ON THE HOLY SPOUSES XENOPHON AND MARIA, AND THEIR HOLY SONS ARCADIUS AND JOHN.
Fifth century.
PrefaceXenophon, spouse, at Jerusalem (St.) Maria, his wife, at Jerusalem (St.) Arcadius, their son, at Jerusalem (St.) John, their son, at Jerusalem (St.)
[1] Xenophon, and Maria his wife, and their children Arcadius and John, who renounced their senatorial dignity and most ample possessions and professed the monastic life at Jerusalem with equal ardor of soul, The feast of St. Xenophon and his companions, January 26, among the Greeks, are venerated by the Greeks on this day with the Ecclesiastical office. For thus the Anthologion approved by Clement VIII: "The same month, on the 26th day, of our holy Father Xenophon and his companions." This holy Xenophon was from Constantinople, abounding in external wealth, but far more illustrious in his interior devotion toward God. When he had learned that his two sons Arcadius and John, sent to the city of Berytus in Phoenicia to acquire the discipline and science of law, had suffered shipwreck, he set out from home with his wife to seek them, and at length found them at Jerusalem, clothed in the monastic habit; where both he and his wife also embraced the solitary life, and both advanced so far in the course of virtue, as did their sons also, that they even worked miracles. All persevered in the service of God and at length departed to him.
[2] Maximus Cythereus and the Menaea have the same, but the latter also celebrate them with many antiphons. They are also recorded in the Greek Menologion. Among the Latins, Galesinius writes for this day: "In Greece, St. Xenophon, Confessor." and certain Latins; "This man, with outstanding piety toward God and incredible kindness toward the poor, went to Jerusalem and adopted the practices of monastic life; and so perfected himself in that manner of living that, by the grace and gift of God, having accomplished many wonderful deeds and having lived a most holy life, he departed to the Lord." In the Notes he writes that he received these things from Greek records; but it is surprising that he made no mention of Maria and the sons. Canisius in his later edition quotes the same from Galesinius. Molanus in his additions to Usuard:
"On the 26th day, of the holy Father Xenophon and his company."
[3] Moreover, the same Anthologion for January 8 has: "The same month, on the eighth day, of St. Xenophon and his companions, and of St. Marcian the Priest, etc." and January 8; On which day Philip Ferrari in the General Catalogue of Saints: "At Constantinople, St. Xenophon, Confessor." The Menaea record Arcadius on March 6 -- whether the son of Xenophon or another, we do not know. They have only: "On the same day, of our holy Father Arcadius."
"Girding the loins that fall under understanding with virtues, Adorned with an excellent girdle, Arcadius, you run to heaven."
[4] The Life of St. Xenophon and his companions, written by Simeon Metaphrastes or some other more ancient author, Rosweyde had received from a Greek codex of the library of the Most Christian King. Life, Otho Zylius, a member of our Society, translated it into Latin; it has never before been given to the light.
[5] At what period St. Xenophon lived is clear from Nicephorus Callistus. He, in book 14, ch. 52, after treating of the great Euthymius, of whom we have written on the 20th of January; age, of Xena, or Eusebia, of whom on January 24; of the Empress Eudocia; and of others who were illustrious for their reputation of holiness in the fifth century, adds: "Moreover, that most celebrated Xenophon flourished in the same times, who had formerly been of the senatorial order, conspicuous no less for external wealth than for the internal endowments of his soul. He had sent Arcadius and John, his sons, to Berytus, a city of Phoenicia, for the purpose of learning discipline and laws. When they had suffered shipwreck at sea, he set out with his wife to seek them. When he found them at Jerusalem, having embraced the monastic institute, he himself also, and his wife with him, put on the habit of a more tranquil life. They all attained such virtue that they even obtained from God the grace of working miracles. And having lived a life acceptable to God, they at length departed to him."
LIFE AND DEEDS OF ST. XENOPHON,
and his sons John and Arcadius,
BY SIMEON METAPHRASTES,
TRANSLATED BY OTHO ZYLIUS OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS.
Xenophon, spouse, at Jerusalem (St.) Maria, his wife, at Jerusalem (St.) Arcadius, their son, at Jerusalem (St.) John, their son, at Jerusalem (St.)
From a Greek manuscript, translated by Otho Zylius.
Preface of the Translator.
TO THE MOST DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN
LORD GEORGE UWEN,
KNIGHT,
AND ROYAL SENATOR IN THE COURT OF BRABANT.
The deeds accomplished to God's praise by the Blessed Xenophon and his most holy family, fetched for the first time from the heart of Greece, I offer to Latin eyes for reading. They are varied in their changes of fortune, wondrous in their outcome, and delightful in their suspenseful narrative sequence. Read them, Most Distinguished Sir, when you return from that sacred tribunal of Justice; and admit these pages into your study, furnished with so many ornaments of antiquity and elegance. Although, indeed, following the domestic example of Peter Canisius, the Apostle of Germany and a member of your family, you so practice virtue that you could do without external and far-fetched incentives from Greece, Xenophon nevertheless (a Senator whom I present to a Senator), heir of Canisian excellence, will either attract you by the similarity of rank, or move you by the holiness of his life, or delight you by the charm of his subject. Farewell, and claim as yours whatever shall come from
Your most devoted servant,
Brussels, November 7, 1640.
Eternally devoted, Otho Zylius of the Society of Jesus.
CHAPTER I.
