Euphrosyne the Younger

ON ST. EUPHROSYNE THE YOUNGER, VIRGIN, AT CONSTANTINOPLE,

IN THE 10TH CENTURY

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY

Euphrosyne, nun at Constantinople. (S.)

BY H. D.

[1] The Life of Euphrosyne preserved in one manuscript. Of St. Euphrosyne the younger — she is called the younger, after the manner of the Greeks, in distinction from Euphrosyne of Alexandria, who is thought to have flourished in the 5th century — of this Euphrosyne, I say, the memory has been preserved for us by one manuscript only, the Florentine manuscript of the National Library with the shelfmark Conventi soppressi B 1, Camaldoli 1214 (= A), written by various hands in the 14th century, filled with Lives of holy women Anal. Boll., vol. XV, p. 406 – 408., of which one, fol. 12 – 35, is the Life and conduct and brief narrative of the miracles of our holy mother Euphrosyne the younger, who practised asceticism at Constantinople, written by Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopulus, to be read on the 8th day of the month of November, which we have from the Life itself (c. 36) to be her death-day. The manuscript is written as carelessly as it is elegantly, and teems with faults, and it is clear that some things have been omitted here and there. We have edited the Life of Euphrosyne as well as could be done, and have emended the manuscript, for the most part without warning the reader, where it departs from the customary manner of writing. The very few corrections which the sequence of the discourse seemed to demand have been admitted most cautiously, the reading of the manuscript being relegated to the foot of the page. The emendations which are marked with the letter K were suggested by the very distinguished Ed. Kurtz, who also most kindly lent his effort to correcting these Greek proof-sheets.

[2] Synopsis of the Life. Hear a brief exposition of the story. After the biographer has set forth certain commonplaces about reading the Lives of the saints with profit (c. 1, 2), he praises, after the manner of the rhetors, the saint's homeland, the Peloponnese — she was brought up in Calabria, — and her parents, conspicuous for virtues, riches and rank (c. 3). They, since they were without children, obtain Euphrosyne by prayers and baptize her at three years old; then, having clothed her in the monastic habit, they send her to a certain ascetery to be steeped in the divine letters; soon she is an example to the rest in the exercise of all the virtues (c. 4). Then Euphrosyne is sent to Constantinople, into the house of the Agelasti, who were of her kindred. Further, Agelastus, her maternal uncle, by whom she was loved as a daughter, betroths her to a certain young man of the nobles. And already all was prepared for the wedding, when Euphrosyne, taken with love of the heavenly Bridegroom, having changed her dress, fled secretly by night, entered the deserted and almost collapsed little house of a certain miller, Euphrosyne, having left her betrothed, and there, content with bread and water alone, lay hidden three months (c. 5). Meanwhile Agelastus goes round the city and sends his people to the dwellings of friends; he orders the sacred places and deserted places and every hiding-place to be searched, and nowhere finds the fugitive (c. 6).

[3] in a monastery of men After the third month the miller is warned in a vision to call Euphrosyne to himself. At first he spurns the warning; but a second and a third time the heavenly exhortation presses. Meanwhile Euphrosyne had already been discovered in the hut by his wife. Both run, find the saint praying, and try to bring her back home. But she, fearing disturbance and spiritual losses, goes out by night, and, when she had seen a ship on the shore of the sea, boards it and sails to the mouth of the Euxine Sea (c. 7). Then she exchanges woman's dress for man's, and takes the name of John; then she visits various coenobia and asceteries, until at length she finds a monastery of men on a mountain planted with trees, and asks to be admitted into it (c. 8). Here she enters on a vigorous contest with the adversary, intent on the exercise of all the virtues, and vying with the brethren in holy emulation, and this for fifteen whole years (c. 9).

[4] elected hegumen, Meanwhile the hegumen dies, and the brethren substitute John, or Euphrosyne, for him. She, however, without anyone knowing, goes out of the monastery by night, and withdraws to other quiet places; and when she had again gone round monasteries and caves, she finds a certain holy old man dwelling in a cave, and is kindled with the desire of attaching herself to him (c. 10). The old man asks about her name and life. She answers that she is called John and desires to follow a guide to the heavenly fatherland. Then he sets before her eyes all the hardships and troubles of the desert, but in vain; for Euphrosyne nonetheless persists in her purpose. At length the father consents and bids her stay with him. She, intent on divine things, at the same time serves the father in domestic matters, bringing water from far off and performing the other duties (c. 11).

[5] she seeks the desert. After ten years spent in this way in the old man's company, when one day she was cleaning her clothing of lice outside the cave, she sees before her one of her former household, whom she at once recognizes, without, however, being recognized by him, being as she was wasted in body and clad in man's dress (c. 12). For her father had sent servants to search for his daughter; one of whom, travelling through the desert, had by chance come upon that cave. He addresses her with flattering words, offers money, which she rejects, and at length inquires about Euphrosyne. Further, at the memory of her family the holy woman is so moved that she is compelled to hide her tears, and, evading the servant's questions, at length dismisses the man (c. 13). Then the demon tries to disturb Euphrosyne with various terrors, assails her with stones and interrupts her with uncouth voices (c. 14). Asked by the old man about these illusions and about the woman whose name was sounding in the mouth of the demons, she bids him be untroubled, with aptly composed words, but soon secretly leaves the cave and the mountains and makes her way again to the shores of the Euxine Sea (c. 15).

[6] at Constantinople, hiding in a cave, A little later she resumes woman's dress, enters Constantinople, goes round the sacred places and comes to the temple of Blessed Mary called "of the Fountain"; where she asks to be joined to a monastery of virgins, and performs the duties of the holier life with such fortitude that she moves the admiration of all. But desiring to be hidden from the eyes of men, she digs out for herself an underground hiding-place, in which she shuts herself up, and asks that food be brought to her once a week (c. 16). Yet she is not hidden long, and many run together to her, among whom was also the emperor Leo (886 – 911), who, amazed at Euphrosyne's manner of life, gave thanks to God that He had allowed so great a holiness to shine in his times (c. 17); he held long conversations with the excellent woman about heavenly things; and she did not fear to discourse with holy freedom on the duties of a good emperor (cc. 18 – 21).

[7] she is visited by the emperor Leo, Now the emperor had asked for the head-veil of Euphrosyne, whom he knew to enjoy great grace with God, and hoped by her prayers and merits to obtain an heir, whom he had awaited in vain from four wives (c. 22). Euphrosyne persuaded the man to have recourse to the Mother of God τῆς Πηγῆς, promising her prayers also (c. 23). Now, one night in her sleep she hears that her prayers have been heard, and that male offspring will be granted to the king. She at once orders the thing to be set down in writing, and the good news to be brought to the king. The outcome soon proves the truth of the matter, and a son is born to the king, to whom he gave the name Constantine (c. 24). News of the happy outcome is spread widely together with the fame of Euphrosyne; a multitude runs together to the monastery to see the living woman shut up in a tomb; the king also comes, to give thanks to the saint (c. 25); the Augusta Zoe also came, as soon as she felt herself free from the troubles of childbirth, carrying the son himself and proclaiming Euphrosyne his true mother, since she had brought him forth by her prayers. Then she asked the saint to be willing to baptize the child; which she at first refused, but afterwards nevertheless assented (c. 26).

[8] by his wife From then on the empress began to visit Euphrosyne frequently. Fearing, however, lest she be too much disturbed in the humble service of God, Euphrosyne asked the eunuch Nicholas, whose service she used in many things, to seek another hiding-place for her (c. 27). And he found a house, with a chapel of the Holy Trinity, near the gate τοῦ Καλάγρου, within the city, both falling apart with age. Having bought them, he brings Euphrosyne in there, who dug under the chapel a very narrow cave for herself. As time went on, she joins to herself twelve companions of the same purpose, and establishes a small monastery in that place (c. 28). But two years and a little more afterwards, the new hiding-place is discovered by the emperor's emissaries. The emperor visits Euphrosyne and gently reproaches her with her flight (c. 29). Then Euphrosyne opens to him the whole series of her deeds, and asks that she be allowed to live in peace (c. 30). The emperor inquires about the means of the monastery, and desires to provide for its needs in some way. At first the mother refuses; at length she does not refuse that a stipend of forty gold pieces be given to the monastery; which the emperor sanctioned with letters in red. Which money, so says the hagiographer, is paid to the monastery to this very day (c. 31).

[9] and by other nobles. Euphrosyne foretells to Romanus the drungarius that he will attain the supreme power (c. 32). Soon Leo the Wise dies (in the year 911), whom Alexander, Leo's brother, succeeds, who thirteen months later also from

is snatched from the living (in the year 912). There remained Constantine, Leo's son, still of tender age. Then Romanus was first appointed by the senate father of the emperor, and afterwards took up the helm of all affairs (in the year 920). Nor, set in the supreme dignity, did he forget Euphrosyne, and he pursued her with such veneration and trust that, whenever he went out to battle, he went clad in her hair-shirt under his cuirass (c. 33).

[10] Now, when in the inroad of the Scythians she was much burdened by the tumults of war, she goes out from her hiding-place and seeks the monastery τῆς Σκέπης, where too she fits up a little cave for herself and exercises her accustomed virtues (c. 34). When, foreknowing her approaching death, she applied herself to these more fervently than usual, she began to fall sick, so that soon she lay motionless. Many, both of the laity and of the clergy, ran together to the cave to behold the face of one ascending to God (c. 35). Further, she dies on the 8th of November, on the feast of the Holy Angels, aged sixty-nine years. Miracles after her death. Her face and the whole little dwelling were seen to be suffused with light, and many sick persons and energumens ran together to the sacred body. The emperor too was present with his wife Theodora, and he himself with his retinue laid up the relics of Euphrosyne in the earth as a treasure (c. 36). But soon her tomb is made glorious by miracles. Further, Nicephorus refrains from relating the more ancient miracles (c. 37), and by setting out a little more fully some recently wrought (c. 38 – 47) he completes the praise of Euphrosyne.

[11] The reckoning of the times. If the biographer has computed the years of her life correctly, Euphrosyne was born about the year 854. For she lived 69 years (c. 36), and Theodora, the wife of Romanus (921 – 923), was present at her funeral. Now if she left her betrothed at sixteen years of age, that is, in the year 870, since she testifies (c. 30) that she laid aside after 33 years the man's dress which she had then assumed, she returned to Constantinople about the year 903. The times, therefore, are no obstacle to our believing true what is reported by the biographer about the familiarity of the nobles of that age with Euphrosyne. The times, I say, for he adds very many things which are difficult to believe, some even openly false, as for example what he relates of the baptism conferred by Euphrosyne on the royal child (c. 26). For it is established by the most certain testimonies that Constantine, the son of Leo VI, was baptized by the patriarch Nicholas on the 6th of January of the year 906 [Καὶ ἐβαπτίσθη τὰ ἅγια Θεοφάνεια ὑπὸ Νικολάου πατριάρχου. Symeon Magister, De Leone Basilii f. 17, Bekker, p. 709. The rest in Muralt, Chron. Byz., p. 483.].

[12] A Life in which very many things are to be criticized, Would that this alone occurred by which we might be warned that the Acts of Euphrosyne are to be read with caution. For the deeds of the saint which are praised before her coming to the monastery τῆς Πηγῆς are of the kind which seem to have been drawn from the storehouse of commonplaces. For how often have we heard from hagiographers that tale of a girl secretly leaving her betrothed when the wedding was at hand, received in man's dress in a coenobium of monks, elected hegumen by them, and sought in vain by her family in every place [Les légendes hagiographiques2, p. 226. Not much different from these are the things which we read above, p. 786 – 823, in the Life of St. Matrona.]. There are also in these narratives many things which are closely connected with the story of our Euphrosyne, such as the deeds of the other Euphrosyne, customarily called of Alexandria, who is reported to have lain hidden among men under the name of Smaragdus BHG2. 625, 626., and of a certain Hilaria Note that Hilaria, like Euphrosyne, has a name of gladness., daughter of the emperor Zeno, who, no differently from Euphrosyne of Constantinople, was taken for a eunuch and called John Cf. Anal. Boll., vol. XXVII, p. 169, on Nov. 27.. You have, therefore, in those well-worn stories not only the things which are set out in the first part of the Life of our saint, but even the very names. Common too are the things which are adduced about Euphrosyne's outstanding virtues and about her temptations. Not equally commonplace seem the things which the biographer adds about the saint's sojourn in various places of the royal city, about her underground hiding-place, and about the fame of holiness which she enjoyed both among the people and among the princes. Yet we meet with very many things in these which are not so likely that they should be believed at once with no other witness coming in.

[13] the author is Nicephorus Callistus, Yet of Euphrosyne and her deeds there exists no testimony at all besides the Life which we edit, whose author is almost four centuries later than the things narrated. For he wrote within the years 1295 – 1320, since Andronicus and at the same time Michael are named by him ὁ ἐμὸς βασιλεὺς (c. 38). We by no means hold Nicephorus Callistus up as a fabler and a liar, but it is necessary to investigate the sources from which he drew. Of these indeed he is wholly silent, and this one thing is manifest to the reader at first sight, that the Life of Euphrosyne is composed of two very different parts, one in which her deeds are contained, which the author neither saw nor heard from witnesses (c. 1 – 37); the other which, the older ones being neglected, sets out the miracles wrought in his own age by the saint's prayers (c. 38 – 49): ἀλλ᾽ ἡμεῖς τῶν ἔκπαλαι γεγενημένων τέως ἀφέμενοι, ἐπὶ τὰ τῷ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς χρόνῳ τῇ μακαρίᾳ γεγενημένα τὸν τοῦ λόγου ῥοῦν τρέψομεν (c. 37).

[14] who also the miracles of the Mother of God at the Fountain Further, so that a fair judgement may be passed on the Life of Euphrosyne, it is helpful to mention the writings of Nicephorus on the temple and miracles of the Mother of God τῆς Πηγῆς, since they seem to be connected in some way with the Life. For as he beyond doubt collected those from the records of the monastery's library, so he must be believed to have received from the same the things which he wrote about Euphrosyne; for we know that the holy woman won a new and more illustrious fame for τῇ Πηγῇ, and her memory, if anywhere, was certainly preserved in the books of the monastery. Of the temple of the Mother of God at the Fountain Nicephorus Callistus wrote at least three times. And first he published a booklet inscribed thus: Λόγος διαλαμβάνων τὰ περὶ τῆς συστάσεως τοῦ σεβασμίου οἴκου τῆς ὑπεραγίας δεσποίνης ἡμῶν Θεοτόκου τῆς ἀειζώου Πηγῆς, ἔτι δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ τελεσθέντων ὑπερφυῶς θαυμάτων κατὰ μέρος διήγησις, ἀφ᾽ οὗ συνέστη μέχρι τῆς σήμερον. It exists in the Vienna manuscript of the Imperial Library Hist. 103 Lambecius-Kollar, Commentar. book VIII, p. 127., from which it was printed in the year 1802 by Ambrosius Pampereus BHG2. 1073.. In the vulgar tongue too, and somewhat contracted, it came out more than once afterwards In the Vienna Latin manuscript 9724, fol. 131 – 146.. Kollar undertook to render it into Latin: Nicephori Callisti Xantopuli de miraculis beatae Virginis ad Fontem, but did not go beyond miracle X In the Vienna Latin manuscript 9724, fol. 131 – 146.. In the Ecclesiastical History too, book XV, c. 25, 26, Nicephorus brought forward certain things about the beginnings and the form of the temple called of the Fountain, taken over from the earlier booklet, as he himself attests: Ταῦτα δὴ τῆς Πηγῆς ἃ διαφόρως ἐνήργησε θαύματα, ἡμεῖς ἐν ἰδίῳ συντάγματι διελάβομεν, ἀνδρῶν τινων φιλοθέων εἰς τοῦτο διερεθισάντων ἡμᾶς· ἐξ οὗ καὶ τὰ περὶ τῆς Πηγῆς ὧδέ μοι λελεγμένα ἀποτεμόντες, τῇ παρούσῃ συνετάξαμεν πραγματείᾳ Hist. eccl. book XV, c. 26, P. G., vol. CXLVII, p. 77.. There is besides ascribed to Nicephorus Callistus an ἀκολουθία or office of the feast of the dedication of the temple at the Fountain, which has been published in the Pentecostarion [Cf. Bénay, Le monastère de la Source à Constantinople, Échos d'Orient, vol. III (1899 – 1900), p. 228; L. Allatius, De libris ecclesiasticis graecorum, dissert. 2.], and whose synaxarion Lambecius drew out BHG2. 1074., which is in a manner a synopsis of the more prolix booklet.

[15] related Neglecting the rest, let us turn our discourse to the first little work. The booklet begins with an ἔπαινος τῆς πόλεως, then an ἔπαινος τῆς ἁγίας Σοφίας, and the twin praise is followed by a series of miracles wrought at the Fountain, divided into four sections, of which the first ends at the twenty-fourth, the second at the forty-eighth, all of which are ancient miracles, obtained from the fifth to the tenth century. The third section is inscribed Ἀρχὴ τῶν νέων θαυμάτων, or miracles of a more recent age, whose narration is continued in the fourth also. The last is θαῦμα ξγ᾽, about Macarius, a monk born at Serres; this narrative completed, the epilogue of the booklet follows. Of the newest miracles it is better to be silent now. The first miracle of the whole collection, where Nicephorus discourses περὶ τῆς συστάσεως τοῦ νεὼ τῆς Πηγῆς καὶ ἔκφρασις αὐτοῦ, must necessarily be weighed in a few words, since it has been an occasion for some to speak ill of Nicephorus as of a vain writer and a patcher-together of fables Bénay, vol. cit, p. 225., since he openly opposes Procopius, who praises Justinian for having founded the temple at the Fountain De aedificiis, I, 3.; for he narrates that Leo τὸν Μακέλλην (457 – 474), then a private man, warned by the Blessed Virgin, anointed the eyes of a certain blind man with the mud of the Fountain, restored his sight to him, and, after he had been raised to the empire, which the Mother of God herself had promised him, raised up a temple, which was afterwards enlarged and restored by Justinian and other emperors.

[16] from an ancient booklet. Now neither these things nor the others which he embraced in his booklet did Nicephorus relate first, but he took them from an older book, which it was our fortune to find in the Vatican library, and which we judge should be edited, both so that the manner of Nicephorus's writing may be better seen, and so that an ancient document concerning the celebrated church τῆς Πηγῆς may be brought forth. It is in the Vatican manuscript 822, of parchment, of 247 leaves, 0m,330 × 0,235, written with pages in two columns in the 12th century, fol. 180v-208, inserted in a metaphrastic menology Catal. Gr. Vatic., p. 75 – 76.. A fragment of the same booklet (from c. 30 on) exists in manuscript 109 of the monastery of Koutloumousiou, from which M. Gedeon brought forward a short excerpt Βυζαντινὸν ἑορτολόγιον, p. 126.. It is wholly about the miracles of the Mother of God at the Fountain, and from the first miracle, about the emperor Leo, to the last, which is not later than the 10th century, it corresponds to the first and second section of the booklet of Nicephorus.

[17] In what manner Nicephorus Now if you compare this with the anonymous narrative, it at once appears that Nicephorus by no means composed with the utmost zeal things diligently sought out from every side, but followed the exemplar step by step, and related exactly the same things that he was reading in more words and with more exquisite phrasing. Where the anonymous writes this: Λέων ὁ οὕτως καλούμενος Μακέλλης πρὸ τοῦ εἰς τὴν βασίλειον ἀνελθεῖν τοῦ κράτους περιωπήν (c. 2), Nicephorus uses this paraphrase: Λέων τοιγαροῦν ἐκεῖνος, ᾧ Μακέλης μὲν τὸ ἐπώνυμον, μέγας δὲ ταῖς ἀληθείαις τὸ γνώρισμα, πρὶν ἢ Θεοῦ νεύσει τὸν βασίλειον κατακοσμῆσαι θρόνον, ἐς ἰδιώτας ἔτι ταττόμενος καὶ τὸν χειρωνάκτην μετερχόμενος βίοτον… [Περὶ συστάσεως κτλ., θαῦμα

α᾽, p. 8.]. In c. 5 the ancient writer brings in plainly and simply Glyceria, kinswoman of the empress Theodora: Γλυκερία ἡ συγγενὶς Θεοδώρας τῆς βασιλίσσης, which Nicephorus enlarges rather ineptly: τῷ μεγάλῳ τούτῳ βασιλεῖ Ἰουστινιανῷ γυνὴ Θεοδώρα ἐτύγχανεν οὖσα, ταύτῃ δὲ προσῆν συγγενῆς Γλυκερία τοὔνομα Ibid., θαῦμα γ᾽, p. 17.. What he was reading at the beginning of c. 9 about Thecla: Θέκλα δὲ ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως θεοφίλου θυγάτηρ, ἀφ᾽ ὅτου ἡ τῆς ὀρθοδοξίας λαμπρότης συνεργίᾳ τῆς ταύτης μητρὸς Θεοδώρας εἰς τὸν κόσμον διέλαμψεν, he sets out frigidly in many words: Παρίτω καὶ βασιλὶς ἑτέρα τῇ τῶν ὅλων βασιλίδι συγκροτοῦσα τὸν ἔπαινον· Θεοδώρα ἡ βασιλίς, ᾗ ἀνὴρ μὲν ὁ ἄναξ θεόφιλος· ὀρθοδοξία δὲ αὐτῇ τὸ ἐπίσημον. Ταύτῃ θυγάτριον ἦν ἀστεῖον τὸ εἶδος καὶ εὐφυές, ἄλλως δὲ αὐτῇ τῶν ἄλλων παίδων κατάκρως πεφιλημένον, Θέκλα τῷ κορίῳ τὸ ὄνομα Ibid., θαῦμα ζ᾽, p. 22..

[18] he uses his sources. Few are the things, and not acquired with great labour, which he inserts into the sayings of the anonymous writer. In c. 8, at the name of the empress Irene, he learnedly notes: Εἰρήνην, ἣ ὴν ἑβδόμην ἀνεκρότησε σύνοδον. Long is the passage added in c. 2 about the temple of the Mother of God called of the Fountain, περὶ τοῦ νεὼ τῆς Πηγῆς καὶ ἔκφρασις αὐτοῦ Ibid., p. 11 – 14., shorter the other in c. 3, περὶ τοῦ μεγάλου τῆς Πηγῆς νεώ Ibid., p. 15 – 17., where he also copies out Procopius (De aedif., I, 3). But he follows the series of the miracles such as he had found it in the old booklet, except that between c. 40 and c. 41 he places, as θαῦμα μζ᾽, a narrative about John, patriarch of Jerusalem, who in the reign of Isaac Angelus was healed at the Fountain of the Mother of God. But he had not learned the thing from some writing, but had beheld it depicted on panels: τὸ δὲ ῥηθησόμενον, ου γραφῇ προσλαβών, οὐδ᾽ ἀκοῇ διακούσας ἀλλ᾽ ἐν εἰκόσιν ἰδών, διηγήσομαι Ibid., p. 59.. There is no leisure to pursue at length the comparison of the anonymous writer with Nicephorus. Whoever is pleased to have done it will have found that Nicephorus took over another's work and adorned it with a more correct style, as it seemed to him, adding the blandishments of rhetorical art. Not once only did he undertake such things; for he must be said to have turned others' work to his own uses also when he put together his ecclesiastical history, collected from many books not first by himself, but by an anonymous chronographer, as it seems Cf. K. Krumbacher, Geschichte der Byzantinischen Literatur2, p. 291..

[19] The Life of Euphrosyne That the Life of Euphrosyne is to be referred to another kind of literature, and that its sources were studiously gathered from various archives by Nicephorus himself, no reason persuades. I should more willingly believe that we have a paraphrase of an older Life, treated by the new metaphrast after the pattern of the booklet of miracles. But that Nicephorus is accustomed to follow his guides with eyes, as it were, closed is clear even from the things which he adduces about Zoe and her son Constantine Porphyrogenitus both in the Life of Euphrosyne and in the booklet of miracles. And in the latter indeed he narrates the matter thus: Ναὶ μὴν καὶ τὴν Αὐγούσταν Ζωὴν τὴν μήτραν πεπηρωμένην, ὅσα τε καὶ λίθος διακειμένην πρὸς τὰς γονάς, ἐρρωμένην πρὸς τέκνων ἀναδόσεις καθίστησι. Πλέγμα γάρ τι τῶν ἐκ σηρικῶν νημάτων πεποιημένον ἶσον τῇ τῆς θεομήτορος εἰκόνι, τῇ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐκ δεξιῶν ὑπεράνω τοῦ ἁγιάσματος ἐπὶ στοᾶς ψηφῖσιν ἐμπέπηγεν, ἐκεῖσε ἀπαιωρήσασα, εἶτα τὰς λαγόνας κύκλῳ τούτῳ διαλαβοῦσα καὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν περισφίγξασα, τὴν γονὴν εἰσρυεῖσαν ταύτῃ συνέχει, τὰ πρῶτα ἐξίτηλον γινομένην καὶ διαρρέουσαν, καὶ Κωνσταντῖνος ἐντεῦθεν αὐτῇ κατὰ τὴν πορφύραν πρώτιστος γίνεται… a paraphrase of the older Life Ibid. θαῦμα κζ᾽, p. 491. These things differ only in phrasing from those which the anonymous writer narrates in c. 26 of the booklet. If you compare them with cc. 22 – 24 of the Life of Euphrosyne, you must needs infer that neither did the biographer take anything from the miracles, nor did the anonymous writer read the Life. Further, Nicephorus in no way coloured the Life from the Miracles nor the Miracles from the Life, and he reported each exemplar with a certain senseless imitation.

[20] whose sources lie hidden. But if it is probable that in the Life of Euphrosyne an older document can be discerned under the phrasing of Nicephorus, we do not on that account reach its sources distinctly, and this alone can be seen in general, that they are not of the best and clear, but have very many things, both false and artificial, mixed with the true and genuine. Yet he should be judged free of rashness who holds it certain and established that at the end of the 13th century a certain Euphrosyne, a consecrated virgin, was venerated as a saint at Constantinople in the monastery of the Mother of God at the Fountain, and had a memory celebrated for the fame of her miracles. For of these things we hear Nicephorus bearing testimony as of things done in his own age. For the rest, it is probable that the same Euphrosyne lived in the 9th – 10th centuries, and it seems that her name was read by the biographer in the letters of the emperor Leo VI, of which c. 31. I wonder, however, that in the liturgical books, and above all in the synaxaria, her memory is missing. Whence, if anyone should conjecture that the veneration of Euphrosyne began not immediately after her death but some years later, as, say, at the end of the 10th century, and that only then was her Life collected from what was handed down by mouth and from a few writings, I would willingly agree.

LIFE OF ST. EUPHROSYNE

Greek text only in the Acta; the English here is translated from the Greek.

From the Florentine manuscript Conventi Sopp. Camaldoli 1214 (= A). — Cf. Prelim. Comm., no. 1.

Euphrosyne, nun at Constantinople. (S.)

μηνὶ νοεμβρίω η᾽ A. Βίος καὶ πολιτεία καὶ μερικὴ θαυμάτων διήγησις τῆς ὁσίας μητρὸς ἡμῶν Εὐφροσύνης τῆς νέας, τῆς ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει ἀσκησάσης, συγγραφεὶς παρὰ Νικηφόρου Καλλίστου τοῦ Ξανθοπούλου εὐλόλησον μῆτερ adds A. [f. 12.].

The Life and conduct and partial narrative of the miracles of our holy mother Euphrosyne the younger, who practised asceticism in Constantinople, written by Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopulus.

[1] Μέγα τι χρῆμα πρὸς παράκλησιν ἀρετῆς ψυχῇ φιλοθέῳ καὶ μαρτύρων ἆθλος εὐπρεπῶς διηγούμενος καὶ βίος ἐν ἀσκήσει διαπρεπὴς ἀνάγραπτος προτιθέμενος· f. 12v. ἔχει γάρ τι καὶ πρὸς ἀμφοτέρων περὶ τὸ βέλτιον ἐντυποῦσθαι, Prologue. ᾧ τρυφᾶν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐστὶ σπουδή, ἔνθεν μὲν ἐκείνου τὸ πρὸς τὰς βασάνους ἀνένδοτον θεωροῦντι ἅτε δὴ τῷ περὶ τὸ θεῖον ἔρωτι ἐξημμένου, ἐντεῦθεν πάλιν τὸν τὸ A. ἀσκητὴν αὐτὸν ἑαυτῷ so it seems it should be read; almost deleted in A. τὰ πάντα γινόμενον, οὐκ ἐλάττους μέντοι τὰς βασάνους ἑαυτῷ προσεπάγοντα καὶ προς τὰς ἀρχὰς τοῦ σκότους σφοδρῶς ἀντικαθιστάμενον, ὡς ἂν τὴν τῆς προαιρέσεως ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω ῥοπὴν τῷ προσήκοντι τῶν τρόπων ἀποχρώντως ἡνιοχήσας ἡνιοχήσαντα A. εὐήνιον οὕτω τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀφιστάμενον καταστήσῃ καὶ οὕτω τὸν τῆς νίκης ἐπίσης ἐκείῳ στέφανον ἀναδήσηται.

A great thing for exhortation to virtue, for a God-loving soul, is both the contest of martyrs fittingly narrated and a life distinguished in asceticism set forth in writing; for there is something in both to imprint toward the better the man whose zeal it is to delight in such things: on the one side, as he beholds the martyr's unyielding firmness toward torments, as of one kindled with love of the divine; on the other side, again, the ascetic becoming all things to himself, bringing upon himself, indeed, no fewer torments, and setting himself vehemently against the principalities of darkness, so that, having sufficiently reined in the inclination of his will toward the worse by the fitting ordering of his ways, he may thus render docile what in the soul stands aloof, and so bind on, equally with the other, the crown of victory.

Λαμπρὰ μὲν δὴ καὶ ἄμφω ταῦτα τὸν συνετὸν διεγεῖραι διεγείρει A. καὶ κέντρου δίκην παραθῆξαι ψυχὴν ἐσαπαξ τρωθεῖσαν τῷ οὐρανίῳ καλῷ καλόν A. · Col. 1, 13. οὐχ ἦττον μέντοι διανιστᾶν ἔχει καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἶσον ζῆλον διερεθίσαι ὁ K, καὶ βίου K, βίον A. ἕτερον τρόπον τούτοιν ἔχων κἀκ πλούτου καὶ κοσμικῆς φαντασίας μετὰ καινῆς πολιτείας ὑπερφανείς· μᾶλλον γὰρ οὗτος ἀκριβῶς ἀνθάπτεσθαι τῶν ἴσων διερεθίζει τὸν ἀκροώμενον καὶ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ καλοῦ μίμσιν διεγείρει καὶ δείκνυσι μηδὲν εἶναι so A; one would expect ὅτι μηδέν εἰσιν. πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς εὐδοκίμησιν καὶ πρὸς τὸ καθᾶραι ψυχὴν ἐμποδὼν καὶ τὰς πρώτας ἀπελάσαι ταύτης κηλῖδας αἱ καθ᾽ ἑαυτὰς τοῦ γένους ἐπιμιξίαι καὶ ἡ μετὰ τῶν πολλῶν ἴσως καὶ ἀλλοτρίων συνδιαγωγή, ἀλλὰ δὴ προαιρέσεως ἀσφαλοῦς καὶ καρδίας ἀκλινῶς πρὸς τὸ ὄντως ὂν ἐξημμένης K, ἐξημμίης A. , καὶ οὐχ ἧττον ταῦτα προσίσταται· μᾶλλον μὲν οὖν καὶ ὕλη ταῦτα τῷ τῆς ψυχῆς προσγίνεται εὐγενεῖ, πάντα πρὸς τὴν τοῦ καλοῦ μετουσίαν εὐφυῶς μετατρέπουσα. Ἀν δὲ ταῦτα καὶ γυνή, ἀνδράσι ἐνδράσι A. μέσοις τὴν πολιτείαν ἀστράφασα καὶ ἐν ἐρημίᾳ καὶ περιφανεῖ τῇ πόλει ὅπως δήποτε βούλοιτο στερρῶς καὶ ἀνδρικῶς διαφέρουσα, ὅσην ἄρα παρέξει παρέζει τὴν μίμησιν καὶ παράκλησιν f. 13. τοῖς κατὰ θεὸν αἱρουμένοις βιοῦν.

Splendid, then, are both these to rouse the prudent man and, like a goad, to sharpen a soul once wounded by the heavenly beauty; yet no less able to stir up and to provoke to equal zeal is he who has held a manner of life other than these two, and who has come forth from wealth and worldly show with a new conduct; for such a one rather provokes the hearer to lay hold exactly of the like things, and rouses him to the imitation of the good, and shows that the minglings of kindred, in themselves, and life spent together with the many, and perhaps with strangers, are no hindrance to good repute in virtue and to cleansing the soul and driving away its first stains, but rather it is a matter of a secure will and of a heart unswervingly kindled toward that which truly is, and these things stand by it no less; nay rather, these things even become material for the nobility of the soul, which turns all things aptly to a share in the good. And if a woman too does these things, having made her conduct shine in the midst of men, and having borne herself firmly and manfully, in the desert and in the illustrious city, howsoever she wished, how great an imitation and exhortation will she then afford to those who choose to live according to God.

[2] Of Euphrosyne Καὶ πολλὰ μὲν ἴσως ἄν τις εὕρῃ τούτων τὰ παραδείγματα, μάλιστα δὲ τοῦτο παριστᾶν ἔχει καὶ ἡ νῦν ἡμῖν εἰς ὑπόθεσιν προκειμένη, ἡ μακαρία δηλαδὴ καὶ ἀοίδιμος Εὐφροσύνη, ἧς τὸν ὑπερφυᾶ βίον καὶ τὰ κατ᾽ ἐχθρῶν ἀγωνίσματα καὶ παλαίσματα τῷ λόγῳ πρόκειται διελθεῖν. Ἐμοὶ γοῦν περιττὸν εἶναι λελόγισται τῶν κατὰ θεὸν βιωσάντων τὴν πατρίδα καὶ τὸ γένος προσεξετάζειν, εἰ περιφανὴς ἡ προαγαγοῦσα πόλις εἴη καὶ εὐφυίᾳ καὶ θέσει τόπου τὸ κράτιστον κάτιστον A. περιβάλλεται, εἰ τὸ γένος τῶν ἐπισήμων καὶ δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ τῶν πολλῶν προέχον καὶ χρυσῷ καὶ ἀργύρῳ περιλάμπεται ἅμα καὶ καταλάμπεται, καὶ τἆλλα δι᾽ ὧν ὁ πολὺς ἄνθρωπος καὶ περὶ τὰ κάτω δὴ κεχηνὼς τὸ εὔδαιμον ἐρανίζεται· ἀποχρήσει γὰρ ἐκείνοις ἀντὶ πάντων τὸ περιφανέστατον ὄντως κτῆμα ἡ ἀρετή, ὥστε καὶ πατρίδα καὶ γένος εὐπρεπῶς κοσμῆσαι, εἴγε τέως καὶ τούτων ἄμοιρος εἴη. Ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα μὴ κἀν τούτοις ἔλαττον αὕτη τῶν ἄλλων ἔχουσα ἐγκληθείη, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν ἐκείνῃ πρὸς λόγον τὰ μὴ πρὸς λόγον, φέρε καὶ ταῦτα προσθήσομεν.

And one might perhaps find many examples of these, but this is especially able to show it, she who is now set before us as our subject, namely the blessed and celebrated Euphrosyne, whose extraordinary life and contests and wrestlings against the enemies the discourse proposes to go through. To me, at any rate, it has been reckoned superfluous to inquire further, for those who have lived according to God, into their homeland and family: whether the city that brought one forth be illustrious and possess the best both in natural endowment and in situation of place, whether the family be of the distinguished, excelling the many in glory and honour, and shine round about and shine forth with gold and silver, and the other things by which the common man, gaping indeed at things below, gathers up his happiness; for to them, in place of all these, virtue will suffice, the truly most illustrious possession, so as fittingly to adorn both homeland and family, even if for a time they should be without a share in these. But lest she be charged with having less than the others in these things too, even though to her the things of no account are of no account, come, we shall add these as well.

[3] homeland, Πέλοπος ἡ νῆσος τῇ μακαρίᾳ ταύτῃ πατρίς, περὶ ἧς ὅσα σεμνὰ ποιηταῖς καὶ λογογράφοις παρήσειν δοκῶ μοι τῷ τὸν κόρον θέλειν φεύγειν· Καλαβρία ἡ θρεψαμένη καὶ εἰς φῶς τὴν ἀγαθὴν ταύτην βλάστην προαγαγοῦσα· πατέρες δὲ αὐτῇ ἀγαθοὶ καὶ ἐξ ἀγαθῶν, πλοῦτον μὲν πρῶτον ἄφθονον καὶ ἀκένωτον ἐπιεικῶς πλουτήσαντες, τὴν εὐσέβειαν, οὐκ ἔλαττον δέ τινος ἐνεγκάμενοι τῶν ἐν τῇ πατρίδι κἀν τῷ δευτέρῳ τούτῳ, ὅσος ἐν χρυσῷ καὶ ἀργύρῳ καὶ τοῖς διαχρύσοις ἐσθήμασιν, ἔτι δὲ πλέθροις K, πλέθρων A. γῆς καὶ οἰκίαις περιλάμπροις καὶ κτήνεσι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις, οἷς ὁ πάνυ δῆτ᾽ ἐφηδόμενος ἐν σεμνῷ ποιεῖται τὰ καθ᾽ αὑτόν, ὅσοv δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ τὸ ἐν βασιλείοις κράτος αὐλαῖς, her parents, in birth καὶ στρατηγίαις δή τισι καὶ δήμων ἀγωγαῖς ἀκμαζόντων· ἑπτάκις καὶ γάρ φησι τὸν πατέρα τῆς μακαρίας τὴν τοῦ Πέλοπος πᾶσαν ἐγχειρισθῆναι, τὴν στρατηγίδα περιεζωσμένον ἀρχήν· οὕτω δ᾽ ἦσαν ἐρασταὶ τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ τὸν πλοῦτον f. 13v. ὡς χρεὼν διιθύνοντες, ὡς μηδὲν ἄλλο δι᾽ αὐτοῦ πραγματεύσασθαι ἢ τὸ παραπέμψαι τοῦτον διὰ πενήτων θεῷ καὶ διὰ τῶν φθειρομένων ὡς ἐνὸν κτήσασθαι τὰ οὐράνια· ὡς γὰρ ἄλλοις καὶ οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς θησαυρίζοντες, οὕτω διέκειντο ὅλαις ἀπαντλοῦντες ἀπαντλοῦντας A(?). χερσὶ καὶ τῷ σπεύδειν κενοῦν μᾶλλον ἑτέρῳ τρόπῳ βλύζειν παρασκευάζοντες (οὕτω-παρασκευάζοντες) written twice, deleted once in A. · and outstanding in piety, δι᾽ ὧν καὶ γέρας οἶμαι τῶν καλῶν τουτωνὶ σπερμάτων τὴν μακαρίαν ταύτην ἐβλάστησαν, πᾶσι τοῖς ὡραίοις βρίθουσαν

The island of Pelops was the homeland of this blessed woman, concerning which I think I shall pass over all the solemn things said by poets and prose-writers, from wishing to avoid satiety; Calabria was she that nourished her and brought this good shoot forth into the light; and her parents were good and of good parents, who were rich first, as was fitting, in an abundant and inexhaustible wealth, piety, but who were no less than any in their homeland in this second wealth also, so great was theirs in gold and silver and gold-embroidered garments, and further in plethra of land and very splendid houses and cattle and the other things in which he who greatly delights in them takes pride in his own affairs; and so great was theirs also the power in the royal courts, flourishing too in certain generalships and governments of peoples; for it is said that the father of the blessed woman was seven times entrusted with the whole land of Pelops, girded with the office of strategos; and so were they lovers of the good, and so did they direct their wealth as was fitting, that they transacted nothing else by it than to send it on to God through the poor, and through perishable things, as far as might be, to acquire heavenly ones; for as though treasuring up for others and not for themselves, so were they disposed, drawing it out with whole hands, and by hastening to empty it rather preparing it in another way to gush forth; through which also, I think, as a reward of these good seeds, they brought forth this blessed girl, laden with all fair things

τῶν χρηστῶν καὶ τοῖς τῆς ἀρετῆς πυρσεύμασι διαλάμπουσαν. Ἠσαν μὲν γὰρ οὕτως ἁβρῶς τῶν ἐν βίῳ καλῶν ἀπολαύοντες ἀπαλάβοντες A. , τοῦ γε μὴν προσήκοντος καὶ οἰκείου κόσμου ἐνδεῶς μάλα εἶχον.

of good things, and shining with the beacon-fires of virtue. For while they thus delicately enjoyed the good things of life, of the fitting and proper adornment they were very much in want.

[4] who obtain a daughter by prayers Παιδὸς γὰρ ἀμοιροῦντες ἦσαν, ὁ καὶ μᾶλλον ἠνία τούτους καὶ τὴν λοιπὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν κτῆσιν παρ᾽ οὐδὲν ἐτίθει· ἀμέλει τοι καὶ θεῷ δι᾽ ἐντεύξεων συνεχῶς ὡμίλουν, τῇ τοῦ Σαμουὴλ Ἄννῃ τὰ ἶσα ὁσίως ἀφοσιούμενοι· τὸ γὰρ δοθὲν ἀντιδοῦναι αὖθις τῷ δεδωκότι καθυπισχνοῦνται καὶ ὥς τι θῦμα πάλιν ἀφιερῶσαι τῷ παρασχόντι. Ὁ γοῦν καρπὸς τῆς εὐχῆς εἰς ὥρας ἥκων ἤδη προέρχεται τῆς γαστρός, ἀστεῖος μάλα καὶ πολὺ τὸ ἐπαγωγὸν ἐκ πρώτης, ὅ φασι, τῆς ἀφετηρίας ἐπιδεικνύμενος. Ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ γὰρ σπαργάνοις ἦν ὁρᾶν ὡς ἐν σκιαῖς τισιν ἀμυδραῖς τὴν μέλλουσαν τῆς ἐν πνεύματι διαπλάσεως μόρφωσιν. Ὡς δὲ τριετῆ τὴν ἡλικίαν ἤδη παραμείβουσα ἦν, εὐθὺς μὲν ἀπέσχετο γάλακτος, τῷ δὲ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας θείῳ λουτρῷ μεταπλάττεται [The baptism of children in the Greek church was often much deferred. So St. Symeon the Stylite is baptized after two years, BHG2. 1690, n 9; also St. Theodore of Edessa, BHG2. 1744, n. 4; St. Stephen the Younger after six months, BHG2. 1666. There exists a novel of Leo VI decreeing that infants be baptized only after forty days, outside necessity. C. E. Zachariae von Lingenthal, Ius graecoromanum, part III (Leipzig, 1857), p. 89.] · τὴν δευτέραν δ᾽ ἡλικίαν ὡς ἐνὸν παραθέουσα, τῷ δεδωκότι, ὥσπερ ὑπόσχεσις, ἀντιδίδοται.

For they were without a child, which grieved them all the more and made the rest of their possession of good things count for nothing; therefore indeed they conversed with God continually through supplications, devoutly paying the same vows as Anna, the mother of Samuel; for they promise to give back again to the Giver what was given, and to dedicate it again, as a kind of sacrifice, to Him who provided it. The fruit of the prayer, then, coming to its season, now comes forth from the womb, very comely and showing much attractiveness from the very starting-post, as they say. For even in her very swaddling-clothes one could see, as in certain faint shadows, the form that her shaping in the spirit was to take. And when she was already passing her third year of age, she was at once weaned from milk and refashioned in the divine bath of regeneration; and running through her second age as far as might be, she is given back to the Giver, as had been promised.

and steep her in sacred letters. Αὐτίκα γὰρ ἀμφίοις περισταλεῖσα μοναδικοῖς ἀσκητηρίῳ τινὶ ἐκδίδοται καὶ τὰ ἱερὰ ἐκπαιδεύεται γράμματα. Τὴν ἐν μέσῳ γοῦν ἡλικίαν, ὥς γ᾽ ἐχρῆν ἐκείνην, διαγαγοῦσα, εὐταξίᾳ πάσῃ δηλαδὴ καὶ σεμνότητι, οὐδὲν αὐτῇ παρεῖτο λαθὸν τῶν ὅσα δὴ προσῆκεν εἰς τὴν τοῦ σχήματος σύστασιν· μέτριον μὲν γὰρ αὐτῇ εὐθὺς τὸ φρόνημα ἦν, ἐπὶ ῥίζῃ βαθείᾳ καθεστηκὸς νοῦ σώφρονος· ἐντεῦθεν πραότης καὶ τὸ f. 14. ἀόργητον αὐτῇ πρὸ πάσης ἄλλης ἀρετῆς ἐπεχόρευον· σιωπῆς οὐδὲν προτιμότερον ἥγητο, νηστείᾳ δὲ καὶ τῇ λοιπῇ ἐγκρατείᾳ τοσοῦτον τὰς προγενεστέρας so A; better τῶν προγενεστέρων ? πολλῷ τῷ μέσῳ διήνεγκεν, ὡς εἰς αὐτὴν ἀφορᾶν τὰς τῷ χρόνῳ προβεβηκυίας καὶ τὸν ταύτης βίον ὥσπερ τι ξένον κεκτῆσθαι ἀρχέτυπον.

For straightway, clothed in monastic garments, she is handed over to a certain ascetery and is taught the sacred letters. Having passed her middle age, then, as it behoved her, that is, with all good order and gravity, nothing that befitted the establishing of the habit was let escape her; for her mind was moderate from the outset, set upon the deep root of a sober understanding; hence gentleness and freedom from anger danced before her ahead of every other virtue; she held nothing more precious than silence, and in fasting and the rest of continence she so far surpassed the elder women, by a wide interval, that those advanced in years looked to her and possessed her life as a kind of strange archetype.

[5] She is sent to Constantinople. Ἐπεὶ δ᾽ οἱ πατέρες αὐτὴν ἑώρων οὕτω τοῦ κατὰ Θεὸν ἔρωτος μάλα ἐξεχομένην, ἔγνωσαν δὴ τῇ Κωνσταντίνου ἐπιφοιτῆσαι καὶ σεμνείῳ τινὶ τῶν ἄγαν ἠκριβωμένων ταύτην ἐγκαταστῆσαι· ηὔχει καὶ γὰρ πολλοῖς σεμνυνομένη τότε θείοις ἐνδιαιτήμασιν. Ἀμέλει καὶ ὥς γε προσῆκον ἦν ταύτην ἐνσκευασάμενοι χρυσῷ τε πολλῷ καὶ ἀργύρῳ ταύτην ἐφοδιάσαντες διαπόντιον τῇ Κωνσταντίνου ἐγκαθιστῶσι καὶ τῇ τῶν Ἀγελάστων [Of the Agelasti was Leo the protospatharius, on whom Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De administrando imperio, 50.] οἰκίᾳ φέροντες ἐκδιδόασι. Προσήκοντες δ᾽ ἄρα ἦσαν οὗτοι ταύτης τῷ γένει, οὐκ ἐλαχίστην ἐν βασιλείοις τῷ τότε πλουτοῦντες τὴν εὔκλειαν. Καὶ τοῦτον μὲν τὸν τρόπον ἡ θαυμαστὴ Εὐφροσύνη τῇ τοῦ Βύζαντος παραπέμπεται. Καὶ τοίνυν τῇ εἰρημένῃ οἰκίᾳ ἐνδιατρίβουσα, τῶν συνήθων καὶ οὕτως εἴχετο πόνων, Θεὸν ἀντὶ πάντων ἐγκολπουμένη καὶ διὰ τῶν ῥεόντων τὴν ἀθάνατον δόξαν μνηστευομένη.

When her parents saw her thus very greatly attached to the love of God, they resolved to go to the city of Constantine and to establish her in one of the most strictly ordered convents; for the city then boasted itself, adorned with many divine dwellings. Accordingly, having fitted her out, as was fitting, and furnished her with much gold and silver, they set her over the sea in the city of Constantine, and, bringing her, hand her over to the house of the Agelasti. These were related to her by family, enjoying at that time no small renown in the palace. And in this way the wonderful Euphrosyne is sent on to the city of Byzas. And so, dwelling in the said house, she held to her accustomed labours there too, embracing God in place of all things, and through things that flow away wooing immortal glory.

Ἡ μὲν οὖν ἐν τούτοις ἦν· οὐκ ἐλαχίστου δὲ τριβομένου ταύτῃ τοῦ χρόνου, τῶν εἰς φῶς ταύτην προαγαγόντων μήπω καταλαβόντων τὴν Βύζαντος, ἐπείπερ ὁ πρὸς πατρὸς αὐτῇ θεῖος Ἀγέλαστος τὴν θυγατέρα πρὸς ὥραν ἤδη γάμου ἥκουσαν ἀνδρὶ τῶν τότε περιφανῶν κατηγγύα καὶ ὁ καιρὸς ἐκάλει καὶ τὰς ἐπιθαλαμίους ὑπανάπτειν ἤδη λαμπάδας, Lest she be compelled to enter marriage, ηὐτρέπιστο δὲ ἡ παστὰς καὶ προυχώρει μὲν ὁ ὑμέναιος, χορὸς δ᾽ ἐκ πάσης ἡλικίας τὴν οἰκίαν περιελάμβανε καὶ ὁ τῆς κόρης πατὴρ λαμπρῶς εἱστία μάλα τῆς παστάδος τὸν θρίαμβον, — τότε δὴ τότε νυκτὸς ἄρτι ἐπιλαβούσης αὕτη τῷ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ νυμφίου σφοδρῶς ἔρωτι ἐκκαυθεῖσα, τὸν καιρὸν δραξαμένη, — συνεργὸς δὲ καὶ ἡ νὺξ τῷ ἔργῳ μάλα καθίστατο — παρ᾽ οὐδὲν λογισαμένη καὶ ὃν ἐπεσύρετο πλοῦτον καὶ τὰ τοῦ γένους καὶ τἆλλα πάντα δεύτερα τοῦ κατὰ Θεὸν ἔρωτος ἐννοήσασα, ἠρέμα f. 14v. τὴν στολὴν βραχὺ μεταλλαξαμένη ἔξεισι τῆς οἰκίας, πολλὴν ὅτι τοῦ λαθεῖν πρόνοιαν ποιουμένη· καὶ οὐ πόρρω δὴ τὴν φυγὴν ἵστησιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐγγύς που μάλιστα γενομένη, τῷ μᾶλλον λαθεῖν κρύπτεται παρ᾽ οἰκίδιον δυστυχὲς καὶ παντάπασιν ἠμελημένον μυλωροῦ τινος, she flees and lies hidden, πάλαι διερρωγὸς καὶ σχῆμα φαῖνον μὲν οἴκου ἄλλως δὲ ἀφεγγὲς ἀφεγγείς A. καὶ ἡλίῳ εἰς τὸ παντελὲς ἀθεώρητον. Ἐκεῖσε τοίνυν λαθοῦσα εἴσεισι βραχύ τι ζωῆς ἐφόδιον ἐπιφερομένη, ἄρτον ξηρὸν δηλαδὴ καὶ ὀλίγον τι πάνυ τοῦ ὕδατος· ἃ καὶ μόλις προσίετο ἓξ ἡμερῶν διαστήματος. Μῆνες ἐκείνῃ παρῆλθον τρεῖς οὕτως ἐχούσῃ ἀπροΐτῳ πάμπαν καὶ Θεῷ μόνῳ οὐδενὶ δὲ ἄλλῳ τῶν ἁπάντων γινωσκομένῃ, προσευχῇ καὶ δεήσει τὸ σύμπαν διανυούσῃ τοῦ χρόνου.

