ἔζτ, πληρῶσαί με τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν, καὶ τῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνθρώπῳ καὶ τεθνεὸς ἀποδοῦνα!. ν» Καὶ ἀπεχόμισιν ὦ; προξίρηχε, καὶ τέθηχε πρὸ τῶν ἀγίων ἐχείνων πυδῶν. λέγων ἐκεῖνα ἃ καὶ τοῖς οἰχείοες εἰρήκει. Ὁ δὲ θεῖος ἄνθριυπο; προτεθειχὼς τὸ παιδίον, καὶ τὰ γύναι κλίνας, ἔχειτη πρηνὴς, τὸν ζωῆς καὶ θανάτον τὴν παρακαλῶν. Δείλης δὲ ὀψίας ἀφῆκε τὸ παιδίον φωνὴν, καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἐκάλεσεν. Οὕτως αἰσθόμτνο; ὁ θεσπέσιος ἐκεῖνος ἀνὴρ, ὡς τὴν ἱκετείαν ὁ τῆς ἐδέξατο; καὶ τὴν ζωὴν ἐχορήγησεν, ἀνέστη. τοὶ προσκυνήσας τὸν ποιοῦντα τὸ θέλημα τῶν φοδουμέ" νον αὑτὸν, καὶ τῆς δεήσεως αὐτῶν εἰσαχούονταν συνεπέρανε τὴν ἱκετείαν, καὶ τῷ φύσαντι τὸ παιδὸν ἀπέδωκε. Τοῦτο κἀγὼ ἐθεασάμην, καὶ τοῦ ταῖρὸς τὸ θαῦμα διηγησχμένου ἀκήκοα, καὶ πολλοῖς Πρ)" ἤνεγκα τὸ διήγημα ἀποστολικὸν, εἰδὼς καὶ ποὶλλῖς » λίαν ἡγούμενος ἄγ» μὸν εἶναι, σιγῇ παραδοῦναι καὶ μὴ διδάξαι τῆς εὐεργεσίας τὰ εἴδη. Τὰ 680. Μαρκίων ὁ βδελυρὸς πολλὰς ἀσεθείας ἀκάνθας εἰ: τὴν χώραν τῆς Κύῤῥου κατέσπειρε πόλεως, Ταύτης πάντα χάλων, λεγύμενου, ἐχένουν, γαὶ πάσῃ μηχανῇ χρώμενος δι" ἐτέλουν. Οἱ ὃὲλ τῆς δι᾿ ἐμοῦ θτοαπείας «ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀγαπᾷν με,» προφητιγῶς εἰπεῖν, « ἐν- διέβαλλόν με, καὶ ἔθεντο κατ᾽ ἐμοῦ κακὰ ἀντὶ ἀγαθῶν, καὶ μῖσο; ἀντὶ τῆς ἀγαπήσεώς μου" » καὶ καὶ δαίμοσι πονηροῖ; συνεργοῖς κεχρημένοι, ἀοράτως: πολεμεῖν ἔπει. ρῶντο. Καί ποτε νύκτωρ ἧκέ τι; βοῶ, ἀλιτήριο; δαίμων, καὶ τῇ Σύρᾳ κεχρημένος φωνῇ" « Τί πολεμεῖς, ὁδεῖνα, Μαρχίωνι; τί δήποτε δὲ τὴν πρὸς τοῦτον ἀναδέδεξαι μάχην; τί σο: λυπηρὸν εἰργάσατο πώποτε: ᾿ πῇ πείρᾳ μαθῆτει ὅτην καλὸν ἥτυχία. Εὖ ἴσθι γὰρ, ὡς πάλαι ἄν σ: χαττχόντισα, εἰ μὴ, τὸν τῶν μαρτύ- Ἤκουσα τούτων ἐγὼ, καί τινι τῶν γνωρίμων πλησίον καθεύδοντι " « ᾿Ακούεις, ἔφην, ὁ δεῖνα, τῶν λεγομένων; ν Ὁ δέ " « Πάντων, εἶπεν, ἐπήκουσα " καὶ διαναστῆναι βουλόμενος, καὶ διαχύψαι, καὶ γνῶναι «τἰς ὁ φθεγγόμενος, σοῦ χάριν ἡσυχίαν ἦγον, καθεύδεῖν σε τοπάσας. ν ᾿Αναστάντες τοίνυν, ἄμφω τε διεχύπτομεν, καὶ οὐδένα οὔτε κινούμενον, οὔτε φθεγγόμενον ἡχούομεν" τῶν δὲ ῥημάτων ἐχείνων καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι ἡμῶν ἐπήχουσαν σύνοικοι. Συνῆκα τοίνυν, ὡς χορὸν μὲν μαρτύρων ἔλεγε τὸ τοῦ ἐλαίου τῶν μαρτύρωνληχύθιον, ὃ παρὰ πολλῶν μαρτύρων συνειλεγμένὴ" ἔχον τὴν εὐλογίαν, παρχτὴν ἐμὴν ἐξήρτητο κλίνήν᾽ καὶ τῇ κεφαλῇ δὲ μου ὑπέχειτο τοῦ μεγάλοῦ Ἰαχώθου τὸ παλαιὸν περιθόλαιον, παντὸς ἕρχους «ἰνου ἰσχυρότερόν μοι γεγενημένον. Καὶ ἡνίκα δὲ τῇ μεγίστῃ τούτων κώμῃ προσθδάλλειν ἔμελλον, εἴτα πολλά τινα ἐν μέσῳ γινόμενα τὴν ἔξοδον διεχώλυεν, ἔπεμψα παρὰ τὸν ἐμὸν ᾿Ησαΐαν, τῆ: θεία: συμμαχίας ἀντιδολῶν ἀπολαῦσαι. Ὁ δὲ - ε Θάῤῥει, ἔλεγε" πάντα γὰρ ἐκεῖνα δίκην ἀραχνῶν διαλέλυται τὰ κωλύματα᾽ καὶ τοῦτό μὲ νύκτωρ ἐδίδαξεν ὁ Θεὸς, σὺκ ὄναρ σχιαγραφήσας, ἀλλ᾽ ὕπαρ ἐπιδείξας. 'Εώρων γὰρ, ἔλεγε, τῆς ὑμνῳδίας ἀρξάμενος, κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνο τὸ μέρος, ἐν ᾧ τὰ χωρία ἐκεῖνα διάκειται, ὄφιν τινὰ πυροειδῆ, ἀπὸ τῆ: ἑσπέρας ἐπὶ τὴν ξω, ἐρπύζοντα, καὶ διὰ μέσου τοῦ ἀέρος φερόμενον. Τρεῖς δὲ εὐχὰς ἐξανύσας, πάλιν ἐθεασάμην ἐπιχαμφθέντα, καὶ τὸ κυκλοτερὲς χκέρχον. Ὄκτὼ δὲ πάλιν προσευχὰς συμπεράνας, ἐθεασάμην διχῇ τμηθένια, καὶ εἰς καπνὸν διαλυθέντα.» Ταῦτα αὐτὸς μὲν οὕτω προεῖδεν - ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐθεασάμεθα συνομολογοῦσαν τῇ προῤῥήσει τὴν ἔχδασιν. ἜἝωθεν μὲν γὰρ, ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀρχεχάχον ὄφεως στρατηγούμενοι, οἱ πάλαι μὲν τῆς Μαρκίωνος συμμορίας, νῦν δὲ τῇς ἀποστολικῆς γενόμενοι φάλαγγο;, γυμνὰ ἡμῖν ἀπὸ τῆς. ἑσπέρας ὁρμῶντες τὰ ξίφη ἐδείκνυον. Περὶ δὲ τρίτην ὥραν τῆς ἡμέρας σνοπειραθέντες, τῆς οἰκείας ἐφρόντιζον φυλακῆς, καθάπερ ὁ ὄφις τῇ χέρχῳ τὴν κεφαλὴν συνεχάλυπτεν. Ὀγδόῃ δὲ ὥρᾳ σχεδασθέντες, χώραν ἡμῖν ἔδωκαν τῆς εἰς τὴν κώμην εἰσόδου - καὶ παραυτίκα εὕρομεν ὄφιν ἐξ ὕλης χαλκοῦ πεποιημένον, καὶ ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνων προσ- Χυνούμενον. Τὸν γὰρ κατὰ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ καὶ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων προφανῶς ἀναδεξάμενον πόλεμον, τὸν Ποσιν ἐσπούδαζον. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰς τὴν τῶν θείων ἀποκαλύψεων εἰσῆλθεν ὁ λόγο: διήγησιν, φέρε ἃ παρὰ τῆς Διηγήσατο δὲ οὐ φιλοτιμούμενος, πόῤῥω γὰρ γαὶ τοῦτον τοῦ πάθους ἡ θεία ψυχὴ, ἀλλά τινος χρείας βιλσαμένης εἰπεῖν ἃ κρύπτειν ἡ δούλετο. Ἱκέτευον αὐτὸν ἀντιθολῆσαι τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν, καθαρόν μοι ζιζανίων ἀποφῆναι τὸ λήϊον, καὶ τῶν αἱρετιχῶν σπερμάτων πάμπαν ἐλευθερῶσαι. Ἡνία γάρ με κομιδῇ ἡ τοῦ βδελυροῦ Μαρκίωνος ἐπὶ πλεῖστον διαχρατήτατι πλάνη. Ἔφη τοίνυν λιπαρούμενο; " « Οὔτ᾽ ἐμοῦ, οὔτε ἄλλου δεῖ σο! πρὸς αὐτὸν πρεσδευτοῦ. Ἔχει; γὰρ Ἰωάννην τὸν πάνυ, τὴν τοῦ Λόγου φωνὴν, τοῦ Δεσητότου τὸν πρόδρομον, ταύτην ὑπὲρ σοῦ τὴν ἱχεδιὰ παντὸς προσχημίξοντα. » Ἑ μοὺ δὲ λέγον- τος, ὡς καὶ ταῖς τούτου πιστεύω προσευχαΐ:, καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἄλλων ἁγίων ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν, ἐν ὡς Ἰωάννην ἔχεις τὸν Βαπτιστήν. ν» ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐδὲ οὕτω σιγὴν ἔχειν ἠνειχόμην " πολλῷ δὲ πλέον ἐπεχείμην πυνθανόμενος, καὶ μαθεῖν ἐφιέμενος, τί δὴ πούτου μᾶλλον ἐμνήσθη, Ὁ δέ ε Περιπτύξασθαι, ἔφη, ἐδουλόμην αὑτοῦ τὰ ἐπέραστα λείψανα. ) Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔλεγον" ε Οὐκ οἴσω ᾿ ταῦτα, εἰ μὴ ἐρεῖν ὑπόσχοιτο ἃ θεασάμενος εἴη, » αὑτὸ; μὲν ὑπέσχετο' ἐγὼ δὲ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ ἐχόμισα τὰ ποθούμενα, καὶ πάντας πόῤῥω κελεύσας γενέσθαι, ἐμοὶ μόνῳ διηγήσατο «καῦτα. ᾿ ἡ εἰ Ἡνίχα, ἔφη, τοὺς πολιούχους τούτους ἀπὸ τῆς Φοινίκης καὶ τῆς Παλαιστίνης ἀφικομένους, μετὰ τῆς Δαυιτιχῆς ὑπεδέξω χορείας ἔννοιά μοί τις γέ: γονεν, εἰ τῷ ὄντι ταῦτα Ἰωάννου τοῦ πάν» λείψανι καὶ μὴ ἄλλου τοῦ μάρτυρος ὁμωνύμου, Μετὰ μὲν τοίνυν ἡμέραν, ἐγὼ μὲν ἐπὶ τὴν ὑμνῳδίαν ἀνέτιτ) νύκτωρ " ὁρῶ δέ τινα λευχειμονοῦντα, καὶ, «᾿Αδελζε,, Ἰάχωθε, λέγοντα, εἰπὲ, τί δήποτε ἀφιχομένοις ἐμὶν οὐκ ὑπήντησας:» Ἐμοῦ δὲ ἐρομένου, τίνες ποτὲ εἶεν͵ ἀπεχρίνατο λέγων" «Οἱ ἀπὸ Φοινίκης καὶ Παλαιστίνης τῇ προτεραίᾳ ἐληλυθότες " καὶ πάνον ἡμᾶς ὑποδεξαμένων προθύμως, καὶ τοῦ ποιμένος, καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ ἀστῶν, καὶ χωρητιχῶν, σὺ μόν; οὐκ ἐχοινώνησας τῆς τιμῆτ. ν» ἨἩνίττετο δὲ τὴν γένο" μένην ἀμφιθολίαν. Εἰπεῖν τοίνυν ἔφη πρὸς ταῦτα, ὑπ « Καὶ ἀπόντων ὑμῶν τε καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων προσκυνῶ τῷ Θεῷ. » Πάλιν δὲ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ κατὸ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν, αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος ἐπιφανεί; " « Ὅρα, ἔφη, ἀδελφὲ “Ἰάχωθε, τὸν ἐκεῖθεν ἑστῶτα, οὗ ἡ μὲν ἐσθϊ! χ'όνι κατὰ τὴν χροιὰν ἀπείκασται, χλίδανο; δὲ αὐτοῦ πυρὸς πρόκειται.ν Ἐμοῦ δὲ τὰς ὄψεις ἐκεῖσε μεταθέντος, καὶ τὸν Βαπτιστὴν Ἰωάννην ὑποτοτάσαντος, καὶ γὰρ τὴν στολὴν περιθέδλητο, καὶ τὴν ὃν ὑπέλαδες εἶναι" » καὶ ἄλλοτε δὲ᾽ « ἹΙνίχα, ἔν, εἰς τὴν πρώτην νύκτωρ ἀπῇεις κώμην, παιδεύσω! ὡς στασιαστὰς, σπουδαιοτέραν τῷ Θεῷ προσενεγκεῖν εὐχὴν παρεγγυήσας, ἄγρυπνος διετέλεσα τὸν Δεστό- « Μηδὲν δείσῃς, Ἰάχωδε " ὁ γὰρ μέγας Ἰωάννης ὁ τὸν τῶν ὅλων ϑιόν᾽ πολὺς γὰρ ὃν ἐγεγόνει φόνος, εἰ ἢ ταῖς ἐκείνου Ταῦτά μοι διτγησάμενος, παρεγγύησε μόνον εἰδέναι, καὶ μὴ λαθεῖν ἄλλους συνίστορας. Ἐγὼ δὲ ὠφελείας ἕνεκεν, οὐ “μόνον πολλοῖς προσήνεγχα τὸ διήγημα, ἀλκὰ καὶ συγγραφῇ παραδίδωμι. Καὶ Ἰωσὴφ δὲ τὸν πατριάρχτη" θεάσασθαι ἔφη. καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν πολιὸν χα! τὸ γένειον, καὶ ἐν γήρᾳ τῆς ὥρας ἀφιέντα τὴν αἴγλην, καὶ ἐν ἀρετῆς ἀκρότητι ἔσχατον ἑαυτὸν τῶν ἁγίων ὀνομάζοντα. ε Ἐμοῦ γὰρ͵ φησὶ, πρῶτον λένοντος τῶν τῆς θήκης αὐτῷ κοινωνούντων, αὑτὸς ἑαυτὸν ἔσχατον ὠνόμαζε. ν Διηγήσατο δὲ μοι καὶ τὰς γεγενημένα: αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν πονηρῶν δαιμόνων παντοδαπὰς προσδολάς. « Εὐθὺς μὲν γὰρ. ἔλεγε, ταύτης μοι τῆς πολιτείας ἀρξαμένῳ γυμνὸς ἑωρᾶτό τις, Αἰθίοπος ἔχων τὸ εἴδυς, πῦρ ἐκ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἀφιείς. ᾿Εγὼ δὲ ὁρῶν, δέους τε ἐνεπιμλάμην, καὶ εἰς εὐχὴν ἐτρεπόμην, καὶ μεταλιθεῖν οὐκ οἰ νειχόμτν τῆς τροφῆς " κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον γὰρ ἐπεφαίνετο τὸν καιρόν. Ὡς δὲ ἑπτὰ, καὶ ὀκτὼ, καὶ ἑέκα διῆλθον ἡμέραι, καὶ ἄσιτος διετέλουν, τέλος τῆς πονηρᾶς ἐφόδου καταφρονήσα:, καθήμενος τῆς τροφῆς μετελάμθανον. Ὁ δὲ ταύτην μου τὴν μεγαλοφροσύνην οὐκ ἐνεγκὼν, ῥάδδῳ παίειν ἠπείλει.» Ἐγὼ δὲ, ἔφη, ἔλεγον " « Εἰ μὲν ἐπιτέτραψαι παρὰ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων Δεσπότου, παῖς, καὶ δέξομαι μεθ᾽ ἡδονῆς τὴν πληγὴν: ὡς ὑπ᾽ ἐχείνου᾽ παιόμενος " εἰ δὲ μὴ ἐπ- Τούδιετέλει λυττῶν, Τὸ γὰρ δίς μοι τῆς ἑδδομάδος χάτθεν κομιζόμενον ὕδωρ, ἀπαντῶν τῷ χομέζοντι, καὶ τὸ ἐμὸν εἶδος μιμούμενος, ἐλάμθανε, καὶ ἀπιέναι χε- ᾿ λεύων ἐκεῖνον ἐξέχει τὸ νᾶμα. Καὶ τοῦτο οὐ δὶς μόνου, ἀλλὰ καὶ τρὶς ποιήσας, τὸ τοῦ δίψους μοι ἐπἐστράτευσς πάθος. Σφόδρα δὲ ἀνιαθεὶς, ἢρόμην τὸν εἰωθότα κομίζειν᾽ « Τί δή ποτε πέντε καὶ δέκα διελθουτῶν ἡμερῶν οὐκ ἐχόμισας ὕδωρ; » Ὁ δὲ τρὶς ἔλενε καὶ τετράκις χεχομιχέναι, καί με τοῦτο δεδέχθαι. « Καὶ ποῦ τοῦτο, ἔφην, ἐγὼ παρὰ σοῦ φέροντος ἐδεξάμην; » Ὥς δὲ τὸν τόπον ὑπέδειξε " «Κἂν μυριάκις, ἔφην, ἐκεῖ με θεάσῃ παραγινόμενον, μὴ δῷς τὸ ἀγγεῖον, ἕως εἰς τοῦτον ἀφίκῃ τὸν τόπον. » Οὕτω καὶ ταύτην αὑτοῦ τὴν ἐπιδουλὴν αὖθις ἑτέρας ἐπειράθη. Βοῇ γὰρ νύκτωρ χρησάμενος ἔφη, ὅτι « ΣῈ τοσαύτης δυσωδία: ἐμπλήσω, καὶ τοταύθεν θεάσασθα: ἄνθρωπον. » Ἐγὼ δὲ, ἔφη, ἐρὸς ταῦτα ἀπεκρινάμην, ὅτι ε Σοι χάριν ὁμολογήσω" ἄκων γὰρ εὐεργετέσεις τὸν δυσμενῖ,, πλέον ἐντρυφᾶν τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ μνήμῃ παρασκευάζων. Σχολῆς γὰρ πλείονο; ἀπολαύων, ἔργον σχήσω διηνεκὲς τοῦ θείου κάλλους τὴν φαντασίαν. » Ὁλίγων τοίνυν διελθουσῶν ἡμερῶν, μετούσης ἡμέρας τὴν εἰωθυῖαν λειτουργίαν ἐπιτελῶν, ὁρῶ, ἔφη, δύο ἐκ τοῦ ὄρους χατιούσας γυναῖκας. Ἐγὼ ὃξ τὸ ἄηθες δυσχεράνας, χ καὶ λίθοις βαλεῖν ἐπικαὶ ταύτην ὑπέλαδον εἶναι τὴν δύσχλειαν. Ἕφθην «οἶνυν βοήσα;, ὡς εἰ καὶ τοῖς ὥμοις ἐπικαθίσαιεν, οὐ βαλῶ τοῖς λίθοις, οὐ διώξω, μόνῃ δὲ χρήσομαι. τῇ προσευχῖ. Ταῦτα ἔφην, αἱ δὲ φρονδοι ἐγένοντο, καὶ τῷ λόγῳ συνεπληροῦτο τῆς θέας ἡ φαντασία. γ Μετὰ ταῦ. τὰ πάλιν" « Νύκτωρ ἐγὼ μὲν, ἔφη, προσηυχόμην, ματος δὲ κτύπος ἐφέρετο, καὶ ἡνιόχου βοὴ, καὶ ἵπποιν χρεμετιζόντων᾽ ἐμὲ ὃὲ τοῦ πράγματος τὸ καινὸν ἐθυρύθησεν. Ἑνενόουν γὰρ ὡς οὔτε ἄρχων ἐπεδήμει τότε τῇ πόλει, οὔτε ὀχήμάσιν ἡ ὁδὸς ἦν, οὔτε ὁ χαιρὶς τοῖς ὀχήμασιν ἐπιτήδειος. Ἔ μοῦ δὲ ταῦτα λογιξομένου, θύρυδός τις πλήθους ἠκούετο προσπελάζοντος " καί τινες νοντες ἐκ τοῦ μέσου τοὺς πλείους, καὶ εὐτῥεπῇ ποιοῦντὲς τῷ ἡγουμένῳ τὴν πάροδον. Ὡς δὲ σφόδρα μοι πελάζειν ἔδοξε, εἶπον, ἔφη" «Τίς εἶ; καὶ πόθεν ἧκεις; καὶ τίνος δεόμενος κατὰ τοῦτον ἐλήλυθας τὸν καιρόν; μέχρ' τίνος παίζεις, ὦ ταλαίπωρε, καὶ τῆς θείας μακροθυμίας καταφρονεῖς; » Τοῦτο ἐγὼ μὲν ἔλεγον πρὸς ἕω τετραμμένος, καὶ τῷ Θεῷ τὴν ἱκετείαν προσφέρων. Ὁ δὲ; ὦσε μὲν, χαταθαλεῖν δὲ οὐκ ἴσχυσεν. ἡ γὰρ θεία χάρις ἀντέσχεν, καὶ παραυτίκα φρυῦδα πάντα ἐγέγοντο. » “Ἔλεγε δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸν τῶν ἀλιτηρίων ᾿ ἐχείνων λῃστῶν καιρὸν, ὅτε ἐξ ἸΙσαυρίας ὁρμώμενοι τῆς ἕω τὰ πλεῖστα ἐμπρήσαντες ἐλτίῖδαντο, δεδιέναι σφόδρα, οὐ τὴν σφαγὴν, οὐ γὰρ οὕτω φιλοσώματος ἦν, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀνδραποδισμὸν, καὶ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν, καὶ τῆς ἀσεδείας καὶ παρανομίας τὴν θεωρίαν. Τούσου τοῦ δέους αἰσθόμενος ὁ διάδηλος " ἤκουσε γὰρ αὐτοῦ πολλάκις πρὸς τοὺς γνωρίμους ἐχφήναντος" μιμεῖται νύκτωρ ὁλολογὴν γυναικῶν. ε Ἐγὼ δὲ, ἔφη, ἀκούειν ἐδόκουν ὡς ἤχοιεν οἱ πολέμιοι, καὶ ὡς πὺρ ταῖς κώμαις ἐμθάλλοιεν. Εὐθὺς τοίνυν διχῇ τῆ; σ κεφαλῆς διακρίνας τὰς κώμας͵, καὶ τὰς μὲν ἐκ δεξιῶν, τὰς δὲ ἐξ εὐωνύμων. διὰ τῶν ὥμων ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος μετενεγκὼν, εὐτρεπῆ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ξίφους τομὴν τὸν αὐχένα ἑποίουν, ἵνα σύντομον δεξάμενος τὴ πληγὴν, τῆς ἀπευχτῆς ἐκείνης ἀπαλλαγῶ θεωρίας. Οὕτω πᾶσαν ἐχείνην διατελέσας τὴν νύκτα, καὶ διἡνεκῶς τὴν ἐχείνων ἔφοδον προσδεχόμενος, ἐπειδὴ ἡμέρα ἐγένετο, καὶ ἧχόν τινες, ἐπυθόμην τί περὶ τῶν Ἰσαύρων εἶεν ἀκηκοότες" οἱ δὲ ἔλεγον, μηδὲν ἐν ταύταις ἐγνωκέναι ταῖς ἡμέραις. Καὶ οὕτω, φησὶν, ἐπέγνων διαδολιχὴν κἀκείνην εἶναι τὴν φαντασίαν. μειδιῶν ἅμα καὶ παίζων ἐγὼ δὲ, ἔφη, τῷ θυμῷ Ὁ νεν ἐταιρικὸν βλέπων, καὶ τῷ τὲ μειδιάματι, τῷ τὶ φθέγματι, ἡδονὴν ἀναθλύζων, Τότε τοίνυν πλέον τὸν θυμὸν παραθήξὰάς" «ε Πῶς ἰσχύεις, ἔλεγον, πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην περινοστεῖν, καὶ πᾶσι τοιαύτας προῦφέρειν ἐπιδουλάς; Ὃ δὲ ἔλεγε μὴ μόνος εἶναι, ἀλλὰ πλῆθὸς δαιμόνων κατὰ πᾶσαν ἐσχεδάσθαι τὴν οἶκουμένην, τοιαῦτα παιζόντων ὁμοῦ καὶ σπουδαζόντων. Τῇ γὰρ δοκούσῃ παιδιᾷ σπουδάζουσι πᾶσαν ἀφανίσ: τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν. ε᾿Αλλά γε σὺ ἄπιθι, ἔφην, ποῦ Χριστοῦ σοι κελεύοντος, τοῦ λέγεῶνα ὅλην διὰ τῶν χοίρων τῷ βυθῷ παραπέμψαντος. » Ἥχονεν ἅμα καὶ ἔφευγεν, οὔτε τῆς Δεσποτικῆς προσηγορίας τὴν δύναμιν φέρων, οὔτε τῆς οἰχετικῇς φιλοσοφίας τὴν αἴγλην βλέπειν δυνάμενος. ν Καὶ ἄλλα δὲ πλείονα εἰδὼς τούτων διηγήματα, συγγράφειν, οὐ βούλομαι, πρόφασις. Τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ὁρῶσι τὸν θεῖον ἄνθρωπον οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον λεγόμενον ἀπίθανον καταφαίνεται, «ἧς ὁρωμένης ἀρετῆς βεθαιούσης τὰ λεγόμενα. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ εἰς τοὺς ὕστε,“» ἐσομένους τὸ τοῦ τοῖς πολλοῖς τὰ ὦτα τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, τῇ ἀσθενείχ τῶν ἀκουόντων μετρήσομεν τὴν διήγησιν. Τούτῳ τοίνυν ᾧκοδόμησαν μὲν καὶ ἄλλοι σηκὸν μέγιότον ἐν τῇ πελαζούση κώμῃ, οὐ πολλοῖς ἀφεστῶτα σταδίοις " κατεσχεύασα δὲ χἀγὼ θήχῃην ἐν τῷ τῶν ἀποστόλων καλλινίχων σηχῷ. ᾿Αλλὰ τοῦτο μαθὼν ὁ θεῖος ἄνθρωπος, πολλά με πολλάκις ἐλιπάρησεν, ἐν᾽ ἐκείνῳ. πῷ ὄρει ταφῇ παραδοῦναι τὸ σῶμα. Ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπον πολλάκις, ὡς οὐ προσήκει τὸν τῆς παρούσης ζωΐς ἀμελήσαντα, ταφῆς ποιήσασθαι πρόνοιαν. Ὡς δὲ τοῦτο αὐτῷ καταθύμιον εἶδον, ἐπένευσά τε, καὶ συνεὐέμην, καὶ τὴν λάρνακα τμηθῆναί τε, καὶ χομισθῆναι ἄνω πεποίηκα. Ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸν λίθον ὑπὸ τῆς πάχνης φθειρόμενον εἶδον, μικρὸν οἰκίσκον ἐπέτρεψα γενέσθαι τῇ λάρνακι. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐκέλευσε, καὶ τὴν « Οὐκ ἀνέξομα:, ἔφη, τοῦτον ᾿Ιαχώδου καλεῖσθαι τάφον, ἀλλὰ βούλομαι τῶν καλλινίχων μαρτύρων τοῦτον γενέσθαι σηκὸν, ἐμὲ δὲ οἷά τινα μέτοικον εἰς ἑτέραν κεῖσθαι θήχην, παροικεῖν αὑτοῖς ἠξιωμένον.» Καὶ ταῦτα οὐ μόνον εἵπεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔδρασε. Καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν προφήτας, πολλοὺς δὲ ἀποστόλους, πλείστους δὲ ὅτι μάρτυρας, πανταχόθεν συναγαγὼν, ἐν μιᾷ τὸ πλῆθος ἀπιστίας γένηται τέθειχς λάρνακι, τῷ τῶν ἁγίων δήμῳ συνοικεῖν ἐθελήσας, καὶ σὺν αὐτοῖς ἀναστῆναι, καὶ τῆς θεωρίας ἁ ἀξιωθῆναι ποθήσας. ᾿Ικανὸν δὲ τοῦτο τεχμηριῶσαι τὴν τοῦ φρονήματος μετριότητα. Ὁ γὰρ τοσοῦτον πλοῦτον συνειλοχὼς, ὡς; ἐσχάτῃ πενίᾳ συζῶν, τῇ τῶν εὐπόρων συμμορίᾳ παροικεῖν ἐπεθύμησεν. Ὁποῖοι μὲν οὖν τῆς σεδασμίας ἐμοὶ χεφαλῆῇς οἱ πόνοι, καὶ οἱ ἀγῶνες ἡλίκο:, καὶ ὅσης θεόθεν ἀπἐλανσέ χάριτος, καὶ ὅσας νίκας νενίκηκε, καὶ οἵοις στεφάνοις καταχεχόσμηται, ἀπόχρη καὶ ταῦτα διδάξαι. Ἐπειδὴ δέ τινες δυσκολίαν ἤθους ἐπαιτιῶνται, καὶ δυσχεραίνουσι τὸ φιλέρημον καὶ ἡσύχιον, ὀλίγα περὶ τούτων εἰπὼν, πέρας ἐπιθήσω τῷ διηγήματι" Πρόχειται πᾶσιν, ὡς ἔφην, εἰς θεωρίαν, οὔτε θριγκίῳ πεφραγμένος, οὔτε χαλύδῃ τινὶ ἣ σκηνῇ χαλυπτόμενος. Ἕκαστος δὲ τῶν ἀφικνουμένων, ὑπ᾽ οὐδενὸς λέγεσθα: βούλεται. Τοῖς δὲ ἄλλοις ταυτησὶ τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἐρασταῖς καὶ θριγχία καὶ θύραι εἰσὶ, καὶ ἡσυχίας ἀπόλαυσις, καὶ ἀνοίγνυσιν ἐθελήσας ὁ χαθεἰργμένος, καὶ ἀναδάλλεται ὅσον βούλεται, καὶ τῆς θείας ἐμφορεῖται θεωρίας ὅσον ἐθέλει. ᾽᾿Ενταῦθα δὲ τούτων οὐδέν. Διὸ μάλιστα δυσχεραίνει τοὺς παρ᾽ αὐτὸν τῆς προσευχῆς τὸν καιρὸν ἐνοχλοῦντας. Κἂν μὲν κελεύσαντος εὐθὺς ἀπίοιεν, πάλιν ἔχεται τῆς προσευχῆς. Εἰ δὲ ἐπιμένοιεν ὀχλοῦντες, καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς παρεγγυήσας μὴ πείσειε, τηνικαῦτα δυσχεράνας ἐπιτιμῶν ἀποπέμπεται. Ἐμοὶ δὲ περὶ τούτου πρὸς αὐτὸν γεγένηνται λόγοι " καί τινας ἔφην ἀσχάλλειν ἐξελαθέντας, καὶ εὐλογίας μὴ μετασχόντας " καὶ ὅτι πρέπον εἴη, τοὺς τούτου χάριν ἀφικνουμένους, καὶ πολλῶν ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν ἐξανύοντας, μὴ οὐχοὐτνους, καὶ τοῖς τῆς σῆς φιλοσοφία; διηγήμασιν ἑστιῶντας τοὺς ἀγνοοῦντας. Ὁ δὲ, « Οὐκ ἄλλου χάριν, ἔφη, ἀλλ᾽ ἐμαυτοῦ τὸ ὄρος κατείληφα. Καὶ πολλὰ λίαν ἁμαρτημάτων περικείμενος ἕλκη, πολλῆς δέομαι θεραπείας. Καὶ τούτου εἵνεκα τὸν ἡμέτερον ἱκετεύω Δεσπότην, ὀρέξαι μοι τὰ τῆς κακίας ἀλεξιφάρμακα. Πῶς τοίνυν οὐκ ἄτοπον, καὶ λίαν ἀνόηπον, διακόψαι μὲν τὸν τῆς ἱχετείας εἱρμὸν, μεταξὺ δὲ διάλεξιν πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ποιήσασθαι; Εἰ γὰρ οἰκέτης ἀνθρώπου ὁμοφυοῦς ἐτύγχανον, ἐν δὲ τῷ τῆς δεσποτικῆς διακονίας χαιρῷ, καταλιπὼν τὸ προσενεγκεῖν εἰς καιρὸν ἣ σιτία ἢ ποτὰ, πρός τινα τῶν ὁμ»δούλων ἐποιησάμην διάλεξιν, πόσας οὐκ ἂν δικαίως ἐδεξάμην πληγάς; Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἄρχοντι προσελθὼν, καὶ ἣν ὑπομένω παρά τινος διηγούμενος ἀδικίαν, δι» ἐχοψα μὲν ἐν μέσῳ τὴν διάλεξιν, ἄλλους δὲ λόγους τινὰς πρός τινας τῶν παρόντων ἐποιησάμην, οὔ σοι δοκεῖ δυσχερᾶναι τὸν δικαστὴν, καὶ τῆς μὲν ἐπικουρίας ἀποστερῆσαι, προσθεῖναι δὲ καὶ μάστιγας, καὶ τῶν χιγχλίδων ἀπελάσαι; Πῶς τοίνυν ὅσιον, δεσπότῃ μὲν τὸν οἰκέτην, καὶ δικαστῇ τὸν ἱκέτην, προσηκόντως προσφέρεσθαι" ἐμὲ δὲ τῷ Θεῷ, τῷ καὶ αἰωνίῳ Δεσπότῃ, καὶ δικαστῇ δικαιοτάτῳ, καὶ βασιλεῖ τῶν ἁπάντων προσιόντα, μηδὲ τούτοις παραπλησίως ποιεῖσθαι τὴν πρόσοδον, ἀλλὰ μεταξὺ προσευχόμενον πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοδούλους τρέπεσθαι, καὶ μακρὰν ποιεῖσθαι διάλεξιν; » Ταῦτα καὶ ἤκουσα, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς δυσχεράναντας διεπόρθμευσα. Καὶ εὖ μοι καὶ καλῶς εἰρηκέναι δοκεῖ. Πρὸς γὰρ αὖ τοῖς εἰρημένοις, καὶ ἴδιον τῶν ἐρώντων, πάντων μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ὑπερορᾷν, ἐκείνῳ δὲ προστετηκέναι, ὃν φιλοῦσι καὶ στέργουσι" καὶ τοῦτον νύκτωρ ὀνειροπολεῖν, καὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν φαντάζεσθαι. Διὰ τοῦτό μοι δυσχεραίνειν δοκεῖ, ἐν τῇ ποθουμένῃ μὲν θεωρίᾳ γενόμενος, ἐμπλησθῆναι δὲ τοῦ ἑπεράστου κωλυόμενος κάλλους. Ταῦτα διηγηματιχῶς συνεγράψαμεν, κομιδῇ τῆς συντομίας φρυντίσαντες, ἵνα μὴ τῷ μήκει τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας ἀποχναίσωμεν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπιδιῴη τῷδε τῷ διηγήματι χρόνον, καὶ ἄλλα μυρία δήπουθεν κατορθώματα τοῖς προτέροις προσθήσει, καὶ συγγράψουσι κἀκεῖνα ἕτεροι. Ἡμῖν γὰρ τῆς ἐντεῦθεν ἐκδημίας πόθος πολύς. Ὁ δὲ τῶν τῆς εὐσεδείας ἀθλητῶν ἀγωνοθέτης καὶ τούτῳ δώσει τέλος τῶν ἀγώνων ἐπάξιον, καὶ τοῦ δρόμου τὸ λειπόμενον παράσχοι τῷ προτέρῳ συμ’ βαῖνον, ἵνα νικηφόρος χαταλάδοι τὴν νύσσαν, καὶ «ἣν ἡμετέραν ἀσθένειαν ταῖς τούτου προσευχαῖς ὑπερείσειεν" ὅπως ἀναῤῥω“θέντες, τὰς πολλὰς ἡμῶν βναπαλαίσωμεν ἧττας, καὶ μετὰ νίκης τὸν βίον ἐξέλθωμεν. ### English translation (Claude) Since we have gone through the contests of the athletes of virtue already mentioned, recounting in summary the labours of their training, the sweat of their contests, and their most brilliant and conspicuous victories, come, let us also make a profitable record of the way of life of those still alive, who contend magnificently and strive to surpass their predecessors by their sweat. For as the life of the saints who were distinguished long ago brought the greatest benefit to those after them, so the stories of these men will be archetypes for those after us. I shall begin with the great James; for he is first among the others both in time and in labour, and those who emulate him do wonderful and extraordinary things. It has happened, I do not know how, that this name stands first both among the departed and among those still alive; for in telling the life of those too I began with that divine James, who scattered that Persian army by prayer and, when the city walls [were falling], did not let the city be taken, and [sent against] those who had marched against it … and gnats. Let his equal in honour and in manner, then, lead the company of the contestants still alive; not because he shares his name, but because he emulated his virtue and became a model of philosophy for the others. Having lived with that all-[praised] Maron and shared his divine teaching, he outshone his teacher by greater labours. Maron had the precinct of the old error as an enclosure, and pitched a tent of skins, and by using it escaped the assaults of rain and snow. But this man bade farewell to all these, tent, hut and enclosure, and has the sky for his roof, receiving all the opposite assaults of the air: now … and now burnt and scorched, enduring everything, contending as though in another’s body, and striving by his zeal to overcome the nature of the body. For, clothed in this mortal and passible body, he lives as though in one free from passions, and, practising the bodiless life in the body, he cries out with the godly Paul: ‘Though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful to God for the destruction of strongholds, destroying arguments and every height raised up against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.’ But he first practised these contests beyond nature with lesser labours. He shut himself up in a small cell, freed himself from outside commotion, and nailed his mind to the remembrance of God; in this way he practised perfect virtue. Having trained excellently and accustomed his soul to good labours, he ventured on greater contests; and taking possession of this mountain, which is thirty stades from this town, he made it famous and venerable, though it was once obscure and wholly barren. It is now believed to have received such a blessing that its soil is being used up, carried away for their benefit by those who come from every side. Living there, he is seen by all who come, having no cave, as I said, no tent, no hut, no enclosure; … he is seen resting and standing, sitting, in health and when held by some sickness, so that he contends continually before spectators and fends off the necessities of nature. For not even for other people, brought up with a little freedom, is it easy to empty the bowels when strangers are present, still less for a man trained in the highest philosophy. I say this not having learned it from another but as an eyewitness myself. Fourteen years ago a grievous illness fell on him and affected him as was natural for one who has a mortal nature. It was the height of summer, and the flame of the sun blazed more fiercely, the winds being asleep and the air motionless. The illness was a flood of bile carried downwards, biting the intestine, pressing it and forcing it to run outwards. Then I saw the man’s great endurance. A great many villages had gathered to seize the victorious body, and he sat assailed from two sides: nature was forcing him to go and relieve himself, and respect for the crowd standing by forced him to keep his posture. Knowing this, I gave many exhortations to those who had come, and many threats too, telling them to leave; later I even put on them the bonds of the priesthood, and with great labour sent them away late in the evening. But the divine man, even when they had gone, was not defeated by nature, but remained enduring, until deep night came on and forced everyone to go home. The next day I came to him again, and when I saw that the heat had grown fiercer and that the fever upon him [was being fed] by the fire outside, I said that [he was suffering] from the assault of the sun, and begged him [to let me make] a little shade beside him; and when he consented, we fixed three reeds in the ground, laid two across them, and contrived some shade. When he told me to go inside it, I said: ‘It is shameful, father, for me, young and healthy, to have this comfort, while you, held by a violent fever and needing such relief, sit outside receiving the assault of the sun. So if you want me to enjoy the shade, share this little tent with me. I want to stay with you, but the sun prevents me.’ Hearing these words, he yielded and accepted my care. When we were enjoying the shade together, I began another argument, and said that I needed to lie down, since my hip could not bear sitting without pain. Again he urged me to lie down while I watched him sitting. ‘If, then,’ I said, ‘you want me to enjoy this rest too, let us lie down together, father.’ So, outwitting his endurance, I brought him the comfort of reclining; and as he lay stretched on the ground I offered him words … Putting my hand inside his garment and trying gently to rub his back, I then saw the great load of iron, which bound both his loins and his neck. Other chains, from the circle round his neck, two in front and two behind, ran crosswise to the lower circle, making the shape of the letter X, and bound the two circles together in front and behind; and his arms too had such bonds inside, round the elbows. Seeing this load of many talents, I begged him to lighten [it] for his body, which was suffering and could not bear at the same time both the voluntary loads and the involuntary sickness. ‘For now, father,’ I said, ‘the fever does the work of the iron; when it abates, then we will put the load back on the body.’ He yielded to this too, charmed by many such incantations. That time he was ill for a few days and easily [recovered]. Some time later he fell into a more grievous illness. Many came together from many places to seize his body; when the people of the town learned of it, they all ran together, soldiers and private persons, some … others fought with whatever [came to hand], shooting arrows not to hit but only to frighten; and so, having driven off the people of the neighbourhood, they placed the pentathlete contestant on a bier (he was quite unaware of what was happening, for he did not even notice his hair being plucked out by the peasants) and went to the city; and when they reached the shrine of the prophet, they set the bier down in the hermitage by the wall. Someone came to Beroea (for I happened to be there) reporting what had happened and bringing news of his death. So I ran at once, spent the whole night on the road, and after dawn found the divine man neither speaking nor able to recognise any of those present. But when I greeted him and said that the great Acacius sent him greetings, he at once opened his eyes, asked how I was, and enquired when I had come; and when I had answered, he closed his eyes again. After three days he asked where he was; learning it, he was much displeased and asked to be carried back to the mountain at once. Wishing to serve him in every way, I immediately ordered the bier to be lifted and taken back to the place he longed for. Then I saw the lack of ambition of that head so venerable to me. For … chilled; for he would not take anything hot, having entirely renounced the use of fire. When he would not take [food], I said: ‘Spare us all, father; we regard your health as our common salvation. For you are set before us not only as an archetype of benefit, but you also help us by praying and win the divine favour for us. If the unaccustomed thing wears you down, endure this too, father; for this too is a form of philosophy. As when healthy you [checked] your desire for food by endurance, so now … show the endurance of taking it.’ While I was saying this, the man of God Polychronius was with me, and, supporting my argument, he wished himself to be the first to take food, and that at dawn, though he often fed his body only once in seven days. Defeated by the argument, he [touched] the cup, as we do with bitter drinks. Since [the illness had made] his feet … for walking, I think it useful to lay bare this philosophy of his too. A pot lay near, and one of the attendants tried to cover it with a mat, so that it should not be visible to those who came to him. He said, ‘Why are you covering the pot?’ The attendant said, ‘So that it does not lie in view of those who come to see you.’ ‘Stop, my boy,’ he said; ‘do not hide from men what is plain to the God of all. Wishing to live for him alone, I have taken no thought for human glory. What profit is it if these people credit me with more asceticism, but God with less? For they are not the givers of the reward for labours; God is the one who bestows it.’ Who then would not greatly admire both the words and the mind that gave birth to the words, so far above human glory? I learned that something similar happened at another time too. It was evening, late evening, and the time for food. He took the earthenware dish lying beside him (for this was his food). Someone came from the town who had been entrusted with collecting a military levy … seeing him from a distance, he did not put down the lentils but took his food as usual. Supposing it to be an apparition of a demon, he drove him off with words as an enemy, and to show that he was not afraid, he kept putting the lentils to his mouth all the while. The man pelted with abuse begged him, saying that he was a human being, and that, being bound by an oath to leave the city before evening, he had arrived at this time. He said: ‘Take courage and do not be afraid, but pray and go. But first be my table-companion and share my food.’ And as he said this, he filled his right hand and gave him some of the lentils. So he drove the passion of vainglory from his mind along with the others. About his endurance it is superfluous even to speak, since the eye bears witness. Often, when snow has fallen for three days and as many nights, he has been so buried, lying prostrate and supplicating God, that not even a little of the rags about him could be seen. Often the neighbours, using shovels and mattocks and in this way scraping away the snow around him, draw [him] out … I too have often enjoyed his help; I shall mention one or two instances. From these labours he has reaped the fruits of divine grace. By his blessing many fevers have been quenched and are being quenched, many shiverings have abated and entirely withdrawn, many demons have been forced to flee; and water blessed by his right hand becomes a remedy against evil. Who does not know of the resurrection of the dead child that came about through his prayer? Its parents live in the suburbs of the city; they had been fathers of many children but had sent them all untimely to the tomb. When this last child was born, the father ran to the man of God, begging that it might receive long life, and promising to dedicate it to God if it lived. It lived four years and then reached the end of its life. The father was away; arriving suddenly, he saw it already being carried out to burial, snatched it from the bier and said: ‘I must fulfil my promise and give it back to the man of God, even dead.’ He carried it off, as he had said, laid it before those holy feet, and repeated what he had said to his household. The divine man set the child before him, bent his knees, and lay prostrate, imploring the Lord of life and death. Late in the evening the child uttered a sound and called its father. Perceiving this, that godly man, knowing that the Lord had received his supplication and granted life, rose, worshipped him who does the will of those who fear him and hears their prayer, finished his supplication, and gave the child back to its father. I saw this myself, and heard the father tell of the miracle, and I have told the apostolic story to many, knowing that it [benefits] many, and thinking it very wrong to consign it to silence and not to teach the kinds of his benefactions. … The loathsome Marcion sowed many thorns of impiety in the territory of the city of Cyrrhus. Against these I let out every rope, as the saying is, and used every means. But those healed through me, ‘instead of loving me’, to speak in the prophet’s words, ‘slandered me, and returned me evil for good and hatred for my love’; and using wicked demons as allies, they tried to wage war on me invisibly. Once by night a wicked demon came shouting, and in the Syrian tongue: ‘Why do you war against Marcion, so-and-so? Why ever have you taken up the fight against him? What harm has he ever done you? … learn by experience how good it is to keep quiet. Know well that I would long ago have shot you down, if [the choir] of the martyrs [and James had not been guarding you].’ I heard this and said to one of my acquaintances sleeping nearby: ‘Do you hear what is being said, so-and-so?’ He said: ‘I heard everything. I wanted to get up and look out and find out who was speaking, but I kept quiet for your sake, supposing you were asleep.’ So we both got up and looked out, but we heard no one moving or speaking; yet the others who lived with us also heard those words. I understood, then, that by the choir of martyrs he meant the flask of the martyrs’ oil, which, holding the blessing gathered from many martyrs, hung beside my bed; and under my head lay the old cloak of the great James, which had proved stronger for me than any rampart. And when I was about to attack the largest of their villages, and then many things that happened in the meantime prevented my setting out, I sent to my Isaiah, begging to enjoy the divine alliance. He said: ‘Take courage; all those obstacles have been dissolved like spiders’ webs. God taught me this by night, not sketching it in a dream but showing it to me awake. For,’ he said, ‘when I had begun the hymn-singing, I saw, in the region where those villages lie, a fiery serpent crawling from west to east and borne through the middle of the air. When I had completed three prayers, I saw it again bent and coiled into a circle. When I had finished eight more prayers, I saw it cut in two and dissolved into smoke.’ This he foresaw; and we saw the outcome agree with the prediction. At dawn, led by the serpent, the author of evil, those who were once of Marcion’s company, but have now joined the apostolic phalanx, rushing from the west, showed us bare swords. About the third hour of the day, after testing us, they turned to their own defence, as the serpent had covered its head with its tail. At the eighth hour they dispersed and gave us room to enter the village; and at once we found a serpent made of bronze, worshipped by them. For [they honoured] the serpent which had openly taken up war against the Creator of the universe … they were eager … Since my story has entered on the account of divine revelations, come, [let me tell] what [I heard] from his … He told it not out of ambition (that divine soul is far from this passion too), but because some need forced him to say what he wished to hide. I begged him to entreat the God of all to make my field clear of tares and to free it entirely from heretical seeds; for the error of the loathsome Marcion, which had prevailed so long, grieved me greatly. When pressed, he said: ‘You need neither me nor anyone else as an envoy to him; you have the all-great John, the voice of the Word, the forerunner of the Master, offering this supplication for you everywhere.’ When I said that I trust in his prayers and in those of the other holy apostles and prophets, [he said: ‘But trust especially,] since you have John the Baptist [here].’ But I could not keep silent even so; I pressed him much more with questions, wishing to learn why he had mentioned him rather than another. He said: ‘I wished to embrace his lovely relics.’ When I said, ‘I will not bring them unless you promise to tell what you have seen’, he promised; and the next day I brought what he longed for, and, telling everyone to stand far off, he told this to me alone. ‘When,’ he said, ‘you received these guardians of the city, arriving from Phoenicia and Palestine, with the dancing of David, a thought came to me whether these were really relics of the all-great John and not of another martyr of the same name. The next day I rose by night for the hymn-singing, and I saw someone dressed in white saying: “Brother James, tell me, why did you not come to meet us when we arrived?” When I asked who they were, he answered: “Those who came from Phoenicia and Palestine the day before; and when everyone received us eagerly, the shepherd and the people, citizens and country people, you alone did not share in the honour.” He was hinting at the doubt that had arisen. To this,’ he said, ‘I replied: “Even without you and all the others, I worship God.” Again, the next day at the same time, he appeared and said: “See, brother James, the one standing over there, whose garment is like snow in colour and whose cloak is of fire.” When I turned my eyes there and supposed it to be John the Baptist, for he wore the robe and …, [he said: “That is] the one you took him to be.”’ Another time he said: ‘When you went by night to the first village … to instruct them as rebels, having urged me to offer a more earnest prayer to God, I stayed awake [imploring] the Master … “Fear nothing, James; for the great John [is entreating] the God of all; for there would have been much bloodshed, had it not been for his [intercessions].”’ Having told me this, he urged me to keep it to myself alone and not to take others into my confidence. But for the sake of the benefit I have not only told the story to many but also commit it to writing. He said that he had also seen the patriarch Joseph, his head and beard white, radiating the splendour of youth in old age, and, at the summit of virtue, calling himself the last of the saints. ‘For when I said that he was the first of those sharing the tomb with him, he called himself the last.’ He also told me of the various assaults made on him by the wicked demons. ‘As soon as I began this way of life,’ he said, ‘someone appeared to me naked, having the form of an Ethiopian and shooting fire from his eyes. Seeing him, I was filled with fear and turned to prayer, and could not bring myself to take food; for he appeared at that time. When seven, eight and ten days had passed and I had continued without food, at last I despised the wicked assault, sat down and took food. He, unable to bear this high-mindedness of mine, threatened to strike me with a rod.’ ‘I said,’ he went on, ‘“If you have been permitted by the Master of the universe, strike, and I will gladly receive the blow as struck by him; but if not …” … he went on raging. The water that was brought up to me twice a week from below he would take, meeting the man who carried it and imitating my appearance, and, telling him to go away, he would pour out the water. Doing this not twice only but three times, he brought the torment of thirst against me. Greatly distressed, I asked the man who usually brought it, “Why ever have you brought no water for fifteen days?” He said that he had brought it three and four times, and that I had received it. “And where,” I said, “did I receive it from you?” When he showed me the place, I said, “Even if you see me coming there ten thousand times, do not give up the vessel until you reach this place.” So [I defeated] this plot of his too. He tried again in another way. Shouting by night, he said: “I will fill you with such a stench that you will not be able to look at a human being.” I answered him: “I shall be grateful to you; for you will unwillingly benefit your enemy, making me delight more in the remembrance of God. Enjoying more leisure, I shall have the picturing of the divine beauty as my constant work.” A few days later,’ he said, ‘while I was performing the usual liturgy at midday, I saw two women coming down from the mountain. Vexed at the unusual sight, … and [I was about] to pelt them with stones, [but I realised] that this too was the [demon’s] annoyance. So I quickly cried out that even if they sat on my shoulders I would not throw stones nor chase them, but would use only prayer. As I said this, they vanished, and with the word the apparition of that sight was ended.’ After this he told me again: ‘By night I was praying, and the clatter of a [carriage] reached me, and the shout of a driver, and horses neighing; the strangeness of the thing disturbed me. For I reflected that no governor was then visiting the city, that the road was not one for vehicles, and that the hour was not suitable for vehicles. While I was reckoning this, the noise of a crowd coming near was heard, and some [men] … clearing most people from the way and preparing the passage for the one in front. When he seemed to come very close to me, I said: “Who are you? Where do you come from? What do you want, coming at this hour? How long will you play, wretch, and despise the divine long-suffering?” I said this turned to the east and offering supplication to God. He pushed, but could not throw me down; for the divine grace held firm, and at once everything vanished.’ He also said that at the time of those accursed brigands, when they set out from Isauria and burned and plundered most of the East, he was greatly afraid, not of slaughter (he was not so fond of his body), but of enslavement and captivity and of seeing impiety and lawlessness. The devil perceived this fear (for he had heard him often express it to his acquaintances) and by night imitated the wailing of women. ‘I seemed to hear,’ he said, ‘that the enemy had come and were setting fire to the villages. At once I parted the hair of my head in two, brought the locks on the right and on the left over my shoulders onto my chest, and made my neck ready for the cut of the sword, so that by receiving a quick blow I might be spared that dreaded sight. Having spent that whole night like this, constantly expecting their attack, when day came and some people arrived, I asked what they had heard about the Isaurians; they said they had learned nothing of them in those days. So,’ he said, ‘I recognised that this apparition too was the devil’s.’ … smiling and joking at once … ‘I,’ he said, ‘[looked at him] with anger, … seeing his wanton look, his smile, …, his voice, bubbling with pleasure. Then, sharpening my anger further, I said: “How are you able to roam the whole world and bring such plots against everyone?” He said that he was not alone, but that a multitude of demons was scattered through the whole world, playing such games and at the same time in earnest; for by what seems play they are eager to destroy the whole nature of mankind. “But go away,” I said, “as Christ commands you, who sent a whole legion through the pigs into the deep.” He heard, and at once fled, unable to bear the power of the Master’s name or to look upon the radiance of the servant’s philosophy.’ Though I know more stories besides these, I do not wish to write them down, lest they become a pretext for unbelief to many. For those who see the divine man, nothing of this kind that is told seems incredible, since his virtue, which they see, confirms what is told. But since [the story will reach] those who will live later too, and [since] for most people the ears [are less trusted] than the eyes, we shall measure the story by the weakness of the hearers. Others have built a very large shrine for him in the neighbouring village, not many stades away; and I too prepared a tomb for him in the shrine of the triumphant apostles. But when the divine man learned this, he often pressed me hard to commit his body to burial on that mountain. I said many times that it was not fitting for one who had neglected the present life to take thought for burial. But when I saw that this was his heart’s desire, I nodded assent and joined in his wish, and had the coffin cut and brought up. When I saw the stone being damaged by the frost, I had a small building put up over the coffin. When he ordered … ‘I will not allow,’ he said, ‘this to be called the tomb of James; I want it to become a shrine of the triumphant martyrs, and myself, like a resident alien, to lie in another tomb, counted worthy to dwell beside them.’ He not only said this but did it. Gathering many prophets, many apostles and very many martyrs from everywhere, he placed the multitude in one coffin, wishing to live with the people of the saints, and longing to rise with them and be counted worthy of the vision. This is enough to show the modesty of his mind; for he who had gathered such wealth, while living in utmost poverty, desired to dwell beside the company of the rich. What the labours of that head so venerable to me are, how great his contests, how much grace he has enjoyed from God, how many victories he has won, and with what crowns he is adorned, these things suffice to teach. But since some find fault with a harshness of character, and are vexed by his love of solitude and stillness, I shall say a little about this and then put an end to the story. He lies open to all, as I said, to be seen, neither fenced by a wall nor covered by a hut or a tent. Each of those who come, hindered by nothing, wants to be addressed by him. The other lovers of this philosophy have walls and doors and the enjoyment of stillness: the one enclosed opens when he wishes, puts it off as long as he wishes, and fills himself with divine contemplation as much as he wishes. Here there is none of this. Therefore he is especially vexed with those who trouble him at the time of prayer. If they leave at once when he tells them, he returns to his prayer; but if they persist in troubling him, and he does not persuade them after urging them once and twice, then he is vexed and sends them away with a rebuke. I have talked with him about this. I said that some were aggrieved at being driven away without sharing in the blessing, and that it would be fitting not [to send away] those who came for this and travelled a road of many days, … [but to refresh] them and to regale those who do not know with the stories of your philosophy. He said: ‘I have occupied the mountain for no one else’s sake but my own. Covered with very many wounds of sins, I need much treatment; and for this reason I beg our Master to hold out to me the remedies against wickedness. How then is it not absurd and very foolish to break off the course of supplication and in the middle hold a conversation with men? If I were the servant of a man of my own nature, and at the time of serving my master I left off bringing food or drink at the right time and held a conversation with one of my fellow slaves, how many blows would I not justly receive? And if I approached a governor and, while telling him of the wrong I was suffering from someone, broke off my speech in the middle and addressed other words to some of those present, do you not think the judge would be vexed, deprive me of help, add lashes besides, and drive me from the bar? How then is it holy that a servant should approach his master, and a suppliant a judge, fittingly, while I, approaching God, the eternal Master, the most just Judge, and King of all, should not even approach him as they do, but in the middle of praying turn to my fellow slaves and hold a long conversation?’ I heard this and conveyed it to those who were vexed. He seems to me to have spoken well and rightly. Besides what has been said, it is characteristic of lovers to disregard everything else and cling to the one they love and cherish, to dream of him by night and picture him by day. That is why, I think, he is vexed when, having entered the contemplation he longs for, he is prevented from being filled with the beauty he loves. We have written this in the form of a narrative, taking great care to be brief, so as not to weary readers with length. If he survives this account for some time, he will doubtless add countless other achievements to the former ones, and others will write of those too; for we have a great longing for departure from here. May the President of the games of the athletes of piety give him too an end of his contests worthy of them, and grant that the rest of his course may match what went before, so that he may reach the turning-post victorious; and may he support our weakness by his prayers, so that, strengthened, we may make good our many defeats and depart this life with victory. ### Scripture references - 2 Cor 10:3–5: quotation, high confidence - Ps 145:19 (144:19 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 109:4–5 (108:4-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Mark 5:13: allusion, high confidence - 2 Sam 6:14: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 3:4: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - The scan of this long chapter is damaged: Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections; lost or garbled Greek words are marked '…' and not supplied. In two places the OCR moved a line out of place: 'to empty the bowels … still less for a man' and 'lest they become a pretext for unbelief' are translated where the sense shows they belong. - The first James is James of Nisibis (Life 1), whose prayer defended Nisibis against the Persians (the plague of gnats is told there). This James is James of Cyrrhestica, a disciple of Maron (Life 16), still alive when Theodoret wrote. - 2 Cor 10:3–5 is quoted. 'Him who does the will of those who fear him and hears their prayer' quotes Ps 145:19 (144:19 LXX). 'Instead of loving me … hatred for my love' quotes Ps 109:4–5 (108:4–5 LXX). The legion sent into the pigs: Mark 5:9–13. - 'The bonds of the priesthood': Theodoret threatened the crowd with excommunication. 'The great Acacius' is Acacius, bishop of Beroea (Aleppo). - Theodoret's campaign against the Marcionite villages of his diocese is told as he gives it, with the bronze serpent found in the village; the account of the hostile villagers is his own. - The relics of John the Baptist and of prophets, apostles and martyrs are described as Theodoret reports them; 'with the dancing of David' alludes to 2 Sam 6:14. The vision of John 'wearing the robe and …' alludes to Matt 3:4 (the word after 'robe' is lost). - 'The time of those accursed brigands … from Isauria': the Isaurian raids of the early fifth century. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 21 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/21). ## Life 22 (ΘΑΛΑΣΣΙΟΣ ἢ ΛΙΜΝΑΙΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/22/#p-22 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Thalassius trains Limnaeus, who after a time with Maron lives in a doorless enclosure, heals the sick, cures himself of colic and of viper bites by prayer alone, and houses blind beggars who sing hymns around him. ### Greek text Ταλίμα κώμη τίς ἔστι παρ᾽ ἡμῖν, πάλαι μὶν τῆς Μαρκίωνος ἀσεδείας δεξαμένη τὰ σπέρματα, νῦν δὲ τῆς γίας. Ταύτης πρὸς μεσημόρίαν λόφος τις ἐπὶν, οὔτε λίαν τραχὺς, οὔτε μάλα προσάντης. Ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ ἀσχητιχὸν ἐδείματο καταγώγιον θαλάσσιος ὁ θᾶν» τητι δὲ ἤθους, καὶ πραότητι, καὶ φρονήματος μεπριότητι, τοὺς ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῦ γε ἀνθριύπους μένος. Καὶ τοῦτο λέγω οὐκ ἀκοῇ μόνῃ πειθόμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πείρᾳ χρησάμενος. Κατέλαδον γὰρ τὸν ἄνδρα, καὶ πολλάκις τῆς γλυκείας αὐτοῦ ἀπήλαυσα συνουσίας. Εἰς τὸν τοῦδε χορὸν ἐτέλεσεν ὁ νῦν παρὰ πάντων ἀδόμενος Λιμναῖος, καὶ κομιδῇ νέος ὧν τὴν παλαίστραν ἐχείνην καταλαδὼν, τὴν ἄκραν ταύτην φιλοσοφίαν καλῶς ἐπαιδεύετο. Καὶ πρῶτον τὸ τῆς γλώττης εἰδὼς εὐόλισθον, μειράκιον ὧν ἔτι, σιγᾷν ἐνομοθέτησε ταύτην, καὶ πλεῖστον ὅτι μάλιστα διετέλεσε χρόνον μηδὲν πρὸς μηδένα φθεγγόμενος. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀποχρώντως τῆς τοῦ θείου πρεσβύτου διδασκαλίας μετέλαχε, καὶ ἐκμαγεῖον ἑαυτὸν τῆς ἐχείνου ἀπέφηνεν ἀρετῆς, παρὰ τὸν μέγαν ἀφίκετο Μάρωνα, οὗ καὶ πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθημεν. ᾿Αφίκετο δὲ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον, καθ᾽ ὃν ὁ θεῖος Ἰάχωθδος. Πολλὴν δὲ καὶ ἐντεῦθεν πάλιν ὠφέλειαν τρυγήσας, γαὶ τὸν ὑπαίθριον βίον ζηλώσας, κορυφὴν ἑτέραν χκατέλαδε, κώμης τινὸς ὑπερκειμένην, ἣν ὀνομάξουσι οὐκ οἰκίσκον ἔχων, οὐ σκηνὴν, οὐ χαλύδην, ἀλλὰ γυνων, οὐδὲ πηλῷ συνηρμοσμένων. Θύραν δὲ σμιχράν τινα ἔχει πηλῷ διηνεκῶς χεχρισμένην᾽ ἣν οὔποτε μὲν ἀνοίγνυσι τῶν ἄλλων ἀφικνουμένων, ἐμοὶ δὲ μόνῳ παραγενομένῳ τοῦτο ποιεῖν ἐπιτρέπει. Τούτου χάριν συναγείρονται πάμπολλοι πάντοθεν, τῆς ἑμῆς ἀφίξεως αἰσθόμενοι, κοινωνῆσαί μοι τῆς εἰσόδου ποθοῦντες. Τοῖς δὲ ἄλλοτέ ποτε πρὸς αὐτὸν φοιτῶσι, ξιὰ σμικρᾶς τινος θυρίδος διαλεγόμενος, μεταδίδωσι τῆς εὐλογίας, πλείστοις διὰ ταύτης τὴν ὑγίειαν δωρούμενος. Τῷ γὰρ τοῦ Σωτῇρος ὀνόματι κεχρημένος, καὶ νόσους παύει, καὶ δαίμονας ἐξελαύνει, καὶ τὴν ἀποστολικὴν μιμεῖται θαυματουργίαν. Οὐ μόνον δὲ “οἷς εἰς αὐτὸν ἀφικνουμένοις ἀναδλύζει τὴν ἴασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ οἰκείῳ ταύτην πολλάκις προπενήνοχε σώματι. Ἐπανέστη γὰρ αὐτῷ πάλαι ποτὲ τοῦ χώλονυ τὸ πάθος τὰς δὲ ἐντεῦθεν γινομένας ὀδύνας καὶ ᾿ἀλγηδόνα: ἴσασι μὲν ἀχριδῶς οἱ τὴν πεῖραν δεξάμενοι, ἴσασι δὲ καὶ οἱ τούτου γενόμενοι θεαταί. Καλινδοῦνται γὰρ τοῖς λυττῶσι παραπλησίως, τῇδε κἀκεῖσε περιστρεφόμενοι, καὶ ἅμα τοὺς πόδας ἐκτείνοντες καὶ δὲ σνστέλλοντες. Ἔστι δὲ ὅτε καὶ κάθηνται, καὶ ἀνίσταν- ται, καὶ βαδίζουσιν, ἀναπαύλης τινὸς πόρον εὑρεῖν σι, καὶ πολλάκις εἰσίασι, ψυχαγωγίας τινὸς ἀπολαύοντες. Καὶ τί δεῖ μηκύνειν, τὰ πᾶτι δῆλα καὶ καὶ τοσαύταις καὶ τηλιχαύταις ὀδύναις βαλλόμενος, οὐκ ἰατρικῆς ἐπικουρίας ἀπήλαυσεν, οὐ κλίνης ἣνἐσχετο, οὐ τὴν ἀπὸ φαρμάκων ἧ σιτίων ψυχαγωγίαν ἐδέξατο. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἐπὶ σανίδος χαμαὶ κειμένης χαθήμεγο;, προσευχῇ καὶ σφραγῖδι τὴν θεραπείαν ἐδέξατο, καὶ τῇ τῆς θείας προσηγορίας ἐπῳδῇ τὰς ὀδύνα-: ποθ ἰἐχοίμισε. Καὶ ἄλλοτε νύκτωρ βαδίζων, ἔχεως καθεύδοντος " ὁ δὲ τοῦ ταρτοῦ ἐπιλαβόμενος, τοὺς ὁδόντας ἐπήγνυ. Ἐπαμῦναι δὲ τῷ ποδὶ πειραθεὶς, χατέχυπτε μὲν, καὶ τὴν χεῖρα τούτῳ προσέφερε, μετέφερε δὲ εἰς ταύτην τοῦ θηρίου τὸ στόμα - πάλιν δὲ τῇ εὐωνύμῳ χρησάμενος εἰς βοήθειαν τῆς ἑτέρας, εἷλκε καὶ κατὰ ταύτης τὸν τοῦ θηρίου θυμόν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ χόρον ἔλαθε τῆς μανίας (πλείονα γὰρ αὐτῷ ἣ δέκα προσενήνοχε δήγματα, τὸ μὲν ἀπέστη, καὶ τὸν χτραμὸν τὸν οἰκεῖον κατέλαδεν" ὁ δὲ πάντοθεν πικραῖς ἐδάλλετο ὀδύναις. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐδὲ τότε τῆς ἰατρικῇς ἣνἔσχετο τέχνης " ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἕλκεσι προσέφερε μόνα τὰ τῆς πίστεως φάρμακα, σφραγῖδα καὶ προπευχὴν, καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ἐπίκλησιν. Διὰ τοῦτο δὲ, οἶμαι, καὶ ὁ Β τῶν ὅλων θεὸς εἴασε κατὰ τοῦ ἱεροῦ σώματος τὸ θπότην ὑμνούντων. Τοσαύτῃ περὶ τοὺς ὁμοφυεῖς φιλα ἀγώνων αὐτῷ τε καὶ τῷ μεγάλῳ ἐπλήρωσαν ἕτος. Ἰαχώδῳ ὁ αὐτός ἔστι χρόνος, Ρίον ἐκεῖνο λυττῆσαι, ἵνα γυμνὴν ἅπασι τῆς θείας ἐκείνης ψυχῆς ἐπιδείξηται τὴν καρτερίαν. Ταύτην γὰρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ γενναίου Ἰὼδ τὴν οἰκονομίαν ὁρῶμεν. Πολλαῖς γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ παντοδαπαῖς εἴασε τὴν σοφίαν ἅπασιν ἐθελήσας. Πόθεν γὰρ ἄλλοθεν ἔγνωμεν, ἣ τὴν ἐχείνου ἀνδρείαν, ἢ τούτου γε τὴν καρτερίαν, εἰ μὴ χώραν ἔλαθεν ἀφιέναι βέλη παντοδαπὰ κατ᾽ αὐτῶν ὁ τῆς εὐσεδείας ἀντίπαλος; Τὴν μὲν οὖν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καρτερίαν ἱκανὰ καὶ ταῦτα διδάξαι " τὴν δὲ φιλανθρωπίαν ἑτέρωθεν ἐπιδείξωμεν. Πολλοὺς γὰρ τὸ βλέπειν ἀφῃρημένους, καὶ προσαἰτεῖν ἠναγχασμένους συναγαγὼν, καὶ ἑκατέρωθεν πρὸς ἕω καὶ πρὸς ἑσπέραν δειμάμενος καταγώγια, διάγειν ἐν τούτοις καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὑμνεῖν παρεγγύησε, τὴν ἀναγκαίαν αὑτοῖς τροφὴν παρὰ τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν ἀφικνουμένων χορηγεῖσθαι κελεύων. Μέσης δὲ αὐτῶν χκαθειργμένος, καὶ τούτους κἀκείνους εἰς ὑμνῳδέαν διήγειρε, καὶ ἔστιν ἀκοῦσαι αὑτῶν διηνεκῶς τὸν Δε- ΓΟγδοον γὰρ καὶ τριακοστὸν ἤδη συν- ### English translation (Claude) There is a village near us called Talima, which long ago received the seeds of Marcion’s impiety, but now … To the south of it is a hill, neither very rough nor very steep. On it the admirable Thalassius built his ascetic dwelling; … by simplicity of character, gentleness and modesty of mind [he surpassed] the people of his time. I say this not trusting hearsay alone but from experience; for I visited the man and often enjoyed his sweet company. Into his choir was enrolled Limnaeus, who is now sung of by all; he entered that wrestling-school when quite young and was well trained in this highest philosophy. First, knowing how slippery the tongue is, while still a youth he laid down a law of silence for it, and continued for a very long time without saying a word to anyone. When he had had enough of the divine old man’s teaching and had made himself an impression of his virtue, he went to the great Maron, whom we mentioned earlier; he went at the same time as the divine James. Having reaped much benefit there too, and having come to emulate life in the open air, he took possession of another peak, which overhangs a village they call …; he has no cell, no tent, no hut, but [only a wall] of [stones] not even joined with mud. He has a small door, constantly smeared with mud, which he never opens when others come, but allows to be opened for me alone when I arrive. For this reason very many gather from every side when they learn of my arrival, longing to share my entry. To those who come to him at other times he speaks through a small window and gives a share of his blessing, granting health through it to very many. For, using the name of the Saviour, he both stops diseases and drives out demons, and imitates the wonder-working of the apostles. He pours out healing not only for those who come to him; he has often applied it to his own body too. Long ago the disease of colic attacked him. The pains and agonies that come from it are known exactly to those who have experienced it, and known too to those who have watched it. Sufferers roll about like madmen, turning this way and that, now stretching out their feet and now drawing them in. Sometimes they sit, and stand up, and walk about, trying to find some way of relief, and often go into [the bath], getting some comfort. But why lengthen the story with what is plain to all? Struck by pains so many and so great, he did not use medical help, nor would he bear a bed, nor accept the comfort of drugs or food; but sitting on a plank lying on the ground, he received the cure by prayer and the seal, and lulled the pains to sleep with the incantation of the divine name. Another time, walking by night, [he trod] on a sleeping viper; it seized the sole of his foot and fixed its teeth in it. Trying to help his foot, he bent down and put his hand to it, but this transferred the creature’s mouth to his hand; again using his left hand to help the other, he drew the creature’s fury on to it too. When it had had its fill of madness (it had given him more than ten bites), it went off and made for its own hole; and he was struck on every side by bitter pains. Yet not even then did he submit to the art of medicine; he applied to the wounds only the remedies of faith: the seal, prayer, and the invocation of God. For this reason, I think, the God of all let that creature rage against the sacred body, to display to all, laid bare, the endurance of that divine soul. We see the same dispensation of his in the case of the noble Job too; for he let him suffer many and varied [afflictions], wishing to [show] to all the wisdom [of his servant]. For how else should we have known either Job’s courage or this man’s endurance, had not the enemy of piety been given room to shoot every kind of arrow at them? These things suffice to show the man’s endurance; let us show his humanity from another quarter. He gathered many who had been deprived of sight and forced to beg, and built dwellings on either side, to the east and to the west, and bade them live in them and sing hymns to God, ordering that their necessary food be supplied by those who come to him. Shut up in the middle of them, he rouses both groups to hymn-singing, and one can hear them continually singing hymns to the Master. Such is his love for those of his own kind … For they have now completed the thirty-eighth year …; the time of the contests is the same for him and for the great James. ### Scripture references - Job 1:12: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged: Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections; lost Greek words are marked '…'. The closing lines ('… the Master. Such is his love … the great James') stand in the scan in the middle of the viper story and are translated at the end, where the sense shows they belong. - Talima had once been Marcionite; Theodoret elsewhere reports converting Marcionite villages in his diocese. - 'The seal' is the sign of the cross; 'the incantation of the divine name' is Theodoret's image for invoking God in prayer. The comparison with Job alludes to Job 1–2. - 'The divine James' and 'the great James' are James of Cyrrhestica (Life 21). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 22 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/22). ## Life 23 (ΙΩΑΝΝΗΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/22/#p-23 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Theodoret briefly describes John, who cut down an almond tree to deny himself its shade, and the ascetics Moses, Antiochus and Antoninus, and notes that there are countless others. ### Greek text Ταύτην ἐξήλωσε τὴν πολιτείαν καὶ Ἰωάννης, ἀνὴρ πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις ἡμερότητι καὶ πραότητι λάμπων. προσάρχτιον, ἐν ἐκείνῃ τέως πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι διετέλεσεν ἕτη, τὰς ἐναντίας τοῦ ἀέρος δεχόμενος προσ- Ὀολάς. Τἄλλα δὲ πάντα, ἵνα μὴ καθ᾽ ἔκαστον διεξέρχωμαι, τροφῇ, καὶ ἐσθὴς, καὶ τὰ τοῦ σιδήρου φορτία, τοῖς προειρημένοις ἐστὶ παραπλήσια. Οὕτω δέ ἔστι τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἀπάντων ὑπέρτερος, ὡς μηδεμίαν ἐκ τούτων καρποῦσθαι παραψυχήν. Καὶ τούτου τεκμήριον ἐναργὲς αὐτίκα παρέξομαι. Ἐπειδὴ γάρ τις τῶν σπουδαίων ἀμυγδάλην παρ' αὐτὴν ἐφύτευσε τὴν στιδάδα, εἶτα τῷ χρόνῳ δένδρον γινομένη, σκιάν τε αὐτῷ παρεῖχε, καὶ τὴν ὄψιν μηνί τνμημε ἀ ργεν ἐχέλευσεν, ἵνα μηδὲ μιᾶς ἐκεϊθεφ θ᾽ απολαύῃ ψυχ ἢ αγωγίας. Τοῦτον ἠσπάσατο τὸν βίον καὶ Μωῦοῆς, ἐν ὑψηλῇ τινι κορυφῇ Ῥαμᾶς ὑπερκειμένῃ τῆς κώμης, ἀγωνιζόμενος " καὶ ᾿Αντίοχος, ἀνὴρ πρεσθύτης, ἂν ἐρημωτάτῳ τόπῳ τὸ θριγχίον δειμάμενος - καὶ ᾿Ἃντοῦ τωνΐνος, ἐν γεγηραχότι σώματι τοῖς νέοις παραπλησίως ἀγωνιζόμενος. Καὶ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς ἐσθὴς ἡ αὐτὴ, καὶ τροφὴ, καὶ στάσις, καὶ προσευχὴ, καὶ παννύ-χιοι πόνοι, καὶ πανημέριοι" καὶ οὔτε χρόνου μῆκος, οὐ γῆρας, οὐκ ἀσθένεια φύσεως ἐλέγχει τὴν καρτερίαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀκμάζοντα ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἔχουσι τὸν ἔρωτα τοῦ πονεῖν. Καὶ ἄλλους δὲ πλείστους ἀγωνιστὰς ἐν τοῖς ἡμετέροις μέρεσιν, ὄρεσί τε καὶ πεδίοις, ὁ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀγωνοθέτης ἔχει Θεὸς, οὖς καὶ ἀριθμῆσαι μόνον οὐκ εὐπετὲς, μήτι γε δὴ ἑκάστου βίον συγγράψαι. ᾿Αρχοῦσαν τοίνυν ἐκ τούτων ὠφέλειαν τοῖς χερδάνειν βουλομένοις προτεθειχότες ἐφ᾽ ἕτερον εἶδος διηγήσεως τρέψομαι, καὶ τῆς τούτων εὐλογίας ### English translation (Claude) This way of life was also emulated by John, a man who, besides his other qualities, shone with gentleness and mildness. … facing north, he has continued on that [peak] for twenty-five years so far, receiving the opposite assaults of the air. Everything else, so that I need not go through it item by item (food, clothing, the loads of iron), is like that of those already described. He is so far above everything human that he takes no comfort from any of it; and I shall at once give clear proof of this. When one of the zealous planted an almond tree beside his very enclosure, and in time it became a tree, gave him shade and [delighted] his sight, he ordered [it to be cut down], so that he might not enjoy even one comfort from it. Moses too embraced this life, contending on a high peak overhanging the village of Rhamas; and Antiochus, an old man, who built his enclosure in a very desolate place; and Antoninus, who in an aged body contends like the young. They have the same clothing, food, standing, prayer, and labours all night and all day; and neither length of time, nor old age, nor weakness of nature puts their endurance to shame, but they keep their love of labour in its prime within them. God, the president of the games of virtue, has very many other contestants in our parts, on mountains and in plains, whom it is not easy even to count, still less to write the life of each. Having set before those who wish to profit benefit enough from these, I shall turn to another kind of story, and [ask to share] the blessing of these men … ### Translation notes - Some words are lost in the scan (the place where John lives, the verbs in the almond-tree story, and the last words of the chapter); they are marked '…' and not supplied. - 'The loads of iron': chains and iron weights worn by some Syrian ascetics. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 23 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/23). ## Life 24 (ΖΕΒΙΝΑΣ ἢ ΠΟΛΥΧΡΟΝΙΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/22/#p-24 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Zebinas, a man of tireless prayer, is buried at Kitta; his disciple Polychronius, whom Theodoret knew, carries a hidden load by night, works wonders, and is so humble that he clasps the feet of every visitor, including the governor. ### Greek text Ζεθινᾶν ἄδουσι μέχρι καὶ τήμερον οἱ τῆς ἐχείνου Β ϑέας ἠξιωμένοι. Φασὶ δὲ αὐτὸν εἰς γῆρας ἐλάσαντα βαθὺ, καὶ τοῖς αὑτοῖς πόνοις μέχρις αὐτῆς χρησάμενον τῆς τελευτῆς, μηδὲν τῶν τῆς νεότητος ἀμεῖ- Ψαι τῷ βαρυτάτῳ βιαζόμενον γήρᾳ. Ἐπλεονέχτει δὲ, ὡς ἔφασαν, τοὺς ἐπ᾽ αὑτοῦ πάντας ἀνθρώπους τῇ τῆς προσευχῆς προσεδρίᾳ. Ἐν ταύτῃ γὰρ διημερεύων τε καὶ διανυχτερεύων, οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐλάμθανε κόρον, ἀλλὰ καὶ θερμότερον τὸν πόθον εἰργάζετο. ᾿λλλὰ καὶ τοῖς πρὸς αὐτὸν δέ γε ἀτιχνουμένοις ὀλίγα ἄττα διαλεγόμενος, κατάγειν ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν οὐκ ἠνείχετο τὴν δίάνοιαν- ἀλλ᾽ εὐθὺς ἐχείνων ἀπαλλαττόμενος, ὡς μηδὲ πρὸς βραχὺ χωρισθεὶς τοῦ τῶν ὅλων Θεοῦ, πάλιν τὴν ἱκετείαν προσέφερεν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὴν διηνεκῇ στάσιν τὸ γῆρας ἀλύπως φέρειν οὐκ εἴα, ἔρεισμα τούτῳ τὴν βακτηρίαν προσ- σ ἐφερε, γαὶ ταύτῃ προσχλινόμενος ὕμνει τὸν Δεσπότὴν καὶ ηὔχετο. Φιλοξενίψ δὲ πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις κοσμούμενος ἀγαθοῖς, μένειν τὴν ἑσπέραν πολλοὺς τῶν ὡς αὐτὸν ἀφικνουμένων ἐκέλευεν. Οἱ δὲ τὴν παννύχιον αὐτοῦ δειμαίνοντες στάσιν, ἀσχολίας τινὰς σχηπτόμενοι, τῶν πόνων σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ὑπεξῆγον. Τοῦτον καὶ ὁ μέγας ἐκεῖνος ὑπερηγάσθη καὶ τοῖς φοιτῶσι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἅπασι παρηγγύα τρέχειν, καὶ τοῦ πρεσδύτου τὴν εὐλογίαν τρυγᾷν, πατέρα καὶ διδάσκαλον ὀνομάζων, καὶ πάσης ἀρχέτυπὸν ἀποκαλῶν ἀρετῆς. Τούτῳ κοινωνῆσαι καὶ ταφῆς παρεκάλεσεν " ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ εἴασαν οἱ τὸ ἱερὸν ἔκεῖνο σῶμα διαρπάσαντες, καὶ εἰς τὸ προειρημένον χωρίον ἀπιχομίσαντες. Ὁ δὲ θεσπέσιος Ζεόινᾶς προτελευτήσας, εἰς τὴν πελάζοϑσαν αὐτῷ κώμην (Κίττα δὲ αὕτη καλεῖται), τῶν νομιζομένων ἀπήλανσε, καὶ σηκὸν δὲ τῇ θήχῃ μέγιστον χοδόμησαν. "ἴασιν γὰρ ἀναθλύζει τοῖς μετὰ πίστεως προσιοῦσι παντοδαπήν. "ἔχει δὲ νῦν καὶ μάρτυρας ὁμοροφίους, παρὰ Πέρσαις μὲν ἡγωνισμένους, ἐτησίοις δὲ πανηγύρεσι Τῆς τούτου διδασκαλίας ὁ μέγας ἀπήλαυσε Πολυχρόνιος " καὶ ὁ θειότατος δὲ Ἰάχωδο; τοῦτον ἔφη πρῶτον τρίχινον αὑτῷ δεδωκέναι χιτῶνα. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐκεῖνον μὴ θεασάμενος πώποτε (πρὸ γὰρ τῆς ἐμῆς ἀφίξεως τοῦ βίου προχατειλήφει τὰ τέρμ), ἐν Πολυχρονίῳ τούτῳ τῷ πάνυ τὴν τοῦ θείου Ζεδινᾶ φιλοσοφίαν ὁρῶ. Οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ὁ κηρὸς τοῦ δακτυλίον τὸν καταγώγιον. Τοσαύτην ὠφέλειαν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ μεγάλου πὴν καταλιπὼν, ἐπὶ τὸν διδάσκαλον ἐπανήξω. ᾿Απὸ φορὰ Α τύπον ἐχμάττεται, ὡς οὗτος ἐχείνου περιφέρει τοὺς χαρακτῆρας. Καὶ τοῦτο οἴδα σαφῶς, τὰ περὶ ἐκείνον διηγήματα τοῖς ὑπὸ τούτου γιγνομένοις παρατιθείς, Ὁμοίως γὰρ τῷ θείῳ πυρπολεῖται πόθῳ, καὶ τῶν γηΐνων ἐστὶν ἀπάντων ὑπέρτερος " καὶ τῷ σώματι καὶ τὸν ἀέρα καὶ τὸν αἰθέρα, καὶ τῶν οὐρανῶν ὑψηλότερος γίνεται, καὶ τὴν θείαν διηνεκῶς θεωρίαν φαντάζεται. Καὶ οὔ ποτε χαθέλχειν ἐκεῖθεν ἀνέχεται τὴν διάνοιαν" ἀλλὰ καὶ προσδιαλεγόμενος τοῖς ἀφικνουμένοις, τὰ ἄνω περιπολεῖ, Τὴν δὲ παννύχιον αὐτοῦ ἀγρυπνίαν, καὶ στάσιν, ἐντεῦθεν μεμάθηκα. ᾿θρὼν γὰρ αὑτὸν, καὶ γήρᾳ κατὰ ταυτὸν καὶ ἀσθενείᾳ παᾶλαίοντα, καὶ θεραπείας οὐδὲ μιᾶς ἀπολαύοντα, ἔπεισα λιπαρήσας πολλάκις δύο συνοίκους λαδεῖν, καὶ τῆς παρὰ τούτων παραψυχῆς ἀπολαύειν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἄν δρας ἀρετῇ λάμποντας ἤἥτησε, καθ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς ἐν ἑτέρῳ τοὺς θαυμασίους ἐκείνους, πάντων προελέσθαι θείου ἀνθρώπου τὴν θεραπείαν. Οὗτοι βραχὺν αὑτῷ συγγενόμενοι χρόνον, φυγεῖν ἐπειράθησαν, τὴν παννύχιον στάσιν οὐκ ἐνεγχόντες. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸν θεῖαν ἄνδρα ἐχέτευον τῇ τοῦ σώματος ἀσθενείᾳ μετρῆσαι τὸν πόνον, « Οὐ μόνον, ἔφη αὐτοῖς, οὐ βιάξομαι διηνεκῶς κοινωνεῖν μοι τῆς Οἱ δὲ, ε Καὶ πῶς ἂν δυναίμεθα, ἔλεγον, τοῦ ἐν πόν νοῖς γεγηρακότος ἑστῶτος, καὶ τῆς τοῦ σώματος ὑγιαίνοντες καὶ μεποῦντες τῷ χρόνῳ; » ᾿Αλλὰ τῆς μὲν σεδασμίας Ἐμοὶ κεφαλῆς οὕτω τοὺς νυκτερινοὺς κατέμαθον πόνους. Οἱ δὲ ἄνδρες οὗτοι τοσαύτην τῷ χρόνῳ προσέλαθον ἀρετὴν, ὡς τὴν αὐτὴν τῷ μεγάλῳ τούτῳ μετιέναι φιλοσοφίαν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν Μιωῦσῆς (τοῦτ γὰρ αὐτῷ ὄνομα) μέχρι τοῦ παρόντος διέμεινε, πᾶ’ δαν ὡς πατρὶ καὶ δεσπότῃ θεραπείαν προσφέρων, καὶ τὴν ἀστράπτουσαν ἐκ τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐκείνης ψυχῆς ἀρετὴν ἐχματτόμενος. Ὃ δὲ Δαμιανὸς (τοῦτο γὰρ ὄνομα τῷ ἑτέρῳ), πόλιν τινὰ καταλαδὼν, οὐ πόῤῥω διαχειμέντ» (Νιαρὰ δὲ ὄνομα ταύτῃ), καὶ παρὰ τὰς ἅλως μικρὸν τινα οἰκίσκον εὑρὼν, ἐν ἐκείνῳ διάγει, τὴν αὐτὴν μετιὼν τὴν πολιτείαν, ὡς τοὺς ἀχριδῶς τοῦτον κἀκεῖνον ἐπισταμένους, θεωμένους αὐτὸν, τὸ» ποῦ μεγάλου Πολυχρονίου ψυχὴν ὑπολαμδάνειν ἐν ἑτέρῳ σώματι θεωρεῖν. Ἢ γὰρ αὐτὴ καὶ ἀπλότηνν Ὁ καὶ πραότης, καὶ μετριότης, καὶ τοῦ φθέγματος ἧψε: ρότης, καὶ συνουσίας γλυκύτης, ἐγρήγορπίς τε τῶν Ψυχῆς, καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ κατανόησις, καὶ στάσις, χα! πόνος, καὶ ἀγρυπνία, καὶ τροφὴ, καὶ ἡ κατὰ τῷ θείαν νομοθεσίαν ἀκτημοσύνη. Πλὴν γὰρ σπυρίδς μικρᾶς, τὸν βρεχτὸν ἐχούσης φακὸν, οὐδὲν ἔχει τὸ Πολυχρονίου συνουσίας ἀπώνατο. Ἐγὼ δὲ τὸν μαθηγὰο τῆς πηγῆς ὁ χρουνὸς ἔχει τὸ νᾶμα. Οὗτος τοίνυν μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων παθῶν καὶ τὴν φιλο: τιμίαν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπελάπας, καὶ τῆς κενῆς δόξης τὴν τυραννίδα. πατήσας, κατακρύπτειν ἀεὶ τοὺς πόνους ἐσπούδασε, Καὶ σίδηρον μὲν οὐκ ἐνέσχετο τάτην χομίσα: αὑτῷ τινα χι)εύσας, ὡς εἰς ἑτέραν ς χρείαν δῆθεν δεόμενος, ταύτην καὶ νύκτωρ ἐπετίθη Α ᾿ϑης «τοῖς ὥμοις, καὶ ἐπικειμένης προσηύχετο, καὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν ἀπολαύων σχολῆς. ᾿Αφιχνουμένου δέ τινος, καὶ τὴν θύραν πατάσσοντος, ὄν τινι χωρίῳ ταύτην χατέχρυπτε. Ταύτην μοί τις ἀπέδειξε θεασάμενος " αὶ γνῶναι βουληθεὶς τὸ φορτίον ὁπόσον, μόλις ἀμφοπτέραις ἠώρησα ταῖς χερσίν. Ὁ δέ με θεασάμενος ἀφεῖναι ἐχέλευνεν. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἀντελιπάρουν λαθεῖν, ἵνα κλέψω τοῦ πόνου τὴν πρόφασιν. Ὡς δὲ ἀνιώμενον εἶδον, παρεχώρησα τῷ πόθῳ τῆς νίκης. Ἐκ τούτων αὑτῷ τῶν πόνων ἐπανθεῖ καὶ θεόσδοτος χάρις, καὶ πολλὰ θαύματα ταῖς ἐκείνου προσευχαῖς ἐνεργεῖται. Καὶ γὰρ ἡνίκα ὁ χαλεπὸς ἐκεῖνος αὐχμὸς τρύχων τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εἰς ἱκεσίαν διήγειρεν, ἀφίκετο πρὸς αὑτὸν ἱερέων πλῆθος " συνῆν δὲ τούτοις καὶ τῆς ᾽Αν- τιοχέων τις χώρας, κώμας πολλὰς ποιμαίνειν τετα- τευς, πεῖσαι τὸν ἄνδρα, ληχυθίῳ τινὶ ἐπιθεῖναι τὴν δεξιάν. Τῶν δὲ εἰρηκότων ὡς οὐκ ἀνέξεται, εὐχῆς μετὰ ταῦτα γινομένης, καὶ τῆς θεσπεσίας μοι κεφαλῆς προσευχομένης, ὄπισθεν ἐκεῖνος ἑστὼς προὔτεινε παῖς δύο χερσὶ τὸ ληχύθιον, Τὸ δὲ ἀνέδλυσεν, ὡς δύο καὶ τρεῖς τῶν παρόντων ἑκτεῖναι τὰς χεῖρας, καὶ πεπληρωμένας ταύτας τοῦ ἐλαίου λαδεῖν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως καὶ τῆς θείας χάριτος ἀφεὶς τὰς ἀκτῖνας, καὶ παντοδαποῖς κατορθώμασι βρίθων, καὶ ὁσημέραι συλλέγων «ἧς φιλοσοφίας τὸν πλοῦτον, οὕτως ἐστὶ τὸ φρόνημα μέτριος, ὡς ἑκάστου τῶν ὡς αὐτὸν ἀφικνουμένων ἄμφω τὼ πόδε περιπτύσσεσθαι, καὶ τὸ μέτωπον ἐπιτιθέναι τῇ γῇ, εἴτε στρατιώτης, εἴτε χειροτέχνης, εἴτε ἄγροιχος εἴη. Διηγήσομαι δέ τι, καὶ τὴν ἀπλότητα καὶ τὴν μετριότητα αὐτοῦ διδάξαι δυνάμενον. ᾿Ανήρ τις σπουδαῖος, τοῦδε τοῦ ἔθνους τὴν ἡγεμονίαν λαχὼν, καὶ τὴν Κῦρον καταλαθὼν, σὺν ἐμοὶ τῆς τῶν μεγάλων τούτων ἀθλητῶν ἀπολαῦσαι θεωρίας ἠθέλησε. Τοὺς ἄλλους τοίνυν περινοστήσαντες, καὶ παρὰ τοῦτον, οὗ νῦν τὴν ἀρετὴν ἀφηγούμεθα. Ἐμοῦ τοίνυν εἰρηκότος, ὡς ἡγεμών ἐστιν ὁ σὺν ἐμοὶ παραγενόμενος, καὶ τοῦ δικαίου φροντιστὴς, καὶ τῶν εὐσεδῶν ἐραστὴς, εὐθὺς ὁ θεσπέσιος ἄνθρωπος ἄμφω τὼ χεῖρε προτείνας, καὶ ἀμφοῖν τοῖν ποδοῖν λαδόμενος, « Αἴτησίν τινα, ἔφῃ, ἐπαγγείλασθαί σοι θέλω, » Τοῦ δὲ λίαν δυσχεράναντος, καὶ ἀνίστασθαι ἰχετεύοντος, καὶ ποιήσειν ὅ τι ἂν χελεύσειεν ὑπισχνουμένου (ἐτόπαζε γὰρ αὑτὸν περί τινος τῶν ὑπηκόων παρακα- ἡ λεῖν), ἔφη ὁ θεσπέσιος ἄνθρωπος" « Οὐκοῦν ἐπειδή περ ὑπέσχου, καὶ ὄρκῳ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν ἐδεδαίωσα;, σπουδαίως τὰς ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ τῷ Θεῷ προσένεγκε προσεὐχάς. » Ὁ δὲ τὰ μέτωπα τύπτων ἱχέτενε λῦσαι τὸν ὅρκον, ὡς οὐκ ἀξιόχρεως ὧν οὐδὲ τὰς ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ ἱκετείας τῷ Δεσπότῃ προσφέρειν. Τὸν ἐν τοσούτῳ ποΐνυν φιλοσοφίας ὕψει τοσαύτην ἔχοντα τοῦ φρονήμᾶτος μετριότητα, ποῖος ἂν λόγος εὐφημῆσαι πρὸ; ἀξίαν ἀρκέσειε; Τούτου τὴν φιλοπονίαν οὐδὲ παντοδαπὰ προσπεσόντα διήλεγξε πάθη, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὸ νόσου πειχίλης πολιορχούμενος, τῶν αὐτῶν πόνων ἀνέχεται. Ἰ]ολλοῖς δὲ πολλάκις χρησάμενοι λόγοις, μόγις τουτονὶ κὸν) οἰκίσκον ᾧχυδομησάμεθα, θάλπος ὀλίγον τῷ σώμᾶτι πάμπαν χατεγυγρένῳ μηχανησάμενοι, Τούτῳ κατέλιπον δὲ καὶ τελευτήσαντες - ἐδέξατο δὲ οὐδὲν παρ᾽ οὐδενὸς οὐδὲ πώποτε" ἀλλ᾽ αὐτοὺς οἰκονόμους γενέσθαι τῶν προσφερομένων ἐκέλευσε. Καὶ σισύ- ἡ ραν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ μέγας Ἰάχωδος ὑπό τινος αὐτῷ κομι-, σθεῖσταν ἀπέστειλεν: ἀλλὰ καὶ ταύτην ἀντέπεμψε, στεγανωτέραν αὐτὴν καὶ εὐεμγεστέραν ἰδών. Εὐτελέσι γὰρ λίαν καὶ εὐώνοις ἱματίοις κεχρημένος λει. Οὕτω δὲ τὴν πενίαν πάσης ἐρασμιωτέραν βασιλείας ἡγεῖτο, ὡς μηδὲ τὴν ἀναγκαίαν ἔχειν ἀεὶ τροφήν. Οἶδα γὰρ πολλάκις ἀφικόμενος, καὶ εὐλογίαν αἰτήσας, καὶ μηδὲν ἕτερον εὑρὼν ἣ δύο μόνας ἰσχάδας. Τούτου τὸ μέλι, καὶ τοῖς ὀρῶσι τριπόθητον, καὶ τοῖς ἀκούουσι λίαν ἐπέραστον. Οὐδένα γὰρ οἶδα ἀν-θρώπων, οὐδὲ τῶν κομιδῇ φιλοσχωμμόνων τούτῳ μῶμον ἐπιτεθειχότα πώποτε. ᾿Αλλὰ πάντες ἄδουσι καὶ εὐφημοῦσι, καὶ παρ' αὐτὸν φοιτῶντες οὐ θέλουσιν ἀπαλλάττεσθαι. ### English translation (Claude) Zebinas is sung of even today by those who were counted worthy to see him. They say that he reached a deep old age and kept up the same labours right to his death, changing nothing of the practice of his youth though weighed down by the heaviest old age. He surpassed, as they said, all the people of his time in perseverance in prayer; spending day and night in it, he not only never had enough of it but made his longing ever hotter. Even when he talked a little with those who came to him, he would not bring his mind down from heaven; he would release himself from them at once and, as though not separated even briefly from the God of all, offer his supplication again. When old age would not let him bear continuous standing without pain, he used his staff as a prop, and leaning on it sang hymns to the Master and prayed. Adorned with hospitality besides his other good qualities, he bade many of those who came to him stay the evening; but they, dreading his all-night standing, pleaded some business and slipped away from the labours. That great man [Maron] too admired him exceedingly, and urged all who came to him to run and gather the old man’s blessing, calling him father and teacher and naming him an archetype of all virtue. He even asked to share his tomb; but those who carried off that sacred body and took it to the place already mentioned did not allow it. The godly Zebinas, who died first, received the customary rites in the village near him (it is called Kitta), and they built a very large shrine over his tomb; for it pours out healing of every kind for those who approach with faith. It now also has martyrs sharing its roof, who contended among the Persians, and [are honoured] with yearly festivals. The great Polychronius enjoyed his teaching; and the most divine James said that it was he who first gave him a hair tunic. I never saw Zebinas (the end of his life came before my arrival), but in this all-excellent Polychronius I see the philosophy of the divine Zebinas. Wax does not take the impression of a seal-ring so well as this man bears the features of that one. I know this clearly from setting the stories about him beside what this man does. Like him he is set on fire by divine longing and is above all earthly things; … the air and the ether, and becomes higher than the heavens, and continually pictures the divine contemplation. He never allows his mind to be dragged down from there; even while talking with those who come, he travels about on high. His all-night vigil and standing I learned in this way. Seeing him wrestling with old age and weakness at once and receiving no care at all, I persuaded him by repeated urging to take two companions and enjoy some relief from them. When he asked for men shining in virtue, [I persuaded] those admirable men, [who were living] by themselves in another [place], to prefer the service of the divine man to everything. They stayed with him a short time and then tried to run away, unable to bear the all-night standing. When they begged the divine man to measure his labour by the weakness of his body, he said to them: ‘Not only will I not force you to share my … continually …’ They said: ‘And how could we [rest] while a man grown old in labours stands, when we are healthy in body and younger in years?’ So I learned the night labours of that head venerable to me. These men in time acquired such virtue that they pursue the same philosophy as this great man. Moses (that is the name of one) has remained with him until now, offering him every service as to a father and master, and taking the impression of the virtue that flashes from that sacred soul. Damian (that is the name of the other) went to a town not far off (its name is Niara), found a small cell beside the threshing-floors, and lives in it, pursuing the same way of life, so that those who know both men well suppose, when they see him, that they are seeing the soul of the great Polychronius in another body. For he has the same simplicity, gentleness and modesty, the same mildness of speech and sweetness in company, wakefulness of soul and contemplation of God, standing and labour, vigil and food, and the lack of possessions prescribed by the divine law. Apart from a small basket holding soaked lentils, his dwelling has nothing. So great was the benefit he drew from the company of the great Polychronius. But I shall leave the disciple and return to the teacher; for it is from the spring that the stream has its water. This man, then, having driven love of honour out of his soul along with the other passions and trampled on the tyranny of vainglory, has always been eager to hide his labours. He would not bear iron; but … this he had someone bring him, as though he needed it for some other use, and by night he put it on his shoulders and prayed with it on him, and by day … enjoying leisure. When someone came and knocked at the door, he hid it in some place. Someone who had seen it showed it to me; wishing to know how heavy the load was, I could barely lift it with both hands. When he saw me, he told me to put it down. I begged to take it away, to steal the occasion of his labour; but when I saw him distressed, I gave way to his desire for victory. From these labours God-given grace blossoms on him, and many wonders are worked by his prayers. When that grievous drought was wearing people down and rousing them to supplication, a multitude of priests came to him; and with them was one of those appointed to shepherd many villages of the territory of Antioch, who … to persuade the man to lay his right hand on a flask. When they said that he would not allow it, he waited until prayer was being made and that godly head was praying, and then, standing behind him, held out the flask with both hands. It bubbled up so that two or three of those present stretched out their hands and received them full of the oil. Yet though he sends out the rays of divine grace, is laden with achievements of every kind, and daily gathers the wealth of philosophy, he is so modest in mind that he embraces both feet of each who comes to him and puts his forehead to the ground, whether soldier, craftsman or peasant. I shall tell something that can show his simplicity and his modesty. A zealous man, allotted the governorship of this province, came to Cyrrhus and wished to enjoy with me the sight of these great athletes. We went round the others and came also to this man whose virtue we are now relating. When I said that the one who had come with me was the governor, a guardian of justice and a lover of the pious, at once the godly man stretched out both hands, took hold of both his feet, and said: ‘I want you to promise me a request.’ He was much distressed and begged him to get up, promising to do whatever he commanded (for he supposed he would plead for one of his subjects). The godly man said: ‘Then, since you have promised and confirmed the promise with an oath, offer prayers earnestly to God for me.’ The governor, striking his forehead, begged him to release him from the oath, since he was not worthy to offer supplications to the Master even for himself. What words could suffice to praise worthily a man who at such a height of philosophy has such modesty of mind? Not even the diseases of every kind that have fallen on him have put his love of labour to shame; though besieged by varied sickness, he holds to the same labours. After using many arguments many times, we barely managed to build this little cell, contriving a little warmth for his body, which was entirely frozen … some even left [him legacies] when they died; but he has never received anything from anyone, and has bidden them become stewards of what they offered. The great James sent him a cloak that someone had brought to James; but he sent this back too, seeing that it was thicker and more comfortable. For he uses very cheap and inexpensive clothing. He holds poverty so much more lovely than any kingdom that he does not always have even the food he needs. I know that I often came and asked for a blessing and found nothing but two dried figs. His character is thrice-longed-for by those who see him and very lovely to those who hear of him. I know of no one, not even among those most fond of mockery, who has ever found fault with him; all sing his praises, and those who visit him do not wish to leave. ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged: Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections; lost or garbled Greek words are marked '…' and not supplied. The sentences 'So great was the benefit … from the company of the great Polychronius. But I shall leave the disciple and return to the teacher' stand out of place in the scan and are translated where the sense shows they belong. - 'That great man [Maron]': the name is not in the surviving text; the reference to 'the place already mentioned' points to Maron (Life 16), whose body was carried off by a neighbouring village (uncertain). - 'His character': the scan reads 'his honey' (μέλι), probably a misreading of ἦθος (uncertain). - The object Polychronius carried by night is lost in the scan. - The martyrs 'who contended among the Persians' are victims of the Persian persecutions; their relics were brought to Kitta. - 'The most divine James' and 'the great James' are James of Cyrrhestica (Life 21). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 24 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/24). ## Life 25 (ΑΣΚΛΗΠΙΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/22/#p-25 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Asclepius, who lived as an ascetic first in a village community and then alone, and an aged recluse of Nimouza who twice admitted Theodoret, close Theodoret's account of the living ascetics around Polychronius. ### Greek text Ταύτης ἐστὶ τῆς συμμορίας καὶ ᾿Ασκληπιὸς ὁ θαυμάσιος, δέκα μὲν σταδίους ἀφεστηχὼς, τὴν αὐτὴν δὲ πολιτείαν ἐξηλωχώς. Καὶ τροφὴ γὰρ αὐτῷ ἡ αὐτὴ, καὶ ἐσθὴς, καὶ ἤθους μετριότης, καὶ φιλοξενία, καὶ φιλαδελφία, ἡμερότης τε καὶ πραότης, καὶ ἡ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὁμιλία, καὶ ἡ ἀκροτάτῃ πενία " πρὸς τούτοις καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀρετῆς περιουσία, καὶ τῆς φιλοσοφίας ὁ πλοῦτος, καὶ τἄλλα πάντα, ὅσα περὶ τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐχείγῆς διεξήλθομεν κεφαλῇς. Φασὶ δὲ αὑτὸν, καὶ ἡνίχα τοῖς τὴν κώμην οἰκοῦσιν ἀδελφοῖς συγχατείλεχτο, τὴν ἀσχητιχὸν καὶ κόσμιον ἀσπάσασθαι βίον, καὶ μηδεμίαν ἐκ τῆς τῶν πολλῶν ἐπιμιξίας λώδην σαι. Ἐν ἑκατέρῳ τοίνυν διαπρέψας βίῳ, τῷ τε πολινων ἀξιωθήσεται. Πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι τὴν τούτου ἐζήλωσαν ἀρετὴν, καὶ πλήρης οὐκ ἡ ἡμετέρα μόντ, ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ γειτονεύουσαι πόλεις καὶ κῶμαι, τῆς τοιᾶσξΞς φιλοσοφίας. Εἷς δὲ τούτων ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ θειόχώμῃ Νιμουζᾶν καλουμένῃ " ὃς καὶ παρ᾽ αὑτὸ ὧν τοῦ βίου τὸ τέρμα (ἐτῶν γάρ ἔστι πλειόνων ἣ ἕννετὰς ἀποκρίσεις ποιούμενος, οὐκ ὁρώμενος δὲ, καὶ οὔτε πυρὶ χρώμενος, οὔτε λυχνιαίου φωτὸς ἀπολαύων. Ἐμὲ δὲ δὶς τὴν θύραν ἀνοίξας ἔσω γενέσθαι προσέταξε, ταύτῃ με τιμήσας, καὶ ἣν ἔχει περὶ ἐμὲ στοργὴ» ἐπιδείξας, Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἔτι περιόντες τῶν παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ λόγων οὗ δέονται. Δύνανται γὰρ, εἰ ἐθελήσωσιν, αὐτόπται τῆς Ὁ τούτων γενέσῆαι φιλοσοφίας. Τοῖς δ᾽ ἐσομένοις, καὶ ο ἰη- «ἧς τούτων οὐ μεταλαγχάνουσι θέας, ἀρκεῖ καὶ ταῦτα εἰς ὠφέλειαν, τῆς τούτων φιλοσοφίας τὸν χαρακτῆρα δεικνύντα. Ἐνταῦθα τοίνυν καὶ τὸν περὶ τούτων συμπεράνας λόγον, καὶ τῆς εὐλογίας τὴν ἀντίδοσιν ἐπαγ- ### English translation (Claude) Of this company too is the admirable Asclepius, who lives ten stades away and has emulated the same way of life. He has the same food and clothing, modesty of character, hospitality and brotherly love, mildness and gentleness, converse with God, and the most extreme poverty; and besides these the abundance of virtue, the wealth of philosophy, and everything else that we related of that sacred head. They say that even when he was enrolled among the brothers living in the village, he embraced the ascetic and orderly life and suffered no harm from mixing with the many. Having excelled, then, in both lives, the … will be counted worthy … Many others too have emulated his virtue, and not only our [city] but also the neighbouring cities and villages are full of such philosophy. One of these is the most divine … in a village called Nimouza; he too, … near the end of his life (for he is more than ninety years old) … giving answers, but without being seen, using no fire and not enjoying even lamplight. But twice he opened the door and bade me come inside, honouring me in this way and showing the affection he has for me. Those who are still alive have no need of words from me; for they can, if they wish, become eyewitnesses of these men’s philosophy. For those who will come later, and those who do not share the sight of them, these things suffice for their benefit, since they show the character of these men’s philosophy. Here then, having completed the account of these men too, and [asking] for the return of a blessing … ### Translation notes - The scan of this short chapter is damaged: Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections; the name of the recluse of Nimouza, some words about his enclosure, and the last words of the chapter are lost and marked '…'. - 'That sacred head' is Polychronius (Life 24). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 25 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/25). ## Life 26 (ΣΥΜΕΩΝΗΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/26/#p-26 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Symeon the Stylite, a shepherd from Sisa, after extreme austerities at Teleda and Telanissus stands on a pillar, keeps forty-day fasts, attracts pilgrims from Spain to Persia, converts Arab tribes, works healings and predictions, preaches daily, and intervenes for the churches; Theodoret defends the pillar by the strange actions God commanded the prophets. ### Greek text Συμεώνην τὸν πάνυ, τὸ μέγα θαῦμα τῆς οἶκουμένης, ἴσασι μὲν ἅπαντες οἱ τῇ; ᾽Ῥωμαίων ἦγεμον ας διπήχοοι" ἔγνωσαν δὲ καὶ Πέρσαι, καὶ Μῆδοι, καὶ Αἰθίοπες, καὶ πρὸς Σκύθας δὲ τοὺς Νομάδας ἣ φῆμη διαδραμοῦσα, τὴν τοῦδε φιλοπονίαν καὶ φιλοσοφίαν ἐδίδαξεν. Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ πάντας, ὡς ἕπος εἰπεῖν, ἀνθρώπους μάρτυρας ἔχων τῶν ὑπὲρ λόγον ἀγώνων, δέδοικα τὸ διήγημα, μὴ τοῖς ἐσομένοις μῦῆϑος εἶναι δόξῃ, πάμπαν τῆς ἀληθείας γεγυμνωμένος. Ὑψηλότερα γὰρ τῆς ἀνθρωπείας φύσεως τὰ γινόμενα. Φιλοῦσι δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι τῇ φύσει μετρεῖν τὰ λεγόμενα" εἰ δέ τι τῶν ταύτης ὅρων ἑπέκεινα λέγοιτο, ψευδὴς τοῖς τῶν θείων ἀμυήτοις ὁ λόγος νομίξεται. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τῶν εὐσεδούντων γῆ καὶ θάλασσα πλήρης, τά τε θεῖα πεπαιδευμένων, καὶ τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος τὴν χάριν δεδιδαγμένων, τοῖς λεχθησομένοις οὐκ ἀπιστήσουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μάλα εἷ- τὴν διήγησιν. “Ἄρξομαι δ᾽ ἐκεῖθεν, ὅθεν καὶ τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως ἠξιώθη, Κώμη τίς ἔστιν ἐν μεθορίῳ τῆς ἡμετέρας καὶ τῆς Κιλίκων χώρας διαχειμένη" Σισὰν δὲ αὐτὴν ὁνομάζουσιν. Ἐκ ταύτης ὁρμώμενος, ποιμαίνειν τὸ πρῶπον ὑπὸ τῶν γεγεννηκότων ἐδιδάσκετο θρέμματα, ἴνα κατὰ τοῦτο τοῖς μεγάλοις ἀνδράσι συμφέρηται, Ἰαχὼδ τῷ πατριάρχῃ, καὶ Ἰωσὴφ τῷ σώφρονι, καὶ Μωῦσῇ τῷ νομοθέτῃ, καὶ Δαυῖδ τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ προφήτῃ, καὶ Μικαίᾳ τῷ προφήτῃ, καὶ τοῖς Κατ᾽ ἐκείνους θεσπεσίοις ἀνδράσι. Νιφετοῦ δέ ποτε πολλοῦ γενομένου, καὶ τῶν προδάτων ἔνδον μένειν ἡναγχασμένων, ἀναχωχῆς ἀπολαύσας, εἰς τὸν θεῖον γεὼν μετὰ τῶν φυσάντων ἀφίκετο. Ταῦτα δὲ τῆς ἱερᾶς αὑτοῦ διηγουμένης ἀκήκοα γλώττης. Ἔφη τοίγυν τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς ἀκηκοέναι φωνῇ, μαχαριζηύσης μὲν τοὺς χλαίοντας καὶ πενθοῦντας, ἀθλίους δὲ τοὺς γελῶντας ἀποχαλούσης, καὶ ζηλωτοὺς ὀνομαζούτης τοὺς τὴν Ψυχὴν καθαρὰν κεκτημένους, καὶ τἄλλα ὅσα τούτοις συνέξευχται, Εἶτα ἐρέσθαι τινὰ «ὧν παρόντων, τί ἄν τις ποιήσας τούτων ἕκαστον χτήσαιτο' τὸν δὲ τὸν μοναδικὸν αὐτῷ βίον ὑπαγορεῦσαι, καὶ τὴν ἄκραν ἐχείνην ὑποδεῖξαι φιλοσοφίαν. Δεξάμενος τοίνυν τοῦ θείου λόγου τὰ σπέρματα, καὶ ταῖς βαθείαις τῆς ψυχῆς αὔλαξι ταῦτα καλῶς κατακρύψας, εἰς τὸν πελάζοντα τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων ἔφη δεδραμηχέναι σηκόν. Ἕν τούτῳ δὲ τῇ γῇ τὰ γόνατα καὶ τὸ μέτωπον προοσερεῖσαί τε, καὶ ἔχεσ δι ηγῆσαι αὐτὸν πρὸς τὴν τελείαν τῆς εὐσεδείας ὁδόν. Ἐπὶ πολὺ δὲ τοῦτον διατρίψαντι τὸν τρόπον, ὕπιον μὲν αὐτῷ προσγενέσθαι τινὰ γλυκὺν, ὄναρ δὲ τοιόνδε θεάσασθαι" ε« Ὁρύττειν, φησὶν, ἐδόκουν θεμέλια, εἶτά τινος ἑστῶτος ἀκούειν, ὡς ἔτι με ἐκέλευσε βάθος, πάλιν ἐπειρώμην διαναπαύεσθαι" ἀλλὰ καὶ αὖθίς μοι ὀρύττειν προσέταττε, καὶ μὴ λήγειν τοῦ πόνον. Τρὶς δέ μοι τοῦτο καὶ τετράχις παρεγγυήσα:, τέλος ἀποχρώντως ἔχειν ἔφη τὸ βάθος, χα, οἰκοδομεῖν ἀπόνως ἐκέλευσε τὸ λοιπὸν, ὡς τοῦ πόνου λωφήσαντος, καὶ τῆς οἰκοδομίας ἐσομένης εὐκόλως. » Ταύτῃ τῇ προῤῥήσει τὰ πράγματα μαρτυρεῖ' πέρα γὰρ τῆς φύσεως τὰ γινόμενα, Ἔκεῖθεν ἀναστὰς ἀσκητῶν τινων γειτονευόντων καταγώγιον. Δύο δὲ αὐτοῖς συνδιαγαγὼν ἔτη, καὶ «ἧς τελειοτέρας ἀρετῆς ἐρασθεὶς, Τελεδὰν ἐχείνην τὴν κώμην χατέλαδεν, ἧς καὶ πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθημεν, παρ᾽ ἣν οἱ μεγάλοι καὶ θεῖοι ἄνδρες, ᾿Αμμιανὺς καὶ οὐκ εἰς ταύτην ὁ θεσπέσιος Συμεώνης ἀφίκετο, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς τὴν ἑτέραν τὴν ἐκ ταύτης βλαστήσασαν. δώνας γὰρ καὶ ᾿Αδιδίων, τῆς Εὐσεδίου τοῦ μεγάλου διδασκαλίας ἱκανῶς ἀπολαύσαντες, τόδε τὸ τῆς φιλοσοφίας νες δὲ διὰ βίου καὶ ὁμότροποι γεγονότες, οἱονεὶ μίαν ψυχὴν ἐν δύο σώμασιν ἐπιδείξαντες, πολλοὺς ἔσχον τοῦ βίου συνεραστάς. Τούτων δὲ μετ᾽ εὐκλείας ὑπεξελθόντων τὸν βίον, Ἡλιόδωρος ὁ θαυμάσιος τὴν τῶν συνοίκων ἡγεμονίαν ἐδέξατο" ὃς πέντε καὶ ἐξήκοντα ἔτη διαδιώσας, δύο καὶ ἑξήκοντα ἔνδον μένος διετέλεσεν ἔτη" τρία γὰρ ἔτη παρὰ τοῖς γεγεννηκόσι τραφεὶς, εἰς τὴν ἀγέλην εἰσελήλυθε ταύτην, οὐδὲν τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ γιγνομένων θεασάμενος πώποτε, "Ἔφασγε δὲ, μηδ᾽ αὐτὸ εἰδέναι τῶν χοίρων, ἣ τῶν ἀλεχτρυόγων, ἥ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν τοιούτων τὸ εἶδος. Τούτου χἀγὼ πολλάκις τῇ θέας ἀπήλαυσα, καὶ τῶν τρόπων ἐθαύμᾶτα τὴν ἁπλότητα, καὶ ὑπερηγάσθην μάλα τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς καθαρότητα. Πρὸς τοῦτον ἀφικόμενος ὁ πένταθλος οὗτος τῆς εὐσεδείας ἀγωνιστὴς, δέκα μὲν διετέλεσεν ἀγωνιζόμενος ἔτη" ὀγδοήκοντα δὲ συναγωνιστὰς “ἔχων, ὑπερηκόντισεν ἅπαντας" καὶ τῶν ἄλλων διὰ δύο ἡμερῶν ἀπολαυόντων τροφῆς, πᾶσαν ἄσιτος οὖτος τὴν ἑύδομάξα διέμεινε. Δυσχεραινόντων μὲν τῶν προστατευόντων, καὶ ζυγομαχούντων ἀεὶ, καὶ ἀταξίαν τὸ πρᾶγμα καλούντων, οὐ πειθόντων δὲ τοῖς λεγομένοις, οὐδὲ χαλινοῦν δυναμένων τὴν προθυμίαν. Ἤκουσα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐχείνου διηγουμένου καὶ τοῦ νῦν τῆς αὐτῖς ἀγέλης ἡγεμονεύοντος, ὡς σχοινίον ποτὲ ἀπὸ αὕτη λίαν καὶ χερσὶ προσψαυούσαις), διέζωσε τὴν ὀσφὺν, οὔτ᾽ ἔξωθεν περιθεὶς, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτῷ προσφύσας πῷ δέρματι" καὶ οὕτω λίαν συνέσφιγξεν, ὡς ἅπαν ἐκεῖνο ἐν κύκλῳ τὸ μέρος ἑλχῶσαι, ᾧ περιέκειτο. Ὥς δὲ πλείους ἢ δέκα ἡμέρας τοῦτον διετέλεσε τὸν Ὁ τρόπον, καὶ τὸ ἕλκος χαλεπώτερον γιγνόμενον, αἷματος ἠφίει σταγόνας, ἤρετό τις αὐτὸν θεασάμενος, ὶ τίς ἡ αἰτία τοῦ αἵματος" τοῦ δὲ μηδὲν ἔχειν ἀνιαρὸν λέγοντος, βιασάμενος ὁ συναγωνιστὴς καὶ τὴν χεῖρα ἐνέδαλε, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν κατέμαθε, καὶ τα» τὴν τῷ προστατεύοντι χατεμήνυσεν. Αὐτίκα τοίνυν καὶ ἐπιτιμῶν, καὶ παρακαλῶν, καὶ τοῦ πράγματος τὴν ὠμότητα διαδάλλων, μόλις ἐκεῖνον διέλυσε τὸν 'δεσμόν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ οὕτως ἔπεισε θεραπείαν τοὰ ἐκείνῳ τῷ ἕλκει προσενεγκεῖν. “Αλλα δὲ τοιαυτὰ δρῶντα ὁρῶντες, ἀναχωρεῖν τῆς παλαίστρας ἐκείνῆς ἐκέλευον, ὡς ἂν μὴ τοῖς ἀσθενέστορον τὸ σωμᾶ διακειμένοις, καὶ ζηλοῦν τὰ ὑπὲρ δύναμιν πειρωμέ-- Α νοις, βλάδης αἴτιος γένοιτο, Ἐξελθὼν τοίνυν, καὶ τὰ ἐρημότερα τοῦ ὄρους χαταλαδὼν, καὶ λάκκον τινὰ εὑρὼν ἄνυδρον, "αὶ οὐ λίαν βαθὺν, καθῆκεν εἰς τοῦτον ἑαυτὸν, καὶ τῷ Θεῷ. τὴν ὑμνῳδίαν προσἐφέρε. Πέντε δὲ διαγενομένων ἡμερῶν, μεταμεληθέντες οἱ τῆς παλαίστρας ἐκείνης ἡγεμόνες, δύο «ινὰς ἐξέπεμψαν, ἐπιζητῆσαί τε αὐτὸν καὶ ἀγαγεῖν ἐπιτρέψαντες, Τοιγάρτοι τὸ ὄρος οὗτοι περινοστήσαντὲς, ἤροντό τινας ἐκεῖ θρέμματα νέμοντας, εἴ τινα ἐθεάσαντο τοιόνδε χρῶμα ἔχοντα, καὶ σχῆμα περικείμενον. Ὡς δὲ τὸν λάκκον οἱ ποιμένες ὑπἐζειξαν, πολλὰ μὲν εὐθὺς χατεδόησαν" σχοινίον δὲ εὐθὺ χομίσαντες," σὺν πολλῷ αὐτὸν ἀνιμήσαντο πόνῳ. Οὐ γὰρ τῇ καθόδῳ παραπλησίως ἡ ἄνοδός ἐστιν εὐπιτῆς. Ὀλίγον τοίνυν παρ᾽ ἐχεένοις διατρίψας χρόνον, εἰς Τελάνισσον ἀφίκετο κώμην, τῇ κορυφῇ ἐφ᾽ ἦ νῦν ἔστηκεν ὑποκειμένην. Ἐν ταύτῃ μικρὸν οἰκίσκον εὑρὼν, τρία χαθειργμένος διετέλεσεν ἕτη. Αὔξειν δὲ ἀεὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸν πλοῦτον φιλονεικῶν, ἐπεθύμησε Μωῦσῇ καὶ Ἡλίᾳ τοῖς θείοις ἀνθρώποις παραπλησίως τεσσαράχοντα ἡμέρας ἄσιτος διαμεῖναι. Καὶ πείθει τὸν θαυμάσιον Βάσσον, ὃς τηνικαῦτα πολλὰς περιώδευσε κώμας τοῖς κατὰ κώμην ἱερεῦσιν ἐπιστατῶν, μηδὲν ἕνδον μὲν καταλιπεῖν, πηλῷ δὲ χαταχρῖσαι τὴν θύραν. Τοῦ δὲ καὶ τὴν δυσκολίαν τοῦ πράγματος ὑπαγορεύοντος, καὶ παραινοῦντος μὴ νομίζειν ἀρετὴν εἶναι τὸν βίαιον θάνατον: χατα ἡγορία γὰρ αὕτη, καὶ μεγίστη, καὶ πρώτη" «᾿Αλλὰ σύ γε, ἔφη, ὦ Πάτερ, δέκα μοι ἄρτους καὶ στάμνον ὕδατος ἀπόθον, κἂν ἴδω τὸ σῶμα τροφῆς δεόμενον, μεταλήψομαι τούτων. » Ἐγένετο ὡς ἐκέλευσε᾽ καὶ τὰ μὲν ἀπετίθετο, ἡ θύρα δὲ τὸν πηλὸν ὑπεδέχετο. Μετὰ δὲ τὸ τέλος τῶν ἡμερῶν, ἧκε μὲν ὁ θαυμάσιος ἐκεῖνος καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος Βάσσος, τὸν δὲ πηλὴν ἀφελὼν, καὶ τῆς θύρας εἴσω γενόμενος, εὖρ3 μὲν τῶν ἄρτων τὸν ἀριθμὸν, εὗρε δὲ πλήρη καὶ τὸν στάμνον τοῦ ὕδατος, αὐτὸν δὲ ἄπνουν ἐῤῥιμμένον, καὶ οὔτε φθέγγετθαι, οὔτε κινεῖσθαι δυνάμενον. Σπογγιὰν τοίνυν αἰτήσας καὶ ταύτῃ τὸ στόμα διαρέξας καὶ ἀποχλύσας, προσήνεγκεν αὐτῷ τῶν θείων μυστηρίων τὰ σύμδολα. Καὶ οὕτως διὰ τούτων ἀναῤῥωσθεὶς ἀνέστησέ τε ἑαυτὸν, καὶ τροφῆς μετρίας μετέλαδς, θριδακίνας, καὶ σέρεις, καὶ τὰ τούτοις παραπλήσια, κατὰ βραχὺ διαμασσίύμενος, καὶ τῇ γαστρὶ παραπέμπων. Ὑπεραγασθεὶς τοίνυν ὁ μέγας ἐκεῖνος Βάσσος, τὴν οἰκείαν ἀγέλην χατέλαδε, τὸ μέγα τοῦτο διηγούμενος θαῦμα. Πλείοσι γὰρ ἣ διακοσίοις θιασώταις ἐχρῆτο, μήτ: κτῆνος ἔχειν, μὴτο μύλην ἐπιτρέψας, μήτε χρυσίον προσφερόμενον ὑποδέχεσθαι, μήτε τινὰ ἔξω τῆς θύρας ἱέναι, ἢ τι τῶν ἀναγκαίων ὠνησόμενον, ἥ τινα τῶν γνωρίμων ὀψόμενον" ἀλλ᾽ ἔνδον διάγειν, καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς θείας Τοῦτον μέχρι καὶ τήμερον τὸν νέμον οἱ θιασῶται τουσι, καὶ πλείους γενόμενοι τὰς δοθείσας οὐ παρέδησαν ἐντολάς. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν μέγαν ᾿διαδήσομαι Ἐξ ἐκείνου τοίνυν μέχρι καὶ τήμδρον (ὀκτὼ δὲ καὶ εἴκοσι διελήλυθεν ἔτη), τὰς τεσταράχοντα διαμένει ἡμέρας" ὁ δὲ χρόνος καὶ ἡ μελέτη τοῦ πόνου τὸ πλέον ἐσύλησεν. Εἰώθε: μὲν γὰρ τὰς πρώτας ἡμέρας ἑστάναι, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀνυμνεῖν. Εἶτα τοῦ σώματος διὰ τὴν ἀπαστίαν φέρειν οὐκ ἔτι τὴν στάσιν ἰσχύοντος, καθῆσθαι λοιπὸν, καὶ τὴν. θείαν λειτουργίαν ἐπιτελεῖν τὰς δὲ τελευταίας ἡμέρας καὶ προσχλίνεσθαι. Δαπανωμένης γὰρ κατὰ βραχὺ τῆς χάζετο. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ χίονος ἔστη, κατιέναι μὲν οὐκ ἠνείχετο, ἐμηχανήσατο δὲ τὴν στάσιν ἑτέρως. Δοκὸν γάρ τινα προσδήσας τῷ χίονι, καὶ σχοινίοις πάλιν ἑαυτὸν τῇ δοκῷ προσαρμόσας, τὰς τεσσαράχοντα οὕτω διετέλεσεν ἡμέρας. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πλείονος λοιπὸν τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος ἀπολαύσας, οὐδὲ παύτης ἐδεήθη τῆς βοηθείας, ἀλλ᾽ ἔστηκε τὰς τεσσαράχοντα ἡμέρας, σιτίων μὲν οὐκ ἀπολαύων, προθυμίᾳ δὲ καὶ θείᾳ ῥωννύμενος χάριτι. Τρία τοίνυν, Β ὡς ἔφην, ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ οἰκίσκῳ διατελέσας ἔτη, τὴν πολυθρύλλητον ταύτην χατέλαδε κορυφὴν, θριγχίον ἐν κύκλῳ γενέσθαι παρεγγυήσας, ἄλυσίν τε ἐκ σιδήρου πήχεων εἴκοσι κατασκευάσας, καὶ ταύτης θατέραν μὲν ἀρχὴν πέτρᾳ μεγίστῃ προσηλώσας, θατέραν δὲ τῷ δεξιῷ ποδὶ προσαρμόπας, ὡς ἂν μηδὲ βουλόμενο; ἕξω τῶν ὄρων ἐχείνων ἀπίοι, διῆγεν ἕνδον, διηνεκῶς τὸν οὐρανὸν φανταζόμενος, καὶ τὰ ἄνω τῶν οὐρανῶν θεωρεῖν βιαζόμενος. Οὐ γὰρ ἐχώλυς τῆς διανοίας τὴν πτῆσιν ὁ τοῦ σιδήρου δεσμός. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ Μελέτιος ὁ θαυμάσιος, ἐπισκοπεῖν την!καῦτα τῆς ᾿Αντιόχου πόλεως τεταγμένος τὴν χώραν, ἀνὴρ φρονήσει καὶ συνέσει λάμπων, καὶ ἀγχινοίᾳ κεκοσμημένος, περιττὸν ἔφη τὸν σίδηρον, ἀρκούσης πῆς γνώμης λογικὰ τῷ σώματι περιθεῖναι δεσμά" εἶξε μὲν, καὶ τὴν παραίνεσιν εὐπειθῶς χαλκέα δὲ κληθῆναι κελεύσας, λῦσαι προσέταξε τὸν δεσμόν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ δέρμα τῷ σχέλει μοστο, ὡς ἂν μὴ λωδηθείη ὑπὸ τοῦ σιδῆρον τὸ σῶμα, καὶ ἔδει καὶ τοῦτο (συνεῤῥαμμένον γὰρ ἦν), διαῤῥαγῆναι, πλείους ἣ εἴκοσι μεγίστους ἔφασαν χόρεις ἐν ἐκείνῳ κατιδεῖν ἐμφωλεύοντας " καὶ τοῦτο ἔφη ὁ θαυμάσιος τεθεᾶσθαι Μελέτιος. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπἐμνημόνευσα, τὴν πολλὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς κἀντεῦθεν καρτερίαν ἐπιδεικνύς. Πιλῆσαι γὰρ τῇ χειρὶ τὸ δέρμα, καὶ διαφθεῖραι πάντας δυνάμενος ῥᾳδίιυς, τῶν ἀνιαρῶν δηγμάτων ἡνείχετο καρτερῶν, ἐν τοῖς μικροῖς τὴν τῶν μειζόνων ἀγώνων ἀτπαζόμενος Τῆς τοίνυν φήμης ἅπαντες, οὐκ οἱ γειτονεύοντες μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ πολλῶν ἡμερῶν ἀφεστηκότες ὁδόν οἱ μὲν πᾶρειμένους τὸ σῶμα προσφέροντες, οἱ δὲ ἀῤῥώστοις ὑγείαν αἰτοῦντες, οἱ δὲ πατέρας γενέσθαι παρακαλοῦντες, καὶ ὃ παρὰ τῆς φύσεως οὐκ ἔλαθον, ἱχέτευνον δι᾽ ἐχείνου λαδεῖν. Λαμθάνοντες δὲ, καὶ τῶν αἰτήσεων ἀπολαύοντες, μετ᾽ εὐφροσύνης μὲν ἐπανήεσαν᾽ κηρύττοντες δὲ τὰς εὐεργεσίας ὧν ἔτυχον, πολλαπλαπάντων πανταχόθεν ἀφικνουμένων, καὶ πάσης ὁδοῦ ποταμὸν μιμουμένης, πέλαγος ἀνθρώπων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν ἐν ἐκείνῳ συνιστάμενον τῷ χωρίῳ τοὺς πανταχόθεν δεχόμενον ποταμούς. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον οἱ τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς οἰκουμένην οἰκοῦντες συῤῥέουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἰσμαηλῖται, καὶ Πέρσαι, καὶ ᾿Αρμένιοι οἱ τούτων ὑποχείριοι, καὶ Ἴδηρες, καὶ Ὁμηρῖται, καὶ οἱ ἐκεί- νων ἐνδότεροι. ᾿Αφίχοντο δὲ πολλοὶ τὰς τῆς Ἑσπέρας οἰκοῦντες ἐσχατιὰς, Σπάνοι τε καὶ Βρεττανοὶ, καὶ Π αλάται, οἱ τὸ μέσον τούτων κατέχοντες. Περὶ γὰρ 3" Ἑεαλίας περιττὸν καὶ λέγειν. Φασὶ γὰρ οὕτως ἔν - Ῥώμῃ τῇ «μεγίστῃ πολυθρύλλητον γενέσθαι τὸν ἄνδρα, ὡς ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς τῶν ἐργαστηρίων προπυλαίοις εἰκόνας αὐτῷ βραχείας ἀναστῆσαι, φυλακήν τινα σφίσιν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἀσφάλειαν ἐντεῦθεν πορίζοντας. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἀριθμοῦ κρείττους οἱ ἀφικνούμενοι, προσψαύειν δὲ ἅπαντες ἐπεχείρουν, καί τινα εὐλο- Υἱαν ἀπὸ τῶν δερματίνων ἐχείνων ἱματίων τρυγᾷν" πρῶτον μὲν τῆς τιμῆς τὸ ὑπερδάλλον ἄτοπον εἶναι νομίζων, ἔπειτα καὶ τοῦ πράγματος τὸ ἐπίπονον δυσχεραίνων, τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ χίονος ἐμηχανήδατο στάσιν. Πρῶτον μὲν ἕξ πήχεων τμηθῆναι κελεύσας, εἶτα δύο καὶ δέκα, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα δύο καὶ εἴκοσι, νῦν δὲ ἐξ καὶ τριάκοντα " ἀναπτῆναι γὰρ εἰς οὐρανὸν ἐφίεται, καὶ «ἧς ἐπιγείου ταύτης ἀπαλλαγῆναι διατριδῆς. Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐδὲ τῆς θείας ἄνευ οἰκονομίας ταύτην πιστεύω γενέσθαι τὴν στάσιν. Οὗπερ εἴνεκα τοὺς μεμψιμοίρους ἠαραχαλῶ χαλινῶσαι τὴν γλῶτταν, καὶ μὴ ἐπιτρέπειν ὡς ἔτυχε φέρεσθαι " σκοπεῖν δὲ, ὡς πολλάκις τοιαῦτα ὁ Δεσπότης τῶν ῥᾳθυμοτέρων ἕνεκεν ὠφελείας ἐμηχανήσατο. Καὶ γὰρ τὸν Ἡσαῖαν γυμνὸν καὶ ἀνυπόδητον βαδίσαι προσέταξε“ καὶ τὸν μίαν περίζωσμα τῇ ὀσφύϊ περιθεῖναι, καὶ οὕτω τοῖς ἀπειθέσι προσφέρειν τὴν προφητείαν “ καὶ ἄλλοτε δὲ γλοιοὺς ξυλίνους καὶ σιδηροῦς μετὰ ταῦτα τῷ τραχήλῳ περιθαλεῖν - καὶ τῷ Ὠσηὲ γυναῖκα πόρνην λαδεῖν, καὶ αὖθις ἀγαπῆσαι γυναῖκα πονηρὰν καὶ μοιχαλίδα " καὶ τῷ ᾿Ιεζεχιὴλ, ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ πλευεχ ῥοῦ κεσσαράχοντα κατακλιθῆναι ἡμέρας, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ εὐωνύμου πεντήκοντα καὶ ἑκατόν" καὶ πάλιν, διορῦξαι τοῖχον, καὶ φεύγοντα ἐξελθεῖν, καὶ αἰχμαλωσίαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ διαγράψαι:" καὶ ἄλλοτε δὲ ξίφος εἰς ἀκμὴν παραθῆξαι, καὶ ξύρασθαι τούτῳ τὴν κεφαλὴν, καὶ τετραχῇ τὰς τρίχας διελεῖν, καὶ ἀπονεῖμαι τὰς μὲν εἰς τόδε, τὰς δὲ εἰς τόδε, ἵνα μὴ ἅπαντα καταλέγω. Γίνεσθαι δὲ τούτων ἕχαστον προσέταττε τῶν ὅλων ὁ πρύτανις, τοὺς λόγῳ μὴ πειθομένους, μηδὲ τῆς προφητείας ἐπαΐειν ἀνεχομένους, τῷ τῆς θεωρίας παραδόξῳ συλλέγων, καὶ τῶν θεσπισμάτων ἀκούειν παρασκευάζων. Τίς γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἐξεπλάγη θεῖον ἄνθρωπον γυμνὸν βαδίζοντα θεωρῶν; Τίς οὐκ ἂν τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ γιγνομένον μαθεῖν ἐπόθησε; Τίς δὲ οὐκ ἂν ἤρετο" Τί δήποτε πόρνῃ συνοικεῖν ὁ προφήτης ἀνέχεται; Καθάπερ τοίνυν ἐχείνων ἕχαστον ὁ «ὧν ὅλων θεὸς γενέσθαι προσέταξε, τῆς τῶν ῥᾳστώνῃ συζώντων προμηθούμενος ὠφελείας " οὕτω καὶ τὸ καινὸν τοῦτο καὶ παράδοξον ἐπρυτάνευσε θέαμα, τῷ ξένῳ πάντας ἕλκων εἰς θεωρίαν, καὶ πιθανὴν τοῖς ἀφικνουμένοις παρασκευάζων τὴν προσφερομένην παραίνεσιν. Τὸ γὰρ καινὸν τοῦ θεάματος ἐνέχυρον ἀξιόχρεων γίνεται τοῦ διδάγματος " καὶ ὁ εἰς θεωρίαν ἀφικνούμενος τὰ θεῖα παιδευθεὶς ἐπανέρχεται. Καὶ ὥσπερ οἱ βασιλεύειν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαχόντες, ἀμεἰ- ὄουσι κατά τινα χρόνον περίοδον τὰς τῶν νομιοσμάπων εἰκόνας, ποτὲ μὲν λεόντων ἐκτυποῦντες ἐνδάλματα, ποτὲ δὲ ἀστέρων καὶ ἀγγέλων ᾿ ἄλλοτε τῷ ξένῳ χαρακτῆρι τιμιώτερον ἀποφαίνειν πειρώμενοι τὸν χρυσόν" οὕτως ὁ τῶν ὅλων Παμθῦασιλεὺς, οἷόν τινας χαραχτίιρας, τὰς καινὰς ταύτας καὶ παντοδαπὰς πολιτείας τῇ εὐτεδείᾳ περιτιθεὶς, οὐ μόνον τῶν τροφίμων τῆς πίστεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν τὴν ἀπιστίαν νοσούντων, εἰς εὐφημίαν τὰς γλώττας κινεῖ. Καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον, οὗ λόγοι μάρτυρες, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων βοή. Τοὺς γὰρ Ἰσμαηλίτα:, πολλὰς μυβιάδας τῷ ζόφῳ τῆς ἀσεθείας ἡ ἐπὶ τοῦ χίονος ἐφώτισε στάσις. “Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐπί τινος λυχνίας τεθεὶς ὁ φανώτατος οὗτος λύχνος, ἡλίου δίκην πάντοσε τὰς ἀκτῖνας ἐξέπεμψε καὶ ἔστιν ἰδεῖν καὶ Ἰθηρας, ὡς ἔφην, καὶ ᾿Αρμενίους, καὶ Πέρσας ἀφικνουμένους, καὶ τοῦ θείου βαπτίσματος ιχνούμενοι, «διακόσιοι κατὰ ταυτὸν, καὶ τρισχόσιοι, ἔστι δ᾽ ὅτε καὶ χίλιοι, ἀρνοῦνται μὲν τὴν πατρῴαν ἑξαπάτην μετὰ βοῆς, τὰ ὃὲ ὑπ᾽ ἐχείνων σεδασθέντα εἴδωλα πρὸ του μεγάλου ἐχεένου φωστῇρος συντρίθοντες, καὶ τοῖ; τῆς ᾿Αφροδίτης ὀργίοις μενοι (ταύτης γὰρ ἀνέκαθεν τῆς δαΐμονος κατ’ ἐδέξαντο τὴν λατρείαν), τῶν θείων ἀπολαύουσι μυστη» ρίων- νόμους παρὰ τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐκείνης δεχόμενω λύσσης, καὶ τοῖς ἔθεσι τοῖς πατρῴοις καίρειν φράζοντες, τῶν τε ὄνων τῶν ἀγρίων, τῶν τε καμήλων τὴν ἐδωδὴν ἀπαρνούμενοι. Καὶ τούτων αὐτόπτης ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ, καὶ ἀκήκοα, καὶ τὴν πατρῴαν ἀσὶὄειαν ἀρνουμένων, καὶ τῇ εὑὐαγγελιχῇ διδασκαλίᾳ συντιθεμένων. Καὶ κίνδυνον δὲ ἅπαξ ὑπέμεινα μέγιστον. Αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ αὐτοῖς προσελθεῖν ἐκέλευσε, καὶ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ τὴν ἱερατικὴν εὐλογίαν λαδεῖν, μέγιστὸν φήσας αὐτοὺς ἐντεῦθεν καρπώσασθαι κέρδος" βαρδαριχώτερον δὲ συνδραμόντες ἐκεῖνοι, οἱ μὲν ἔμπροσθεν εἶλκον, οἱ δὲ ὄπισθεν, ἄλλοι ἐκ πλαγίων" οἱ δὲ ἀφεστῶτες, τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιθαίνοντες, καὶ τὰς χεῖρας προτείνοντες, οἱ μὲν τὸ γένειον εἶλκον, οἱ δὲ τῶν ἱματίων ἐπελαμθάνοντο. Κἂν ἀπεπνίγην ὑπὸ τῆς ἐχείνων θερμοτέρας προσόδου, εἰ μὴ βοῇ χρησάΤοιαύτην ὁ ὑπὸ τῶν φιλοσχωμμόνων νὸς χίων ὠφέλειαν ἀνόδλυσε, καὶ τοσαύτην ἀκτῖνα θεογνωσίας ταῖς τῶν βαρθάρων διανοίαις χατέτεμψεν. Οἷδα δὲ καὶ ἄλλο ὑπὸ τούτων τοιόνδε γεγενημέἹἹχέτευε μία φυλὴ τὸν θεῖον ἄνθρωπον, εὐχίν τινα καὶ εὐλογίαν ἐκπέμψαι τῷ σφετέρῳ ἄλλη δὲ φυλὴ παροῦσα ἀντέλεγε, μὴ δεῖν ἐκείνῳ τὸν εὐλογίαν ἐχπεμφθῆναι λέγουσα, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἑαντῆ; ἡγεμόνι" τὺν μὲν γὰρ ἀδικώτατον εἶναι, τὸν δὲ ἀδικίας ἀλλότριον. Μακρᾶς δὲ φιλονεικίάς γενομένης, καὶ διαμάχης βαρβαρικῆς, τὸ τελευταῖον κατ᾽ ἀλλ λων ἐχώρησαν. Ἐγὼ δὲ πολλοῖς χρησάμενος λόγοι“, ἡσυχίαν ἔχειν παρήνουν, ὡς ἂν ἀποχρῶντος τοῦ θεί“) ἀνδρὸς καὶ τούτῳ κἀκείνῳ μεταδοῦναι τῆ; εὐλογίας. ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ οὗτοι ἔλεγον, μὴ δεῖν ἐκεῖνον ταύτης τὸχεῖν, κἀκεῖνοι ταύτης ἀποστερεῖν ἐπειρῶντο τὶν ἕτερον. ᾿Απειλήσας δὲ αὐτοῖς ἄνωθεν, καὶ κύνας λέσας, μόγις τὴν φιλονεικίαν χατέσδεσε. Ταῦτα ἃ ἔφην, ἐπιδεῖξαι αὐτῶν τῆς διανοίας θελήσας τὴν πί- στιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν οὕτω κατ᾽ ἀλλήλων ἐμάνησαν, εἰ μὴ μεγίστην ἔχειν δύναμιν τοῦ θεασπεσίου ἀνθρώπον τὴν εὐλογίαν ἐπίστευον. Εἶδον δὲ καὶ ἄλλοτε θαῦμα γεγενημένον ἀοίδιμον. Εἰσελθὼν γάρ τις (Σαρακηνῶν δὲ καὶ οὗτος φύλαρχος ἦν), τὴν θείαν ἱχέτευσε κεφα- ἢ λῆν, ἐπαμῦναι ἀνδρὶ κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν παρεθέντι τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος. Ἔλεγε δὲ τοῦτο κατὰ τὴν Καλλίνικον (φρούριον δὲ αὕτη μέγιστον) ὑπομεμενηκέναι τὸ πάθος. Κομισθέντα τοίνυν εἰς μέσον ἀρντθῇναι ἐκέλευσε τὴν τῶν προγόνων ἀσέδειαν, Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἄτμενος κατεδέξατο, καὶ ὑπήκουσε, καὶ τὸ κελευσθὲν ἐξεπλήρωσεν, ἤρετο εἰ πιστεύει τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ τῷ μονογενεῖ ΥἹῷ, καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι. Τοῦ δὲ πιστεύειν ὁμολογήσαντος, ε Ταύταις, ἔφη, ταῖς προσηγορίαις πιστεύων, ἀνάστηθι.» Ὡς δὲ ἀνέστη, Β προσέταξεν ἐπ᾽ ὥμων φέρειν τὸν φύλαρχον μέχρις αὐτῆς τῆς κλίνης. Μέγιστον δὲ εἶχε σῶμα. Καὶ ὁ μὲν λαδὼν παραυτίκα ᾧχετο" Οἱ δὲ παρόντες εἰς ὑμνῳδίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰς γλώσσας ἐκίνησαν, Τοῦτο δὲ προπέταξε τὸν Δεσπότην μιμούμενος" ὃς τῷ παραλύτῳ φέρειν τὴν κλίνην ἐχέλευσεν, ᾿Αλλὰ μηδεὶς τυραννίδα καλείτω τὴν μέμησιν. Αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐστι φωνή" « Ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ, τὰ ἔργα ἃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ, κἀκεῖνος ποιήσει, καὶ μείζονα τούτων ποιήσει. » Καὶ ταύτης δὲ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τὸ τέλος ἐθεασάμεθα. Τῆς γὰρ τοῦ Κυρίου σκιᾶς οὐδαμοῦ θαῦμα ἐργασαμένης, ἡ τοῦ μεγάλου Πέτρου σκιὰ, καὶ θάνατον ἔλυσε, καὶ νόσους ἐξήλασε, καὶ δαίμονας ἐφυγάδευσεν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὁ Δεσπότης καὶ ταῦτα διὰ τῶν δούλων ἐνήργει τὰ θαύματα - καὶ νῦν δὲ ὡσαύτως, τῇ τούτου κεχρημένος προσηγορίᾳ τὰ μυρία ὁ θεῖος Συμεώνης ἐργάζεται θαύματα. Συνέδη γὰρ καὶ ἕτερον θαῦμα γενέσθαι ὑπὸ τούτου τοῦ προτέρου μηδαμῶς ἐλαττούμᾶνον. Τῶν γὰρ εἰς τὸ σωτήριον ὄνομα τοῦ Δεσπότου Χριστοῦ πεπιστευκότων τις, Ἰσμαηλίτης οὐκ ἄσημος, εὐχὴν ἐποιήσατο πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὑπ᾽ αὐτῷ μάρτυρι, καὶ ὑπόσχεσιν. Ἡ δὲ ὑπόσχεσις ἦν, πάσης ἀφέξεσθαι τοῦ λοιποῦ μέχρι τέλους ἐμψύχου τροφῆς. Ταύτην οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅπως χρόνῳ τινὶ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν Τοῦ δὲ Θεοῦ αὐτὸν δι᾽ ἐλέγχου πρὸς ἐπιστροφὴν ἐνἐγκεῖν ἐθελήσαντος, καὶ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ τιμῆσαι θεράποντα μάρτυρα τῆς παραδαθείσης γενόμενον ὑποσχέσεως, εἰς λίθου φύσιν ἡ σὰρξ τῆς ὄρνιθος μετεδάλλετο, ὥστε μηδὲ βουλόμενον δύνασθαι λοιπὸν ἐσθίειν αὖτόν. Πῶς γὰρ οἷόν τε ἦν, ἀπὸ πετρωθέντος οὗπερ εἰς βρῶσιν ἐπείληπτο σώματος ἐσθίειν δύνασθαι; Ταύτῃ καταπλαγεὶς ὁ βάρδαρος τῇ παραδόξῳ θέᾳ, σὺν πολλῷ τάχει τὸν ὅσιον χατελάμδανε, τὸ κεκρυμμένον εἰς φῶς προσφέρων ἁμάρτημα, καὶ τὴν παράὅασιν ἀνακηρύττων πᾶσι, καὶ τοῦ πταίσματος ἐκ Θεοῦ συγγνώμην αἰτούμενος " καὶ τὸν ἅγιον εἰς ἐπικουρίαν καλῶν, ὡς ἂν ταῖς παντοδυνάμοις ἀὐτοῦ εὐχαῖς τῶν δεσμῶν αὐτὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἑλχύσειε. Πολλοὶ δὲ τοῦ θαύματος αὐτόπται γεγόνασι, τὸ πρὸς τῷ στήθει μέρος ἐξ ὀστέου καὶ λίθου συγκείμενον ψηλαφήσαντες, Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ μόνον τῶν θαυμάτων αὐτόπτη-, σεως τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἔμαθον. Καὶ ἄλλα δὲ τοιαῦτα τὸ μῆκος. ᾿Απόχρη δὲ καὶ ταῦτα δεῖξαι τῆς διανοίας ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς τῶν γενησομένων προῤῥήσεως ἐγενόμὴν ἀκροατής. Καὶ γὰρ τὸν γενόμενον αὐχμὸν, καὶ τὴν πολλὴν ἐχείνην τοῦ ἔτους ἀχαρπίαν, καὶ τὸν ἀχολευθήσαντα λιμὸν, ὁμοῦ τε καὶ λοιμὸν, πρὸ δύο εἶπεν ἐνιαυτῶν, ῥάδδον εἰρηκὼς τεθεᾶσϑαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποι:ς ἐπιφερομένην, καὶ τὰς δι' αὑτῆς προμηνύουσαν μάστιγας. Καὶ ἄλλοτε δὲ τῆς καλουμένης μέγα λυμανεῖται, τῆς θεία; φιλανθρωπίας ἀκολουθούσης τῇ τιμωρίᾳ. Τριάκοντα δὲ διελθουσῶν ἡμέρῶν, ἐπέττη μὲν πλῆθος ἄπειρον, ὡς καὶ διατεμεῖν πὴν ἀκτῖνα, καὶ σχεδιάσαι σκιάν " καὶ τοῦτο ἀχριδῶς ἐθεασάμεθα πάντες. Μόνον δὲ τὸν τῶν ἀλόγων χιλὸν ἐλυμήνατο, οὐδὲ μίαν λώδην τῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων Β προσενεγχοῦσα τροφῇ. Καὶ ἐμοὶ δὲ ὑπό τινος πολέ. μουμένῳ, πρὸ πεντεκαίδεκα ἐμήνυσεν ἡμερῶν τὴν τοῦ πολεμίου κατάλυσιν, καὶ τῇ πείρᾳ τῆς προῤῥῥπάμπολλα ἐπιστάμενος παρήσω, φεύγων τοῦ λόγου αὐτοῦ τὴν πνευματικὴν θεωρίαν. Τούτῳ πολὺ τὸ κλέος καὶ παρὰ τῷ Περσῶν βασιλεῖ. Ὡς γὰρ οἱ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἀφικόμενοι διηγίσαντο πρέσδεις, ἐπιμελῶς ἐπυνθάνετο, τίς τε εἴη τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ὁ βίος, καὶ ποῖα τὰ θαύματα. Τὴν δὲ ὁμόζυγα τούτου φασὶ καὶ ἔλαιον αἰτῆσαι τῆς τούτου εὐλογία: ἠξιωμένον, καὶ ὡς μέγιστον δῶρον κομίσασθαι. Καὶ οἱ περὶ βασιλέα δὲ πάντες ὑπὸ τῆς φήμης βαλλόμενοι, καὶ πολλὰς παρὰ τῶν μάγων κατ᾽ αὐτοῦ συκοφαντίας δεχόμενοι, καὶ ἀχριδῶς ἐπυνθάνοντο, καὶ διδασκόμενοι θεῖον ἄνδρα ὠνόμαζον. Ὁ δὲ λοιπὴς ὄμιλος τοῖς ὁρεωχόμοις προσιόντες, καὶ χαθιχέται;, καὶ στρατιώταις, καὶ χρήματα προσέφερον, καὶ τῆς τοῦ ἐλαίου εὐλογίας μετασχεῖν ἱκέτευον. Ἡ δὲ τῶν Ἰσμαηλιτῶν βασίλισσα, στερίφη οὖσα καὶ παίδων ἐφιεμένη, πρῶτον μέν τινας τῶν ἀξιωτάτων ἀπο: στείλασα, γενέσθαι μήτηρ ἱκέτευσεν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔτυχε τῆς αἰτήσεως, καὶ ἔσχεν ὡς ἐπόθησε, τὸν γενἔδραμε " καὶ ἐπειδὴ γυναιξὶν οὐκ εἰσιτὸν ἦν, πρὸς αὐτὸν πέμψασα τὸ βρέφος, τῆς παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ τυχεῖν εὐλογίας ἱκέτευε " « Σὸν γὰρ, ἔφη, τόδε τὸ δράγμα. Ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ μετὰ δακρύων τὸ τῆς εὐχῆς προῦενήνοχα σπέρμα " σὺ δὲ τὸ σπέρμα πεποίηκας δράγμα, τῆς θείας χάριτος διὰ προσευχῆς ἑλκύσας τὸν ὑετόν. » ᾿Αλλὰ μέχρι πότε φιλονειχῶ μετρῆσαι τοῦ ᾿Ατλᾶν. τιχοῦ πελάγους τὸ βάθος; Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνα τοῖ; ἀνθρώποις ἀμέτρητα, οὕτως ὑπερδαίνει διήγησιν τὰ καθ᾽ ἡμέραν ὑπ᾽ ἐχείνου γινόμενα. Ἐγὼ δὲ αὑτοῦ πρὸ τούτων ἁπάντων τὴν καρτερίαν θαυμάζω. Νύχτωὼρ γὰρ καὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν ἔστηκεν ὑπὸ πάντων ὁρώμενος. Τὰς θύρας γὰρ ἀφελὼν, καὶ τοῦ περιδόλου μέρος οὐκ ἐλάχιστον καταλύσας, πρύχειται πᾶσι θέαμα καινὸν καὶ παράδοξον" νῦν μὲν ἑστὼς μέχρι πολλοῦ, νῦν δὲ θαμὰ χατακαμπτόμενος, καὶ τῷ Θεῷ προσφέρων προσκύνησιν. Πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἀριθμοῦσι τῶν ἐστώτων ταυτασὶ τὰς προσκυνήσεις. “Απαξ δέ τις τῶν σὺν ἐμοὶ χιλίας αὶ διακοσίας πρὸς τέτταρσι καὶ τεσσαράχοντα ἀριθμήσας, εἶτα ὀχλάσας, ἀφῆκε τὴν ψῆφον. Καταχύπτων δὲ ἀεὶ τοῖς τῶν ποδῶν δακτύλοις προσπελάζει τὸ μέτωπον. Ἅπαξ δὲ τῆς ἑδδομάδος τροφὴν ἡ γαστὴρ ὑποδεχομένη, καὶ ταύτην χωρεῖϊ. Φασὶ δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς στάσεως καὶ χρόνιον ἕλκος ἐν θατέρῳ γενέσθαι ποδὶ, καὶ διηνεκῶς πλεῖστον ἰχῶρα ἐκεῖθεν ἐχχρένεσθαι. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως οὐδὲν τουτωνὶ τῶν παθῶν τὴν φιλοσοφίαν ἐξήλεγξεν " ἀλλὰ φέρει γενναίως, καὶ τὰ ἐκούσια, καὶ τὰ ἀχούσια καὶ τούτων κἀκείνων τῇ προθυμίᾳ περιγενόμενος. Τοῦτο δὲ τὸ ἕλκος ὑποδεῖξαί τινε ἠναγκάσθη͵ ποτέ διηγήσομαι δὲ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν. ᾿Αφίκετό τις ἀπὸ Ῥαόδαίνης, ἀνὴρ σπουδαῖος, καὶ τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ διακονίᾳ τετιμημένος. Οὗτος τὴν κορυφὴν ἐχείνην χαταλαδών᾽" ε Εἰπέ μοι, ἔφη, πρὸς τῆς ἀληθείας αὐτῆς, τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος ἐπιστρεψάσης, ἄνθρωπος εἶ, ἣ ἀσώματος; φύσις; » Δυσχερανάντων ὃὲ πρὸς τὴν ἐρώτησιν τῶν παρόντων, σιγὴν μὲν ἄγειν ἐκέλευσε πάντας " πρὸς ἐκεῖνον δὲ ἔφη "ΤΙ δή ποτε ταύτην τὴν πεῦσιν πρησήνεγχας; » Τοῦ δὲ εἰρηκότος " ε Ὡς πάντων ἀκούω θρυλλούντων, ὡς οὔτε ἐσθίεις, οὔτε καθεύδεις " ἀνθρώπων δὲ ἑκά» περον ἴδιον " οὐ γὰρ ἄν τις ταύτην ἔχων τὴν φύσιν, τροφῆς δίχα καὶ ὕπνον διαδιώσειεν" » ἐπιτεθεῖναι μὲν τῷ χίονι κλίμακα προσέταξεν, ἀναδῆναί τε ἐκεῖνὸν ἐκέλευσε, καὶ πρῶτον μὲν τὰς χεῖρας καταμαθεῖν, εἶτα ἔσω τοῦ δερματίνου περιδολαίου τὴν χεῖρα βαλεῖν, καὶ ἰδεῖν μὴ τοὺς πόδας μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ χαλεπώτατον ἕλκος. Ἰδὼν δὲ καὶ θαυμάσας ὁ ἄνθρωπος “ἣν τοῦ ἕλχους ὑπερδολὴν, καὶ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ μαθὼν ὡς ἀπολαύει τροφῆς, κατελήλυθεν ἐκεῖθεν, πρὸς ἐμὲ δὲ ἀφικόμενος διηγήσατο πάντα. Ἐν δὲ ταῖς δημοτελέσι πανηγύρεσι καὶ ἄλλην ἐπιδείκνυται καρτερίαν. Μετὰ γὰρ ἡλίου δυσμὰς ἕως ἂν οὗτος πάλιν εἰς τὸν ἑῷον ὁρίζοντα γένηται, τὰς χεῖρας ἀνατείνων εἰς οὐρανὸν παννύχιον ἔστηκεν, οὔτε ὕπνῳ θελγόμενος, οὔτε ὑπὸ πόνου νικώμενος. Ἕν τοσούτοις δὲ πόνοις, καὶ κατορθωμάτων ὄγκῳ, ναί, καὶ πλήθει θαυμάτων, οὕτως ἐστὶ τὸ φρόνημα μέ- ἢ τρίος, ὡς πάντων ἀνθρώπων κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν ὕστατος. Πρὸς δὲ τῷ μετρίῳ φρονήματι, καὶ εὐπρόσοδος λίαν ἐστὶ, καὶ γλυκὺς, καὶ ἐπίχαρις, καὶ πρὸς ἔκαστον τῶν διαλεγομένων ἀποκρινόμενος, εἴτε χειροτέχνης, εἴτε προπαίτης, εἴτε ἄγροικος εἴη. Ἔλα- 6: δὲ καὶ τῆς διδατχαλίας παρὰ τοῦ μεγαλυδιύρου Δεστότου τὸ δῶρον" καὶ δὶς ἑκάστης ἡμέρας τὰς παραινέσεις ποιούμενος, ἐπιχλύζει τῶν ἀκουόντων τὰς ἀκοὰς, ἐπὶ χάριτος; μάλα διαλεγόμενος, καὶ τὰ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος προσφέρων παιδεύματα, καὶ ἀνυνεύειν εἰς οὐρανὸν, καὶ πέτασθαι παρεγγυῶν, καὶ τῆς γῆς ἀπαλλάττεσθαι, καὶ τὴν προσζοχωμέντυ φαντάζεσθαι βασιλείαν, καὶ τῆς γεέννης δεδιέναι: τὴν ἀπειλὴν, καταφρονεῖν τε τῶν γηΐνων, καὶ προσμένειν τὰ μέλλοντα, Ἔστι δὲ αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν καὶ διχά. ζοντα, καὶ ὀρθὰς καὶ δικαίας τὰς ψήφους ἐκφέροντα, Ταῦτα δὲ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτά μετὰ τὴν ἐννάτην διαπράττεται ὥραν. Τὴν γὰρ νύκτα ἅπασαν, καὶ τὶν ἡμέραν μέχρις ἐννάτης διατελεῖ προσευχόμενος, Μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐννάτην, πρῶτον μὲν τὴν θείαν διδασκαλίαν τοῖς παροῦσι προσφέρει, εἶτα τὴν ἐκάστου δεξάμενος αἴτησιν, καί τινας ἰάσοις Περὶ δὲ ἡλίου δυσμὰς, τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν λοιπὴν διαλέξεως ἄρχεται. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἐν τούτοις ὧν, καὶ ταῦτὰ ἅπαντα δρῶν, οὐδὲ τῆς τῶν ἁγίων Ἔχχλησ:ῶν ἀμε- Β λεῖ προμηθείας " νῦν μὲν Ἑλληνικῇ δυσσεδείᾳ μενος, νῦν δὲ τὴν Ἰουδαίων καταλύων θρασύτητα, ἄλλοτε δὲ τὰς τῶν αἱρετικῶν συμμορίας καί ποτε μὲν βασιλεῖ περὶ τούτων ἐπιστέλλων, ποτὲ δὲ τοὺς ἄργοντας εἰς τὸν Θεοῦ ζῆλον ἐγείρων, ἄλλοτε δὲ καὶ αὑτοῖς τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν ποιμέσι πλείονα ποίεἶσθαι τῶν ποιμνίων παρεγγυῶν τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν. Ταῦτα δὲ διεξελθὼν, ἀπὸ ψεχκάδος δεῖξαι τὸν ὑετὸν πειραθεὶς, καὶ τῷ λιχανῷ δακτύλῳ τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντᾶς τῷ συγγράμματι τῆς γλυκύτητος ἀπογεύων «οὔ μέλιτος. Τὰ δὲ παρὰ πάντιον ἀδόμενα τούτω ἐστὶ πολλαπλάτ'α. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὀὐ πάντα ἔγωγε συγγράφειν ἐπήγγελμαι, ἀλλὰ δι᾽ ὀλίγων τῆς ἑκάστου πολιτεία; καὶ ἄλλοι τουτωνὶ πολλῷ πλείονα - εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπιβιῴτ, καὶ μείξονα τυχὸν προσθήσουσι θαύματα. Ἐγὼ δ καὶ αὐτὸν ταῖς οἰκείαις προσευχαῖς βοηθούμενον, τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς τούτοις πόνοις ἐπιμεῖναι καὶ ποθῶ, καὶ “ὃν Θεὸν ἱχετεύω, κόσμον ὄντα κοινόν, καὶ τῆς εὑσίκαὶ πρὸς τὴν εὐαγγελιχκὴν πολιτείαν κατευθυνθδῆ- ### English translation (Claude) The famous Symeon, the great wonder of the world, is known to all the subjects of the Roman Empire; the Persians too have come to know him, and the Medes and the Ethiopians, and the report of him, running even to the nomad Scythians, has taught them his love of labour and his philosophy. But though I have, so to speak, all mankind as witnesses of his contests beyond words, I fear that the story may seem a myth to those who come later, wholly stripped of truth. For what has happened is higher than human nature; and people like to measure what is said by nature, and if anything is said beyond its bounds, the account is thought false by those uninitiated in divine things. But since land and sea are full of the pious, who are instructed in divine things and have learned the grace of the all-holy Spirit, they will not disbelieve what is to be told, but will very readily [accept] the story. I shall begin from the point at which he was counted worthy of the call from above. There is a village lying on the border between our territory and that of Cilicia; they call it Sisa. Setting out from there, he was first taught by his parents to shepherd flocks, so that in this too he might be comparable with the great men, Jacob the patriarch, Joseph the chaste, Moses the lawgiver, David the king and prophet, Micah the prophet, and the godly men like them. Once, when much snow had fallen and the sheep were forced to stay indoors, he had some respite and went to the divine church with his parents. I heard this from his own sacred tongue. He said that he heard the Gospel saying that blesses those who weep and mourn, calls those who laugh wretched, and names enviable those who possess a pure soul, and everything else joined with these. Then he asked one of those present what one must do to acquire each of these; and the man suggested to him the solitary life and pointed out that highest philosophy. Having received the seeds of the divine word and hidden them well in the deep furrows of his soul, he said that he ran to the nearby shrine of the holy martyrs. There he pressed his knees and forehead to the ground and begged … to guide him on the perfect road of piety. When he had spent a long time in this way, a sweet sleep came over him and he saw a dream like this: ‘I seemed,’ he said, ‘to be digging foundations, and then to hear someone standing by [telling me to dig deeper]. When I had added to the depth, as he bade, I tried again to rest; but again he ordered me to dig and not to stop the labour. When he had urged this on me three or four times, at last he said that the depth was sufficient, and told me to build from then on without labour, since the labour had abated and the building would be easy.’ The facts bear witness to this prediction; for what has happened is beyond nature. Rising from there, he [went to] a dwelling of some ascetics nearby. Having spent two years with them and conceived a love for more perfect virtue, he went to that village of Teleda which we mentioned earlier, beside which the great and divine men Ammianus and … but the godly Symeon did not go to that one but to the other that sprang from it. [Eusebonas] and Abibion, having richly enjoyed the teaching of the great Eusebius, [founded] this [school] of philosophy; and having become of one mind and one manner throughout life, displaying as it were one soul in two bodies, they had many fellow-lovers of that life. When they had departed this life with glory, the admirable Heliodorus received the leadership of the community. He lived sixty-five years and spent sixty-two of them inside; for after being brought up for three years by his parents, he entered this flock, and never saw anything that goes on in the world. He used to say that he did not even know what pigs or cocks or other such creatures look like. I too often enjoyed the sight of him, admired the simplicity of his ways, and greatly admired the purity of his soul. To him came this pentathlete contestant of piety, and he continued contending there for ten years; having eighty fellow-contestants, he outshot them all: while the others took food every two days, he remained without food the whole week. The superiors were vexed, constantly fought with him, and called the thing disorderly, but could not persuade him by their words nor bridle his zeal. I heard from him himself, and from the present leader of that same flock, that once he took a rope [made of palm leaves], very rough even to the touch of the hands, and girded his loins with it, not putting it on outside his clothes but binding it to the very skin; and he tightened it so much that the whole part round which it lay was ulcerated. When he had continued thus for more than ten days, and the wound, growing worse, was letting drops of blood, someone who saw him asked the cause of the blood. When he said that nothing was hurting him, his fellow-contestant forcibly put in his hand, learned the cause, and reported it to the superior. At once, rebuking and exhorting him and condemning the cruelty of the thing, he barely got that bond untied; but even so he could not persuade him to apply treatment to the wound. Seeing him doing other such things too, they told him to leave that wrestling-school, so that he might not become a cause of harm to those of weaker body who tried to emulate what was beyond their strength. So he went out, took to the more deserted parts of the mountain, found a dry cistern that was not very deep, let himself down into it, and offered hymn-singing to God. After five days the leaders of that wrestling-school repented and sent out two men, ordering them to search for him and bring him back. They went round the mountain and asked some men grazing flocks there whether they had seen someone of such a complexion and wearing such a habit. When the shepherds pointed out the cistern, they at once shouted down loudly; then they brought a rope and drew him up with great labour; for the way up is not as easy as the way down. After spending a short time with them, he came to the village of Telanissus, which lies below the peak on which he now stands. There he found a small cell and continued shut up in it for three years. Always striving to increase the wealth of virtue, he desired to remain without food for forty days like the divine men Moses and Elijah. He persuaded the admirable Bassus, who at that time went round many villages as supervisor of the village priests, to leave nothing inside and to smear the door with mud. When Bassus pointed out the difficulty of the thing and urged him not to think a violent death a virtue, for this is a crime, the greatest and first, he said: ‘Then, father, put aside ten loaves and a jar of water for me, and if I see that my body needs food, I will take some of them.’ It was done as he bade: the things were set aside, and the door received the mud. At the end of the days, that admirable man and man of God Bassus came, removed the mud, and, going inside the door, found the loaves all there and the jar of water full, and him lying without breath, unable to speak or move. He asked for a sponge, moistened and washed his mouth with it, and offered him the symbols of the divine mysteries. Strengthened by these, he raised himself and took a moderate amount of food, lettuces, chicory and similar things, chewing them little by little and passing them down to his stomach. The great Bassus, filled with admiration, went back to his own flock and told of this great wonder. For he had more than two hundred members in his community, whom he did not allow to have a beast of burden or a mill, or to accept gold that was offered, or to go outside the door either to buy any necessity or to see an acquaintance; they were to live inside and [receive the food sent] by divine [grace]. The members keep this rule to this day, and though they have become more numerous they have not transgressed the commands they were given. But I shall pass on to the great [Symeon]. From then until today (twenty-eight years have passed) he continues the forty days [without food]; but time and practice have taken away most of the labour. He used to stand for the first days and hymn God; then, when his body because of the fasting could no longer bear standing, he would sit and perform the divine liturgy; and on the last days he would even lie down. For as [his strength] was consumed little by little …, he would lie down. When he stood on the pillar, he would not come down, but devised another way of standing: binding a beam to the pillar and fastening himself to the beam with ropes, he completed the forty days in this way. After this, enjoying more grace from above, he did not need this help either, but stands for the forty days, taking no food, but strengthened by zeal and divine grace. Having spent three years, as I said, in that cell, he took possession of this much-celebrated peak. He bade that a wall be built round it, had an iron chain made twenty cubits long, nailed one end of it to a very large rock and fastened the other to his right foot, so that even if he wished he could not go outside those bounds; and he lived inside, constantly picturing heaven and forcing himself to contemplate what is above the heavens; for the iron bond did not hinder the flight of his mind. But when the admirable Meletius, who was then appointed to oversee the territory of the city of Antiochus, a man shining with prudence and intelligence and adorned with shrewdness, said that the iron was superfluous, since the will was enough to put rational bonds on the body, he yielded and obediently [accepted] the advice, and had a smith called and ordered him to undo the bond. A piece of leather had been [fastened] to his leg so that the body would not be harmed by the iron, and this too had to be torn open (for it was sewn on); and they said that more than twenty very large bugs were seen lurking in it; the admirable Meletius said that he had seen this. I have recorded it to show the man’s great endurance from this too. For though he could easily have squeezed the leather with his hand and killed them all, he steadfastly endured their painful bites, embracing in small things the training for the greater contests. [As] the report [spread], all, not only the neighbours but also those many days’ journey away, [came], some bringing those whose bodies were paralysed, others asking health for the sick, others begging to become fathers; and what they had not received from nature, they begged to receive through him. Receiving it and obtaining their requests, they went home with joy; and by proclaiming the benefits they had received, they sent many times more … So, with everyone arriving from everywhere, and every road imitating a river, one can see a sea of people gathering in that place, receiving rivers from every side. For not only do the inhabitants of our part of the world flow together there, but also Ishmaelites, Persians, the Armenians subject to them, Iberians, Homerites, and peoples further inland than these. Many came who live at the farthest ends of the West, Spaniards and Britons and the Gauls who occupy the land between them. About Italy it is superfluous even to speak. For they say that the man became so celebrated in great Rome that in all the porches of the workshops they set up small images of him, providing themselves in this way with a kind of guard and safety. Since those who came were beyond number, and all tried to touch him and reap some blessing from those leather garments, he, thinking the excess of the honour absurd in the first place, and vexed besides by the wearisomeness of the thing, devised standing on the pillar. First he had one cut six cubits high, then twelve, after that twenty-two, and now thirty-six; for he longs to fly up to heaven and to be rid of this earthly sojourn. I believe that this standing too has not come about without divine dispensation. For this reason I urge the fault-finders to bridle their tongues and not let them run on at random, but to consider that the Master has often contrived such things for the benefit of the more careless. He commanded Isaiah to walk naked and barefoot; Jeremiah to put a loincloth round his waist and so bring his prophecy to the disobedient, and at another time to put wooden collars, and afterwards iron ones, on his neck; Hosea to take a prostitute as wife, and again to love a wicked woman and an adulteress; Ezekiel to lie on his right side for forty days and on his left for a hundred and fifty, and again to dig through a wall and go out as a fugitive and so portray captivity in himself, and at another time to sharpen a sword to an edge, shave his head with it, divide the hair in four, and assign some here and some there; not to list everything. The Ruler of the universe commanded each of these things to be done, gathering by the strangeness of the spectacle those who would not be persuaded by word nor bear to listen to prophecy, and preparing them to hear the oracles. For who would not be astonished to see a divine man walking naked? Who would not long to learn the reason for what was happening? Who would not ask why the prophet bears to live with a prostitute? As, then, the God of the universe commanded each of those things for the benefit of those living in ease, so he has ordained this new and extraordinary spectacle, drawing all to see it by its strangeness and making the exhortation offered to those who come persuasive. For the novelty of the spectacle becomes a trustworthy pledge of the teaching, and he who comes to see goes home instructed in divine things. And as those who are allotted rule over men change the images on their coins from time to time, sometimes stamping likenesses of lions, sometimes of stars and angels, and at other times trying to make the gold more precious by a strange stamp, so the King of all, putting these new and varied ways of life on piety like stamps, moves to praise the tongues not only of the nurslings of the faith but also of those sick with unbelief. That this is so, it is not words that bear witness but the loud voice of the facts. For the standing on the pillar has enlightened many myriads of Ishmaelites who were in the darkness of impiety. This most brilliant lamp, set as it were on a lampstand, has sent out its rays everywhere like the sun; and one can see, as I said, Iberians, Armenians and Persians arriving and [receiving] divine baptism; [and the Ishmaelites,] arriving two hundred or three hundred at a time, sometimes even a thousand, renounce their ancestral deception with shouts, break before that great luminary the idols they used to venerate, and, [renouncing] the orgies of Aphrodite (for they had received the worship of this demon from of old), enjoy the divine mysteries, receiving laws from that sacred [tongue], bidding farewell to their ancestral customs, and renouncing the eating of wild asses and camels. I was myself an eyewitness of these things, and I heard them renouncing their ancestral impiety and assenting to the teaching of the Gospel. Once I ran a very great danger. He told them to come up to me and receive the priestly blessing from me, saying that they would reap the greatest gain from it; but they rushed together in a rather barbarous way, some pulling me from in front, others from behind, others from the sides; and those further off climbed on the others and stretched out their hands, some pulling my beard, others grabbing my clothes. I would have been suffocated by their over-warm approach, had he not shouted and driven them all off. Such benefit has the pillar mocked by the scoffers poured out, and such a ray of the knowledge of God has it sent into the minds of the barbarians. I know of another such thing done by them. One tribe begged the divine man to send a prayer and blessing to their chief; another tribe present objected, saying that the blessing should not be sent to him but to their own leader, for the one was most unjust and the other a stranger to injustice. After a long contention and a barbarian quarrel, at last they went for each other. I used many words and urged them to keep quiet, since the divine man was able to give a share of the blessing to both the one and the other. But these said that the one should not obtain it, and those tried to deprive the other. He threatened them from above and called them dogs, and so barely quenched the contention. I have told this wishing to show the faith of their minds; for they would not have raged so against each other unless they believed that the godly man’s blessing had very great power. On another occasion I saw a celebrated miracle happen. A man came in (he too was a phylarch of the Saracens) and begged that divine head to help a man who had lost the use of the limbs of his body on the road. He said that he had suffered this affliction at Callinicum (a very large fort). When the man was brought into the midst, he bade him renounce the impiety of his ancestors. When he gladly accepted, obeyed and carried out the command, he asked if he believed in the Father and the only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit. When he confessed that he believed, he said: ‘Believing in these names, stand up.’ When he stood up, he ordered him to carry the phylarch on his shoulders as far as his tent; and he had a very large body. The man took him up at once and went off; and those present moved their tongues to hymn God. He gave this command imitating the Master, who told the paralytic to carry his bed. But let no one call the imitation presumption; for it is his own saying: ‘He who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and will do greater works than these.’ And we have seen the fulfilment of this promise too. For though the Lord’s shadow nowhere worked a miracle, the shadow of the great Peter undid death, drove out diseases and put demons to flight. But it was the Master who worked these miracles too through his servants; and now likewise it is by using his name that the divine Symeon works his countless miracles. Another miracle also happened through him, in no way inferior to the former. One of those who had believed in the saving name of Christ the Master, an Ishmaelite of some distinction, made a vow to God with Symeon as witness, and a promise. The promise was to abstain from then on, to the end, from all animal food. Somehow, after some time, this promise … But God wished to bring him to conversion by a rebuke and to honour his own servant, who had been witness of the broken promise: the flesh of the bird was changed into the nature of stone, so that even if he wished he could no longer eat it. For how could he eat of the body he had taken for food when it had turned to stone? Astonished at this extraordinary sight, the barbarian came with all speed to the holy man, bringing the hidden sin to light, proclaiming his transgression to all, asking forgiveness from God for his fault, and calling on the saint for help, so that by his all-powerful prayers he might draw him out of the bonds of sin. Many became eyewitnesses of the miracle, touching the part near the breast, made of bone and stone. I was not only an eyewitness of his miracles, but also a hearer of his prediction of things to come. He foretold the drought that occurred, the great unfruitfulness of that year, and the famine and plague that followed, two years beforehand, saying that he had seen a rod brought down upon men, foretelling the scourges to come through it. At another time [he foretold the attack] of the so-called [locust]: … it would do [no] great harm, since divine love for mankind would follow the punishment. After thirty days an endless multitude flew in, so as to cut off the sun’s rays and make shade; and we all saw this clearly. But it damaged only the fodder of the animals, doing no harm at all to human food. And when I was being warred on by someone, he made known to me fifteen days beforehand the overthrow of the enemy, and I learned the truth of the prediction by experience. Though I know very many other such things, I shall pass them over, avoiding length. These suffice to show the spiritual vision of his mind. His fame is great even with the king of the Persians. For, as the ambassadors who came to him related, the king inquired carefully what the man’s life was like and what his miracles were. They say that his wife even asked for oil that had been counted worthy of his blessing and received it as a very great gift. All those around the king, struck by the report and receiving many slanders against him from the magi, inquired closely, and when they were informed they called him a divine man. The rest of the crowd approached the muleteers, attendants and soldiers, offered money, and begged to share in the blessing of the oil. The queen of the Ishmaelites, being barren and desiring children, first sent some of her most distinguished men and begged that she might become a mother. When she obtained her request and had what she longed for, she took the child that had been born and ran to him; and since women were not allowed in, she sent the infant to him and begged to obtain his blessing. ‘For this sheaf,’ she said, ‘is yours. I brought the seed of prayer with tears; you made the seed a sheaf, drawing down the rain of divine grace through your prayer.’ But how long shall I strive to measure the depth of the Atlantic Ocean? As that is immeasurable for men, so what he does every day surpasses narration. Above all these things I admire his endurance. Night and day he stands, seen by all. For he took away the doors and pulled down no small part of the enclosure, and lies open to all as a new and extraordinary spectacle, now standing for a long time, now bending down repeatedly and offering worship to God. Many of those standing by count these acts of worship. Once one of my companions counted one thousand two hundred and forty-four, and then, growing tired, gave up the count. In bending down he always brings his forehead close to his toes. His stomach receives food once a week, and only a little. They say that from the standing a chronic ulcer has formed on one of his feet, and much pus constantly flows from it. Yet none of these sufferings has put his philosophy to shame; he bears nobly both the voluntary and the involuntary, overcoming both by his zeal. He was once compelled to show this ulcer to someone, and I shall tell the reason. A man came from Rhabdaena, a zealous man honoured with the diaconate of Christ. Reaching that peak, he said: ‘Tell me, by the truth itself that has converted the human race, are you a man or a bodiless nature?’ When those present were vexed at the question, he bade them all keep silent, and said to him: ‘Why ever have you put this question?’ He said: ‘Because I hear everyone repeating that you neither eat nor sleep; but each of these is proper to men, for no one with this nature could live without food and sleep.’ He ordered a ladder to be set against the pillar, bade him climb up and first look at his hands, then put his hand inside the leather cloak and see not only his feet but also the very grievous ulcer. When the man had seen and marvelled at the extremity of the ulcer, and had learned from him that he does take food, he came down from there, came to me and told me everything. At the public festivals he displays yet another endurance. From sunset until the sun is again on the eastern horizon, he stands all night stretching his hands up to heaven, neither charmed by sleep nor overcome by labour. Yet in such labours, with such a mass of achievements and such a multitude of miracles, he is so modest in mind as to be the last of all men in his own esteem. Besides his modesty of mind, he is very approachable, sweet and charming, and answers everyone who speaks to him, whether craftsman, beggar or peasant. He has also received from the bountiful Master the gift of teaching; making exhortations twice each day, he floods the ears of his hearers, speaking with great grace and offering the lessons of the divine Spirit, urging them to look up to heaven and to fly, to be rid of the earth, to picture the kingdom that is expected, to fear the threat of Gehenna, to despise earthly things and to await what is to come. One can also see him judging and giving upright and just verdicts. These and similar things he does after the ninth hour. For he spends the whole night, and the day until the ninth hour, in prayer. After the ninth hour he first offers divine teaching to those present, then receives each one’s request, and … some healings …; about sunset he begins his converse with God again. But though engaged in these things and doing all this, he does not neglect care for the holy Churches either: now [fighting] Greek impiety, now putting down the audacity of the Jews, at other times [scattering] the bands of the heretics; sometimes writing to the emperor about these matters, sometimes rousing the rulers to zeal for God, at other times urging the very shepherds of the Churches to take more care of their flocks. In going through these things I have tried to show the rain from a drop, and to give the readers of this work a taste of the sweetness of the honey on the tip of a finger. What is sung by everyone about him is many times more. But I have not undertaken to write everything, but in a few words [to show] the way of life of each; and others [will write] much more than these, and if he survives, they will perhaps add greater miracles. I both long and beg God that he, helped by his own prayers, may persevere in these good labours, since he is a common ornament and [glory] of piety … and [that we] may be guided to the Gospel way of life … ### Scripture references - Matt 5:4: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 6:25: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 5:8: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 34:28: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Kgs 19:8: allusion, medium confidence - Isa 20:2: allusion, high confidence - Jer 13:1: allusion, high confidence - Jer 27:2: allusion, high confidence - Jer 28:13: allusion, medium confidence - Hos 1:2: allusion, high confidence - Hos 3:1: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 4:4: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 12:5: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 5:1: allusion, high confidence - Matt 5:15: allusion, medium confidence - Mark 2:11: allusion, high confidence - John 14:12: quotation, high confidence - Acts 5:15: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The scan of this long chapter is damaged: Latin debris and footnotes from Migne's page are removed by logged corrections; lost or garbled Greek words are marked '…' and not supplied. In several places the OCR moved a line out of place (in the account of Teleda, of the stone bird, and of Symeon's predictions); these are translated where the sense shows they belong. The last words of the chapter are lost. - Theodoret wrote while Symeon (d. 459) was still alive; 'twenty-eight years have passed' dates the writing of this chapter to the 440s. - The Gospel sayings Symeon heard are the Beatitudes (Matt 5:4, 8; Luke 6:21, 25). The forty-day fasts imitate Moses (Exod 34:28) and Elijah (1 Kgs 19:8). Theodoret's defence of the pillar cites Isa 20:2–3; Jer 13:1–11; 27:2; 28:13; Hos 1:2; 3:1; Ezek 4:4–6; 12:3–7; 5:1–4. The 'lamp on a lampstand' alludes to Matt 5:15; the paralytic carrying his bed to Mark 2:11; Peter's shadow to Acts 5:15; John 14:12 is quoted. - Meletius, 'appointed to oversee the territory of the city of Antiochus', was probably a country bishop (chorepiscopus) of the region (uncertain). Bassus 'supervised the village priests' in the same way. - 'Ishmaelites' are Arab tribes; 'Homerites' are the Himyarites of southern Arabia; a phylarch is an Arab tribal chief allied to Rome. Callinicum is on the Euphrates. Rhabdaena (Ῥαόδαίνης in the scan) is uncertain. - The report of Arab converts renouncing 'the orgies of Aphrodite' and the eating of wild asses and camels is Theodoret's own account; the 'king of the Persians' is the Sasanian king. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 26 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/26). ## Life 27 (ΒΑΡΑΔΑΤΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/27/#p-27 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: After surveying the different forms of ascetic life, Theodoret describes Baradatus, who lived in a cramped open lattice box and later stood wrapped in leather with hands raised, and who argued better than readers of Aristotle. ### Greek text «Καὶ ὁ κοινὸς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀλάστωρ πολλὲς τῆ; κακίας ἐξεῦρεν ὁδοὺς, πανωλεθρέᾳ φιλονεικῶν παράδοῦναι πᾶσαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν" καὶ τῆς εὖσεδείας οἱ τρόφιμοι τῆς εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀνόδου πολλὶς καὶ διαφόρους ἐμηχανήσαντο χλίμαχας. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ κατὰ συμμορίαν ἀγωνιζόμενοι, μυρία δὲ τοιαῦτα συστήματα, καὶ ἀριθμὸν νικῶντα, τῶν ἀχηράτων στεφάνων ἀκολαύουσε, καὶ τῆς ποθουμένης ἀνόδου τυγχάνουσιν. Οἱ δὲ τὸν μοναδικὸν ἀσπαζόμενοι βίον, καὶ μόνῳ τῷ θεῷ προσλαλεῖν μελετῶντε;, καὶ παρα- ψυχῇς ἀνθρωπίνης οὐδὲ μιᾶ; μεταλαγχάνουτες, οὕτω Α «ἧς ἀναῤῥήσεω: ἀπολαύουσιν. Ἄλλοι δὲ ἐν σκηναῖς, καὶ ἕτεροι ἐν χαλύθαις διάγοντες, τὸν Θεὸν ἀνυμνοῦσιν. Οἱ δὲ τὸν ἐν ἄντροις καὶ σπηλαίοις ἀσπάζονται βίον. Πολλοὶ δὲ, ὧν ἐνίων ἐμνήσθημεν, οὐκ ἄντρον ἔχειν, οὐ σπήλαιον, οὐ σκηνὴν, οὐ χαλύδην ἐπείσθησαν " ἀλλὰ γυμνῷ τῷ ἀέρι τὰ σφέτερα σώματα δεδωκότες, τῶν ἐναντίων ποιοτήτων ἀνέχονται " ποτὲ μὲν τῷ χρυμῷ τῷ ἀκράτῳ κηγνύμενοι" ποτὲ δὲ τῷ πυρὶ «ἧς ἀκτῖνος φλεγόμενοι, Καὶ τούτων ὃὲ αὖ πάλιν ὁ βίας διάφορος. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἑστῶσι διηνεκῶς, οἱ δὲ εἷς καθέδραν καὶ στάσιν τὴν ἡμέραν μερίζουσι καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐν θριγχίοις τισὶ καθειργμένοι, τῶν πολλῶν τὰς συνουσίας ἐχχλένουσιν, οἱ δὲ οὐδενὶ τοιούτῳ χαλύμμάτι χρώμενοι, πρόκεινται πᾶσι τοῖς βουλομένοις εἷς θεωρίαν. Τούτων δὲ ἕχαστον ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος διἐξελθεῖν ἠναγκάσθην, τοῦ θαυμασίου Βαραδάτου τὸν βίον ἐθελήσας συγγράψαι. Καινὰ γὰρ καὶ οὗτος ἐπἐνόησς καρτερίας ἐπιτηδεύματα. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ἐν μόνης ψυχαγωγίας ἀπήλαυεν. Ἐκεῖθεν τὴν ὑπερχεῖοὐδὲ τῷ σώματι σύμμετρον ἐκ ξύλων κατασκευάσας, ἐν αὐτῇ διῆγε, καταχύπτειν διηνεκῶς ἠναγχασμένος, Οὐ γὰρ εἶχεν ὕψος ἰσόμετρον τῷ μήκει τοῦ σώματος. Οὐ σανίσι δέ γε αὕτη συνήρμοστο, ἀλλὰ ταῖς χιγχλίσι παραπλησίως διήνοιχτο, καὶ ταῖς φωταγωγοῖς ἐῴκει «αἷς εὑρυτέρας ἐχούσαις τοῦ φωτὸς τὰς εἰσόδους. Οὗ χάριν, οὔτε ταῖς τῶν ὑετῶν ἀπηλλάττετο προσδολαῖς, οὔτε τῆς ἡλιακῆς ἐλευθεροῦτο φλογὸς, ἀλλ᾽ ἀμφότερα τοῖς ἄλλοις ὑπαιθρίοις παραπλησίως ἐδέχετο᾽ ἐπλεονέχτει δὲ μόνῳ τῷ τῆς χαθείρξεως πόνῳ. ΤΙολὺν δὲ χρόνον τοῦτον διατελέσα: τὲν τρόπον, ὕστεϑὴν ἐξελήλυθε, ταῖς τοῦ θεσπεσίου Θεοδότο", ὃς τὴν ἀρχιερατιχὴν τῆς ᾿Αντιοχέων ἔλαδε προεδρίαν, παραἰνέσεσιν εἴξας, Ἕστηκε μέντοι διηνεκῶς εἰς οὐρανὸν τὰς χεῖρας ἐκτείνων, καὶ τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν ἀννινῶν, ἅπαν τὸ σῶμα τῷ δερματίνῳ χ'τῶνι" περὶ τὴν ῥῖνα δὲ μόνην, καὶ τὸ στόμα, βραχεῖλν τῷ πνεύματι παρείσδυσιν καταλέλοιπεν, ἵνα ἐναπνέῃ τὸν κοινὸν ἀέρα δεχόμενος, ἐπειδήπερ ἄλλως ζῇν οὐκ οἵα τε τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡ φύσις. Καὶ τοῦτόν ἄπιντα ὑπομένει τὸν πόνον, οὐκ εὔρωστον σῶμα λαχὼν, ἀλλὰ καὶ λίαν πολλοῖς βαλλόμενος πάθεσι" ξέουσα δὲ ἢ προθυμία, καὶ τῷ θείῳ ἔρωτι πυρπολουμένη, βιάξεται πονεῖν τὸ πονεῖν οὐ δυνάμενον. Καὶ τὰς φρένας δὲ συνέσει χεχοσμτιμένος, ἄριστα καὶ τὰς πεύσεις καὶ τὰς ἀποκρίσεις ποιεῖται - καὶ συλλογίζεται ἔστιν ὅτε τῶν τοὺς ᾿Αριστοτελιχοὺς λχδυρίνθους ἀνεγνωχότων ἄμεινόν τε καὶ δυνατώπέρον, Ἐν αὐτῷ δὲ ὧν τῷ ὕψει τῆς ἀρετῆς, οὐκ ἐᾷ Ἰτυναναδῆναι τὸ φρόνημα, ἀλλὰ κάτω ἕρπειν κελεύει, περὶ αὐτὰ τοῦ ὄρους: τὰ κράσπεδα. Οἷδε γὰρ ὅσην ἴλχει βχάδην φλεγμαίνουσα τῷ τύφῳ διάνοια, Τοιαὐτὴ ἐν χειφαλαίῳ καὶ ἡ τοῦδε φιλοσοφία " ἦν αὖξομένην γένοιτο τὴν νύσσαν τοῦ δρόμον χαταλαδεῖν. Κοινὴ γὰρ εὐφροσύνη τῶν εὐσεθῶν, τῶν νιχηφόρων «οὕὗτων ἡ εὔχλεια. Ἐμὲ δὲ εἴη ταῖς τούτου ὑπερειοἱ μενον πρητευχαῖς, μὴ πόῤῥω τοῦδε γενέσθαι τοῦ ρους ἀλλὰ γαταρμίγρὴν ἀναῦῖναι, καὶ ταῖς τούτων ### English translation (Claude) The common destroyer of mankind has found many roads of wickedness, striving to deliver the whole nature of mankind to utter ruin; and the nurslings of piety have devised many different ladders for the ascent to heaven. Some, contending in companies (and there are countless such communities, past all counting), enjoy the incorruptible crowns and attain the ascent they long for. Others, embracing the solitary life and practising speaking to God alone, … sharing in no human [consolation] …, enjoy in this way the proclamation of victory. Others hymn God living in tents, and others in huts. Others embrace life in caves and grottoes. Many, some of whom we have mentioned, have resolved to have no cave, no grotto, no tent, no hut; giving their bodies to the bare air, they endure its opposite qualities, now frozen by unmixed frost, now burnt by the fire of the sun. And among these too the way of life differs: some stand continually; others divide the day between sitting and standing; some, enclosed within walls, decline the company of the many; others, using no such covering, lie open to all who wish to see them. I have been compelled to go through each of these now because I wish to write the life of the admirable Baradatus. For he too devised new practices of endurance. First, … he enjoyed … comfort. Then, … he made of wood [a chest] not even proportioned to his body and lived in it, constantly forced to stoop; for it did not have a height equal to the length of his body. It was not fitted together with boards, but was open like a lattice, and resembled windows that have wide openings for the light. For this reason he was neither spared the assaults of the rains nor freed from the flame of the sun, but received both like the other ascetics in the open air; he exceeded them only in the labour of enclosure. Having continued in this way for a long time, he later came out, yielding to the exhortations of the godly Theodotus, who received the high-priestly presidency of Antioch. He stands continually, stretching out his hands to heaven and hymning the God of all, [covering] his whole body with a leather tunic; only around his nose and mouth has he left a small inlet for breath, so that he may breathe, taking in the common air, since human nature cannot live otherwise. He endures all this labour though he did not receive a robust body, but is assailed by very many ailments; but his zeal, boiling and set on fire by divine love, forces to labour what is unable to labour. Adorned in mind with intelligence, he both asks and answers questions excellently, and sometimes reasons better and more powerfully than those who have read the Aristotelian labyrinths. Though he stands at the very height of virtue, he does not let his mind rise up with it, but bids it creep below, about the very skirts of the mountain; for he knows how much harm a mind inflamed with pride draws on itself. Such, in summary, is his philosophy too; may he, as it grows, reach the turning-post of the course. For the glory of these victors is the common joy of the pious. And may I, supported by his prayers, not be far from this mountain, but climb it little by little, and by their … ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged: Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections; lost Greek words (notably the description of Baradatus's first dwelling and the last words of the chapter) are marked '…' and not supplied. The word 'chest' is supplied in brackets from the description that follows. - Theodotus was bishop of Antioch ca. 420–429. - 'The Aristotelian labyrinths': the syllogisms of Aristotle's logical works. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 27 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/27). ## Life 28 (ΘΑΛΕΛΑΙΟΣ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/27/#p-28 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Thalelaeus drives demons from a pagan shrine near Gabala, lives suspended in a cramped cage made of two wheels as a voluntary penance for his sins, converts the local people, and builds a martyrs' shrine on the site. ### Greek text Οὐδὲ Θαλελαίον σιγήσομαι τὸ διήγημα, μεστὸν γὰρ τὸ θέαμα θαύματος. Οὐκ ἄλλων δὲ μόνον διἡγησαμένων ἀκήκοα, ἀλλὰ γαὶ αὐτόπτης ἐγενόμτν τοῦ παραδόξου θαύματος. ᾿Απὸ σταδίων γὰρ εἴκοσι Γαδάλων (πόλις δὲ αὕτη σμικρὰ καὶ χαριεστάττ), λόφον τινὰ καταλαδὼν, ἐν ᾧ τέμενος ἦν δαίμοσιν ἀνακείμενον, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν πάλαι δυσσεδῶν πολλαῖς Ἐθεράπευον δὲ τοὺς ἀλιτηρίους, ὡς ἔφασαν, τὴ» πολλὴν αὑτῶν ὠμότητα θυσίαις πραὔνειν νοι. Πολλοῖς γὰρ ἐλυμαίνοντο, καὶ παριοῦσι, καὶ γειτονεύουσιν, οὐκ ἀνθρώποις μόνοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὄνοις, καὶ ἡμιόνοις, καὶ βουσὶ, καὶ προδάτοις" οὐ τοῖς ἀλόγοῖς πολεμοῦντες, ἀλλὰ διὰ τούτων τοῖς ἀνθρώποις Ὦ ἐπιθουλεύοντες. Τότε τοίνυν ἀφικόμενον τοῦτον ἰδόντες, χαταπλήττειν ἐπειρῶντο μὲν, οὐκ ἠδύναντο δὲ, καὶ ἑῆς πίστεως περιφραττούσης, καὶ ὑπερμαχούσης τῆς χάριτος. Τοιγάρτοι λύσσης καὶ μανίας σθέντες, κατὰ τῶν ἐκεῖ πεφυτευμένων ἐχώρητα, δένδρων. Πολλαὶ δὲ περὶ τὸν λόφον ἐκεῖνον συχαῖΐ τε καὶ ἐλαῖαι τεθηλυῖαι ἐτύγχανον οὖσαι. Ἔχ τούτων πλείους ἢ πεντακοσίας ἐξαπιναίως φασι. Καὶ τοῦτο τῶν γειτονενόντων ἀγροίκων διηγουμένων ἀκήκοα" οἵ πάλαι τῷ τῆς ἀσεδείας μένοι ζόφῳ, διὰ τῆς τούτον διδασκαλίας τε καὶ θαυ. ματουργίας, τὸ τῆς θεογνωσίας ὑπεδέξαντο ςῶς. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο δράσαντες οἱ ἀλιτήριοι δαίμονες οὐκ ἐδεδίξαντο τῆς φιλοσοφίας τὸν ἀθλητὴν, καὶ ἕτερα αὖθις προσέφερον μηχανήματα. Νύκτωρ γὰρ ὀλολυγῇ χρώμενοι, καὶ λαμπάδας ἐπιδεικνύντες, ἐχδει- Ὡς δὲ πάσας αὐτῶν τὰς ἐφόδους ἐγέλασεν, ὕστερον αὐτὸν καταλιπόντες ἀπέδρασαν. Ὁ δὲ δύο τροχοὺς κατασχευάθδας δύο πήχεων διάμετρον ἔχοντας, σανίσιν οὐ συνηρμοσμέναις ἀλλήλαις, ἀλλὰ διχὰ διεστηχυίαις ἄμφω συνέζευξε τὼ τροχώ, Εἶτα ἔνδον καῦσας, καὶ γόμφοις καὶ ἥλοις τὰς διεστηχυίας τρία ἕτερα ξύλα ὑψηλὰ εἰς τὴν γῆν χαταπήξας, καὶ τὰς ἄνω τούτων ἀρχὰς ξύλοις ἑτέροις συνάψας, καὶ πούτων ἐν μέσῳ προσδήσας τὸν διπλοῦν ἐκεῖνον τρηχὸν, καὶ αἰωρήσα;. Τούτου δὲ τὸ ἐντὸς δύο μὲν πήχεων ἔχει τὸ ὕψος, πήχεος δὲ τὸ εὗρος. Ἐν τούτῳ βοὰ Ὦ καθήμενος, μᾶλλον δὲ κρεμάμενος, δέκα τέως ὃιχα, Αά τὴ πὶ ετέλεσε) ἔτη. Σῶμα δὲ μέγιστον ἔχων, οὐδὲ καθἥμενος ἀνορθοῦν δύναται τὸν αὐχένα“ ἀλλὰ συγχεχυφὼ; ἀεὶ κάθηται, τοῖς γόνασι προσηλωμένον τὸ πρόσωπον ἔχων. Πρὸς τοῦτον ἀφικόμενος, εὗρον αὐτὸν τῶν θείων Εὐαγγελίων τὴν ὠφέλειαν συλλέγοντα. Ἡρόμην δὲ, μαθεῖν τῆς καινῆς ἐκείνης πολιτείας τὴν αἰτίαν ποθῶν ὁ δὲ τῇ Ἑλλάδι χρησάμενος φωνῇ - Κίλιξ γὰρ τὸ γένος ἐτύγχανεν ὧν" «ε Ἐγὼ, ἔφη, πολλοῖς ὑποκείμενος ἁμαρτήμασι, καὶ ταῖς ἡπειλημέναις τιμωρίαις πιστεύων, τόδε τοῦ βίου τὸ εἶδος ἐπινενόηχα, κολάσεις μετρίας τῷ σώματι μή" χανώμενος, ἵν᾽ ἐχείνων τῶν προσδοκωμένων ὑποσυλήσω τὸν ὄγκον. Χαλεπώτεραι γὰρ ἐκεῖναι, οὐ τῇ ποσότητι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῇ τῇ ποιότητι ἀχωύσιοι γάρ. Τὸ δὲ παρὰ γνώμην γιγνόμενον, λίαν ἀνια- ρόν᾽ τὸ δὲ ἐθελούσιον, κἂν ἐπίπονον ἧττόν ἐστιν ἀλγεινόν. Αὐθαίρετος γὰρ, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ βίαιος ὁ πόνος. Ἵνα τοίνυν, ἔφη, ταῖς μικραῖς ταύταις ἀνίαις ἐλαττώσω τὰ προσδοκώμενα, μέγα ἐντεῦθεν ἀποίσω τὸ κέρδος. » Τούτων ἀκούσας λίαν αὐτὸν τῆς ἀγχινοίας ὑπερηγάσθην" ὅτι οὐ μόνον ὑπὲρ τὰ κείμενα ἢγωσματα" ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι καὶ τούτων τὰς αἰτίας ἐπεγίνωσχέ τε, καὶ ἄλλους ἐδίδασκε. Καὶ θαύματα δὲ διὰ τῆς πούτου προσευχῆς πολλὰ γίνεσθαι ξφασαν οἱ περίοἴχοι, οὐκ ἀνθρώπων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ καμήλων, καὶ ὄνων, καὶ ἡμιόνων θεραπείας ἀπολαυόντων. θεν ἀσεδείᾳ πάλαι κατεχόμενον ἐκεῖνο ἅπαν τὸ ἔθνος, τὴν μὲν πατρῴαν ἐξαπάτην ἠρνήθη, τοῦ θείου δὲ φωτὸς τὴν αἴγλην ἐδέξατο, Τούτοις χρώμενος ὑπουργοῖς, καὶ τὸ τῶν δαιμόνων κατέλυσε τέμενος, καὶ σηκὸν μέγιστον τοῖς χαλλινίχοις ἀνήγειρε μάρτυσι, τοῖς ψευδωνύμοις θεοῖς τοὺς θείους ἀντιτάξας νεκρούς. Ταῖς δὲ τούτων εἴη πρεσδείαις, καὶ τοῦτον μετὰ τῆς αὐτῆς νίκης τῶν ἀγώνων τὸ τέρμα χκατατ λαδεῖν, καὶ ἡμᾶς ὑπὸ τούτων κἀκείνου βοηθουμένους, ἐραστὰς γενέσθαι θερμοὺς τῶν τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἀγω- ### English translation (Claude) Nor shall I pass over in silence the story of Thalelaeus, for the sight is full of wonder. I have not only heard others tell of it; I was myself an eyewitness of the extraordinary wonder. Twenty stades from Gabala (a small and very charming town) he took possession of a hill on which there was a precinct dedicated to demons, and [honoured] by the impious of old with many … They served the accursed ones, as they said, [thinking] to soften their great savagery with sacrifices. For they did harm to many, both passers-by and neighbours, not only to men but also to donkeys, mules, oxen and sheep; not that they were at war with the irrational creatures, but through them they plotted against men. When they saw this man arrive, they tried to terrify him, but could not, since faith fenced him round and grace fought for him. So, [inflamed] with rage and madness, they went against the trees planted there. Many fig trees and olives were flourishing around that hill, and they say that more than five hundred of them [were uprooted] suddenly. I heard this from the neighbouring peasants, who, long held in the darkness of impiety, received the light of the knowledge of God through his teaching and wonder-working. Since even by doing this the accursed demons did not frighten the athlete of philosophy, they brought other devices against him again. By night, wailing and showing torches, they [tried to] frighten … When he laughed at all their assaults, at last they abandoned him and ran away. He made two wheels with a diameter of two cubits, and joined the two wheels with boards not fitted to one another but standing apart. Then, … inside, and [fastening] the gaps with pegs and nails, he fixed three other tall timbers in the ground, joined their tops with other timbers, tied that double wheel in the middle of them, and hung it up. Its inside is two cubits high and one cubit wide. Sitting in it, or rather hanging, he has continued so far for ten years. Having a very large body, he cannot straighten his neck even when sitting, but always sits bent double, with his face pressed against his knees. When I came to him, I found him gathering the benefit of the divine Gospels. I asked him, longing to learn the reason for that new way of life; he answered in the Greek tongue (for he was a Cilician by race): ‘Being subject to many sins and believing in the punishments threatened, I devised this form of life, contriving moderate punishments for the body, so that I may steal away some of the weight of those expected. For those are harsher, not only in quantity but in their very quality, for they are involuntary. What happens against one’s will is very painful; but what is voluntary, even if laborious, is less painful, for the labour is self-chosen, not forced. If, then,’ he said, ‘by these small afflictions I lessen those expected, I shall carry off a great gain from it.’ Hearing this, I greatly admired his shrewdness, because he not only contended beyond the prescribed contests, but also understood their reasons and taught others. The neighbours said that many wonders happen through his prayer, not only men but also camels, donkeys and mules receiving healing. … that whole people, long held by impiety, renounced its ancestral deception and received the radiance of the divine light. Using them as helpers, he both destroyed the precinct of the demons and raised a very large shrine to the triumphant martyrs, setting the divine dead against the falsely named gods. By their intercessions may he too reach the end of his contests with the same victory, and may we, helped by them and by him, become ardent lovers of the contests of philosophy … ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged: Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections; lost Greek words are marked '…' and not supplied. The last words of the chapter are lost. - Thalelaeus explains his penance as lessening the punishment due for sin; Theodoret reports his reasoning without comment. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 28 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/28). ## Life 29 (ΜΑΡΑΝΑ καὶ ΚΥΡΑ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/27/#p-29 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Marana and Cyra, noblewomen of Beroea, live for forty-two years in a roofless enclosure under heavy iron chains and long fasts, speaking to visitors only at Pentecost, and make pilgrimages to Jerusalem without eating. ### Greek text Τῶν ἀρίστων ἀνδρῶν τὴν πολιτείαν συγγράψας, προῦργον νομίζω καὶ γυναικῶν οὐδὲν ἧττον εἰ μὴ καὶ μᾶλλον ἠγωνισμένων ἐπιμνησθῆναι. Αὗται γὰρ εὐφημίας μείζονός εἶσιν ἀξιώτεραι, φύσιν μὲν ἀσθενεστέραν λαχοῦσαι, τὴν αὐτὴν δὲ τοῖς ἀνδράσι προθυμίαν ἐπιδεικνύμεναι, καὶ τῆς προγονιχῆς αἰσχύνης τὸ γένος ἐλευθεροῦσαι, Μαράνας δὲ καὶ Κύρας ἐπὶ τοῦ ς παρόντος μνησθήσομαι, αἵ τὰς ἄλλας ἁπάσας τοῖς τῆς καρτερίας νενιχήχασιν ἄθλοις. Ταύταις πατρὶς μὲν ἡ Βέῤῥοια, γένος δὲ τὸ τῆς πατρίδος ἐπίσημον, τροφὴ δὲ τῷ γένει συμδαίνουσα " ἀλλὰ τούτων ἀπάντῶν ὑπεριδοῦσαι, καὶ βραχύ τι πρὸ τοῦ ἄστεως χωρίον περιθαλοῦσαι, καὶ εἴσω τούτον γενόμεναι, πηλῷ καὶ λίθοις τὴν θύραν ἀνῳχοδόμησαν. Καινωνῇσαι δὲ αὐταῖς τοῦδε τοῦ βίου τὰς θεραπαίνας καταγώγιον, ἐν ἐκείνῳ διάγειν ἐκέλευσαν. Ἐφορῶσι δὲ αὗται διὰ σμικρᾶς τινος θυρίδος τὰ ὑπ’ ἐχείνων. γινόμενα" καὶ εἴς τε προσευχὴν θαμὰ διανιστᾶσι, καὶ εἰς τὸν θεῖον ἔρωτα πυρπολοῦσιν. Αὗται δὲ οὔτε οἷχον, οὔτε χαλύδην ἔχουσαι, τὸν ὕπαεθρον ἀσπάζονται βίον. ᾿Αντὶ δὲ θύρας, βραχεῖά τις αὐταῖς θυρὶς κατεσκεύασται, δι’ ἧς τὴν τε ἀναγκαίαν τροφὴν εἰσδέλέγονται γυναιξίν. Εἰς ὃς ταύτην ὥρισται τὴν συνουσίαν τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς ὁ καιρός " κατὰ γὰρ τὸν ἄλλον χρόναν τὸν ἡσύχιον ἀσπάζονται βίον. Ἡ Μαράνα δὲ μόνη ταῖς ἀφικνουμέναις διαλέγεται " τῆς γὰρ ἑτέρας. δὲ, καὶ τοσοῦτον φέρουσι φορτίον, ὡς τὴν Κύραν, ἀσθενέστερον σῶμα λαχοῦσαν, μέχρι τἧς γῆς χαταχάμπτεσθαι, καὶ ἀνορθοῦν τὸ σῶμα ἥκιστα δύνασθαι. Ἰὰ δὲ περιδόλαια μέγιστα ἔχουσιν, ὡς ὄπισθεν μὲν ἔμπροτθεν δὲ μέχρις αὐτῆς τῆς ζώνης χαθίεσθαι, τὸ πρόσωπον ὁμοῦ καὶ τὸν αὐχένα, καὶ τὰ στήθη, καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἀχριθῶς χαταχρύπτοντα. Ταύτας δὲ πολγάκις ἐθεασάμην εἴσω τῆς θύρας ἐκείνης γενόμενος. Διορύξα!: γάρ μοι παρεχελεύσαντο, τῆς ἱερωσύνης τὴν προεδρίαν τιμῶσαι. Εἶδον τοίνυν οὐδὲ ἀνδρὶ γενναίῳ φορητὸν τὸν ἐχείνου τοῦ σιδήρου σταθμὸν, καὶ μετὰ ὃὲ τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀναχώρησιν, πάλιν αὐτὸν τοῖς οἰκείοις περιέθεσαν μέλεσιν αὐχένι μὲν τὸν περιαυχένιον, [ξ1 ὃὲ τὴν ζώνην, χερσὶ ὃ καὶ ποσὶ τὰ τούτοῖς ἀπονενεμη μένα, Καὶ τοῦτον βιοτεύουσι τὸν τρόπον, οὐ πέντε, ἢ δέκα, ἣ πεντεκαίδεκα μόνα ἐξανύσασαι ἕττ,, ἀλλὰ δύο καὶ τεσσαράχοντα. Καὶ τοσοῦτον ἀγωνισάμεναι χρόνον, ὡς ἄρτι τῶν ἀγώνων ἁψάμειναι τῶν ἱδρώτων ἐρῶσι. Τὸ γὰρ τοῦ νυμφίου φανταζόμεγαι κάλλος, εὐπετῶς μάλα καὶ ῥᾳδίως φέρουσι τοῦ δρόμου τὸν πόνον, καὶ χαταλαδεῖν ἐπείγονται τῶν ἀγώνων τὸ τέλος, ἐν ἐκείνῳ τὸν ἐρώμενον ἑστῶτα βλέπουσαι, καὶ τῇς νίκης ὑποδειχνύντα τὸν στέφανον. Τούτου εἴνεχκα, καὶ ὑετοῦ, καὶ νιφετοῦ, καὶ ἡλίου δεἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τῶν δοκούντων ἀνιαρῶν θυμηδίαν καρποῦνται. Καὶ τοῦ μὲν θεσπετίον Μωϊσέως τὴν νηστείαν ζηλώσασαι, τρὶς ἄσιτοι τοσοῦτον διετέλεσαν χρόνον. Διὰ τεσσαράχοντα γὰρ ἡμερῶν τροφῆς βραχείας μεῖἐλαδον. Τρὶς δὲ καὶ τοῦ θείου Δανιὴλ τὴν ἀπαστίαν ἐζήλωσαν, τρεῖς ἑδδομάδας ἡμερῶν ἐξανύουσαι, καὶ πότε τροφὴν χορηγοῦσαι τῷ σώματι. Ποθήσασαι δὲ ποτε τῶν σωτηρίων τοῦ Χριστοῦ παθημάτων τοὺς ἱεροὺ: θεάσασθαι τόπους, ἔδραμον εἰς τὴν Αἰλίαν, οὐδεμιᾶς κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἐδωδῆς ἀπολαύσασαι, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς ἐκείνην ἀφ'χόμεναι τὴν πόλιν, καὶ τὴν προσχύἐπανῆλθον ἄσιτοι τὴν πορείαν ἀνύσασαι " σταθμοὶ δέ εἰσιν οὐκ ἐλάττους τῶν εἴκοσι. Καὶ τῆς κχαλλινίχου σηκὸν, ἵνα τῆς περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπης πανταχόθεν ἐξάψωσι τὸν πυρσὸν, ὡς ἀπῆλθον οὕτως ἐπανῆλθον ἄσιτοι. Τοσοῦτον αὐτὰς τὸ θεῖον ἐξεδάχχευσε φῇνπρον" οὕτως αὐτὰς ὁ θεῖος ἔρως περὶ τὸν γυμφίον ἐξέμῃνεν. Αὗται μὲν τοιαύτῃ πολιτείᾳ τὸ θῆλυ χαταχοσμέσασα: γένος, ὡς ἀρχέτυπα καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις γενόμεναι, τοῖς ἐπινικίοις στεφάνοις ὑπὸ τοῦ Δεσπότου ταινιωθέσονται. Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ὠφέλειαν , καὶ τὴν εὐλογίαν δρεψάμενος, ἐφ᾽ ἕτερον βαδιοῦμαι διήγημα. υ ### English translation (Claude) Having written the life of the best of men, I think it useful to mention women too, who have contended no less, if not more. For they are worthy of greater praise, since, though they received a weaker nature, they display the same zeal as the men and free their sex from the ancestral shame. I shall now mention Marana and Cyra, who have surpassed all the others in the contests of endurance. Their homeland is Beroea, their family distinguished in their homeland, and their upbringing in keeping with their family. But disdaining all these things, they enclosed a small place in front of the city, went inside it, and blocked up the door with mud and stones. Their maidservants, [wishing] to share this life with them, … a dwelling, and they bade them live in it. Through a small window they watch what the maids are doing, frequently rouse them to prayer, and set them on fire with divine love. They themselves, having neither house nor hut, embrace life in the open air. Instead of a door, a small window has been made for them, through which they take in their necessary food and [talk with the] women [who come]. The time appointed for this converse is Pentecost; for the rest of the time they embrace the life of stillness. Marana alone talks with the women who come; the other … and they carry so great a load that Cyra, who has the weaker body, is bent down to the ground and cannot straighten her body at all. They have very large cloaks, so that behind they [reach] … and in front come down as far as the belt, completely covering face, neck, chest and hands. I have often seen them, going inside that door; for they bade me break through it, honouring the dignity of the priesthood. I saw that the weight of that iron could not be borne even by a strong man …; and after our departure they put it on their limbs again: the neck-ring on the neck, the belt on the waist, and on hands and feet what is assigned to them. They live in this way, having completed not five, or ten, or fifteen years only, but forty-two. And though they have contended for so long, they love the sweat as though they had only just begun the contests. For, picturing the beauty of the Bridegroom, they bear the labour of the course very easily and lightly, and hasten to reach the end of the contests, seeing the Beloved standing there and showing them the crown of victory. For this reason [they bear the assaults] of rain and snow and sun …, and reap delight from what seems painful. Emulating the fast of the godly Moses, they three times continued without food for the same length of time; for they took a little food only after forty days. Three times too they emulated the abstinence of the divine Daniel, completing three weeks of days and only then supplying food to the body. Once, longing to see the sacred places of Christ’s saving sufferings, they ran to Aelia, enjoying no food on the way; arriving at that city and [completing] the worship, … they returned having made the journey without food; and the stages are not fewer than twenty. And to the shrine of the triumphant …, so as to kindle from every side the torch of love for God, they went and returned in the same way, without food. So greatly did divine longing drive them to ecstasy; so did divine love madden them for the Bridegroom. Having adorned the female sex by such a way of life, and become archetypes for the other women too, they will be crowned by the Master with the crowns of victory. And I, having [reaped] the benefit from here too and gathered the blessing, shall go on to another story. ### Scripture references - Exod 34:28: allusion, high confidence - Dan 10:3: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The scan of this chapter is damaged: Latin debris from Migne's parallel column is removed by logged corrections; lost Greek words are marked '…' and not supplied (notably what is said of Cyra's silence and of the women's iron). - 'Free their sex from the ancestral shame' refers to Eve. - The fasts of Moses (forty days, Exod 34:28) and Daniel (three weeks, Dan 10:2–3) are imitated. Aelia is Jerusalem; the second shrine, of a 'triumphant' (female) martyr, is probably that of Thecla at Seleucia in Isauria (the name is lost; uncertain). - 'The dignity of the priesthood': Theodoret as bishop. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 29 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/29). ## Life 30 (ΔΟΜΝΙΝΑ) - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/27/#p-30 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: Domnina, a disciple of Maron's way of life, lives in a hut in her mother's garden in constant tears and serves ascetics and visitors; Theodoret ends the Lives with a survey of monasteries of men and women everywhere and an explanation of why he wrote. ### Greek text Τοῦ θεσπεσίον Μάρωνος, οὗ καὶ πρώην ἐμνήσθης μεν, ἡ θαυμασία Δομνίνα τὸν βίον ζηλώσασα, ἐν τῷ κήπῳ τῆς μητρῴας οἰκίας σμιχράν τινα χαλύθην ἐπήξατο. Ποιεῖ δὲ αὐτῇ χαλύδην τῶν μελίνων ἡ χαοὐ μόνας χαταδρέχει τὰς παρειὰς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἐκ πτει τὸ σῶμα. Περὶ δὲ ἀλεκτρυόνων ῳδὰς, εἰς τὸν θεῖον ναὺν οὗ πόῤῥω ὄντα ἰοῦσα, μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ γυναικῶν καὶ ἀνδρῶν, τῷ Δεσπότῃ τῶν ὅλων προσφέρει τὴν ὑμνῳδίαν. Τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἀρχομένης μόνου ἡμέρας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τελευτώσης ποιεῖ, παντὸς τέρου χωρίου τὸν ἀφιερωμένον τῷ Θεῷ χῶρον σεθασμιώτεραν εἶναι, καὶ ὑπολαμδάνουσα, καὶ τοὺς ἄλ- «οἱ λοὺς ἐχδιδάσχουσα. Τούτου εἴνεκα καὶ πολλῆς αὐτὸν ἐπιμελείας ἠξίωσε, τὴν μητέρα πείσασα, καὶ τοὺς ἀξελφοὺς, εἰς τοῦτον δαπανῆται τὰ ὄντα. Τροφὴν δ᾽ ἔχει τὸν φακὸν ἀποδρεχόμενον ὕδατι. Καὶ τοῦτον ἅπαντα ὑπομένει τὸν πόνον, σώματι χατεσχηλιτευμένῳ καὶ ἡμιθνεῖ χρωμένη. Λεπτότατον γὰρ τὸ δέρμα, καὶ ὑμενοειδὲς, λεπτοῖς τοῖς ὀστέοις περίκειται, καὶ πιμελῆς καὶ σαρκῶν ὑπὸ τῶν πόνων δαπανηθέντων. Πρόχειται δὲ πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρᾷν αὑτὴν βουλομένοις, γαὶ ἀνδράσι, καὶ γυνα!ξὶν, οὔτε ὁρῶσα πρότωπον, οὔτε ἑτέρῳ προτιθεῖσα πρόσωπον " ἀλλ᾽ ἀχριδῶς μὲν τῷ περιθολαίῳ χαλυπτομένη, μέχρι τε τῶν γονάτων κατακαμπτομένη. Λεπτὰ δὲ λίαν καὶ ἄσημα φθεγγομένη, μετὰ δακρύων δὲ ἀεὶ τὰ λεγόμενα προφέρουσα. Πολλάκις γάρ μου λαδοῦσα τὴν δεξιὰν, καὶ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἐπιθεῖσα, οὕτω διάδροχον γενομένην ἀφῆκεν, ὡς αὐτὴν ἀποστάξαι τὴν χεῖρα τὸ δάχρνον. Τὴν οὖν ἐν τοσούτῳ πλούτῳ φιλοσοφίας τοῖς ἐν ἐσχάτῃ ζῶσι πενίᾳ παραπλησίως δαχρύουσαν, καὶ ὀλοφυρομένην, καὶ στένουσαν, ποῖος ἂν ἀξίως ἐπαινέσειε λόγος; Ὁ γὰρ θερμὸς περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἔρως ἐκεῖνο τίκτει τὸ δάχρνον, εἰς τὴν θείαν θεωρίαν πυρσεύων τὸν νοῦν, καὶ ταῖς ἀκτῖσι νύττων, καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ουσά τε καὶ διανυχτερεύουσα, οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων τῆς ἀρετῆς εἰδῶν ἀμελεῖ - ἀλλὰ θεραπεύει μὲν εἰς δύναμιν τοὺς ἀρίστους ἀγωνιστὰς, ὧν ἐμνήσθημεν, καὶ οὖς παρελίπομεν. Θεραπεύει δὲ καὶ τοὺς πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀφικνουμένους, κατάγεσθαι μὲν παρὰ τῷ τῆς κώμης ποιμένι κελεύουσα, αὐτὴ δὲ τὰς χρείας ἁπάσας ἐχπέμπουσα. Πρόχειται γὰρ αὐτῇ τὰ τῆς μητρὸς καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν εἰς δαπά.ην, τὴν δι᾽ αὐτῆς εὐλογίαν χκαρπούμενα. Κἁμοῦ δὲ εἰς ἐκεῖνο τὸ μέρος ἀφιχνουμένου, τὸ νότιον δὲ τῆς ἡμετέρας χώρας ἐστὶ, καὶ ἄρτους, καὶ ὁπώρας, καὶ τὸν διάδροχον πέμπει φακόν. "Αλλὰ μέχρι πότε μηχύνων ταύτης τὴν ἀρετὴν ἅπασαν διηγεῖσθαι φιλονειχῶ, δέον καὶ τῶν ἄλλων εἰς μέσον προτιθέναι τὸν βίον, αἱ καὶ ταύτην, κἀκείνας ὧν πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθην, ἐμιμήσαντο; Πολλαὶ γὰρ καὶ ἄλλαι, αἵ μὲν τὸν μοναδικὸν ἡσπάσαντο βίον, αἱ δὲ τὴν μετὰ πλειόνων ἡγάπησαν πολιτείαν, ὡς καὶ πὲνκήχοντα καὶ διακοσίας, καὶ πλείους, καὶ ἐλάττους κατὰ ταυτὸν βιοτεύειν, μιᾶς ἀνεχομένας τροφῆς, ἐπὶ Ψψιάθων μόνον καθεύδειν αἱρουμένας, καὶ τὰς μὲν χεῖρας ἀπονεμούσας ἐρίῳ, ὕμνοις δὲ τὴν γλῶτταν ἢ Μυρία δὲ τοιαῦτα καὶ ἀριθμὸν νικῶντα φιλοσοφίας ἐστὶ φροντιστήρια, οὐκ ἐν τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν Ἔω. Πλήρης δὲ τούτων καὶ Παλαιστίνη, καὶ Αἴγνπτος, καὶ ᾿Ασία, καὶ Πόντος, καὶ Εὐρώπη πᾶσα. Ἐξ οὗ γὰρ ὁ Δεσπότης Χριστὸς τὴν Παρθενίαν ἐτίμησεν ὑπὸ παρθένου τεχθεὶς, τοὺς τῆς παρθενία; λειμῶνας ἡ φύσι; ἐδλάστησε, καὶ τὰ εὐώδη ταῦτα καὶ ἁμάραντα ἄνθη προσφέρει τῷ ποιητῇ, οὐκ εἰς ἄλῥεν καὶ θτιλυ τὴν ἀρετὴν διακρίνουσα, οὐδὲ εἰς δὺο διαφορὰς τὴν φιλοσοτίαν μερίζουσα " σωμάτων Ὑλ2, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ ψυχῶν τὸ διάφορον. « Ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἡτσοῦ, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον ᾿Απόστολον, οὐκ ἕνι ἄρσεν καὶ 07λ. » μία δὲ καὶ ἀνδράσ' καὶ γυνχῖῶ ρήγττα! πίστις, ε« Εἷς γὰρ Κύριο;, μία πίστις, ἕν βάπτισμα' εἷς Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ πάντων, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων, καὶ διὰ πάντων, καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν ἡμῖν“ καὶ ἑν! ἐκάστῳ ἡμῶν ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῇ: δωρεᾶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ. » Μίαν δὲ καὶ βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ἀγωνοθέτης τοῖς νιχηφόροις προτέθηχεν, ἄθλον τοῦτο κοινὸν τοῖς ἀγῶσιν ὁρίσας. Πολλαὶ τοίνυν, ὡς ἔφην, καὶ ἀνδρῶν εἰσι καὶ γυναικῶν εὐσεθείας οὐ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν Συρίᾳ πάσῃ, καὶ ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ. καὶ ἐν Κιλικίᾳ, καὶ ἐν τῇ μέσῃ τῶν ποταμῶν᾽ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ δέ φασι καὶ ἀνὰ πέντε χιλιάδας ἀνδρῶν ἔχειν ἕνια φροντιστήρια ἐργαξομένων, καὶ μεταξὺ τὸν Δεσπότην ἀνυμνούντων " καὶ οὐ μόνον τὴν ἀναγκαίαν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ποριζομένων τροφὴν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ξένοις ἀφικνουμένοις καὶ πενομένοις των. ᾿Αλλὰ πάντα διηγεῖσθαι, οὐκ ἐμοὶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσι συγγραφεῦσιν ἀδύνατον. Εἰ δὲ καὶ δυνατὸν ἦν, παρέλχον εἶναι νομίξω, καὶ φιλοτιμίαν οὐδὲν ἔχουσαν κέρδος. Τοῖς γὰρ ὄνησίν τινα δρέπεσθαι βουλομένοις ἀπόχρη καὶ τὰ εἰρημένα παραπχεῖν τὸ ποθούμενον. Τούτου γὰρ ἕνεκα, καὶ διαφόρων ἐμνημογεύσαμεν βίων, καὶ γυναικῶν διηγήματα τοῖς τῶν ἀνδρῶν προστεθείχαμεν, ἵν᾿ ἔχωσι καὶ πρεσδύται, καὶ νέοι, καὶ γυναῖκες, φιλοσοφίας ἀρχέτυπα " καὶ τὸν καταθύμιον ἔκαστος ἐχματτόμενος βίον, ἔχῃ κανόνα τινὰ καὶ γνώμονα τοῦ οἰκείου, τὸν ἐν τῷ διηγήματι κείμενον. Καὶ καθάπερ οἱ ζωγράφοι εἰς τὸ ἀρχέτυπον ἀφορῶντες, καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀπομιμοῦνται, καὶ ῥῖνα, καὶ στόμα, καὶ παρειὰς, καὶ ὦτα, καὶ μέτωπα, καὶ αὐτὰς τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ τοῦ γενείου τὰς τρίχας" π τούτοις δὲ καὶ καθέδραν, καὶ στάσιν, καὶ αὑτὰ μέντοι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τὰ ἤθη, εἴτε χαροπὰ, εἴτε βλοτυρὰ εἴη " οὕτω προσήκει καὶ τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ἕκαστὴν τδε τῇ συγγραφῇ, βίον τινὰ μιμεῖσθαι προαιρούμενον, πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ὃν προαιρεῖται τὸν οἰκεῖον ῥυῦμίζειν. Καὶ ὥσπερ οἱ τέχτονες τῇ σπαρτῇ τὰς σανίδα; ἀπευθύνοντες, μέχρι τοσούτον τὸ περιττὴν ἀφαιροῦσιν, ἕως ἂν τὸν κανόνα παραθέντες, ἴσην γενομένην τὴν σανίδα θεάσωνται " οὕτω δὲ τὸν ζηλοῦν τινα βίων βουλόμενον, ἑαυτῷ τοῦτον ἀντὶ κανόνο; παρατιθέναι, καὶ τῆς τε κακίας ἀποχόπτειν τὸ περιττὸν, καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀναπληροῦν ἅττα ἐλλείποντα. Τούτου γὰρ εἴνεκα καὶ τὸν τῆ: συγγραφῆς ἀνεδεξάμεθα ὠφελείας ἀφορμὴν προτιθέντες τοῖς βουλομένοις" Ὦ ἀξιῶ δὲ τοὺς ἐντευξομένους, τοῖς ἑτέρων πόνοις ἀπὸ- νως ἐντρυφῶντας, προξευχῇ τοὺς πόνους ἀμείψασθαι. Ἱχετεύω δὲ καὶ τούτους, ὧν τὸν βίον συνεγραψάμην, μὴ περιιδεῖν με πόῤῥω τῆς πνευματικῆς αὐτῶν χορείας διάγοντα, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνελκῦσαι κάτω κείμενον, καὶ πρὸς τὸ ὕψος τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀναγαγεῖν, καὶ τῷ ἰδίῳ χορῷ συνάψαι" ὡς ἂν μὴ μόνον εὐφημοίην τὸν τριον πλοῦτον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς σχοίην τινὰς ἀφορμὰς εὐφημίας, ἔργῳ, καὶ λόγῳ, καὶ διανοίᾳ δοξάζων τὸν Σωτῆρα τῶν ὅλων Χριστὸν, τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν, μεθ᾽ οὐ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα, σὺν τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ᾿Αμῆὴν. ### English translation (Claude) Emulating the life of the godly Maron, whom we mentioned before, the admirable Domnina set up a small hut in the garden of her mother’s house. The hut is made for her of millet stalks … [her tears] wet not only her cheeks but also … the body. At cockcrow she goes to the divine church, which is not far off, and with the others, women and men, offers hymn-singing to the Master of the universe. She does this not only at the beginning of the day but also at its end, supposing the place dedicated to God to be more venerable than any other place, and teaching others to think so too. For this reason she has thought it worth much care, and persuaded her mother and brothers to spend their possessions on it. Her food is lentils soaked in water. She endures all this labour with a body worn out and half dead; a very thin skin, like a membrane, covers her thin bones, since her fat and flesh have been consumed by her labours. She lies open to all who wish to see her, men and women, neither seeing anyone’s face nor showing her face to another, but covered completely by her cloak and bent down to her knees. She speaks very softly and indistinctly, and always says what she says with tears. Often she took my right hand and laid it on her eyes, and let it go so wet that the hand itself dripped with tears. What words could worthily praise a woman who, in such wealth of philosophy, weeps, laments and groans like those who live in extreme poverty? It is warm love for God that gives birth to those tears, kindling the mind toward divine contemplation, pricking it with its rays, and [urging it] toward departure from here … [spending day] and night [in this], she does not neglect the other forms of virtue either, but serves, as far as she can, the excellent contestants whom we have mentioned and those we have passed over. She also serves those who come to her, bidding them lodge with the shepherd of the village, while she herself sends everything they need. For the property of her mother and brothers lies at her disposal for spending, and reaps the blessing through her. When I come to that part (it is the south of our territory), she sends loaves, fruit and soaked lentils. But how long shall I prolong my eagerness to tell all her virtue, when I ought to set forth the life of the others too, who have imitated both her and those I mentioned before? For there are many others, some of whom have embraced the solitary life, while others have loved life in community, so that two hundred and fifty, more or fewer, live together, content with one food, choosing to sleep only on rush mats, assigning their hands to wool and [consecrating] their tongues to hymns. Countless such schools of philosophy, past all counting, exist, not only in our region but throughout the East. Palestine is full of them, and Egypt, Asia, Pontus and all Europe. For ever since Christ the Master honoured virginity by being born of a virgin, nature has put forth the meadows of virginity and offers these fragrant and unfading flowers to the Maker, not dividing virtue into male and female nor splitting philosophy into two kinds. The difference is of bodies, not of souls; ‘for in Christ Jesus’, according to the divine Apostle, ‘there is not male and female’. One faith has been given to men and to women: ‘For there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in us all; and to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.’ One kingdom of heaven, too, has the President of the games set before the victors, appointing it as a common prize for the contests. Many, then, as I said, are the [schools] of piety of both men and women, not only among us but in all Syria, in Palestine, in Cilicia, and in Mesopotamia; and in Egypt, they say, some schools have as many as five thousand men, who work and meanwhile hymn the Master, and not only provide their necessary food by their work but [also supply] strangers who arrive and the poor. But to tell everything is impossible, not for me only but for all writers. Even if it were possible, I think it would be superfluous, an ambition with no gain. For those who wish to reap some benefit, what has been said suffices to supply what they long for. For this reason we have recorded different lives and added the stories of women to those of men, so that old and young, and women too, may have archetypes of philosophy, and each, taking the impression of the life he desires, may have as rule and measure of his own the life set out in the story. As painters, looking at the original, imitate eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, ears and forehead, and the very hair of head and beard, and besides these the way of sitting and standing, and even the character of the eyes, whether bright or fierce, so each of the readers of this work who chooses to imitate some life ought to shape his own by the one he chooses. And as carpenters, straightening boards with the line, cut away the excess until, applying the rule, they see the board made even, so the one who wishes to emulate some life ought to set it beside himself as a rule, cutting away the excess of vice and filling up what is lacking of virtue. For this reason we undertook the labour of this writing, setting before those who wish it an occasion of benefit. I ask those who will read it, as they luxuriate without labour in the labours of others, to repay those labours with prayer. And I beg those whose lives I have written not to overlook me as I live far from their spiritual choir, but to draw me up as I lie below, to lead me up to the height of virtue, and to join me to their own choir, so that I may not only praise the wealth of others but myself have some occasions for praise, glorifying in deed and word and thought Christ the Saviour of all, our God, with whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit, now and always and to the ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Gal 3:28: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:5–7: quotation, high confidence - Matt 1:23: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - Some words are lost in the scan at the description of Domnina's hut and tears and later in the chapter; they are marked '…'. Latin debris and a footnote from Migne's page are removed by logged corrections. - Gal 3:28 and Eph 4:5–7 are quoted. 'Christ the Master honoured virginity by being born of a virgin' refers to the virgin birth (Matt 1:23, echo). - The closing doxology names Christ 'our God, with whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit'; it is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 30 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/30). ## On Divine Love - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theodoret-historia-religiosa/31/#p-31 - Source: PG 82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12 Summary: In a closing discourse Theodoret argues that the ascetics' endurance, beyond what shepherds, farmers or sailors bear, can only be explained by love for God, and illustrates this love from Moses, the Bride of the Song, Paul, Peter, and the saints from Abel to the martyrs, before the text breaks off. ### Greek text Ἤλιίχοι μὲν οἱ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀθληταὶ, καὶ ὅσοις οἵοις στεφάνοις λαμπρύνονται, σαφῶς διδάσκει τὰ περὶ αὐτῶν συγγραφέντα ἡμῖν διηγήματα. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μὴ πάντας αὐτῶν περιέχει τοὺς ἄθλονς, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπόχρη καὶ τὰ ὀλίγα παντὸς τοῦ βίου δεῖξαι τὸν χαρακτῆρα. Καὶ γὰρ τὸν χρυσὸν οὐκ ἅπαντα τὸν προσφερόμενον δαπανῶσα ἡ λίθος, ἀλλ᾽ ὀλίγῳ τινὶ προστριθομένη δόκιμον ἣ ἀδόκιμον δείκνυσι " καὶ. τὸν τοξότην δὲ ὡσαύτως ἐξ ὀλίγων ἀφιεμένων βελῶν χκαταμάθο: ἄν τις ἀχριθῶς, εἴτε ἄριστα τοξεύοι κατὰ σκοποῦ βάλλων, εἴτε ἔξω φέροιτο, τὴν τέχνην οὖκ ἡσχημένος. Οὕτω καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τεχνίτας, ἵνα μὴ καθ᾽ ἕχαστον λέγω, δυνατὸν διαγνῶναι, καὶ δρομέας, καὶ τραγῳδίας ὑποκριτὰς, καὶ χυδερνῆτας, καὶ ναυπηγοὺς, καὶ ἰατροὺς, καὶ γηπόνους, καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀπαξαπλῶς, ὅσοι τινὰ μεταχειρίξουσι τέχνην" Β ἱκανὴ γὰρ ὀλίγη πεῖρα καὶ τῶν ἐπιστημόνων ἐπιδεῖξαι τὴν τέχνην, καὶ τῶν ὀνόματι μόνῳ χρωμένων ἐλέγξαι τὴν ἀμαθίαν. ᾿Απόχρη τοίνυν, ὡς ἔφην, καὶ τὰ ὀλίγα συγγραφέντα τῶν ἑκάστῳ χατωρθωμένων, πᾶσαν διδάξαι τὴν τοῦ βίου προαίρεσιν. Προσήκει δὲ ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος, ἐρευνῆσαι, καὶ ζητῆσαι, καὶ καταμαθεῖν ἀχριδῶς, πόθεν ὁρμώμενοι τήνδε τὴν πολιτείαν ἢσπάσαντο, καὶ ποίοις χρώμενοι λογισμοῖς, αὐτὴν χατέλαδου τῆς φιλοσοφίας τὴν κορυφὴν " ὅτι γὰρ οὐ τῇ ῥώμῃ θαῤῥοῦντες τοῦ σώματος, τῶν ὑπὲρ τὴν φύσιν τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν ἡράσθησαν, καὶ τοὺς ταύτῃ κειμένους ὑπερέδησαν νόμους, καὶ ετ ἐδησα) σχάμματα, σαφὴς ἣ πεῖρα διδάσκαλος. Οὐδεῖς γὰρ τῶν τῆς φιλοσοφίας ταύτης ἀμοίρων, τὴν πούτων χαρτεμίαν ἐπεδείξατο πώποτε. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ νέξονται ποιμένες, ἀλλ᾽ οὖκ ἀεί" καὶ ἄντροις γὰρ χρῶνται, καὶ εἰς τὰς οἰκίας ἐπανιᾶσι, καὶ ὑποδήμασι δὲ τοὺς πόδας χαλύπτουσι, καὶ ἐσθήμασι μοτ-έροις τὰ ἄλλα μέρη τοῦ σώματος περιδάλλουσι " καὶ δὶ;, καὶ τρὶς τῆς ἡμέρα;, τάχα δὲ καὶ τετράχις, ματα" ὅταν γὰρ ἡ τοιαύτη τροφὴ τὴν ἀλλοίωτιν δέξηται, καὶ οἷον ἰθμῷ τινι διαχριθεῖσα, καὶ τὸ ἧπαρ χαταλαθδοῦσα, τὴν εἰς αἷμα μεταθολὴν ὑπομείνῃ, χωρεῖ μὲν εἰς τὴν καρδίαν διὰ τῆς κοίλης φλεθός" ἐχθερμαθεῖσα δὲ, ἐκεῖθεν, οἷον διά τινων ὀχετῶν τοῦ σώματος μόρια" οὗ δ᾽ ἂν ἀφίκηται, οὐκ ἄρδει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πυρὸς δίκην ἐχθερμαίνε:, καὶ τῶν μαλακῶν ἱματίων ἄμεινον περιθάλπει τὸ σῶμα. Οὐ γὰρ, ὥς τινες ὑπολαμδάνουσι, χιτῶνες, καὶ ἀμπεχόναι, καὶ ἐφεστρίδες, τῷ σῤώματι τὴν θέρμην παρ: ἐχουσιν" ἣ γὰρ ἂν, καὶ ξύλα, καὶ λίθους ἐθέρμαναν, οἷς ἂν ἐπέλασαν " ἀλλ᾽ οὐδεὶς ἐθεάσατο πώποτε, ἣ ξύλον, ἣ λίϑον, θερμότερον ὑπὸ ἱματίων γεγενημένον. Οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ τῷ σώματι ταῦτα παρέχει τὴν θέρμην " ἀλλὸ τοῦ σώματος ταῦτα φυλάττει τὴν θέρ- Β μην" καὶ ἀπείργει μὲν τοῦ ψυχροῦ ἀέρος τὴν πρ.:- Θολὴν " ὑποδεχόμενα δὲ τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ σώματος ἐξιόντας ἀτμοὺς, καὶ θερμαίνεται τούτοις, καὶ θερμότερα προσβάλλει τῷ σώματι. Καὶ μάρτυς ἣ πεῖρα" ψυχρᾷ γὰρ πολλάκις τῇ κλίνῃ προσθάλλοντες͵ τῇ ποῦ σώματος ὁμιλίᾳ θερμὴν τὴν πρὸ βραχέος ψυχρὰν ἀποτελοῦμεν στρωμνήν. Οὐκοῦν ἣ τροφὴ παὺτὸς ἱματίου πλέον διαθερμαίνει τὸ σῶμα οἱ δὲ ταύτης εἰς χόρον μεταλαμδάνοντες, ἔρυμα ἔχουτιν ἀρκοῦν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ζουσι γὰρ ταύτῃ τὸ σῶμα, καὶ ἀντέχειν πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην τοῦ ἕτους παρασχενάζουδιν ὥραν. Οἱ δὲ μῆτε σιτίων, μήτε ποτῶν, καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ἀπολαύοντες τὴν ἡμέραν, καὶ ἡνίκα δ᾽ ἂν ἀπολαύουσι, οὐ τὸν κόρον ἀναμένοντες, ἀλλὰ τὴν ὄρεξιν ἀχμάζουδαν δυναμένων τὸ σῶμα, ἀλλ᾽ ἣ ποηφαγοῦντες τοῖ; ἀλόγοις παραπλησίως, ἣ διαδρόχοις ὁσπρίοις χρώμενοι μόνοις, ποῖον ἂν ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης τρυφῆς ἀρύσαιντο θάλπος; πόση δ' ἂν ἐντεῦθεν, ἢ τοί λιδὰς αἵματος γένοιτο; Κατ’ οὐδὲν τοίνυν ἔοικε τὰ τῶν ἄλλων τοῖς τούτων ἐπιτηδεύμασιν. Οὐτε γὰ ἐσθὴς ἡ αὑτὴ τούτων κἀκείνων “ τραχυτάτη γὰρ ὁμοία, ἀλλ᾽ ἐναντία ἐκ διαμέτρου. Ποιμέσι μὲν γὰρ. καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς τοιούτοις, τροφῆς καιρὸς ἅπας καιρός " τῇ ὀρέξει γὰρ ὁρίζονται τὸν καιρὸν, κϑν ἕωθεν ἡ πεῖνα προσδάλλῃ, παραυτίκα προσφέρουσι τὴν τροφήν" καὶ προσφέρουσιν ὅτι ἂν τύχῃ᾽ Ὁ γὰρ ὥρισται, τοῦτο μὲν ἐσθίειν, ἐκεῖνο δὲ ἤκιστα, ἀλλὰ πάντων ὧν ἂν ἐθέλωσιν, ἀδεῶς ἀπολαύουσιν. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ ἡμέραι, καὶ καιροὶ, χα; εἴδη τῆς τροφῆς, καὶ μέτρα" καὶ χόρος ταύτης νος. Μηδεὶς τοίνυν ἡμῖν τῶν μεμψιμοίρων, νους, καὶ ποιμένας, καὶ ναύτας προφέρων εἰς μέσον, τῶν τοὺς ἀγῶνας. Ὃ τε γὰρ γηπόνος, μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν καμὼν, οἴκοι θεραπεύεται νύκτωρ, πᾶσαν αὐτῷ θεραπείαν τῆς ὀμοξύγου ποριζούσης. Καὶ ὁ ποιμὴν δὲ ὡσαύτως μεταλαγχάνει πάντων ἐχείνων, ὧν προεἰρήκαμεν" ὁ δὲ ναύτης δέχεται μὲν τὴν ἀκτῖνα κατὰ τοῦ σώματος " ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ὑδάτων θερᾶπείαν προσφέρει πῷ σώματι" ἐπινήχεται γὰρ ὅδον βούλεται, καὶ τῇ φλογὶ τῆς ἀκτῖνος ἀλεξιφάρμεχον προοφέρει τὴν τῶν ὑδάτων ψυχρότητα. Οὗτοι δὲ θεραπείας μὲν οὐδεμιᾶς παρ᾽ οὐδενὸς ἀπολαύουσιν, Οὐ γὰρ συνοιχοῦσι γυναῖκες, αἵ τοῖς ἀνδράσι παντοδαπὴν μηχανῶνται παραψυχῆν. Οὔτε δὲ τῆς ἀκτῖνος θερμότερον προπθαληύσης, τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ὑδάτων φψυγαγωγίαν προσφέρονται" οὐ χειμῶνος ὥρᾳ τὴν τροφὴν ἀντιτάττουσ' τῷ χρυμῷ, οὔτε τῆς νυκτὸς τὴν ἀνάπαυλαν, οἷόν τι φάρμακον, τοῖς μεθημερινοῖς προσφέρουσι πόνοις " καὶ μείζους γὰρ, καὶ πλείου;, οἱ ταύτης τῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ γιγνομένων ἱδρώπων. Ἐν ταύτῃ γὰρ, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν ὕπνον ἀναδέχονται πάλην, καὶ τῆς γλυκείας ἐκείνης οὐκ ἀνέχονται ἥττης " ἀλλὰ τῆς ἡδίστης περιγίνονται «υραννίδος, καὶ παννύχιοι διατελοῦσι τὸν Δεσπότην ὑμνοῦντες, Οὐδεὶς τοίνυν τῶν ἔξω τῆς τούτων φιλοσοφίας, τὴν τούτων ἐπιδέδεικται καρτερίαν. Εἰ δὲ μηδεὶς τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων ἀντισχεῖν πρὸς τοὺς τοιούτους πόνους δεδύνηται, δῆλον ὡς ὁ περὶ τὸν Θ:ὸν ἔρως ὑπερδῆναι τοὺς τῆς φύσεως παρεσκεύασεν ὄρους " καὶ τῷ ἄνωθεν πυρσῷ πυρπολούμενοι, φέρουσιν ἀσπασίως τὴν τοῦ χρυμοῦ προσδολὴν, καὶ τῇ ἐντεῦθεν δρόσῳ, τὴν τῆς ἀκτῖνος χαταπραῦνουσι φλόγα. Οὗτος αὑτοὺς καὶ τρέφει, καὶ ἄρδει, καὶ περιθάλλει, καὶ πτερὰ δίδωσι, καὶ πέτεσθαι διδά» σχει, καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν ὑπερθαίνειν παρασκευάζει, καὶ τὸν ἐρώμενον ὡς δυνατὸν ἐπιδείκνυσι, καὶ τῇ «ἧς θεωρίας φαντασίᾳ πυρσεύει τὸν πόθον, καὶ διἐγείρει τὸ φίλτρον, καὶ σφοδροτέραν ἐξάπτει τὴν φλόγα. Καθάπερ γὰρ οἱ τῶν σωμάτων ἑρῶντες, ὕλην ἀπὸ τῆς θέας τῶν ἐρωμένων τῷ φίλτρῳ πορί- ζουσι, καὶ τὸν οἶστρον ἐκεῖνον χαλεπώτερον ἀπεργάζονται " οὕτως οἱ τῆς θείας ἀγάπης τὰ κέντρα δεχόμενοι, τὸ θεῖον ἐκεῖνο καὶ ἀκήρατον φανταζόμενοι κάλλος, ὀξυτέρας τῆς ἀγάπης τὰς ἀχίδας ἐργάζονται, καὶ ὅσῳ πλέον ἀπολαῦσαι ποθοῦσι, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον τὸν κόρον ἐλαύνουσι. Τῇ μὲν γὰρ ἡδονῇ τῶν σωμάτων ἀκολουθεῖ πλησμονὴ, ὁ δὲ θεῖος ἔρως τοῦ κόρου τοὺς νόμους οὐ δέχεται. Τοιοῦτος ἦν Μωῦσῆς ὁ μέγας νομοθέτης " ὃς πολλάκις, ὡς ἐφικτὸν ἀνθρώπῳ,, τῆς θείας θεωρίας ἀξιωθεὶς, καὶ πολλάκις τῇ; μακαρίας ἀπολαύσας φωνῆς, καὶ τεσσαράχοντα κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἡμέρα; εἴσω τοῦ γνόφου γενόμενος, καὶ τὴν θείαν νομοθεσίαν δεξάμενος, οὐ μόνον χόρον οὐκ ἔλαδεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφοδροτέραν καὶ θερμοτέραν τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐκτήσατο. Καθάπερ γάρ τινα κάρον ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ ἔρωτος ἐχείνου δεξάμενος μέθης, καὶ τῷ φίλτρῳ λίαν ἐχθαχχευθεὶς, τὴν μὲν οἰκείαν ἠγνόησε: φύσιν, ἐπεθύμησε δὲ ἰδεῖν, ἃ μὴ θέμις ἰδεῖν " ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐπιλαθόμενος τῆς δεσποτείας, καὶ τὸ φίλτρον λογιζόμενος μόνον, ἔφη πρὸς τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεόν" « Ἰδοὺ, σὺ λέγεις μοι" Εὗρες χάριν παρ᾽ ἐμοὶ, καὶ οἷδά σε παρὰ πάντας. Εἰ τοίνυν εὗρον χάριν ἐναντίον συ, ἐμφάνιτόν μοι σεαυτόν " γνωστῶς ἴδω σε. » Τοιλύτην ἀπὸ τῆς θείας ἀγάπης ἐδέξατο μέθην, καὶ ἡ μέθη τὸ δίγος οὐκ ἔπεσεν, ἀλλὰ σφοδρότερον ἀπειργάδατο. Καὶ ἡ προσθέχη τῆς πόσεως, ἐπίτασις ἐγένετο τῆς ἐφέσεως, καὶ τὴν ὄρεξιν γδξτσεν ἡ ἀπόλαυσις. Καὶ καθάπερ τὸ πῦρ, ὅσῳ πλείονα τροφὴν ὑποδέχεται, τοσούτῳ μείζονα τὴν ἐνέργειαν δείκνυσιν (αὔξεται γὰρ αὕτη τῇ προσθήκῃ τῆς ὕλης, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀμόλύνεται)" οὕτως ἡ πρὸς Θεὸν ἀγάπη «τῇ θεωρίᾳ τῶν θείων πυρσεύεται, καὶ σφοδροτέραν ἐκεῖθεν, καὶ θερμοτέραν τὴν ἐνέργειαν ὑποδέχεται. Καὶ ὅσῳ ἄν εις πλέον τοῖς θείοις ἐνδιατρίψῃ, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ἐξάπτει τῆς ἀγάπης τὴν φλόγα. Καὶ τοῦτο ἡμᾶς οὐ μόνον ὁ μέγας ἐδίδαξε Μωῦσῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἢ ἁγία νύμφη, περὶ ἧς ὁ θεσπέσιος λέγει Παῦλο;" ε Ἡρμοσάμην ὑμᾶς ἑνὶ ἀνδρὶ παρθένον ἀγνὴν παραστῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ. » Αὕτη γὰρ ἐν τῷ “Δσματι τῶν ἀσμάτων πρὸς τὸν νυμφίον βοᾷ " ε« Δεῖξόν μοι τὴν ὄψιν σου, καὶ ἀχούτισόν μοι τῆς φωνῆς σου, ὅτι ἡ φωνή σου ἡδεῖα, καὶ ἡ ὄψις σου ὡραῖα. » Ἐκ γὰρ Β τῶν περὶ αὐτοῦ λόγων δεξαμένη τὸν ἔρωτα, οὐκ ἀρχεῖται τοῖς λόγοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῇς ἱἐπαχοῦσκι ποθεῖ τῆς φωνῆς. Καὶ πτερωθεῖσα τοῖς περὶ τῖς ὥρας αὐτοῦ διηγήμασι, καὶ αὐτῆς ἐφίεται τῆς θεωρίας, ταῖς εἰρημέναις εὐφημίαις τὸ φίλτρον σημαίϑουσα. « Δεῖξήόν μοι, φησὶ, τὴν ὄψιν σου, καὶ ἀχούτισόν μοι τῆς φωνῆής σου, ὅτι ἡ φωνή σου ἡδεῖα, καὶ ἡ ὄψις σου ὡραῖα. » Τούτον τοῦ κάλλους καὶ ὁ ταύτης προμνήστωρ καὶ ννμφοστόλος ἐρασθεὶς, ὁ θεσπέσιος, φημὶ, Παῦλος, τὴν ἐρωτικὴν ἐχείνην ἀφῆκε φωνήν" «Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίδει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ; Θλίψις, ἣ στενοχωρία, ἣ λιμὸς, ἢ διωγμὸς, ἥ γυμνότης, ἣ κίνδυνος, ἢ μάχαιρα; καθὼς γέγραπται" ὅτι ἕνεκά σου θανατούμεθα ὅλη» τὴν ἡμέραν, ἐλογίσθημεν ὡς πρόδατα σφαγῆς. ν Εἶτα καὶ τῆς καρτερίας ὑποδείκνυσι τὴν αἰτίαν. ε« Ἔν τούτοις γὰρ, φησὶ, πᾶσι ὑπερνικῶμεν διὰ τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς Θεοῦ. » Σχοπούμενοι γὰρ τίνες ὄντε: πίνων ἀπηλαύσαμεν ἀγαθῶν, καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἡμεῖς ἡγαπήσαμεν πρῶτοι, ἀλλ᾽ ἀγαπηθέντες πήσαμεν" καὶ μισοῦντες ἡγαπήθημεν, καὶ ἐχθροὶ ὄντες χατηλλάγημεν " οὐκ αὐτοὶ τυχεῖν τῶν διαλλαγῶν ἱχετεύσαντες, ἀλλὰ τὸν Μονογενῆῇ δεξάμεναι παρακληθέντες; καὶ πρὸς τούτοις λογιζόμενοι τὸν ζωοποιὸν σταυρὸν, τὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν σταυρωθέντα, τὰ σωτήρια πάθη, τοῦ θανάτου τὴν παῦλαν, τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἐλπίδα. Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα σχοπούμενοι τῶν προσπιξτόντῶν ἡμῖν περιγινόμεθα σκυθρωπῶν, καὶ τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν τὴν μνήμην παρατιθέντες τῇ προσχαέρῳ θείᾳ τοῦ σώματος, φέρομεν ἀσπασίως τὴν τῶν ἀνιχρῶν προσδολῆν. ᾿Αντιταλαντεύοντες γὰρ τῷ περὶ τὸν Δεσπότην φίλτρῳ πάντα τὰ τοῦ βίου λυπηρὰ, κοῦφα λίαν εὑρίσκομεν. Κἂν τὰ τερπνὰ δὲ ἅπαντα καὶ θυμήρη δοκοῦντα κατὰ ταυτὸν συναγάγωμεν, ἀντισταθμώμενος ὁ θεῖος πόθος, σκιᾶς ἀδρανέστερα, χεὶ ἀνθέων ἑἐαρινῶν εὐφθαρτότερα δείκνυσι. Ταῦτα καὶ διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων, καὶ διὰ τῶν λεχθησομένων, σημαίνει σαφῶς. ε Πέπεισμαι γὰρ, φησῖν, ὅτι οὔτε θάνατος, οὔτε ζωὴ, οὔτε ἄγγελοι, οὔτε ἀρκαὶ, οὔτι δυνάμεις, οὔτε ἐνεστῶτα, οὔτε μέλλοντα, οὔτε ὕψω- μα, οὔτε βάθος, οὔτε τις κτίσις ἑτέρα, δυνήσεται ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. ν Ἐπειδῇ γὰρ ἄνω τὰ σκυθρωπὰ μόνα τεθεικὼς, παρεξήτασε θλῖψιν, καὶ στενοχωρίαν, καὶ διωγμὸν, καὶ λιμὸν, καὶ γυμνότητα, καὶ κίνδυνον, καὶ μάχαιραν, τουτέστι τὴν βιαίαν σφαγήν " εἰκότως ἐνταῦθα, καὶ τὰ θυμήρη προτίθησι τοῖς ἀλγεινοῖς, τῷ θανάτῳ τὴν ζωὴν, τὰ νοητὰ «οἷς αἰσθητοῖς, τοῖς ὁρωμένοις τὰς ἀοράτους δυνάμεις, τοῖς παροῦσι καὶ παριοῦσι τὰ μέλλοντά τε καὶ τὰ μένοντα " πρὸς τούτοις, τῆς γεέννης τὸ βάθος, καὶ τῆς βασιλείας τὸ ὕψος. Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα παρεξετάσας, καὶ εὑρὼν ἅπαντα τῷ φίλτρῳ παραχωροῦντα, καὶ τὰ λυπηρὰ καὶ τὰ θυμήρη, καὶ τῆς ἀγάπης τὴν στέρησιν τῆς ἐν γεέννῃ κολάσεως πικροτέραν " καὶ δείξας ὡς, εἴπερ οἷόν τε ἦν, εὔλετο ἂν μετὰ τῆς θείας ἀγάπης τὴν ἐπειλημένην κόλασιν, ἢ δίχα ταύτῆς τὴν ἐπηγγελμένην τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν, μεθύων τῷ πόθῳ τὰ μὴ ὑφεστῶτα ζητεῖ, καὶ ταῦτα συγχρῖνα: τῷ θείῳ φίλτρῳ φιλονειχεῖ. ε« Οὔτε ὕψωμα γὰρ, φησὶν, οὔτε βάθος, οὔτε τις κτίσις ἑτέρα δυνήσεται ἡ λᾶς χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. ν Οὐ γὰρ μόνον, φησὶ, πάντων ὁμοῦ τῶν ὁρωμένων καὶ ἀοράτων τὸ περὶ τὸν Σωτῆρα καὶ Λυτρωτὴν προτίθημι φίλτρον, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἴ τις ἑτέρα κτίσις ταύτης καὶ μείζων καὶ καλλίων ἀναφανείη, οὐ πείσει! με τὴν ἀγάπην ἀλλάξασθαι" ᾿Αλλὰ κἂν τὰ θυμήρη τις παράσχῃ δίχα ταύτης, οὐ δέξομαι - κἂν ἐπαγάγῃ διὰ ταύτην τὰ σκυθρωπὰ, ἑπέραστά μοι φανεῖται, καὶ λίαν ἐράσμια " καὶ ὁ διὰ ταύτην λιμὸς πάσης μοι τρυφῆς θυμηρέστερος, καὶ εἰρήνης ἡδίων ὁ διωγμὸς, καὶ ἡ γυμνότης ἁλουργίδος καὶ χρυσοπάστων ἱματίων χαριεστέρα " καὶ ὁ κίνδυνος πάσης ἀδείας γλυχύτερος, καὶ ἢ βιαία σφαγὴ πάτης αἱρετωτέρα ζωῆς. Ἡ γὰρ αἰτία τῶν παθῶν, ψυχαγωγία μοι γίνεται. Διὰ γὰρ τὸν ἐραστὴν ὁμοῦ καὶ ἐρώμενον δέχομαι τὰς τούτων νιφάδας. ε Τὸν γὰρ μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησεν, ἵνα ἡμεῖς γενώμεθα θεοῦ δικαιοσύνη ἐν αὐτῷ. ---- -Ὃς πλούσιος ὧν δι᾽ ἡμᾶς ἐπτώχευσεν, ἵνα ἡμεῖς τῇ ἐχείνου πτωχείᾳ πλουτήσωμεν,» Καί " « Ἐξηϊόρασεν ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς κατάρας τοῦ νόμου, γένόμενος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν κατάρα. » Καί " « Ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν, γενόμενος ὑπήκοος μέχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ. » Καί ε« "Ἔτι ἁμαρτωλῶν ὄντων ἡμῶν, Χρι: στὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀπέθανε. » Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα λογιζόμενος, οὐκ ἂν δεξαίμην τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν, δίχα τῆς περὶ τούτων ἀγάπης " οὐκ ἂν φύγοιμι τὴν ἐν γεέννῃ τιμωρίαν, εἴπερ εἰκὸς ἦν τὸν ταύτην ἔχουτα κόλασιν ὑπομένειν. Τοῦτο καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ διδάσκει σαφῶς " « Ἧ Ὑὰρ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ συνέχει ἡμᾶ:, κρίναντας τοῦτο, ὅτι εἷς ὑπὲρ πάντῶν ἀπέθανεν, ἵνα οἱ ζῶντες, μηκέτι ἑαυτοῖς ζῶσιν, ἀλλὰ τῷ ὑπὶρ αὐτῶν ἀποθανόντι καὶ ἀναστάντι. » ΟἹ τοίνυν μὴ ἑχυτοῖς ζῶντες, ἀλλὰ τῷ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἀποθανόντι καὶ ἀναστάντι, πάντα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ καὶ δρᾶσαι καὶ παθεῖν ἀσμένως ἀνέχονται. Καὶ τὰ τῇ φύσει δὲ μεγάλα, καὶ χαλεπὰ παθήματα, τῷ φῶντρι» συγκρίνων, μικρὰ λέγει καὶ εὔφορα. ε« Τὸ γὰρ παραὐτίκα, φησὶν, ἐλαφρὸν τῆς θλίψεως ἡμῶν, καθ᾽ ἐργάζεται ἡμῖν. Εἶτα καὶ πῶ: δεῖ συγκρίνειν δ:δάσκει" « Μὴ σκοπούντων ἡμῶν τὰ βλεπόμενα, ἀλ᾽ τὰ μὴ βλεπόμενα " τὰ γὰρ βλεπόμενα πρόσκαιρα" τὰ ὃὲ μὴ βλεπόμενα αἰώνια. » Προσήκε: γὰρ, φττὶ, παρατιθέναι τοῖς μὲν παροῦσι τὰ μέλλοντα, τοῖς ξὲ προσκαίροις τὰ αἰώνια, τῇ δὲ θλίψει τὴν δόξαν ᾿ ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἔχει τὸ παραυτίκα, ἣ δὲ τὸ αἰώνιον “ τούτου χάριν αὕτη μὲν κούφη καὶ εὔφορος, ἐκείνη δὲ πολυτελῆς τε καὶ βαρύτιμος. Ταύτῃ δὴ καὶ τὸ χαϑ᾽ ὑπερδολὴν ἀμφοτέροις προστέθεικε, καὶ τῷ ἐλαφοῷ τῇ: Β θλίψεως, καὶ τῷ βάρει τῆς δόξης, Καὶ ταῦτα γὰρ, φησὶν, ὑπερδαλλόντως καὶ σμικρὰ, καὶ κοῦφα, πρότχαιρα " κακεῖνα ὡσαύτως μεθ᾽ ὑπερδολῖς ξ»δοξα, καὶ πολυτελῆ, καὶ βαρύτιμα, καὶ αἰώνια. Κιὶ τέρωθει ὁμοίως βοᾷ ε« Εὐδοχῶ ἐν ἀσθενεέαις, ἐν ὕδρεσιν, ἐν ἀνάγκαις, ἐν διωγμοῖς, ἐν ἀχαταστασίαις ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ. Ὅταν γὰρ ἀσθενῶ, τότε δυνατός εἰμι. » Τούτῳ καὶ ὁ μέγα; Πέτρος τετρωμένος τῷ πόθῳ, ξατο " ἀλλ᾽ ἄμεινον ὑπέλαδεν ἑπόμενος ἀρνηθῆναι, ἣ φεύγων ὁμολογῆσαι. Ὅτι γὰρ ἔρωτος ἣν, καὶ οὐ θρασύτητος, ἡ ἀχολούθησις ἔκγονος, τὰ πράγματι ς μαρτυρεῖ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ μετὰ τὴν ἄρνησιν καταλιπεῖν ἠνέσχετο τὸν διδάσκαλον " ἀλλ᾽ ἔκλαυσε μὲν πικρῶς, ὡς ἱστορία διδάσκει, καὶ τὴν ἧτταν ἀπωξύρατι. Προσήδρευσε δὲ τοῖς τοῦ φίλτρου δεσμοῖς κατεχόμενος. Καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως δεξάμενος Εὐαγγέλια, πρῶτος τὸν τάφον χατέλαδε " καὶ ἐν τἢ Γαλιλαίᾳ δὲ πάλιν ἁλιεύων, εἶτα μαθὼν αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν Κύριον, τὸν ἐπὶ τῆς ἠϊόνος ἑστῶτα, καὶ προῦδι:λεγόμενον, οὐκ ἢνέσχετο μὲν τοῦ πορθμίου τερον διατέμνοντος τῆς θαλάσσης τὰ νῶτα " ἐπόθησε δὲ ὑπόπτερος γενόμενος δι᾽ αὐτοῦ ἀέρος τάχιστα χκαταλαδεῖν τὴν ἀκτήν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ πτερῶν ἡ φύσις ἐστέρητο, χρῆται μὲν ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀέρος τοὶς ὕδασιν, ἀντὶ δὲ πτερῶν ταῖς χερσί. Διανηχόμενος δὲ κατ:λαμδάνει τὸν ἀγαπώμενον, καὶ ἄθλον λαμθάνει τοῦ Ὦ δρόμου, τὴν τῶν ἄλλων προτίμησιν ἐπειδὴ καθίσαι προσέταξε, καὶ τὰ εὑρεθέντα σιτία διένειμε, τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν εὐθὺς ἤρξατο διαλέξεως, ἐρώμενκ: μὲν δῆθεν, καὶ πυθόμενος πόσον ἔχοι τὸ φίλτρο,, ἀποκαλύπτων δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῦ μεγάλου Πέτρου τὸν ἔρωτα « Σίμων γὰρ Πέτρε, ἔφη, φιλεῖς με πλξν τούτων; » Ὃ δὲ αὐτὸν εἰς μαρτυρίαν ἐχάλεσς τοῦ φίλτρου “« Κύριε, γὰρ, εἶπε, σὺ οἷδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε» Ἐμθατεύεις γὰρ εἰς τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων νχὰς. χεὶ σαφῶς ἐπίπταται τὰ τῆς διανοίας χινέματα, χεὶ οὐ λανθάνει σ: τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων οὐδέν. Γινώσκει; τὰρ πάντα, τὰ ἔσχατα, καὶ τὰ ἀρχαῖα. Πρὸς τούτοις ὁ Δεσπότης ἐπήγαγε " ε Ποίμαινε τὰ πρόδατά μον. » Ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀνενδεῆς ᾿ εὐεργεσίαν δὲ με- Ὑίστην ἡγοῦμαι, τῶν ἐμῶν προδάτων τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν, καὶ τὴν εἰς ἐκεῖνα κηδεμονίαν εἰς ἐμαυτὸν ἀναδέχομαι. Προσήκει τοίνυν σε, ἧς ἀπολαύεις προμηθείας, μεταδιδόναι τοῖς ὁμοδούλοις, καὶ βόσχειν, ὡς βόσχῃ, καὶ ὦ; ποιμαίνῃ, ποιμαίνειν, καὶ ἦν ὀφείλεις μοι χάριν, δι᾽ ἐχείνων ἐχτιννύειν, Ταῦτα πάλιν καὶ δὶς ὁ Δεσπότης ἤρετο, καὶ δὶς ὁ μέγας ἀπεχρίνατο Πέτρο;, καὶ δὶς τοῦ ποιμένος τὴν χειροτονίαν ἐδέξατο. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ τρίτῃ προσηνέχθη πεῦσις, οὐκ ἔθ᾽ ὁμοίως θαρσαλέως καὶ ἀδεῶς ὁ μακάριος ἀποχρίνεται Πέτρο; ψυχῇ, καὶ ἀγωνιᾷ τῇ φήφῳ, καὶ δέδοικεν, ὑφορώμένος, μὴ ἑτέραν ἄρνησιν ὁ Δεσπότης προθεωρῶν, } τῶν τῆς ἀγάπης ῥημάτων καταγελᾷ " ἀνέδραμε γὰρ ὁνοῦς εἰς τὰ πρότερα, καὶ ἀνέμησεν αὐτὸν, ὡς ἤδη καὶ πρότερον πολλάκις μὲν μέχρι θανάτου μὴ καταλιπεῖν διισχυρίσατο τὸν διδάσκαλον, ἤκουσε δὲ ὡς ε Πρὶν ἀλέχτορα φωνῆσαι, τρὶς ἀπαρνήσῃ με. » Καὶ εὗρεν, οὐ τὴν οἰκείαν ὑπόσχεσιν περατουμένην, ἀλλὰ «οὔ Δεσπότου βεδαιουμένην τὴν πρόῤῥησιν. Ἦ τούτῶν αὐτὸν ἐδεδίττετο μνήμη, καὶ οὐκ εἴα θαοσαλέως «ἣν ἀρμοδίαν προσφέρειν ἀπόκρισιν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἐξείας μὲν καὶ πικρὰς ἐδέξατο τὰς ἀχίδας" παρεχώρησε δὲ ὅμως τῷ Δεσπότῃ τῆς γνώσεως" οὐκ ἀντιτείνων, ὡς τὸ πρότερον, οὐδὲ λέγων ε Κἂν δέῃ με σὺν σοὶ ἀποθανεῖν, οὐ μή σε ἀπαρνήσομας. » ᾿Αλλὰ τῆς μὲν ἀγάπης αὐτὸν ἔχειν συνίστορα φάσκων τὸν Δεσπότην, ἀχριδῆ δὲ τῶν ὅλων γνῶσιν παρ᾽ αὐτῷ εἶναι μόνῳ τῷ ποιητῇ τῶν ὅλων ὁμολογῶν ε Κύριε, γὰρ, ἕξη, σὺ πάντα οἷδα:, σὺ πάντα γινώσκεις, σὺ οἵἷδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε. » “Ὅτι μὲν γὰρ φιλῶ, καὶ οἶδας, καὶ μαρτυρεῖς. Εἰ δὲ καὶ διαμενῶ φιλῶν, σαφέστερον οἷδας αὑτός. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐγὼ περὶ τῶν ἐσομένων ἐρῶ, οὐδὲ ζυγομαχήσω περὶ ὧν οὐκ ἐπίσταμαι" ἔμαθον τῇ πείρᾳ μὴ ἀντιλέγειν τῷ Δεσπότῃ. Σὺ δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας πηγὴ. σὺ τῆς γνώσεως ἄξυσσος - τοῖς σοῖς δροις ἐμμένειν δεδίδαγμαι. Τοῦτο τὺ δέος αὐτοῦ θεασάμενος ὁ Δεσπότης, καὶ τὸ φίλτρον δὲ ἀχριδῶς ἐπιστά μενος, τῇ προαγορεύσει τῆς τελευτῆς λύει τὸν φόδον, καὶ δίδωσι τῇ ἀγάπῃ τὴν μσρτυρίαν, καὶ τοῦ Πέτρου «ἣν ὁμολογίαν κυροῖ, καὶ τῷ ἕλκει τῆς ἀρνήσεως προσφέριι τῆς ὁμολογίας τὸ φάρμακον. Διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ οἶμαι καὶ τριπλῆν ταύτην ἀπήτησεν" ἵνα ἰσάριϑμα τοῖς ἕλκεσιν ἐπιθῇ τὰ φάρμακα, καὶ γυμνώσῃ «οἷ; παροῦαι τῶν μαθητῶν τῆς ἀγάπης τὴν φλόγα. Ἥ τοίνυν πρόῤῥησις τῆς τελευτῆς, καὶ τὸν Πέτρον ἐψυχαγώγει, καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐδίδασκεν, ὡς οἴκονομία; ἦν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γνώμης ἡ ἄρνησις, Καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸς ὁ Σωτὴρ καὶ Κύριο; ἡμῶν ἡνίξατο, πρὸ; αὐτὸν εἰρηκώς" ε« Σίμων, Σίμων, ἐξητήσατο ὁ Σατανᾶς σινιᾶται ὑμᾶς ὡς τὸν σῖτον, χἀγὼ ἐδεήθην περὶ σοῦ, ἵνε μὴ ἐκλίπῃ ἢ πίστις σου" ἀλὰλχ καὶ σὺ ποτε ἐπιστρέ νας, στίριξον τοὺς ἀδελφούς συν. » "Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἤχων σου, καὶ ἧς ἀπολαύεις ἐπικουρίας μετάδος " καὶ μὴ κας. Τούτου γάρ σε χάριν καὶ προσπταῖσαι συγχωρῶ, καὶ πεσεῖν οὐκ ἐῶ, στάσιν τοῖς σαλενομένοις διὰ σοῦ μηχανώμενος. Οὕτω τὴν οἰκουμένην σαλευομένην ὁ μέγας οὗτος α«τύλος ἐπήρεισε, καὶ καταπεσεῖν οὐκ εἴα5σ9 παντελῶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνώρθωσε, καὶ ἐδρχίαν καὶ παροινούμενος ὑπὲρ τούτου ἡνείχετο, καὶ αἰκιζόμενος ἥδετο. Καὶ ἐξιὼν ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ συνεδρίηυ σὺν τῷ ὁμοξζύγῳ ἔχαιρεν, ὅτι κατηξιώθη ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ Δεσπότου ἀτιμασθῆναι. Καὶ εἰς δεσμωτίρια δὲ βαλλόμενος, ἐγάννυτο, καὶ εὐφραίνετο. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ ὑπὸ Νέρωνος τὴν διὰ σταυροῦ ὑπὲρ τοῦ σταυ. ρωθέντος κατεδικάσθη σφαγὴν, παρεκάλει τοὺς προσηλωθῆναι" δείσας, ὡς εἰχὰς, μὴ ἡ τοῦ πάθους ταυτότης, ἴσον αὐτῷ παρὰ τῶν ἀνοήτων εἰσενέγχοι τὸ γέρας. Διὰ τοῦτο κάτω προσηλωθῆναι τὰς χεῖρας, καὶ ἄνω τοὺς πόδας ἱκέτευε. Τὸ γὰρ ἔσχατον αἱρεῖσθαι, οὐκ ἐν τῇ τιμῇ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀτιμία μεμάθηκεν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ δεκάκις, καὶ πεντηχοντάχις, τοῦτον ὑπομεῖναι τὸν θάνατον οἷόν τε ἣν ἐδέξατο ἂν μετὰ πάσης ἡδονῆς, τῷ θείῳ πυρπολούμενος πόθῳ, Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ὁ θεῖος Παῦλος βοᾷ, νῦν μὲν λέγων᾽ « Καθημέραν ἀποθνήσκω, νὴ τὴν ὑμετέραν καύχησιν, ἣν ἔχω ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ" » νῦν δέ" ε Χριστῷ σὺυνἐσταύρωμαι, Ζῶ δὲ οὐκ ἔτι ἐγὼ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμὼ Χριστός.» Οὐκοῦν ὁ τὸν ἔρωτα τὸν θεῖον δεξάμενος, πάντων μὲν ὁμοῦ τῶν γηΐνων καταφρονεῖ, πατεῖ δὲ ἀπάτας τὰς τοῦ σώματος ἡδονά:" ὑπερορᾷ πλούτου καὶ δόξης, καὶ τῇς παρὰ ἀνθρώπων τιμῇ; ἀραχνίων οὐδὲν διαφέρειν ὑπολαμθάνει τὴν βασιλικὴν ἁλουργίδ:" τοὺς πολυτελεῖς τῶν λίθων ταῖς παρὰ τὰς ὄχθας ὑγείαν τοῦ σώματος, οὐδὲ συμφορὰν τὴν νόσον ἀπ᾿ καλεῖ, οὐδὲ δυσπραξίαν τὴν πενίαν προσαγορεύει, οὐδὲ πλούτῳ καὶ τρυφῇ τὴν εὐξαιμονίαν ὁρίζεται " ὄχθαις παραῤῥέουσι δένδρα, καὶ πρὸς οὐδένα τούτων ἱσταμένοις, ἀεὶ ἑἐοιχέναι τούτων ἔκαστον ἡγεῖται καλῶς. Ὁμοίως γὰρ καὶ ᾿πενία καὶ πλοῦτος, καὶ υ ὑγεία καὶ νόσος, τιμή τε καὶ ἀτιμία, καὶ τἄλλα, ὅσα τῶν ἀνθρώπων παρατρέχει τὴν φύσιν, οὐ παρὰ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἀεὶ μένοντα θεωρεῖται, ἀλλὰ τοὺς χεχτημέγους ἀμείδοντα, καὶ ἐξ ἄλλων εἰς ἄλλους διηνεκῶς μεταθαίνοντα. Πολλοὶ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ εὐπορίας πίπτουσιν εἰς πενίαν ἐσχάτην " πολλοὶ δὲ ἐκ πενήτων εἰς τὸν τῶν πλουσίων κατάλογον ἀναδαίνουσι. Καὶ νόσος δὲ, καὶ ὑγείᾳ διὰ πάντων, ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, σωμάτων, καὶ πεινώντων καὶ τρυφώντων, ὁδεύει. ᾿Αρετὴ δὲ καὶ φιλοσοφία, μόνη μένει ἀγαθῶν. Νικᾷ γὰρ καὶ λῃστοῦ χεῖρας, καὶ συκοφάντου γλῶσσαν, καὶ πολεμικῶν βελῶν καὶ δοράτων νιφάδας " οὐ γίνεται πυρετοῦ παρηνάλωμα, οὐδὲ κλύδωνος πάρεργον, οὐδὲ ναναγίου ζημία. Ταύτης ὁ χρόνος οὐκ ἀφαιρεῖται, ἀλλ᾽ αὔξει τὴν δύναμιν. Ὕλη δὲ ταύτης ἡ περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπη. ᾿Αδύνατον γὰρ κατορθῶσαι φιλοσοφίαν τὸν μὴ θερμὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ γενόμενον ἐραστὴν" μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο φιλοσοφία καλεῖται. Σοφία γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς καὶ ἔστι καὶ καλεῖται. Περὶ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων ὁ μακάριος λέγει Παῦλας " « ᾿Αφθάρτῳ, ἀοράτῳ, μόνῳ σοφῷ Θεῷ " » περὶ δὲ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς φησι" «ε Χριστὸς, Θεοῦ δύναμις, καὶ Θεοῦ σοφία.» Καὶ πάλιν" ε« Ἐδόθη ἡμῖν σοφία ἀπὸ Θεοῦ, δικαιοσύνη τε καὶ ἁγιασμὸς, καὶ ἀπολύτρωσις. » Ὁ τοίνυν τῷ ὄντι φιλόσοφος, καὶ φιλόθεος ἂν εἰκότως καλοῖτο. Ὁ δὲ φιλόθεος τῶν ἄλλων. ἁπάντων ὑπερφρονῶν, καὶ τὸν ἐρώμενον μόνον ὁρῶν, πάντων ὁμοῦ τὴν ἐχείνου προκίθησι θεραπείαν" ἐκεῖνα μόνα, καὶ λέγων, καὶ πράττων, καὶ λογιζόμενος, ἃ τὸν ἀγαπώμενον ἀρέσκει καὶ θεράπεύει, καὶ μυσαττόμενος ἅπαντα ὅσα ἐκεῖνος ἀπαγορεύει. Ταύτης ᾿Αδὰμ τῆς ἀγάπης ὁλιγὡρήσας, καὶ περὶ τὸν εὐεργέτην ἀγνώμων γενόμενος, ἀκάνθας, καὶ πόνους, καὶ ταλαιπωρίας ἐδρέψατο τῆς ἀχαριστίας μισθόν. Ταύτην !“Αδελ τῷ χορηγῷ τῶν ἀγαθῶν βεδαίαν διαφυλάξας, καὶ τῶν μὲν γα-᾿ στρὸς ἡδονῶν καταφρονήσας, τὴν δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ προ-᾿ ελόμενος θεραπείαν, τοῖς ἀχηράτοις κατεκοσμήθη στεφάνοις, καὶ διὰ πάσης γενεᾶς ὁδεύει, τὴν εὐφημίαν διὰ τῆς μνήμης καρπούμενος. Ταύτην Ἑνὼχ ἀληθῆ (α καὶ γνησίαν κτησάμενος, καὶ ἔσπειρε καλῶς, καὶ ἐθέρισέν ἄμεινον, καὶ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ θεραπείας μισθὸν ξχυμίσατο τὴν μετάθεσιν, καὶ τὴν ἀθάνατον τέως ζωὴν, καὶ τὴν διὰ τοῦ βίου παντὸς εὐκλεῆ καὶ ἀθάνατον μνήμην. Τί ἄν τις εἴποι περὶ τῆς τοῦ Νῶε φιλοθεῖας, ἣν οὐδὲ τῶν παρανόμων διήλεγξεν ἡ φθορά" ἀλλὰ πάντων ἐχχλινάντων, καὶ τὴν ἐναντίαν προελομένων, μόνος τὴν εὐθεῖαν ὥδευσε, πάντων ὁμοῦ τὸν Ποιητὴν προτιθείς; Οὗ χάριν, καὶ μόνος μετὰ τῶν παίδων τῆς σωτηρίας τετύχηκε, καὶ σπέρμα χατελείφϑη τῇ φύσει, καὶ σπινθὴρ ἐφυλάχθη τῷ γένει. Οὕτω Μελχισεδὲκ, ὁ μέγας ἀρχιερεὺς, τῶν τὰ εἴδωλα πσέδειν προελομένων τὴν ἄνοιαν βδελυξάμενος, Ξῷ Ποιητῇ τῶν ὅλων τὴν οἰκείαν ἱερωσύνην ἀνἐθηκεν. Οὗ χάριν, τὸν μέγαν ἐκεῖνον μισθὸν ἐχομίσατο, τύπος γενόμενος καὶ σκιὰ τοῦ κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ἀρχὴν ἡμερῶν, μήτε ζωῆς τέλος ἔχοντος. ᾿Αλλὰ γὰρ' ὁδῷ βαδίζων ὁ λόγος. πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφίκετο, τὸν χρηματίσαντα τοῦ Θεοῦ φίλον, τὸν ἀχριδῶς τῆς τιλίας ποὺς νόμους καὶ φυλάξαντα καὶ διδάξαντα. Τίς γὰρ ἀγνοεῖ των οὕτω πως τὰ θεῖα πεπαιδευμένων, ὅπως ὑπήκουσεν ᾿Αδραὰμ ὁ μέγας πατριάρχης καλέσαντι τῷ Θεῷ, ὅπως τὴν πατρῴαν κατέλιπεν οἰκίαν, καὶ τῆς πατρίδος τὴν ξένην προείλετο; ἐπειδήπερ ἅπαξ ἠράσθη τοῦ χεχληχότο;, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα δεύτερα τῆς ἐκείνον φιλίας ἐδοχίρμασε θέσθαι, καὶ πολλαὶς πολλάκις δυσχολίαις περιπεσὼν, οὐ κατέλιπε τὸν ἐρώμενον, ὡς ταῖς ἐπαγγελίαις οὐκ ἐπιθέντα τὸ πέρας" ἀλλὰ καὶ δίψει πιεζόμενος, καὶ πιεῖν ὕδωρ ἀφ᾽ ὧν ὥρυξε φρεάτων εἰργόμενος, οὔτε κατὰ τοῦ καλέσαντος ἐδυσχέρανεν, οὔτε τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας ἡμύνατο. ᾿Εδέξατο καὶ λιμοῦ προσδολὴν, καὶ οὐκ ἔσδεος τὸν τῆς ἀγάπης πυρσόν " ἀφῃρέθη καὶ τὴν ὁμόζυγα, καὶ ὥρᾳ λάμπουσαν, καὶ σωφροσύνῃ κεκοσμημένην, καὶ διὰ πάντων αὐτῷ θυμήρη τὸν βίον παρέχουσαν" καὶ οὐ συναφῃρέθη τὴν περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπην τῇ γυναικί. ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ ἐπαμύνοντος τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὴν σθαι τῆς ἀδικίας τὰς προσδολὰς, ὁμοίως διέμεινεν ἀγαπῶν. Καὶ πρεσδύτης ἐγένετο, καὶ πατὴροὐχ ἐγένετο, καὶ περὶ αὐτὸν πατέρα ποιήσειν ἐπαγγειλάμενον μὲν, οὐ πεποιηκότα δὲ τέως, ὁμοίως διέκειτο. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὀψέ ποτε, καὶ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν ἔλαδε, καὶ τῆς Σάῤῥας τὴν φύσιν ἐνέχησε, καὶ τοῦ γήρους ὑπερέδη τοὺς ὄρους, καὶ τοῦ Ἰσαὰκ ἀπεφάνθη πατὴρ, ὀλίγον μὲν χρόνον τῆς ἐντευθθενθυμηδίας ἀπήλαυσε μειράκιον (ὲ τὸ παιδίον γενόμενον, προσινεγχεῖν εἰς θυσίαν προσετάχϑη τῷ δεδωκότι, καὶ τὸ δῶρον ἀντιδοῦναι τῷ χ᾽ ρηγῷ, καὶ ἱερεὺς γενέσθαι τοῦ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας καρποῦ, καὶ προσαγαγεῖν εἰς θυσίαν τῶν ἐθνῶν τὴν μεγάλην πηγὴν, καὶ αἴματι μονογενοῦς παιδὸς χαταφοινίξαι τὰς χεῖρας. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὅμως ταῦτα πάντα, καὶ ἔτι τούτῶν πολλῷ πλείονα, τῆς θυσίας ἐχούσης, οὐκ ἀντἐτεινεν ὁ πατριάρχης, οὐδὲ τὰ τῆς φύσεως προὐδάλετο δίκαια, οὐδὲ τὰς ὑποσχέσεις εἰς μέσον παρήγαιεν, οὐδὲ γηρωχομίας καὶ ταφῆς ἀνεμνήσθη ᾿ ἀλλὰ πάντα λογισμὸν ἀνθρώπινον ῥίψας, καὶ πόθῳ πόθον ἀντν τάξας, καὶ νόμῳ νόμον ἀντιστήσας, τῷ τῆς φύσεως «τὸ θεῖον, ἔδραμεν εἰς τὴν ἱερουργίαν, ἀνενδοιάττως ἐπενεγκεῖν τὴν πληγὴν, εἰ μὴ ταχέως ὁ Μεγαλύδωροζ, τὴν προθυμίαν δεξάμενος, ἑκώλυσε τὴν σφαγήν. ᾿Αλλὰ γὰρ οὐκ οἶδα, εἴ τις ἂν ἀρχέστις λόγος, εἰς τὴν τοῦ ἔρωτος τοῦδε διήγησιν. Ὃ γὰρ μηδὲ μον. γενοῦς φεισάμενος παιδὸς, ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο προσέταξεν ὁ ἐρώμενος, τίνος οὐκ ἂν διὰ τοῦτον ὑπερεφρόνησε, καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ μέγας Ἰσαὰκ, τὴν αὐτὴν ἀγάπην περὶ τὸν Δεσπότην ἐκτήσατο. Καὶ ὁ τούτον δὲ υἱὸς, Ἰαχὼδ ὁ πατριάρχης. Αδουσι δὲ ἀμφοτέρων τὸ φιλόθεον αἱ θεῖαι Γραφαί " καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεὸς οὐδαμοῦ τῆς ῥίζης διαχωρίζει τοὺς κχλάδους, ἀλλὰ Θεὸν ἑαυτὸν ᾿Αδραὰμ,, καὶ Ἰσαὰκ, καὶ Ἰαχὼδ ὀνομάζει., Τούτων ἐστὶ καρπὸς εὐσεδὴς καὶ Ἰωσὴφ, ὁ ἐν νέοις πρεσδύτης, καὶ ἐν πρεαδύταις γενναῖος " οὗ τὸ φιλόθεον οὔτε φθόνος ἠνάλωσεν, οὔτε δουλεία χαῖἐσόεσεν, οὐ δεσποίνης ἐσύλησε κολακεία, οὐκ ἀπειλὴ καὶ δέος ἐμάρανεν " οὐ συκοφαντία, καὶ δεσμωτήριον, καὶ χρόνος μακρὸς κατεπά) αισεν" οὐκ ἐξουσία, καὶ δυναστεία, καὶ τρυφὴ, καὶ πλοῦτος, τῆς διανοίας ἐξέδαλεν " ἀλλ᾽ ἔμεινεν ὁμοίως καὶ βλέπων τὸν ἐρώ" μενον, καὶ τοὺς ἐχείνου νόμους πληρῶν. Ταύτην ὁ Α Μωσῆς τὴν ἀγάπην κτησάμενος, τῆς ἐν βασιλείοις διαίτης καταφρονήσας, μᾶλλον εἴλετο συγχαχουχεῖσθαι τῷ λαῷ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἣ πρόσκαιρον ἔχειν ἁμαρτίας ἀπόλαυσιν. Καὶ τί δεῖ μηκύνειν καὶ πέρα τοῦ μέτρου τὸν λόγον ἐκτείνειν; Τῇ θείᾳ γὰρ ἀγάπῃ πᾶσα τῶν προφητῶν ἡ ἑταιρία χεχρημένη, καὶ κοσμουμένη, καὶ τὴν τελειοτάτην κατώρθωσεν ἀρετὴν, καὶ ἀείμνῆστον τὸ κλέος κατέλιπε. Καὶ μέντοι καὶ τῶν ἀπὸστόλων ὀχορὸς, καὶ τῶν μαρτύρων οἱ δῆμοι, τοῦτο τὸ πῦρ εἰσδεξάμενοι, πάντων μὲν ὑπερεῖδον τῶν ὁρωμένων, πάσης δὲ ζωῆς ἡδίστης τὰ μυρία τῶν θανάτων εἴδη προείλοντο. ἙἘρασθέντες γὰρ τοῦ θείον κάλλους, καὶ τὸ περὶ ἡμᾶς τοῦ Θεοῦ λογισάμενοι φίλτρον, καὶ τὰς μυρίας ἐνθυμηθέντες εὐεργεσίας, αἰσχρὸν ἡγήσαντο, μήτε τὸ κάλλος ἐκεῖνο ποθῆσαι τὸ ἄφραστον, καὶ ἀχάριστοι περὶ τὸν εὐεργέτην γενέ» σθαι. Τούτου χάριν, μέχρι θανάτου τὰς πρὸς αὐτὸν συνθήκας ἐφύλαξαν. Τούτου «οὔ κάλλους ἐρασθέντες καὶ οἱ νέοι τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀθληταὶ, ὧν συνεγράψαμεν ἐν συντόμῳ τὸν βίον, εἰς τοὺς μεγάλους ἐκείνους, καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν φύσιν νιχῶντας, εἰσεπήδη ταν ἄθλους, Τοῦτο δὲ σαφῶς αὐτοὺς ἐξεπαίδευσαν αἱ θεῖαι Γραφαί. Ῥάλλουσι γὰρ μετὰ τοῦ μεγάλου Δαβίδ" ε Κύριε ὁ θεός μου, ὡς ἐμεγαλύνθης σφόδρα. Ἐξομολόγησιν καὶ μεγαλοπρέπειαν ἐνεδύσω, ἀναδαλλόμενος φῶς ὡς ἱμάτιον " ἐκτείνων τὸν οὐρανὸν, ὡσεὶ δέῤῥιν"» καὶ τἄλλα ὅσα τὴν σοφίαν αὐτοῦ διδάσκει καὶ δύναμιν. Καὶ πάλιν" « Ὁ Κύριος ἐδασίλευσεν, εὐπρέπειαν ἐνεδύσατο“ ἐνεδύσατο Κύριος δύναμιν, καὶ περιεζώσατο" καὶ γὰρ κατώρθωσε τὴν οἰκουμένην, ἥτις οὐ σαλευθήσεται.» Κἀνταῦθα δὲ ὡσαύτως καὶ σοφία καὶ κάλλος ἐκηρύχθη, καὶ δύναμις. Καὶ ἑτέρωθι δέ" « Ὧραϊζος κάλλει παρὰ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων.» Ἕνταῦθα δὲ, καὶ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου εὑφήμησε κάλλος, Ὑμνεῖ δὲ καὶ τὴν σοφίαν" ε« Ἐξεχύθη γὰρ, φησὶ, χάρις ἐν χείλεσί σου. ν Ὑποδείκνυσι καὶ τὴν δύναμιν " « Περίξωσαι τὴν ῥομφαίαν σου ἐπὶ τὸν μὴρόν δον, δυνατέ" τῇ ὡραιότητί σον, καὶ τῷ κάλλει σου, καὶ ἕντεινε, καὶ κατευοδοῦ, καὶ βασῇλενε, ἕνεκεν ἀληθείας, καὶ πραότητος, καὶ δικαιοσύνης. » Ταῦτα γὰρ αὐτοῦ, καὶ κάλλος, καὶ πλοῦτος, καὶ δύναμις. Καὶ Ἡταῖας δὲ βοᾷ ε Τίς οὗτος ὁ παραγενόμενος ἐξ Ἐδώμ; ἐρύθημα ἱματίων αὐτοῦ ἐκ Βοσόρ; Οὗτος ὡραῖος ἐν στολῇ αὐτοῦ, βία μετὰ ἰσχύος. » Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ ἀνθρωπεία στολὴ τὸ θεῖον χατεχάλυψε κάλλος " ἀλλὰ καὶ ταύτην περιδεδλημένο;, ρυγὰς ἀπὸ τῆς ὥρας ἀφίησιν, ὡς τοὺς ὁρῶντας βιάζεσθαι καὶ καταθέλγειν εἰς ἔρωτα. Τοῦτο καὶ ἁγία Νύμφη πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς ΓΛσμασι τῶν ἀσμάτων διαλεγομένη φησί" ε Μῦρον ἐκκενωθὲν ὄνομά σου. Διὰ τοῦτο νεάνιδες ἢγάπησάν σε’ εἴλκυσάν σε" ὀπίσω σσὺ εἰς ὀσμὴν λύρων σου ἔδραμον. ν» Αἱ γὰρ νεανικαὶ ψυκαὶ, τῆς σῆς εὐωδίας μεταλαμδάνουσαι, δέουσι χαταλαδεῖν σε ποθοῦσαι. καὶ οἷον ἁλύσει τινὶ τῇ ὀσμῇ κατεχόμεναι, διαῤῥῆξαι τὸν δεσμὸν οὖκ ἀνἔχονται " γλυκὺς γὰρ οὗτος, καὶ ἐθελουσίως αὑταῖς περικείμενος. Τούτοις συμφωνεῖ καὶ τοῦ θείου Παύλου τὰ ῥήματα" «ε Χριστοῦ εὐωδία ἐσμὲν, ἐν τοῖς σωζομένοις, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις οἷς μὲν ὁσμὴ θανάτου εἰς θάνατον " οἷς δὲ ὁσμὴ ζωῆς εἰς ξωήν.» Καλὸν τοίνυν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς διδασκόμενοι, καὶ πλοῦτον ἄφραστον ἔχοντα, καὶ σοφίας ὄντα πηγὴν, καὶ τοσαῦτα δυνάμενον ὅσα βούλεται, καὶ φῇ ανθρωπίᾳ χρώμενον ἀμετρήτῳ, καὶ ἡμερότητος ποταμοὺς ἀναδλύζοντα, καὶ διὰ -πάντων εὑεργετεῖν μόνον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐθέλοντα " καὶ τὰ μυρία, καὶ τὸν νοῦν ὑπερδαίνοντα, τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν εἴδη Β ὑπὸ τῶν θεοφόρων ἀνδρῶν διδασκόμενοι, τοῖς γλυχέσι τῆς ἀγάπης ἐτρώθησαν βέλεσι, καὶ μέλη τῆς νύμφης ὄντες, μετ᾽ ἐκείνης βοῶσι" « Τετρωμένοι ἀγάπης ἡμεῖς. » Ὁ γὰρ μέγας Ἰωάννης βοᾷ “ « δε ὁ ἀμνὸς ποῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου. » Ὁ δὲ προφήτης Ἡσαΐας, ὡς γεγενημένα τὰ ἐσόμενα προεθέσπισε λέγων " ε Αὐτὸς ἐτραυματίσθη διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, καὶ μεμαλάκισται διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν " παιδεία εἰρήνης ἡμῶν ἐ π᾿ αὐτόν " τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς ἰάθημεν᾽ » καὶ τὰ ἄλλα, ὅσα περὶ τῶν σωτηρίων παθῶν διεξέρχεται. Κηρύττει καὶ Παῦλος, βοῶν" ε Ὅς γε τοῦ ἰδίου Υἱοῦ οὐκ ἐφείσατο, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πάντων παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν, πῶς οὐκὶ καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα ἡμῖν χαρίσηται; » Καὶ πάλιν “᾿ «Ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ πρεσδεύομεν, ὡς τοῦ Θεοῦ παρακαλοῦντος δι᾽ ἡμῶν“ δεόμεθα ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, καταλλάγητε τῷ Θεῷ " τὸν γὰρ μὴ γνόντα ἁμαρτίαν ὑπὲρ, ἡμῶν ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησεν, ἵνα ἡμεῖς γενώμεθα Θεοῦ δικαιοσύνη ἐν αὐτῷ. ᾽ Ταῦτα, καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα, παρὰ τοῖς ὑπηρέταις «οὔ θείου λόγου γεγενημένοις εὑρίσκοντες, δέχονται πανταχόθεν τῆς θείας ἀγάπης τὰ κέντρα, καὶ πάντῶν ὑπερφρονοῦντες, φαντάζονται τὸν ἐρώμενον, καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἐλπιζομένης ἀφθαρσίας, τὸ σῶμα πνευματικὸν ἀπετέλεσαν. Τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸ φίλτρον δεξώμεθα, καὶ τῷ κάλλει τοῦ νυμφίου χαταθελγόμενοι, καὶ τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων ἀγαθῶν ἐφιέμενοι, καὶ τὸ τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν ἐντρεπόμενοι πλῆθος, καὶ τὰς τῆς ἀχαριστίας δεδιότες εὐθύνα:, ἀγαπῶντες καὶ φύλακες αὑτοῦ τῶν νόμων γενώμεθα. Οὗτος γὰρ ὄρος φιλίας, τὸ ταυτὰ φιλεῖν, καὶ ταυτὰ μισεῖν’ διὰ τοῦτο τῷ ᾿Αδραὰμ. ἔλεγεν " «Εὐλογήσω τοὺς εὐλογοῦντάς σε, καὶ τοὺς καταρωμένους σε καταράσομαι. » Καὶ ὁ Δαδὶδ πρὸς αὑτόν "« Ἐμοὶ δὲ λίαν ἐτιμήθησαν οἱ φίλοι σον, ὁ Θεός. ν» Καὶ πάλιν «Οὐκὶ τοὺς μιποῦνκἀς σε, Κύριε, ἐμίσησα, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς σου ἐξετηχόμην; Τέλειον μῖσος ἐμίσουν αὐτούς " εἰς ἐχθροὺς ἐγένοντό μοι. » Καὶ ἑτέρωθι " « Παρανόμους ἐμίσησα, τὸν δὲ νόμον σον ἠγάπησα. ν Καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ" ε Ὡς ἠγάπησα τὸν νόμον συν, Κύριε, ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν μελέτη μού ἐστιν. » Ἑναργὲς οὖν τεκμήριον τῆς περὶ ### English translation (Claude) How great the athletes of virtue are, and how many and what kind of crowns they shine with, the stories we have written about them clearly teach. For even if these do not contain all their contests, the few suffice to show the character of the whole life. The touchstone does not consume all the gold brought to it, but, rubbed against a little of it, shows it to be genuine or base; and likewise from a few arrows shot one can learn exactly whether an archer shoots excellently and hits the mark, or goes wide, untrained in the art. So too one can recognise the other craftsmen, not to name each one: runners, tragic actors, helmsmen, shipwrights, doctors, farmers, and in short all who practise any art; for a little trial suffices both to show the art of those who know it and to expose the ignorance of those who have only the name. So the few things written of each one’s achievements suffice, as I said, to teach the whole purpose of the life. But we ought now to examine, inquire and learn exactly from what starting point they embraced this way of life, and by what reasoning they reached the very summit of philosophy. For that it was not by trusting the strength of the body that they loved things beyond human nature, passed beyond the laws laid down for it, and … the contests, experience is a clear teacher. No one without a share in this philosophy has ever displayed their endurance. Shepherds, it is true, [live in the open air], but not always; they use caves, go back to their homes, cover their feet with shoes and the other parts of the body with soft clothing; and twice or three times a day, perhaps even four, … For when such food [undergoes] the change, and, strained as it were through a sieve, reaches the liver and undergoes transformation into blood, it goes into the heart through the hollow vein; heated there, it [passes] as through channels [to all] the parts of the body; and wherever it comes, it not only waters but also warms like fire, and keeps the body warmer than soft garments. For it is not, as some suppose, tunics and cloaks and mantles that give warmth to the body; otherwise they would also warm the wood and stones they touch; but no one has ever seen wood or stone made warmer by garments. So these do not give the body warmth; they keep the body’s warmth in: they keep off the assault of cold air, and, receiving the vapours that come out of the body, they are warmed by them and press warmer against the body. Experience bears witness: often, when we lie down on a cold bed, by the contact of the body we make warm the bedding that was cold a moment before. So food warms the body more than any garment; and those who partake of it to satiety have a defence sufficient against the [cold], for they [fortify] the body with it and prepare it to withstand that season of the year. But those who enjoy neither food nor drink every day, and when they do, do not wait for satiety but [stop] while appetite is at its height, … able [to nourish] the body, but either eat grass like the irrational animals or use only soaked pulses, what warmth could they draw from such fare? How much blood, or what drop of blood, could come from it? The practices of others, then, are in no way like those of these men. Their clothing is not the same: theirs is very rough … not similar but diametrically opposite. For shepherds and others like them, any time is time for food; they define the time by appetite, and if hunger comes on in the morning, they take food at once; and they take whatever is at hand. For it has not been laid down for them to eat this and by no means that, but they freely enjoy whatever they wish. Here there are fixed days and times, kinds of food and measures; and satiety in it is … So let none of the fault-finders bring farmers, shepherds and sailors into the midst [to belittle] the contests of these men. For the farmer, having toiled by day, is cared for at home at night, his wife providing him with every care. The shepherd likewise shares in all the things we mentioned. The sailor receives the sun’s rays on his body, but applies to it the treatment the waters give; for he swims as much as he likes, and applies the coolness of the waters as a remedy against the flame of the sun. But these men enjoy no care from anyone. No wives live with them, to contrive every kind of comfort for their husbands. Nor, when the sun strikes more hotly, do they seek the relief of the waters; nor in winter do they set food against the frost, nor do they apply the rest of the night like a medicine to the labours of the day; for the sweats of the night are greater and more numerous than those of the day. In it they take up the wrestling with sleep and do not consent to that sweet defeat, but overcome that most pleasant tyranny, and continue all night hymning the Master. No one, then, outside their philosophy has displayed their endurance. And if no one else among men has been able to hold out against such labours, it is clear that love for God made them pass beyond the bounds of nature; set on fire by the torch from above, they gladly bear the assault of the frost, and with the dew that comes from there they soothe the flame of the sun. This love feeds them and waters them and clothes them, gives them wings and teaches them to fly, prepares them to pass beyond heaven, shows them the Beloved as far as possible, kindles their longing by the image of the vision, rouses their affection, and lights the flame more fiercely. For as the lovers of bodies provide fuel for their affection from the sight of the ones they love, and make that frenzy harsher, so those who receive the goads of divine love, picturing that divine and pure beauty, make the barbs of love sharper, and the more they long to enjoy it, the more they drive satiety away. For satiety follows the pleasure of bodies, but divine love does not accept the laws of satiety. Such was Moses, the great lawgiver. He was often counted worthy of the divine vision, as far as is possible for a man, often enjoyed the blessed voice, spent forty days at a time inside the darkness, and received the divine legislation; yet he not only did not reach satiety but acquired a fiercer and warmer desire. As though he had received a kind of stupor from the drunkenness of that love and been driven to frenzy by affection, he forgot his own nature and desired to see what it is not lawful to see. As though forgetting [God’s] sovereignty and reckoning only with his affection, he said to the God of all: ‘See, you say to me, “You have found favour with me, and I know you above all.” If then I have found favour before you, show yourself to me; let me see you clearly.’ Such drunkenness did he receive from divine love; and the drunkenness did not end the thirst but made it fiercer; the increase of drink became an intensifying of desire, and enjoyment sharpened the appetite. As fire, the more fuel it receives, shows the greater force (for it grows by the addition of material and is not dulled), so love for God is kindled by the contemplation of divine things and receives from it a fiercer and warmer force; and the more one dwells on divine things, the more one kindles the flame of love. This was taught us not only by the great Moses but also by the holy bride, of whom the godly Paul says: ‘I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.’ For she cries to the Bridegroom in the Song of Songs: ‘Show me your face, and let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.’ Having received love from the words spoken about him, she is not content with the words, but longs to hear his very voice; and, winged by the stories of his beauty, she desires the sight of him itself, signifying her affection by the praises she speaks: ‘Show me,’ she says, ‘your face, and let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.’ In love with this beauty, her matchmaker and bridal escort, the godly Paul I mean, uttered that lover’s cry: ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or famine, or persecution, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Then he shows the cause of the endurance: ‘In all these things,’ he says, ‘we are more than conquerors through God who loved us.’ For we consider who we are and what good things we have enjoyed: that we did not love first, but loved because we were loved; that we were loved while we hated, and reconciled while we were enemies, not having begged to obtain the reconciliation ourselves, but being entreated … receiving the Only-begotten; and besides this we reckon with the life-giving cross, with him who was crucified for us, the saving sufferings, the ending of death, and the hope of resurrection given to us. Considering these and similar things, we overcome the gloomy things that befall us, and setting the memory of the benefits against the passing [pain] of the body, we gladly bear the assault of what is painful. For weighing all the griefs of life against our affection for the Master, we find them very light. And if we gather together all the things that seem delightful and pleasant, divine longing, weighed against them, shows them to be feebler than a shadow and more perishable than spring flowers. He signifies this clearly both by what has been said and by what follows: ‘For I am persuaded,’ he says, ‘that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ For since above he had set down only the gloomy things, listing tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril and the sword (that is, violent slaughter), here he fittingly sets the pleasant things beside the painful: life beside death, things known by the mind beside things known by the senses, invisible powers beside visible things, things to come and abiding beside things present and passing away; and besides these the depth of Gehenna and the height of the kingdom. Having compared all these and found that all, both the painful and the pleasant, yield to his affection, and that to be deprived of love is more bitter than the punishment in Gehenna; and having shown that, if it were possible, he would choose the threatened punishment with divine love rather than the promised kingdom of heaven without it, drunk with longing he seeks things that do not exist, and strives to compare them with divine affection. ‘For neither height,’ he says, ‘nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ For not only, he says, do I set affection for the Saviour and Redeemer above all things visible and invisible together, but even if another creation greater and more beautiful than this were to appear, it would not persuade me to exchange my love. If anyone offers me pleasant things without it, I will not accept them; if anyone brings gloomy things upon me because of it, they will seem lovely and very desirable to me: famine for its sake is more pleasant to me than any luxury, persecution sweeter than peace, nakedness more charming than purple and garments shot with gold, danger sweeter than any security, and violent slaughter more to be chosen than any life. For the cause of the sufferings becomes my comfort; it is for the sake of the one who is at once lover and beloved that I receive these showers. ‘For him who knew no sin he made sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.’ ‘Who, though he was rich, became poor for our sake, so that by his poverty we might become rich.’ And: ‘He redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.’ And: ‘He humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.’ And: ‘While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ Reckoning with these and similar things, I would not accept the kingdom of heaven without love for him; I would not flee the punishment in Gehenna, if it were likely that one who has this love should undergo punishment. He teaches this clearly elsewhere too: ‘For the love of God constrains us, since we have judged this, that one died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again.’ Those, then, who live not for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again gladly bear to do and to suffer everything for him. And what are by nature great and grievous sufferings he calls small and bearable, comparing them with his affection: ‘For our momentary lightness of affliction,’ he says, ‘works for us …’ Then he teaches how one must compare: ‘while we look not at what is seen but at what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’ For it is fitting, he says, to set the things to come beside the present, the eternal beside the temporary, glory beside affliction; the one has what is momentary, the other what is eternal; for this reason the one is light and bearable, the other costly and precious. Therefore he added ‘beyond all measure’ to both, to the lightness of the affliction and to the weight of the glory: these, he says, are beyond all measure small, light and temporary; and those likewise beyond all measure glorious, costly, precious and eternal. Elsewhere he cries out in the same way: ‘I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, calamities for Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.’ Wounded by this longing, the great Peter too … but he thought it better to deny while following than to confess while fleeing. That his following was the offspring of love and not of rashness, the facts bear witness. For not even after the denial did he bring himself to leave his teacher; he wept bitterly, as the history teaches, and lamented his defeat, but stayed close by, held by the bonds of affection. Indeed, when he received the good news of the resurrection, he was the first to reach the tomb; and again in Galilee, when he was fishing and learned that the one standing on the shore and speaking to them was the Lord, he could not bear [the slowness] of the boat cutting across the back of the sea, but longed to become winged and reach the shore most quickly through the very air. Since nature had denied him wings, he used the waters instead of the air and his hands instead of wings. Swimming across, he reached the one he loved, and received as the prize of his race the preference over the others. For when [the Lord] had bidden them sit down and had distributed the food that was found, he at once began a conversation with him, ostensibly asking and inquiring how great his affection was, but revealing to the others the love of the great Peter. ‘Simon Peter,’ he said, ‘do you love me more than these?’ He called him as witness of his affection: ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ For you enter the souls of men, and you plainly survey the movements of the mind, and nothing human escapes you; for you know all things, the last and the first. To this the Master added: ‘Feed my sheep.’ For I, he says, am in need of nothing; but I count the care of my sheep the greatest benefaction, and I accept the care shown to them as shown to myself. It befits you, then, to share the providence you enjoy with your fellow servants, to feed as you are fed, to shepherd as you are shepherded, and to repay through them the thanks you owe me. The Master asked this a second time, and a second time the great Peter answered, and a second time received the appointment as shepherd. But when the question was put a third time, the blessed Peter no longer answered so boldly and fearlessly; [he is troubled] in soul, anxious at the question, and afraid, suspecting that the Master, foreseeing another denial, is mocking his words of love. For his mind ran back to the past and reminded him that before too he had often insisted that he would not leave his teacher even in death, and had heard: ‘Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times’; and he found that it was not his own promise that was fulfilled but the Master’s prediction that was confirmed. The memory of these things frightened him and did not let him give the fitting answer boldly. He received sharp and bitter barbs; yet he yielded the knowledge to the Master, not resisting as before, nor saying, ‘Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ But he said that the Master was witness of his love, and confessed that exact knowledge of all things belongs to the Maker of all alone: ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘you know all things; you know that I love you.’ That I love you, you both know and bear witness; whether I shall continue to love, you yourself know more clearly. I will say nothing about what is to come, nor will I fight about what I do not know; I have learned by experience not to contradict the Master. You are the fountain of truth, the abyss of knowledge; I have been taught to abide by your decisions. The Master, seeing his fear and knowing his affection exactly, dissolves the fear by predicting his death, bears witness to his love, ratifies Peter’s confession, and applies the remedy of confession to the wound of the denial. For this reason, I think, he demanded the confession three times, so that he might apply remedies equal in number to the wounds, and lay bare to the disciples present the flame of his love. The prediction of his death, then, both comforted Peter and taught the others that the denial was a matter of dispensation, not of intention. Our Saviour and Lord himself hinted at this when he said to him: ‘Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and you, when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’ For as … and share the help you enjoy, and do not … For this reason I allow you to stumble but do not let you fall, contriving through you a firm footing for those who are shaken. So this great pillar propped up the shaken world, and did not let it fall altogether, but set it upright and made it firm …; insulted for his sake, he endured, and maltreated, he rejoiced. Going out from the wicked council with his companion, he rejoiced that he had been counted worthy to be dishonoured for the name of the Master. Thrown into prisons, he was glad and joyful. And when he was condemned by Nero to death by the cross for the sake of him who was crucified, he begged … to be nailed …, afraid, as was natural, that the sameness of the suffering might win him equal honour from the foolish. For this reason he begged that his hands be nailed below and his feet above; for he had learned to choose the last place not only in honour but also in dishonour. And if it had been possible to undergo this death ten or fifty times, he would have accepted it with all pleasure, set on fire by divine longing. The divine Paul cries out the same, now saying, ‘I die every day, by the boast in you that I have in Christ Jesus’, and now, ‘I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.’ So the one who has received divine love despises all earthly things together, tramples on all the pleasures of the body, disdains wealth and glory and honour from men, considers the royal purple no different from spiders’ webs, and the costly stones [no different from] the pebbles by the banks; he does not call health of body [good fortune] nor sickness misfortune, nor name poverty adversity, nor define happiness by wealth and luxury; he rightly thinks that each of these is like the waters that flow past the trees on the banks and stay by none of them. For in the same way poverty and wealth, health and sickness, honour and dishonour, and everything else that runs past human nature, are seen not always remaining with the same people, but changing their owners and constantly passing from some to others. Many fall from prosperity into extreme poverty, and many rise from the poor into the ranks of the rich. And sickness and health travel through all bodies, so to speak, both of the hungry and of the luxurious. Virtue and philosophy alone remain a lasting good. It conquers the hands of the brigand and the tongue of the slanderer and the showers of arrows and spears in war; it does not become the spoil of fever, nor a casualty of storm, nor a loss in shipwreck. Time does not take it away, but increases its power. Its material is love for God. For it is impossible for one who has not become a warm lover of God to achieve philosophy; or rather, this very thing is called philosophy. For God both is and is called Wisdom. Of the God of the universe the blessed Paul says, ‘To the incorruptible, invisible, only wise God’; and of the Only-begotten he says, ‘Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.’ And again: ‘He became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.’ The one who is truly a philosopher, then, may fittingly also be called a lover of God. And the lover of God, disdaining all other things and looking only at the Beloved, sets his service before all things together, saying, doing and thinking only what pleases and serves the Beloved, and loathing everything that he forbids. Adam, neglecting this love and becoming ungrateful toward his Benefactor, reaped thorns and labours and miseries as the wages of his ingratitude. Abel, keeping this love firm toward the Giver of good things, despising the pleasures of the belly and choosing the service of God, was adorned with the incorruptible crowns, and travels through every generation, reaping praise through remembrance. Enoch, acquiring this love true and genuine, sowed well and reaped still better, and received as the wages of his service of God his translation, a life so far immortal, and a glorious and immortal memory for all time. What could one say of the love of God of Noah, which not even the corruption of the lawless put to shame? When all turned aside and chose the opposite, he alone travelled the straight road, setting the Maker before all things together. For this reason he alone, with his children, obtained salvation, and was left as a seed for nature and preserved as a spark for the race. So too Melchizedek, the great high priest, loathing the folly of those who chose to worship idols, dedicated his own priesthood to the Maker of the universe. For this reason he received that great reward, becoming a type and shadow of the true [high priest], who has neither beginning of days nor end of life. But the discourse, travelling along its road, has come to the very one who was called the friend of God, who exactly both kept and taught the laws of friendship. For who among those even slightly instructed in divine things does not know how Abraham, the great patriarch, obeyed God when he called him, how he left his father’s house and preferred a foreign land to his homeland? For once he had come to love the one who called him, he judged it right to set everything else second to his friendship; and though he often fell into many difficulties, he did not leave the Beloved as one who had failed to fulfil his promises. Pressed by thirst and prevented from drinking water from the wells he had dug, he neither grew vexed against the one who called him nor took vengeance on those who wronged him. He suffered the assault of famine too, and did not quench the torch of love. He was robbed of his wife, radiant in beauty and adorned with chastity, who made life pleasant for him in every way; and the love for God was not taken away with the wife. And when God helped him and … the assaults of injustice, he continued loving in the same way. He became an old man and did not become a father, and toward the one who had promised to make him a father but had not yet done so he remained disposed in the same way. When at long last he received the promise, overcame Sarah’s nature, passed beyond the bounds of old age, and was declared the father of Isaac, he enjoyed the delight of it for a short time; but when the child had become a youth, he was commanded to offer him as a sacrifice to the Giver, to give the gift back to the one who bestowed it, to become the priest of the fruit of the promise, to bring to the sacrifice the great fountain of the nations, and to redden his hands with the blood of his only son. Yet though the sacrifice involved all these things and many more besides, the patriarch did not resist; he did not plead the rights of nature, nor bring forward the promises, nor mention care in old age and burial; but, casting away all human reasoning, setting longing against longing and opposing law to law, the divine law to the law of nature, he ran to the sacred rite, [ready] to strike the blow without hesitation, had not the Bountiful Giver, accepting his zeal, quickly prevented the slaughter. But I do not know whether any words would suffice for the story of this love. For he who did not spare even his only son, because the Beloved had commanded it, what would he not have disdained for his sake? The great Isaac himself acquired the same love for the Master, and so did his son, Jacob the patriarch. The divine Scriptures sing of the love of God of both; and the God of the universe himself nowhere separates the branches from the root, but names himself the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Their pious fruit is Joseph too, an old man among the young and noble among the old, whose love of God neither envy consumed nor slavery quenched, nor his mistress’s flattery stole away, nor threat and fear withered; neither slander nor prison nor long time wore it out, nor did authority, power, luxury and wealth drive it from his mind; but he remained the same, both looking at the Beloved and fulfilling his laws. Moses, acquiring this love, despised life in the palace and chose rather to suffer ill with the people of God than to have the passing enjoyment of sin. Why lengthen the discourse and extend it beyond measure? The whole company of the prophets, possessed and adorned by divine love, achieved the most perfect virtue and left an ever-memorable fame. And the choir of the apostles and the peoples of the martyrs, receiving this fire, disdained all visible things and preferred the countless kinds of death to the sweetest life. For in love with the divine beauty, reckoning God’s affection toward us and considering his countless benefactions, they thought it shameful not to long for that ineffable beauty and to be ungrateful to the Benefactor. For this reason they kept their covenant with him until death. In love with this beauty, the new athletes of virtue too, whose lives we have written in brief, leapt into those great contests that overcome human nature. The divine Scriptures taught them this clearly. For they sing with the great David: ‘O Lord my God, how greatly you are magnified! You have clothed yourself with praise and majesty, wrapping yourself in light as in a garment, stretching out the heaven like a skin’, and the rest that teaches his wisdom and power. And again: ‘The Lord reigns; he has clothed himself with majesty; the Lord has clothed himself with power and girded himself; for he has established the world, which shall not be moved.’ Here too wisdom, beauty and power are proclaimed alike. And elsewhere: ‘Beautiful in comeliness beyond the sons of men.’ Here he praised the human beauty of God the Word. He hymns his wisdom too: ‘Grace is poured out on your lips’; and he shows his power: ‘Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your comeliness and your beauty, and bend [the bow], prosper and reign, for the sake of truth and meekness and righteousness.’ For these are his beauty, his wealth and his power. Isaiah too cries: ‘Who is this who comes from Edom, with crimson garments from Bosor? This one is beautiful in his apparel, with force and strength.’ For not even the human garment hid the divine beauty; though clothed in it, he sends out rays from his comeliness, so as to overpower those who see him and charm them into love. This is what the holy Bride too says, speaking to him in the Song of Songs: ‘Your name is ointment poured out; therefore the maidens have loved you; they have drawn you; after you we will run to the fragrance of your ointments.’ For youthful souls, sharing in your fragrance, run, longing to reach you, and, held by the fragrance as by a chain, they will not bear to break the bond; for it is sweet and laid on them by their own will. With these agree the words of the divine Paul: ‘We are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance of death to death, to the other a fragrance of life to life.’ Being taught, then, by the divine Scripture that he is beautiful, that he has ineffable wealth, that he is the fountain of wisdom, that he can do whatever he wishes, that he shows immeasurable love for mankind and pours out rivers of gentleness, and that he wishes by all means only to do good to men; and being taught by the God-bearing men the countless kinds of his benefactions, which surpass the mind, they were wounded by the sweet arrows of love, and, being members of the Bride, they cry out with her: ‘We are wounded by love.’ For the great John cries: ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’ And the prophet Isaiah foretold things to come as though they had happened, saying: ‘He was wounded for our sins and bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; by his stripe we were healed’, and the rest that he relates of the saving sufferings. Paul too proclaims, crying out: ‘He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also give us all things with him?’ And again: ‘We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For him who knew no sin he made sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.’ Finding these and similar things in those who became servants of the divine Word, they receive from every side the goads of divine love; disdaining all things, they picture the Beloved, and even before the hoped-for incorruption they have made the body spiritual. Let us too receive this affection; charmed by the beauty of the Bridegroom, desiring the good things promised, ashamed before the multitude of his benefactions, and fearing to give account for ingratitude, let us love him and become keepers of his laws. For this is the definition of friendship: to love the same things and to hate the same things. For this reason he said to Abraham: ‘I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse.’ And David says to him: ‘But to me your friends, O God, are exceedingly honoured.’ And again: ‘Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and waste away over your enemies? I hated them with perfect hatred; they became my enemies.’ And elsewhere: ‘I hated the lawless, but I loved your law.’ And elsewhere: ‘How I loved your law, O Lord! It is my meditation all the day.’ A clear proof, then, of love for … ### Scripture references - Exod 33:13: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 11:2: quotation, high confidence - Song 2:14: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:35–39: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 5:21: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 8:9: quotation, high confidence - Gal 3:13: quotation, high confidence - Phil 2:8: quotation, high confidence - Rom 5:8: quotation, high confidence - Rom 5:10: allusion, medium confidence - 1 John 4:19: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Cor 5:14–15: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:17–18: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 12:10: quotation, high confidence - Matt 26:75: allusion, high confidence - John 20:4: allusion, medium confidence - John 21:7: allusion, high confidence - John 21:15–17: quotation, high confidence - Matt 26:34: quotation, high confidence - Matt 26:35: quotation, high confidence - John 21:18: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 22:31–32: quotation, high confidence - Acts 5:41: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:31: quotation, high confidence - Gal 2:20: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 1:17: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:24: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:30: quotation, high confidence - Gen 3:18: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 5:24: allusion, medium confidence - Heb 7:3: allusion, high confidence - Jas 2:23: allusion, high confidence - Gen 22:2: allusion, high confidence - Exod 3:6: allusion, high confidence - Heb 11:25: quotation, high confidence - Ps 104:1–2 (103:1-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 93:1 (92:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 45:2–4 (44:3-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 63:1: quotation, high confidence - Song 1:3–4: quotation, high confidence - Song 2:5: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 2:15–16: quotation, high confidence - John 1:29: quotation, high confidence - Isa 53:5: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:32: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 5:20: quotation, high confidence - Gen 12:3: quotation, high confidence - Ps 139:17 (138:17 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 139:21–22 (138:21-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 119:113 (118:113 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 119:97 (118:97 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Acts Pet. 37 (Acts of Peter): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The text breaks off mid-sentence at col. 1521 of PG 82: the next page is missing from the scan, so the end of the discourse is lost. - The scan is damaged: Latin debris and footnotes (Scripture references) from Migne's page are removed by logged corrections; lost or garbled Greek words are marked '…' and not supplied. - The physiology of digestion (food changed in the liver into blood, carried to the heart through the 'hollow vein' and distributed through the body) follows the medicine of Theodoret's day. - Peter's request to be crucified head downward follows the tradition of the Acts of Peter (Mart. Pet. 37–38); Theodoret does not name his source. - Scripture quoted includes Exod 33:13 (LXX wording); 2 Cor 11:2; Song 2:14; Rom 8:35–39; 2 Cor 5:21; 8:9; Gal 3:13; Phil 2:8; Rom 5:8; 2 Cor 5:14–15; 4:17–18; 12:10; John 21:15–17; Matt 26:34–35; Luke 22:31–32; 1 Cor 15:31; Gal 2:20; 1 Tim 1:17; 1 Cor 1:24, 30; Heb 7:3; Jas 2:23; Heb 11:25; Pss 104:1–2; 93:1; 45:2–4; Isa 63:1; Song 1:3–4; 2:5 (LXX); 2 Cor 2:15–16; John 1:29; Isa 53:5; Rom 8:32; 2 Cor 5:20–21; Gen 12:3; Pss 139:17, 21–22; 119:113, 97. The psalms are cited by the Septuagint wording. - 'To love the same things and to hate the same things' is a proverbial definition of friendship from Greek and Roman moral writing (source not named). ### Citation (SBL) Theodoret, Hist. rel. 31 (PG 82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-historia-religiosa/31).