Xenophon's homeland, wife, and children.
[1] That admirable Xenophon was a native of that city which surpasses all others in beauty, in size, in location, and in all other respects, and glories in Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor (who was most illustrious both for his profession of the true faith and for his most devout confirmation of it), as its founder. The homeland of St. Xenophon, What, therefore, that city is among cities, Xenophon himself was among men: distinguished in the flower of his age, truly eminent in virtue, his rank, conspicuous for his senatorial dignity, and second to none in the highest marks of glory. He also abounded in the greatest riches and in a supply of those things which, his wealth, as Job says, seem good; wherefore he could not unreasonably say with him: according to the Septuagint: "My ways flow with butter, and my mountains flow with milk." Job 29:6.
[2] But as much as he excelled in wealth, so much was he lowered in thought, his virtues, inclining downward with a greater opulence of virtues. For Xenophon showed not only those ornaments of splendor, but much more the likeness of virtues he shared with Job; resembling him moreover both in temptations and in consolation, his resemblance to Job: and in the victory over temptations, which he obtained from the supreme goodness of God and from the propitious regard of the divine eye upon such cultivators of virtue. And so this divine man did not measure his blessedness by his possessions or his grandeur, nor (wise as he was) did he fashion petty glory for himself from vanity; but he judged those addicted to such things to be most wretched and to suffer from poverty of mind. For he believed that the sum of his happiness consisted in this: to know and recognize the Lord, to fear him, and to adhere to his commandments. And hence, as the divine David attests, he had greater glory and riches in his house. Ps. 111:3. For David likewise holds that these things are often bestowed upon those who fear the Lord by the most powerful and most liberal hand of the supreme Deity.
[3] His wife, Maria; Moreover, he had a lawful wife named Maria, born of illustrious parents, truly a partner of her husband in life and manners. By her two sons were born to him, John and Arcadius, his sons John and Arcadius, for whom he took the greatest care, so that not only the goods of the body but also a splendid inheritance of virtue and learning might pass to them -- an inheritance that both preserves wealth for its possessors and ensures that they possess it rather than being ill-possessed by it, and that they neither hold it illiberally nor spend it improvidently. For there is equal disgrace in both: if, without measure of reason and timing, riches flow lavishly where they should not, or are tightly and sparingly restrained; since, as Paul commends and declares most blessed, one must sow in blessings. 2 Cor. 9:6. Wherefore Xenophon fills his children with all learning, both that which polishes the tongue with Greek elegancies, and that other philosophy their education, which is according to God, by which partly the manners are refined, partly the soul is elevated to the love of God. After he wished them also to be instructed in the science of laws, he sent them without reluctance to the city of Berytus, their departure for Berytus, which at that time flourished especially with men most learned in the laws. In which matter he showed himself a father who truly loved his sons, deeming it better to lack the sight of his sons for a time than to deprive them of the acquisition of serious and useful knowledge.
CHAPTER II.
Ill, he summons his sons, instructs them; he is cured by divine help.
[4] While his sons were diligently applying themselves to these studies, the father fell into a most serious illness. Xenophon falls ill, The illness indeed threatened death, but the absence of his sons was more grievous than death, since he greatly feared that, deprived of their most welcome sight and of the most desired company of his dearest children, he might be snatched from this life. He summons his sons, Therefore they were quickly summoned and swiftly flew to him, borne aloft on the wings of longing, and contracting the length of the journey by the ardor of their souls. For they were not only loved, but loved no less in return; and they were impelled to this not only by nature, but also by virtue, which nourished their mutual longings; so that they were truly sons who both burned with the highest love toward their parent and were in turn most dearly loved by him. He is relieved by their sight, Therefore when the father was permitted to cast his eyes upon the most sweet faces of his sons, he immediately began to be relieved of his illness and to feel the flight of his malady from the magnitude of his present delight. For just as the force of joy often expels a bodily disease, so the bitterness of grief summons absent infirmity. He is variously moved, Having therefore embraced his children, and being wholly enveloped in them from the abundance of his joy, at once full of joy from the sight of his dearest ones and at once relapsing into sadness from the prospect of their departure and the memory of death, he was pulled into manifold and various emotions -- on the one hand exulting, on the other grieving and suffused with sorrow; now flooding his cheeks with tears, now giving thanks to God, now groaning at the thought of human nature.