She, then, was occupied in these things; but when no little time had been spent by her, those who had brought her into the light not yet having reached the city of Byzas, since her uncle on her father's side, Agelastus, was betrothing the daughter, now come to the season of marriage, to a man of the illustrious of that time, and the moment was calling them now to kindle the nuptial torches, and the bridal chamber had been made ready, and the wedding-song was going forward, and a chorus of every age surrounded the house, and the girl's father was splendidly feasting the triumph of the bridal chamber, — then, then indeed, night having just come on, she, burning vehemently with love of the true Bridegroom, seizing the moment, — and the night too made itself a very fellow-worker in the deed, — counting for nothing the wealth she drew along with her and the things of her family, and considering all else second to the love of God, quietly, having changed her dress a little, she goes out of the house, taking much forethought to escape notice; and she does not set her flight far off, but, being somewhere very near, so as the better to escape notice, she hides in a wretched and altogether neglected little house of a certain miller, long since broken through, showing the shape of a house but otherwise without light and wholly unseen by the sun. There, then, unnoticed, she enters, bringing with her a scant provision for life, namely dry bread and a very little water; which she scarcely took at an interval of six days. Three months passed her in this state, not going out at all, and known to God alone and to no one else of all, spending the whole of the time in prayer and supplication.

[6] sought everywhere in vain. Ὁ μέντοι θεῖος ταύτης ταύτη A. Ἀγέλαστος τῶν ἐκ τῆς ῥᾳστώνης τοῦ γάμου μικρὸν ἀνεὶς ἑαυτόν, ἐπεὶ τὰ κατὰ τὴν Εὐφροσύνην μάθοι μάθη A. , οὐκ εἶχεν ἑαυτὸν οἰκτεῖραι τῆς συμφορᾶς, ἀλλ᾽ εὐθὺς τὴν τοῦ γάμου χαρὰν θρῆνος ἄληκτος διεδέχετο· καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν — τὸ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου — εἰς πένθος στραφεῖσαν τὴν ἑορτήν. Amos 8, 10. Καὶ τοίνυν αὐτίκα μικρὸν ἀνασχὼν ἁπανταχοῦ περιῄει καὶ τοὺς οἰκείους ἄλλον ἀλλαχοῦ διεπέμπετο ἀνιχνεύων, εἴ που τὸ θήραμα περιλήψοιτο· ἠρευνῶντο φίλων οἰκίαι, ἰδίων καταγωγαί, οἱ παριόντες ἀκριβέστερον ἐξητάζοντο, οἱ τῆς πόλεως στενωποί, τὰ ἔρημα οἰκημάτων χωρία, τέλος τὰ ἱερὰ καταγώγια καὶ ὅπου δήποτε τόπος δι᾽ ὑποψίας ἐτύγχανεν. Ὡς δὲ πάντα πράττοντες οὐδὲν μᾶλλον ἤνυον καὶ τοῦ ζητουμένου πόρρω ἠλαύνοντο, καὶ ταῦτ᾽ οὐ πάνυ πόρρω διεστηκότος, τέλος ἀπειπόντες ἐν θρήνοις ἦσαν 〈καὶ K, omits A. 〉 ἀβίωτον εἶναι τὸν βίον ἐνόμιζον· &ldquogr;Τί γὰρ ἄν, φασί, καὶ δράσαιμεν, τῶν πατέρων ταύτην ἀνακαλουμένων ὅσον τε οὔπω καὶ αὐτῶν ἤδη παρόντων, καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνῃ μόνῃ τὰς τοῦ ζῆν σαλευόντων ἐλπίδας;&rdquogr; Ἀλλ᾽ οὕτω μὲν ἐκεῖνοι κέντροις λογισμῶν ἐτιτρώσκοντο, ἡ δὲ παρὰ τὸ δωμάτιον ἦν ἀπρόἳτος ὅλη, Θεῷ δὲ μόνῳ δι᾽ ἐντεύξεως ἀκριβέστατα ἐγνωσμένη.

Her uncle Agelastus, however, having relaxed himself a little from the ease of the wedding, when he learned what concerned Euphrosyne, could not pity himself enough for the misfortune, but unceasing lamentation at once succeeded the joy of the wedding; and one could see — the word of Isaiah — the feast turned into mourning. And so at once, recovering himself a little, he went round everywhere and sent his household one here, another there, tracking whether he might somewhere catch the prey; the houses of friends were searched, the lodgings of relatives, the passers-by were questioned more closely, the narrow lanes of the city, the deserted parts of buildings, finally the sacred hostels and whatever place happened to be under suspicion. And when, doing everything, they accomplished nothing more, and were driven far from what they sought, and that though she stood not very far off, at last, giving up, they were in lamentations and thought life unlivable: "For what could we do," they say, "when her parents are calling for her and are themselves already all but here, and that while they ride the hopes of their life on her alone?" But they were thus wounded by the goads of their thoughts, while she was in the little room, wholly not going out, but most exactly known to God alone through prayer.

[7] Καὶ τοίνυν ὡς ἐκείνῃ τρίτος μὴν ἤδη f. 15. τῷ οἰκήματι, ὥσπερ εἴρητο, ἐπεραίνετο, νυκτὸς ὄψις τῷ μυλωρῷ γίνεται· ἡ δὲ ὄψις θεία τις εἶναι ἐῴκει καί· &ldquogr;Τὴν δούλην τοῦ Θεοῦ, Warned by a vision, φησίν, ἀναστὰς Εὐφροσύνην κάλει πρὸς ἑαυτόν.&rdquogr; Ὁ δὲ ἐνύπνιον ἄλλως ἐκ τοῦ παρήκοντος οἰηθεὶς εἶναι τὴν ὄψιν, κατημέλει τοῦ λόγου καὶ οὐδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν ἐκείνῳ διὰ φροντίδος ἦν. Πάλιν νὺξ καὶ πάλιν ἡ αὐτὴ ὄψις καὶ εἰσήγησις, τῆς προτέρας κατ᾽ οὐδὲν διαφέρουσα. Ὁ δὲ διυπνίζετο καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ πρὸς λόγους ἰὼν τὰ τοῦ φάσματος ὡς εἶχε διήγγειλεν ὅπως τε τὰ πρῶτα φωνῆς ἀκούσοι so A; ἀκούσειε one would expect K. Εὐφροσύνην τινὰ ζητεῖν κελευούσης καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν μεθιστᾶν, καὶ ὡς ἀμελήσοι so A; ἀμελήσειε you would rather write K. τῶν ἠκουσμένων καὶ ὡς πάλιν ἡ αὐτὴ ὄψις ἐπέστη τὰ ἴσα διαγορεύουσα· &ldquogr;Ἀλλὰ σκέψομαι, φησίν, ὦ γύναι, καὶ εἰ κἀκ τρίτου πάλιν τὸ ὄναρ ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς ἐπισταίη, θείαν που πάντως εἶναι τὴν ὄψιν ἐκλογισαίμεθα.&rdquogr; Ὡς δὲ καὶ αὖθις τρίτη ἐπεγένετο νύξ, ὁ τὸν μύλον ἐπιτετραμμένος εὐχαῖς ἐκδοὺς ἑαυτὸν οὕτω δὴ κατεκλίνετο· ἀλλὰ καὶ πάλιν ἡ ὄψις τὰ αὐτὰ παρεγγυῶσα ἐφίσταται καὶ σφοδρότερον ἢ πρότερον. a certain miller with his wife Ὁ δὲ διυπνισθεὶς ὑπανίστατο καὶ σύντρομος τῇ γυναικὶ ἐξηγεῖτο τὸ ὅραμα καὶ ποῦ ποτε γῆς ἄν εἴη τὸ καθ᾽ ὕπνους ὁρώμενον ἐζήτει μαθεῖν. Ἡ δὲ γυνὴ σώφρων ἄλλως οὖσα καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα τῆς τοσαύτης αἱρουμένη φροντίδος δῆτ᾽ ἀπαλλάττειν· &ldquogr;Θάρσει, ἔφη, γλυκύτατε ἄνερ, καὶ μὴ ἐπὶ τόσον φροντίσιν ἀνιᾶσθαι αἱροῦ· ἔνδον γὰρ ἀρκύων τὸ θήραμα A proverb. Cf. Cedrenus, Hist. Comp., Bekker, vol. II, p. 347. · θείᾳ γάρ τινι καὶ ἐξαισίᾳ ῥοπῇ χθὲς ἐν νῷ θεμένη τὰ καθ᾽ ὕπνους σοι ὁραθέντα, ἁπανταχοῦ περιῄειν ζητοῦσα εἴ που ἐφεύροιμι καὶ εὗρόν γε ἀνιχνεύουσα· παρὰ γὰρ τὴν καλύβην ἐκείνην καταλαμβάνω ταύτην συχνῶς εὐχομένην καὶ Θεῷ τὰ μάλιστα προσανέχουσαν.&rdquogr;

And so, when for her the third month in the dwelling, as has been said, was already being completed, a vision comes to the miller by night; and the vision seemed to be something divine, and: "The handmaid of God, Euphrosyne," it says, "rise and call to yourself." But he, thinking the vision to be merely a dream arising from what had happened by chance, neglected the word, and it was not in any way a matter of concern to him. Again night, and again the same vision and prompting, differing in nothing from the former. He woke up, and, going to speak with his wife, related to her the things of the apparition as they were: how first he had heard a voice bidding him seek a certain Euphrosyne and bring her over to himself, and how he had neglected what he heard, and how the same vision had again stood by him declaring the like: "But I will consider it," he says, "wife, and if for the third time the dream should again stand over my head, we should reckon the vision to be altogether divine." And when again a third night came, the man in charge of the mill, having given himself to prayers, so lay down; but again the vision stands by, enjoining the same things, and more vehemently than before. He, wakened, got up, and, trembling, related the vision to his wife, and sought to learn where on earth that which was seen in sleep might be. And the wife, being otherwise prudent and choosing indeed to free her husband from such great anxiety, said: "Take courage, sweetest husband, and do not choose to be so much grieved with anxieties; for the prey is within the nets; for by a certain divine and extraordinary impulse, yesterday, having set in my mind the things seen by you in sleep, I went round everywhere seeking whether I might find her somewhere, and I found her by tracking; for at that hut I come upon her praying constantly and attending to God above all."

Ὁ δ᾽ αὐτίκα τῆς φροντίδος ἀπολυθεὶς ᾗ ποδῶν εἶχε πρὸς τὴν καλύβην ἀνέτρεχεν ἔτι νυκτὸς ἐπεχούσης· ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ἡ γυνὴ τῆς τοιαύτης καλῆς ὁδοιπορίας ἠμέλει, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὴ κατόπιν ἐδίωκεν· ἐπεὶ δὲ τῆς σκηνῆς ἐκείνης ἔνδον ἐγένοντο, φῶτα κηρῶν διαρπάσαντες ὁρῶσι θέαμα f. 15v. ξένον, αὐτὴν μὲν ἀκλινῆ καὶ ὅλην ὄρθιον ἀνεπτερωμένην ἀνεπτερωμένη A. , Θεῷ χεῖρας ὅλας εἰς ὕψος αἴρουσαν καὶ ὅλην ἐξεχομένην αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς ἄνω πορείας ἐφιεμένην καὶ τάδ᾽, ὥσπερ ἦν εἰκός, ὑποψιθυρίζουσαν· &ldquogr;Ὃν τρόπον ἐπιποθεῖ ἡ ἔλαφος ἐπὶ τὰς πηγὰς τῶν ὑδάτων, οὕτως ἐπιποθεῖ καὶ ἐκλεῖπει ἡ ψυχή μου πρὸς σέ, ὁ Θεός.&rdquogr; Ps. 41, 1. Ταῦτ᾽ οὖν ἐκεῖνοι παρὰ δόξαν ἰδόντες, δέει σχεθέντες ἠρέμα τοῖς ὄπισθεν ὑπεχώρουν. Ἐκείνη δὲ δακρύων ὄμβροις καὶ συχναῖς γονάτων κλίσεσι προσκειμένη, ἀπεδίδου τὰ τῆς εὐχῆς. find her praying in the hut, Ἐπεὶ δὲ μόλις πρὸς ὄρθρον ἔληγε, κεκμηκυῖα διανεπαύετο· οἱ δ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ σχεδὸν εἰσιόντες ταύτην ἠσπάζοντο καὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς τῇ γῇ προσερείσαντες ᾖτουν τὴν εὐλογίαν καὶ πρὸς τὰ οἴκοι ταύτην, καὶ βίας ἐπάγοντες οὐκ ἐλάχιστον, μετεστέλλοντο it is clear that some things are missing. … καὶ ὑπερετίθει τὴν αἴτησιν. Τὸ δὲ καλὸν ἐκεῖνο ζεῦγος οὕτω τὴν μακαρίαν ἀπαγορεύουσαν 〈ὁρῶν omits A 〉 τὴν ἐξέλευσιν καὶ τὰ τοῦ φάσματος προσετίθει. Καὶ ὡς· &ldquogr;Οὐχ ἡμεῖς, ἔλεγον, οἴκοθεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἄνωθεν ὄψις ἡμῶν νυκτὸς τὰ σὰ καθυπέδειξεν,&rdquogr; ἐκείνη πρὸς νοῦν βαλοῦσα, ὡς ἔγνωσται ἤδη καὶ οὐκ ἐξέσται αὐτῇ τοῦ λοιποῦ μὴ θορύβων ἐκτὸς τὴν κατὰ σκοπὸν ἀνύειν πορείαν, ὑφορωμένη δὲ μὴ καὶ τις ὑφερπύσῃ δόξης ἔρως ὁ πάντα τὸν θησαυρὸν εἰδὼς ἀπόλλειν τῆς ἀρετῆς κἀντεῦθεν καὶ ἀνηνύτοις δόξει ἐπιχειρεῖν καὶ πρὸς τοὐναντίον τὰ τοῦ σκοποῦ ταύτῃ μεταρρυήσεται, τὴν ἐκείνων αἴτησιν δῆθεν εἰσδεξαμένη καὶ ἀνύσαι κατεγγυησαμένη, which she leaves by night. νυκτὸς ὡς πορρωτάτω δὴ γενομένης, λάθρα τῆς καλύβης ἀπάρασα παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν γίνεται. Πλοίου δὲ πρὸς ἀναγωγὴν εὐτρεποῦς ἐκ τοῦ σχεδὸν εὐτυχήσασα, ὅ πρὸς τὸν

And he, at once freed from his anxiety, ran to the hut with all the speed his feet had, while night still held; nor did the wife neglect so fair a journey, but she too followed behind; and when they were inside that shelter, snatching up the lights of candles, they see a strange sight: her, unbending and wholly upright, winged, raising her hands wholly on high to God, and wholly hanging upon Him and longing for the journey above, and whispering, as was likely, these words: "As the hart longs for the springs of the waters, so longs and faints my soul for thee, O God." Seeing these things, then, beyond expectation, they, held by fear, quietly withdrew backward. She, intent on showers of tears and frequent bendings of the knees, was rendering the things of prayer. And when she ceased, scarcely, toward dawn, she rested, wearied; and they, entering at once, greeted her, and, pressing their heads to the ground, asked her blessing, and sought to bring her over to their home, applying no small force … and she put off the request. And that good pair, seeing the blessed woman thus refusing the going-out, added also the things of the apparition. And when they said, "Not we of ourselves, but a vision from above by night showed us what concerns you," she, laying it to mind that she was now known and that it would not be possible for her thereafter to accomplish her journey according to her aim without disturbances, and suspecting lest some love of glory too should creep in, which knows how to destroy the whole treasure of virtue, and lest hence she should seem to be attempting things not to be accomplished and the things of her aim flow away for her to the contrary, seemingly accepting their request and pledging to accomplish it, when night was farthest advanced, secretly departing from the hut, she comes to the sea. And having fortunately found close by a ship ready for putting out, which toward the

Ἀνάπλουν [On Anaplus cf. J. Pargoire, Anaple et Sosthène, Isviestija russkavo archeologiceskavo V Konstantinopolje instituta, vol. III (Sofia, 1898), p. 60 – 97.] ἔμελλε διαπλεῖν καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸ τὸ στόμα τοῦ Εὐξείνου γίνεσθαι Πόντου, εὐθὺς αὐτοῦ ἐπιβαίνει.

Anaplus was about to sail, and to reach the very mouth of the Euxine Sea, she at once boards it.

[8] Having put on man's dress Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ πρὸς ὅρμον ἦν τὸ σκάφος, ἀκινδύνως μάλα τὸν τῆς θαλάττης πλοῦν διελθόν, αὐτίκα τὴν γυναικείαν πρὸς ἀνδρῴαν μεταμφιασαμένη στολὴν καὶ ἀντὶ Εὐφροσύνης τὴν Ἰωάννου κλῆσιν μετακληθεῖσα, ὅλη τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν πορείας ἐγίνετο. Τὰ ἐκεῖσε δὲ πάντα φροντιστήρια διελθοῦσα f. 16. καὶ οἷά τις φιλεργὸς μέλισσα ἐξ ἁπάντων ἐρανισαμένη τὰ κράτιστα καὶ ὅσα φωτίζειν οἶδε μάλα τὸν νοῦν καὶ τὸ γλυκὺ τοῦ κατὰ Θεὸν βίου διὰ τῆς κατὰ βραχὺ συλλογῆς ἀπολεξαμένη, τέλος, ἐπεὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν ὅσον χρήσιμον ἠρανίσατο — οὐδὲ γὰρ σπήλαιον ἢ φοντιστήριον ἢ ἄλλο τι ἀρετῆς ἐργαστήριον παρεῖτο ταύτηι λαθόν, ὅ μὴ πολὺν ἐκείνῃ τὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐνετίθει πλοῦτον, — τοῖς περὶ τὸν Εὔξεινον εἰσβαλοῦσα Πόντον — πλεῖστα δὲ ἦσαν ἐκεῖσε τὰ μοναστήρια, ἔνθα δὴ πολλοὶ τῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς φιλοπονώτερον τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς μέλι, ὡς χρεὼν τοῖς αἱρουμένοις ζῆν ὁσίως, ἀπεθησαύρισαν, — περὶ μίαν που κορυφὴν ὄρους ἀποτόμου, ὃ δένδρεσι παντοίοις συνηρεφὲς ἦν, ἄνδρας εὑροῦσα τῷ πνεύματι ζέοντας καὶ τῷ Κυρίῳ δουλεύοντας, ξένην δέ τινα καὶ τὴν ἀγωγὴν καὶ τὴν δίαιταν ἐπιδεικνυμένους, she is received in a monastery. ἐνταῦθα τὴν περιφορὰν ἵστησιν·

And when the vessel was at its mooring, having passed through the voyage of the sea quite without danger, at once exchanging her woman's dress for a man's, and called by the name of John instead of Euphrosyne, she became wholly given to the journey according to God. And going through all the houses of ascetics there, and, like an industrious bee, gathering from them all the best things and whatever knows how greatly to enlighten the mind, and picking out the sweetness of the life according to God by gathering it little by little, at last, when she had gathered from them whatever was useful — for neither cave nor house of ascetics nor any other workshop of virtue was allowed to escape her which did not put much of the wealth of virtue into her, — entering the regions about the Euxine Sea — and there were very many monasteries there, where many more laborious than we laid up the honey of virtue, as is fitting for those who choose to live holily, — and finding, about a certain summit of a steep mountain, which was overshadowed with trees of every kind, men fervent in spirit and serving the Lord, and showing a certain strange manner of life and regimen, there she stops her wandering;

οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶναι πρὸς λόγον ἔκρινε τὸν πνευματικὸν καρπὸν ἐνεγκεῖν μέλλοντα ἔνθεν κἀκεῖθεν μεταρρέπειν καὶ ἀεὶ μεταβαίνειν, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τῶν φυτῶν ἃ συνεχῆ τὴν φυτείαν πάσχει, πρὸς καρπῶν ἀνάδοσιν καθίσταται γόνιμα· βεβηκέναι γὰρ ὡς ὄρος χρὴ τῆς Σιὼν τὸν καθάπαξ ἐπὶ Κύριον πεποιθέναι αἱρούμενον· διό τοι διά τοι A. κἀκείνη δεῖν ἐνομίζετο στῆναι μὲν τῆς πλάνης καὶ τῷ Χριστοῦ ζυγῶι τὸν αὐχένα ὑποβαλεῖν· καὶ δὴ τὴν μετὰ τῶν θεοφόρων ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων αἱρετισαμένη διαγωγήν τε καὶ ξυναυλίαν, τῷ μοναστηρίῳ ἐγκλείεται.

for she judged it not reasonable that one who is to bear spiritual fruit should turn from here to there and always be moving on, just as neither do those plants which suffer continual transplanting become fruitful for the yielding of fruits; for he who has chosen once for all to trust in the Lord must stand fast as Mount Sion; wherefore she too thought she must stand still from her wandering and put her neck under the yoke of Christ; and so, having chosen the manner of life and the dwelling together with those God-bearing men, she shuts herself in the monastery.

[9] Contests with the adversary; Ἐνταῦθα δὲ γενομένῃ τῇ μακαρίᾳ, ὅσος ὁ παρὰ τῶν ἐχρῶν ἐπανίσταται πόλεμος· ὅσῳ γὰρ Col. 864E ἐκείνῃ πρὸς ἀνάληψιν ἀρετῆς ἡ σπουδή, τοσοῦτον ἐκείνοις ἐξ ἀντιρρόπου τὸ πάντα κάλων κινεῖν [A proverb. Leutsch – Schneidewin, Corpus paroemiographorum graecorum, vol. II, p. 104.] νεκρὸν ἐκείνης τὸ πρόθυμον καθιστᾶν καὶ ἄλλως δεδίττεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἐφικέσθαι πείθειν τοῦ ἐγχειρήματος. Αὐτὴ δὲ ὥσπερ ἀντικαθισταμένη μάλα γενναίως, σπουδαιοτέρᾳ προσέβαλλε τῇ ἀσκήσει, φιλονεικοῦσα μὴ μόνον τοὺς ἐκεῖσε πάντας καὶ μιμεῖσθαι καὶ ὑπερβαίνειν, ἀλλ᾽ ἁμιλλωμένη καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀ f. 16v. ρετὴν τῶν πάλαι διαπρεψάντων παρεξισοῦσθαι· ἀμέλει καὶ πᾶν εἶδος ἀσκήσεως ἐν βραχεῖ διελθοῦσα, θαῦμα μὲν καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῷ φροντιστηρίῳ μέγιστον, ἔκπληξις δὲ καὶ δαίμοσι καὶ οἱονεί τι φόβητρον ἦν, φύσιν οὕτω γυναικείαν ὁρῶσι καὶ ἁπαλὴν οὐκ ἀπολιμπανομένην τῆς τῶν ἀνδρῶν, holy emulation; ἀλλ᾽ ἤδη καὶ τῷ πολλῷ μέτρῳ μέτρον A. καὶ τόνῳ δὴ τῆς ἀσκήσεως καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀγγελικὴν παρελαύνουσαν πολιτείαν, οἷα δὲ αὐτῇ καὶ τὰ κατορθούμενα.

When the blessed woman had come there, how great a war rises up against her from the enemies! For as great as was her zeal for the taking up of virtue, so great on the opposite side was theirs to move every rope to make her eagerness dead and in other ways to frighten her and persuade her not to attain her undertaking. But she, as if setting herself against them very nobly, applied herself to a more earnest asceticism, contending not only to imitate and to surpass all who were there, but vying also to make herself equal to the virtue of those who were distinguished of old; indeed, having gone through every form of asceticism in a short time, she was a very great wonder to those in the house of ascetics, and an amazement and as it were a kind of terror to the demons, as they saw a woman's nature, and a tender one, thus not falling short of that of men, but by now, through the great measure and intensity of her asceticism, driving on even toward the angelic conduct; such were the things she achieved.

Βάθρον μὲν οὖν καὶ οἱονεί τις ἀρραγὴς προκατεβλήθη ταύτῃ θεμέλιος τὸ τῆς ὑπακοῆς σύντονόν τε καὶ ἀνυπόκριτον· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἦν τι, ὃ τῷ προεστῶτι ῥηθὲν οὐκ εὐθὺς ἠνύετό τε καὶ ἐσπουδάζετο, κἂν ἠπείλει ταύτῃ τὸν ἔσχατον κίνδυνον· μετὰ τοῦτο τῆς ἐγκρατείας ἁπάσης αὐτῇ καλὸν διαφερόντως κατώρθωτο· ἅπαξ γάρ που ἢ καὶ δεύτερον ἐσιτεῖτο τῆς ἑβδομάδος· ἄρτος δὲ ἦν καὶ ὕδωρ ποτὸν ἡ τρυφή· ἐντεῦθεν ἀγρυπνία καὶ στάσις πάννυχος καὶ χεῖρες αἰρόμεναι πρὸς Θεόν, πτέρυγες οἱονεί τινες τὴν γεηρὰν ὕλην πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἀνέλοκουσαι καὶ μετεωρίζουσαι· εἰ δέ που δεήσειε K, δεήσει A. ταύτῃ καὶ κατακλίνεσθαι ἡττωμένῃ ἡττωμένην A. τῇ φύσει, ἵνα μὴ καὶ φάσμα καὶ φύσις ἄλλη τις ἀλλοτρία πάμπαν ἢ ἀνθρωπίνη λογίζοιτο, ψίαθος ἦν αὐτῇ ἡ στρωμνή, οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ἐδάφους ἡπλωμένος ψιλοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ λίθοις καὶ τούτοις οὗτος A. ἀνωμάλοις ἐπαιωρούμενος, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ὕπνου μὴ πρὸς ἡδονὴν καὶ κόρον ἀλλὰ βραχέος μάλιστα καὶ ἀδρανοῦς παραγεύοιτο· βάθος πρὸς τούτοις ταπεινώσως αὐτῇ πρὸς Θεοῦ ἐπεκέχυτο· καὶ ὅσῳ τοῖς καλοῖς ἐπεμίγνυτο καὶ τὴν πολιτείαν ὑπερφέρουσαν ὑπερφέρουσα A. διεδείκνυτο, τοσοῦτον ἦν αὐτῇ τὸ φρόνημα μέτριον καὶ ὡσεί τινι τῶν τοῖς ἐσχάτοις περιειλημμένων κακοῖς προσεῴκει· ἀμέλει καὶ πάντα πράττουσα ἦν κἀν τοῖς ἐσχάτοις καὶ ἐπιμόχθοις μάλιστα διακονουμένη. humility; Καὶ ταῦτα πράττουσα οὐδὲν ἐλογίζετο μᾶλλον ἀνύειν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς μηδὲν ἐνεργοῦσα οὕτω διέκειτο.

As a base, then, and as it were an unbreakable foundation, there was laid down for her the intensity and unfeignedness of obedience; for there was nothing which, when said by the superior, was not at once accomplished and pursued with zeal, even if it threatened her with the utmost danger; after this, the good of all continence was achieved by her in an outstanding way; for she ate once, I think, or twice a week; and bread, and water to drink, was her luxury; then vigil, and standing all night, and hands lifted up to God, like a kind of wings drawing up and raising aloft the earthy matter toward heaven; and if at any time she had to lie down, her nature being overcome, lest she should be reckoned a phantom and some other nature altogether foreign to the human, a rush mat was her bed, not spread on the bare floor but raised up on stones, and those uneven, so that she might taste even of sleep itself not for pleasure and satiety, but of a very brief and feeble one; besides these, a depth of humility had been poured upon her from God; and the more she mingled with good things and showed her conduct surpassing, so much the more moderate was her mind, and she resembled one of those encompassed by the utmost evils; indeed, doing everything, she was serving even in the lowest and most toilsome things. And doing these things she reckoned that she accomplished nothing more, but was so disposed as one doing nothing.

Πᾶσαν καὶ γὰρ ὑπηρεσίαν ἦν ἀόκνως διατελοῦσα, ὕδωρ ἀνεῖλκε τοῦ φρέατος καὶ ταῖς τῆς μονῆς χρείαις f. 17. τοῖς ὤμοις διαβαστάζουσα προσεκόμιζε, ξύλα διακλῶσα τῷ ὀπτανείῳ προσῆγεν, ἐφίστατο τῇ τραπέζῃ, τῇ ἀρδείᾳ τῶν λαχάνων προσέτρεχε· πάντα δὲ ἦν ἁπλῶς σιγῇ διανύουσα, οὐ λόγων λῆρον συνείρουσα, οὐκ ἀργὸν ἢ σαπρὸν λόγον τοῦ στόματος προεκφέρουσα· Ephes. 4, 9. ἀλλὰ καίπερ τῶν συνήθων συνάξεων ἥκιστα μέλουσα μελοῦσα A. ὅλαις τε νυξὶ καὶ ἡμέραις κἀν ταῖς χρείαις διακονοῦσα, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ μελέτη τῷ στόματι αὐτῆς περιῆν καὶ ὁ νοῦς ἀεὶ ταῖς θεἳκαῖς μνείαις ἠγάλλετο· ἄληκτος τοίνυν ἦν ὁ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔρως καὶ οὐδὲν ἄλλο παρ᾽ αὐτῇ ἤ Θεὸς καὶ Θεοῦ ἔργα ἠρέμα ὑποφωνοῦμενα· εἴπερ δέ τι, meditation of divine things; ἐσπουδάσθη ταύτῃ καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀγάπης χρῆμα καὶ τὸ εἰρηναῖον ἐπὶ πᾶσι καὶ ἀστασίαστον· τῇ γὰρ μακρᾷ διαίτῃ καὶ ἀγωγῇ τὰς ὁρμὰς τῶν παθῶν ἀναστείλασα καὶ οἷον εἰπεῖν καθ᾽ ἑαυτὴν εἰρηνεύσασα, καὶ τὸ μετὰ πάντων εἰρηνεύειν ἐκτήσατο· ὅσον δ᾽ ἦν ἀνδρείας ταύτῃ καὶ γενναιότητος τὸ μὴ μόνον οὕτω τῶν παθῶν περιγενέσθαι τῆς φύσεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ μάχην οὕτως ἐνστήσασθαι καρτερὰν καὶ ἀκαταγώνιστον, ἐπὶ μέσων ἀρρένων συνδιατρίβουσαν συνδιατρίβουσα. , καὶ ταῦτα τὴν ὥραν ἐπαγομένην ἐπαγομένη A. σφριγῶσάν τε καὶ ἀκμάζουσαν· ὄντως γὰρ ὄντως ἤλεγξε τὸ τῆς φύσεως ἀνδρικὸν καὶ γενναῖον τὸ μὴ αἱρεῖσθαι φυγεῖν ἀρρένων ὄψεις ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον σὺν αὐτοῖς διάγειν καὶ μή τοι γε ἡττηθῆναι ἀλλὰ καὶ λαθεῖν σπουδάσαι καὶ οὕτω χαλινῶσαι τὸ τῆς φύσεως σκίρτημα κἀντεῦθεν καὶ δειλὸν ἀπελέγξαι σύμπαν τὸ θῆλυ, the slaughter of lusts. φεῦγον ὡς ἐπίπαν, εἴ γε βούλοιτο φυλαχθῆναι, τὴν ἐπιμιξίαν τοῦ ἄρρενος· οὐκ ἂν δὲ οὕτω ὑπερεγένετο, εἰ μὴ ἐμβριθῶς ἄγαν ταῖς σκληροτάταις τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐξέδοτο ἑαυτὴν καὶ οὕτως ἦγχε τὸ ἀνθρώπινον φρόνημα. Οὕτως οὖν ἐχούσῃ τῇ μακαρίᾳ πέντε πρὸς τοῖς δέκα ἔτη τῷ μοναστηρίῳ ἠνύετο.

For she carried through every service without hesitation: she drew up water from the well and brought it, carrying it on her shoulders, for the needs of the monastery; she broke wood and brought it to the kitchen; she attended at the table; she ran to the watering of the vegetables; and she accomplished all things simply in silence, not stringing together a babble of words, not bringing forth from her mouth an idle or rotten word; but, although she was by no means remiss in the customary synaxes, and served whole nights and days in the needs as well, the meditation of God abounded in her mouth, and her mind always exulted in divine remembrances; unceasing therefore was her love for Him, and nothing else was with her but God and the works of God quietly murmured; and if anything, the matter of charity was studied by her, and peaceableness toward all and freedom from discord; for, having checked the impulses of the passions by long regimen and discipline, and having, so to say, made peace within herself, she acquired also the being at peace with all. And how great was her courage and nobility, not only thus to overcome the passions of nature, but also thus to set up a strong and unconquerable battle, while living in the midst of males, and that bringing with her a youth swelling and in its prime! For truly, truly she proved the manliness and nobility of her nature, in not choosing to flee the sight of males but rather to live with them, and not indeed to be overcome, but even to strive to escape notice, and thus to bridle the leaping of nature, and hence to convict of cowardice the whole female sex, which flees altogether, if it wishes to be guarded, the mingling with the male; but she would not thus have prevailed, had she not given herself very weightily to the hardest of the virtues, and thus throttled the human mind. While the blessed woman was thus, then, five years beyond ten were completed for her in the monastery.

[10] By the monks Ὁρῶν τοίνυν ὁ ἀρχαῖος ἡμῶν τοῦ γένους πολέμιος οὕτω πρὸς μέτρον ταύτην ἥκουσαν ἀρετῆς καὶ μὴ οἷός τε ὢν φέρειν τὸ αὐτοῦ θράσος ὑπὸ γυναίου σφοδρῶς καταγωνιζόμενον, θόρυβον μέγιστον ταύτῃ K, ταύτην A. f. 17v. ἀναρριπίζει, ἐξ ὑπερδεξίων τὸ σόφισμα διαγωνιζόμενος. Ὡς γὰρ πᾶσαν ἦν ὁ Ἰωάννης τὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς τρίβον — οὕτω γὰρ ἡ Εὐφροσύνη ὥσπερ φθάσαντες ἔφημεν ὠνομάζετο — διανύων, ἠρέμα πως ὑπεγείρει τὸ στῖφος τῶν μοναχῶν· καὶ πρῶτα μὲν τιμῶντες ἦσαν αὐτὸν καὶ ὑπεξιστάμενοι καὶ παραχωροῦντες τῶν πρωτείων ὡς μάλιστα, ἅτε δὴ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἡμμένον, καὶ παντὶ τρόπῳ τὸ ἐφ᾽ ἅπασιν ὑπερφέρον ἐδείκνυον· χρόνῳ δὲ τῷ μέσῳ καὶ λαθραίῳ δή τινι φθέγματι καθ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς συνιστάμενοι, χαριζόμενοι μὲν καὶ ἄλλως, ταῖς δὲ ἀληθείαις καὶ τῷ τῆς ἀρετῆς ὑπερφέροντι τοῦτον σεμνύνοντες, τέλος τολμῶσί τι τῇ αἰδοῖ καὶ τῷ πόθῳ θρασύτερον καὶ τῆς καθ᾽ αὑτοὺς μονῆς προστάτην ἀναδεῖξαι ψηφίζονται μετὰ τὴν τοῦ καθηγεμόνος αὐτῶν πρὸς Θεὸν ἐκδημίαν.

The ancient enemy of our race, then, seeing her thus come to the measure of virtue, and not being able to bear his boldness being vehemently overcome by a little woman, fans up the greatest disturbance against her, fighting out his stratagem from the higher ground. For since John — for so Euphrosyne, as we said before, was named — was accomplishing the whole path of virtue, he quietly somehow stirs up the band of the monks; and at first they honoured him and made way for him and yielded him the first places as much as possible, inasmuch as he had laid hold of virtue, and in every way they showed him surpassing in all things; but in the course of time, gathering together among themselves with a certain secret utterance, partly indeed doing him a favour, but in truth honouring him for his surpassing in virtue, at last they dare something bolder than their reverence and their affection, and vote to declare him superior of their monastery after the departure of their hegumen to God.

substituted for the hegumen, who had meanwhile died, Ὡς δ᾽ οὐκ ἦν ἐκείνην τὰ κατὰ σκοπὸν ἐκείνοις διαλαθεῖν, τί ἀντιτεχνᾶται τοῖς ἐκείνων βουλεύμασιν; ὡς μέγα καὶ θαυμαστόν. Λογισαμένη γάρ, ὡς οὐκ ἄλλως ἐξέσται οἱ τὰς ἐκείνων ἄρκυς διαφυγεῖν, εἰ μὴ λάθρα τῆς μάνδρας ἀναχωρήσειε, περὶ μέσας νύκτας πᾶσαν ὄψιν κλέψασα πρὸς τὸν πυλῶνα γίνεται τῆς μονῆς. Ὡς δ᾽ ἀναπεπταμέναις ἐντύχοι ταῖς πύλαις, ἐξάγεται καὶ πρὸς ἑτέραν ἔρημον γίνεται, πολλῷ τῷ μέτρῳ ταύτης διέχουσαν· κἀκεῖσε δὲ τὰ ὅμοια δράσασα καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖ σπήλαιά τε καὶ μοναστήρια διελθοῦσα καὶ πολλὴν καὶ οὐ ῥᾳδίαν φάναι ἑαυτῇ πορισαμένη ὠφέλειαν, ἐσύστερον ἑνὶ τῶν ἐκεῖσε σπηλαίων σπηλαιω A. γέροντι ἐντυχοῦσα, she meets a certain holy old man, ὅρον σχεδὸν ζωῆς τῇ ἀσκήσει διαβιώσαντι, τούτῳ δὴ οἷά τινι θησαυρῷ θησαυρῶν A. ἐντυχοῦσα ἔχαιρε καὶ παρ᾽ αὐτῷ μένειν ἠγάπα καὶ τοῦτο ἐδείκνυ καὶ σχήματι· καὶ ψυχῇ οὐ ῥᾳδίαν τὴν ἀναχώρησιν ἐλογίζετο. Τοιοῦτον in the margin the rubric γνωμικόν A. γάρ τι χρῆμα ψυχή· ὁπόταν τοῖς κατὰ σκοπὸν ἐντύχοι, χαίρει μάλα καὶ ἥδεται καὶ οἱονεὶ προσπερονᾶται τῷ ἐφετῷ καὶ ἥκιστ᾽ ἀναχωρεῖν βούλεται.

And since their aims could not escape her, what does she contrive against their counsels? Something great and wonderful. For, reckoning that it would not otherwise be possible for her to escape their nets unless she withdrew secretly from the fold, about midnight, having stolen away from every eye, she comes to the gateway of the monastery. And as she found the gates thrown open, she goes out and comes to another desert, distant from this one by a great measure; and there too, having done the like, and gone through the caves and monasteries there, and procured for herself much benefit, and not easy to tell, afterwards, coming upon an old man in one of the caves there, who had lived almost the whole term of life in asceticism, she rejoiced at coming upon him as upon some treasure, and loved to remain with him, and showed this in her bearing too; and in soul she did not reckon departure easy. For such a thing is the soul: whenever it comes upon things according to its aim, it rejoices greatly and is delighted, and is as it were pinned fast to what it desires, and has no wish at all to depart.

[11] who questions her about her life, Ὁ μέντοι θεῖος ἐκεῖνος ἀνὴρ τὸν Ἰωάννην ὁρῶν οὕτως αὐτοῦ ἐξεχόμενον καὶ μηδαμῶς εἴ τι δ᾽ ἂν καὶ γένοιτο ἀναχωρεῖν προθυμούμενον, f. 18. πρῶτα μὲν ἤρετο ὅθεν εἴη καὶ τίς ὀνομάζοιτο καὶ τί αὐτῷ βουλομένῳ ἐστὶν οὕτω τὴν τοσαύτην ἔρημον ἐπελθεῖν. Ὡς δ᾽ ἐκεῖνος τὴν πατρίδα δῆθεν ἔλεγε καὶ τὴν κλῆσιν ὅτιπερ Ἰωάννης καλοῖτο, αἱρεῖσθαι δὲ ἀνδρὶ θείῳ ἑαυτὸν ὑποθεῖναι, ὅς ὁδηγὸς αὐτῷ τῆς ἐς οὐρανὸν ὁδοῦ γένοιτο, ὁ γέρων· &ldquogr;Ἀλλὰ τραχεῖα μὲν καὶ σκληροτάτη λίαν αὕτη ἡ ἔρημος· ἄνυδρος γὰρ ὡς ὁρᾶις καὶ πάσης ἀνθρωπίνης παραμυθίας ἐκτὸς καὶ τὸ δὴ μέγιστον γυμνὴ πᾶσα καὶ οὐδὲ φυτοῖς κομῶσα ἢ βοτάναις ἡμέροις, αἷς ἀνὴρ ἀσκητὴς οἶδε τρέφεσθαι, γόνιμος, ἀλλὰ πόρρω μὲν τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ οὐδὲ πότιμον, and sets out the hardships of the desert ἐξ ἀγρίων δὲ σπερμάτων καὶ ἡ τροφή. Πῶς οὖν, οἷς οὐ σύντροφος ἐκ νέου γεγένησαι, ταῦτ᾽ ἐνεγκεῖν ἰσχύσειας;&rdquogr; Ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης· &ldquogr;Ὁ Θεός, φησί, διὰ τῶν σῶν εὐχῶν, πάτερ τίμιε, κἀμοὶ δοίη καὶ τῆς ἐρήμου ταύτης διενεγκεῖν τὸ σκληρὸν καὶ διὰ σοῦ τούτῳ δουλεῦσαι καὶ τοῦ τῶν παθῶν ἀπαλλαγῆναι φορτίου.&rdquogr; Πείθεται τοίνυν ὁ γέρων τοῖς ῥήμασι καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην μετ᾽ εὐφροσύνης εἰσδέχεται Note the not inelegant play on the name of Euphrosyne. . in vain. Πλὴν ἀλλ᾽ ἀρετῆς οὕτω καὶ τελειότητος ἔχουσα, νέων δ᾽ ὅμως ἀγώνων καὶ πάλιν ἅπτεται καὶ οὐδὲν ἐκείνῃ παρεῖται σπουδῆς ἔργον, ὃ μὴ θᾶττον ἢ λόγος ἐνήργησέ τε καὶ κατεπράξατο, ἁμιλλωμένη πρὸς πᾶν,

That divine man, however, seeing John thus clinging to him and in no way eager to depart, whatever might happen, first asked whence he was and what he was called and what he wished in thus coming upon so great a desert. And when he told his homeland, ostensibly, and his name, that he was called John, and that he chose to submit himself to a divine man who should become his guide on the road to heaven, the old man said: "But this desert is rough and exceedingly hard; for it is waterless, as you see, and outside all human consolation, and, what is greatest, wholly bare, and neither luxuriant with plants nor fruitful in cultivated herbs, on which an ascetic man knows how to be nourished; but the water is far off and not even drinkable, and the food is from wild seeds. How then could you be strong enough to bear these things, with which you have not been brought up from youth?" And John said: "May God, through your prayers, honoured father, grant me too both to bear the hardness of this desert, and through you to serve Him, and to be freed from the burden of the passions." The old man, then, is persuaded by the words and receives John with gladness. But although she was thus in virtue and perfection, she nevertheless lays hold again of new contests, and no work of zeal is let slip by her which she did not set in motion and accomplish quicker than word, vying with everything,

ὅ σπουδὴ καὶ χρόνος τῷ γέροντι ἐχαρίσατο. Καὶ δὴ τοῖς κατὰ Θεὸν ἔργοις ὅσαι ἡμέραι πρόσω βαίνουσα, οὐδὲ τῶν σωματικῶν κόπων ἠμέλει, ἐν πᾶσιν ὡς Θεῷ παρεστῶσα, οἷς διακονουμένη τῷ διδασκάλῳ ξυνέβαινεν. Euphrosyne serves the old man. Ἐρήμου γὰρ καὶ σκληροῦ παντάπασι τοῦ τόπου καθεστηκότος, καθάπερ δῆτα καὶ εἴρηται, ἐκείνη τὸ κεράμιον τοῖς ὤμοις διαβαστάζουσα καὶ πόρρωθεν ὡς ἀπὸ μιλίων μάλα τριῶν τὸ ὕδωρ τῷ πατρὶ διεκόμιζεν· οὐ μόνον δὲ τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅσον πρὸς χρείαν πυρὸς ἐνέδει τούτῳ, θάμνοι δὲ ταῦτα καὶ ῥωπήια καὶ ἄλλ᾽ ἄττα εἰς χρῆσιν ἀναγκαίως προσλαμβανόμενα.

which zeal and time had granted to the old man. And indeed, advancing in the works of God as the days went on, she did not neglect bodily labours either, standing in all things as before God, in which it befell her to serve her teacher. For since the place was desert and altogether hard, just as has been said, she, carrying the earthen jar on her shoulders, brought water to the father from afar, from very nearly three miles away; and not only this, but also whatever he needed for the use of fire, and these were bushes and brushwood and certain other things taken up of necessity for use.

[12] The snares of the demon. Δέκατος καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ δὴ τῇ ἀσκήσει τῇ μακαρίᾳ χρόνος διήνυτο· οὕτω δὲ τοῖς πνευματικοῖς ἀγῶσι βασιλικῷ τῷ πήχει A proverb. Cf. Herodotus, Histories 1. I, 178. — τὸ δὴ f. 18v. λεγόμενον — προβαίνουσα, ὁρῶν αὐτὴν ὁ τοῦ γένους ἡμῶν πολέμιος μάλα τοῖς ἀσκητικοῖς πόνοις ἐγκαρτεροῦσαν καὶ σφοδρότερον αὐτὸν ἄγχουσαν, πάντα κάλων ἐκίνει Above, p. 862. , ὅπως τε ταύτην τῆς ἐπὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν φερούσης ἀνακόψῃ ὁδοῦ καὶ πείσῃ τὰ μὲν τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀποθέσθαι, εἰς Εὐφροσύνην δὲ αὖθις μετασχηματίσῃ καὶ πρὸς τὴν Κωνσταντίνου πείσῃ ἐπανελθεῖν κἀντεῦθεν αὐτῷ γένηται ταύτην ὑποσκελίσαι τρόπῳ παντὶ καὶ τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν ἀπασχολῆσαι πορείας. Ἀλλ᾽ εἰς μάτην τούτῳ τὰ ἔνεδρα· τῷ γὰρ οἰκείῳ ὅπλῳ μᾶλλον πλήττει καὶ ἐξ ὑπερδεξίων καταβάλλει τὸν ἀνταγωνιστήν. Τούτῳ γὰρ τῷ τρόπῳ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐρρωμενέστερον ἅπτεσθαι πείθει τοῦ ἔργου· καὶ πολλοῖς ἑτέροις καθίσταται ὁδηγὸς καὶ δείκνυσι μᾶλλον ἐκεῖνον γυναίῳ κατηγωνισμένον καὶ — ὢ τῆς θείας δυνάμεως — ἐπὶ μέσης οὕτω φλεγμαινούσης πόλεως ὡς στρουθίον παιζόμενον καὶ διαγελώμενον. Καὶ σκοπεῖτε δὴ τὸ ἑξῆς.

The tenth year was being completed for the blessed woman in this asceticism too; and as she was thus advancing in spiritual contests by the royal cubit — as the saying goes — the enemy of our race, seeing her greatly persevering in ascetic labours and throttling him the more vehemently, moved every rope, so as both to cut her off from the road leading to heaven and to persuade her to lay aside the things of men, and to change her shape again into Euphrosyne, and to persuade her to return to the city of Constantine, and so that thence it might be granted him to trip her up in every way and to divert her from the journey according to God. But his ambushes were in vain; for she rather strikes the adversary with his own weapon and casts him down from the higher ground. For in this way he persuades her to lay hold of the work still more strongly; and she becomes a guide to many others, and shows him rather overcome by a little woman, and — O the divine power! — in the midst of a city so inflamed, mocked and laughed at like a sparrow. And consider, now, what follows.