[5] Then he began to speak words by which he might form them to virtue, deeming it unworthy if he should leave them an inheritance subject to corruption and not transmit to them with all care precepts and admonitions, far superior to earthly things in both value and usefulness, as a patrimony. And instructs them with an excellent oration: "My life, children," he said, "is now approaching its goal. If it is in your hearts to show some gratitude to your parent (of which your ardor of love toward me does not permit me to doubt), repay me this one thing, which I shall prefer above all else: that you obey the divine will, as you are doing, and govern your life according to its prescription. What I am about to say, receive not as proceeding from vainglory, but from the greatest desire to encourage you. For if you wish to use my life as an example, and casting your eyes upon it, to conform yourselves to it as to a certain model and image, perhaps you will have no need of another master, since you will have a pattern at home, and one that will the more easily impress its form upon you. For domestic instruction, expressed both in word and deed, is better suited for teaching and more effective for persuading than that which comes from outside. Moreover, you know what has been my manner of dealing with all, which has won for me from every quarter not only love but also reverence, arising from our modesty and kindness of character, not from ostentation or the pursuit of vain praise. I was never insolently unjust to anyone; I kept my tongue from slanders; I did not insult the lowly; I did not secretly plunder my neighbors' goods; I gave no one cause of offense; against none of my dependents did I loose the reins of anger; I did not allow enmities and wrath to lurk in my breast; I set a guard equally upon my tongue and eyes; I did not fix my gaze on another's beauty; I did not approach a woman except your mother, whom I enjoyed until she bore you, my dearest children; Conjugal chastity. chastity being observed thereafter by mutual agreement. But in these things also you can abundantly imitate us, if you will: to care for orphans, to protect widows, to visit those burdened with illness, to rescue the oppressed from the hand of the powerful, to show reverence to your mother, honor to Priests, and to provide for monks with all solicitude, especially those who dwell in solitudes, on mountains, in caves and in the hollows of the earth; furthermore, to treat servants gently and mercifully, for the sake of him who for us, according to the laws of ineffable kindness, took the form of a servant. Younger servants, therefore, are to be cared for as sons; the older and more advanced in age are to be given their freedom; yet even then they should not be without your care, but food must be supplied to them as long as they live. Moreover, be faithful to friends, benevolent to enemies, returning evil to no one. By this manner of living you will have God well-disposed toward you and will be filled with length of days."
[6] Having heard these things, the sons, suffused with tears, felt as much bitterness from the impending, intolerable death of their most beloved parent as they could scarcely bear, and with their mouths, eyes, and entire bodily bearing they besought him not to abandon them, but rather to ask God for a longer life. For they had perceived what standing he had with God, whom his sincere integrity, attested by so many deeds, commended. If they should obtain this, they then declared that they would hold the divine commandments dear forever. He learns by divine revelation that his life will be extended. But Xenophon, drawing a deep sigh from the depths of his breast, said: "From the time this illness confined me to bed, my prayers have looked to no other end; indeed this very night God has answered the prayers of us all. For I have learned by divine oracle that I am now to remain in life by God's command." Upon understanding this, the sons could not contain themselves for the greatness of their joy, as though it were not their father's life that had been extended but their own deaths that had been revoked by a decree. When, moreover, the father had overcome the force of illness and begun to enjoy perfect health, by no means deluded by a dream, he again ordered the sons to return to Berytus to complete the course of study they had begun. "Go, my sons," and sends his sons back to their studies, he said, "and apply your hearts to study; I meanwhile will concern myself with your marriages, and will as soon as possible bring you back and join you with suitable wives." Having spoken thus, he put them on a ship and sent them on their way.
CHAPTER III.
The sons, returning to their studies, suffer shipwreck.
[7] And now attention must be directed to what I am about to say, since the most delightful part of the narrative now reveals itself, which shows at once the manifold character of divine providence and goodness, and the admirable sequence of the subject set before us. Tossed by a storm; The brothers, then, enjoyed fair sailing for a while, borne along by a gentle wind; then suddenly a whirlwind fell upon the ship, and great and terrible waves were stirred up, and the sea roared beyond its custom; immense mountains of water crashed down and threatened destruction to the vessel, while the sailors, having hastily lowered the sails, were driven about in uncertainty. But the young men (observe, I beg you, the good shoots of a good root), unmindful of all else, immediately turned to God, that is, to the one true refuge. Imploring his help, they recalled not their own works but their father's zeal for doing good, knowing well that by this means they would be heard more quickly. "Remember, O Lord," they said, they fervently call upon God, "the works of our parents, and for their sake do not allow us in the midst of our days to be plunged into the depths of the sea, nor let the storm of water swallow us. Remember your mercies, remember your incomparable kindness. Look from your holy temple, from the awesome dwelling of your ineffable greatness, and see how with a contrite heart and a spirit of humility we implore your invincible hand. Do not hand us over to death, for the sake of your name; but deal with us according to your mercy, and according to the multitude of your compassion, rescue us for the glory of your majesty. For the dead shall not praise you, nor all who descend into hell; but we who live will bless your awesome name." Such was the prayer of the holy youths to God, most like the prayer of those other most ancient youths, fervently asking to be rescued not from flames, as those, but from waters. Dan. 3.
[8] After the storm still gave no respite (by God's judgment, indeed, who was guiding their course in wonderful ways known to himself alone) and the danger pressed more heavily than before, As the storm increases, the sailors then leaped into a small boat already prepared and were carried wherever the wind drove them. But the brothers, now feeling themselves abandoned by heavenly help and thinking their prayers had been poured out in vain -- for they did not know that the reasons of God's hidden governance and his judgments are a great abyss -- beholding bitter death before their eyes, were utterly stricken with grief. They are paralyzed with fear, Therefore, embracing each other and intertwining hands with hands, feet with feet, matching eyes also with eyes and mouths with mouths, now revealing their feelings with frequent farewells, now flooding each other with fountains of tears and bewailing that longest separation -- then groaning most bitterly and expressing the feelings of their minds by their outcries, and reckoning the absence that was soon to follow as in some way more bitter than death itself -- bidding each other farewell, they said: "Farewell, most delightful sight of our father! Farewell, mother! Sweet company of our dearest kinsmen, farewell! No more shall we meet you; no more shall we share in common joys. Alas, most loving brother! Alas, light of my eye! Alas, how grievously we are torn apart! What then of those prayers of our parents? What of that generosity toward the needy? That devotion toward monks and lovers of virtue? Did not a single prayer of all these ascend to God? Or did it ascend, but find the power of our sins stronger? Alas! How we who lately mourned our father on his deathbed are now ourselves about to become a cause of weeping for our father and mother! O grief without end! O sorrow equal to a whole life! Your hope, father, was that your children would survive you, to attend your tomb; and you who were full of cares for our upbringing will not even behold the ashes of the dead. Your hope, father, was to see your sons' weddings and hear the wedding songs sung in their honor; but, alas, you shall not even see them dead, or bid them a last farewell. It is indeed sorrowful for parents to see their children die before them; but not even this has envy left you, nor will it be given to you in your old age to commit the bodies of your children to burial. O King and Lord of all, what manner of death have you now decreed for us! If by your judgments we may not escape it, at least let us be joined together. Let one storm cover us both; let one beast of the sea be the tomb of both."
[9] They are shipwrecked; These were the lamentations of the young men. But when the ship was now entirely broken apart, one seizing a plank, the other some other fragment, they committed themselves to the sea, obeying indeed the laws of necessity, but they escape, but preserved in a truly wondrous manner by divine direction. For, thus tossed about, Tyre at last received them: John at a place called Malmephetan, and Arcadius at the Tetrapyrgia. But each, ignorant of the other's safety, did not so much rejoice at his own fortune as grieve for his brother's.
CHAPTER IV. Both separately embrace the monastic life.
[10] Now John began to revolve many things in his mind, considering both where he had been cast ashore and where he should turn. To him thus thinking, a good intention, drawing its origin indeed from his father's seed, John proposes the monastic life for himself, was put into his mind. "For I remember," he said, "that my father used to judge that nothing was lacking to the solitary life for happiness. And perhaps it is the will of God that I should rather serve him in poverty and abjection (which are sure paths to his service) than spend my life amid riches and deceits -- which is indeed the broad way leading to destruction. And this, I believe, is the reason why, when I implored his mighty hand, I poured out my prayers in vain and the storm was not changed to calm. For since he is most good, he often knows how to appear to neglect suppliants for the good of their souls, and especially to grant petitioners those things from which manifest benefit to their souls arises. Therefore I must seek a monastery, take counsel for my soul, and above all please God, who has rescued me not only from the maritime tempest but even more from the waves of this life and has brought me by an inexplicable way to the path of salvation." Revolving these things in his mind, he gave himself to prayer, in which he asked both that Arcadius might be preserved and -- what was most important -- that he might be drawn into the same manner of life, which would bring salvation to both his body and his soul.
[11] He betook himself, therefore, to a certain monastery of that region, where the doorkeeper, seeing him, He approaches a monastery, kindly received him, gave a garment to the naked man, and with equal cheerfulness and goodwill invited him to table -- God meanwhile beautifully preparing John's way to himself. After the meal was removed, the monk began a conversation: "Where, brother," he said, "have you come from to this place?" And John, now forgetful of his birth, his wealth, his splendor, and his rank, and sufficiently schooled in modesty, and presenting himself as a lowly person, said: "I am a stranger and an abject man, who, tossed by shipwreck and finding God gracious and being saved by your prayers, have arrived here." Hearing this, the monk added: "And what end do you now look to?" Then John said: "If it has pleased God, and my unworthiness does not exclude me from so great a purpose, I most ardently desire to become a monk." Learning of this, the doorkeeper praised the young man and confirmed that he was most blessed for so holy a desire. "Can I, then," said John, "become the recipient of my wish at this place?" The monk replied that the wish must be set before the Superior, and that whatever he decreed must be carried out, and that in this way the matter would be brought to a good conclusion. Then the monk brought word to the Superior; John was summoned and came into the presence of the Superior, who took great pleasure in beholding the splendor of virtue shining in John's face. Here John was taught many things of the greatest benefit to the soul; then he was instructed in monastic diligence, he is admitted, his hair was shorn, and along with it anything profane or earthly that remained was stripped away; he is tonsured, and he put on not only the monks' habit but also thoughts in keeping with the profession of that garment.
[12] And while he devoted himself constantly to fasting, vigils, and prayer in this manner, he was cheerful in spirit in all else, except that he was troubled not a little by his one anxiety for his brother, whom he believed had perished miserably in the waves. For the noble young man did not consider that his God was entirely Arcadius's God as well. For since both were destined to please God, God took singular care of each. For by his favor the divine Arcadius also was snatched from death and, cast up on the shore of the region of Tetrapyrgia, as we have said, Arcadius is saved, gave thanks there to God his savior. And he no less prayed for his brother, both that he might be guided by the same hand, guide, and guardian, and that he might be permitted to see him with his own eyes before death. For they were brothers in soul, not only in body. When his prayer was finished, he betook himself to a certain village and (O the judgments of God!) he whose parents filled the bellies of many who hungered, He sees John in a dream, that same man was begging for bread as a suppliant, looking to another's hands; and having eaten it, he was strengthened and fell asleep. Scarcely had he tasted sleep when John, standing before him, said: "Why do you mourn me, brother, when I am living in Christ? Have no doubt about this, and henceforth cast your grief from your heart." After this, Arcadius, awakening and testing the truth of the vision, exulted with joy and rendered thanks to God, as was fitting.