By a servant of her father, Τοῦ γὰρ σπηλαίου, ἐν ᾧ διατρίβων ὁ γέρων ἐτύγχανεν, μιᾷ τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐκτός που τῆς μακαρίας ἐπί τινι τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἀσχολουμένης, εἶτα φθειρῶν ὡς πλείστων τὸν χιτωνίσκον ταύτης διαθεόντων, τοῦτον ἠρέμα πως καὶ δεξιῶς ἀναστείλασα καὶ ξυλύφιόν ξυλύφιλόν A. A small piece of wood. Ducange, under the word. τι παρευθὺ παρευθέν A. τῇ χειρὶ λαβοῦσα ἀπεσόβει τοὺς φθεῖρας καὶ τοῦ χιτωνίου ἀπήλαυνεν. Οὕτω δὲ ταύτης ἐπὶ τῷ ἔργῳ διατριβὴν ἐχούσης, ἐφίσταταί τις αἴφνης βραχὺν ὑπεγείρων τὸν θόρυβον. Ἡ δὲ μικρὸν ἀνακύψασα ἕνα τινὰ τῶν οἰκογενῶν δούλων ὁρᾷ τῷ θυριδίῳ παριστάμενον τοῦ σπηλαίου καὶ ἠρεμαίᾳ προσλαλοῦντα φωνῇ· καὶ ὃς εὐθέως ὅστις εἴη γνωσθείς, ἥκιστα αὐτὸς ἔγνω δὴ τὸ ζητούμενον· κατεσκληκότα γὰρ ἦσαν ταύτῃ τὰ μέλη τῷ πολλῷ τῆς ἐγκρατείας καὶ ἀϋπνίας καμάτῳ· ἄλλως τε δὲ καὶ τὸ ἐς ἄνδρα οὕτω μετεσχηματίσθαι οὐδὲ πρὸς νοῦν βαλέσθαι ὅλως ἐδίδου καιρόν.

For one day, when the blessed woman was busied somewhere outside the cave in which the old man happened to dwell, about some necessary task, and then, as very many lice were running over her little tunic, she, quietly somehow and deftly drawing it back and taking at once in her hand a little stick, was shooing away the lice and driving them off the tunic. While she was thus occupied at the task, someone suddenly stands by, stirring up a slight noise. And she, looking up a little, sees one of the household slaves standing at the little window of the cave and speaking to her in a quiet voice; and he was at once recognized for who he was, but he himself by no means recognized what he was seeking; for her limbs had withered from the great toil of continence and sleeplessness; and besides, her having thus changed into the shape of a man gave him no occasion at all to bear it in mind.

[13] sent to search for her, Ὁ γὰρ ταύτης πατήρ, ὡς ἐκ Σικελίας καταλαβὼν τὴν κόρην καταμάθοι ἀναχωρῆσαι, ὅσα μὲν δὴ πέπονθεν οὐ χρεὼν τανῦν ἀριθμεῖν· τέως δ᾽ οὖν τὰ f. 19. προσόντα οἱ πένησι καὶ τοῖς κατὰ Θεὸν ζῶσιν ἀνείς, τοῖς δούλοις ἐκ τῶν περιλειφθέντων τὰ προσήκοντα χορηγήσας, εἰς ἀναζήτησιν ἐκπέμπει τῆς θυγατρός. Καὶ ταῦτα τῷ πατρὶ ταύτης διαπραττομένῳ τῷ χρεὼν συνέβαινε λειτουργεῖν· ὧν εἷς ζήλῳ τῷ πρὸς τὴν κυρίαν τὴν ἔρημον ἅπασαν διελθών, καὶ ἐς τόδε τὸ σπήλαιον, ᾗπερ μοι εἴρηται, γίνεται, τοσούτου χρόνου παραρρυέντος. Πρῶτα μὲν οὖν μειλιχίῳ προσρήματι ἐντυγχάνει ταύτῃ· εἶτα ἐκ τῶν ἐνόντων λύσας οὐ βραχὺν τὸν ἀπόδεσμον, she is seen and questioned, ἐπιχορηγεῖ ταύτῃ τὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ἔλεον, κἂν ἐκείνη πάμπαν ἀπηξίου καὶ μηδενὸς χρείαν ἔχειν ἐπέφερε. &ldquogr;Τί γὰρ ἂν δράσοι so A. χρυσὸς ἢ ἄργυρος, ἔλεγεν, οὐκ ἐνόντων ὠνίων ἢ ἄλλων πρὸς ἀγορὰν ἐκκειμένων· χωρὶς δὲ τούτων χρυσὸς ἐν ἐρήμῳ ἀνδράσι μονάζουσιν ὑπὲρ δαίμονα.&rdquogr; Ὁ μὲν οὖν οὗτω διαμαρτὼν τοῦ σκοποῦ πρὸς δευτέραν ἦγε ταύτην ἐρώτησιν καί· &ldquogr;Μή, φησίν, πάτερ τίμιε, ὧδέ πῃ γυναῖκά τινα ἔγνως, ἐν τοῖς ἀποκρότοις τούτοις καὶ σκληροῖς ὄρεσι τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν μετερχομένην ὁδόν· Εὐφροσύνη δὲ ἐκείνη ἐκέκλητο.&rdquogr; Καὶ ὃς μηδέν τι τοιοῦτον συνειδέναι εἰπὼν ἐπὶ μακροῖς ἔτεσι τοῖς ἐκείνοις ὄρεσι ποιούμενος τὴν διατριβὴν καὶ τὰ προσήκοντα ἀφοσιωσάμενος ἀπολύειν οἴκαδε ἐπειρᾶτο τὸν ἄνδρα·

For her father, when, arriving from Sicily, he learned that the girl had withdrawn — how much he suffered there is no need now to number; meanwhile, then, having let go his possessions to the poor and to those living according to God, and having supplied his slaves with what was fitting from what was left, he sends them out in search of his daughter. And while her father was carrying this out, it befell him to pay the debt of nature; and of those slaves one, having gone through the whole desert out of zeal for his mistress, comes also to this cave, as has been said by me, so much time having flowed by. First, then, he meets her with a gentle greeting; then, untying from what he had a bundle not small, he offers her the alms on her behalf, though she altogether disdained it and declared she had need of nothing. "For what could gold or silver do," she said, "where there are no wares nor other things set out for the market? And apart from these, gold in the desert, for men living as monks, is a thing beyond one's lot." He, then, having thus failed of his aim, led her on to a second question and said: "Have you not, honoured father, known somewhere here a certain woman travelling the road according to God in these rugged and hard mountains? And she was called Euphrosyne." And she, having said that she knew of nothing such, though she had spent long years in those mountains, and having paid him the fitting courtesies, was trying to send the man off home;

τῇ γε μὴν μνήμῃ τῶν οἰκείων ἡ ὁσία ὥσπερ τὰ ἔνδον ἀναφλεγεῖσα, μικρόν τι ἀναχωρήσασα καὶ τῇ φύσει τὸ εἰκὸς ἀφοσιουμένη δάκρυά τε τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καταρρεύσασα· &ldquogr;Τίς δέ, φησὶν αὖθις, αὕτη καὶ ὅτου χάριν τήνδε τὴν ἔρημον καταλαβὼν τὴν ἐκείνης οἴκησιν πολυπραγμονεῖς;&rdquogr; Ὁ δέ· &ldquogr;Κυρία μὲν ἦν ἐμὴ πάλαι, φησίν, ἐκείνη, ἔρωτι δὲ θείῳ τρωθεῖσα καὶ τῶν οἴκοι ἀπάρασα ὄρεσί τισι τι A. προσβάλλει Θεὸν ζητοῦσα ὡς ἀκηκόαμεν· πατὴρ δὲ καὶ μήτηρ αὐτῆς καὶ ἡ κατὰ γένος ἅπασα περιφάνεια — εἰς βασίλειον γὰρ γένος τὴν τοῦ γένους βλάστην ἦν ἀναφέρουσα — ἀβίωτον εἶναι τὸν βίον νομίζουσι, μὴ τὴν θυγατέρα ἔχοντες καθορᾶν· ἔνθεν τοι καὶ f. 19v. πλείστους ὅσους τῶν οἰκετῶν πλείστοις ὅσοις ἐφοδιάσαντες χρήμασιν, ἄλλον ἀλλαχοῦ διαπέμπονται· ἐμοὶ δὲ στείλασθαι τὴν ἐς δεῦρο κελεύουσι· καὶ ἐπὶ πλείστοις ἔτεσιν ἀνιχνεύοντες οὐδαμῶς ἀρκύων ἔνδον ἔχειν τὸ θήραμα Above, p. 864. δεδυνήμεθα. Οἶμαι δ᾽ ἂν καὶ πρὸς τοσοῦτον πένθος πένθος πικρὸν καὶ τὸν βίον τοὺς γεγεννηκότας πάλαι ἀπολιπεῖν.&rdquogr; yet she is not recognized.” Πρὸς ταῦτα ἡ μακαρία βύθιόν τι στενάξασα· &ldquogr;Ο Θεός, φησί, τέκνον, ὁ πάντα πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον οἰκονομῶν, εἴπερ δὴ συντελές, ἀναδείξει σοι τὸ ζητούμενον· τοῖς γε μὴν τῇ κόρῃ προσήκουσι κέλευε μηδὲν ἀσχάλλειν· ζῆν γὰρ ἀνάγκη μᾶλλον τούτων τὴν παῖδα τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν μετερχομένην ὁδόν. Καί γε, οἶμαι, ὄψονται ταύτην, οἳ δ᾽ ἂν τοῦ γένους περιλειφθεῖεν.&rdquogr; Ταῦτ᾽ εἰποῦσα, μετ᾽ εὐλογίας ἀποπέμπει τὸν ἄνδρα.

but the holy woman, at the memory of her family, as it were inflamed within, withdrawing a little and paying nature its due, and letting tears flow down from her eyes, says again: "And who is she, and for what reason, having reached this desert, do you busy yourself about her dwelling?" And he said: "She was formerly my mistress; but, wounded by divine love and departing from her home, she betook herself to certain mountains, seeking God, as we have heard; and her father and mother and all the distinction of her family — for she traced the shoot of her family back to a royal family — think life unlivable, not being able to behold their daughter; therefore, having furnished very many of the household servants with very much money, they send them out one here, another there; and me they bade set out for this place; and tracking for very many years we have in no way been able to have the prey within the nets. And I think that, upon so great a grief, a bitter grief, the parents have long since left life too." To this the blessed woman, groaning something from the depths, said: "God, child, who orders all things for our profit, will, if indeed it is expedient, show you what you seek; but bid those related to the girl not to be distressed at all; for it is necessary that the child, travelling the road according to God, should live rather than they. And indeed, I think, those of the family who may be left will see her." Having said this, she sends the man away with a blessing.

[14] Of nocturnal terrors Ὁ δέ γε τῆς κακίας ἐφευρετής, ἐπειδὴ νὺξ ἐγεγόνει, τὰς περὶ αὐτὸν καὶ φίλας αὐτῷ δυνάμεις συνηθροικὼς λόχον οὐκ ἀγεννῆ ἐφίστησι τῷ σπηλαίῳ· καὶ πρῶτα μὲν φάσμασιν ὑπερορίοις καὶ ἀλλοκότοις ἐπειρᾶτο δέος οἷον αὐτῇ ἐμποιεῖν· καί ποτε μὲν οἷόν τι πῦρ ἀφίει τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ ὀδόντας λευκοὺς ἐπὶ μέλανι στόματι ὥσπερ κύων άπέφαινεν, ἄλλοτε εἰς ὄφιν καὶ δράκοντα μετεσχηματίζετο πελώριον οἷον καὶ συρίττειν ἐῴκει, and with diabolical voices ἄλλοτε πρὸς ἄλλο τι τῶν ἰοβόλων μετεμορφοῦτο καὶ εἰς λέοντα καὶ πάρδαλιν, ἔστι δ᾽ ὅτε καὶ πρὸς μύρμηκα καὶ κώνωπα μετεπλάττετο. Ὡς δὲ τῷ σταυρῷ βαλλόμενος ἀναχωρεῖν κατηπείγετο, ὡς εἰς παράταξιν ἀνθωπλίζετο καὶ ἠχῇ τινι καὶ ἀλαλαγμῷ τὰ περὶ τὸ σπήλαιον ἀνεσόβει καὶ ὑπετάραττε. Ὡς δὲ καὶ τούτου τοῦ φάσματος οὐδὲν μέλον ἐκείνῃ ἐμάνθανεν, ἐφ᾽ ἕτερα καινότερα μετεστρέφετο. Λίθοις γὰρ ἀφθόνοις τὸ σπήλαιον ἔβαλε καὶ φωναῖς ἀγρίαις τὸν ἀέρα ἐπίμπλα· &ldquogr;Ὦ Εὐφροσύνη, crying out on Euphrosyne λεγούσαις λέγουσα A. , ἡ τοσούτους ἄνδρας διαχλευάσασα καὶ ἐπὶ τόσοις ἔτεσι τὸ λαθεῖν πειρωμένη, οὐκ ἄρα σοί γε ἀρκοῦν ἔδοξε τὸ ἐπὶ τόσον ἡμᾶς περιτρέπειν — χρόνος που μάλα ἐξήκει τριακοστὸς ὀλίγου δέοντος — ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τήνδε τὴν ἔρημον f. 20. ἦλθες ἡμῖν ἐμποδὼν καθεστηκυῖα ἐφ᾽ ἅπασιν, οὐ γὰρ φέρομεν διατρίβειν ἐνδιατρίβειν one would expect. τούτοις τοῖς ὄρεσι, σοῦ χεῖρας καθ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐπαιρούσης.&rdquogr; Καὶ τοῦτο πράττοντες ἦσαν ἐπὶ πολύ.

But the inventor of wickedness, when night had come, having gathered together the powers about him and friendly to him, sets no ignoble ambush against the cave; and first he tried by outlandish and strange apparitions to produce some fear in her; and at one time he sent forth something like fire from his eyes and showed white teeth in a black mouth, like a dog; at another he changed his shape into a serpent and a monstrous dragon, such that he seemed even to hiss; at another he was transformed into another of the venomous creatures, and into a lion and a leopard, and sometimes he was moulded even into an ant and a gnat. And when, struck by the cross, he was hard pressed to withdraw, he armed himself against her as for a pitched battle, and with a certain din and war-cry scared and troubled the surroundings of the cave. And when he learned that she cared nothing for this apparition either, he turned to other newer things. For he pelted the cave with abundant stones and filled the air with wild voices, which said: "O Euphrosyne, you who have mocked so many men and tried for so many years to escape notice, did it then not seem enough to you to have turned us about for so long — the time has come very nearly to the thirtieth year — but you have come into this desert also, standing in our way in everything? For we cannot bear to dwell in these mountains while you lift up your hands against us." And they were doing this for a long time.

[15] questioned by the old man, Ὁ μέντοι μέν τι A. θεῖος ἀνὴρ ἐκεῖνος, ὁ τοῦ σπηλαίου δηλαδὴ ἐξηγούμενος, τούτων γινομένων ἀκούων, μιᾷ πρὸς ὄρθρον τὸν Ἰωάννην μεταστειλάμενος· &ldquogr;Ἄρά σοι, ἔφη, τέκνον, γνώριμοι αἱ τῶν δαιμόνων καθεστῶσιν ἐπήρειαι, ὡς θορύβου πλήρη τὸν ἐνταῦθα χῶρον διενεργοῦσι καὶ τερατείας μὲν ὅσης, ὅσης δὲ καὶ ἀδολεσχίας ἐμπιπλῶσι τὰ περὶ ἡμᾶς κύκλῳ; τί δὲ ἄρα ἦν ὅτι καὶ γυναικός τινος μνείαν πεποίηντο καὶ Εὐφροσύνην αὐτὴν κατωνόμαζον καὶ κατ᾽ αὐτῆς ὡς πλεῖστον ἔθηγον τὴν ὁρμήν; Μὴ ἄρα, τέκνον Ἰωάννη, σὺ διὰ μακροῦ τὸ ὕδωρ μετακομίζων καὶ τὸ βραχὺ τοῦτο ξυλάριον ἐν τοῖσδε τοῖς ὄρεσιν ἔγνως γυναῖκά τινα κατὰ Θεὸν τὴν πορείαν ἀνύουσαν, ἐφ᾽ ᾗ τοσαύταις χρῶνται ταῖς ἀπειλαῖς καὶ οὕτω κατ᾽ αὐτῆς ἀκρατῶς μαίνονται;&rdquogr;

That divine man, however, namely the one who governed the cave, hearing these things happening, one day toward dawn summoned John and said: "Are the assaults of the demons, child, known to you, how they make the place here full of tumult, and with how much prodigy-working, and how much idle chatter too, they fill all round about us? And what was it, then, that they made mention also of a certain woman and named her Euphrosyne and whetted their onset against her as much as they could? Have you not, then, child John, while carrying the water from afar and this little bit of firewood in these mountains, come to know a certain woman accomplishing the journey according to God, against whom they use so many threats and rage so without restraint?"

Καὶ ὅς· &ldquogr;Σοὶ δὲ ἄρα ἐν λήθῃ κατέστη, ὦ πάτερ, τὴν πεῖραν καθάπαξ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἡμῶν ἐγνωκότι· ὡς γὰρ ἀγνοῶν τὰς αὐτῶν ἐνέδρας, οὕτω διάκεισαι· ἦ γὰρ οὐ συνίης, ὡς ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἐστὶν ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς καί γε πειρώμενος ἡμᾶς ἐκταράσσειν καὶ τὰς τρίβους ἡμῶν ἀλλοιοῦν καὶ εἰς ἀλλοκότους λογισμοὺς ἐπιρρίπτειν; οὕτως ἐπιτίθεται θαρσαλέως καὶ τοιούτοις ἐνασχημονεῖν βούλεται, ὡς καὶ γυναικῶν ὑπομιμνήσκειν ὀνόματα, τὸ σύντονον τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν ἡμῶν ἀγωγῆς ἐκλύειν πειρώμενος. she leaves him.. Ioh. 8, 44.” Τούτοις τὸν γέροντα παραπείσας — ἔδοξε γὰρ προσήκοντα λέγειν τῷ πράγματι, — ἅμα φωτὶ τὸ κεράμιον ἀνὰ χεῖρας λαβὼν δῆθεν ὕδωρ μετακομίσαι, ἐκεῖνο μὲν ἐκτός που ἀφίησιν, αὐτὸς δὲ ᾗ ποδῶν εἶχε τό τε σπήλαιον καὶ τὸ ὄρος καταλιπών, πρῶτον μὲν ἐπὶ τὸν Εὔξεινον εἶτα καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸ τὸ στόμα τοῦ Πόντου γίνεται καὶ ἐν ταῖς πρότερον διατριβαῖς γεγονὼς πάλιν εἴχετο τῶν προτέρων.

And he said: "Has it then fallen into forgetfulness with you, father, who have once for all come to know the trial of our enemies? For you are disposed as one ignorant of their ambushes; or do you not understand that he is a murderer from the beginning, and indeed tries to trouble us and to alter our paths and to cast us into strange thoughts? So boldly does he attack, and he wishes to behave so unseemly in such things, as even to bring to mind the names of women, trying to loosen the intensity of our conduct according to God." Having persuaded the old man with these words — for he seemed to say things befitting the matter, — at daybreak, taking the earthen jar in his hands, ostensibly to carry water, he leaves it somewhere outside, and he himself, with all the speed of his feet, having left both the cave and the mountain, comes first to the Euxine and then to the very mouth of the Pontus, and having come into the former abodes, again held to the former ways.

[16] She resumes woman's dress; Χρόνου δ᾽ οὐ πολλοῦ διαρρεύσαντος, τὰ τῶν ἀνδρῶν αὖθις ἀποθεμένη καὶ τὴν σκηνὴν τῆς ἀναβολῆς διαλύσασα, γυναικῶν ἀμφίοις πάλιν κοσμεῖται· καὶ τὴν Κωνσταντίνου λαθοῦσα f. 20v. εἴσεισι καὶ δὴ τοὺς ἁγίους οἴκους διαδραμοῦσα καὶ δόξαν Θεῷ ἀναπέμψασα περὶ τὸν νεὼν τῆς θεομήτορος Πηγῆς [Above, p. 860. On the monastery of nuns near the temple τῆς Πηγῆς, you have testimony in Suidas, under the word Λογγῖνος, Bernhardy, vol. II, p. 597.] γίνεται· ἐν ᾧ δὴ γενομένη, μοναστηρίῳ γυναικῶν ἐντυγχάνει καὶ μετ᾽ αὐτῶν οἴκησιν ἐξαιτεῖται, in the monastery at the Fountain ἀγνοουμένη μέντοι μηδὲ ὅθεν καὶ οἵα ἐστὶ γνωριζομένη in the margin ὡραῖον A. . Ἐπεὶ δὲ προἳόντι τῷ χρόνῳ κρύπτειν ἑαυτὴν οὐκ ἐνῆν, — οὐχ ἧττον γὰρ τὸν ἐν νυκτὶ λαμπάδα κατέχοντα οὕτως εἴωθεν ὑποφαίνειν τὸ φῶς ἢ τον ἀρετὴν μετερχόμενον· ἄλλως τε καὶ τὸ μύρον κατάδηλον ἐποίει τὸν βαστάζοντα τῇ ὀδμῇ, — οἷόν τι ξένον θέαμα ταύτην ἑώρων αἱ σύνοικοι καὶ κρείττονος εἶναι μοίρας αὐτὴν ὑπελάμβανον· μηδὲ γὰρ ἂν πρὸς ἰσχύος εἶναι καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἱκανὰ πράττειν τὰ ἐκείνῃ παρὰ δόξαν τελούμενα· ἥ τε γὰρ νηστεία καὶ τὸ ἐν εὐχῇ στάσιμον καὶ τὸ ἀπρόἳτον ὡς ἐπίπαν καὶ τὸ ἡσύχιον καὶ πρὸ πάντων

When no long time had flowed by, having again laid aside the things of men and dissolved the stage-set of the disguise, she is adorned again in women's garments; and secretly she enters the city of Constantine, and, having run round the holy houses and sent up glory to God, she comes to the temple of the Mother of God of the Fountain; having come into which, she comes upon a monastery of women and asks for a dwelling with them, unknown, however, and not recognized whence or of what kind she was. And when, as time went on, it was not possible for her to hide herself, — for the light is not wont thus to reveal the man who holds a torch in the night less than the man who pursues virtue; and besides, the ointment made its bearer manifest by its odour, — her fellow-dwellers looked on her as some strange spectacle and supposed her to be of a higher lot; for the things accomplished by her beyond expectation could not, they thought, be within the strength and capacity of men; for her fasting, and her standing fast in prayer, and her not going out at all, and her quietness, and above all

τὸ τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ ἀγάπης αὐτῇ σπουδαζόμενον ἄλλο τι ταύτην ἐδείκνυ καὶ κρείττονος ἢ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς φύσεως ἔργον· ἐκείνη δὲ τὸ λανθάνειν ἀεὶ περὶ παντὸς ποιουμένη, τὰς πλείστας διαλαθοῦσα εἱλικοειδὲς καὶ σηραγγῶδες κατὰ γῆν ὑπορύξασα οἴκημα, she shuts herself in an underground place, ἐν αὐτῷ διατρίβειν ᾑρεῖτο, πᾶσαν τὴν ἐκτὸς Θεοῦ ἀσχολίαν ὡς οὐδὲν ἀπειποῦσα καὶ διαρρίψασα· ἐκεῖσε τοιγαροῦν ἐγκλεισθεῖσα, Θεῷ καὶ ἑαυτῇ διετέλει καθομιλοῦσα, οὐδενὸς τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων προσαπτομένη ὅτι μὴ πᾶσα ἀνάγκη, ἅπαξ τῆς ἑβδουάδος προσιεμένη τροφὴν κἀκείνην πάντη βραχεῖαν ἐκ σπερμάτων δή τινων καὶ λαχάνων, ὅσον τὴν οὐσίαν συνέχειν τῆς φύσεως.

the zeal for peace and charity in her showed her to be something other, the work of a nature higher than ours; but she, always making it her chief concern to escape notice, eluding most of them, dug out under the earth a spiral and cavernous dwelling, and chose to live in it, renouncing and casting away as nothing all occupation outside God; shut in there, therefore, she continued conversing with God and with herself, touching nothing human except what was of all necessity, taking food once a week, and that altogether scant, of certain seeds and vegetables, as much as would hold together the substance of nature.

[17] yet she is not hidden. Πλὴν ἀλλ᾽ ὅσῳ λανθάνειν ἐπεχείρει, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ἕτεπον τρόπον ἑαυτὴν ὑπεδείκνυ καὶ ἄκουσα· πόλιν γὰρ ἐπάνω ὄρους κειμένην, κἂν ὑπόγειος ἦν, οὐ κρύπτεσθαι πρὸς φύσεώς ἐστιν. Matth. 5, 14. Ἀμέλει καὶ τῆς φήμης ἁπανταχοῦ μετ᾽ ὀλίγον διαθεούσης, συνέρρεον ὁσημέραι τὰ πλήθη, εὐχῆς τε μετασχεῖν καὶ ὄψιν κατιδεῖν ἐκείνην τὴν καὶ αὐτοῖς ἀγγέλοις αἰδέσιμον. Ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἐκεῖσέ πῃ καὶ τὸν βασιλέα Λέοντα Leo VI, emperor 886 – 911. παριέναι ἔδει, — οὗτος καὶ γὰρ τηνικάδε τὰ σκῆπτρα τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίας διεῖπε, — τῶν ἐκ τῆς βασιλείας f. 21. φροντίδων μικρὸν ἀνιέμενον, ἄλλως τε καὶ τὸ ἔντονον ὑπεκλύοντα τῇ περὶ τὴν σοφίαν καὶ κατάληψιν τῶν ὄντων σπουδῇ, the emperor Leo μανθάνει μὲν εὐθὺς τὰ κατὰ τὴν μακαρίαν· καὶ αὐτίκα τῶν ἐν χερσὶν ἀφέμενος, ὅλῳ ὅλως A. ῥυτῆρι πρὸς αὐτὴν ἐχωρει, οἰόμενος ἑαυτῷ τι συνοίσειν τῇ ὁμιλίᾳ.

But the more she attempted to escape notice, the more she revealed herself in another way, even unwillingly; for a city set upon a mountain, even if it were underground, cannot by nature be hidden. Indeed, as the report soon ran about everywhere, the crowds flowed together daily to share in her prayer and to behold that countenance venerable even to the angels themselves. And since it was necessary somehow for the emperor Leo too to pass by there — for he at that time administered the sceptres of the Roman rule, — as he was relaxing a little from the cares of the empire, and besides was loosening his intensity in his zeal for wisdom and the apprehension of the things that are, he at once learns what concerned the blessed woman; and immediately letting go what was in his hands, he went to her at full rein, thinking that the conversation would bring him some profit.

Ἐπεὶ δ᾽ εἰσῄει τὸ οἴκημα καὶ πρὸς λόγους ἧκε τῇ θαυμαστῇ γυναικῶν, ἠπόρει καθ᾽ ἑαυτὸν καὶ διὰ θαύματος ἐποιεῖτο, ὅπως γυνὴ τὸ ἀσθενὲς ἀρρενώσασα πολλοὺς παρήλασε τῶν ἀνδρῶν, τὸ ἀρρενωπὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι καθυποφαίνουσα τῇ τε καρτερίᾳ τῶν πόνων καὶ τῷ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀκιβδήλῳ καὶ τῷ μακρῷ τῆς ἀσκήσεως δρόμῳ· οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς τὸ νεανικὸν ἐδείκνυ καὶ ἔμπειρον καὶ τὸ σχεδὸν ἐφ᾽ ἅπασι διαβεβηκός, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις τῶν λόγων, οἳ ἐκείνῳ ἦσαν διὰ σπουδῆς, ἀμύητος ἦν· ἀλλὰ πολὺ πολὺν A. καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνοις ἐπλούτει τὴν χάριν, ἐξεπίτηδες πρὸς πᾶν τὸ προτιθέμενον ἐπιβάλλουσα, ὡς καὶ τὸν βασιλέα θαυμάζειν καὶ καταπλήττεσθαι καὶ τοσοῦτον ἁλῶναι τοῖς λόγοις, ξένον τινὰ οἷον νεκταρώδη ἐπιστάζοντας so A; ἐπιστάζουσιν K. ἵμερον τῇ ψυχῇ, ὡς καὶ ὡρισμέναις ἡμέραις τῶν ἄλλων ἀποσχολούμενον παρὰ τὸ ἄντρον ἐκεῖνο τὸ ὑπόγειον γίνεσθαι καὶ τῇ θαυμασίᾳ so A; τῆς θαυμασίας k. περὶ τῶν καθ᾽ αὑτὸν εὐλαβῶς λίαν διαπυνθάνεσθαι καὶ τὴν θεραπείαν ἐπὶ πᾶσι λαμβάνειν ἁρμόζουσαν· ἀλλὰ καὶ Θεῷ χάριτας οὐκ ἐλαχίστας ὁμολογῶν ἦν τοιαύτην ἐν ταῖς αὐτοῦ ἡμέραις ψυχὴν ἀναδείξασαν so A; ἀναδείξαντι one would expect. τῶν πάλαι κατ᾽ οὐδὲν ἀποδέουσαν. he visits her quite often, Ταῦτα δὲ καὶ ἡ περὶ αὐτὸν θεραπεία τε καὶ δορυφορία διαπραττομένη καθεωρᾶτο. Τῷ γοῦν ἡδεῖ τῶν λόγων θελγόμενος ἐφοίτα πρὸς αὐτὴν συνεχέστερον καὶ ἀρυόμενος τὰ ὑπὲρ μέλι καὶ κηρίον ἡδύτερα ῥήματα, οἴκαδε ἀνεχώρει καὶ ουχ ἧττον τοῖς τῆς βασιλείας συμβόλοις ἐνήδετο ἢ τὸ ταύτην καταπλουτῆσαι ἐν μεγίστῳ ἐτίθει.

And when he entered the dwelling and came to speech with the wonderful woman, he was at a loss within himself and marvelled how a woman, having made her weakness manly, had outstripped many men, showing her manliness in all things, in her endurance of labours and the guilelessness of her soul and the long course of her asceticism; for not only in spiritual things did she show vigour and experience and a proficiency gone through almost everything, but neither was she uninitiated in the other kinds of learning which were his study; but she was rich in much grace in those too, applying herself deliberately to everything proposed, so that the emperor wondered and was astounded and was so taken by her words, which distilled into the soul a certain strange, as it were nectarous, longing, that on appointed days, freeing himself from other affairs, he came to that underground cave, and inquired very piously of the wonderful woman about his own affairs, and received in all things fitting care; and he also confessed no small thanks to God for having shown forth in his days such a soul, falling short in nothing of those of old. And these things were seen being done by the attendants and bodyguard about him too. Charmed, then, by the sweetness of her words, he visited her more continually, and, drawing words sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, he returned home, and he took no less pleasure in the insignia of empire than he counted it a very great thing to be enriched by her.

[18] and long conversations Καί ποτε πρὸς τὴν μακαρίαν γενόμενος τοιοῖσδε πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀπήρχετο ῥήμασι· &ldquogr;Σοί, φησίν, ὦ μῆτερ, ἀκριβῶς καθηραμένῃ ψυχὴν ἐδόθη καὶ τὸ τοῖς θεοῖς ἐμφιλοχωρεῖν ἀκριβέστερον καὶ θορύβου πόρρω f. 21v. καθεστώσῃ τὰ ἡμέτερα θεωρεῖν· ὅθεν ἀνεῖταί σοι καὶ εἰσηγεῖσθαι τὰ κρείττονα καὶ πρὸς τὰ χείρω σφοδρῶς ἡμᾶς ῥέποντας ἀνορθοῦν καὶ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν εἴ χρηστὸν ἡμῖν ὑποτίθεσθαι· ἡμεῖς γὰρ εἰ καὶ σοφοί ἐσμεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ ματαίος· τὴν γὰρ ἀληθινὴν καὶ πρώτην μὴ ἀσπασάμενοι ἐκ πυθμένων δή τινων ἀνακύπτομεν, οὐχ ὁρῶντες ὡς ἔχει τὸν ἥλιον. Phil. 3, 5. Σοὶ δὲ σκύβαλα πάντα ἡγησαμένῃ διὰ Χριστὸν ἀκραιφνέστερον οἷον ὁρᾶν ἐξεγένετο καὶ τέλειον ἔσται τὸ εἰσηγούμενον· ὅθεν τοῦ ἐν σοὶ χαρίσματος μὴ ἀμέλει, φησίν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος.&rdquogr;

And once, having come to the blessed woman, he began with words such as these to her: "To you, mother," he said, "who have exactly cleansed your soul, it has been given both to dwell more exactly with the divine beings and, standing far from tumult, to contemplate our affairs; wherefore it is permitted you both to propose the better things and to set upright us who incline vehemently to the worse, and, to put it simply, to suggest to us whatever is good; for even if we are wise, yet it is in vain; for, not having embraced the true and first wisdom, we peer up from certain depths, not seeing how the sun is. But to you, who have counted all things as dung for Christ, it has been granted to see, as it were, more purely, and what you propose will be perfect; wherefore, do not neglect the gift that is in you, says the divine Apostle."

I Tim. 4, 14.” Πρὸς ταῦτα ἡ μακαρία ἠπίῳ καὶ ἱλαρῷ καὶ σώφρονι ψυχῆς καταστήματι· &ldquogr;Ὡς οὐδενός σοι, ἔφη, χρεία παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ, βασιλεῦ· σὺ γὰρ τὸ ἄρχειν λαβὼν ἐκ Θεοῦ καὶ σοφίας so A; είς σοφίας you would write. ἄκρον ἐλάσας, οὐδενὸς πάντως δέῃ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὀνησόντων κατάληψιν· εἰ δέ πού τι καὶ διαδράσκει, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνεῖταί σοι πάλιν ἡ τῶν θείων γραφῶν ἀνάγνωσις καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ὑποτιθεῖσα καὶ τὸ δέον ὑπομιμνήσκουσα, χορὸς ἀνδρῶν ἱερῶν λόγῳ καὶ βίου σεμνότητι διαπρέποντες, καὶ τἆλλα ὅσα διαφερόντως πεῖρα καὶ ὁ μακρὸς χρόνος ἐδίκαξε, καὶ πρὸ πάντων ὁ φυσικὸς αὐτὸς νόμος, τὸ ἔνδον καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς κριτήριον, ἀλαλήτῳ διδασκαλίᾳ πᾶσιν ἐπιστατῶν καὶ ἀκριβὴς καθήμενος δικαστὴς καὶ βραβεύων τὴν ῥοπὴν τῷ καλῷ καὶ τῷ χείρονι. Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐμῶν οὐχ ἁγνῶν χειλέων τι διακοῦσαι ποθεῖς, ἡμεῖς μὲν κατὰ τὴν σὴν ἐντολὴν διανοίξομέν σοι τὰ χείλη, ὁ δὲ τῶν σημείων Θεὸς ὁ δι᾽ ὄνου πάλαι λαλήσας ἀναγγελεῖ σοι τῶν ποιητέων τὴν δήλωσιν.”

To this the blessed woman, in a gentle and cheerful and sober state of soul, said: "You have no need of anything from me, O emperor; for you, having received rule from God and having driven to the summit of wisdom, need nothing at all for the apprehension of what will profit; and if anything somewhere escapes you, the reading of the divine Scriptures is again open to you, suggesting each thing and reminding you of what is needful; a chorus of sacred men distinguished in word and in gravity of life; and the other things which experience and long time have especially adjudged; and before all the natural law itself, the tribunal within and in ourselves, presiding over all with unspoken teaching, and sitting as an exact judge, and awarding the balance between the good and the worse. But since you long to hear something from my unholy lips too, we, according to your command, will open our lips to you, and the God of signs, who spoke of old through an ass, will announce to you the showing of what is to be done."

[19] he holds with her, “Ἴσθι τοίνυν, ὦ βασιλεῦ, ὡς οὐδὲν ὁ βίος καὶ ἡ παροῦσα κατάστασις· κἂν γὰρ μέγας καὶ καλὸς ὁ κόσμος οὗτος καὶ ἡδὺ θέαμα καὶ Θεὸς πλεῖστά τινα ἐνεργήσας ὤφθη καὶ εὐεργεσιῶν μυρίων καὶ μυστηρίων πλήρη κατέστησεν, ἔν τε τῇ παλαιᾷ καὶ τῇ νέᾳ ὥσπερ δῆτα μανθάνομεν, ἀλλὰ τῇ σκιᾷ λατρεύομεν τῶν ἐπουρανίων, ᾗ φησιν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος· καὶ ἄλλη τις ἡμᾶς ἐκδέχεται βιοτή, τὴν παροῦσαν σκιᾶς ὄνειρον ἀπελέγχουσα· μὴ τοίνυν ἡ ἁλουργὶς καὶ ἡ πορφύρα καὶ ὁ καταμάργαρος οὗτος κόσμος καὶ ἡ Hebr. 8, 5. ἐντεῦθεν τρυφὴ καὶ δορυφορία ἄλλο τι ἀναπειθέτω φρονεῖν ἢ ὡς ὕλη σοι ταῦτα παρὰ τοῦ τῶν φώτων κατεπέμφθη πατρός, ἵνα μηδὲν ᾖ σοι πρὸς ἀπολογίαν πρόφασις τοῦ μὴ τὰ δέοντα πράττειν.

"Know, then, O emperor, that life and the present state are nothing; for even if this world is great and beautiful and a sweet spectacle, and God has been seen to have wrought very many things in it and made it full of myriad benefits and mysteries, in both the Old and the New, as indeed we learn, yet we serve the shadow of the heavenly things, as the divine Apostle says; and another life awaits us, convicting the present one of being the dream of a shadow; let not, then, the purple robe and the purple and this pearl-studded adornment and the luxury and bodyguard that come of them persuade you to think anything other than that these things have been sent down to you as material from the Father of lights, so that you may have no pretext of excuse for not doing what is needful.

f. 22. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ τὸ δύνασθαι πρόσεστι, προσέστω καὶ χρηστὴ βούλησις, καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἤνυσται· εἰκόνα γὰρ φέρεις Θεοῦ καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν τούτου φορεῖς οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ἀδικίᾳ, and her exhortations ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ ἐκδικεῖν μᾶλλον, ἤν πού τις διαφθείρειν αἱρῆται τὸ δίκαιον. Εἰ γάρ τις πεμφθεὶς μετ᾽ ἀξιόχρεω ἀξιόχρεων A. τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ καλοῦ μὲν ὑπερίστασθαι τὸ δὲ κακὸν παντάπασιν ἀφανίζειν, εἶτ᾽ ἐκεῖνος οὐ μόνον τοῖς ἐντελλομένοις τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐπιστατήσῃ τοὐναντίον τοῦναντίου A. , μέντοι καὶ πρὸς θάτερα τὴν ἰσχὺν ἐπικλίνοι, τί παθεῖν εἰκὸς ἐκεῖνον λόγους διδόντα τῆς μικρᾶς διοικήσεως; γνώριζε τοίνυν, ὡς οἰκονόμος εἶ τῶν δικαίων Θεοῦ καὶ χρεών σε ταῦτα προσηκόντως ἐπιμετρεῖν· λόγους γὰρ ὑφέξεις πάντως Θεῷ, εἴ τι παριδεῖν σε γένοιτο τῶν δεόντων· τῷ μὲν οὖν Θεῷ καὶ ὑπερφυᾶ σε δεῖ νέμειν τιμήν· ὅσῳ γὰρ τῇ τιμῇ τῶν λοιπῶν ὑπερέχεις, τοσούτῳ χρεών σε τιμᾶν τὸν τιμήσαντα 〈καὶ omits A. 〉 τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐννόμως μεταχειρίζεσθαι· τὸ γὰρ παρὰ τοῦτο πράττειν τυραννικόν, οὐ βασιλικόν.”

For since the ability is present, let a good will be present too, and the whole is accomplished; for you bear the image of God, and you wear His sword not for injustice, but rather for avenging, if anywhere anyone chooses to corrupt justice. For if someone, sent with sufficient power to stand up for the good and to abolish the evil altogether, should then not only preside over the contrary of what is commanded by the Lord, but even incline his strength to the other side, what is it likely that he will suffer, when he gives account of his small stewardship? Know, then, that you are the steward of the just things of God, and must measure these out fittingly; for you will certainly give account to God, if it should happen that you overlook anything of what is needful; to God, then, you must assign an honour even beyond nature; for as much as you excel the rest in honour, so much must you honour Him who honoured you, and handle the rule lawfully; for to act otherwise than this is tyrannical, not royal."

[20] and counsels “Τῇ τοῦ Θεοὺ ἐκκλησίᾳ τὸ προσῆκον γέρας ἀπόνεμε· ἐντεῦθεν γὰρ ἕξεις τὸ δοκεῖν τιμᾶν σε Θεὸν ἀσφαλῶς· τοῖς ὑπηκόοις ὡς συνδούλοις καὶ ὁμοδούλοις προσφέρου καὶ πατὴρ αὐτοῖς ἔσο ἤπιος, ἡμέρως καὶ προσηνῶς τὰ τούτων διαλυόμενος· πρᾶος ἔσο, ἐπιεικής, εὖ ποιεῖν πεφυκώς, πρόχειρος εἰς εὐεργεσίαν, βραδὺς εἰς τιμωρίαν. Ταῦτα γὰρ ἐξομοιοῦσθαί σε ποιήσει Θεῷ καὶ τὸ θεοειδὲς τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐντεῦθεν ἔχεις δεικνύναι. Πρὸς τούτοις τὸ ἐλευθέριον ἄσπασαι, κρείττων χρημάτων γίνου, χρώμενος τούτοις οὐ καταχρώμενος, καὶ ὡς ἴδια τὰ κοινὰ λογιζόμενος. Ἄρξεις δ᾽ ἂν ἀρίστως, εἰ σαυτοῦ πρότερον ἄρξεις· καὶ κυρίως αὐτοκράτωρ ἔσῃ, εἰ τὸν αὐτοκράτορα λογισμὸν ἡνιοχήσεις καλῶς, μᾶλλον δὲ εἰ αὐτῷ ἡνίαν ἅπασαν δοίης τῶν ἀτακτούντων ἐμπαθῶν λογισμῶν. Ἐν δικαίοις γίνου ζυγοῦ ἀκριβέστερος· εἰρηνικὸς ἔσο καὶ πολεμικός· τὸ παράδοξον f 22v. τοῦτο δὲ περιέσται σοι, εἰ μὴ φιλοπόλεμος εἶ.

"Render to the Church of God the fitting privilege; for thence you will securely have the repute of honouring God; bear yourself toward your subjects as toward fellow servants and co-servants, and be to them a gentle father, settling their affairs mildly and kindly; be meek, equitable, of a nature to do good, ready for beneficence, slow to punishment. For these things will make you like to God, and thence you are able to show the godlike character of rule. Besides these, embrace liberality, be superior to money, using it, not abusing it, and reckoning the common things as your own. You will rule best if you first rule yourself; and you will be properly an autocrat if you rein well the autocratic reason, or rather if you give to it the whole rein over the disorderly passionate thoughts. In just things be more exact than a balance; be peaceful and warlike; and this paradox will be yours if you are not a lover of war.

Πρὸ παντὸς ἱλαρὸς ἔσο καὶ προσηνής· ἡνίκα τῶν ἔξω φροντίδων ἀνῇς ἑαυτόν, ἀσχολίας ὑπέρτερον ἔστω σοι τὸ σχολάζειν εὐχῇ καὶ τῇ τῶν γραφῶν συνεχεῖ μελέτῃ. Ἐκ τούτων γὰρ ἔσται σοι τὸ προσῆκον ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ πορίσασθαι. Τίς γὰρ ἂν τοσαῦτα δὴ καὶ μετὰ παρρησίας ὑποθήσοι καὶ εἰσηγήσηται; Ἐντεῦθεν ἔσται σοι τοὺς μὲν μιμήσασθαι τῶν τὰ κρείττω κατωρθωκότων, τοῖς δὲ μὴ συναριθμηθῆναι, ὅσοι τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω εἵλοντο πορευθῆναι· ἐκεῖθεν ἔσται σοι πορίσασθαι λόγους δημιουργίας κατὰ λόγον παλαιῶν, Θεοῦ τεράστια, νομοθεσίαν, ὅπως δεῖ Θεὸν ἀνυμνεῖν, παραίνεσιν, τῶν δεόντων εἰσήγησιν, τῶν μελλόντων προφοίβασιν, παροιμίαν, ὑπομονήν, εὐχαριστίαν, εὐχήν, τἆλλα δι᾽ ὧν ἄνθρωπος πρὸς τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἐκεῖνο ἀξίωμα ἐπανάγεται.”

Before all, be cheerful and kindly; when you release yourself from external cares, let leisure for prayer and continual meditation on the Scriptures be higher for you than business. For from these it will be yours to procure what is fitting in each thing. For who would suggest and propose so many things, and with freedom of speech? Thence it will be yours to imitate some, those who have achieved the better things, and not to be numbered with others, as many as chose to go the way to the worse; thence it will be yours to procure accounts of the creation according to the reasoning of the ancients, the wonders of God, the legislation, how one must hymn God, exhortation, the proposal of what is needful, the foretelling of things to come, proverb, patience, thanksgiving, prayer, the other things through which man is led back to that ancient dignity."

[21] he hears most willingly,&ldquogr;Πίστιν βούλει κτήσασθαι; ὁ Ἀβραάμ σοι προκείσεται εἰς διδασκαλίαν, ἄπαις δὴ τὸν βίον καταγηράσας καὶ τῇ ἐπαγγελίᾳ θαρρῶν ὑπὲρ τὴν ψάμμον καὶ τοὺς ἀστέρας τὸ γένος λαμβάνει· ἴδε τοὺς ἐκείνου, τὸν Ἰσαάκ, τὸν Ἰακώβ, τοὺς δώδεκα πατριάρχας, ὅσοις χαρίσμασιν ἐπλουτίσθησαν· ὁ Ἰωσὴφ εἰς ὑπόδειγμα ἔστω σοι σωφροσύνης, ὁ Μωϋσῆς τῆς πραότητος. Τί δεῖ τὰ πολλὰ λέγειν; Δαβῒδ ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ προφήτης ἔστω σοι βίου ἀρχέτυπον, ὃς μετατραπεὶς τῆς εὐθείας ὁδοῦ πάλιν διὰ μετανοίας ἑαυτὸν εἰς ὑπόδειγμα τοῖς βουλομένοις ἐπαναστρέφειν ἄριστα δίδωσι. Τοῦτον μίμησαι, βασιλεῦ, ὃς τοσούτοις φυρόμενος, τὸν νοῦν οὐκ ἀπέστησε τοῦ Θεοῦ, άλλ᾽ οὕτως αὐτῷ τὸ προφητικὸν χάρισμα ἐπανεσώσατο ἡ μετάνοια, ὡς καὶ μαρτυρηθῆναι παρὰ Θεοῦ ἀνὴρ κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ φανείς· εὐσεβείας ζήλου σοι κέντρον καὶ πολιτείας καὶ βασιλείας ἀρίστης ἔστω σοι Κωνσταντῖνος ὁ ἐν βασιλεῦσιν ἀοίδιμος, ᾧ τοσοῦτον εὐσεβείας καὶ τῆς ἡμῶν γ᾽ ἐμέλησε καταστάσεως, ὡς ἐν ταὐτῷ καὶ Πέρσας καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀναστέλλειν βαρβάρους καὶ τοὺς τῶν ἐπισκόπων ἱεροὺς πολέμους I Reg. 13, 14. f. 23. εὐχερῶς διαλύεσθαι καὶ πέρας αἴσιον τούτοις ἐπιτιθέναι.

"Do you wish to acquire faith? Abraham will be set before you for teaching, who, having grown old in life childless, and trusting in the promise, receives a race beyond the sand and the stars; see his descendants, Isaac, Jacob, the twelve patriarchs, with how many gifts they were enriched; let Joseph be for you an example of chastity, Moses of meekness. What need to say much? Let David, the king and prophet, be for you an archetype of life, who, having turned from the straight road, through repentance again gives himself most excellently as an example to those who wish to turn back. Imitate him, O emperor, who, though defiled with so many things, did not withdraw his mind from God, but repentance so restored to him the prophetic gift that he was even attested by God as a man appearing after His heart; and let the goad of zeal for piety, and of conduct and of the best kingship, be for you Constantine, celebrated among emperors, who cared so much for piety and for our state that at the same time he both checked the Persians and the other barbarians and easily resolved the sacred wars of the bishops and put an auspicious end to them.

Ἔχεις τοίνυν, ὦ φιλανθρωπότατε βασιλεῦ, πολλὰ τῶν ὑποδειγμάτων, δι᾽ ὧν εἰ σοὶ βουλομένῳ ἐστὶν οὐδὲν καθίσταται ἐμποδὼν διὰ ταύτης δὴ τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν κληρώσασθαι· ἤκουσας τῆς γραφῆς λεγούσης· Μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ σοφὸς ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ μηδὲ ὁ δυνατὸς ἐν τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ μηδὲ ὁ πλούσιος ἐν τῷ πλούτῳ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τῷ συνιεῖν καὶ γινώσκειν τὸν Κύριον καὶ ποιεῖν κρῖμα καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς· σοὶ καὶ σοφίας ἐδόθη χύμα παρὰ Θεοῦ, σὲ καὶ δύναμις ἀποχρῶσα περιίσταται κύκλῳ

You have, then, most humane emperor, many examples, through which, if you will, nothing stands in your way to inherit, through this very rule, the kingdom of the heavens also; you have heard the Scripture saying: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the mighty man in his might, nor the rich man in his riches, but in understanding and knowing the Lord and doing judgement and justice in the midst of the earth; to you an outpouring of wisdom too has been given by God, and sufficient power surrounds you round about

καὶ πλοῦτος περιρρέων ἁπανταχοῦ. Ier. 9, 23. Μὴ τοίνυν ἐν τούτοις ἔστω σοι τὸ θαρρεῖν· οὐ γὰρ σώιζεται βασιλεύς, φησί, διὰ πολλὴν δύναμιν, καὶ τούτου πλεῖστα τὰ παραδείγματα· ἀλλὰ διὰ τῶν ὅπλων τῆς δικαιοσύνης τὸ μυριοπλάσιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἅρμα ποίησαι σεαυτῷ, καὶ ἀνίκητος ἔσῃ τῇ δεξιᾷ Κυρίου καὶ τῷ βραχίονι τὰς δυνάμεις ἱστῶν· τέλος λόγου — κἀμοὶ κατὰ τὸν Σολομῶντα εἰπεῖν, — τὸ πᾶν ἄκουε, τὸν Θεὸν φοβοῦ καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τήρει· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ταῖς ἀληθείαις ἔσῃ σοφός, εἰ τὸν θεἳκὸν φόβον οἷόν τινα ἐπιστήσεις σαυτῷ ἐπιστάτην, τὸ τὸν A. πρακτέον καὶ μὴ Understand: what is to be done and not to be done (or to be omitted). διευθύνοντα· τοῦ γὰρ προφήτου ἀκούεις ἀρχὴν σοφίας τὸν φόβον Κυρίου ὑποτιθεμένου· μνεία δὲ θανάτου διηνεκῶς συμπαρομαρτείτω συμπαρομαρτέτω A. σοι καὶ λογίζου, ὡς μετὰ βραχὺ κόνις ἔσῃ τέφρας διαφέρων οὐδὲν καὶ τὸ τῆς πορφύρας ἄνθος καὶ ὁ κατάλιθος κόσμος καὶ ἡ φλεγμονὴ τῶν ἔξω σοβούντων μεταρρυήσεται καί σε μόνος τῶν πρακτέων ὁ ἔλεγχος περιστήσεται· τούτοις δὴ πᾶσιν ἔθιζε, βασιλεῦ, ἐμμέριμνον σαυτὸν καθιστᾶν, καὶ οὐδὲν ἐσεῖται τὸ προσιστάμενον διὰ τῆσδε τῆς βασιλείας καὶ τὴν ἄνω μακαριότητα κτήσασθαι.” Ps. 32, 16, Ps. 67, 18, Eccl. 12, 13, Prov. 1, 7.

and wealth flowing about you everywhere. Let not your confidence, then, be in these things; for a king is not saved, it says, by much power, and of this there are very many examples; but through the weapons of justice make for yourself the ten-thousandfold chariot of God, and you will be unconquerable, setting up your forces by the right hand and the arm of the Lord; the end of the discourse — for me too to speak according to Solomon, — hear the whole: fear God and keep His commandments; for so you will be wise in truth also, if you set the divine fear over yourself as a kind of overseer, directing what is to be done and what not; for you hear the prophet setting down the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom; and let the remembrance of death continually accompany you, and reckon that in a short while you will be dust, differing in nothing from ashes, and the bloom of the purple and the jewelled adornment and the inflammation of those who strut about outside will flow away, and only the scrutiny of what you have done will stand about you; to all these things, O emperor, accustom yourself to be attentive, and nothing will stand in the way of acquiring through this kingship the blessedness above as well."

[22] and by her prayersΤαῦτα τῆς ὁσίας διεξιούσης ἠρέμα πως καὶ ἡσύχως, ὁ βασιλεὺς θάμβους ἅμα καὶ ἐκπλήξεως πλήρης γενόμενος ὑπανίστατο καὶ τοῖς τῆς μακαρίας ποσὶ προσπεσὼν τὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς περιελόμενος κάλυμμα μετὰ δακρύων ἐδεῖτο· &ldquogr;Οἶδα, f. 23v. λέγων, ὦ μῆτερ, ὥς σε Θεὸς μεγίστων ἠξίωσε χαρισμάτων καί σοι πεισθείη τάχος· ὑπηκόῳ γὰρ γεγενημένῃ καθάπαξ, ὥστ᾽ ἀνύτειν τὸ αὐτοῦ πανάγιον θέλημα, ἀνθυπακούσει πάλιν κἀκεῖνος καὶ ταῖς σαῖς δεήσεσι πέρας αἴσιον ἐπιθήσει· θέλημα γάρ, φησὶν ἡ γραφή, Κύριος τῶν φοβουμένων αὐτὸν ποιήσει καὶ τῆς δεήσεως αὐτῶν εἰσακούσεται&rdquogr;. Ps. 144, 49

As the holy woman went through these things quietly somehow and calmly, the emperor, filled with astonishment and amazement together, rose up, and, falling at the feet of the blessed woman, having taken off the covering of his head, begged her with tears, saying: "I know, mother, that God has deemed you worthy of very great gifts and would be quickly persuaded by you; for since you have once for all become obedient, so as to accomplish His all-holy will, He in turn will obey you again and put an auspicious end to your supplications; for the Lord, says the Scripture, will do the will of those who fear Him and will hear their supplication."

Ἡ δέ· &ldquogr;Ἀλλὰ τί ποτ᾽ ἂν εἴη, ὃ δι᾽ ἐμοῦ σοι τὸν Θεὸν δοῦναι ἐξαιτεῖς;&rdquogr; Καὶ ὁ βασιλεύς· &ldquogr;Ἐμέ, φησίν, ἔρως ἐξέτι πολλοῦ κατέσχε παῖδα λιπεῖν τῆς τε φύσεως παραμύθιον καὶ πρόπον ἄλλον τῆς βασιλείας διάδοχον· ἀλλ᾽ εἰ μὲν ἐσπουδάσθη σοι μήτηρ γενέσθαι παιδός, ἔγνως ἄν, ὅσον τὸ φίλτρον, ὡς μάτην ἂν εἴη τὸν βίον διηνυκὼς ἀνὴρ γήμας καὶ μὴ παῖδας καταλιπών· εἰ δὲ καὶ βασιλεὺς ὁ ἀνὴρ εἴη, μὴ πατὴρ ἀκούσας παιδός, ἀβίωτος μὲν ὁ βίος αὐτῷ, ἡ δέ γε ἀρχὴ δουλείας ἁπάσης χείρων, he hopes to obtain an heir. καὶ τὸ σπουδαζόμενον αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ μενδενός. Ἐπὶ τόσον δέ με τὸ τοῦ παιδὸς ἐξέκαυσε φίλτρον, ὡς καὶ τὸν νόμον καταυθεντῆσαι καὶ οὐ μόνον εἰς παράνομον προελθεῖν γάμον· — τέταρτος τέταρτον A. γὰρ ἤδη μοί ἐστι, τῶν βασιλίδων ἶσα καὶ λίθοις διακειμένων πρὸς τὰς γονάς Cf. C. Diehl, Figures Byzantines (Paris, 1906), p. 181 – 215. , — ἀλλ᾽ ἤδη καὶ τὸ εὐπρόσωπον τῷ παραλόγῳ ἐπιχρωννὺς καὶ νομοθετεῖν προήχθην τοῦτο δὴ τὸ παράλογον· τοίνυν ἱκεσίαν προτείνω θεοσεβείᾳ τῇ σῇ χεῖρας ἀνατεῖναι Θεῷ, ὡς ἂν μὴ καὶ περαιτέρω με προβῆναι ἀνάγκη γένοιτο. Ἐπικλινὲς γὰρ ἀεὶ τὸ θεῖον οἶδα γινόμενον γνωμικόν, a rubric in the margin A. , θεοφιλοῦς ψυχῆς ὡς χρεὼν αἰτουμένης τὰ πρόσφορα. Λῦσον τοίνυν εὐχαῖς τὰ τῆς βασιλίδος δεσμά, καὶ πάντα ἡμῖν ἐν ῥᾳστώνῃ ἔσται. Εἰ δὲ σὺν τῷ παραλόγῳ μηδὲ τῶν κατ᾽ ἔφεσιν ἀπολαύσαιμεν, ὅσης ἂν ἐμοὶ τρόξενον ζημίας χρεὼν ἐκλογίζεσθαι.”

And she said: "But what may it be which you ask God to give you through me?" And the emperor said: "A longing has held me for a long time now to leave a son, both as a consolation of nature and, in another manner, as successor of the empire; but if you had been eager to become the mother of a child, you would have known how great that love is, how vainly a man would have accomplished his life who married and did not leave children; and if the man should be an emperor as well, and has not heard himself called father of a child, life is unlivable for him, and his rule worse than all slavery, and what he strives for is for nothing. To such a degree has the love of a child inflamed me that I have even overridden the law, and not only proceeded into an unlawful marriage — for it is now my fourth, the empresses being disposed like stones toward offspring, — but have even been led on, colouring the unreasonable with a fair face, to legislate this very unreasonable thing; I put forward, then, a supplication to your piety to stretch out your hands to God, so that it may not become necessary for me to proceed even further. For I know that the divine always becomes inclined when a God-loving soul asks for what is fitting, as it ought. Loose, then, by your prayers, the bonds of the empress, and all things will be at ease for us. But if, along with the unreasonable thing, we should not enjoy even what we desire, how great a loss, and a strange one, must I needs reckon to myself."

[23] That he should trust in GodἩ δὲ ὁσία· &ldquogr;Τὸ μὴ ἐκπειράζειν κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν ἴσμεν, τῆς θείας λεγούσης γραφῆς. Deut. 6, 16. Ὅθεν καὶ σοί, βασιλεῦ, εἰ συνοίσειν ἔμελλε τὸ παιδὸς κληθῆναι πατέρα, τάχιστ᾽ ἂν ὁ τῆς φύσεως ἐδίδου δημιουργός· τὸ δ᾽ ἐπὶ τόσον τὰς μήτρας τῶν βασιλίδων ὅσα καὶ λίθους διακεῖσθαι παρασκευάζειν, That he should trust in God ἄλλο τι δίδωσιν ἐννοεῖν· πλὴν ἡμεῖς ὑπακοὴν f. 24. πληροῦντες, τό σοι προσταττόμενον, κἂν πρὸς τὴν αἴτησιν ἐνδεῶς ἔχωμεν, ἀνύσαι σπουδάσομεν. Σὺ δ᾽ οὐκ ἂν ἐπιτύχοις τοῦ αἰτουμένου, μὴ ταῖς ἀγαθαῖς τῶν πράξεων συμμαχῶν μοι· καὶ γὰρ καὶ σὲ τοῖς ἴσοις προσκεῖσθαι δεῖ καὶ τὴν ἄνωθεν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι βοήθειαν, ἐξ ἧς πᾶσα δῆτα πατριά, ὥσπερ μανθάνομεν, καὶ τῷ τῆς πανάγνου καὶ θεομήτορος Πηγῆς προσεδρεύειν χρὴ ἀχράντῳ καὶ ἱερῷ ὕδατι. Ephes. 3, 15. Euphrosyne exhorts the emperor.” Ταῦτ᾽ εἰποῦσα τὸν μὲν βασιλέα οἰκαδε παρεκάλει γενέσθαι καὶ εὐχῇ καὶ ἁγνότητι βίου εἴπερ ποτε καὶ νῦν διακεῖσθαι· ἐκείνη δὲ σύντονος έπὶ μᾶλλον τῇ εὐχῇ γίνεται.

And the holy woman said: "We know that we are not to tempt the Lord our God, as the divine Scripture says. Wherefore for you too, O emperor, if it were going to be of profit to be called father of a child, the Creator of nature would very quickly have given it; but His preparing the wombs of the empresses to be disposed so far like stones gives one to think something else; nevertheless we, fulfilling obedience, will be zealous to accomplish what is enjoined upon us by you, even though we fall short for the request. But you would not obtain what you ask unless you fight alongside me with good deeds; for you too must apply yourself to the like and call upon the help from above, from which, as we learn, every fatherhood indeed is named, and you must attend upon the undefiled and sacred water of the all-pure Mother of God of the Fountain." Having said this, she exhorted the emperor to go home and to be disposed, now if ever, in prayer and purity of life; and she became the more intent on prayer.

[24] In a dream Καί γε οὐ πάνυ πολλῶν διελθουσῶν ἡμερῶν οὕτως ἐχούσῃ τῇ Εὐφροσύνῃ, νυκτός ποτ᾽ ἀνέχουσα χεῖρας ἱκέτις ἦν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐκδυσωποῦσα Θεόν· παρῴχηκε δὲ καὶ τὸ πλέον ἡ νύξ, καὶ οὕτως ἔχουσα σχήματος ἐφησυχάζει βραχὺ καὶ ὕπνος αὔρᾳ λεπτοτάτῃ παρεοικὼς δῆθεν αὐτῇ ἐπιχεῖται καί τις ἀστράπτων μὲν τὴν μορφήν, ἔξαλλον δὲ καὶ ὡσανεί τινα καινοπρεπῆ ἀναβεβλημένος στολήν, καὶ αὐτὴν λαμπρὸν οἷον καὶ διειδὲς ἀποστίλβουσαν, έπιστὰς ἡμέρῳ καὶ προσηνεῖ τῇ φωνῇ· &ldquogr;Τοῦ λοιποῦ, φησίν, Εὐφροσύνη, κάμνειν οὐ χρή· ἡ γὰρ σὴ δέησις εἰς τὰ ὦτα Κυρίου ἐλήλυθε Σαβαώθ, ὃς καὶ τῇ σῇ αἰτήσει ἵλεων τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐνιδὼν ἀπάρτι παῖδα τεκεῖν αὐτὸν εὐδοκεῖ· ἄρσεν δὲ τὸ παιδίον ἔσται καὶ τῆς πατρῴας ἀρχῆς τὰς ἡνίας κρατήσει.&rdquogr;

And indeed, not very many days having passed while Euphrosyne was thus, one night she was a suppliant holding up her hands, entreating God for the emperor; and the greater part of the night had passed, and in this posture she rests a little, and sleep, like a very light breeze, is poured upon her, as it seemed, and someone, flashing in form, and clad in an extraordinary and as it were novel robe, gleaming bright and transparent, standing by, with a gentle and kindly voice said: "Henceforth, Euphrosyne, there is no need for you to labour; for your supplication has come into the ears of the Lord Sabaoth, who, having looked graciously upon the emperor at your request, is now well pleased that he should beget a son; and the child will be male and will hold the reins of his father's rule."

it is revealed to the saint that her prayers have been heard. Αὐτίκα τοίνυν τοῦ δοκοῦντος ὕπνου λυθεῖσα, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἡ ὄψις θᾶττον παρέτρεχεν, Νικόλαον τὸν μοναχὸν μεταστέλλεται — εὐνοῦχος δ᾽ ἦν ὁ ἀνὴρ ταῖς χρείαις τῆς ὁσίας διακονούμενος — καί· &ldquogr;Χάρτην, φησί, λαβὼν τήν τε ὥραν καὶ ἡμέραν ἀδιάληστον τίθει καὶ τάχος ὅσον ἐς βασιλέα ἰὼν τό τε γράμμα καὶ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον διακόμιζε.&rdquogr; Ὁ δὲ τάχος ὅσον πρὸς βασιλέα γενόμενος, φαιδρῷ τῷ προσώπῳ τὸν χάρτην αὐτῷ ἐγχειρίζει· καὶ ὃς τὰ ἐγκείμενα διελθὼν ῥᾳστώνης ὅσης ἐπλήσθη καὶ ἀκάθεκτος ἦν τῇ προσδοκίᾳ θελγόμενος, σφραγῖδί τε καὶ πάσῃ ἀσφαλείᾳ τὸν χάρτην f. 24. ἐνσημηνάμενος τοῖς ἀποκρύφοις τῶν ἀνακτόρων λαθὼν τίθησι. Καὶ τοῦ καιροῦ τὸ ἀψευδὲς κρίναντος, ὁ τόκος εἰς ὥρας προέρχεται καὶ Κωνσταντῖνος τὸ τεχθὲν τῷ βασιλεῖ ὀνομάζεται [On the son of Leo VI, born beyond hope in the year 905, read the booklet of miracles to be edited below, c. 26.] . A royal child is born;

At once, then, released from the seeming sleep, since the vision too passed quickly, she sends for Nicholas the monk — and the man was a eunuch, serving the needs of the holy woman — and says: "Take a sheet, set down the hour and day not to be forgotten, and, going as quickly as possible to the emperor, carry the writing and the good news." And he, coming as quickly as possible to the emperor, hands him the sheet with a beaming face; and the emperor, having gone through what was in it, was filled with how great an ease, and was unrestrainable, charmed by the expectation, and having marked the sheet with a seal and every security, he secretly places it in the hidden parts of the palace. And when time had judged its truthfulness, the birth comes forth in its season, and the child born to the emperor is named Constantine.

[25] Ὁ μέντοι κρατῶν ὅλος ἡδονῆς γενόμενος ἔμπλεως, ἑαυτὸν κατέχειν οὐχ οἷός τε ἦν, ἀλλὰ πανταχοῦ διεπέμπετο γράμματα τὴν ἄνωθεν χάριν μηνύοντα· ἑορτὴ δέ τις τὰ ἀνάκτορα καὶ τὴν σύγκλητον διελάμβανεν καὶ ὁ δῆμος ἐν χορείαις ἦσαν, τῷ βασιλεῖ χαριζόμενοι. Ἡ δὲ φήμη πτερὰ λαβοῦσα διέτρεχε πανταχοῦ, ὡς πατὴρ παιδὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀρτίως γνωρίζεται, they run together to Euphrosyne χορηγὸς δὲ αὐτῷ τῆς τοσαύτης εὐφροσύνης τε καὶ λαμπρότητος Εὐφροσύνη ῆ θαυμαστὴ ἡ πρὸ τῆς ζωηφόρου Πηγῆς ὑπόγειόν τι σπήλαιον ἐνοικοῦσα καὶ ζῶσα πρὸ καιροῦ τὸν τάφον οἰκεῖν ἑαυτῇ δικαιώσασα. Βοὴ χαρᾷ σύμμικτος ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἐγείρεται καὶ πάντες τῶν ἐν χερσὶν ἀφέμενοι ἕκαστος ἐπὶ τὸ σπήλαιον ἔτρεχον. then the emperor Παρῆν δὲ καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐτὸς καὶ δῆτα σὺν ἄλλοις εὐχαριστήσας αὐτῇ καὶ τὸ εἰκὸς ἀφοσιωσάμενος οἴκαδε πάλιν ἐπάνεισι. Τὸ δὲ πλῆθος καὶ αὐτὸ τῆς θεοειδοῦς ἐκείνης ἀξιωθὲν ὄψεως καὶ τὰ εἰκότα ἕκαστος διακούσαντες ἐπὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα πάλιν ἀνεχώρησαν ἤθη, Θεὸν ὡς χρεὼν δοξάζοντες.

The ruler, however, having become wholly full of pleasure, was not able to restrain himself, but letters were sent everywhere making known the grace from above; a kind of feast took hold of the palace and the senate, and the people were in dances, gratifying the emperor. And report, taking wings, ran everywhere that the emperor was now known as the father of a child, and that the provider to him of so great gladness and splendour was the wonderful Euphrosyne, who dwelt in a certain underground cave before the life-bearing Fountain and, while living, had judged it right for herself to dwell in the tomb before her time. A cry mixed with joy is raised at this, and all, letting go of what they had in hand, ran each to the cave. The emperor himself too was present, and indeed, having given thanks to her with the others and paid what was fitting, he goes back home again. And the crowd too, having been deemed worthy of that godlike sight, and each having heard what was fitting, withdrew again to their own abodes, glorifying God as was due.

[26] then his wife, Ἡ δέ γε Αὐγοῦστα Ζωή, ἡμερῶν διαγενομένων ὀλίγων, ἐπεὶ τῶν ἐκ τῆς λοχείας ἀπελύετο δυσχερῶν, τὸν παῖδα ἔτι νήπιον ὄντα καὶ σπαργάνοις ὡς εἰκὸς περιειλημμένον λαβοῦσα παρὰ τὴν ὁσίαν γίνεται Εὐφροσύνην, σύναμα δηλαδὴ τῷ κρατοῦντι· καὶ τὴν θείαν ἐκείνην καὶ αἰδοῦς ὡς ἀληθῶς ἀξίαν κατιδοῦσα ὄψιν καὶ τὸ κατ᾽ οὐδὲν τάφου διαφέρον ἐκεῖνο οἴκημα αὐτήν τ᾽ ἐκείνην σιδήροις πανταχόθεν διειλημμένην καὶ τὸν ἐκ τριχῶν ἀγρίων ὑφασμάτων χιτῶνα καὶ τακερὰν τεθεῖσαν τὴν ὄψιν, καὶ τῇ σιγῇ ἐφ᾽ ἱκανὸν καταπλαγεῖσα τῷ θαύματι ἶσα καὶ ἀνδριάντι καθίστατο, ἐκπληττομένη τὴν πολιτείαν, τὴν δίαιταν, τὴν ἀναβολήν, τὴν ξένην καλύβην, τὸ τοῦ προσώπου κατεσκληκός τε καὶ αἰδοῖ σύγκρατον καὶ τὴν ἐπανθοῦσαν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἐξ f. 25. ἐγκρατείας ὠχρότητα, — μόλις οὖν εἰς ἑαυτὴν ἐλθοῦσα· &ldquogr;Ὄντως, φησί, προσωποληψία οὐκ ἔστι παρὰ Θεῷ· ἐκέκραξαν οἱ δίκαιοι, καὶ ὁ Κύριος εἰσήκουσεν αὐτῶν.&rdquogr; Rom. 2, 11, Ps. 33, 18. Καὶ τοίνυν μετ᾽ αἰδοῦς ὅσης τὸ γόνυ πρὸ τῆς θυρίδος κλίνασα, τὴν εὐλογίαν μετὰ θερμῶν τῶν δακρύων ἐζήτει· καὶ τὸν παῖδα ἐπὶ ψιλοῦ τοῦ ἐδάφους πρὸ τῶν τῆς μακαρίας ποδῶν ῥίψασα· &ldquogr;Δέξαι, ὦ μητερ, ἔλεγε, τὸν τῆς ἐμῆς κοιλίας καρπόν, ὃν ἐβλάστησαν μὲν αἱ τῶν σῶν ὠδῖνες εὐχῶν, ἤρδευσαν δέ σου πηγαὶ δακρύων καὶ ἐς τόδε προήγαγον ἡλικίας αἱ σαὶ δεήσεις Θεὸν δυσωπήσασαι, ὃν δὴ καὶ εὐλογίας τῆς προσηκούσης ἀξίωσον· σὸν γὰρ ὡς ἀληθὲς τὸ κύημα ἤπερ ἐμόν· ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ σὸν τὸ παιδίον ἢ ἐμοὶ προσῆκον τὰ μάλιστα, as they press her earnestly, γενοῦ τούτῳ καὶ τῆς κρείττονος αἰτία ἀναγεννήσεως· δικαίου K, δίκαιον A. δέ που, τοὐλάχιστον αὐτῷ δεδωκυῖα χορηγοῦντος τοῦ κρείττονος ταῖς εὐχαῖς, καὶ τῶν μεγίστων καταξιῶσαι ὡς ἀληθῶς· γεννήσασα τοίνυν καὶ ἀναγέννησον, ἵν᾽ ᾖ σοι ἐντελὲς τὸ κύημα καὶ μὴ κατά τι λειπόμενον· εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὸ δοκεῖν ἐγὼ μήτηρ, ἀλλὰ σὺ ταῖς ἀληθείαις ἡ καὶ συλλαβοῦσα καὶ τέξασα καὶ ταῖς σειραῖς τῶν εὐχῶν σπαργανώσασα.&rdquogr;

And the Augusta Zoe, when a few days had passed, since she was released from the difficulties of childbed, taking the child, still an infant and wrapped, as is natural, in swaddling-clothes, comes to the holy Euphrosyne, together, that is, with the ruler; and beholding that divine face, truly worthy of reverence, and that dwelling differing in nothing from a tomb, and the woman herself bound round on every side with irons, and the tunic woven of wild hairs, and her face made to waste away, she stood for a good while in silence, struck with wonder, like a statue, astounded at her conduct, her regimen, her clothing, the strange hut, the withered look of the face, mingled with reverence, and the pallor blooming over all from continence, — scarcely, then, coming to herself, she said: "Truly there is no respect of persons with God; the just cried, and the Lord heard them." And so, with how much reverence, bending the knee before the little window, she sought her blessing with warm tears; and, casting the child on the bare floor before the feet of the blessed woman, she said: "Receive, mother, the fruit of my womb, which the birth-pangs of your prayers made to sprout, and your springs of tears watered, and your supplications, entreating God, brought forth to this age; deem him worthy, too, of the fitting blessing; for the offspring is truly yours rather than mine; but since the child belongs to you most of all, rather than to me, become for him also the cause of the better regeneration; and it is just, I think, that, having given him the least, the Better One supplying it to your prayers, you should deem him worthy truly of the greatest too; having begotten, then, regenerate also, so that the offspring may be complete for you and not wanting in anything; for even if in seeming I am the mother, yet you in truth are she who both conceived and bore him and swaddled him in the cords of prayers."

Ἡ δὲ ὁσία ἀνεβάλλετο μὲν τὰ πρῶτα καὶ ἀπηξίου τὴν αἴτησιν. Ὡς δὲ συχνῶς ἑώρα τοὺς κρατοῦντας ἐπικειμένους καὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς κλίνοντας καὶ σύναμα πολλῇ τῇ δεήσει χρωμένους, μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας τὸ καταθύμιον αὐτοῖς εἰς πέρας προάγει καὶ διπλῆ τοῦ παιδὸς καθίσταται μήτηρ, she herself baptizes the boy. καὶ ὠδινήσασα μὲν ταῖς εὐχαῖς καὶ τεκοῦσα πάλιν ἀνωδίνως τῷ σωτηριώδει βαπτίσματι. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἐν τοῖς ἀνακτόροις γενόμενος οὐχ ἧττον ἐνήδετο, ὅτι παῖδα τέκοι, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι καὶ διὰ τῆς ὁσίας· καὶ λαμπραῖς ἐντεῦθεν ἐπεχόρευε ταῖς ἐλπίσιν, ὅτι περ ἔσχε πειθομένην οὐ μόνον γεννῆσαι τὸν παῖδα δηλαδὴ ταῖς εὐχαῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀναγεννῆσαι τῷ θείῳ

The holy woman put it off at first and disdained the request. But when she saw the rulers pressing frequently and bowing their heads and using much supplication together, after some days she brings what they desired to its end and becomes doubly the mother of the child, both having travailed with him in prayers and having borne him again without travail by saving baptism. And the emperor, having come into the palace, rejoiced no less that he had begotten a child than that it was through the holy woman; and thence he danced upon bright hopes, since he had found her persuaded not only to beget the child, that is, by her prayers, but also to regenerate him by the divine

λουτρῷ [We said above, p. 859, that these things are false. Let it be added that it is provided both by law and by practice that baptism not be conferred by women.] .

bath.

[27] Ἐξ ἐκείνου τοίνυν αἵ τε τῆς βασιλίδος πρὸς τὴν ὁσίαν συχναὶ πρόοδοι καὶ τιμαὶ τῶν προσδοκωμένων μείζους 25v. καὶ τελεώτεραι· καὶ τὴν ἐν ταῖς λαμπραῖς οἰκίαις ἀπωθουμένη διατριβήν, παραρριπτεῖσθαι τῷ εὐτελεῖ τῆς ὁσίας οἰκήματι ἀνθῃρεῖτο καὶ ταύτῃ διακονεῖσθαι ἢ παρὰ πάντων σχεδὸν ἐξυπηρετεῖσθαι καὶ τῇ θεραπείᾳ τῆς βασιλικῆς κατατρυφᾶν ἀπολαύσεως· ἐῴκει τε αὐτῇ προσηλῶσθαι· οὐ γὰρ ἀνθρώπῳ ταῦτα πράττειν, ἀλλά τινι τῶν τῆς ὑπερτέρας δυνάμεως, ἐν σώματι περιπολεῖν ᾑρημένῳ τὴν γῆν..

From that time, then, the empress's visits to the holy woman were frequent, and her honours greater and more perfect than were expected; and, rejecting her stay in the splendid houses, she preferred to cast herself down in the humble dwelling of the holy woman and to serve her, rather than to be served by almost all and to luxuriate in the attendance of royal enjoyment; and she seemed to be nailed to her; for she thought she did these things not for a human being, but for one of the higher power who had chosen to go about the earth in a body.

To repel vainglory, Ἐντεῦθεν ἡ μακαρία τῇ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης δόξης περιουσίᾳ τὴν ψυχὴν ἀποκναίουσα λογιζομένη τε ὡς εἰκός, ὅτι περ τὸ πολὺ τῆς παρούσης δόξης τε καὶ λαμπρότητος ὑφαιρήσει ταύτῃ τὴν ἐκεῖθεν αἴγλην καὶ τῆς ἀπεράντου δόξης οὐ τὸ βραχύ, — τοῖς γὰρ ἁπάντων στόμασιν ἔκειτο καὶ πανταχοῦ περιῄει τῇ φήμῃ τῆς ἁγιότητος, — ἐδυσφορει λίαν καὶ ἤσχαλλεν καὶ ἀπαλλαγῆναι τεχνηέντως τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης δεσμῶν ἠβούλετο.

Hence the blessed woman, wearied in soul by the abundance of human glory, and reckoning, as was natural, that the greatness of the present glory and splendour would take away from her the radiance from there and no little part of the endless glory — for she lay in the mouths of all and went about everywhere in the fame of holiness, — was very much vexed and distressed, and wished to be freed skilfully from the bonds of glory.

Ἀμέλει καὶ τὸν ταῖς χρείαις ταύτῃ διακονούμενον μοναχὸν μετακαλεσαμένη Νικόλαον, — εὐνοῦχος δ᾽ ἦν, καθά μοι καὶ πρότερον εἴρηται, — πρὸς πᾶν αὐτῇ δεξιώτατος. &ldquogr;Ὁρᾷς, φησί, τέκνον, ὅση καθ᾽ ἡμῶν ἡ ἐπίθεσις· δέδοικα, μὴ καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἐμοὶ τὸ τῆς παροιμίας ἐπαληθεύσῃ· ἄλλην τρέχων τις ἄλλην ἐβάδισεν A proverb, which recurs again in c. 43. · ἐμοὶ γὰρ κατὰ Θεὸν ἡρημένῃ βιοῦν πόρρω μὲν ἀνθρώπων γενέσθαι ἦν ἡ σπουδή, πολλῷ γε μὴν ἐνέδει τοῖς ἐν ἐξουσίαις ἔγγιστα γενέσθαι καὶ τοῖς ἐν ἀξιώμασι· τί γὰρ ἐμοὶ βούλεται ἡ ὑπόγειος αὕτη καὶ ζοφώδης οἰκία καὶ ὁ τρίβων οὗτος καὶ σίδηρος πανταχοῦ διατρέχων καὶ δεσμοῖς ἀφύκτοις καταδεσμῶν; νυνὶ δ᾽ ὁ τὰ πάντα τεχνώμενος πονηρὸς εἰς τοὐναντίον ἐμοὶ τὰ τοῦ σκοποῦ περιίστησι·

Accordingly, summoning the monk Nicholas who served her needs, — he was a eunuch, as has been said by me before, — most dexterous for her in everything, she said: "You see, child, how great is the assault against us; I fear lest the proverb come true in my case too: running for one thing, a man walked into another; for my zeal, since I had chosen to live according to God, was to be far from men, but much was lacking that I should come very near to those in power and in dignities; for what does this underground and gloomy dwelling mean for me, and this worn cloak, and the iron running everywhere and binding me with inescapable bonds? But now the wicked one, who contrives all things, turns the things of my aim round for me into the contrary;

ὁρᾷς γάρ, ὅσος ἡμᾶς θόρυβος καθ᾽ ἑκάστην εἰσρέει καὶ λόγοι μὴ προσήκοντες τῇ καθάπαξ ἡμῶν διαίτῃ καὶ τῷ σκοπῷ, another hiding-place, ὡς ἔμοιγε καὶ δέος μάλα ὑφέρπει, μὴ διὰ τῆς προσκαίρου ταυτησὶ δόξης καὶ οὐδὲν ἐχούσης λυσιτελὲς ἀστοχῆσαι τῆς μακαρίας ἐκείνης καὶ ἀπεράντου γένοιτο δόξης· ὅθεν εἰ καί ποτε θυμῆρες ἐμοὶ ἔφθης ἀνύσας, καὶ νῦν ὅσον τάχος τὰ κύκλῳ τῆς πόλεως ταύτης f. 26. διαδραμών, ἔνθα δὴ ἔρημα ξυμβαίνει ξυμβαίνειν A. εἶναι καὶ ἀνθρώπων κενά, οἰκίαν ἐμοὶ παρασκεύαζε μηδενὶ γινωσκομένην ἢ Θεῷ τε καὶ σοί. Οὕτω γὰρ ἂν μετρίως τοῦ ποθουμένου τύχοιμεν, ἀφανεῖς τελοῦντες καὶ τοῖς κρατοῦσιν ἥκιστα γινωσκόμενοι· ἔρως γάρ μου ἐντέτηκε τῇ ψυχῇ τοῦ καλοῦ τῆς ἡσυχίας καὶ ἀναχωρήσεως καὶ τρόπον ἕτερον οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλως Θεῷ συγγενέσθαι σχολῆς τῶν ἄλλων ἐκτός· ἦ γὰρ οὐκ ἀκούεις καὶ σὺ τῆς γραφῆς διαρρήδην βοώσης· Σχολάσατε καὶ γνῶτε;&rdquogr; Ps. 45, 11.

for you see how great a tumult flows in upon us each day, and words not befitting our once-for-all regimen and aim, so that fear greatly creeps upon me, lest through this temporary glory, which has nothing profitable, it should befall me to miss that blessed and endless glory; wherefore, if ever before you have accomplished what is pleasing to me, now too, as quickly as possible, running round the surroundings of this city, where there happen to be deserted places empty of men, prepare for me a house known to no one but God and you. For so we might moderately attain what we long for, becoming unseen and least of all known to the rulers; for a love of the beauty of quiet and withdrawal has melted into my soul, and there is no other way of being with God apart from leisure from the other things; or do you too not hear the Scripture crying out expressly: Be at leisure and know?"

[28] by Nicholas the monkΤαῦθ᾽ ὁ Νικόλαος διακούσας, αὐτίκα μάλα ὀξέως τὴν πόλιν περιελθὼν ἅπασαν, τῶν κατ᾽ ἔφεσιν εὐτυχεῖ τῇ ὁσίᾳ. Οἰκίαν καὶ γὰρ εὑρίσκει παντάπασι τῷ χρόνῳ διερρωγυῖαν ἄγχιστά που τῆς πύλης τῆς πόλεως, ἥτις δὴ τοῦ Καλάγρου οὕτως ὠνόμασται, ἔνδον μὲν τῆς Κωνσταντίνου, ἀντικρὺ δὲ κειμένην τοῦ νεὼ τῆς Πηγῆς· ἐν ᾗ καὶ οἶκός τις εὐκτήριος ἦν ἔκπαλαι ἀνειμένος τῇ ὑπερουσίῳ Τριάδι, τῷ χρόνῳ πεπονηκὼς καὶ εἰς γῆν κείμενος. prepared, Ταύτην τοιγαροῦν ὁ μοναχὸς πριάμενος καὶ ὡς ἦν εἰκὸς πρὸς τὸ δοκοῦν διασκευασάμενος, τῇ ὁσίᾳ προσιὼν ἔφη· &ldquogr;Θεὸς ἀπάρτι τὸ σὸν βούλημα περάνας ἔχει· καὶ γὰρ ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ 〈ὅτι omits A. 〉 οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἁπάντων ἀρκέσει τῷ σῷ so A; σοι K. προκειμένῳ σκοπῷ ἢ χῶρος ἐκεῖνος, ὃν Θεὸς ἐχορήγησεν.&rdquogr; Ἡ δὲ τῷ Θεῷ τὰ χαριστήρια θύσασα καὶ χαρᾶς ὅλη πλήρης ὀφθεῖσα, λάθρα τοῦ λάκκου ἀναχωρήσασα πρὸς τὸ εἰρημένον μετέβαινεν οἴκημα.

Having heard these things, Nicholas, at once going round the whole city very swiftly, succeeds for the holy woman in what she desired. For he finds a house altogether broken through by time, somewhere very near the gate of the city which is so named, of Kalagros, within the city of Constantine, and lying opposite the temple of the Fountain; in which there was also a house of prayer dedicated of old to the super-essential Trinity, worn out by time and lying on the ground. Having bought this, then, the monk, and having fitted it out, as was likely, as seemed good, approached the holy woman and said: "God has now accomplished your wish; for to me at least it seems that nothing else of all things will suffice for your proposed aim but that place which God has provided." And she, having offered thank-offerings to God and appearing wholly full of joy, withdrawing secretly from the pit, moved to the said dwelling.

Τὸν γοῦν θεῖν νεὼν ἐκεῖνον, ὡς εἶχε μετρίως, εἰργάσατο K, ἐγείρασα τὸ A. τῆς ἡσυχίας αὑτῇ ἐργαστήριον. she enters, Ὑπὸ τούτῳ δὴ τῷ νεῲ ἐνεργεῖ 〈σπήλαιον I have supplied it; omits A. 〉 σμικρότατον λίαν εὖρος καὶ πλάτος ὀργυιῶν οὐργυιων A. που μάλιστα δύο, ὥσπερ τινὰ τάφον καὶ ζώσῃ ἑαυτῇ προσκληρώσασα· ἐσύστερον δὲ καί τινας ἐκλεξαμένη τὸν ἶσον δρόμον αἱρουμένας αὐτῇ τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν ἀγωγῆς δέκα πρὸς ταῖς δυσί, περὶ τὸν νεὼν μονύδριον αὑτῇ καθιστᾷ, ὃ καὶ εἰς δεῦρο δὴ τὸν χρόνον διαφυγὸν περισῴζεται· ἔνθα δὴ καὶ πάλιν ἑαυτὴν περικλείσασα σκληροτέραις ἐδίδου ταῖς ἀγωγαῖς, στάσεσι καὶ γονάτων κλίσεσι f. 26v. καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς δὴ πᾶσιν ἐγκειμένη ἐγκειμένης A. σφοδρότερον, ἀπρόἳτος παντάπασιν οὖσα καὶ ἀνομίλητος, ἑαυτῇ συγγινομένη μόνῃ καὶ τῷ Θεῷ· καὶ πολὺς ἐρρύη χρονος οὕτως ἐχούσῃ ταῖς τοιαύταις διαίταις τῇ μακαρίᾳ, ἔτος που δεύτερον καὶ μικρόν τι πρός.

That divine temple, then, as it was, she made in a moderate way a workshop of quiet for herself. Under this temple she makes a very small cave, in breadth and width about two fathoms at most, as if allotting to herself, while living, a kind of tomb; and afterwards, having chosen also certain women who chose the same course with her of the conduct according to God, ten besides two, she establishes for herself a little monastery about the temple, which, having escaped, is preserved even to this present time; there, having again shut herself in, she gave herself to harder disciplines, applying herself more vehemently to standings and bendings of the knees and all the rest, being altogether not going out and without converse, being with herself alone and with God; and much time flowed for the blessed woman while she was thus in such regimens, the second year, I think, and a little more.

[29] but by the emperor's emissaries Ἀλλ᾽ ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς δὲ καὶ ἡ σύζυγος, ἐπεὶ μάθοιεν, ὡς ἀφανὴς μὲν ἡ ὁσία γένοιτο καί, ὅπῃ γῆς διατρίβει, τῷ παντί ἐστιν ἀδιάγνωστον, βαρέως μὲν ἦσαν ἀσχάλλοντες καὶ ἀκαθέκτως εἶχον, οὐδ᾽ ἄν, εἴ τι καὶ γένοιτο, λέγοντες μεθήσειν αὐτήν· ὅθεν καὶ τοὺς ἁπανταχοῦ περιιόντας ἐκπέμπουσιν οἷά τινας κύνας ἀνιχνεῦσαι καὶ ῥᾳδίως εὑρεῖν τὸ ποθούμενον. Οἱ δ᾽ ἐπὶ πολλαῖς τοῦτο δρῶντες τῶν ἡμερῶν, ὡς ἀπειπεῖν ἐκείνοις K, ἐκεῖνος A. γένοιτο καὶ ἀπαγορεῦσαι τὴν ἀναζήτησιν, καιροῦ παριόντος μόλις γυναίῳ τινὶ ἐντετυχηκότες καὶ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ τὸ σύμπαν ἀναμαθόντες, τὴν πλάνην ἱστῶσιν· ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι, σύμπαν ἀναδιφήσαντες τὸ τῆς πόλεως, οὐδὲν ἀνεξερεύνητον εἴασαν, οὐκ εὐκτήριον οἶκον, οὐ μοναστήριον, οὐκ ἄλλον δή τινα τόπον πρὸς ἠρεμίας δεξιόν τε καὶ ἐπιτήδειον, τέλος τῷ γυναίῳ ἐκείνῳ περιτυγχάνουσιν, ἀφ᾽ οὗ δὴ τὴν τοῦ ζητουμένου γνωρίζουσιν ἄγνοιαν· ὡς γὰρ ἐρωτῶντες ἦσαν, ἐκεῖνο· &ldquogr;Μὴ ἄρα, φησίν, αὕτη ἐστίν, ἣ πρὸ καιροῦ τινος ἄγχιστα τῆς Καλάγρου πύλης τὰς οἰκήσεις πηξαμένη λαμπάδος δίκην ταῖς τῶν ἀρετῶν φαιδρότησιν ἀποστίλβει καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖσε τόπον ἅπαντα καταστράπτει;&rdquogr; Οἱ δ᾽ ὡς τοῖς ὠσὶ τὴν ἀκοὴν εἰσεδέξαντο, δρομαῖοι τῷ τόπῳ γενόμενοι, she is discovered. ἐπεὶ τὰ κατὰ τὴν ὁσίαν ἀκριβέστερον ἔγνωσαν, ᾗ ποδῶν εἶχον ἐς βασιλέα ἀνέτρεχον καί· &ldquogr;Χαῖρε, φασί, βασιλεῦ, ἔλεγον· ἐντὸς ἀρκύων ἔχεις τὸ θήραμα.&rdquogr;

But the emperor, and also his consort, when they learned that the holy woman had become unseen, and that where on earth she was staying was wholly undiscoverable, were grievously distressed and could not contain themselves, saying that they would not, whatever might happen, let her go; wherefore they send out men going about everywhere, like a kind of dogs, to track and easily find what they longed for. And they, doing this for many days, so that it befell them to give up and to renounce the search, at length, when time was passing, having scarcely met a certain little woman and learned the whole from her, stop their wandering; for as they, having ransacked the whole of the city, left nothing unsearched, no house of prayer, no monastery, no other place suitable and fit for quiet, at last they come upon that little woman, from whom they come to know what they had not known of the one sought; for as they were asking, she said: "Is it not she who, some time ago, having fixed her dwelling very near the gate of Kalagros, gleams like a torch with the brightness of the virtues and makes the whole place there flash with light?" And they, as they received the report into their ears, having come running to the place, when they knew more exactly what concerned the holy woman, ran back with all the speed of their feet to the emperor and said: "Rejoice, O emperor; you have the prey within the nets."

Ὁ δὲ κρατῶν χαρᾶς ἀπλέτου πλησθεὶς ὅσον τάχος ἀναβαίνει εἰς τὸν ἵππον καὶ ἀσχέτῳ ῥύμῃ πρὸς τὸ τῆς ὁσίας καταγώγιον φέρεται. The emperor's conversations with the saint, Ἰδὼν οὖν αὐτὴν καὶ προσειπὼν τὰ προσήκοντα, ὑφ᾽ ἡδονῆς δακρύων μάλιστα ἐπληροῦτο καὶ τοῖς δάκρυσι τοιαῦτα παρεμίγνυ f. 27. τὰ ῥήματα · &ldquogr;Ἵνα τί, ὦ μῆτερ, ἡμᾶς ἐάσασα ὀρφανοὺς ἀποκρύπτειν ἑαυτὴν ἐπειρῶ; ἡμεῖς δὲ ἄρα τῷ σῷ πόθῳ θελγόμενοι οὐ σιγῇ στέργειν τὴν ζημίαν ἐφέρομεν. Τί δὲ ἄρα καί σοι συνοίσει ἡμᾶς ἐώσῃ τοσούτῳ περιρρεῖσθαι κλύδωνι συμφορῶν καὶ τὸ καθ᾽ αὑτοὺς K, αὐτὴν A. ὡς εὖ ἕξει μάλα ζητεῖν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἂν χαιρήσεις τοῦ λοιποῦ τῇ φυγῇ· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν καὶ τῷ μύρον δὴ κατέχοντι λαθεῖν ῥᾳδίως γένοιτο, τῆς ὀσμῆς ὡς τάχος καταμηνυούσης τὸν περιφέροντα· ἀλλὰ σύγγνωθι, ἔφη, καὶ μὴ βαρέως φέρειν αἱροῦ· πείθου δὲ μᾶλλον, ὡς τάχ᾽ ἂν οἶμαι καὶ κρεῖττον ἔσται σοι ἡμᾶς παιδεύειν καὶ τὴν τῶν κρειττόνων ὑπομιμνήσκειν εἰσήγησιν, δι᾽ ὧν ἔσται καὶ τῷ πλήθει συναπολαύειν τῶν ἀγαθῶν, ἢ τὸ καθ᾽ ἑαυτὴν αἱρεῖσθαι μᾶλλον, τῶν ἄλλων μηδένα ποιουμένην τὸν λόγον.&rdquogr;

And the ruler, filled with boundless joy, mounts his horse as quickly as possible and is borne with unchecked rush to the lodging of the holy woman. Seeing her, then, and having addressed her fittingly, he was filled with tears, chiefly from pleasure, and mingled such words with the tears: "Why, mother, leaving us orphans, did you try to hide yourself? And we, charmed by longing for you, did not bear to acquiesce in the loss in silence. And what will it profit you to let us be swept about by so great a surge of misfortunes, and to seek our own affairs, as though they would go very well? But you will not henceforth rejoice in flight; for it would not easily befall one who holds ointment to escape notice, the odour quickly betraying the one who carries it about; but forgive," he said, "and do not choose to take it ill; be persuaded rather that it will be, I think, perhaps even better for you to instruct us and to remind us of the proposal of the better things, through which it will be possible also for the multitude to enjoy the good things together, than rather to choose what concerns yourself, making no account of the others."

[30] who her deeds Ἡ δὲ ὁσία· &ldquogr;Κράτιστε, φησί, βασιλεῦ, τὸν ὄγκον μὲν τήν τε λαμπρότητα καὶ περιφάνειαν τῶν ἐμὲ προαγαγόντων οὐκ ἔνι δήπου σε ἀκριβῶς μὴ εἰδέναι, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ τὸ τῶν ἀξιωμάτων περίβλεπτον καὶ ὡς πλοῦτος αὐτοῖς περιῆν ῥέων κύκλῳ καὶ ὡς ἱκανῶς εἰς βασίλειον ἀνέτρεχεν ὕψος ἡ τοῦ γένους σειρά· οἳ δὴ καίπερ οὕτως ἔχοντες καὶ τοσούτῳ πλούτῳ περιρρεόμενοι, ἐπείπερ αὐτοῖς προήκουσιν ἤδη γεγένημαι, μὴ δευτέρου παιδὸς τὴν μητρικὴν διελθόντος νηδὺν καὶ πάντων ἐμοὶ ἐν ἀφθόνῳ δῆτα κειμένων· εἴπερ γὰρ ἦν ἐμοὶ βουλομένῃ, κλῆρος οὐκ ἐλάχιστος, ὅσος δῆτα τὠμῷ πατρὶ ἀνεῖτο, παρείπετο καὶ γάμος τῶν οὐκ ἀσήμων· ἀλλὰ ταῦτα πάντα παρὰ φαῦλον λογισαμένη διὰ Χριστόν, ἐν ἀκμῇ καὶ ταῦτα τοῦ τῆς ἡλικίας ἄνθους καθεστηκυῖα, τῶν οἰκείων εὐθὺς ἀπανίσταμαι· ἔτρωσε γάρ με ὁ οὐράνιος ἔρως καὶ ὅλην εἴσω χειρῶν θέμενος· ὡς σκιὰν τὰ ὄντα λογισαμένη, οὐκ ὀλίγους τῶν ἐρήμων τόπων ἀναπολήσασα καὶ τὰ τῆς γυναικείας ἀπειποῦσα στολῆς, τὴν μετ᾽ ἀνδρῶν διατριβὴν διατρίβειν A. εἱλόμην· καὶ χρόνοις ἐφ᾽ ἱκανοῖς ὄρεσι καὶ σπηλαίοις ἐνδιατρίψασα, κἂν οὐδὲν ὠνάμην f. 27v. πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον, ἀντὶ Εὐφροσύνης τὸν Ἰωάννην ἀμείβομαι.

And the holy woman said: "Most mighty emperor, the weight and splendour and distinction of those who brought me forth it is surely not possible that you do not know exactly, nor yet the conspicuousness of their dignities, and how wealth flowed about them round about, and how the chain of the family ran up sufficiently to royal height; they, although they were so, and surrounded by so much wealth, — since I was born to them when they were already advanced in years, no second child having passed through my mother's womb, and all things lying indeed in abundance for me; for if I had wished, no small inheritance, as much indeed as was permitted to my father, would have followed, and a marriage with one of those not undistinguished; but having reckoned all these things as worthless for Christ, and that while I stood in the prime of the flower of my age, I at once depart from my family; for the heavenly love wounded me and placed me wholly within its hands; reckoning the things that are as a shadow, having traversed not a few of the desert places and renounced the things of woman's dress, I chose the life with men; and, having spent sufficiently long times in mountains and caves, though I profited nothing for the purpose, I take John in exchange for Euphrosyne.