[13] Then anxious cares occupied his mind with thoughts about what he should do. Thus he contended with himself: "Shall I return to my parents, upon whom, the moment they see me alone, I shall cast the deepest sorrow? He considers the monastic life, Shall I resume the course of studies which my father had decreed? But a soul bereft of its brother will approach learning reluctantly and with distaste. Where then shall I turn? To my father, the monastic life always seemed both most worthy of commendation and most full of happiness. I shall seize upon it; nor shall I have done anything contrary to my father's opinion and wish." Having said these things, and at Jerusalem, he set out on the road leading to Jerusalem. When he arrived there, having visited the more sacred places and having surveyed nearly all the monasteries, he happened along the way upon one of those great old men, who displayed not obscure marks of virtue in his gait, his dress, and the decent composure of his eyes. Running to him joyfully and greeting him, he said: "Pray to God for me, encouraged by a remarkable prediction about his family, for I am utterly crushed by the most grievous sorrow." To whom the old man said: "Be of good courage, for your father, mother, and brother are alive. The rest also, who suffered the same storm with you, have all been saved; and the servants who were with you, rescued from so great a peril, have been clothed in the monastic habit, just as your brother has. And God has heard your supplications, and you will behold them all with your own eyes before you depart this life." When the most excellent Arcadius heard these things, he becomes a monk, he embraced the rule and held to it diligently, and carried it out with alacrity.
CHAPTER V. The parents learn of the shipwreck of their sons and bear it with a brave spirit.
[14] After two periods of time had elapsed (now direct your attention, Xenophon sends a servant to Berytus to his sons, so that, just as we grieved at the hearing of sad things, by treating happier matters we may dissolve our sorrow with pleasure), after two periods, then, their father, ignorant of all that had befallen his sons, sends a household servant with letters. For he was held by a very great desire to learn what the reason might be that he had been deprived for so long of the most longed-for letters of his dearest ones. The man who was sent, upon reaching Berytus, easily discovered that his masters had not returned to the city. who, not finding them, Suspecting therefore that they had gone to Athens, he went there too, but in vain. However, departing from there, when he stopped at a certain inn, he happened upon a fellow-servant of his who had been received among the monks. Approaching him after mutual recognition, he said: "Where in the world are both of our masters?" To which the other, groaning and his face flooded with tears, said: he learns they have perished: "Alas! What dreadful news you are about to hear from me! Our masters most wretchedly were swallowed by the sea. I alone, as I believe, escaped, and having obtained a safety more bitter than the danger, I chose the solitary life, thinking that by this manner of living I would be more like a dead man than a living one. Nor did I think I would be doing right if I returned to their father, our master, as a bearer of evil tidings -- a hateful spectacle, an odious and deservedly unlovable creature, the mournful remnants of a shipwreck. Therefore I now intend to go to Jerusalem and proceed to the holy places."
[15] Hearing these things, that one, giving himself entirely to grief, struck his breast with both hands, he laments: and breaking out in a mournful cry, at the renewed memory of his masters, burst forth in this voice of a good and grateful servant: "Woe is me! My masters, what sad things have happened to you! How bitter, how ill-fated are the tidings I hear about you! What tongue will announce your piteous death to your parent? What eyes will be able to bear the sight of the consternation of your father and mother? Who will be able to witness their most bitter sorrow? The dark garments? The hot tears streaming down their faces? The ashes sprinkled on their heads and their gray hairs most wretchedly befouled?" When he had indulged in these lamentations more than enough, he could not bring himself to return to his masters as the messenger of such a dire calamity. He returns home: But hearing the advice of those who happened to be present, which counseled his return -- since he himself also considered that what was once done could not be undone, and that he would appear to be a shirker of his master's authority, and that this evasion was ungrateful to God and men and unfruitful in what was indeed a desperate situation, and he feared both incurring his master's curse and imprudently bringing ruin upon himself -- he undertook the return to his masters.
[16] When, therefore, he arrived home and entered, he sat deep in thought and grief, concealing the matter as far as he was able and revealing nothing of what he had learned to anyone; yet the sadness of his face far more clearly than his tongue (for who would not be overcome by so great an evil?) was showing that what he knew was unpleasant. Hence conversations arose among the household servants, murmuring darkly among themselves, conversations that could by no means escape the mistress's notice. She therefore, summoning the man who had been sent, inquired how the children were. He replied that they were well; and when she demanded the letters, he added that they had been lost on the way. Then the mother's heart began to palpitate; everything was full of suspicion, and her inmost feelings were violently agitated. She therefore bound the servant by a formidable oath not to conceal the truth. He reveals the matter to his mistress, Whereupon he, greatly shaken, drawing deep sighs and now entirely drenched in tears, said: "Wretched me, my lady! Your sons, my masters -- alas, those most beautiful lights -- you shall never more behold; they have been swallowed and consumed by the sea." So he spoke. His account was so far from inducing the mother to display anything soft, unworthy, who shows remarkable constancy, or womanish, that she rather showed herself a true mother of such sons; she commanded the servant to keep silence and gave thanks to God, using these words of Job to the same effect: "The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord, so it has been done." Job 1:21.