Ἐπεὶ δέ με οἱ ἐν τῇ μάνδρᾳ ὁρῶντες τιμᾶν ἤρξαντο καὶ τὴν τῆς μονῆς προστασίαν ἐμοὶ περιάπτειν ἠβούλοντο, ἐγὼ προηγουμένως μὲν τὸ μὴ προσῆκον τῷ ἀξιώματι ἐμαυτῷ συνειδυῖα συνοιδυῖα A. , ἄλως τε καὶ τὸν τύφον ἀεὶ ἐκκλίνειν ὡς δύναμις πειρωμένη, ὅσπερ εἴωθε ταῖς ἀρχαῖς ἐπιφύεσθαι,relates to him, τῆς νυκτὸς ἄδειαν διδούσης τῷ ἔργῳ, λάθρα τῆς μονῆς ἀνεχώρησα καὶ μακράν που μάλιστα γενομένη ἀνδρὶ λιπαρῷ τε καὶ βαθεῖ γήρᾳ κεκοσμημένῳ καὶ σπήλαιον ἐκ πάνυ πολλοῦ κατοικοῦντι προσέρχομαι καὶ ἐπὶ μήκιστον χρόνου τούτῳ διακονήσασα, ἀγνοουμένη παντάπασι διετέλεσα. Ὁς δὲ καὶ ἐκεῖ τῷ πονηρῷ οὐκ ἦν ἀνεκτά, ἀλλὰ δήλην με καὶ τῷ γέροντι καθιστᾶν ἐπειρᾶτο, λιποῦσα καὶ τὸν καθηγεμόνα ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ καὶ ἐκπεριελθοῦσα πάλιν τὴν ἔρημον καὶ τοῖς ἐκεῖσε τὸ μέλι τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐνεργοῦσι συνδιατρίψασα ἱκανῶς καὶ ταῦτα πάντα ἐπὶ χρόνοις τρισὶ πρὸς τριάκοντα διανύσασα, and that she may be allowed to live in peace τὴν γυναικείαν αὖθις ἀλλαξαμένη στολὴν τῷ ὑπογείῳ ἐκείνῳ καταλύματι γίνομαι, οἰομένη τῷ ὑπὸ γῆν κρύπτεσθαι ὄχλον πάντα καὶ θόρυβον διωθήσασθαι. Ἀλλὰ σύ μοι πράγματα παρεῖχες, ὦ βασιλεῦ, ξένην τινὰ περὶ ἡμᾶς φιλοτιμίαν ἐπιδεικνύμενος, καὶ τῷ διὰ πάσης με τιμῆς ἄγειν τοῦ προκειμένου ὑπήγαγες λογισμοῦ· καὶ τοίνυν μήτε σε λυπεῖν οἰομένη δεῖν καὶ ἐμαυτῇ τὸ ἡσύχιον καταπραγματευομένη ἐνταῦθα δὴ παρελήλυθα. Τί γοῦν ἐμοί τε κοινὸν καὶ τοῖς σοῖς πράγμασιν, ἐκ διαμέτρου τοῖν σκοποῖν προκειμένοιν ἡμῖν Ἱκετεύω τοίνυν τὴν σὴν φιλανθρωπίαν ἀνεῖναί με τοῦ τοσούτου θορύβου· ἔτι γάρ μοι τὸ παχὺ τοῦτο σαρκίον ἐπιπροσθεῖ καὶ δέδοικα, entreats him. μή τι τῶν ὑφερπόντων παραπεσόν, οἷα δὴ πολλὰ γίνεται, τοῦ προκειμένου ῆμᾶς ἀποστήσειεν

And when those in the fold, seeing me, began to honour me and wished to fasten the superiorship of the monastery upon me, I, in the first place conscious within myself that the dignity was not befitting for me, and besides trying always, as far as I was able, to avoid pride, which is wont to grow upon offices, — the night giving licence for the deed, I secretly withdrew from the monastery, and, having gone very far away, I come to a man venerable and adorned with deep old age, dwelling in a cave from a very long time, and having served him for a very long stretch of time, I continued wholly unknown. But since even there it was not bearable to the wicked one, but he tried to make me manifest to the old man too, having left the superior also in the cave, and having gone round the desert again, and having spent sufficient time with those there who work the honey of virtue, and having completed all these things in three and thirty years, having again exchanged for woman's dress, I come to that underground lodging, thinking by being hidden under the earth to thrust away every crowd and tumult. But you gave me trouble, O emperor, showing a certain strange munificence toward us, and by leading me with every honour you drew me away from my proposed purpose; and so, thinking that I must neither grieve you, and securing quiet for myself, I have passed over here. What then is there in common between me and your affairs, our two aims lying diametrically opposed for us? I entreat, then, your humanity to release me from so great a tumult; for this gross little flesh still obstructs me, and I fear lest something of the things that creep in, falling upon me, as indeed many such things happen, should withdraw us from our purpose

καὶ ἐν τῷ λιμένι τὸ ναυάγιον ὑποστῶμεν A proverb. Cf. Nicephorus Gregoras, Hist. VII, 2, Schopen, vol. I, p. 219. . Ἡ γὰρ τῶν γηΐνων ἀπόλαυσις ὕφεσίν τινα τῶν προσδοκωμένων ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἀπεργάζεται· ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἄξιος εἶναι f. 28, Matt. 10, 38. λελόγισται ὁ μὴ καθάπαξ ἑαυτὸν ἀρνησάμενος καὶ τὸν σταυρὸν ἐπ᾽ ὤμων ἀράμενος — τὴν παντελῆ δηλαδὴ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς νέκρωσιν — καὶ αὐτῷ κατόπιν ἑπόμενος, ὥσπερ ἐν εὐαγελίοις ἠκούσαμεν.&rdquogr;

and suffer shipwreck in the harbour. For the enjoyment of earthly things works a certain diminution of the things hoped for in the heavens; nor is he reckoned worthy of the Lord who has not once for all denied himself and taken up the cross upon his shoulders — that is, the complete mortification of the things on earth — and followed after Him, as we have heard in the Gospels."

[31] With some revenues Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς πρὸς ταῦτα μηδὲν τῇ ὁσίᾳ εἰπών, ἐπεὶ τὰς μοναχὰς περικύκλῳ ταύτης θεάσαιτο K, θεάσοιτοA. — δύο δὲ πρὸς τοῖς δέκα ἦσαν· — &ldquogr;Πόθεν δὲ ἄρα, εἶπεν, ὢ μῆτερ, αἱ τῷ σῷ καταξιωθεῖσαι ὑπουργεῖν σώματι τὰς τοῦ ζῆν πορίζονται ἀφορμάσ;&rdquogr; Καὶ ἡ ὁσία· &ldquogr;Πόθεν δὲ ἄλλοθεν ἢ ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἧς ἀνοιγομένης πᾶν ζῷον ἐμπίπλαται ἀγαθῶν. Ps. 144, 16. Ἦ γὰρ ὁ ἐν ἐρήμῳ θρέψας ἄνευ δαπάνης λαὸν καὶ βλύσας ὄρνιθας καὶ ἐκ πέντε ἄρτων πηγάσας τροφὴν εἰς κόρον πλήθει ἀπείρῳ, ὡς καὶ τὰ περιττὰ ἄλλων τραπεζῶν εἶναι δύνασθαι λείψανα, οὐ δυνατός ἐστι καὶ ταύτας διὰ τὸ αὐτοῦ συνειλεγμένας πανάγιον ὄνομα θρέψαι καὶ τοῖς ἀναγκαίοις ὣς γε εἰκὸς ἐπαρκέσαι; ἐμοὶ γάρ, ὡς καὶ τὸ σὸν ἐξεπίσταται κράτος, οὐδέν τι περίεστι, πάντα προἳεμένῃ πάλαι διὰ Χριστόν.&rdquogr;

And the emperor, saying nothing to the holy woman in reply to these things, when he beheld the nuns round about her — and they were two besides ten — said: "And whence, mother, do those who have been deemed worthy to serve your body procure the means of living?" And the holy woman said: "Whence else than from the hand of God, which being opened, every living thing is filled with good things? For He who in the desert fed a people without cost, and made birds gush forth, and from five loaves made food spring forth to satiety for a boundless multitude, so that the leftovers could be remains for other tables, is He not able to feed these too, gathered together for His all-holy name, and to supply them, as is likely, with necessities? For to me, as your might well knows, nothing remains, having long since given up all things for Christ."

Ὁ μέντοι κρατῶν ἱλαρώτερον διατεθεὶς καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τόσον καρτερίαν τῶν γυναικῶν ἐκπλαγείς· &ldquogr;Ἁλλ᾽ ἐμοί, φησίν, ὦ μῆτερ, τῶν τε σῶν εὐχῶν χάριν καὶ τῶν ἐμῶν ἕνεκα συμφόρων πρὸς βουλῆς ἐστιν ἀφορμάς τινας τῷ σῷ τουτωὶ κελλίῳ τοῦ ζῆν παρασχεῖν καὶ ἐπαυξῆσαι τοῦτο ὡς τὸ εἰκός, ὡς ἂν θορύβων ἐκτὸς διαμένουσαι τοῦ τ᾽ ἐμοῦ ὑπερεύχησθε κράτους καὶ τῷ πλήθει τὰς τῶν Χρηστοτέρων ἐλπίδας αἰτεῖσθε παρὰ Θεοῦ.&rdquogr; Ἡ δὲ μακαρία· &ldquogr;Μὴ δῆτα, ὦ βασιλεῦ, ἐπάγειν ἐπάγει τήν σε φιλοῦσαν οὕτω μισεῖν αἱροῦ· πόρρω γὰρ τῶν τοιούτων ἡμεῖς, καθάπαξ τὴν ἐκτὸς φροντίων ἀσπασάμενοι βιοτήν· ἄλλως τε καὶ παρ᾽ ὅσον ἡμῶν προμηθεὺς φανήσῃ, παρὰ τοσοῦτον ἡμᾶς τῆς θείας ἀποστερήσεις περιωπῆς. &rdquogr; Καὶ ὁ βασιλεύς· &ldquogr;Ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τῶν ῥᾳδίων ἐστὶ μὴ βραχύ τι καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐμῶν εἰσδέξασθαί σου τὴν ὁσιότητα· ὅτι μὲν γὰρ οὐ χρεία σοι τῶν ἡμετέρων χρηστῶν, ἴσμεν σαφῶς· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ παρὰ φαῦλον τίθεσθαι οὑτωσὶ τὸ ἡμέτερον οὐ πάνυ τοῦτο τῶν ἐντολῶν.&rdquogr; Ἡ τοίνυν ὁσία ὡς ἤδη τὸν κρατοῦντα ἑώρα f. 28v. τῆς λύπης ὅλον γενόμενον, τεσσαράκοντα μόνον χρυσοῦ νομίσματα νομισμάτων A. — δ δὴ σολύμνιον so A; better σολέμνιον. An honorarium, a stipend. Ducange, under the word σολεμνιον. λέγεται — δεξαμένη, the emperor enriches the monastery. τὸ λεῖπον ἀπεῖπε παντάπασιν· ὃ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ σχεδὸν κατέναντι ταύτης γράμμασιν ἐρυθροῖς ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑποσημηνάμενος τῃ τῆς μακαρίας μονῇ [The monastery τῆς ἁγίας Εὐφροσύνης, ἥτις λέγεται τά Λιβάδια , if Codinus is to be believed, De aedis. CP., Bekker, p. 97, is older than ours, since it was founded by Irene the Athenian, wife of the emperor Leo IV (775 – 780), and he adds this about the reason for the name: Ὁ δὲ Μιχαὴλ ὁ υἱὸς Θεοφίλου τοῦ βασιλέως, εἰς ἔχθραν ἐλθὼν μετὰ Θεοδώρας τῆς ὀρθοδόξου τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ τὼν ἀδελφῶν, κατεβιβασεν αὐτὰς ἀπὸ τοῦ παλατίου καὶ εἰσήγαγεν εἰς τὴν τοιαύτην μονὴν καὶ μεγαλύνας καὶ κτήματα πολλὰ δωρησάμενος. Ἐκλήθη δὲ Εὐφροσύνης ἀπὸ μιᾶς τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ Εὐφροσύνης τοὔνομα, καλῶς βιωσάσης καὶ ἀσκησάσης. Cf. Ducange, Constantinopolis christiana, vol. II, p. 147.] ἐπαφίησιν. Ἐξ ἐκείνου τοίνυν καὶ ἐς δεῦρο ταῖς κατὰ διαδοχὴν τῆς ὁσίας μαθητρίαις τὸ τῷ βασιλεῖ Λέοντι κυρωθὲν ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν ταμείων ἐπιβραβεύεται. Ὁ μέντοι σοφώτατος βασιλεὺς ὡς ἔθος τὰς τῆς ὁσίας εὐχὰς ἐφόδιον καὶ πάλιν λαβὼν πρὸς τὰ τῶν ἀνακτόρων μετεχώρησεν ἤθη.

The ruler, however, disposed more cheerfully, and astounded at the endurance of the women to such a degree, said: "But it is my purpose, mother, both for the sake of your prayers and on account of my own advantages, to provide some means of living to this cell of yours and to increase it as is fitting, so that, remaining outside tumults, you may pray for my might and ask from God the hopes of better things for the multitude." And the blessed woman said: "Do not, O emperor, choose so to hate her who loves you as to bring this upon her; for we are far from such things, having once for all embraced the life outside cares; and besides, by as much as you appear our provider, by so much will you deprive us of the divine oversight." And the emperor said: "But it is not among easy things that your holiness should not receive some little thing from what is mine too; for that you have no need of our good things we know clearly; but thus to set ours at nought is not quite according to the commandments." The holy woman, then, when she now saw the ruler become wholly given over to grief, accepted only forty gold coins — which indeed is called a solemnion — and wholly refused the rest; which the emperor, having signed it with red letters almost at once in her presence, sends to the monastery of the blessed woman. From that time, then, and to this day, what was ratified by the emperor Leo is awarded from the imperial treasuries to the disciples of the holy woman in succession. The most wise emperor, however, having again taken, as was his custom, the prayers of the holy woman as provision for the road, went back to the abodes of the palace.

[32] Of Romanus the drungarius Ἦν In the margin here is read the rubric κα β᾽. δέ τις κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνο ἐκείνου A. καιροῦ τῶν ἐν ἀξιώμασι διαπρεπόντων περιφανὴς ἀνήρ, δρουγγάριος τὸ ἀξίωμα, τοῦ πλοΐμου στόλου παντὸς ἐξηγούμενος, — μέγα δὲ τοῦτο παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις βούλεται εἶναι εἰς περιφάνειαν, — Ῥωμανὸς [On Romanus Lecapenus the drungarius, afterwards emperor, let one testimony be adduced before the rest, that of Leo the Deacon, Hist. VII, 7: Ῥωμανὸν δὲ τῶν ἐμπύρων νεῶν προχειρισάμενοι ναύαρχον, δρουγγάριον τῶν πλωΐμων τὸν εἰς τὴν τοιαύτην ἀφιγμένον ἀρχὴν ὀνομάζουσι.] ὄνομα τῷ ἀνδρί· οὗτος ἐπεὶ τῶν τῇ ὁσίᾳ τελουμένων κατήκοος γίνεται, ἄπεισι παρὰ τὸ ταύτης διαιτητήριον. Ὡς γοῦν μείζω τῶν ἠκουσμένων K, ἠσκουμένων A. ἦσαν αὐτῷ τὰ ὁρώμενα, — τό τε πνιγηρόν φημι τοῦ οἰκήματος καὶ τὸ πλὴν ψιάθου μηδὲν αὐτῇ αὐτὴν A ἐπιφέρεσθαι, ἐκείνην δὲ σιδηροις διεζωσμένην ἁπανταχοῦ καὶ ἀράχνης τῇ συντήξει κατ᾽ οὐδὲν διαφέρουσαν τῷ κατεσκληκέναι τῇ μακρᾷ νηστείᾳ καὶ ταλαιπωρίᾳ τοῦ σωματος· ὁ δὲ λόγος ῥέων αὐτῇ καὶ ἠρέμα τὸν τρόπον ἐλαίου καὶ μέλιτος καὶ εἰς αὐτὴν τὴν καρδίαν παραδυόμενος· καὶ ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ τὸ προσῆκον ἐπαγομένην τε καὶ ἁρμόζουσαν — ὂλος τοῦ πράγματος γίνεται καὶ ἥκιστα ῥᾳδίαν εἶχε τὴν ἀναχώρησιν τῷ μέλιτι τῆς ἐκείνης σειρῆνος κατακηλούμενος καὶ ἀοράτῳ τινὶ δυνάμει παρακρατούμενος.

Now there was at that time a certain illustrious man of those distinguished in dignities, drungarius in dignity, commanding the whole navigating fleet, — and this means something great among the Romans for distinction, — Romanus was the man's name; he, when he became a hearer of the things accomplished by the holy woman, goes to her place of abode. As, then, the things seen were greater to him than the things heard — I mean the stifling closeness of the dwelling, and that she had nothing upon her but a rush mat, and that she was girded with irons everywhere, and differed in nothing from a spider in her wasting, through the withering by long fasting and the hardship of the body; and her speech flowing, and gently, in the manner of oil and honey, stealing into the very heart; and her bringing in for each thing what was fitting and suited — he becomes wholly taken by the matter, and his departure was least of all easy, being charmed by the honey of that siren and held fast by some invisible power.

Ὁς δ᾽ ὀψὲ γένοιτο καὶ τῆς εὐλογίας ἤδη τυχὼν μόλις ἀναχωρεῖν ἔμελλεν, ἡ Euphrosyne's prophecy, μακαρία τοῦ κρασπέδου λαβομένη τοῦ Ῥωμανοῦ καὶ μικρὸν ὑποκατακλίνασα· &ldquogr;Ἄπελθε, φησίν, ἐν εἰρήνῃ, τέκνον, καὶ πρὸς ὑπουργίαν τῶν κρειττόνων παρασκεύαζε σεαυτόν· ὅσον γὰρ οὔπω πέρας ἕξει τὸ βούλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ σέ· ὁ γὰρ βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντωνf. 29. καὶ κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων βασιλέα σε μέλλει τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς ἐπὶ γῆς καθιστᾶν. Σὺ δ᾽ ἀλλ᾽ ὅρα, μὴ παρὰ καιρὸν ἐπιδράμῃς τῷ ἔργῳ — ὥρισται γάρ, — καὶ εἰς πέρας αἴσιον ἔλθῃ σοι· ὡς εἴ γε ἄλλο τι διανοηθείης, ἐν μεταμέλῳ σοι πάντως ἔσται ἐσύστερον.&rdquogr; Καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐπῄει λίαν ἐνηδυνθεὶς τῇ ψυχῇ, φυλάττων ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ ἀπόρρητον.

And when it was late, and, having now obtained the blessing, he was scarcely about to withdraw, the blessed woman, taking hold of the hem of Romanus's garment and bending him down a little, said: "Go in peace, child, and prepare yourself for the service of better things; for very soon the will of God for you will have its fulfilment; for the King of kings and Lord of lords is about to make you king of those on the earth. But see that you do not run upon the deed out of season — for it has been determined, — and it will come to an auspicious end for you; for if you should think of anything else, it will certainly be to your repentance afterwards." And he went off greatly delighted in soul, keeping the secret within himself.

[33] which by the event Λέων δὲ ὁ σοφώτατος μετ᾽ οὐ πολύ, τῶν τῆς ζωῆς ἐτῶν διαμετρηθέντων, τό τε κράτος καὶ τὴν ζωὴν ἀπειπὼν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων γίνεται· Καὶ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ Ἀλέξανδρος ἐπιβαίνει τῶν σκήπτρων Alexander, emperor 912 – 913. · ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτος ἐπὶ μησὶ δέκα πρὸς τοῖς τρισὶ τὴν βασιλείαν διῳκηκὼς ἐν τρυφαῖς καὶ ἁβρότησι, τοῦ βίου ἐξίσταται. Τοῦ δὲ παιδὸς τοῦ Λέοντος Κωνσταντίνου κομιδῇ νέου ἀπολειφθέντος, ἐπειδὴ ἄνδρα παρεῖναι τῇ ἀρχῇ ἔδει ἱκανὸν τὰς ἡνίας τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίας διαχειρίσοντα, πολλῶν τῇ βουλῇ πρὸς τοῦτο δὴ κρινομένων, ἐξ ἁπάντων δὴ Ῥωμανὸς τὰ πρωτεῖα λαμβάνει, τό τε γένος οὑκ ἄσημος ὤν, ὤσπερ ἔφημεν, τῷ τε μακρῷ γήρᾳ πολλὴν εἰληφὼς ἐμπειρίαν καὶ ταῖς συχναῖς στρατηγίαις δι᾽ αἰδοῦς τῇ βουλῇ Ῥωμαίων καθεστηκώς· ἄλλως τε καὶ θυγάτριον Helena, wife of Constantine VII. Ducange, Familiae augustae byzantinae, p. 142. ἀστεῖον ἦν αὐτῷ ἐπίγαμον ἤδη καὶ πρὸς ὥραν μάλιστα πεφυκός, ᾧ γαμβρὸς ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι ὁ νέος δηλαδὴ βασιλεύς.is soon proved. Καὶ ὁ μὲν οὕτω τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐπιβαίνει, πρῶτον ἐπὶ τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως πατὴρ κεκλῆσθαι ἀξίωμα ἀναβάς In the year 919. , οὐ πολλῷ δ᾽ ὕστερον καὶ ὑφ᾽ ἑαυτὸν πᾶσαν τὴν ἀρχὴν ποιησάμενος·

Leo the most wise, not long after, the years of his life having been measured out, renouncing both power and life, departs from among men; and his brother Alexander mounts to the sceptres; but he too, having administered the empire for ten months besides three in luxuries and delicacies, departs from life. And since Leo's son Constantine was left very young, since a man had to be at hand for the rule capable of handling the reins of the Roman government, many being judged by the council for this, out of all Romanus takes the first place, being not undistinguished in birth, as we have said, and having gained much experience by long old age, and having become an object of reverence to the council of the Romans through frequent generalships; and besides he had a comely little daughter, already marriageable and grown to her very prime, to whom the young emperor, that is, was to be son-in-law. And he thus mounts to the rule, having first ascended to the dignity of being called the emperor's father, and not much later having brought the whole rule under himself;

οὐ μὴν ἐν τοσούτῳ σάλῳ σάλον A. φροντίδων γενόμενος, τῶν τῆς ὁσίας ῥημάτων ἐν λήθῃ γίνεται, ἀλλ᾽ ἀκριβέστερον τὰ κατ᾽ αὐτὴν ἐκ τῆς προρρήσεως διαγνοὺς πολύ τι τὸ φιλότιμον ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ τῆς πίστεως ἐπεδείξατο, φιλονεικῶν ὡς ἄν τις εἴποι τὴν καλὴν δὴ ταύτην φιλονεικίαν, ὑπερβαλέσθαι τοὑς πρὸ αὐτοῦ βεβασιλευκότας τῇ περὶ τὴν ὁσίαν σπουδῇ· ἀμέλει καὶ ὁσημέραι πίστιν τῇ πίστει τιθέμενος εἰς μέγα τι καὶ μετάρσιον τὸ περὶ ταύτην ἐν πνεύματι πίλτρον ἐξῆρε καὶ ἐπὶ τόσον τὸ πλῆρες ἔφερεν, ὡς καὶ f. 29v. ὁπηνίκα δεήσοι πρὸς ἐχθροὺς ἐξιέναι, οὐ μόνον ταῖς εὐχαῖς αὐτῆς καὶ εὐλογίαις περιέφραττεν ἐαυτόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς θυρεῷ τινι χρώμενος τῷ ἐκ τριχῶν παχυτέρων ἐξυφασμένῳ τὸ … ἐξυφασμένον A. τῇ ἁγίᾳ χιτωνίῳ χιτώνιον A. , κατὰ στόμα τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἐχώρει, οἰόμενος — ὅπερ ἦν καὶ ταῖς ἀληθείαις τοιοῦτον — μηδενὸς κακοῦ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου πεῖραν λαβεῖν· ἀτρέμας γὰρ καὶ θάρρους ὅλος μεστὸς ἐξῄει ὑπὸ τῷ σιδηρῷ χιτῶνι τὸ τρίχινον ῤάκος ἠμφιεσμένος. Οὐ μόνον τοίνυν ἀπείρατος τῶν ἐκ τῆς μάχης ἀνεχώρει δεινῶν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἔστιν οὕτω καθοπλισάμενος καὶ ὡς χρεὼν τῇ περὶ τὴν ὁσίαν πίστει μάλα φραξάμενος μὴ καὶ τροπαίων πλήρης τὴν Κωνσταντίνου εἰσήλαυνεν, οὐ τόσον τῇ ἁλουργίδι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τῶν ὅπλων μέγα φρονῶν, ὅσον τῇ τοῦ χιτωνίσκου τῆς ὁσίας περιβολῇ· οὕτω πίστεως, οὕτω σχέσεως περὶ ταύτην ὁ κρατῶν εἶχεν.

yet, having come into so great a surge of cares, he did not fall into forgetfulness of the holy woman's words, but, having come to know more exactly from the prediction what concerned her, he showed much munificence of faith toward her, vying, as one might say, in this good rivalry, to surpass those who had reigned before him in zeal toward the holy woman; indeed, adding faith to faith daily, he raised his love for her in the spirit to something great and lofty, and carried it to such fullness that, whenever it was necessary to go out against enemies, not only did he fence himself about with her prayers and blessings, but, using as a kind of shield the saint's little tunic woven of rather thick hairs, he went face to face against the enemies, thinking — which was so in truth also — that he would experience no evil of those that come of war; for he went out calm and wholly full of courage, clad in the hair rag under the iron tunic. Not only, then, did he come back untried by the terrors of battle, but it is not possible that, so armed, and fenced, as was due, with faith in the holy woman, he did not drive into the city of Constantine full of trophies, priding himself not so much on the purple robe and the other arms as on the covering of the holy woman's little tunic; such faith, such attachment had the ruler toward her.

[34] Troubled by the inroad of the barbarians, Ἐν τούτοις δ᾽ ὄντων τῶν πραγμάτων καὶ τῆς θαυμαστῆς Εὐφροσύνης ἐφ᾽ ἱκανοῖς ἔτεσι κἀν τῷ ὑπογείῳ ἐκείνῳ καὶ ζοφώδει ἐνδιαιτήματι τὸν οὐράνιον καὶ ὑπερύψηλον βίον διατρεχούσης ἔτος που ἕβδομον, αἴφνης ποθὲν βαρβάρων νέφος Σκυθῶν ἐκ τῶν παριστρίων ῥείθρων χεθέν, λείαν Μυσῶν A proverb. Leutsch-Schneidewin, op. cit., vol. II, p. 38. — ὃ λέγεται, — τὰ περὶ Θρᾴκην καὶ Μακεδονίαν ποιεῖται· πολλῷ δὲ τῷ θράσει περιρρεόμενοι, καὶ μέχρι τῶν τῆς Κωνσταντίνου τειχῶν κατατρέχουσι καὶ τῆς πρόσω φερούσης ἵστανται οὐκ ἀμάχῳ προσβαλόντες προβόλῳ. Ἐντεῦθεν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι ἀναθαρσήσαντες, πλεῖστα καὶ τῶν εὐχῶν τῆς ὁσίας συναρηγουσῶν συναρρηγούσης A. , τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἐπεισπεσόντες ἐξαπιναίως κτείνουσί τε οὐκ ὀλίγους καὶ τῶν οἰκείων ἐξελαύνουσιν ὅρων.

While affairs were in this state, and the wonderful Euphrosyne had been running the heavenly and most lofty life for sufficient years in that underground and gloomy abode, about the seventh year, suddenly from somewhere a cloud of Scythian barbarians, poured forth from the streams along the Ister, makes the regions about Thrace and Macedonia the booty of the Mysians — as the saying goes; — and, swept along with much boldness, they overrun even to the walls of the city of Constantine, and are halted in their onward course, having struck against a rampart not to be fought. Thereupon the Romans, taking courage again, the prayers of the holy woman too helping very greatly, falling suddenly upon the enemies, kill not a few and drive them from their own borders.

she withdraws elsewhere again. Τότε τοίνυν ἡ θαυμαστὴ γυναικῶν τῇ τοῦ ἔθνους ἐπιδρομῇ πάμπολλα βιασθεῖσα, ἔξεισι τοῦ καταγωγίου· ἔγγιστα γὰρ ἦν τῶν τειχῶν· τῷ γὰρ συχνῷ θορύβῳ καὶ τῷ τοῦ πολέμου ἀλαλαγμῷ οὐ ῥᾳδίως ἔχουσα τὰ κατὰ σκοπὸν ἐκπληροῦν, ἐκεῖθεν ἀπαναστᾶσα περὶ τὴν τῆς Σκέπης μονὴν γίνεται, κἀκεῖσε δὲ τὰ ὅμοια δράσασα καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ γῆν ἐνδιαίτημα σμικρότατον f. 30. πάνυ ἐργασαμένη, ὡς αὐτὴν ὀρθίαν μόλις ἵστασθαι δύνασθαι καὶ τὸ εὖρος αὐτῷ ἐς ὀργυιάν που τάχα ἐκτείνεσθαι, ἐκεῖσε σφοδροτέρων ἅπτεται K, ἅπτεσθαι A. τῶν καμάτων ἅμα τε τῷ εἰς ἕξιν ἥκειν ἐπιδιδοῦσα τῇ ἀρετῇ.

Then, then, the wonderful one among women, greatly constrained by the inroad of the nation, goes out of her lodging; for it was very near the walls; for, not easily being able to fulfil the things of her aim amid the frequent tumult and the war-cry, she departed thence and comes to the monastery of the Skepe; and there too, having done the like, and having made the underground abode very small, so that she could scarcely stand upright and its breadth extended perhaps to about a fathom, there she lays hold of more vehement labours, advancing in virtue at the same time as she came into the settled habit.

[35] Foreknowing her approaching death, Ἄλλως τε καὶ γνωρίσασα ἦν, ὡς θᾶττον ἔσται αὐτῇ πρὸς τὸν πάλαι ποθούμενον ἀναλῦσαι Χριστόν· ἔνθεν τοι καὶ ἡ ἀσιτία ἐπὶ μᾶλλον αὐτῇ ἐκρατύνετο καὶ ἡ προσευχὴ ἐν χείλεσιν ἦν ἀδιάλειπτος, ὥστε καὶ πλείστας ὅσας ἡμέρας διαβιβάζειν ὅλην ἐξεχομένην τῷ πόθῳ πρὸς οὐρανὸν καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖσε τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐνοπτρίζεσθαι καὶ μετακαλεῖσθαι. Ἦν καὶ γὰρ αὐτὴν ἰδεῖν, ἡνίκα οὕτως εἶχεν, ὅλην κεχηνυῖαν πρὸς οὐρανὸν καὶ ἀκλινεῖ τῷ ὄμματι ἀνεπιστρόφως τοῦ σώματος ἔχουσαν, ἱδρῶτι περιρρεομένην ἀπείρῳ, ταῖς χερσὶν τὰς χεῖρας A. ἐκτάδην οἷά τισι χρωμένην χρωμένη A. πτεροῖς καὶ τὸ κάτω βρῖθον τοῦ σώματος ἀνέλκειν πειρωμένην πρὸς τὸ ποθούμενον, — τὸ δὲ δάκρυον ὑπὲρ ποταμοὺς αὐτῇ ἔρρει, — ὥσπερ νυττομένην ἢ μᾶλλον εἰπεῖν τετρωμένην τῷ πόθῳ καὶ τῷ ἐπὶ τόσον χρόνου τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ νυμφίου ὡς πορρωτάτω καθεστηκέναι· ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ δὲ καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον ἦν καὶ ἐρυθρὸν οἷον μετά τινος αἴγλης φωτὸς ἀστράπτον καθεωρᾶτο· χόρτος δὲ κατὰ ψιλοῦ τοῦ ἐδάφους ἦν αὐτῇ ἡ στρωμνή, and intent more fervently on the virtues, ὃν ἐπ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν αἱ διακονούμεναι ἐναλλάττουσαι σκωλήκων καὶ ἰοβόλων ἑρπετῶν εὕρισκον οἰκητήριον· ἐπίεζε δὲ αὐτὴν οὐκ ἐλάχιστα καὶ ὁ τῶν σιδήρων δεσμός, ὃν ἐπὶ γυμναῖς ταῖς σαρξὶ περιέφερεν οἷά τινα χαλινόν, δεδοικυῖα τὰ τῆς σαρκὸς ὡς ἔθος σκιρτήματα, ὃς τῷ μακρῷ χρόνῳ κατιωθεὶς καί, ὅσον δὴ τὰ τῆς σαρκὸς περιεῖχεν, ἠρέμα ἐκδαπανηθεὶς ἕλκη βρύειν ἠνάγκαζεν· ἐξ ὧν καὶ ἀποφορά τις οὐκ ἀγαθὴ ὑπεφέρετο.

And besides, she had come to know that it would soon be hers to depart to Christ, long desired; hence indeed her abstinence from food grew the stronger, and prayer was unceasing on her lips, so that she passed very many days wholly hanging in longing toward heaven, and gazing as in a mirror upon the good things there and calling them to her. For one could see her, when she was so, wholly gaping toward heaven and holding her eye unbending, without turning of the body, streaming with boundless sweat, using her hands stretched out like a kind of wings, and trying to draw up the heavy lower part of the body toward what she longed for, — and her tears flowed beyond rivers, — as if pricked, or rather, to say it, wounded with longing and with having stood so far for so long a time from the true Bridegroom; and her face too was in agony, and was seen red, as it were, flashing with a certain radiance of light; and her bed was grass on the bare floor, which, when those who served her changed it each year, they found a dwelling of worms and venomous reptiles; and the bond of the irons too pressed her not a little, which she carried about on her bare flesh like a kind of bridle, fearing the leapings of the flesh, as is usual; which, having rusted through the long time, and having gently eaten away as much of the flesh as it encompassed, forced ulcers to teem; from which too an exhalation not good was given off.

Ὡς δὲ τῷ πολλῷ χρόνῳ κεκμηκυῖα καὶ τῷ τῆς ἀσκήσεως ἀνενδότῳ — ὡς γὰρ ἀλλοτρίῳ πάμπαν ἐχρῆτο τῷ σώματι, — ἔδει δ᾽ οὖν αὐτὴν ἐλεγχθῆναι ἐλεχθῆναι A. μὴ φάσμα εἶναι τῇ τῶν ἔργων ὑπερβολῇ, ἀλλ᾽ ἄνθρωπον πρὸς τὸ κατ᾽ εἰκόνα ἐπαναγόμενον· ἐκάλει δὲ αὐτὴν ἄνωθεν ὁ δεσπότης· ὁ γὰρ τῶν στεφάνων ἐνειστήκει καιρός· τί γίνεται; ὑπερβαίνει μὲν τὸν ἀνθρωπινὸν f. 30v. ὅρον σχεδὸν τοῖς παλαίσμασιν, ἀκμάζουσα δ᾽ ὅμως τῇ προαιρέσει τῆς ἐφέσεως τοῦ καλοῦ, τοῦ μὲν συντόνου ἀνίεται καὶ εἴκει τῇ φύσει, ἡ πρότερον καὶ στερροτέρα φανεῖσα ἀδάμαντος· καὶ λανθάνει τις ὑφέρπουσα τοῖς ἔνδον χειρίστη διάθεσις, she falls into sickness, ἠρέμα δ᾽ ὑποχαλῶσα νόσῳ δεινῇ περιπίπτει· καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν τρόμος, εἶτα πάρεσις ὅλη μελῶν καὶ ἀκινησία προσεπιγίνεται.

And as she was worn out by the long time and the unremitting asceticism — for she used her body as altogether another's, — it was necessary, then, that she be proved not to be a phantom, through the excess of her works, but a human being being led back to what is according to the image; and the Master was calling her from above; for the time of the crowns had come; what happens? She all but passes beyond the human limit in her wrestlings, yet, flourishing still in the purpose of her longing for the good, she relaxes from her intensity and yields to nature, she who before had appeared harder even than adamant; and a very bad disposition, creeping in, escapes notice in her inward parts, and, gently slackening, she falls into a terrible sickness; and little by little trembling, then complete paralysis of the limbs and immobility come on in addition.

Ἔφθη μὲν γὰρ αὐτὴ καὶ πρότερον τὸ σῶμα τοῖς μακροῖς κατὰ Θεὸν καμάτοις ἐκδαπανήσασα, ὥσπερ δῆτα καὶ εἴρηται· τῷ γὰρ τῆς καταγωγῆς στενῷ κομιδῇ τε καὶ χαμαιζήλῳ ἀμφοτέρας τὰς κνήμας ταῖς so A; τοῖς? παρ᾽ ἑκάτερα τῶν μηρῶν κολλᾶσθαι ξυνέβαινεν, ὡς μηδ᾽ ἀλύπως ἔχειν ἀνίστασθαι· τοὺς δὲ τῶν γονάτων τύλους ταῖς συνεχέσι προσκλίσεσιν εἶδες ἂν ἐκτραχυνομένους σφόδρα καὶ ζῴου μᾶλλον ἢ ἀνθρώπου τὰ πρὸς ἐμφέρειαν· ἡ δὲ στιβάς… some things are missing. τὸ δὲ τῆς κόμης ἀτημέλητον καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ γυμνοῖς τοῖς ποσὶν ἐν χειμῶνι, καὶ ταῦτα τοῦ βορέου δεινόν τε καὶ δριμὺ πνέοντος καὶ τῷ κρύει πρὸς ἤπειρον μετασκευάζοντος ὅσον διαρρέον τε καὶ ὑγρόν, πόσον ἄν τις εἴποι πρὸς κατάλυσιν σώματος; ἐπεὶ γοῦν αὐτῇ παρεῖτο πᾶν μέλος καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς στιβάδος ἀκίνητος ἔμενε, μόνῃ δὲ τῇ γλώσσῃ ἀντὶ πάντων ἐκέχρητο πρὸς Θεόν, very many coming together to her. σχοῖνος μέν ποθεν ἐξαρτηθεῖσα καθεῖτο, ἧς ἐξεχομένη μόλις μετεκινεῖτο, δεῆσάν τινι πρὸς λόγους ἥκειν, παρ᾽ ὅσον δὴ τῇ νόσῳ συνείχετο· σμήνει γὰρ μελισσῶν ἐῴκει τὸ ἄντρον, ἀνδρῶν, γυναικῶν, τῶν ἐν ἀξιώμασι, τῶν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ καταλόγου, οὐκ ὀλίγων δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐν ἀσκήσει διαπρεπόντων συνδραμόντων τὴν ἱερὰν ἐκείνην ὄψιν ἰδεῖν πρὸς Θεὸν διαβαίνουσαν.

For she had already before consumed her body with long labours according to God, just as has indeed been said; for owing to the very great narrowness and lowness of the lodging it befell that both her shins were joined to the parts on either side of the thighs, so that she could not even stand up without pain; and the calluses of the knees, from the continual kneelings, you would have seen grown very rough, and in likeness rather those of an animal than of a human being; and her pallet … and the neglect of her hair, and the going on bare feet in winter, and that when the north wind blew terribly and sharply and with frost turned to dry land whatever was flowing and wet, how much might one say they did for the dissolution of the body? Since, then, every limb was paralysed for her and she remained motionless on the pallet, and used her tongue alone, in place of all things, toward God, a rope, hung from somewhere, had been let down, holding to which she scarcely moved, when it was necessary to come to speech with someone, as far as she was held by the sickness; for the cave was like a swarm of bees, men, women, those in dignities, those of the sacred register, and not a few too of those distinguished in asceticism running together to see that sacred countenance passing over to God.

[36] She dies on the 8th of November; Ὡς δὲ καὶ ἀποπνεῖν ἔμελλε καὶ ἡ ἡμέρα παρῆν, καθ᾽ ἣν πρὸς τὸ πάλαι ποθούμενον διαβαίνειν ἐδόκει τῷ κρείττονι — ὀγδόην δ᾽ εἶχε μὴν ὁ νοέμβριος, ὅτε δὴ καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀσωμάτων σύναξιν ἐπιτελεῖν εἴθισται, αὐτῇ δ᾽ ὁ χρόνος ἐς ἑβδομήκοντα ἑνὸς δέοντος ἐπεραίνετο f. 31. — παρῆσαν μὲν οὖν οἱ τῆς ἄνω χοροστασίας πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς τὴν μακαρίαν μετακαλούμενοι, οὐχ ἧττον δὲ καὶ οἱ τῆς γερουσίας συνῇσαν, οὐκ ἂν εἴ τι καὶ γένοιτο μεθήσειν διατεινόμενοι διατεινόμενος A. καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ὡς καθεκτῆς δῆθεν οὔσης ἐπιλαμβανόμενοι. Ἡ δὲ ὅλη τῆς ἀνόδου γεγενημένη μετ᾽ εὐφροσύνης ὅσης τὰς χεῖρας διαπετάσασα εὐφυῶς, εἶτα καὶ ἐς στῆθος κάτὰ σχῆμα περιαγαγοῦσα σταυροῦ καὶ τοὺς πόδας ἠρέμα διατείνασα καὶ εὐχημόνως ἡδέως τε τὰ ὄμματα μύσασα καὶ τὸ στόμα κατὰ χώραν ἔχειν οἰκονομήσασα, χερσὶν ἀγγέλων τὴν μακαρίαν the whole house is filled with light; ἐπαφῆκε ψυχήν.

And when she was about to breathe her last, and the day was at hand on which it seemed good to the Higher One that she should pass over to what she had long desired — and the month of November was at its eighth day, when indeed it is customary to celebrate the synaxis of the bodiless ones, and her time was being completed at seventy less one — those of the choir above were present, calling the blessed woman over to themselves, and no less were those of the senate gathered together, insisting that they would not, whatever might happen, let her go, and laying hold of her soul, as though it were to be held back. And she, having become wholly given to the ascent, with how great gladness, having spread out her hands gracefully, and then brought them round to her breast in the form of a cross, and gently stretched out her feet, and decently and sweetly closed her eyes, and arranged to keep her mouth in its place, gave up her blessed soul into the hands of angels.

Ξένη δέ τις αἴγλη φωτὸς καὶ ὑπερφυὴς λαμπηδὼν τῷ προσώπῳ αὐτῆς αἴφνης περιεχέθη καὶ τὸ δωμάτιον ἅπαν τῆς λαμπρότητος καὶ τῆς περιουσίας τῆς ἐκεῖθεν ἐκπηδώσης αἴγλης ἐνεφορήθη ἐνεμφορήθη A. , ὡς καὶ πάντας τοὺς συνειλεγμένους ἰδόντας ἐπὶ στόμα πεσεῖν καὶ μηδ᾽ ἀτενίζειν τῷ προσώπῳ αὐτῆς δύνασθαι. Ἡ μέντοι πρὸς Θεὸν ἐκδημία τῆς μακαρίας πτερὰ λαβοῦσα φθάνει μὲν τὸ πλῆθος καὶ ἐς αὐτὸν βασιλέα ἀνέτρεχε. Καὶ αὐτίκα πάντες ποταμοῦ δίκην ῥέοντες ἦσαν οἰόμενοι τῷ ψαῦσαι τοῦ θείου σκήνους ἐκέίνου πρὸς τὸ δοκοῦν ἑκάστῳ ὄνησίν τινα ἐγγενέσθαι… some things are missing. , μέντοι γε καὶ τοῦ σκοποῦ οὐδαμῶς διημάρτανον. the sick run together, Πολλοὶ μὲν παραλελυμένοι, ἄλλοι πονήρως τῶν σκελῶν ἔχοντες, πηροὶ δ᾽ ἕτεροι, οἷς δὲ καὶ χρόνια νοσήματα τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὰ στέρνα καὶ ἄλλα ἄλλως ἔχοντα θᾶττον ἐλύοντο· ἀλλὰ καὶ δαιμονῶντες ἦσαν ἐκεῖ, οὐ μέντοι δαιμονῶντες καὶ ἀνεχώρουν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς εἰ μηδέποτε παρῆν αὐτοῖς ἐνοχλοῦν, δοξάζοντες Θεὸν καθυπέστρεφον.

And a strange radiance of light and an extraordinary brightness was suddenly poured round her face, and the whole little room was filled with the splendour and the abundance of the radiance leaping forth from there, so that all who were gathered, seeing it, fell on their faces and could not even gaze at her face. The departure of the blessed woman to God, taking wings, outstripped the multitude and ran up to the emperor himself. And at once all were flowing like a river, thinking that by touching that divine tabernacle some benefit would come to each, as seemed good to each … and indeed they in no way missed their aim. Many paralytics, others faring badly in their legs, others maimed, and those whose chronic diseases of the head and the chest and the other parts were in one way or another, were quickly freed; and there were also demoniacs there, yet they did not go away demoniacs, but, as if what troubled them had never been present to them, they returned glorifying God.

Ὁ δὲ and the emperor himself with his wife. βασιλεὺς σὺν τῇ γυναικὶ Θεοδώρᾳ παραγενόμενοι θάμβους τε ὅλοι ὅλουA. μεστοὶ καὶ ἐκπλήξεως γεγονότες, ποταμηδὸν κατέχεον δάκρυα, οἵου καλοῦ ζημίαν ὑπέστησαν, ὀδυρόμενοι· ἥ γε μὴν βασιλὶς Θεοδώρα καὶ ἰδίαις χερσὶν αὐτὴν περιστέλλει τιμωμένη μᾶλλον ἐντεῦθεν, οὐ τιμᾶν οἰομένη τὴν θεραπείαν, καὶ τὸ ῥάκος, ὃ περιβεβλῆσθαι συνέβαινε, τῷ ἀνδρὶ καὶ βασιλεῖ οἷόν τινα θυρεὸν περιτίθεσθαι f. 31v. ἐταμίευεν. Βασιλεὺς δὲ καὶ ἡ περὶ αὐτὸν σύμπασα θεραπεία τὸ τίμιον ἐκεῖνο μεγαλοπρεπῶς μάλα καὶ ὁσίως περιστείλαντες λείψανον, οἷά τινα θησαυρὸν ἐκεῖσέ πῃ τῇ γῇ κατακρύπτουσι, τὸ τῶν οὐρανίων θαλάμων ὡς ἀληθῶς ἄξιον.

And the emperor with his wife Theodora, having arrived, having become wholly full of astonishment and amazement, poured down tears in streams, lamenting what a good thing they had suffered the loss of; and the empress Theodora indeed lays her out with her own hands, being honoured rather thereby, not thinking that she was honouring her by the service; and the rag which she happened to have been clothed in she stored up for her husband and emperor to put on like a kind of shield. And the emperor and all the attendance about him, having laid out that precious relic very magnificently and holily, hid it in the earth somewhere there like a kind of treasure, a thing truly worthy of the heavenly chambers.

[37] Miracles. Ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐπὶ πολὺ κρύπτειν τοῦτο ὁ τῶν ἁγίων Θεὸς ἐβούλετο καὶ τοσαύτης ζημίας τὸ αὐτοῦ ἔθνος ἀναπιμπλᾶν· θαυμάτων γὰρ ὅτι πλείστων ἐκεῖθεν ὡς ἀπὸ πηγῆς ῥεόντων, ἐξάγεται τὸ μηδαμῶς κρύπτεσθαι ἄξιον. Καὶ τί λέγειν, ὅσα δῆτα τῶν παραδόξων καὶ διειργάσατο, τοῦ μακροῦ χρόνου τὰ μὲν λήθῃ παραδεδωκότος, τὰ δὲ τῷ τε πλήθει καὶ μεγέθει ἀποκναίειν ποιοῦντος ἡμᾶς; ἐπιλείψειν τε καὶ τὸν χρόνον οἶμαι διηγουμένοις τὰ ὑπερφυῶς αὐτῇ τελεσθέντα· ὅσας μὲν ἀτεκνίας συνεχομένας δεσμοῖς τὰς μήτρας διαλύσασα μητέρας εἰργάσατο, ὅσοις θηλάζουσι καὶ ἄλλοις παιδικοῖς νοσήμασι προσπαλαίουσι καὶ θανατῶσι μικροῦ τὸ ζῆν ἐχαρίσατο· ὅσων δεσμὰ γλώττης διέλυσε καὶ ὦτα κωφεύουσιν ὑπανῆκε τὰς ἀκοὰς κατὰ χώραν μένειν ἐάσασα καὶ τἆλλα ἃ μακρὸν ἂν εἴη διέρχεσθαι. Ἀλλ᾽ ἡμεῖς τῶν ἔκπαλαι γεγενημένων τέως ἀφέμενοι, ἐπὶ τὰ τῷ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς χρόνῳ τῇ μακαρίᾳ γεγενημένα τὸν τοῦ λόγου ῥοῦν τρέψομεν, ὀλίγα τῶν αὐτῇ πεπραγμένων ἐκδιηγούμενοι, ἵν᾽ ἐκ τοῦ κρασπέδου τὸ ὕφασμα — τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τῆς παροιμίας — καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὀνύχων γνωριεῖτε τὸν λέοντα [Both proverbs, as the very distinguished Ed. Kurtz most kindly pointed out, are found also in Constantine Manasses, Comp. Chron. 3458 – 59, and in Anna Comnena, Alexias, book XIV, 3, Reifferscheid, p. 269. Cf. Leutsch-Schenidewin, vol. II, pp. 162, 165.] .

But the God of the saints did not wish this to be hidden for long, and His nation to be filled up with so great a loss; for since very many miracles flowed from there as from a spring, what was in no way worthy to be hidden is brought forth. And what need to tell how many marvels she wrought, since the long time has handed some over to oblivion, and makes others wear us out by their number and greatness? Time would fail us, I think, as we narrate the things accomplished by her beyond nature: how many wombs held by the bonds of childlessness she loosed and made mothers; to how many sucklings, and those wrestling with other childish diseases and all but dying, she granted life; of how many she loosed the bonds of the tongue, and the ears of the deaf she opened, allowing their hearing to remain in place; and the other things which it would be long to go through. But we, leaving aside for the present the things done of old, will turn the stream of our discourse to the things done by the blessed woman in our own time, relating a few of the things wrought by her, so that from the hem you may know the fabric — this indeed is the proverb — and from the claws the lion.

[38] Of the empress Anna. Ἄννα α (namely θαῦμα) in the margin A. ἡ βασιλίς, ἣ ἐκ Παιόνων so A, for Παννονίων. Cf. Zonaras, Annal. XII, 24. [Anna, daughter of Stephen V, king of Hungary, wife of Andronicus II, in the year 1271. Cf. Byzantinische Zeitscrift, vol. X (1901), p. 546 – 67; vol. XI, p. 453 – 60.] τὸ σύνεγγυς δῆθεν, ἄνωθεν δ᾽ ἐκ Ῥωμαίων καὶ βασιλικῶν αἱμάτων τὰς τοῦ γένους εἷλκε σειράς, ἐπεὶ τῷ ἐμῷ βασιλεῖ Namely Andronicus II, emperor 1282 – 1328. ἐκεῖθεν εἰς γάμου κοινωνίαν τῷ περιφανεῖ τοῦ γένους καὶ τῷ ἄλλως ὡραίῳ τοῦ σώματος ἐξελέγη καὶ πρὸς τὸ συγγενὲς καὶ οἰκεῖον πάλιν ἀνέδραμεν, ἀργὴ πρὸς παίδων γονὰς ἀνεδείκνυτο. Τοῦτο ἡνία μὲν ἅπαντας, μάλιστα δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ ἀφόρητον ἦν· δέος καὶ γὰρ ὑφεῖρπε, μὴ οὕτω δὴ τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον μείνασα παιδὸς ἔρημον καταστήσῃ τὸν βασιλέα, κἀντεῦθεν καὶ τὸ κράτος οὐκ ἐν διαδοχαῖς — τὸ δὴ πάντων βασιλεῦσι βαρύτατον — ἔσται.