[17] Meanwhile evening had arrived, when the divine Xenophon, attended by his customary splendor and retinue, returned home from the palace. When the table was already set Xenophon inquires about his sons: (for he took food only once a day, toward evening), the woman, stricken by the news and intent upon sharing so great an anguish of mind with her husband, was striving as far as she could to inflict upon him the lightest and most tolerable grief. Having therefore introduced the subject of the servant's return, Xenophon, giving glory to God for this, said: "Where is the returned servant?" When his wife answered that he happened to be ill from the hardship of the journey, he said: "Let the letters at least be brought." The wife replied the wife dissembles, that for the present his body must be refreshed with food; tomorrow the letters would not be lacking, and the messenger himself would set forth in person what he had to say. And she was anxious, lest she should seem to have tried to deceive the divine Xenophon with words (who was pressing that the letters be handed over). "Now," he said, "let the letters be shown to me, who earnestly desires to know the state of my sons; and tomorrow, as you say, we shall learn the rest from the servant's mouth."
[18] Maria, feeling herself detected by her husband's sagacity and shaken in her inmost being, said absolutely nothing with a suppressed voice, speaking abundantly by her tears alone. Observing this, the admirable Xenophon said: "Are our children unwell?" Then she: "You touch but the surface of our calamity, and what you least desire, you voluntarily diminish. For would that they were merely unwell, The outstanding constancy of both, so that at least some hope might be left to us! But your children -- alas, once your children -- have lost their lives at sea." Hearing this, Xenophon easily showed that calamities are the testing of a noble soul. For having said, "Blessed be the name of the Lord forever," he then turned to console his wife, who also bore herself not foolishly or abjectly but as befitted the consort of so pious a man, and said: "Do not mourn; for God will not allow us to be overwhelmed by such a disaster, or my gray hairs to be burdened by so bitter a grief, since I have not contemptuously transgressed a single one of his commandments. We must therefore keep vigil this night and implore his kindness and mercy. Thus it will come about that he will reveal to us whether our children are alive or dead." In this way what the divine Jeremiah once proclaimed was fulfilled in him: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord shall be his confidence; and he shall be like a tree that is transplanted by the waters." And a little later: "In the time of drought he shall not be anxious, nor shall he ever cease to bear fruit." Jer. 17.
CHAPTER VI. They seek their sons at Jerusalem; the sons recognize each other.
[19] Having therefore spent the whole night in praying and beseeching God, as the sky was now brightening and their eyes were overcome by sleep, they did not retire to their accustomed bed but stretched their bodies on the ground. As soon as sleep crept over them, both seemed to themselves to behold their sons present, standing before Christ. And John indeed, sitting upon a throne They are refreshed in a dream by a vision of their sons: and adorned with a scepter, wore a crown set with precious gems; Arcadius also, himself crowned with a diadem gleaming with many splendid stars, bearing a cross in his right hand, was seen near the couch prepared for rest.
[20] They set out for Jerusalem: Since they understood from this that their sons were held in great honor with God, and since they clearly perceived by the divine gift that they were dwelling at Jerusalem, they spurned all other things as lesser, and having taken as much money as was needed for the relief and comfort of the poor, they set out on the road leading there. They seek their sons: When they arrived, going about the sacred places, devoting themselves at once to prayers and to generosity, they made excellent use of gold as an aid to works divinely begun. Then, making their way to the monasteries, nowhere obtaining what they desired, they were frustrated of the most longed-for sight of their children. Whence the fervor of their desire, secretly nourished by the delay of time, blazed more vehemently. For what could be more desirable than to behold their children, so dear, so beyond hope of being seen, and preserved by such great kindness of God, still surviving?
[21] After this, happening upon one of the servants who had gone abroad with the sons but who was now wearing the monastic habit, they recognized him by his appearance and, treating him now not as a slave they venerate the monastic habit, but as a fellow-servant, or even as one more worthy, moved both by reverence for the sacred garment and by their own great modesty, they fell upon their knees and honored him with devout adoration. When he could not bear this excess of honor, the divine Xenophon said: "This is paid not to you but to your garment, and to the seal of divine friendship which that habit has impressed upon you." Then, inquiring about their children, they learned nothing beyond what had happened at sea. For this man had no knowledge of their safety.
[22] Not at all disheartened by this, with longing shaking off their sluggishness and their very bowels burning ever more fervently with love for their sons, they intensified the diligence of their search. And so it seemed good to them that the region of the Jordan should be visited, where they might at once seek their children and at once open their lavishly-flowing hand to the needy. When they had gone there they met that admirable old man They are taught by a holy elder that their sons survive, who had tonsured Arcadius and clothed him in the monastic garment. Approaching him, they touched his sacred feet and besought him to make them partakers of his prayers before God. The elder immediately assented with kindness and, having prayed to God, addressed them by their own names, and (O the grace of the divine gift!) without hesitation laid before them the very reason for which they had come, known to him through the insight and vision of the divine light. But it is worthwhile to set forth almost word for word the very expressions he used: "What," he said, "has moved the Lord Xenophon and the Lady Maria to visit Jerusalem? Nothing else, surely, than love for their children. Be therefore of good courage. They live -- they are indeed alive, your sons -- which has also been revealed to you by God. Go, therefore, and pray to God, as workers in his vineyard. When you return, you will see your children." Having spoken thus and bestowing many good wishes upon them, he departed, their hearts being filled with the greatest delight. And now they held by certain faith that they would shortly enjoy the sight of their most desired ones, since so definite a pronouncement about matters pertaining to them gave them adequate assurance.