Anna the empress, who was from the Paeonians in proximate descent, but higher up drew the chains of her lineage from the Romans and from royal blood, when she was chosen from there for my emperor for the fellowship of marriage, for the distinction of her family and the otherwise beautiful bloom of her body, and ran back again to what was akin and her own, was shown to be barren for the begetting of children. This grieved all, but was especially unbearable to the emperor; for fear crept in lest, remaining thus all the time, she should leave the emperor childless, and that hence the power should not be in succession — which indeed is the heaviest of all things to emperors.

Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν αὐτῇ καὶ παῖδες ἰατρῶν ἐπειρῶντο πράττειν τήν τε f. 32. φύσιν ἐπιρρῶσαι καὶ πρὸς γονὰς ἀγαθὴν ἀπεργάσασθαι· καὶ ἄλλως δὲ τὰ θεῖα, ὅσα δὴ πρὸς τὰ τοιαῦτα δεξιῶς ἔχουσιν, ἐκπεριελθοῦσα, μόλις ἐπεὶ κατήκοος τῶν τῆς ὁσίας γίνεται χαρισμάτων, ὅλη πρὸς αὐτὴν χωρεῖ τῇ εὐχῇ. Τοίνυν καὶ τῷ λειψάνῳ ταύτης περιχυθεῖσα καὶ τὰ εἰκότα ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ διαπραξαμένη τῷ τ᾽ ἐλαίῳ τῷ ἐκ τῆς φωταγωγοῦ ταύτης καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν ταύτης κρασπέδων μέρος τῷ τραχήλῳ ταύτης ἀπαιωρήσασα καὶ ζώνῃ δή τινι ἐκ σηρικῶν προπλακείσῃ νημάτων ἐκ τῆς σοροῦ τὰ περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν διασφίγξασα, αὐτίκα δὴ συλλαμβάνει καὶ οὐ μήτηρ μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ βασιλέως ἀναδείκνυται μήτηρ· καὶ ὁ γόνος προσήκων μάλα τῇ τε πίστει τῆς βασιλίδος καὶ τῇ τῆς ὁσίας εὐχῇ. Ἐκ ταύτης γὰρ ὁ ἐμὸς ἀνέθορε βασιλεὺς Μιχαήλ Michael IX, emperor 1295 – 1320. , περὶ οὗ τανῦν διεξιέναι οὔ μοι τῶν εὐλόγων εἶναι δοκεῖ· πλὴν ἀρκέσει φάναι, ὡς ἄξιος τῇ τε λαβούσῃ καὶ τῇ ταῖς εὐχαῖς ὡς μάλα δωρησαμένῃ· ὃν ἰδὼν εἶπεν ἄν ποιητής· ὃς πατὴρ ὣς ἤπιος ἦεν,Il. 3, 179. ἀμφότερον βασιλεύς τ᾽ ἀγαθὸς κρατερός τ᾽ αἰχμητής.

The sons of physicians, then, tried to do many things for her, to strengthen her nature and to make it good for offspring; and having gone round otherwise the divine helps too, as many as are skilful for such matters, at last, when she became a hearer of the gifts of the holy woman, she goes to her wholly with prayer. And so, having flung herself upon her relic, and having done what was fitting toward her, and having hung about her neck some of the oil from her lamp and a part of her sacred hems, and having bound round her loins a certain girdle plaited of silk threads from the coffin, she at once conceives, and is shown to be not only a mother but the mother of an emperor; and the offspring was very befitting both to the faith of the empress and to the prayer of the holy woman. For from her sprang my emperor Michael, of whom to go through things now does not seem to me reasonable; but it will suffice to say that he is worthy both of her who received him and of her who so greatly gave him by her prayers; on seeing whom a poet would have said: who was gentle as a father, both a good king and a mighty spearman.

[39] Of the empress Irene. Οὑ μόνον δὲ αὕτη β᾽ in the margin A. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ βασιλὶς τῷ ὄντι τῶν βασιλίδων καὶ μετ᾽ αὐτὴν ἐξ Ἰταλικῶν ἀπολεγεῖσα τῷ βασιλεῖ, ἡ τῷ γένει μὲν τῶν πολλῶν ὑπερφέρουσα — τῶν γὰρ Μαρκεσίων ἦν τὸ γένος

And not only she, but also the empress, truly the empress of empresses, chosen after her for the emperor from among the Italians, she who in family surpassed the many — for her family was of the Marquesses

κατάγουσα [Yolanda or Irene, daughter of William of Montferrat, joined in marriage to Andronicus II in the year 1284.] , — φύσεως δ᾽ ἄγαλμα ταύτην ἂν προσειπὼν οὐκ ἄν τις ἀμάρτοι, ἡ οὐ μᾶλλον τὴν ἀξίαν ἢ τὴν φύσιν βασίλισσα, ὅτι περ τῷ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἔρωτι καὶ τῷ λογισμῷ τῶν λογισμῶν A. ἐστιν ὡς ἀληθῶς βασίλισσα καὶ τὸ αὐτοκρατὲς ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἐμφαίνουσα, ἡ τῇ κλήσει κατάλληλον καὶ προσφυῶς ἡρμοσμένην καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν παρέχουσα, — τὴν θαυμαστὴν καὶ αὐτὸ δὴ Εἰρήνην οἶδ᾽ ὅτι πάντες ἄν ἔγνωτε — καὶ αὕτη τὸν ἴσον τρόπον πρὸς γονὰς τὸ καταρχὰς ἀφυῶς ἔχουσα, τῇ πρὸς τὴν μακαρίαν Εὐφροσύνην στοργῇ καὶ ἀμεταθέτῳ καρδίᾳ μήτηρ καὶ αὕτη δείκνυται καὶ παίδων πλείστων τε καὶ καλλίστων πατέρα τὸν βασιλέα ποιεῖ.

tracing, — and one would not err in calling her an ornament of nature, she who is empress not more by dignity than by nature, since by the love of piety and by reason she is truly empress and shows forth self-mastery in all things, she who presents her conduct too as corresponding to her name and fitly harmonized with it, — the wonderful one, and you would all know, I am sure, that she is Irene herself — she too, being likewise at first unfit for offspring, by her affection for the blessed Euphrosyne and her unchanging heart is herself also shown to be a mother, and makes the emperor the father of very many and very beautiful children.

[40] To barren women, Ταῦτα οὐ μόνον αἱ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίας ὑπήκοοι διαγνοῦσαι γ᾽ in the margin A. , ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ τῆς πρεσβυτέρας Ῥώμης, εὖ γένους ἔχουσαι στεῖραι δ᾽ ὅμως οὖσαι καὶ ἄγονοι ἐπὶ χρόνοις μακροῖς, πέμψασαι f. 32v. καὶ πίστιν ἐπιβαλοῦσαι τῷ πόθῳ ἔλαιόν τε τὸ ἐκ τῆς φωταγωγοῦ μετακομίζουσι καὶ ζώνας δή τινας ἐκ σηρικῶν νημάτων ἐπικλωσθείσας, αἳ τῷ τῆς ὁσίας διενυκτέρευσαν κιβωτίῳ. Ταύτας δὴ πίστει περιζωσάμεναι καὶ ἐλαίῳ τῷ ταύτης σύμπαν τὸ λυποῦν περιχρίσασαι, παραυτίκα μητέρες οὐκ ἀγεννῶν ἀνεφάνησαν παίδων, τὸν τῆς φύσεως δημιουργὸν καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ αὐτῆς A. θεράπαιναν μετ᾽ εὐφροσύνης ὅσης ἀνευφημοῦσαι. Πλὴν ἀλλὰ τοῖς γε κατὰ μέρος ἐπεξιέναι, ὅσοις καὶ τοιούτοις δῆτα ἑτέροις αὐτουργὸς θαυμάτων ἐξαισίων ἡ μακαρία γεγένηται, ἐμοὶ μὲν οὔκουν ῥᾴδιον γένοιτο ἐπελθεῖν, πολλά τε ὄντα καὶ λόγου φύσιν ἐκβαίνοντα· πλὴν ὅσον δείγματος χάριν ὡς ἰσχὺς καὶ ταῦτα προσθήσομεν.

These things not only did the women subject to the Roman rule come to know, but also those of elder Rome, of good family but nevertheless barren and childless for long times: sending, and adding faith to their longing, they bring over oil from her lamp and certain girdles spun of silk threads which had spent the night on the casket of the holy woman. Girding these about themselves with faith, and anointing with her oil all that grieved them, they straightway appeared mothers of not ignoble children, praising with how much gladness the Creator of nature and His handmaid. But to go through in detail for how many others in such ways the blessed woman became the worker of extraordinary miracles, it would not be easy for me to undertake, since they are many and exceed the nature of speech; but, by way of sample, as strength allows, we will add these also.

[41] to a woman possessed by a demon, Γύναιόν τι δυστυχὲς δ᾽ in the margin A. πάντη καὶ ἄπορον, ἐκ τῶν τῆς ἕω μερῶν ὁρμώμενον, ἀγρίῳ ἐξέτι νέας πάνυ τῆς ἡλικίας προσπαλαῖον ἦν δαίμονι. Τοῦτο τοίνυν οἱ προσήκοντες, ἐπεὶ πάντα πράττοντες ἀπειρήκεσαν, παρὰ τὴν τῶν λειψάνων σορὸν τοῦ λαμπρὸν ἐν μάρτυσι λάμποντος Ἀνδρέου τῆς Κρίσεως Act. SS., Oct. vol. VIII, p. 124 – 49. φέροντες ῥίπτουσιν· ὡς A writes it twice. δὲ πολὺς ἐπέρρει τούτοις τῷ τόπῳ ἐνιαυτὸς καὶ ἡ παῖς ἐν τοῖς ὁμοίοις μάλιστα ἦν, νυκτὸς ὄναρ ὁρᾷ γυναῖκά τινα κατὰ μοναχὰς εὐπρεπὼς ἐσταλμένην· ἣ δὴ καὶ παραστᾶσα ταύτῃ οὕτω δυστυχῶς ἐχούσῃ· &ldquogr;Ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐνταῦθά σοι ὥρισται, λέγει, τὸ δαιμόνιον ἀπορρῖψαι· ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἐσχάτῃ ἀπορίᾳ συζῇς, παρὰ τὸν ἐμὸν οἶκον γενοῦ — ἄγχιστα δ᾽ οὗτός ἐστιν, — καὶ αὐτίκα λήψῃ τὴν θεραπείαν.&rdquogr; Ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ὁ ὕπνος ἀνῆκεν αὐτήν, ὁρμῇ ἀπροαιρέτῳ τινὶ ἔνθεν κάκεῖθεν περιφερομένη παρὰ τὴν θήκην γίνεται τῆς θαυμαστῆς Εὐφροσύνης.

A certain little woman, altogether unfortunate and helpless, setting out from the parts of the east, had been wrestling with a wild demon from her very young age. Her relatives, then, when, doing everything, they had given up, carry her and cast her down by the coffin of the relics of Andrew of Krisis, who shines brightly among the martyrs; and when a long year flowed by for them in the place, and the girl was very much in the same state, she sees in a dream by night a certain woman fittingly dressed after the manner of nuns; who, standing by her as she was faring so unfortunately, says: "But it has not been determined for you to cast off the demon here; but since you live together with the utmost helplessness, go to my house — and it is very near, — and you will at once receive healing." And when sleep released her, carried about here and there by a certain involuntary impulse, she comes to the shrine of the wonderful Euphrosyne.

Ὡς δ᾽ οὖν εἰσῄει τὸ τέμενος, τὸ δαιμόνιον σφοδρότερον ἐπιθέμενον τῇ παιδὶ ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω κινεῖσθαι καὶ ἀτάκτῳ περιφορᾷ πανταχοῦ διατρέχειν τὸ τέμενος παρεσκεύαζεν· ἱκανῶς οὖν ταύτην σπαράξαν καὶ τρόμοις ἀπροαιρέτοις σφόδρα ὑποβαλόν, μόλις πρὸς τῇ σορῷ τῶν λειψάνων φέρον ἐπικαταρρίπτει αὐτήν, ἀφρόν τινα σιελώδη αἰσχρῶς τοῦ στόματος ἀπορρέουσαν· ἐκεῖσε τοίνυν τὴν ἡμέραν ὅλην πρὸς δὲ f. 33. καὶ τὸ τῆς νυκτὸς πλέον διαγαγοῦσα, πρὸς ὕπνον δή τινα τρέπεται καὶ ὁρᾷ τὴν ὁσίαν ἠρέμα πως τοῦ κιβωτίου ὑπεξελθοῦσαν καὶ παρ᾽ αὐτὴν γενομένην ἐπιτιμᾶν τῷ δαίμονι ἐξελθεῖν. Ὡς δὲ ἧττον ὑπήκουε, τὴν χεῖρα μέχρι τοῦ ἀγκῶνος διαχαλάσασαν κατὰ μέσου τοῦ στόματος περὶ τὸν θώρακα ἀγαγεῖν καὶ διαψηλαφῶσαν τὰ ἔνδον οἷόν τινα μῦν ἐν τοῖς σπλάγχνοις ἐπικαταλαβεῖν καὶ πιέζουσαν ὅσον τάχος πνιγμονὴν αὐτῷ ἐπιστῆσαι, καὶ οὕτως ἔχουσαν ἐξαγαγεῖν τε καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐδάφους καταβαλεῖν ἔτι σπαίροντα· τὸ δὲ γύναιον αὐτίκα αἷμα ἀθρόον ἐμέσαν μέλαν καὶ ὀδωδὸς παραυτὰ σωφρονοῦν ὡρᾶτο, μῆδὲν ὧν πρότερον ἔπασχεν κἂν ἐν σχήμασιν ὑποφαῖνον.

And when she entered the precinct, the demon, attacking the girl more vehemently, made her move up and down and run about the whole precinct in disorderly whirling; having, then, sufficiently torn her and subjected her violently to involuntary tremblings, at last, carrying her, it casts her down by the coffin of the relics, as she shamefully poured a spittle-like foam from her mouth; there, then, having spent the whole day and besides the greater part of the night, she turns to a certain sleep, and sees the holy woman quietly somehow coming forth from the casket and, having come to her, rebuking the demon to come out. And when it obeyed less, she saw her letting her hand down as far as the elbow through the middle of the mouth, bringing it about the chest, and, feeling about the inward parts, catching something like a mouse in the bowels, and, squeezing as quickly as possible, bringing choking upon it, and so drawing it out and casting it on the floor still writhing; and the little woman at once, having vomited a mass of black and stinking blood, was seen straightway in her right mind, showing nothing of what she suffered before, even in her bearing.

[42] to a deaf nun, Τούτῳ δὴ έ in the margin A. πραττομένῳ τῷ τεραστίῳ μοναχή τις ἄλλη παρῆν ἐκ τῆς μονῆς, ἣ τοῦ Λειχούδη οὕτως ὠνόμασται· ἧτινι κώφωσις ἀμφοῖν ὠτίοιν προσῆν. Θάμβους γοῦν ἐκ τοῦ σχεδὸν πλησθεῖσα· &ldquogr; Ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἐγώ, φησί, γενοίμην τοῖς οἴκαδε, εἰ μὴ τὸ λυποῦν ἐνθαδὶ διαρρίψασα ἐρρωμένοις ὠσὶ τὰ σὰ ταυμάσια, μῆτερ Εὐφροσύνη, διαθρυλλήσω· χρόνος γάρ μοι ἐξήκει ἕβδομος ἤδη προσταλαιπωρούσῃ τῷ πάθει καὶ ἰατροῖς ἅπαντα τὰ ἐμὰ δαπάνη καθίσταται.&rdquogr; Εἶπε καὶ τὴν νεωκόρον ἱκέτευε τῆς σοροῦ τὴν κλεῖδα τῷ ὠτίῳ ταύτης ἐπιβαλεῖν. Καὶ ὁ so A; read ἡ. μὲν ἐδίδου. Ἡ δὲ μοναχὴ προσελάμβανε καὶ τὸ κλειδίον τῷ ὠτίῳ ἁρμοσαμένη τῇ παλάμῃ αὐτὸ ἐπεσφράγιζε· μικρὸν οὖν ἠρεμήσασα, πρὸς ὕπνον εὐθὺς τρέπεται καὶ τὴν μακαρίαν εὐθὺς Εὐφροσύνην ἑώρα, τῇ μὲν δεξιᾷ τὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ σημεῖον τοῖς ὠσὶν ἐπιβάλλουσαν, θατέρᾳ δὲ εἶδός τι θυμιάματος περιφέρουσαν, στρογγύλον μάλα καὶ ἡδύ τι ἀπόζον, καί φησι· &ldquogr;Διὰ τὴν σὴν ἀκραιφνῆ πίστιν καὶ τὴν ἐλαχίστην ταύτην πλὴν ἐκ πόθου σὴν τοῦ θυμιάματος προσφορὰν ὑγιὴς ἔσο τῇ χάριτι τοῦ Χριστοῦ.&rdquogr; Καὶ αὐτίκα διαθροηθεῖσα καὶ τῇ ἐκβολῇ τῆς κλειδὸς γάργαλόν τινα οἰηθεῖσα παθεῖν ἡδύν τινα καὶ ἀστεῖον, τοῦ πάθους ἀπήλλακται, ἤχου δή τινος ἐκεῖθεν ξένου διαρρυέντος.

When this wonder was being done, a certain other nun was present, from the monastery which is so named, of Leichoudes; who had deafness in both ears. Filled, then, at once with amazement, she said: "But may I not even come to my home, unless, having cast off here what grieves me, I proclaim your wonders, mother Euphrosyne, with strong ears; for the seventh year has now come for me suffering with the affliction, and all my goods have become an expense for physicians." She spoke, and besought the church-warden to put the key of the coffin to her ear. And he gave it. And the nun took it, and, having fitted the little key to her ear, sealed it in with her palm; resting a little, then, she at once turned to sleep, and at once saw the blessed Euphrosyne, with her right hand putting the sign of the cross upon her ears, and with the other carrying about a kind of incense, very round and smelling of something sweet, and she says: "For your pure faith and this offering of incense, very small, yet from longing, be well by the grace of Christ." And at once, startled, and at the drawing out of the key thinking she felt a certain sweet and pleasant tickling, she was freed from the affliction, a certain strange sound having flowed out from there.

[43] likewise to another, Ἄλλη δέ τις καὶ αὐτὴ μοναχικῷ διαπρέπουσα σχήματι ἐπὶ πολλοῖς ἔτεσι τὸ δεξιὸν οὖς διαλωβηθεῖσα f. 33v., ὕλης τινὸς μοχθηροτέρας ἐπισκηψάσης αὐτῷ, ἔπασχε· βόμβος βόλβος A. δ᾽ ἦν ὁ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων αὐτῇ ἐνοχλῶν· τὸ γὰρ προσὸν αὐτῇ δριμὺ τῆς ὀδύνης δεύτερον πρὸς τὴν ἠχὼ τοῦ βόμβου προσελογίζετο· ἀμέλει τοι καὶ πολλὰ πρὸς ἰατροὺς δαπανήσασα, ἓν εἶχεν ἐν ταὐτῷ ἡδῦνόν τε καὶ λυποῦν, τὸ καθορᾶν μὲν τὸν χρυσὸν αὐτῇ πρὸς χεῖρας μεταρρέοντα ἰατρῶν, τοῦ γε μὴν ῥοίζου μηδαμῶς διακούειν, τῆς τοῦ βόμβου ἠχοῦς ἐμποδὼν ἐκείνῳ μάλα καθισταμένης. Οὐδὲν δ᾽ αὐτῇ μὴ βάσιμον καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀπελείφθη. Τέλος ἀπαγορεύσασαν ὑποδείκνυσί τις σχήματι, ὡς ἐκ Λέσβου ἄρτι δάκτυλος ἧκε τοῦ θαυμαστοῦ Κλήμεντος, ἀντιπαλαμώμενος τοῖς τοιούτοις νοσήμασιν, ὁ δὲ τοῦτον νυνὶ ἀγαγὼν παρὰ τὸν τῆς Ὠπαίνης [On the monastery of Opaena read Ducange, Constantinopolis christiana, vol. II, p. 160, where he adduces a passage of Pachymeres.] ἐστὶ νεὼν Νικολάου τοῦ μυροβλύτου· ἡ δ᾽ ἐκπίσασα ῥᾷον σχεῖν — ἐπίεζε γὰρ αὐτὴν οὐχ ἤκιστα τὸ δεινόν, — σμίκρ᾽ ἄττα ἐνθεμένη λίνου ὑφάσματι, τῇ παιδὶ ταύτης δίδωσι, προκαταλαβεῖν τε καὶ ὡς οἷόν τε καταγώγιον δεξιὸν αὐτῇ εὐτρεπίσαι, δι᾽ οὗ ἐσεῖται αὐτῇ διατριβούσῃ ἐπὶ καιροῦ τὸ λυποῦν ἀποθέσθαι.

Another too, she also distinguished in the monastic habit, had for many years suffered, her right ear having been damaged by some rather noxious matter falling upon it; and a buzzing was what troubled her before the other things; for the sharpness of pain that was with her she reckoned second to the sound of the buzzing; indeed, having spent much on physicians, she had one thing at the same time sweet and grievous: to see the gold flowing into the hands of physicians, but not to hear its rushing at all, the sound of the buzzing standing very much in the way of that. And nothing that could be approached, even of the sacred things, was left untried by her. At last, when she had given up, someone shows her in a vision that a finger of the wonderful Clement had just come from Lesbos, fighting against such diseases, and that he who had brought it is now at the temple of Nicholas the myrrh-gusher, of Opaena; and she, having trusted that she would be easier — for the terrible thing pressed her not a little, — having put certain small things in a linen cloth, gives them to her servant girl, to go ahead and prepare for her, as far as possible, a suitable lodging, through which, by staying there for a time, she might lay aside what grieved her.

Καὶ ἡ μὲν ὡς τάχος ἀπῄει. Ἡ δὲ μοναχὴ κατόπιν δὴ καὶ αὐτὴ ἐξιοῦσα οὐ πάνυ πόρρω προῄει· καὶ ὥσπερ ἔξω φρενῶν γενομένη καὶ ἄλλην ᾑρημένη τρέχειν A proverb which he already adduced above, c. 27. — τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τῆς παροιμίας — ἄλλην ἐβάδιζε· ἔνθεν δὲ κἀκεῖθεν ἀλωμένη μόλις, ἡλίου κατὰ κορυφὴν ἑστηκότος, ἔνθα τὸ τῆς ὁσίας ἔκειτο λείψανον, γίνεται. Ἐκεῖσε δ᾽ οὖν ἐν ἑαυτῇ γενομένη καὶ σύνδακρυς ὅλη ἀναφανεῖσα προσφῦσά τε τῇ σορῷ καὶ ἱκεσίαν ὅτι πλείστην ἐκχέασα τό τε ἀνοικτήριον τῆς λάρνακος τῷ πάσχοντι μέλει προσεπιθεῖσα, ὅλη ἐκ τοῦ σχεδὸν ὑγιὴς ἀναδείκνυται, κτύπον τινὰ ἐξαίσιον τῇ τῆς κλειδὸς ἐκβολῇ διακούσασα, ἀέρος δή τινος λάβρου καὶ σεσηπότος ἐκεῖθεν θείᾳ δυναστείᾳ ἐκφυσηθέντος.

And the girl went off as quickly as possible. And the nun too, going out after her, did not go very far forward; and, as if she had become out of her wits, and having chosen to run one way — this indeed is the proverb — she walked another; and, wandering here and there, at last, when the sun stood at its summit, she comes to where the relic of the holy woman lay. There, then, having come to herself and appearing all in tears, clinging to the coffin and pouring out very much supplication, and putting the key of the chest to the suffering member, she is shown at once wholly sound, having heard a certain extraordinary crack at the drawing out of the key, a certain violent and putrid air having been blown out from there by divine power.

[44] to a certain Rados, Ἐπίσης ζ᾽ in the margin A. ταύτῃ τῇ μοναχῇ καὶ Ῥάδος τις, ἐκ Βλάχων τὴν τοῦ γένους κατάγων βλάστην, ὤφθη παθών· ἀλλὰ περὶ τὴν ὁσίαν τὴν ἴασιν ? ἰασ||||ιν, formerly ἰασην? A. μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πολλῷ μείζονα πίστιν f. 34. ἐπιδειξάμενος τῷ μόλις ἀπαλλαγῆναι τῆς θεραπείας, οὐκ ἀστοχεῖ.

Likewise with this nun a certain Rados, tracing the shoot of his race from the Vlachs, was seen to have suffered; but having shown toward the holy woman, by his being scarcely freed from the treatment, the healing, or rather a much greater faith, he does not miss his aim.

[45] to three deaf women, Ἐπολέμει τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τῆς κωφώσεως πάθος καὶ ἄλλαις τρισὶ γυναιξὶ περὶ τὸν νεὼν διατριβούσαις Φλώπου καὶ Λαύρου τοῦ μάρτυρος [The church of SS. Florus and Laurus was near the temple of St. Philip the apostle. Synax. Eccl. CP., p. 908.] . Ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἦν αὐταῖς ἐνεδρεῦον τὸ πάθος, μέχρις οὗ παρὰ τῇ σορῷ τῆς ὁσίας γένοιντο Εὐφροσύνης· ὡς δ᾽ ἧκον καὶ τὰ ὦτα τοῖς ποσὶ τῆς ὁσίας ἐπέκλιναν, εὐθὺς αὐτῶν ἐπακούει· καὶ εὐφροσύνης ὅτι πλείστης παρὰ τῆς θαυμαστῆς Εὐφροσύνης ἐμφορηθεῖσαι τῷ τὴν λήμην τῶν ὤτων ἀποκαθᾶραι τῇ προσψαύσει δὴ καὶ μόνῃ, οἴκαδε ἐπανῄεσαν, οὐ μόνον τὴν ἀκοὴν ἐρρωμένην κτησάμεναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὸ βέλτιον ἑαυτὰς ῥυθμίσασαι, μὴ φαύλων ῥημάτων τοῦ λοιποῦ ἀκοὴν ἑκούσας εἰσδέξασθαι πώποτε τῇ ὁσίᾳ ἐπαγγειλάμεναι.

This affliction of deafness made war also on three other women who lived about the temple of Florus and Laurus the martyr. But the affliction lay in wait for them so long, until they should come to the coffin of the holy Euphrosyne; and when they came and bent their ears to the feet of the holy woman, she at once hearkens to them; and, filled with very much gladness from the wonderful Euphrosyne by the purging of the rheum of their ears by the touch alone, they went back home, not only having acquired strong hearing, but having also ordered themselves for the better, having promised the holy woman never henceforth to receive willingly into their hearing evil words.

[46] to a certain Theodora, Ἓν ἢ δύο προσθεὶς τοῦ λοιποῦ καταπαύσω τὸν λόγον. Γυναικί τινι, Θεοδώρα ἦν αὐτῇ ὄνομα, αὕτη ἔκ τινων χυμῶν πονηρῶν τὴν τοῦ σώματος πλάσιν εἰς οὐκ ἀγαθὴν μετασκευασαμένη τὴν ἕξιν κἀντεῦθεν νόσῳ περισχεθεῖσα δεινῇ καὶ ἐφ᾽ ἱκανοῖς τοῖς χρόνοις ταλαιπωρήσασα, ἀκινήτως εἶχε καὶ πάρεσιν ἔπασχε τῶν μελῶν, ὅσα καὶ λίθος ἐπὶ κλίνης δῆτα κειμένη. Ὡς δὲ πολλὰ μὲν ἰατροῖς δαπανήσασα, πλείστην δὲ καὶ ἐν ἱεροῖς τὴν μεγαλοψυχίαν ἐνδειξαμένη ἥκιστα τῶν πρὸς ἔφεσιν ἀπελάμβανεν, ὡς ἐπί τινα τελευταίαν ἄγκυραν τὴν σορὸν τῶν λειφάνων τῆς θαυμαστῆς Εὐφροσύνης προσφεύγει καὶ ἥκιστα τῆς ἐπινοίας ἡμάρτανεν· ὀλίγων γὰρ διελθουσῶν ἡμερῶν, ἠρέμα καὶ κατ᾽ ὀλίγον τὰς ἁρμονίας ἀνίετο. Εἶτα καὶ μετετίθει τὰ κῶλα καὶ ἐν βραχεῖ τῷ χρόνῳ κατὰ νήπιον βηματίζουσα ἦν. Ἐσύστερον δὲ καὶ σύμπασαν τὴν ἁρμονίαν κατὰ χώραν εἶχε κινουμένην ἀλύπως καὶ ἡ πρὶν φόρτος τῇ σορῷ προσριφεῖσα τοῖς οἰκείοις ποσὶ χρωμένη πρὸς τὰς οἴκοι μετεχώρει διατριβάς, μηδέν τι λείψανον ἐπαγομένη τῆς νόσου.

Adding one or two, I shall then end the discourse. To a certain woman, — Theodora was her name, — she, having had the constitution of her body changed into a not good habit by certain evil humours, and hence seized by a terrible disease and having suffered for sufficient times, was motionless and suffered paralysis of the limbs, lying indeed on a bed like a stone. And when, having spent much on physicians, and having shown very great munificence in sacred places too, she obtained least of all what she desired, she flees to the coffin of the relics of the wonderful Euphrosyne as to a kind of last anchor, and least of all missed her purpose; for, a few days having passed, quietly and little by little her joints were loosened. Then she moved her limbs, and in a short time was stepping like an infant. Afterwards she had her whole framework in place, moving without pain, and she who before had been cast as a burden upon the coffin, using her own feet, went back to her abode at home, bringing with her no remnant of the disease.

[47] to the nun Rompaena,Τοῦτ᾽ αὐτὸ καὶ τῇ μοναχῇ, ᾗ Ῥώμπαινα ἐπώνυμον ἦν, ἴαμα εἵπετο ἐφ᾽ ὁμοίῳ πάθει τε καὶ νοσήματι· πλὴν ὅσον ἐκεῖνο μὲν χρόνιον ὂν θᾶττον τῇ ὁσίᾳ τεθαυμα f. 34 v τούργητο, τὸ δὲ πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐμφιλοχωρῆσαν πολλοῦ τινος ἐδεήθη χρόνου πρὸς θεραπείαν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ γυνή τις Εὐφημία τοὔνομα, μιᾷ τινι τῶν ἐν τῇ Σκέπῃ [Of the coenobium τῆς Σκέπης the hagiographer has already spoken above, c. 34, p. 874.] μοναχῇ τὰ πρὸς χρείαν ὑπηρετοῦσα, τὰ περὶ τὸ στόμα δεινῶς πάσχουσα ἐν ἀγρίοις δή τισι ῥεύμασι διηνεκὲς ἐκ κεφαλῆς χωροῦσι κατά τε τῶν ὀδόντων αὐτῶν, to Euphemia, ὡς καὶ τὰ περὶ αὐτοὺς αὐτὰ A. σαρκώδη ἕλκεσι βρύειν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ὑπερῷαν ὕφαιμόν τι καὶ δεινὸν ἐξανθεῖν τούς τε ὀδόντας ταῖς τῶν

This same healing followed also for the nun whose surname was Rompaena, in a like affliction and disease; except that that one, being chronic, was wrought as a wonder by the holy woman more quickly, while this one, having lingered only a little, needed much time for healing. And a certain woman, Euphemia by name, serving the needs of one of the nuns in the Skepe, suffering terribly about the mouth from certain wild fluxes coming continually from the head down upon the teeth themselves, so that the fleshy parts about them teemed with ulcers and the whole palate broke out in something bloody and terrible, and the teeth with the

ῥευμάτωv ἐπιρροαῖς ἐκκρούεσθαί τε δοκεῖν καὶ τῆς ἕδρας ἐξίστασθαι καὶ διαβρωθῆναι σύμπασαν τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ στόματος, — πᾶσαν ἀνθρωπίνην ἐπίνοιαν παρωσαμένη ὅλην τὴν ἐλπίδα τῇ τῆς ὁσίας ἐξαρτᾷ προστασίᾳ καὶ οὐ παντάπασι τῆς ποσδοκίας ἐξίσταται. Ὡς γὰρ τῷ ἐκ τῆς σοροῦ ἁγιάσματι τὸ στόμα περικλύζουσα ἦν καὶ τῷ θείω ταύτης ἐλαίῳ ἐπέχριεν, ἀναχαιτίζει μὲν τὸ πονηρὸν ἐκεῖνο ῥεῦμα καὶ ἀνὰ πόδα χωρῆσαι παρασκευάζει· ἠρέμα δὲ καὶ τῇ ἐκεῖθεν κόνει συχνῶς ἐπιπάσσουσα τὸ διαβρωθὲν τῶν σαρκῶν, ἐκεῖνο ἐπλήρου καὶ ἄρτιον ἐν ὀλίγῳ καθίστα ἀκλονήτως τε τοὺς ὀδόντας ἑδράζουσα καὶ πρὸς ἄκραν ῥῶσιν τὰ περὶ αὐτοὺς αὐτὸ A. καθιστῶσα, ὡς μηδ᾽ αἴσθησίν τινι παρέχειν, ὡς πάλαι ποτὲ τῆς ὁλομελίας ἐξέστησαν. Οὕτω πίστεως μόνης ὑποκειμένης, οὐδεvὶ οὐδὲν A. τῶν νοσημάτων πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνης χάριν ἀντιπαλαμᾶσθαι τῶν ῥᾳδίων μάλιστα ἦν.

influxes of the fluxes seemed to be knocked out and to leave their seat, and the whole arrangement of the mouth to be eaten through, — having thrust aside every human device, she hangs her whole hope on the protection of the holy woman, and does not wholly fall from her expectation. For as she was rinsing her mouth with the holy water from the coffin and anointing it with her divine oil, she checks that evil flux and makes it go back; and gently, frequently sprinkling the dust from there also upon the eaten-away part of the flesh, she filled it up and in a little while made it sound, fixing the teeth immovably and bringing the parts about them to the utmost strength, so that it gave no one any feeling that they had once left their soundness. So, faith alone being laid as the foundation, it was most of all an easy thing that none of the diseases should contend against her grace.

[48] and to many others Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν οὕτως· τὸ γὰρ περαιτέρω βαίνειν ἴσον ἄν τις καὶ κύμασι μέτρον ἐπιβαλεῖν A proverb. Leutsch-Schneidewin, vol. II, p. 182. · τό δ᾽ ἡμέτερον ὅσον ἐνδείξασθαι — τὸ τῆς παροιμίας — ἐκ τῶν ὀνύκων τὸν λέοντα A proverb. Ibid., p. 409. · εἰ γὰρ τοῖς κατὰ μέρος ἐπεξελθεῖν πειραθείημεν, καὶ βίον ὅλον ἐπιλιπεῖν οἴομαι διηγουμένους, ὅσαις πρὸς Θεοῦ ἀμοιβαῖς τῶν πόνων δεδόξασται… some things seem to be missing A. συγγραφὴν ἂν ἰδίαν ἡ καθ᾽ ἡμέραν σχοίη τῆς ὁσίας ἑνέργεια.

But these things so; for to go further would be like setting a measure to the waves too; and our part is as much as to show — as the proverb says — the lion from his claws; for if we should try to go through things in detail, I think a whole life would fail us narrating with how many recompenses from God for her labours she has been glorified … the daily working of the holy woman would have a writing of its own.

[49] Euphrosyne gives help. Ταῦτα τῆς θαυμαστῆς Εὐφροσύνης τὰ ἀσκητικὰ ἀγωνίσματα, αὕτη τῶν μακρῶν πόνων καὶ καμάτων ἡ ἀμοιβή, τοῦτο τὸ γέρας τῶν κατὰ Θεὸν ἱδρώτων καὶ ἔπαθλον· οὕτως ἀντεκατέστη πρὸς τὰς μεθοδείας τοῦ πονηροῦ, καὶ ταῦτα γυνὴ τὴν φύσιν οὖσα καὶ τὸ ἀσθενὲς τῇ περιουσίᾳ τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν γνώσεως ἀρρενώσασα. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἀνδρικῶς ἠγωνίσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ξένον, ὅτι περ καὶ τὸ σκῆμα f. 35.μεταβαλοῦσα μεταβαλλοῦσα A. μετ᾽ ἀνδρῶν ἠγωνίζετο, ἐν ἀκμάζοντι σώματι τὴν φύσιν μάλα βιαζομένη. Ἔδειξε γὰρ ὄντως ἡ Εὐφροσύνη τοῖς βουλομένοις ὁσὸν τὴν σωτήριον, ἣν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐμφορηείημεν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόζα καὶ τὸ κράτος σὺν τῷ ἀνάρχῳ αὐτοῦ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ παναγίῳ καὶ ἀγαθῷ καὶ ζωοποιῷ αὐτοῦ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶv αἰώvωv· ἀμήν.

These are the ascetic contests of the wonderful Euphrosyne, this the recompense of her long labours and toils, this the reward and prize of her sweats according to God; so she stood against the wiles of the wicked one, and that being a woman by nature, and having made her weakness manly by the abundance of the knowledge according to God. For not only did she contend manfully, but also, what is strange, she contended with men, having even changed her habit, doing great violence to nature in a body in its prime. For Euphrosyne truly showed to those who wish the saving way, with which may we too be filled in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory and the might, with His Father without beginning and His all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and always and to the ages of ages; amen.

APPENDIX ON THE SACRED BUILDINGS AND ON THE MIRACLES OF THE MOTHER OF GOD AT THE FOUNTAIN

Greek text only in the Acta; the English here is translated from the Greek.

From the Vatican manuscript 822. — Cf. Prelim. Comm., n. 16.

Euphrosyne, nun at Constantinople. (S.)

Διήγησις περὶ τῆς συστάσεως τῶν ἐν τῇ Πηγῇ τῆς Θεοτόκου ναῶν καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς γενομένων θαυμάτων.

Narrative of the founding of the temples of the Mother of God at the Fountain, and of the miracles done in them.

[1] Prologue. Τὰ κατὰ διαφόρους καιροὺς γεγονότα παρὰ τῆς θεομήτορος θαύματα ἐν τῷ ταύτης τεμένει τῷ κατὰ τὴν ἱερὰν ἱδρυμένῳ Πηγήν, ὃ πηγὴν ἄν τις θαυμάτων καὶ ἰαμάτων εἰκότως ἀκένωτον ὀνομάσειε, συνεχεῖς αὐτῶν ἀνελλιπεῖς δὲ μᾶλλον τὰς ἀναδόσεις ποιουμένων, θείας ἐπισκιαζούσης τῷ τόπῳ χαὶ κάριτος καὶ δυνάμεως, διελθεῖν κατὰ μέρος βουf. 181.λόμενος πῶς τε καὶ παρὰ τίνων ὁ περικαλλὴς καὶ μείζων ναὸς κατεσκεύασται καὶ τὰ περὶ αὐτὸν ὑποβεβηκότα εὐκτήρια, περίσεμνα καὶ αὐτὰ καὶ τὸ κάλλος οἷα, προσῳκοδόμηται, ἀναβάλλομαι δεδοικώς, μὴ λόγον ἔχων τῶν τεράτων κατάλληλον μηδὲ νοῦν τηλικοῦτον καὶ διαρκῆ γλῶτταν, ὡς τά γε ἀπερίληπτα τῷ ὄντι περιλαβεῖν καὶ μὴ πόρρω σκοποῦ βαλεῖν, ἀλλὰ κατ᾽ ἀξίαν ὑμνῆσαι καὶ τοῖς ἀκροαταῖς διηγήσασθαι· ὅμως ἐπείπερ πᾶσα γλῶσσα καὶ ἀνθρώπινος νοῦς so the MS.; some things, unless I am mistaken, have fallen out. παρ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ εἰς αὐτὴν γινομένων καὶ γεγονότων οὐκ ἐξαρκεῖ, ὅτιπερ καὶ ταῖς ἀγγελικαῖς τάξεσι καὶ δυνάμεσι τὰ κατ᾽ αὐτὴν ἄγνωστα ἢ καὶ ὀλίγαις τισὶ γνώριμα καὶ κατάδηλα, ἃς κοινωνοὺς τῆς ἀρρήου καθόδου ὁ ταύτης υἱὸς καὶ δεσπότης πεποίηται, ὅπως τε ἀστενοχωρήτως ἐγέννησε τὸν ἀχώρητον, τὴν παρθενίαν καὶ μετὰ τὸν τόκον διατηρήσασα, καὶ σάρκα βροτείαν τῷ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν φύσιν ἐδάνεισεν, οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν, ἄν τε λόγος οὐκ ἐξισχύῃ πρὸς τὰ τελούμενα, ἄν τε μυρία καὶ παράδοξα ᾖ τὰ τερατουργούμενα διὰ τῆς ταύτης ἐπισκιάσεως·

Wishing to go through in detail the miracles that have been done at various times by the Mother of God in her precinct founded at the sacred Fountain — which one might fitly name an inexhaustible fountain of miracles and healings, since they make their yieldings continual, or rather unfailing, divine grace and power overshadowing the place — and how and by whom the very beautiful and greater temple was constructed, and the oratories lying lower about it, they too very venerable, and of what beauty, were built on to it, I hesitate, fearing lest, not having a speech suited to the wonders, nor so great a mind and a sufficient tongue, I should not truly comprehend the incomprehensible and not shoot wide of the mark, but hymn them worthily and narrate them to the hearers; nevertheless, since every tongue and human mind does not suffice for the things that are being done and have been done by her and toward her, since even to the angelic orders and powers her affairs are unknown, or known and manifest to a few, whom her Son and Master made sharers of the ineffable descent, and how without being straitened she bore Him whom nothing contains, preserving her virginity even after the birth, and lent mortal flesh to Him who is above all nature, it is nothing wonderful if speech is not strong enough for what is accomplished, and if the wonders wrought through her overshadowing are myriad and marvellous;

καὶ συγγνώμων πᾶς ἔσται πάντως ἀκροατὴς τοῖς κατατολ f. 181v. μωσι τῶν τηλικούτων· τοιγαροῦν ἁπλοἳκὴν καὶ πᾶσι καταληπτὴν τὴν διήγησιν ποιησόμεθα, τὸ τοῦ λόγου περιελόντες κομψόν, ἵνα καὶ ἰδιῶται καὶ οἱ τέχναις προσκείμενοι καὶ οἱ ἐν ἀγροῖς διαιτώμενοι μηδὲν πρὸς ἀκρόασιν δυσχεραίνωσιν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ταύτην ῥᾳδίως ἐνωτιζόμενοι προστρέχωσι προθύμως τῇ ταύτης πηγῇ καὶ τῶν θαυμάτων ἀπο τῶν ἔργων τὴν δύναμιν ἀρυόμενοι καὶ τῶν σπουδαζομένων τυγχάνοντες μεγαλύνωσι μὲν διαρρήδην τὴν θεομήτορα, δοξάζωσι δὲ καὶ τὸν ταύτης υἰὸν τὸν ἐν τοιούτοις θαύμασι δοξαζόμενον καὶ βοηθήσαντα τῇ χείρονι φύσει διὰ τῆς κρείττονος. Ἀρκτέον τοίνυν ἐντεῦθεν τῆς διηγήσεως.

and every hearer will be wholly forgiving to those who dare such great things; therefore we shall make the narrative simple and comprehensible to all, stripping away the elegance of speech, so that both laymen and those engaged in crafts and those living in the fields may find nothing hard in the hearing, but rather, taking it in easily with their ears, may run eagerly to her fountain, and, drawing the power of the miracles from the deeds and obtaining what they strive for, may expressly magnify the Mother of God, and glorify also her Son, who is glorified in such miracles and has helped the worse nature through the better. Let us begin, then, the narrative from here.

[2] Of the sacred fountain Λέων ὁ οὕτως καλούμενος Μακέλλης [The emperor Leo, 457 – 475. That the temple τῆς Πηγῆς was founded not by him but by Justinian has been said above, p. 860.] πρὸ τοῦ εἰς τὴν βασίλειον ἀνελθεῖν τοῦ κράτους περιωπὴν τυφλῷ περιτυχὼν κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν, τοῦτον ἐχειραγώγει διὰ γνώμης συμπάθειαν. Καὶ ὅτε κατὰ τὸν τόπον τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐγεγόνει πηγῆς, wonderful beginnings μήπω ὕδωρ ἐχούσης ἀλλὰ τέλμα τυγχανούσης βαθὺ καὶ ἰλύἳ συγκεχωσμένης πολλῇ, δίψος οὐκ ἀνεκτὸν ὡς ἔοικεν οἰκονομίᾳ Θεοῦ κατέλαβε τόν πηρόν πη/////ρον MS. · καὶ ὃς ὕδωρ ἐξῄτει καὶ κατηνάγκαζε τὸν βασιλέα ὑδρεύσασθαι καὶ τὴν f.182. δίψαν παραμυθήσασθαι· κἀκεῖνος οἴκτῳ τῷ πρὸς τὸν πένητα ἐφευρεῖν σπουδάζων τὸ αἰτηθὲν καὶ ἀγωνιῶν περὶ ὕδατος εὕρεσιν, φωνῆς ἀοράτως λεγούσης ἀκήκοεν ἐγγύς· &ldquogr;ἰδοὺ ὕδωρ, μὴ ἀγωνία.&rdquogr; Καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς αἰσθόμενος τῆς φωνῆς πρὸς τὴν ἐπιτυχίαν τοῦ ζητουμένου ἠπείγετο· καὶ μὴ δυνατὸς ὢν ἐπιγνῶναι τοῦτο καὶ ἐφευρεῖν διὰ τὸ καὶ ὕλῃ τὸν τόπον συγκεκαλύφθαι καὶ ἰλὺν ἀνθ᾽ ὕδατος εἶναι τὸ ὑποκίμενον καὶ διαλογιζόμενος, τίς τε ἡ φωνὴ εἴη καὶ ὅπου τὸ ὕδωρ, δὶς ἀκήκοε τῆς αὐτῆς, προστιθείσης αὐτοῦ τοῦ MS. καὶ τοὔνομα καὶ τὸ μέλλον παραδηλούσης τῆς βασιλείας ἀξίωμα· &ldquogr;Λέων, λεγούσης, βασιλεῦ, ἐκ τοῦ πηλοῦ τοῦδε λαβὼν καὶ τοῦ θολεροῦ ὕδατος, ἐπίχρισον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ τυφλοῦ· ἐπιγνώσῃ γάρ, ἥτις εἰμὶ ἡ κατοικοῦσα τὸν τόπον, ὡς ἂν μετὰ τοῦτο ἑτοιμάσῃς μοι οἶκον, εἰς ὃν καὶ κατοικήσω, καὶ βοηθήσω πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις τοῖς τοῦτον καταλαμβάνουσι.&rdquogr;

Leo, the one so called Makelles, before ascending to the summit of imperial power, having met a blind man on the road, was leading him by the hand out of sympathy of mind. And when he had come to the place of the sacred fountain, which did not yet have water, but happened to be a deep marsh and covered over with much mud, an unbearable thirst, as it seems by the dispensation of God, seized the maimed man; and he asked for water and pressed the emperor to draw water and relieve his thirst; and he, out of pity for the poor man, eager to find what was asked and in anguish about finding water, heard a voice nearby saying invisibly: "See, water; do not be in anguish." And the emperor, perceiving the voice, was pressing on toward obtaining what was sought; and, not being able to recognize and find it, because the place was covered over with brushwood and what lay beneath was mud instead of water, and reasoning what the voice might be and where the water, he heard the same a second time, adding also his name and showing beforehand the future dignity of the empire: "Leo," it said, "emperor, take of this clay and of the turbid water and anoint the eyes of the blind man; for you will recognize who I am who dwell in the place, so that after this you may prepare for me a house, in which I will dwell, and I will help all men who come to it."

Παραυτίκα οὖν πεισθεὶς τῇ προστάξει τῆς θεομήτορος, τότε μὲν τῷ ὑποδειχθέντι πηλῷ ὑγιῆ τῷ τυφλώττοντι τὴν ὅρασιν ἐνεποίησεν, ὥστε δοξάζειν τὸν Θεὸν ἅπαντας τὸν καὶ πρότερον τὸν ἐκ γενε f.182v. τῆς γενητῆς MS. τυφλὸν ὀμματώσαντα κἀκείνῳ τὸ δεύτερον τὴν ἴασιν χαρισάμενον. Μετὰ δέ τινας χρόνους τῆς βασιλείας λαβόμενος, τὸ μέχρι καὶ νῦν βλεπόμενον ὕπερθεν τῆς ἱερᾶς πηγῆς ᾠκοδόμησε Καταφύγιον, ταύτην πρὸ παντὸς πίστει ἀνακαθάρας ὡς εἰκὸς περιποιησάμενος· ᾧ τινες τῶν μετέπειτα καὶ προσθήκας ἐπετεχνήσαντο καὶ κάλλος περιεργότερον περιτεθείκασι καὶ ὡραιοτέραν ἐπήγαγον τὴν εὐπρέπειαν. Τοῦτο καὶ θαῦμα φρικτὸν καὶ τῆς βασιλικῆς ἀρχῆς προδήλωσις ἐναργής· ἡ Θεοτόκος γὰρ ἐν ταὐτῷ καὶ βασιλέα τὸν Λέοντα προηγόρευσεν καὶ ὠμμάτωσε τὸν μὴ βλέποντα, δύο θαύματος ἐνεργείας κατὰ μίαν ἀποτελέσασα πρόσκλησιν καὶ ἀντὶ δίψους δωρησαμένη ὀφθαλμοὺς τῷ μὴ βλέποντι καὶ τῷ χειραγωγήσαντι Λέοντι φιλανθρωπίας καὶ οἴκτου βασιλείαν ἀντιδοῦσα ὁλόκληρον. Τοσοῦτον αὐτῇ καὶ τὸ τῆς μεγαλοδωρεᾶς καὶ τὸ τῆς φιλοτιμίας περίεστιν, ὡς, ἡvίκα ἄν τις τὸν αὐτῆς καταλάβῃ ναὸν καὶ τοῦ ὕδατος τῆς ἱερᾶς πηγῆς ἀπογεύσηται, τυγχάνειν τοῦ ποθουμένου καὶ τοῦ ἐνοχλοῦντος τάχος κουφίζεσθαι.