[23] Meanwhile the elder, having proceeded to the holy Anastasis of Christ, sat down on the ground not far from Golgotha. And behold, John came forward to pray, and seeing the elder, he venerated him and, moved by the radiant appearance of his virtues, promptly offered him his adoration -- to a man unknown to himself, to be sure, John approaches the same elder, but not himself unknown, as we shall relate. For the admirable elder immediately bade him rise and, bestowing a blessing and calling him by his own name, said in a sweet and gentle voice: "Where have you been until now, Lord John? For behold, your father and mother have come here seeking you. And I know that you too have come to seek your brother." This speech, uttered by the elder under plainly divine inspiration, struck John with amazement; and since he had long been held by longing for his brother, immediately seizing upon the speaker's words, he said: "Where, where, I beseech you, my Father, is my brother? Where in the world? He lives, then? O most welcome word to me! O sweet tongue! I desire as quickly as possible to hear where I shall see my brother. Do you not perceive that my heart has burned? And that I have wasted away, half-dead with longing for him?" But the elder said: "Sit here with me for a little while, and soon you will see your brother."
[24] And Arcadius also. Nor was the delay long before Arcadius arrived, entirely bloodless and emaciated, giving evidence that he was still alive only by his movement and voice. So great had been his concern for venerable and sober abstinence. Approaching the elder respectfully and modestly, he said: "Behold, my Father, it is now the third year since you have deigned to inspect your field with no visitation, while it meanwhile has produced many thorns and thistles. It remains, therefore, that you apply vigorous effort to purging it." To whom the elder said: "By no means is it so; for I have inspected it daily and have been very solicitous about it. Therefore it has produced, I think, not thorns or thistles, but good grapes and ripe grain, in which indeed the King of all himself delights."
[25] Having spoken these words, the divine man had not yet revealed their fraternity to them, especially since, both on account of the change of habit and on account of the extreme emaciation of their bodies, they by no means recognized each other; and he had determined to bring them to mutual recognition by another means. Turning therefore to John, he said: "Where have you come from?" John is commanded to explain who he is. And he, with as much modesty and humility of soul as can scarcely be described, using almost the same words he had used when, freshly saved from the shipwreck, he first approached the monastery, said: "I am a stranger and a worthless man, in need of divine mercy and your prayers." So great was his love of modesty. Wherefore I can pronounce that passage of Scripture about him to his credit: "Humility was to him as a garment with which he was clothed." Col. 3:12. To whom the elder said: "Rightly indeed. But explain also your lineage, your homeland, and your upbringing, so that from these things also we may give glory to God." Then John, beginning his account, went through everything from beginning to end, and in the course of his narration gave his brother certain indications of kinship, which his very face confirmed as if by testimony or a living voice, even though its features seemed blunted and nearly extinguished by the endurance of so many evils. But when, in his recounting, he mentioned the voyage and the danger and named the brother he had had, then truly Arcadius, no longer enduring the violence of nature, with sighs bursting forth, They recognize each other, his face flooded with tears, stood up and, prostrating himself at the feet of the elder, said: "This, my Father, is my brother, my dearest John -- this very one who, having undertaken the voyage with me, suffered the shipwreck, preserved as by a miracle, as you can see, and now presented to me by an even greater miracle. O plainly divine counsel! O judgments of God surpassing nature! O providence that can be explained by no speech or reason!" The elder then added: "Nor was this hidden from me; but I judged it best to remain silent, so that you might recognize each other by domestic signs." After these words of the divine man, they rushed into each other's arms and clasped each other most tightly, now conversing as brothers, now renewing their embrace, now requesting the prayer of that excellent elder, giving thanks to God with one voice -- both because they had been rescued from so great a danger, and because they had been restored to mutual sight and union, and above all because, having been deemed worthy of such a habit and life, they had come into so great and, as it were, intimate a familiarity with God. Nor was there an end either to their common joy or to their giving of thanks to God, whether for the safety of each and of his brother, or for this new kind of meeting, or for the undertaking of such a manner of life with such perfection. And in this way the events pertaining to them stood.
CHAPTER VII. The parents at last recognize their sons; both flourish in holiness.
[26] Now, however, as God and the narrative lead us there, the parents too will be joined with the brothers. This happened as follows. Scarcely had two days elapsed when they too arrived, exercising a generous hand in liberality. When they had approached the holy mount of Calvary and the life-giving sepulcher of Christ our God, The parents approach the elder: that divine elder met them, who had earlier informed them of their sons' survival and had already signified that they were practically present and about to be seen. When they approached him and had shown him fitting reverence, they demanded the fulfillment of his promise and sought the sight of their sons. Meanwhile, as these conversations were being held, the noble young men were standing behind the elder, forbidden by his command either to utter a word or to reveal themselves to their parents in any way. Therefore completely unknown to them, they were not betrayed even by their faces, consumed as they were, as we have said, by the excessive harshness of their labors. For they were in control not only of what pertained to food but much more of their tongues. And indeed it was no slight or ordinary virtue, Though the children are present, they do not yet recognize them, after the most vehement longing, to come into the sight of their parents so eagerly sought and so eagerly seeking, and to maintain silence, and to refrain not only from words but even from tears amid such an abundance of immense joy. This kind of self-restraint proved more powerful than nature, which surpasses all things.
[27] When therefore the admirable young men, though their parents were now known to them, were still unknown to them, they are ordered to prepare a meal, the elder said with cheerful countenance and tongue: "Go and prepare a good table for us; I will soon follow with my two disciples to console you and will lead you to the place where you may see your dearest children." Hearing this, they were filled with no small joy -- not only because he promised them the sight of their sons, but because they were judged not unworthy to be the guests of so great a man. For they did not regard their own birth or splendor, but his union with God, reckoning virtue to be far more valuable than riches and nobility. While they prayed to God, the elder said to the sons: "Let us go to dine with your parents, since no harm will come to you from it. For this is my opinion: however great the labors you have undergone to attain virtue, you have by no means approached the measure of your parents. Therefore not so much loss as benefit will come to you from their company." Having said this, he again prescribed silence to them -- indeed, he ordered them to abstain from everything that could serve as a clue for recognition by their parents.
[28] When they had gathered to take food and were now sitting down, they began to ask: "How are our sons, O Father?" "Very well," said the elder. "For they labor at this one thing: to save their souls." Then they entreated him to complete at last the narration of everything that had happened to their sons. And the most excellent Xenophon added: "How fine, Father, are these disciples of yours, and how wholly devoted to God in their entire mind! Their company both fills my soul with the highest joy and delights my eyes with the most pleasant pleasure. Therefore, O most divine Father, beseech God that our children too may turn out to be such." Thus the admirable Xenophon, completely unaware, praises his own, and what was in his very hands he desired with all his prayers. But the most wise elder, looking at Arcadius, said: "Come, my son, tell us what your homeland is, who your parents, what your upbringing." To whom the divine Arcadius said: "I came here from Byzantium. I was born of noble parents, The sons reveal themselves, and -- to say what is entirely true -- of illustrious ones. My father's name was Xenophon, my mother's Maria, a woman who attained an equal mind in a beautiful body. I had a brother named John." He then narrated the rest: how he had been raised, how he had voyaged, in what great danger he had been, by what great beneficence of God he had been saved. As he narrated these things, the parents immediately recognized them, and, unable to bear the incredible exultation and eagerness of their souls and the burning of their hearts -- as though an impulse divinely breathed upon them -- they suddenly rose, embraced their children, and, thrown about their necks, Common joy, stirred up immense astonishment of soul with kisses and tears alike, bursting out in these words: "Are these then, Father, our sons? These truly our most beloved? These very ones, sought by us with such great grief?" What then? With one voice they rendered praise and thanks to God.
[29] Nor did the parents delay in beseeching the holy man with the most ardent prayers to adorn them also with the seal of that sacred habit, so that with their sons, Xenophon and Maria receive the sacred habit, though unequal, they might be followers, not (which God forbid) deprived, of the same good. And the elder, persuaded by their entreaties (for in a matter so plainly holy, why should he resist?), with his own right hand tonsured their heads, initiated them, and, dismissing them, commanded that henceforth they should abstain from all bodily communication until they should pay the common debt of nature.
[30] And such was the providence of the most good God toward such good parents and children, most full of wonder and of sweetness alike. So that in them was fulfilled what was said by Isaiah: "I will put my Spirit upon your seed, according to the Septuagint, and my blessings upon your children. Isa. 44:3. And they shall spring up as grass in the midst of water, and as the willow upon the flowing stream." These are the words of Isaiah, with the grace of God speaking through him; which, as though spoken directly to them, fittingly apply to these same persons. Of the same kind is the saying: "You are mine, and if you pass through water, I am with you." And this: "I will make your salvation heard, and under the shadow of my hand I will protect you." ibid. 43:2; 52:7 and 51:16. The sons, however, having bidden a final farewell to their parents, followed the spiritual father more willingly, The sons withdraw, withdrew with him into the desert, and there attained a blessed end, having been deemed worthy of divine gifts even before their death, and endowed both with other gifts of the Holy Spirit and with the faculty of prophecy.
[31] They flourish in holiness and the gift of prophecy. Their illustrious father, moreover, a zealous practitioner of the Gospel discipline, having sold and disposed of all his goods, distributed them to the needy, and in this way acquired for himself the entire kingdom of heaven with the lightest and smallest things. Having also granted freedom to all his household servants, he strove by this means to be enrolled among the children of the heavenly Father. The parents relinquish all things. Then he entrusted the partner of his bed, his life, and indeed of his very vow, to certain venerable women and Virgins, desiring in this way to be eternally joined with her to Christ, the one head of all.
[32] And she indeed, having entered upon a manner of life reached by few and truly sublime, Maria, illustrious with miracles, also obtained pledges both of the closest intimacy here with God and of the happiness awaiting her hereafter, liberating those vexed by demons and driving away many other kinds of infirmities by prayer. The divine and among men most admirable Xenophon, however, clothed in a worn garment and devoting himself to great parsimony of food and to the endurance of hardships -- as though exacting from himself a penalty for his former magnificence -- withdrew to a most desolate place, where, having spent the remainder of his life Xenophon and prophecy, and being distinguished for prophecies and secret and most great gifts, gray-haired but young in diligence, he was received into those mansions -- a man wholly dedicated to God, who, having consecrated his entire household to him and serving him with all diligence with his whole family, was conspicuous for the happiness of both this life and the next. Indeed he became for all who navigate the most briny sea of this life, and for those zealous for salvation, the ultimate and most difficult, yet salutary, example. If we endeavor not merely to admire him but also to imitate him, we shall come into the same communion of good things with him, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is due all glory, honor, power, majesty, and magnificence, now and forever and ever. Amen.