At once, then, persuaded by the command of the Mother of God, he then with the clay shown him produced sound sight in the blind man, so that all glorified God, who before too had given eyes to the man blind from birth and granted healing a second time to this one. And after some years, having taken hold of the empire, he built over the sacred fountain the Refuge which is seen even to the present, having first cleaned it out, by faith, procuring it as was fitting; to which some of those afterward also contrived additions, and put round it a more elaborate beauty, and brought on a more lovely comeliness. This was both a dread miracle and a clear foreshowing of the imperial rule; for the Mother of God at the same time both foretold Leo as emperor and gave eyes to the one not seeing, accomplishing two workings of miracle by one summons, and giving eyes instead of thirst to the one not seeing, and returning to Leo, who led him by the hand, a whole empire for his humanity and pity. So much is there in her of great bounty and of munificence, that whenever anyone comes to her temple and tastes of the water of the sacred fountain, he obtains what he longs for and is quickly relieved of what troubles him.

[3] Τοιούτου in the margin β᾽ τινὸς καὶ θεάματος καὶ ἰάματος καὶ .183. Ἰουστινιανὸς [The emperor Justinian (527 – 565), as Procopius attests, De aedif., I, 3, built the temple of the Mother of God at the Fountain. Cf. Ducange, Constantinopolis christiana, vol. II, p. 183 – 84.] ὁ μακαρίτης τέτυχηκε βασιλεύς, εἰ καὶ μὴ ἐφ᾽ ὁμοίου τοῦ ἀρρωστήματος· περιπεσὼν γὰρ τῷ καλουμένῳ τῆς δυσουριας νοσήματι καὶ μηδεμιᾶς παρὰ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἰατρῶν ἀπολαύων ἰάσεως, Justinian, healed by the help of the Mother of God, ἀλλ᾽ ὀδύναις οὐ φορηταῖς συνεχόμενος, ἀκήκοε καὶ αὐτὸς φωνῆς λεγούσης κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους· &ldquogr; Ἀδύνατόν σε ὑγείας μεταλαχεῖν, βασιλεῦ, εἰ μὴ τοῦ ἐμοῦ πίῃς ὕδατος.&rdquogr; Ὁ δὲ μήτε τὸν φωνήσατα διαγνοὺς μήτε τὸν τόπον εἰκάσαι καθ᾽ ὃν τὸ ὕδωρ ἐτύγχανε δυνηεὶς πάλιν δι᾽ ἑτέρας νυκτὸς ἄλλης συνῆκε φωνῆς, τῆς Θεοτόκου ἐπιφανείσης ἀριδηλότερον καὶ οὕτω πως εἰπούσης τρανότερον· &ldquogr;Πέμψον εἰς τὴν Πηγήν μου καὶ λάβε ὕδωρ καὶ πίε καὶ ὐγιάνῃς.&rdquogr;

Of such a sight and healing too Justinian, the emperor of blessed memory, obtained a share, even if not for a like illness; for, having fallen into the disease called dysuria, and enjoying no healing from the physicians of the day, but held by unbearable pains, he too heard a voice saying in his sleep: "It is impossible for you to obtain health, O emperor, unless you drink of my water." And he, neither recognizing the one who spoke nor being able to guess the place where the water was, again in another night perceived another voice, the Mother of God appearing more clearly and saying somehow thus more distinctly: "Send to my Fountain and take water and drink, and you will be healed."

Ὀ δὲ ἅμα τῷ τοῦ ὕπνου διαναστῆναι ὕπαρ οὐκ ὄναρ εἶναι τὸ ἀκουτισθὲν στοχασάμενος, καὶ πρὸς τὴν Πηγὴν στέλλει καὶ ὕδωρ λαμβάνει. Καὶ ἅμα τῷ τοῦ MS. σπάσαι τοῦ ὕδατος ὑγιάζει τὸ ἀλγενὸν τοῦ νοσήματος, τῶν πρὸς τὰς φυσικὰς ἐκκρίσεις ἐνεργούντων ὀργάνων ἀπειληφότων τὴν πρῴην ἐνέργελαν· ὅθεν καὶ ἀντευχαριστῶν τῇ εὐεργέτιδι καὶ ἀντιδωρούμενος, renews the temple. τὸν μέγαν τοῦτον ναὸν ἐπ᾽ ὀνόματι τῆς δεσποίνης ἐκ πρώτης κρηπῖδος ἀνή f. 183v γειρε, τέσσαρσι μόναις ἁψίσι συσφίγξας αὐτὸν ἐκφυῶς καὶ οὔτω τορνώσας, ὡς καὶ δοκεῖν ἀπαιωρεῖσθαι εἰς τὸν ἀέρα, παρασκευάσας ὡς μικρόν τινα ἐπὶ γῆς πόλον εἰκάζεσθαι τῷ μείζονι καὶ αἰθερίῳ παραβαλλόμενον παραβαλλομένην MS. , εἰ καὶ τῷ added by a corrector. χρόνῳ πεπονηκότα καὶ κατενεχθέντα Βασίλειος Below, p. 882, at c. 13. ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ ἐκαίνισεν, ὡς ἐφεξῆς ὁ λόγος δηλώσει σαφέστερον.

And he, as soon as he rose from sleep, conjecturing that what had been heard was a waking vision, not a dream, both sends to the Fountain and takes water. And as soon as he drank of the water he heals the painfulness of the disease, the organs working for the natural excretions having recovered their former working; whence also, giving thanks in return to his benefactress and giving gifts in return, he raised up this great temple in the name of the Lady from the first foundation, binding it extraordinarily with only four arches, and turning it so that it even seemed to be suspended in the air, making it so that it seemed a small sort of sky on earth compared with the greater and ethereal one, even if, when it was worn out by time and fallen down, the emperor Basil renewed it, as the discourse will show more clearly in what follows.

[4] The wonderful efficacy of the remedy. Πλὴν in the margin γ᾽ καὶ τοῦτο εἰς προσθήκην νομίζεται θαύματος, ὅτι τοὺς μὲν δυσουριῶντάς φασι τῶν ψυχροτερων βρωμάτων καὶ πομάτων ἀπεχομένους διὰ τῶν θερμοτέρων τὴν ὑγείαν πορίζεσθαι, ἐνταῦθα δὲ ψυχρῷ ὕδατι μᾶλλον δὲ πλήρει χάριτος ἁγιάσματι ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ χρησάμενος ἀπηλλάγη τοῦ ἀρρωστήματος, ἐξ ἐναντίου νομιζομένου φαρμάκου τυχὼν τῆς ἰάσεως.

But this too is reckoned as an addition to the miracle, that they say those suffering from dysuria procure health by abstaining from colder foods and drinks and through warmer ones, but here the emperor, using cold water, or rather holy water full of grace, was freed from the illness, obtaining healing from what is thought the contrary remedy.

[5] Glyceria, Παραπλησίως in the margin δ᾽ καὶ Γλυκερία ἡ συγγενὴς Θεοδώρας As appears from what follows, the wife of Justinian, who died in the year 548. τῆς βασιλίσσης, πάθει καταληφθεῖσα κρυπτῷ καὶ δυνατῷ φαρμάκων ἁπάντων βοήθειαν ἀποκρούεσθαι, οὐκ ὀλίγα καὶ πρὸς ἰατροὺς καὶ πρὸς οἴκους εὐχῶν ἀναλώσασα, ἐπείπερ δι᾽ ἐμφανείας τῆς Θεοτόκου λαβεῖν παρεκελεύσθη ἀπὸ τοῦ πηλοῦ τῆς Πηγῆς καὶ ἐπιχρῖσαι τὸ μέρος καθ᾽ ὃ τὸ κεκρυμμένον ἐνεφώλευε πάθημα, f. 184. τοῦτο ποιήσασα καὶ τὴν βοήθειαν ἐπισπασαμένη τῆς θεομήτορος τῷ διαπύρῳ τῆς πίστεως τὸ πάθος ἀπετινάξατο· καὶ πολλὰ δεηθεῖσα τοῦ βασιλέως πρὸς τὸ ταφῆναι εἰς τὸν τῆς πανυμνήτου ναὸν καὶ μὴ συγχωρηθεῖσα εἰς τὸν τῆς ἁγίας

Similarly also Glyceria, the kinswoman of Theodora the empress, having been seized by a hidden affliction, one able to repel the help of all remedies, having spent not a little on physicians and on houses of prayer, since through an appearance of the Mother of God she was bidden to take some of the clay of the Fountain and anoint the part in which the hidden affliction was lurking, having done this and drawn to herself the help of the Mother of God by the fieriness of her faith, shook off the affliction; and having much begged the emperor to be buried in the temple of the all-hymned one, and not having been permitted, in the temple of the holy

Ἄννης [From what follows it is gathered that the oratory of St. Anne was near the principal temple. Mention is made of the same also in cc. 16, 18.] σὺν γενεᾷ πάσῃ τέθαπται. Διὸ καὶ πρόσοδοί τινες ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν ταμείων ὑπὲρ τῆς τούτων ταφῆς παρὰ τῆς δηλωθείσης αὐγούστης ἐτησίως ἀφωρίσθησαν δίδοσθαι, εἰ καὶ τῇ τοιαύτῃ παροχῇ ἐκτομὴν ὁ χρόνος ἐπήνεγκεν, ὅσπερ πολλὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν λυμαίνεσθαι εἴωθεν, ὅτε μὴ λαμβάνοι παρὰ τῶν ἐν ἀρχαῖς τὴν προσήκουσαν ἐκκλησίαις Θεοῦ ἐπιμέλειαν.

Anne she was buried with all her family. Wherefore also certain revenues from the imperial treasuries were appointed by the said Augusta to be given yearly for their burial, even if time brought a cutting-off to such provision, as it is wont to ruin many good things, when it does not receive from those in office the care fitting for the churches of God.

[6] someone of the nobles of the court, Ἀλλὰ καὶ κατ᾽ αὐτὰς τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ ἐν βασιλεῦσι λάμποντος Ἰουστινιανοῦ τῶν ἐν περιφανείᾳ τις καὶ βασιλείοις διαπρεπόντων αὐλαῖς φάρμακόν τι καθαρτικὸν πεπωκὼς ὑγείας χάριν σωματικῆς καὶ μηδεμιᾶς ὠφελείας τυχών, τούτῳ δὲ μᾶλλον γενόμενος τὰ ἔνδον διακαὴς καὶ δίψει σφοδρῷ συσχεθείς, ὕδατος ἀπεγεύσατο καὶ παραχρῆμα αἷμα τούτῳ διὰ γαστρὸς ἐρρύη συχνόν· καὶ τῶν ἰατρῶν ἀπειπόντων πρὸς f. 184v τὴν βοήθειαν τοῦ νοσήματος, ὅσον οὔπω ἐπιστῆναι αὐτῷ προσεδόκα τὴν τελευτήν· ᾧ παρὰ τῆς βασιλίδος δηλοῦται ὕδωρ πιεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς ἱερᾶς πηγῆς, ἐγγύθεν λεγούσης ἔχειν τὰ τῆς ἰάσεως παραδείγματα τῷ καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν Γλυκερίαν καὶ τὸν βασιλέα σύνευνον ἐκεῖθεν σωτηρίας τυχεῖν· ὃς μετὰ τῆς παραπλησίας πίστεως αὐτὸ πεπωκὼς ῥᾴων ἐγένετο, δυνάμεως θείας τὴν ῥύσιν ἀναστειλάσης τοῦ αἵματος κατὰ τὴν ὥραν αὐτὴν τῆς τοῦ ἁγιάσματος πόσεως.

But also in the very days of the reign of Justinian, who shone among emperors, one of those distinguished in eminence and in the royal courts, having drunk a certain purgative drug for the sake of bodily health and obtaining no benefit, but rather becoming burning within from it and seized with violent thirst, tasted water, and at once much blood flowed from him through the belly; and, the physicians having given up on help for the disease, he expected death to stand over him very soon; to whom it is made known by the empress to drink water from the sacred fountain, she saying that she had near at hand the examples of healing, in that both her sister Glyceria and the emperor her consort had obtained safety from there; and he, having drunk it with like faith, became easier, divine power checking the flow of the blood at the very hour of the drinking of the holy water.

Οὐδὲν οὖν μοι τοῦτο διαφέρειν τὸ θαῦμα δοκεῖ τῆς θρυλουμένης γυναικὸς αἱμόρρου τῆς παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἰαθείσης. Matt. 9, 20. Ἐκείνη μὲν γὰρ τοῦ κρασπέδου αὐτοῦ ἁψαμένη σέσωσται, ὥσπερ ἤλπισε καὶ πεπίστευκεν, οὗτος τοῦ ἁγιάσματος εἰς κόρον πιὼν καὶ τῆς ῥύσεως ἐρρύσθη ἐρύσθη MS. τοῦ αἱματος καὶ τῆς συνεχούσης δίψης εὕρετο ἴαμα καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ὀδυνῶν τῶν τὴν MS. ἐκ τοῦ καθαρτικοῦ ἐπελθουσῶν αὐτῷ φαρμάκου ἀπηλλάγη κατὰ τὸ τέλεον.

This miracle, then, seems to me to differ in nothing from that of the celebrated woman with the issue of blood who was healed by our Lord and Saviour. For she, having touched His hem, was saved, as she hoped and believed; this man, having drunk of the holy water to satiety, was both delivered from the flow of blood and found healing of the thirst that held him, and was completely freed from the other pains that had come upon him from the purgative drug.

[7] Eudocia, Τὸ in the margin στ᾽ δὲ καὶ εἰς Εὐδοκίαν τὴν τοῦ Μαυρικίου γυναικαδέλφην γεγονὸς θαῦμα παράδοξον οὐ δίκαιόν ἐστιν ὡς ἐν παρόδῳ εἰπεῖν καὶ τὸ σπουδῆς ἄξιον ποιήσασθαι πάρεργον f. 185. ἢ μικρά τινα περὶ τούτου βραχυλογῆσαι, ὡς ἂν τούτου κατὰ μέρος ἀκούοντες οἱ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐνταῦθα παρατυγχάνοντες τρόφιμοι τήν τε οἰκείαν πίστιν αὐξάνωσι καὶ εἰς ἐπίδοσιν ἀρετῆς ἐπεκτείνωνται καὶ πρὸς πλείονα πόθον τῆς θεομήτορος διεγείρωνται· κατὰ τὸν μασθὸν εἰρημένης Εὐδοκίας ἐμφωλεῦσαν τὸ τοῦ καρκίνου πάθος ὅλον αὐτῆς τὸ σῶμα ταῖς ὀδύναις κατεδαπάνα καὶ τὴν καρδίαν νύκτωρ καὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν ἐτίρωσκεν· ὅθεν αὐτός τε ὁ τῶν σκήπτρων κρατῶν καὶ ἡ σύνευνος συνήλγουν αὐτῇ, sister of the wife of Maurice, διὰ τὸ συγγενὲς τοῦ πάθους μετέχοντες· κάμπτει γὰρ καὶ τούτους ἀσθένεια συγγενῶν καὶ θανάτου ἀπόφασις εἰς ταπείνωσιν ἕλκει, τὴν τελευταίαν ὀδυρομένους ἡμέραν καὶ διὰ τῶν συγγενικῶν μελῶν ἐπιγινώσκοντας τὴν οἰκείαν ἀσθένειαν· ἀθυμούσῃ τῇ βασιλίσσῃ καὶ διαπονουμένῃ ἐκτόπως περὶ τῆς ἀδελφῆς ἀωρὶ τῶν νυκτῶν ὡς μία τις τῶν κοσμίων ἐφίσταται γυναικῶν καί φησιν· &ldquogr;Μὴ περὶ τῆς Εὐδοκίας ἀθύμει μηδὲ περί τινος βοηθείας καὶ σωτηρίας ἐλπίδος σωτηρίου κενῆς ἀπασχόλει τὸν νοῦν· εἰ γὰρ εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου παραγένηται, τοῦ πάθους f. 185v. ἀπαλλαγήσεται.&rdquogr;

And the marvellous miracle that happened also to Eudocia, the sister-in-law of Maurice, it is not just to tell as in passing, and to make a by-work of what deserves zeal, or to speak a few things briefly about it, so that the nurslings of the church who happen to be here, hearing it in detail, may both increase their own faith, and stretch forward to progress in virtue, and be roused to greater longing for the Mother of God: the affliction of cancer, lurking in the breast of the said Eudocia, consumed her whole body with pains and wounded her heart by night and by day; whence both he who held the sceptres himself and his consort suffered with her, sharing in the affliction because of kinship; for the sickness of kinsfolk bends these too, and despair of death draws them to humility, as they lament the last day and recognize their own weakness through the members of their kin; to the empress, despondent and toiling exceedingly over her sister, in the dead of night there stands, as it were, one of the decent women, and says: "Do not be despondent about Eudocia, nor occupy your mind about any help and hope of safety, empty of salvation; for if she comes to my house, she will be freed from the affliction."

Ἡ δὲ μὴ διαγνοῦσα τὸν ὄνειρον, ἀλλὰ δόξασα γυναῖκά τινα μετρίαν θεάσασθαι, μίαν τῶν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῇ χηρείᾳ πιεζομένων, πάσας προσεκαλεῖτο καὶ διηγεῖτο τὸν ὄνειρον· διαπορουμένων δὲ; περὶ τούτου πασῶν καὶ τῆς μὲν εἰς τήνδε τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ὑποτιθεμένης παραγενέσθαι, τῆς δὲ ἑτέραν καταλαβεῖν, ὡς οὐδεμία τοῦ ὄντος ἐδυνήθη στοχάσασθαι, αὖθις ἡ θεομήτωρ μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας τινὰς τῇ βασιλευούσῃ ὀπτάνεται καὶ σαφέστερον ἔφησεν· &ldquogr;Οὐκ εἶπόν σοι πρὸς τὸν ἐμὸν οἶκον ἐκπέμψαι σου τὴν ἀδελφήν;&rdquogr; Ἡ δὲ αἰδοῖ καὶ φόβῳ πολλῷ ἐπιγνοῦσα τὴν δέσποιναν ἀπεκρίνατο· &ldquogr;Τοῦτο μὲν σὺ καλῶς ὦ συμπαθεστάτη ἐπέταξας δέσποινα, ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ διέγνων σαφῶς, ὅπου καὶ τυγχάνεις ποιουμένη τὴν οἴκησιν ἢ ποῖόν σου οἶκον βούλει ταύτην καταλαβεῖν.&rdquogr; Καὶ ἡ ἀληθὴς δέσποινα τῇ βασιλίδι ἀντέφησεν· &ldquogr;Ἐμοὶ ἔξω τῆς βασιλευούσης τῶν πόλεων καὶ μονὴ καὶ πηγή, ἐξ ἧς ἡ νοσοῦσα εἰ φθάσοι πιεῖν, τὴν ὑγείαν προσλήψεται.&rdquogr; Καὶ ἡ Αὔγουστα διαναστᾶσα σπουδῇ τὸ κελευσθὲν ἐποίει καὶ τὸν τόπον τῆς πανάγνου καταλαβεῖν f. 186. τὴν ἀδελφὴν προετρέπετο· κἀκείνη ἀφικομένη καὶ τὸ κοινὸν ἰατρεῦον ἰατρεῖον MS. προσιεμένη ἁγίασμα καὶ διάβροχον ἐλαίῳ ἁγίῳ ἐπιτιθεῖσα τῷ τοῦ καρκίνυ πάθει πηλόν, ἐν ἡμέραις ὀλίγαις τὴν ὐγείαν ἀπολαβοῦσα ὑπέστρεψεν οἴκαδε, καὶ τὴν Θεοτόκον καὶ τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς τεχθέντα δοξάζουσα κύριον.

And she, not understanding the dream, but thinking she had seen a certain modest woman, one of those of the city oppressed by widowhood, called all the women and related the dream; and as they were all perplexed about it, and one suggested going to this church, another reaching another, since none was able to guess the truth, again the Mother of God after some days appears to the empress and said more clearly: "Did I not tell you to send your sister to my house?" And she, with reverence and much fear recognizing the Lady, answered: "This indeed you commanded well, O most compassionate Lady, but I did not clearly understand where you happen to make your dwelling, or which house of yours you wish her to reach." And the true Lady answered the empress: "I have outside the queen of cities both a monastery and a fountain, from which, if the sick woman should drink, she will receive health." And the Augusta, rising up, did with zeal what was commanded and urged her sister to reach the place of the all-pure one; and she, having arrived and taken the common healing holy water, and having put clay soaked with holy oil upon the affliction of cancer, receiving health in a few days returned home, glorifying both the Mother of God and the Lord born of her.

[8] the empress Irene Ἐπὶ in the margin ζ᾽ τούτοις καὶ βασιλὶς Εἰρήνη, ἔτι Κωνσταντίνῳ 〈συμ〉 βασιλεύουσα βασιλεύουσα MS. τῷ υἱῷ Constantine reigned with Irene from the year 780 to 790. , χαλεπῷ πάθει αἱμορροίας περιπέπτωκε· καὶ μήτε μεταλαμβάνουσα βρώσεως μήτε μετέχουσα πόσεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἰατρῶν φαρμακείας κενὰς καὶ ἀχρήστους ἀποδεκνύουσα, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀπεῖτον τὴν ἴασιν, ἐπιστῆναι τάχος προσεδόκα τὴν τελευτήν· καὶ διδαχθεῖσα παρά τινος τῶν πεπειραμένων τῶν θαυμάτων τῆς θεομήτορος ἐκ τοῦ τῆς ἱερᾶς Πηγῆς πιεῖν ἁγιάσματος, τὸν ναὸν ἀπτέρῳ τάχει κατέλαβε. Καὶ καταλαβοῦσα ἡνίκα μεταλαμβάνειν τοῦ ἁγιάσματος ἤρξατο, ἀνεστάλη μὲν αὐτῇ τὸ καταρρέον τοῦ αἵματος, ἡ δὲ ὑγεία αὖθις ἀπεδόθη κατὰ τὸ τέλεον· ὧν χάριν καὶ πέπλους χρυσοϋφεῖς καὶ περίχρυσα καταπετάσματα, σωληνωτὰ τῇ συνηθείᾳ καλούμενα, σὺν τῷ f. 186v ταύτης υἱῷ καὶ στέφος καὶ τῆς ἀναιμάκτου θυσίας δοχεῖα λίθοις καὶ μαργαρίταις κεκοσμημένα προσήγαγε· καὶ προσέταξεν ἐν ἀμφοτέροις τοῖς μέρεσι τοῦ ναοῦ διὰ ψηφίδων ἐκτυπωθῆναι τὰ τούτων ἀφομοιώματα, προσφέροντα ταῖς χερσὶν ὅσα καὶ ἀπηρίθμηται ἀναθήματα, εἰς μνήμην διαιωνίζουσαν, ὡς ἂν καὶ ἡ τούτων πίστις χαρακτηρίζηται καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ τῆς αἱμορροίας θαῦμα διά τε τῆς ἀναστηλώσεως καὶ τῆς προσαγωγῆς τῶν ἀναθημάτων εἰς τοὺς μετέπειτα χρόνους ᾄδηται καὶ ἀνακηρύττηται ἀνακηρύττεται MS. .

Besides these, the empress Irene too, while still reigning jointly with her son Constantine, fell into a grievous affliction of haemorrhage; and neither partaking of food nor sharing in drink, but also showing the remedies of physicians empty and useless, since they too gave up on healing, she expected death to stand over her soon; and having been taught by one of those who had experienced the miracles of the Mother of God to drink of the holy water of the sacred Fountain, she reached the temple with wingless speed. And having reached it, when she began to partake of the holy water, the flowing of blood was checked for her, and health was completely restored again; for which reasons she brought, together with her son, gold-woven veils and gold-adorned curtains, called by custom solenota, and a crown, and vessels of the bloodless sacrifice adorned with stones and pearls; and she ordered that their likenesses be represented in mosaic on both sides of the temple, offering in their hands the votive gifts that have been enumerated, for an everlasting memory, so that both their faith might be portrayed, and the miracle concerning the haemorrhage might be sung and proclaimed into the times afterward through both the setting-up of the images and the offering of the votive gifts.

[9] Thecla, Θέκλα [On Thecla and the other daughters of Theophilus, Zonaras, Epit. XV, 26. She was born in the year 830. Muralt, Essai de chronographie byzantine, p. 415.] δὲ ἡ τοῦ η᾽ in the margin. βασιλέως Θεοφίλου Theophilus, emperor 829 – 842. θυγάτηρ, ἀφ᾽ ὅτου ἡ τῆς ὀρθοδοξίας λαμπρότης συνεργίᾳ τῆς ταύτης μητρὸς Θεοδώρας Theodora died in the year 867. εἰς τὸν κόσμον διέλαμψεν, daughter of Theophilus, χρονίῳ συμφλεγομένη καὶ σφοδρῷ πυρετῷ, προσελθοῦσα τῇ τῆς πανυμνήτου Πηγῇ, τὴν κατεμπιπρῶσαν τοῦ πάθους καὶ διακαίουσαν κάμινον διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου κατέσβεσεν ἁγιάσματος, δυνατωτέρου ἀναφανέντος παντὸς βοηθήματος ἐπισκιάσει τῆς θεομήτορος· ὅθεν καὶ ἀντ᾽ εὐχαριστίας ἡ ταύτης μήτηρ δωρεὰς χειρὸς βασιλικῆς ἠσφαλισμένας ὑπογραφαῖς ὑπογραφὰς MS. — χρυσοβούλλια ταῦτα λέγεται — ἐδωρήσατο τῇ f. 187. μονῇ καὶ ἄλλας πλείστας ἐνδείξεις προαιρέσεως φιλοτίμου καὶ ψυχῆς σπευδούσης κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἀμείβεσται χάριτας εἰς ἀεὶ καὶ τελευτῆς μέχρι διενοεῖτο καὶ διεπράττετο.

Thecla, the daughter of the emperor Theophilus, since the time when the brightness of orthodoxy shone forth into the world with the co-operation of her mother Theodora, burning with a chronic and violent fever, having come to the Fountain of the all-hymned one, quenched the furnace of the affliction that was burning her up and consuming her through the holy water, which appeared more powerful than every remedy by the overshadowing of the Mother of God; whence also her mother, in thanksgiving, gave to the monastery gifts of the royal hand secured by signatures — these are called chrysobulls — and devised and performed very many other tokens of a munificent will and of a soul hastening, as far as possible, to repay favours for ever and until death.

[10] a certain protospatharius, Ἀλλὰ θ᾽in the margin. καὶ πρωτοσπαθάριός τις, γενόμενος τὰ ἔνδον ὑπόπυος καὶ ὅσον so the MS.; perhaps one should read ὅσον οὐ. ἀναφέρων τῶν ἐγκάτων τὸ πύον καὶ μηδεμίαν παρὰ τῶν ἰατρῶν εὑρίσκων βοήθειαν, τῷ ναῷ τῆς Θεοτόκου προσέδραμεν· ἔνθα καὶ τῇ νόσῳ τρυχόμενος καὶ τῇ corrected in the margin. εὐελπιστίᾳ προσκείμενος καὶ διανυκτερεύων ἐπιτεταμέναις εὐχαῖς, ἐν μιᾷ τῶν νυκτῶν αὐτὴν ἐκείνην τὴν θεομήτορα ὥσπερ ἑώρα κοσμίως βαδίζουσαν, ἐν δεξιᾷ μὲν κατέχουσαν τὸν θεολόγον Γρηγόριον ἐπιφερόμενον ποτήριον ἱερόν, κατὰ δὲ θάτερον μέρος τὸν ὁμώνυμον τούτῳ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν θαυμάτων δεξάμενον τὴν ἐπίκλησιν Namely Gregory, bishop of Neocaesarea, surnamed the Wonderworker. . Οἳ ὁπηνίκα πρὸς τῷ ἀρρωστοῦντι ἐγένοντο, ἔφασαν τῇ δεσποίνῃ μετὰ σεβασμοῦ τοῦ προσήκοντος· &ldquogr;Ἐπίβλεψον ἐπὶ τὸν νοσοῦντα, ὦ κυρία ἡμῶν καὶ μῆτερ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, κατὰ καιρὸν πολλῆς τῆς παρὰ σοῦ βοηθείας δεόμενον.&rdquogr; Ἡ δὲ τῷ θεολόγῳ ὑπέταξε λέγουσα· &ldquogr;Ἐπίδος αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ ποτηρίου οὗπερ ἐπιφέρῃ.&rdquogr; Καὶ τὸ κελευσθὲν ἐκείνου ποιήσαντος, ᾔσθετο f. 187 v. παραυτίκα ὁ ἀσθενῶν ὕδατος εἶναι ψυχροῦ καὶ ἡδέος τὴν γεῦσιν, καὶ συνεὶς ἑαυτὸν ὑγιᾶ ἐδόξαζε τὸν Θεόν.

But also a certain protospatharius, having become purulent within, and as much as bringing up the pus of his inward parts, and finding no help from the physicians, ran to the temple of the Mother of God; where, both worn by the disease and applying himself to good hope and spending the nights in intense prayers, on one of the nights he saw as it were the Mother of God herself walking decorously, holding on her right Gregory the Theologian carrying a sacred cup, and on the other side his namesake, who received his appellation from the miracles. And when they came to the sick man, they said to the Lady with fitting reverence: "Look upon the sick man, our Lady and Mother of Christ God, who at this time needs much help from you." And she commanded the Theologian, saying: "Give him from the cup which you carry." And when he had done what was commanded, the sick man at once perceived it to be of cold and sweet water in taste, and, understanding himself to be healed, glorified God.

[11] are freed from various diseases. Τοῦτο ι᾽ in the margin. τῶν ἄλλων πάντων παραδοξέτερον, τοῦτο παρ᾽ ἀληθείᾳ δικαζούσῃ θαῦμα θαυμάτων ἐπέκεινα. Ἐκ γὰρ χρονίων πληγῶν καὶ σεσημμένων μελῶν καὶ σαρκῶν διαρρεῖν διαρεῖν MS. τὰ ἕλκη πάντως ἐπίστασθε καὶ μόλις συνούλωσιν συνούλωσι MS. δέχεσθαι τὰ φαινόμενα τῶν τραυμάτων καὶ θεραπείας τυγχάνοντα. Τὸ δὲ καὶ τὰς πληγὰς ἀοράτους εἶναι καὶ τὰ τραύματα χρόνια, ὡς ἀναδίδοσθαι ἕλκη τῶν ὑποκειμένων καὶ διεφθορότων μορίων καὶ μὴ συγχωρεῖν τὸν νοσοῦντα μὴ βρώματος ἀπολαῦσαι, μὴ πόματος, μὴ ἀνενεγκεῖν καὶ σπάσαι τὴν πνοὴν ἐλευθέρως χαλεπαῖς ὀδύναις κατατεινόμενον καὶ κεντούμενον καὶ ἄλλως ταῖς ἀηδέσι δυσωδίαις ἀπαγορεύοντα καὶ τῆς ζωῆς προτιμῶντα τὸν θάνατον καὶ τί δὴ ἕτερον λέγοντα ἢ τὰ τοῦ θείου Δαυὶδ λόγια, ἐμπαγῆναι μὲν αὐτῷ αὐτὸν MS. ἀλγηδόνων βέλη ἐπιστηριχθῆναι δὲ τὴν ἀρρήτοις κρίμασιν ἐπιτεθειμένη χεῖρα τοῦ πλάσματος Ps. 37, 3. καὶ τοὺς μώλωπας μὲν προσόζειν μή τι δὲ ταῖς σαρξὶν ὑπολειφθῆναι ἴαμα μηδὲ f. 188. τοῖς ἐγκάτοις εἰρήνην, ὥσπερ τοῖς τοῦ προφήτου ὀστέοις τὸ πρότερον, οὕτω ῥᾳδίαν αὐτῷ ἐπενεχθῆναι τὴν ἴασιν ῥοπῇ μὲν καιροῦ ὕδατος δὲ πόσει ψυχροῦ πῶς οὐ θαυμασιώτερον τῶν πώποτε καὶ παραδοξότερον;

This is more marvellous than all the others; this, at the judgement of truth, is a miracle beyond miracles. For you surely know that ulcers flow from chronic wounds and putrefied members and flesh, and that the visible wounds scarcely receive scarring over even when they receive treatment. But for the wounds to be invisible and the hurts chronic, so that ulcers are given off from the underlying and corrupted parts and do not allow the sick man to enjoy food, nor drink, nor to draw up and take his breath freely, stretched and pricked with grievous pains, and otherwise giving up through the unpleasant stenches and preferring death to life, and saying what else than the sayings of the divine David, that arrows of pains have been fixed in him, and the hand laid upon what it formed, by ineffable judgements, has been pressed down upon him, and that his bruises stink, and no healing is left in his flesh, nor peace in his inward parts, as formerly in the prophet's bones — for healing to be brought to him so easily, in a moment of time and by drinking cold water, how is it not more wonderful and more marvellous than anything ever?

ὅμως εἰ μὲν ἄλλος τις τὸ τοιοῦτον εἰργάσατο τῶν εἴτε μαρτυρησάντων ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ εἴτε ὁσίως καὶ θεοφιλῶς ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ καὶ τῷδε τῷ βίῳ ἀναστραφέντων, εἶχεν ἄν τινα ἔκπληξιν τοῦ σημείου ἡ δύναμις. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐργάτις τούτου καὶ δημιουργός, οὐδὲν ἕτερον καὶ λέγειν καὶ ἀκούειν λοιπὸν περιλείπεται ἢ ὅτι γέγονε ταῦτα, τὰ ἀφανῆ τῶν μωλώπων ἀφανῶς θεραπευσάσης τὴν ἐπιστήμονος· καὶ ὁ εὐγνώμων ἀκροατὴς καὶ τῇ δυνάμει παρεξετάζων τῆς Θεοτόκου τὸ θαῦμα καὶ αὐτὸ καθ᾽ αὑτὸ ὑπερμέγεθες λογιζόμενος μέγα μὲν ὡς πρὸς τὴν ἑτέρων ἰσχὺν μικρὸν δὲ κατὰ τὴν ταύτης ἐνέργειαν νομίσει τε καὶ λογίσεται.

Yet if someone else had wrought such a thing, of those who either bore witness for Christ, or lived holily and God-belovedly in the flesh and in this life, the power of the sign would have some amazement. But since the Mother of our God and Saviour is the worker and maker of this, nothing else remains to say and to hear but that these things happened, she who knows having invisibly healed the invisible parts of the bruises; and the well-disposed hearer, comparing the miracle with the power of the Mother of God, and reckoning it in itself exceedingly great, will think and reckon it great in respect of the strength of others, but small according to her working.

[12] of a certain ThessalianἌξιον ια᾽in the margin. δὲ λοιπὸν ἀκοῆς καὶ τὸ περί τινα ἐξαίσιον γενόμενον Θετταλόν· καὶ δεῖ κατὰ μέρος αὐτὸ διηγήσασθαι, ἴν᾽ ἴδητε, πῶς ἐπιμαρτυροῦσα ἡ Θεοτόκος τῇ ἀναστάσει καὶ τοῦτο τὸ φοβερὸν εἰς ἔκπληξιν ᾠκονόμησεν. Ἄνθρωπος γάρ τις, ἐκ τῆς f. 188v. Θετταλίας ὁρμώμενος, κατὰ τὸν ἅπαντα τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ χρόνον ἔργον εὐχῆς καὶ σπουδῆς τιθέμενος εἰς τὸν τῆς Θεοτόκου ναὸν ἀφικέσθαι τὸν ἐν τῇ Πηγῇ καὶ τὰ εἰκότα ἀφοσιώσασθαι καὶ εἰς κόρον τε

Worthy too of hearing, then, is the extraordinary thing that happened concerning a certain Thessalian; and it must be told in detail, so that you may see how the Mother of God, bearing witness to the resurrection, arranged this fearful thing too for amazement. For a certain man, setting out from Thessaly, having all the time of his life made it a work of prayer and zeal to come to the temple of the Mother of God at the Fountain, and to pay what was fitting, and to satiety

ἀπολαῦσαι τοῦ ἁγιάσματος, εἴτε δημοδίαις δουλείαις ἢ καὶ ταῖς κατ᾽ οἶκον ἐνασχολούμενος καὶ περιπλεκόμενος περιστάσεσιν, εἴτε καὶ ὄκνῳ τῷ ἐκ δαιμόνων παρακρατούμενος, ὃ ὧ MS. καὶ μάλιστα τίθεμαι, ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας ἀνεβάλλετο τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν· καὶ δήποτε πᾶσαν ἀποσεισάμενος πρόφασιν, ἔτεινε τὸ πτερὸν πρὸς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν· &ldquogr;Ἡ μέλισσα, φασί, πρὸς τὰ ἄνθη.&rdquogr; Καὶ νόσῳ βαρείᾳ κατὰ τὴν θάλασσαν συσχεθεὶς κατὰ τὸν Ἀθύραν [Ἀθύρας is a place near Constantinople. Theophanes, Chronogr., De Boor, vol. I, p. 103; Zonaras, Epit. XVIII, 17, 26.] ἐξέπνευσεν. Ἐν δὲ τῷ μέλλειν αὐτὸν τελευτᾶν ὅρκῳ τοὺς συμπλωτῆρας κατείληφεν, εἰς τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἐν τῇ πηγῇ Θεοτόκου τούτους ὁρκῶν, τοῦ μήτε λουτροῖς καθᾶραι τὸ σῶμα, μὴ τὰ νομιζόμενα τῇ ταφῇ εἰς αὐτὸ ἐκτελέσαι πρὸ τοῦ ἀπαγαγεῖν ἐκεῖσε καὶ τρεῖς κάδους τοῦ ἁγιάσματος ἐκχέαι κατὰ τοῦ σώματος· &ldquogr;Τηνικαῦτα γάρ, ἔφη, καὶ ὁ χῶρος ἐκεῖνος τάφος γενέσθω μοι παρ᾽ ὑμῶν.&rdquogr; Οἱ οὖν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ συμπλέοντες μετὰ τὸ προσορμίσαι τὸ πλοῖον τοῖς λιμέσι f. 189. τῆς πόλεως τὸν νεκρὸν ἄραντες τὴν ἐκκλησίαν κατέλαβον· καὶ πρὸς τῇ φιάλῇ αὐτῇ καὶ τῷ εὐκτηρίῳ τοῦ μάρτυρος καταθέμενοι Εὐστρατίου [From c. 23 we have it that the oratory of St. Eustratius was built at the left of the entrance to the fountain.] διεπονοῦντο ὡς above the line, and altogether uncertain. ὁ τελευτήσας τούτοις ἐπέσκηψε· καὶ περιδύσαντες τὸ σωμάτιον ἐπέχεον τὸ ἁγίασμα. raising from the dead. Καὶ ἐν τῷ καταχεῖσθαι τὸν τρίτον κάδον τοῦ τελευτήσαντος ἀνεπήδησεν εὐαγγελικῶς εἰπεῖν ὁ νεκρὸς ὡς ἄλλος τις Λάζαρος τὸν Θεὸν δοξάζων καὶ 〈τὴν omits MS. 〉 τῆς ζωῆς χορηγὸν θεομήτορα· ὃς καὶ παραυτίκα εἷς τῶν ἐκεῖ μοναζόντων γενόμενος καὶ θεοφιλῶς τῇ μοναδικῇ πολιτείᾳ ἐμπρέψας, ἐν ταύτῃ καὶ τὸν βίον κατέλυσεν.

to enjoy the holy water, whether occupied in public services or in those of the household and entangled in circumstances, or held back by a sloth coming from the demons, which I especially suppose, put off his promise from day to day; and at some time, having shaken off every pretext, he spread his wing toward the queen city: "The bee," they say, "to the flowers." And, seized at sea by a heavy disease, he breathed his last at Athyras. And when he was about to die, he bound his fellow voyagers by an oath, adjuring them by the power of the Mother of God at the Fountain neither to cleanse his body with baths, nor to perform for it the customary rites of burial, before bringing it there and pouring three buckets of the holy water over the body: "For then," he said, "let that place also become my tomb at your hands." Those who sailed with the man, then, after the ship had anchored in the harbours of the city, lifted the dead man and reached the church; and having laid him down at the basin itself and the oratory of the martyr Eustratius, they laboured as the dead man had enjoined them; and, having stripped the poor body, they poured the holy water over it. And as the third bucket was being poured over the dead man, the dead man leapt up, to speak in the Gospel manner, like another Lazarus, glorifying God and the Mother of God, provider of life; and he at once became one of those living as monks there, and, having been distinguished in a God-loving way in the monastic conduct, in it he ended his life.

Καὶ οὐκ ἀπιστήσει τις τῷ λεχθέντι. Act. 5, 15; 19, 12. Εἰ γὰρ ἡ σκιὰ Πέτρου καὶ Παύλου καὶ τὰ τούτων σουδάρια, δούλων ὄντων καὶ μαθητῶν, ἠξιωμένα χάριτος ἡγίαζον τοὺς ἐγγίζοντας καὶ νεκροὺς ἀνίστων καὶ δαίμονας ἐφυγάδευον, πῶς ἐν τοῖς τῆς θεομήτορος ἐνδοιάσει τις, τῶν ὑπ᾽ ὄψιν πραγμάτων τῇ μαρτυρίᾳ χειραγωγούμενος; Οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο, οὐκ ἔστιν· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον εἴπερ τις ἐξετάσαι καλῶς θελήσει τὸ γεγονός, ἐπιγνώσεται, ὡς ἡ τῆς Θεοτόκου δύναμις τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀποδεξαμένη πίστιν καὶ τὴν τοῦ δαίμονος ἀναβολὴν μέλλουσα καταργεῖν f. 189V. μεῖζον τὸ θαῦμα εἰργάσατο, ἵνα καὶ δαίμονες αἰσχυνθῶσιν καὶ πεισθῶσι μὴ πάντα εἶναι νεανικοὶ καὶ ἀήττητοι μηδὲ παρεμβάλλειν ἀνθρώποις κωλύματα, ἔργοις ἐπιχειροῦσι φίλοις Θεῷ, καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι πάλιν κατ᾽ αὐτῶν νεανικώτερον ἀνθοπλίζωνται τῇ πίστει νευρούμενοι καὶ Θεὸς καὶ ἡ τούτου μήτηρ ἐπ᾽ ἀμφοτέροις δοξάζηται.

And no one will disbelieve what has been said. For if the shadow of Peter and of Paul and their handkerchiefs, they being servants and disciples, deemed worthy of grace, sanctified those who came near and raised the dead and put demons to flight, how will anyone hesitate in the things of the Mother of God, led by the hand by the testimony of things under his eyes? It is not so, it is not; but rather, if anyone will wish to examine well what happened, he will recognize that the power of the Mother of God, accepting the man's faith and intending to bring to nothing the delay caused by the demon, wrought the greater miracle, so that both the demons may be ashamed and persuaded that they are not in all things vigorous and unconquerable, nor can put hindrances in the way of men undertaking works dear to God, and men in turn may arm themselves more vigorously against them, strengthened by faith, and God and His mother may be glorified in both.

[13] Of an imminent danger Ἀλλὰ in the margin ιβ᾽ πῶς ἄν τις τὸ προνοητικὸν αὐτῆς ἐπιδείξεται καὶ παραστήσει λόγοις τὰ ὑπὲρ λόγον καινοτομούμενα, μηδένα χρόνον διαλειπούσης τὸν ταύτης ναὸν τεράτων ἀγέραστον, ἀλλ᾽ οἱονεὶ δένδρον ἀειθαλὲς παρασκευαζούσης κατὰ πάντα καιρὸν ὥσπερ ὡραίοις κομᾶν καὶ θάλλειν τοῖς θαύμασιν; Ἐπεὶ γὰρ κατὰ τοὺς καιροὺς ἐκείνους καὶ ὁ μέγας ἐπῆλθε σεισμὸς καὶ πολλὰ μὲν τῶν οἰκοδομημάτων καὶ τεμένη περιωνύμων ναῶν τῷ βιαίῳ κλόνῳ καὶ ἀνατιναγμῷ κατηνέχθησαν κατημέχθησαν MS. , μέλλοντος δὲ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ τοῦ ὑπερανεστηκότος ἡμισφαιρίου τῆς μείζονος ἐκκλησίας καταπεσεῖν καὶ πρὸ τοῦ τὸν σεισμὸν ἐπιγενέσθαι, εἷς τις τῶν μοναχῶν ἐκ τῆς ἑσπερινῆς δοξολογίας ἐπανελθὼν καὶ συνήθως ἔχων πρὸ τῶν πυλῶν τοῦ θείου ναοῦ ἐπί f. 190 τινος κατακλίσεως ξυλίνης διαναπαύεσθαι, ἤδη κυριακῆς ὑπαυγαζούσης ἡμέρας, ἔδοξεν ὁρᾶν γυναῖκα πορφυρᾶν ἐσθῆτα ἐνδεδυμένην ἐν ταῖς λεγομέναις πύλαις βασιλικαῖς ἱσταμένην καὶ μέχρι τῆς ἄνω φλιᾶς τῷ μεγέθει τοῦ παραστήματος φθάνουσαν, τὰς χεῖρας εἰς προσευχὴν τείνουσαν, εὐνούχων τε πλῆθος ἔνδοθεν τοῦ ναοῦ μετὰ κεραμίων τριῶν τὰς ὑελίνους ἐκείνας τοῦ ἐλαίου ὑποδοχὰς πληροῦντας, forewarned by the Mother of God, εἶθ᾽ οὕτως τῶν πυλῶν μεταβᾶσαν πρὸ τῶν ἀδύτων γενέσθαι καὶ πάλιλν προσοχῇ corrected, formerly προσχῆ MS. πολλῇ τῆς ὁμοίας εὐχῆς ἔχεσθαι, σὺν ἀγωνίᾳ ταύτην ἐπιτελοῦσαν, ὡς δοκεῖν ἱδρῶτι περιρρεῖσθαι πολλῷ τὴν πέλαγος πλουτοῦσαν χρηστότητος· εἶτα μετακλιθεῖσαν λαλῆσαι τῷ μοναχῷ· &ldquogr;Κάλεσον τάχος τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τὸ τῆς συνάξεως σύνθημα δεδωκότες ὕμνον καὶ ᾠδὰς ἀναλάβετε, διότι ὀργὴ Κυρίου τὰ ἐνταῦθα μετὰ μικρὸν καταλήψεται· πλὴν παισὶ καὶ ὅσον ἡλικίας ἀώρου μὴ συγχωρήσητε τὴν εἴσοδον.&rdquogr;

But how could anyone show forth her providence and set forth in words the things newly wrought beyond speech, since she leaves her temple at no time unhonoured by wonders, but, like an ever-green tree, makes it at every season as it were to be luxuriant and to flourish with lovely miracles? For since at those times the great earthquake also came, and many of the buildings and precincts of famous temples were brought down by the violent shaking and tossing up, and the hemisphere rising above the greater church was about to fall down with the others, before the earthquake came on, one of the monks, having returned from the evening doxology and being accustomed to rest before the gates of the divine temple on a certain wooden couch, when the Lord's day was already dawning, seemed to see a woman clad in a purple garment standing at the so-called royal gates, reaching in the greatness of her stature to the upper lintel, stretching her hands out in prayer, and a multitude of eunuchs within the temple filling, with three jars, those glass receptacles of the oil; and then, passing from the gates, she was before the sanctuary and again held with much attention to the like prayer, accomplishing it with agony, so that she who is rich with a sea of goodness seemed to be streaming with much sweat; then, turning aside, she spoke to the monk: "Call the brethren quickly, and, having given the signal of the synaxis, take up hymn and odes, because the wrath of the Lord will in a little while overtake the things here; but do not allow entrance to children and to as many as are of unripe age."

Καὶ ὁ μονάζων διυπνισθεὶς ἐποίει τὸ προσταττόμενον· καὶ τοῦ ὄρθρου κατὰ τὸν ἐκ μακρᾶς συνηθείας παρηκολουθηκότα τύπον παρ᾽ αὐτῶν f. 190V. τελουμένου καὶ τοῦ πεντηκοστοῦ ψαλμοῦ τῆς ὑμνῳδίας πλησιασάσης, τοῦ &ldquogr;ἀνάστασιν Χριστοῦ θεασάμενοι&rdquogr; ῥήματος ἐν τοῖς τῶν μοναχῶν στόμασι κειμένου καὶ ᾀδομένου, by an earthquake προσέβαλεν ὁ σεισμός· καὶ τῶν παρατυχόντων τῷ φόβῳ πρὸς φυγὴν ὁρμησάντων — κατέπιπτε γὰρ ὡς δεδήλωται τὸ ὕπερθεν ἡμισφαίριον — οἰκονομίᾳ παρευθὺ τῆς προστάτιδος αἱ πύλαι τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀνεῳγμέναι εὑρέθησαν, κεκλεισμέναι πρὸ τούτου τυγχάνουσαι, ὥστε μηδένα τῶν ἁπάντων βλαβῆναι, μὴ κοσμικόν, μὴ μονάζοντα, εἰ μὴ δοῦλόν τινα εὐλαβοῦς χειροτέχνου πρὸς βραχὺ πεδηθῆναι τὴν γλῶτταν ἐκ τοῦ ἰδεῖν καὶ ἀκοῦσαι ἀπόρρητα· φιλῶν γὰρ τὸν αὐτοῦ δεσπότην τῶν αὐτοῦ δεσπό MS. ὡς ἔδειξεν, τῶν πυλῶν ἱστάμενος ἔσωθεν, ἡνίκα τὸ καταπεσὸν ἐπενόησε καταφέρεσθαι πρὸς τὸν αὐτοῦ κύριον, ἔσπευδεν ἀπελθεῖν καὶ περιστραφεὶς ὁρᾷ γυναῖκα πρὸς τὰς βασιλικὰς ἱσταμένην εἰσόδους καὶ ποιουμένην σὺν δάκρυσι τὴν εὐχήν, the monks are not harmed. ἣν καὶ φωνῆσαι αὐτῷ γεγωνότερον ἔλεγε· &ldquogr;Στῆθι, καὶ περαιτέρω μὴ πρόελθε.&rdquogr; Ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης οὖν φωνῆς καταπεπτωκὼς ἐπὶ τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἔμενεν ἄφωνος· ὃς μετὰ τὸ τὴν προτέραν ἕξιν τῆς φύσεως παρὰ f. 191. τῆς συμπαθεστάτης λαβεῖν ἐξεῖπεν, ὅσα καὶ εἶπεν καὶ εἶδε καὶ ἤκουσε.

And the monk, woken, did what was commanded; and while matins was being performed by them according to the order followed from long custom, and the hymnody had come near the fiftieth psalm, when the words "having beheld the resurrection of Christ" lay in the mouths of the monks and were being sung, the earthquake struck; and as those present rushed in fear to flight — for the hemisphere above was falling down, as has been shown — by the dispensation of the Protectress the gates of the church were at once found opened, though before this they happened to be shut, so that no one of all was harmed, neither layman nor monk, except that a certain slave of a devout craftsman had his tongue bound for a short time from seeing and hearing ineffable things; for, loving his master, as he showed, standing within the gates, when he perceived that what was falling was being carried down toward his lord, he hastened to get away, and, turning round, he sees a woman standing at the royal entrances and making her prayer with tears, who, he said, also called to him rather loudly: "Stand, and do not go further." From such a voice, then, he fell down and remained speechless for three days; and he, after receiving back the former condition of nature from the most compassionate one, told all that she both said and he saw and heard.

Μετὰ δὲ τὴν συμβᾶσαν καταστροφὴν ἐβουλήθν Βασίλειος [Vita Basilii, c. LXXX, Bekker, p. 323; Cedrenus, Histor. compend., Bekker, vol. II, p. 328.] ὁ φιλόχριστος βασιλεὺς τὴν ῥωμαἳκὴν τότε διἳθύνων ἀρχὴν ἐκ βάθρων ἀνατρέψαι τὸ τέμενος καὶ πρὸς τὸ μεῖζον μετακοσμῆσαι καὶ περιφανέστερον. The temple restored by Basil. Κωλυθεὶς δὲ παρά τινων μεγιστάνων ἐκαίνισε μόνα τὰ καταπεπτωκότα ἐκ τῶν ἄνωθεν συναπτόντων συνδέσμων τὸ ἡμισφαίριον δομησάμενος. Καὶ ἡνίκα ἐτέθησαν κλίμακες τοῦ πρὸς ὕψος ἀναβιβάσαι ἀνάλογον τοὺς μέλλοντας διὰ ψηφίδων ἀπεικονίσαι τὰ θεῖα ἰνδάλματα, τῆς θείας ἑορτῆς ἀναστηλουμένης ἀναστειλαμένης, corrected ἀναστηλομένης MS. τῆς καθόδου τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ δεχομένης τὰ ποικίλα χρώματα καὶ τὰ τυπώματα, συνέβη τὰς ἀναβάθρας καὶ κλίμακας ἐπὶ τὸ μέρος τοῦ ἄμβωνος καταφέρεσθαι καὶ τοὺς εἰκονιστὰς καὶ ζωγράφους ἐκείνους διαταραχθέντας τὸν παραστάντα ὀδύρεσθαι κίνδυνον· καὶ δὴ ἐν τῷ θρήνοις ὥσπερ εἰκὸς τοὺς ἄνδρας συνέχεσθαι καὶ τὸ Πάναγνε Θεοτόκε ἀκροτελεύτιον ἐπιφθέγγεσθαι ὁρᾷ εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνωθεν τὴν Θεοτόκον ἱσταμένην τοῦ ἄμβωνος καὶ ὑποδεχομένην τὰς κλίμακας καὶ ὑποβαστάζουσαν f. 191v. καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν ὑπενδιδοῦσαν τῷ βάρει καὶ καταπεσεῖν μὴ συγχωροῦσαν αἰφνίδιον. Καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν θαῦμα γέμον ἐκπλήξεως, πῶς ἅπαντες οἱ κατενεχθέντες διετηρήθησαν ἀβλαβεῖς, μηδενὸς τῶν ὅλων πειραθέντος τινὸς δυσχεροῦς ἢ καθ᾽ οἱονδήποτε τῶν μελῶν ἀναδεξαμένου βλάβην τῷ τηλικούτῳ συμπτώματι. Εἶδες πρόνοιαν; εἶδες κηδεμονίας ὀξύτητα; εἶδες ὅσον ἔχει πρὸς τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους τὸ πρόχειρον; ἔτι γὰρ λαλούντων παρῆν καὶ ἠλευθέρου ὀξυρρόπου κινδύνου καὶ ὥρᾳ βραχείᾳ τοσούτους διέσῳζεν· ὄντως ἀεὶ τῷ τοιούτῳ τεμένει ἐπιφοιτᾷ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοιαῦτα θαυματουργεῖ.

And after the catastrophe that had happened, Basil, the Christ-loving emperor then directing the Roman rule, wished to overturn the precinct from its foundations and to re-adorn it on a greater and more illustrious scale. But, being prevented by certain grandees, he renewed only what had fallen, building the hemisphere on the bindings joining it from above. And when ladders had been set up to raise proportionately to the height those who were about to represent the divine images in mosaic, while the divine feast of the descent of the Spirit was being set up and receiving the varied colours and the forms, it happened that the steps and ladders were carried down toward the side of the ambo, and those image-makers and painters, thrown into confusion, lamented the danger at hand; and indeed, as the men were held, as was likely, in lamentations, and were calling out the refrain "All-pure Mother of God," one of them sees the Mother of God standing above the ambo and receiving the ladders and supporting them, and giving way little by little to the weight, and not allowing them to fall suddenly. And one could see a miracle full of amazement, how all those who were brought down were kept unharmed, none of them all having experienced anything hard or received harm in any of the limbs from so great a mishap. Did you see providence? Did you see the swiftness of care? Did you see how ready she is toward those who call upon her? For while they were still speaking she was present, and freed them from a swiftly falling danger, and saved so many in a short hour; truly she always visits such a precinct, and for this reason works such miracles.

[14] Helena Artavasdina, Οἷον in the margin ιβ᾽. δὲ καὶ τοῦτο τῶν λοιπῶν οὐκ ἀπεοικός. Αἱ τῆς πανάγνου καὶ τοῦ ἀρχιστρατήγου Γαβριὴλ εἰκόνες, αἳ κατὰ δεξιὰν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου παραπεπήγασιν, παρ᾽ ὦν καὶ συνεχεῖς ἰάσεις ἐπιτελοῦνται, ἄνωθεν κατὰ τὴν δεξιὰν ἁψῖδα πρὸ τῆς καταστροφῆς ἐζωγραφημέναι, καταπεσοῦσαι τότε μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων εἰς ἔδαφος, κατ᾽ οὐδὲν συνετρίβησαν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ πάντων βλέπονται σῶοι μέχρι καὶ σήμερον· ἃς Ἑλένη μαγίστρισσα, ᾗ Ἀρταυασδίνα [Mention of Artavasdus, an Armenian name, occurs more than once in Byzantine history. Cf. De Boor, Theophanis chronographia, vol. II, p. 576; Büttner-Wobst, Ioannis Zonarae epitomae historiarum, vol. III, p. 802.] ἐπώνυμον, ὡς κλῆρον παρὰ πατέρων τὴν εἰς αὐτὰς πίστιν f. 192. ἔχουσα, αἰτήσει θερμῇ τῇ πρὸς τὸν τὴν πρόνοιαν τῆς μονῆς ποιούμενον ἔλαβε· καὶ ἐν τῷ ταύτης οἴκῳ ἀπαγαγοῦσα καὶ κατὰ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἀποθεμένη κουβούκλειον, πλῆρες αὐτὸ καὶ φώτων καὶ θυμιαμάτων ἐδείκνυ καὶ ταύταις ἔχαιρε καὶ τελετὰς ἀπεδίδου καὶ δεήσεις προσῆγε. Καί ποτε τῶν νυκτῶν ἐν μιᾷ ὁρᾷ τὴν Θεοτόκον Μαρίαν καλοῦσαν αὐτὴν ἐξ ὀνόματος καὶ λέγουσαν· &ldquogr;Ἑλένη, ἀνάστηθι καὶ ἀπάγαγέ με εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου· οὐ γάρ μοι τὰ ἐνταῦθα ἀνάπαυσις.&rdquogr; Κἀκείνη διαναστᾶσα καὶ φάντασμα εἶναι τὸ θεαθὲν δόξασα καὶ μὴ θείαν τινὰ ἐπιφάνειαν, τὴν πρόσταξιν ἀνεβάλλετο ἢ τάχα καὶ τὸν καιρὸν ὑποκλέπτουσα καὶ μὴ τῶν εἰκόνων χωρισθῆναι σπουδάζουσα· ὁ γὰρ περί τι ἐρωτικῶς διακείμενος οὐκ ἀποστῆναι τούτου ἑκὼν ἀνέχεται, εἰ καὶ τὸν κωλύοντα ἔχει καὶ τοῦ φιλουμένου τὴν διάζευξιν ἐπισπεύδοντα· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ αὖθις ἡ Θεοτόκος ἐπιφανεῖσα κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους τῇ προλεχθείσῃ ἐνεκελεύετο ἀπειλητικώτερον ἅμα τε καὶ ἦθος ἦθον MS. ὀργιλώτερον ὑποφαίνουσα ὡς· &ldquogr;Εἰ μὴ ἀπαγάγῃς με, warned by the Mother of God, λέγουσα, καθάπερ καὶ πρότερον εἶπόν σοι, εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου, περὶ τὰ καίρια λυπηθήσῃ καὶ μέγιστα.&rdquogr;

And such too is this, not unlike the rest. The icons of the all-pure one and of the archangel Gabriel, which have been fixed at the right of the altar, from which also continual healings are accomplished, painted above on the right arch before the catastrophe, having then fallen to the ground with the others, were in no way broken, but are seen by all safe even to this day; these Helena the magistrissa, whose surname was Artavasdina, having faith in them as an inheritance from her fathers, received by warm request from the one who had the care of the monastery; and having carried them off into her house and laid them in her own chamber, she showed it full of lights and incense, and rejoiced in them, and rendered rites, and offered supplications. And once, on one of the nights, she sees Mary the Mother of God calling her by name and saying: "Helena, rise and carry me back to my house; for things here are no rest for me." And she, rising up and thinking that what was seen was a phantasm and not some divine apparition, put off the command, or perhaps also stealing time and eager not to be separated from the icons; for he who is disposed lovingly toward something does not willingly bear to depart from it, even if he has one who hinders him and hastens the separation from the beloved; for this reason the Mother of God, appearing again in sleep to the aforesaid woman, commanded more threateningly, and at the same time showing a more wrathful disposition, saying: "If you do not carry me back, as I told you before too, to my house, you will be grieved in the most vital and greatest matters."

Διαπιστησάσης f. 192v. δὲ κἀκείνης τῇ ἐμφανείᾳ καὶ μᾶλλον τρωθείσης τῷ πόθῳ τῆς Θεομήτορος καὶ ταῖς φωταγωγίαις φῶτα προσθείσης καὶ ταῖς λαμπάσι λαμπάδας, κατὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν τῆς προκαθαρσίμου κυριακῆς φλὸξ ἔνδοθεν ἀναφθεῖσα τοῦ κουβουκλείου, ἐν ᾧ αἱ εἰκόνες, ἕως τῶν κεράμων ἀνήπτετο καὶ σὺν ἤχῳ διαιρομένη δόξαν παρεῖχε πυρπολῆσαι τὸν οἶκον τῆς μαγιστρίσσης ὁλοσχερῶς. Καὶ τοῦτο γέγονεν ἄν, εἰ μὴ αὐτὴ κατελθοῦσα εἰς τὸ οἰκεῖον προαύλιον δάκρυσιν ἐδυσώπει τὴν συμπαθῆ· &ldquogr;Κατάσβεσον, δέσποινα, βοῶσα, τὴν μέλλουσαν κατεμπρῆσαι φλόγα τὴν οἰκίαν τῆς παρηκόου παροικόου MS. οἰκέτιδος καὶ στῆσον τὴν ὁρμὴν τοῦ πυρός, ἵνα τὴν αὔριον, καθὼς προσέταξας, προσηκούσῃ μετακομιδῇ παραπέμψω σε εἰς τὸν τῆς ἀναστάσεως οἶκόν σου.&rdquogr; Ταῦτα εἰπούσης καὶ βεβαιωσαμένης ὅρκῳ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν, κατεμαράνθη τὸ ἀγριαῖνον ἐκεῖνο τῆς φλογὸς καὶ τῆς ὁρμῆς ἔληξεν· ἐδυσωπήθη γὰρ τὰ πίστεως ἐκεῖνα γέμοντα ῥήματα, καὶ τὴν ἀναφθεῖσαν φλόγα δι᾽ ἐπαιμουμένην παρακοὴν ἡ ἀποσταλάξασα τῶν ὀμμάτων δρόσος εὐθέως κατέσβεσεν. Καὶ ἐθεάσατο πᾶς ὁ τότε παρατυχὼν πρᾶγμα καινὸν καὶ παράδοξον. Μετὰ γὰρ τὴν λαθοῦσαν f. 193. ὑποχώρησιν τοῦ πυρὸς εὐρέθη σῶον τὸ οἴκημα καὶ ἀβλαβεῖς αἱ εἰκόνες καὶ αἱ λυχνίαι τεταγμένως

But when she too distrusted the apparition, and was rather wounded with longing for the Mother of God, and added lights to the illuminations and lamps to the lamps, on the evening of the Sunday before the fast a flame, kindled within the chamber in which the icons were, was lit up to the roof-tiles, and, spreading with a roar, gave the appearance of burning up the house of the magistrissa completely. And this would have happened if she herself, going down into her own forecourt, had not entreated the compassionate one with tears, crying: "Quench, Lady, the flame that is about to burn up the house of your disobedient servant, and stop the onrush of the fire, so that tomorrow, as you commanded, I may send you with fitting transport to your house of the resurrection." When she had said this and confirmed the promise with an oath, the raging of that flame withered and ceased its onrush; for it was put to shame by those words full of faith, and the dew that dripped from her eyes at once quenched the flame kindled for the disobedience. And all who then happened to be present beheld a new and marvellous thing. For after the unnoticed withdrawal of the fire, the dwelling was found safe, and the icons unharmed, and the lampstands in order

καιόμεναι. she brings the sacred images into the temple. Ὅθεν δὴ πρωιαίτερον πᾶσαν τὴν αὐτῆς προσλαβοῦσα συγγένειαν καὶ ἱερεῖς διαφόρων ἐκκλησιῶν συναθροίσασα, τὴν τῶν εἰρημένων εἰκόνων παραπομπὴν λαμπάσι καὶ ὑμνῳδίαις ἐποιήσατο καὶ τῷ φίλῳ τόπῳ ταύτας ἀπεκατέστησεν, πηξαμένη καὶ θεῖον νέον θεῖονέον. θυσιαστήριον· καὶ τούτου χάριν τοῦ θαύματος ἐτησίως ἀπὸ τοῦ τότε καιροῦ κατὰ τὴν πρώτην ἡμέραν τῶν νηστειῶν οὐκ ὀλίγον πλῆθος ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως ἐξιὸν τὴν μνήμην καινίζει καὶ διὰ τιμῆς ἄγει ὡς ἑορτὴν πάνδημον.

burning. Whence early in the morning, having taken with her all her kindred and gathered priests of various churches, she made the procession of the said icons with lamps and hymnody and restored them to their beloved place, having set up also a new divine altar; and for the sake of this miracle, yearly from that time, on the first day of the fasts, no small multitude going out from the city renews the memory and holds it in honour as a public feast.

[15] Health is restored to the same woman Πολλῶν in the margin ιγ᾽. δὲ θαυμάτων αὕτη καὶ πρὸ τούτου καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τῆς Θεοτόκου ἀπήλαυσεν. Ἐξ ὧν ἓν ἢν MS. ἢ καὶ δύο εἰπόντες τὰ καιριώτερα, τὰ λοιπὰ πιστωσόμεθα. Τῷ γὰρ τῆς δυσουρίας κατεχομένη νοσήματι καὶ περὶ τῆς ἀναπνοῆς, μή τί γε περὶ τῆς ζωῆς, ὑπὸ τῶν ὀδυνῶν κινδυνεύουσα, τὸ σύνηθες καὶ σωτήριον something seems to have fallen out. ἐκ τῆς ἱερᾶς ἀρυσαμένη Πηγῆς καὶ διαθερμάνασα καὶ τῷ αὐτῷ λουτρῷ μὲν τοῦ σώματος λύτρῳ δὲ χρησαμένη τοῦ ἀρρωστήματος, τὰς ὀδύνας ὥσπερ τι φορτίον οὐκ εὔφορον ἀποθεμένη, f. 193v. τῆς προτέρας ὑγείας ἐγένετο.

And she enjoyed many miracles of the Mother of God, both before this and after these things. Telling one or two of them, the more important, we shall vouch for the rest. For, being held by the disease of dysuria, and in danger from the pains for her breathing, not to say for her life, having drawn the customary and saving from the sacred Fountain and warmed it, and using the same as a bath for the body and a ransom from the illness, having laid aside the pains like a burden hard to bear, she came back to her former health.

Ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν παίδων αὐτῆς τελευτᾶν μελλόντων, πάσης σωτηρίας ἐπιλιπούσης, καὶ εἰς τὸν ἐπιτερπῆ ναὸν φοράδην προσενεχθέντων καὶ τῆς μητρὸς οἷα μητρὸς δεομένης, ἱκετευούσης, δακρυούσης, τί οὐ ποιούσης ἐλεεινὸν τοῦ μὴ τὴν τελευταίαν τούτων ἡμέραν ἰδεῖν, αὐτὴν ἐκείνην ἐν ὀνείρῳ ἑωρακέναι τὴν Θεοτόκον διισχυρίζετο λέγουσαν· &ldquogr;Τί μου καταβοᾷς, γύναι, μὴ τοῖς παισί σου βραβευούσης τὴν ἴασιν; εἰ ἔψαλλες τοίνυν ποτὲ τὸ &ldquogr;οὐδεὶς προστρέχων ἐπὶ σοὶ κατῃσχυμμένος ἀπὸ σοῦ ἐκπορεύεται&rdquogr;, τὸ πᾶν κατ᾽ αὐτὴν τὴν ὥραν εἰπέ.&rdquogr; and the Mother of God is shown to her in sleep. Καὶ ἀποστοματιζούσης αὐτὸ τῆς ἱκετευούσης καὶ τὸ &ldquogr;λαμβάνειν τὸ δώρημα πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον τῆς αἰτήσεως&rdquogr; τελευταῖον ἐπιφερούσης, ἀκήκοε τῆς πανάγνου ἀπόφασιν· &ldquogr;Ἐπίγνωθι, λέγουσα, ὡς τὸ μὴ ζῆν αὐτοῖς τοῦ περιεῖναι λυσιτελέστερον.&rdquogr; Καὶ τελευτησάντων, τὰ τούτων κατέθεντο σώματα ἔξωθεν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου, οὗπερ ἐπήξατο, ἐκείνης τῆς εἰκόνος ἐν δεξιᾷ, ἣ ταῖς συνεχέσιν ἐπιδημίαις καὶ ἐπισκέψεσιν Ἐπίσκεψις ὀνομάζεται.

But also when her children were about to die, all safety having failed, and had been carried on a litter to the delightful temple, and their mother, as a mother would, was begging, beseeching, weeping, doing what piteous thing not, so as not to see their last day, she insisted that she had seen in a dream the Mother of God herself saying: "Why do you cry out against me, woman, as though I were not awarding healing to your children? If, then, you ever sang the words 'no one who runs to you goes away from you put to shame', say the whole at this very hour." And as the suppliant recited it, and brought in last the words "to receive the gift to the profit of the request," she heard the sentence of the all-pure one: "Know," she said, "that not living is more profitable for them than surviving." And when they had died, they laid their bodies outside the altar which she had set up, at the right of that icon which, from its continual visitings and visitations, is named the Visitation.

Καὶ μετ᾽ ὀλίγον καὶ αὐτὴ τὸν βίον ἀπολιποῦσα κατὰ τὸ δεξιὸν δεξιὰν MS. τῆς φιάλης f. 194. μέρος τῆς εἰσόδου τοῦ νάρθηκος ὑπὸ γῆν ἐτέθη, τῷ ναῷ ἀναθεῖσα ἀναθήματα κάλλιστα, ἐνδυτὰς χρυσῷ καταστίκτους καὶ σκεύη πρὸς ὑποδοχὴν τῆς ἀναιμάκτου θυσίας πολύτιμα καὶ ἄλλα τινά, ὑφ᾽ ὧν ναὸς ὡραΐζεται. Τοιαύτην εἶχε τὴν πίστιν διάπυρον, οὕτως ἀκαταίσχυντον τὴν ἐλπίδα καὶ γενναῖον τὸ φίλτρον καὶ ἀνδρικὸν ἐν γυναικείῳ τῷ σώματι πρὸς τὴν πάναγνον· οὕτως αὐτῇ ἐπείθετο καὶ ἐν ἅπασιν εὐχαρίστει καὶ πάντα λυσιτελῶς τὰ παρ᾽ αὐτῆς οἰκονομούμενα ᾤετο γίνεσθαι. Καὶ γὰρ κατὰ τὴν τελευτὴν τῶν παίδων οὐδὲν ἐνεδείξατο ταπεινοῦ καὶ καταπεπτωκότος φρονήματος, οὐ ῥῆμα προήκατο K, προσήκατο MS. δύσφημον, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον εὐδοκιμωτέρα ἐφάνη καὶ γενναιοτέρα καὶ διὰ τῆσδε τῆς θλίψεως. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν περὶ ταύτης.

And after a little she herself too, having left life, was laid under the earth at the right part of the basin at the entrance of the narthex, having dedicated to the temple most beautiful votive gifts, altar-cloths spangled with gold, and very precious vessels for the reception of the bloodless sacrifice, and certain other things by which the temple is beautified. Such fiery faith did she have, so unashamed a hope, and so noble a love, manly in a woman's body, toward the all-pure one; so did she obey her and give thanks in all things, and thought that all things ordered by her were done profitably. For at the death of her children she showed nothing of a low and fallen mind, she let fall no word of ill omen, but rather appeared more approved and nobler even through this affliction. And these things concerning her.

[16] Of evil spirits Καιρὸς in the margin ιδ᾽. δὲ λοιπὸν καὶ τὰ εἰς ἑτέρους ἀπαριθμήσασθαι. Μοναχή τις ἐνοχλουμένη πονηρῷ πνεύματι, νηστείαις καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις ἑαυτὴν ἐκδοῦσα σκληραγωγίαις καὶ δάκρυσι τοὔδαφος καταβρέχουσα καὶ τῷ τῆς Θεοτόκου ναῷ προσεδρεύουσα πρὸς τὸ τὸ δαιμόνιον ἀπελάσαι τὸ ταύτην διασπαράττον πικρῶς, ὅτε f. 194v. καὶ πρὸς μικρὸν ἦγεν ἄνεσιν τοῦ μαστίζοντος, διηγεῖτο τοῖς μοναχοῖς ὡς· &ldquogr;Ὅτε ἡ πρεσβεία μετὰ τὸ τέλος τέλους MS. τοῦ ὄρθρου ποιήσεται τὴν ὁρμὴν πρὸς τὸν τῆς ἁγίας Ἄννης οἶκον εὐκτήριον, αὐταῖς ὄψεσι τὴν Θεοτόκον ὁρῶ προπορευομένην τοῦ ἱερέως καὶ ἅμα ὑμῖν κατιοῦσαν εἰς τὴν Καταφυγὴν καὶ ἱσταμένην τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐκ δεξιῶν· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο κἀγὼ κατὰ τὴν τοιαύτην ὥραν ἐκκρέμαμαι, ταύτην βλέπουσα κάτωθεν.&rdquogr; Καὶ μετὰ τὸ διηγήσασθαι ταῦτα δι᾽ ἡμερῶν ὀλίγων τῇ δυνάμει τῆς πανάγνου καὶ χάριτι ἀπηλλάγη τοῦ δαίμονος· καὶ τὸν λοιπὸν χρόνον βιώσασα ὡς φίλον Θεῷ, πρὸς Κύριον ἐξεδήμησεν. Ἰδοὺ καὶ δαίμονες πάντως ἐφυγαδεύθησαν καὶ ἐλαύνουσαν ᾔσθοντο· καὶ οἱ θεραπευθέντες ταύτην κατεῖδον ἐπιφοιτῶσαν τῇ Καταφυγῇ καὶ τοῖς μοναχοῖς προοδεύουσαν καὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος παρισταμένην ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ ἁγιάζουσαν ἅπαντα.

It is time, then, to number the things done to others as well. A certain nun, troubled by an evil spirit, having given herself up to fasts and the other hardships, and wetting the floor with tears, and attending at the temple of the Mother of God in order to drive away the demon that bitterly tore her, when she had a little respite from the scourger, related to the monks: "When the procession, after the end of matins, makes its start toward the house of prayer of St. Anne, I see with my very eyes the Mother of God going before the priest and going down together with you into the Refuge and standing at the right of the Saviour; and for this reason I too at such an hour am suspended, seeing her from below." And after relating these things, within a few days, by the power and grace of the all-pure one, she was freed from the demon; and having lived the rest of her time as one dear to God, she departed to the Lord. See, demons too were altogether put to flight and perceived her driving them out; and those healed beheld her visiting the Refuge and going before the monks and standing at the right of the Saviour and sanctifying all things.

[17] the casting out.Ἐπὶ in the margin ιε᾽. τούτῳ τοίνυν ἕτερον, ὦ παρόντες, ἀκούσατε. Ἄνθρωπός τις ἑορτάζων τὴν τοῦ εὐαγγελισμοῦ ἑορτὴν μετὰ τὸ τὴν ἐφ᾽ ἑσπέρας ὑμνολογίαν πληρῶσαι εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν κατεκλίθη στρωμνήν, ἐν ἑτέρᾳ δὲ καὶ ἡ σύζυγος· ἥτις ὡς ἐν ἐκστάσει γενομένη φρενῶν παρόμοιον ἑώρακε κόρακι διὰ τοῦ στόματος αὐτῆς f. 195. πτηνὸν εἰσελθεῖν. Καὶ παραυτίκα ἐκυλινδεῖτο καὶ ἀφρὸν ἀνίει τοῦ στόματος τῇ ἐπιθέσει τοῦ δαίμονος. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἰς τὸν τῆς πανυμνήτου ναὸν διεκομίσθη παρὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τριάκοντά τε ἡμέρας προσκαρτερήσασα καὶ ἱκανῶς μαστιχθεῖσα — φύσις γὰρ τοιαύτη, μᾶλλον δὲ προαίρεσις, ταῖς ἀντικειμέναις δυνάμεσιν ἐπηρεάζειν τῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ πλάσματι — ὡς καὶ ῥήματά τινα ἀπρεπῆ ἀποφθέγξασθαι, ὅτε ἡ Θεοτόκος ἐπεκάμφθη τῆς προσελθούσης τὴν γνώμην μεταξὺ δοκιμάσασα, ἡ δαιμονῶσα δραμοῦσα καὶ τὸ ἔλαιον τῆς ἠρτημένης κανδήλας ἐν τῇ Ἐπισκέψει πιοῦσα ἀπήλασεν εὐθέως τὸν δαίμονα.

Besides this, then, hear another, you who are present. A certain man, keeping the feast of the Annunciation, after completing the evening hymnody, lay down on his own bed, and his consort on another; and she, as if she had come into ecstasy of mind, saw a bird like a raven enter through her mouth. And at once she was rolling and sending forth foam from her mouth through the assault of the demon. And for this reason she was carried by her husband to the temple of the all-hymned one, and, having persevered thirty days and been sufficiently scourged — for such is the nature, or rather the purpose, of the opposing powers, to abuse the creature of God — so as even to utter some unseemly words, when the Mother of God was moved, having meanwhile tested the mind of her who had come, the possessed woman, running and drinking the oil of the lamp hung in the Visitation, at once drove out the demon.

[18] Matthew the steward, from exile, Κατὰ in the margin ις᾽. δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν συνέβη καὶ τὸν μοναχὸν Ματθαῖον καὶ οἰκονόμον τῆς τοιαύτης μονῆς, ἄνδρα πλήρης πνεύματος καὶ θεοφιλοῦς βίου ἐπιμελόμενον, παρὰ τῶν ἀρετῇ φθονούντων καὶ ἀμαυροῦν ἐθελόντων τὴν ταύτης λαμπρότητα πρὸς τὸν κρατοῦντα διαβληθῆναι. Καὶ ὃς εἰς τὴν ἐν Χρυσοπόλει μονὴν ἐξέπεμψεν ὑπερόριον· ἰσχύει γὰρ πρὸς βραχὺ ἐνίοτε καὶ ψεῦδος κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας, εἰ καὶ μὴ τέλεον ταύτην καταγωνίζεται. Καὶ δὴ τοῦτον ὁ καθηγούμενος τῆς τοιαύτης f. 195v μονῆς θεωρῶν ἀναβάσεις ἀρετῶν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ διατιθέμενον καὶ πρὸς κυβέρνησιν λαοῦ ἐπιστήμονα, τὴν τῆς οἰκονομίας τῷ ἀνδρὶ φροντίδα ἐπέταξεν· ὃς ἐν τοῖς λεγομένοις κατηχουμενείοις κατηχουμένοις MS. τῆς ἐκκλησίας ὑπνῶν, καθ᾽ ὃν τόπον ἡ τῆς Θεοτόκου εἰκὼν προσπεπήγει μέχρι μαζῶν ἐκτετυπωμένη καὶ τροφέα τῆς κτίσεως ὑπομάζιον φέρουσα, φωνῆς ἐξηχηθείσης ἀκήκοε· &ldquogr;Ματθαῖε, πορεύου νῦν εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου· ἐγχειρίσαι γὰρ διακονίαν σοι βούλομαι.&rdquogr; is recalled by the help of the Mother of God. Καὶ διαταραχθεὶς πρὸς τὴν φωνὴν ὁ ἀνὴρ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐκεῖσε ναῷ κατελθὼν σὺν ἀγωνίᾳ ηὔχετο· καὶ πάλιν φωνῆς ἑτέρας ἀκήκοεν· &ldquogr;Ἄπελθε εἰς τὴν μονήν σου· χρείαν γὰρ ἐκπληρώσεις τινὰ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ μου καὶ τοῦτον μετακοσμήσεις πρὸς τὸ σεμνότερον.&rdquogr; Καὶ ὁ μονάζων σὺν φόβῳ ἀπεκρίθη τῇ θεομήτορι· &ldquogr;Ὑπερορίαν κατακριθεὶς τοῦτο δέδοικα διαπράξασθαι.&rdquogr; Καὶ αὖθις ἀκήκοεν· &ldquogr;Ἐγὼ ὑπὲρ σοῦ λαλήσω.&rdquogr;

At the same time it happened also that the monk Matthew, steward of this monastery, a man full of the spirit and careful of a God-loving life, was slandered to the ruler by those who envied virtue and wished to darken its brightness. And he sent him into exile to the monastery at Chrysopolis; for falsehood too sometimes prevails for a short time against the truth, even if it does not completely overcome it. And indeed the superior of this monastery, seeing that he set ascents of virtues in his heart and was skilled in the governance of a people, enjoined on the man the care of the stewardship; and he, sleeping in the so-called catechumena of the church, in the place where the icon of the Mother of God had been fixed, figured down to the breasts and carrying the Nourisher of creation at her breast, heard a voice sounding forth: "Matthew, go now to my house; for I wish to put a ministry into your hands." And the man, troubled at the voice, went down into the temple there and prayed in anguish; and again he heard another voice: "Go away to your monastery; for you will fulfil some need in my house and re-adorn it more grandly." And the monk answered the Mother of God with fear: "Condemned to exile, I fear to do this." And again he heard: "I will speak for you."

Καὶ εὐθέως τόν τε καθηγούμενον τῆς μονῆς ἐμφανείας ἠξίωσε τοῦ τὸν μοναχὸν Ματθαῖον εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἐκπέμψαι μονήν, καὶ τῷ τὰ σκῆπτρα κρατοῦντι Βασιλείῳ Basil I, emperor, 867 – 886. τὸν παραπλήσιον ἐνεφάνισε τρόπον. Οὔπω φθάνει ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν ὀφθέντα συμβαλεῖν f. 196. συμβασιλείν MS. ὄνειρον διαναστάς, καὶ προφθάνει ὁ τῆς Χρυσοπόλεως καθηγούμενος παραστὰς τὰ ὅμοια ἰδεῖν τῷ βασιλεῖ διηγούμενος· καὶ παραυτίκα παραυτὶ MS. ὁ ῥηθεὶς μοναχὸς Ματθαῖος εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν ἐξαπεστάλη μονήν· καὶ βασιλεῖ γνώριμος ἐντεῦθεν καὶ τοῖς ἐν παλατίῳ γίνεται καλῶς τε ποιμάνας τὸ λογικὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποίμνιον, εἰς ἄκραν ἤλασεν ἀρετὴν καὶ ἀγαπητὸς καὶ συνήθης τῷ βασιλεῖ Λέοντι Leo VI, emperor, 886 – 911. χρηματίζει· ὃς αἰδοῖ τῇ πρὸς τοῦτον καὶ κρηπῖδα τοῦ τεμένους τῆς σεβασμίας Ἄννης κατεβάλετο καὶ κάλλος ἐξηλλαγμένον ἐντέθεικεν καὶ τὸν τοῦ μεγάλου ναοῦ πρόναον — νάρθηξ τούτῳ ἐπώνυμον — παρὰ τῶν Βουλγάρων ἀχρειωθέντα, τὴν Θρᾳκῶν τότε καταδραμόντων, ἐκαλλώπισεν καὶ τὴν ἐτύμως ἐτοίμως MS. λεγομένην Καταφυγήν, * 〈καταφυγὴν Κ supplies it; omits MS. 〉 οὖσαν παντὸς λυπηροῦ, λεπτοτάτων ψηφίδων καὶ χρωμάτων συνθέσει καὶ μίξει καὶ κράσει εὐπρεπεστέραν εἰργάσατο· ὅθεν ἐν τῷ τότε καιρῷ θαῦμα τοῖς προλαβοῦσιν ἀπετελέσθη κατάλληλον.

And at once she both deemed the superior of the monastery worthy of an appearance, that he should send the monk Matthew to his own monastery, and appeared in like manner to Basil, who held the sceptres. The emperor, having risen up, had not yet managed to interpret the dream seen, when the superior of Chrysopolis arrives first, standing by and relating to the emperor that he had seen the like; and at once the said monk Matthew was sent off to his own monastery; and from that time he becomes known to the emperor and to those in the palace, and, having shepherded well the rational flock of Christ, he drove to the summit of virtue, and is reckoned beloved and familiar to the emperor Leo; who, out of reverence for him, both laid the foundation of the precinct of the venerable Anne and put into it a remarkable beauty, and beautified the forecourt of the great temple — narthex is its name — which had been rendered useless by the Bulgarians when they then overran Thrace, and made the truly so-called Refuge, a refuge from everything grievous, more comely by the composition and mixture and blending of the finest mosaic cubes and colours; whence at that time a miracle was accomplished suited to those that went before.

[19] To John, a cleric Τῆς in the margin ιζ᾽. γὰρ λεχθείσης Καταφυγῆς Above, cc. 16, 17. ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον ἀμειβομένης καὶ δεχομένης πολλὴν τὴν λαμπρότητα, ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς κλίμακος κληρικὸς Ἰωάννης τηνικαῦτα ἱστάμενος, f. 196v. ναῷ τοῦ περιδόξου μάρτυρος Ἀγαθονίκου [On the celebrated temple of St. Agathonicus see Synax. eccl. CP., p. 915; Ducange, Constantinopolis christiana, vol. II, p, 119. But this one, of which our hagiographer speaks, seems to have been an oratory near the Fountain. Further, I read this in the Life of St. Andrew the Fool (BHG2. III), c. 157: ἔρχεται εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Ἀγαθόνικον, καὶ πλησίον τῆς αὐτοῦ φιάλεως καθεσθέντες.] ὑπηρετούμενος, ἄνωθεν πεσὼν ἀοράτως ὑπὸ τῆς εἰωθυίας τῆς Θεοτόκου ἐβαστάχθη δυνάμεως, ὡς αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος ὁ ταύτην ἑωρακὼς διήγγειλεν ἅπασιν. Οἱ δέ γε γονεῖς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τῇ φήμῃ μαθόντες τὴν τελευτὴν τοῦ παιδὸς καὶ ἕωθεν ἀφικόμενοι κατεβόων τοῦ ἡγουμένου· καὶ παρ᾽ ἐλπίδα ζῶντα τοῦτον καταλαβόντες καὶ φωνῆς ἐκ τῆς Καταφυγῆς ἀκηκοότες· &ldquogr;Λάβετε τὸν υῖὸν ὑμῶν ζῶντα, λεγούσης, καὶ ἄπιτε τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπερένδοξον μητέρα δοξάζοντες&rdquogr;, χαίροντες ὑπενόστησαν.

For as the said Refuge was being changed for the better and receiving much brightness, the cleric John, who was then standing on the ladder, serving the temple of the glorious martyr Agathonicus, falling from above, was invisibly borne up by the accustomed power of the Mother of God, as he himself, who had seen her, related to all. And the man's parents, having learned by report of the death of their son and having arrived at dawn, were crying out against the hegumen; and finding him alive beyond hope, and having heard a voice from the Refuge saying: "Take your son alive, and go away glorifying the most glorious Mother of God," they went back rejoicing.

[20] To the emperor Leo Πίστιν in the margin ιή. τοιγαροῦν ὁ ῥηθεὶς πιστότατος Λέων Leo VI, emperor. παρασχὼν ἀντείληφε χάριν πολλαπλασίονα· αὐτός τε γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ τῆς δυσουρίας νοσήματος πικραῖς ὀδύναις περιβληθεὶς καὶ ἡ Αὔγουστα Θεοφανῶ [Theophano is joined in marriage to Leo in the year 881 – 882. Cf. Ed. Kurtz, Zwei griechische Texte über die hl. Theophano (St. Petersburg, 1898), p. 52.] λάβρῳ καταληφθεῖσα καὶ διακαίοντι πυρετῷ, ἄμφω τῆς ὑγείας ἔτυχον, ἀπολαύσαντες εἰς κόρον τοῦ ἁγιάσματος.

Having shown faith, then, the said most faithful Leo received in return a manifold grace; for both he himself, beset by the disease of dysuria with bitter pains, and the Augusta Theophano, seized by a violent and burning fever, both obtained health, having enjoyed the holy water to satiety.

[21] To Stephen the patriarch, Στέφανός in the margin ιθ᾽. τε ὁ μακαρίτης πατριάρχης Stephen, patriarch, 886 – 893. καὶ τοῦ τοιούτου βασιλέως αὐτάδελφος ἀποστήματι τὰ στέρνα ἐνοχληθεὶς καὶ πιὼν κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς τῶν τιμίων ξύλων ὑψώσεως ἀπὸ τῆς θείας Πηγῆς, οὐκ ἠστόχησε τῆς ἐλπίδος καὶ τῆς ἰάσεως· καὶ ἀντ᾽ εὐχαριστίας ἃ ἐν ταῖς λειτουργίαις f 197. ἱερὰ ἐνεδύετο περιβόλαια, φελώνην στιχάριόν τε καὶ ὠμοφόριον [Liturgical vestments, on which see Ducange, under the words, and Braun, Die liturgische Gewänder (Freiburg i. B., 1907), p. 234, 665.] τὰ τοιαῦτα καλοῦσιν, εἰς ἐνδυτὴν μετεσκεύασεν, ἀσφαλισάμενος ἀσφαλισαμένους MS. τοὺς ἐν τῇ μονῇ ταῦτα κατὰ τὴν τῆς ὑψώσεως ἑορτὴν εἰς τὸ θυσιαστήριον ἐφαπλοῦν· ὃ καὶ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν διαπράττεται.

And Stephen too, the patriarch of blessed memory and own brother of this emperor, troubled in the chest by an abscess, and having drunk from the divine Fountain at the time of the exaltation of the precious wood, did not miss his hope and his healing; and in thanksgiving, the sacred vestments which he wore in the liturgies — phelonion and sticharion and omophorion they call such things — he made over into an altar-covering, binding those in the monastery to spread these on the altar at the feast of the Exaltation; which is done even to the present.

[22] To Tarasius the patrician Ἀλλὰ in the margin κ᾽. καὶ Ταράσιον τὸν πατρίκιον λάβρῳ κατασχεθέντα ποτὲ πυρετῷ καὶ φρενίτιδι φρενέτιδι MS. νόσῳ ἐντεῦθεν περιπεσόντα περιπεσότα MS. καὶ τῷ δεινῷ ἀπειρηκότα τὰς εἰς σωτηρίαν ἐλπίδας ἡ τούτου μήτηρ πρὸς τὸν ναὸν διεκόμισε·

But also Tarasius the patrician, once seized by a violent fever and hence fallen into the disease of phrenitis, and having given up hopes of safety from the terrible thing, his mother carried to the temple;

καὶ τῷ πηλῷ καὶ τῷ ἁγιάσματι καὶ σῶμα καὶ κεφαλὴν τοῦ νοσοῦντος ἀλείψασα ἀπέλαβεν ὑγιαίνοντα, τροφῆς μετασχόντα στερεωτέρας καὶ ὕπνου μεταλαχόντα χρηστοῦ καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν μετ᾽ εὐφροσύνης οἰκίαν ἐπανελθόντα.

and, having anointed with the clay and the holy water both the body and the head of the sick man, she received him back healthy, having partaken of more solid food and obtained good sleep, and gone back with gladness to his own house.

[23] and to his mother Ἐξ in the margin κα᾽. ἐκείνου καὶ Μαρία ἡ μαγίστρισσα, ἡ τούτου μήτηρ, τὴν πίστιν ὅσην εἰς τὸν τῆς θεομήτορος κτησαμένη ναὸν καὶ διηνεκῶς αὐτῇ προσεδρεύουσα τοῖς πᾶσι τὰ μεγαλεῖα τῆς θεομήτορος ἀνεκήρυττε καὶ προετρέπετο τούς γε πειθομένους ἀδιστάκτως εἰς αὐτὸν ἀφικνεῖσθαι καὶ τῆς ἱερᾶς Πηγῆς πλήθη παραδόξων θαυμάτων ἀρύεσθαι· καὶ γάρ τι καὶ περὶ αὐτὴν τοιόνδε συμβέβηκε. Νόσῳ κατεσχέθη βαρυτάτῃ f. 197v. ποτέ καὶ τὸν ἴδιον ἐλιπάρει ἄνδρα ταύτην εἰς τὸν ναὸν τῆς Πηγῆς παραπέμψαι· ὡς δὲ τοῦ ποθουμένου ἐπέτυχεν, ἀπείργετο δὲ παρὰ corrected in the margin. πολλῶν τοῦ μηδὲ ἄκρῳ δακτύλῳ ἅψασθαι ὕδατος, ἐπείπερ λαθοῦσα, ὅλη γενομένη ἀδιστάκτου πίστεως καὶ φρονήματος καὶ χαίρειν εἰποῦσα ταῖς παρὰ πολλῶν παραινέσεσι, τοῦ ἁγιάσματος ἔπιε, τῇ πόσει ἅμα τὴν ὑγείαν ἀπείληφεν.

From that time Mary the magistrissa too, his mother, having acquired how great a faith in the temple of the Mother of God, and attending continually upon her, proclaimed to all the great works of the Mother of God, and urged those who were persuaded to come to it without hesitation and to draw from the sacred Fountain multitudes of marvellous miracles; and indeed something of this kind happened concerning her too. She was seized once by a very heavy disease and besought her own husband to send her to the temple of the Fountain; and when she obtained what she longed for, but was prevented by many from touching water even with the tip of a finger, since, secretly, having become wholly of undoubting faith and mind, and bidding farewell to the exhortations of the many, she drank of the holy water, with the drinking she at once received back her health.

Ἀρρωστησάσης δὲ καὶ πάλιν μετὰ καιρὸν καὶ στειλάσης δύο τῶν αὐτῆς οἰκετῶν, τῶν ἐχόντων ταχεῖαν τὴν πρὸς τὸ τρέχειν ὀξύτητα, ἀντλῆσαί τε ὅσον τάχος καὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν διακομίσαι διακελευσαμένης ἁγίασμα, Mary the magistrissa, ἐπείπερ οἱ μοναχοὶ μετὰ τοὺς ἑσπερινοὺς ὕμνους τοῖς ἔξω τὰς θύρας ἀπέκλεισαν, ἐπιστάντες οἱ νέοι ἐπι τῇ ἔνδον τῆς φιάλεως πύλῃ καὶ διά τινος ἀποσκοποῦντες ὀπῆς ἐπεβοῶντό τινα τῶν ἔνδοθεν τούτοις ὑπανοῖξαι τὴν εἴσοδον.

And when she fell sick again after a time, and sent two of her servants, those who had swift readiness for running, commanding them to draw holy water as quickly as possible and carry it to her, since the monks after the evening hymns had shut the doors on those outside, the young men, standing at the inner gate of the basin and looking through a certain hole, were calling on someone of those within to open up the entrance for them.

Καὶ ὁρῶσι μὲν οὐδαμῶς τινα, ἀκούουσι δὲ φωνῆς γυναικείας λεγούσης· &ldquogr;Εἰ βούλεσθε εἰσελθεῖν, ἐπὶ τὸ τοῦ ἁγίου μέρος Εὐστρατίου Cf. above, c. 12. εἰσέλθετε.&rdquogr; Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο εὐκτήριον ἱδρυμένον κατὰ τὴν τῆς φιάλεως ἀριστερὰν εἴσοδον. Οἱ δὴ μήτε τὸ εὐκτήριον f. 198. ὅπου καὶ εἶη γινώσκοντες μήτε τὴν ἀνεῳγμένην πύλην, ἐδέοντο προστιθέντες ὅρκον· &ldquogr;Εἰπὲ ἡμῖν, πρὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅστις καὶ εἶ, ὁπόθεν δὴ καὶ εἰσέλθωμεν.&rdquogr; Καὶ πάλιν ἡ αὐτὴ φωνὴ τοῖς ἱκετεύουσιν ἀντεφθέγγετο ὡς· &ldquogr;Ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ μέρους, πάντως εἶπον ὑμῖν, καὶ τοῦ εὐκτηρίου τοῦ μάρτυρος Εὐστρατίου τὴν εἴσοδον εὕρητε.&rdquogr; Οἱ δὲ τῇ πύλῃ περιτυχόντες ἀνεῳγμένῃ εἰσῆλθον· καὶ ὡς οὐδένα εἰς τὰ τοῦ ναοῦ κατέλαβον προπύλαια, κεκραγέναι καὶ βοᾶν ἐπεχείρουν· καὶ πάλιν τρὶς τῆς προτέρας φωνῆς ἀντιφθεγγομένης αὐτοῖς ἔνδοθεν τῶν βασιλικῶν πυλῶν ἤκουον, μικρὸν ἐπιμεῖναι ὅσον.

And they see no one at all, but hear a woman's voice saying: "If you wish to enter, enter by the side of St. Eustratius." And this too is an oratory founded at the left entrance of the basin. They, knowing neither where the oratory might be nor the opened gate, begged, adding an oath: "Tell us, before God, whoever you are, by what way we may enter." And again the same voice answered the suppliants: "From the left side, as I told you entirely, and by the oratory of the martyr Eustratius you will find the entrance." And they, coming upon the gate opened, entered; and as they found no one at the forecourt of the temple, they tried to shout and cry out; and again they heard the former voice answering them three times from within the royal gates, to wait a little.

Καὶ ὁμοῦ τῇ φωνῇ παρεγένετό τις τῶν μοναχῶν τοὺς ἐφεστῶτας ἀνερωτῶν, εἰ ἐπὶ πολλῆς ὥρας τοῦ ναοῦ διακαρτεροῖεν· οἱ δὲ κατέθεντο· καὶ ὁ μονάζων πάλιν ἐπύθετο, τίνος χάριν μὴ εἰσελθεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς αὐλῆς τοῦ πυλῶνος· &ldquogr;Διότι, ἀντέφησαν, ἡμῖν γυνὴ διηρμήνευσε τὴν ἔσωθεν εἶσοδον, ἣν καὶ ὑποδειχθῆναι δεόμεθα.&rdquogr; Ὁ δὲ διαγνοὺς τὸ παράδοξον, πρὸς τοὺς νέους ἀντέφησεν ὡς· &ldquogr;Οὐ γυναιξὶ συγκεχωρημένον ἐμφιλοχωρεῖν τοῖς ἐνταῦθα· ἀλλά μοι ἐπὶ τῆς αὐλῆς ἀναστρεφομένῳ γυναικὸς φωνὴ f. 198v. ἐπῆλθεν, ὥσπερ δὲ καὶ ὑμῖν, καί με καταλαβεῖν τὴν ἐκλησίαν παρώτρυνε τοῦ ἐπιδοῦναι τοῖς ζητοῦσιν ἁγίασμα.&rdquogr; Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀναψηλαφήαντες μὴ κατέλαβον τὴν τοιαῦτα λαλήσασαν, ἐξεπλάγησαν. Μαθοῦσα δὲ καὶ τὸ θαυματουργηθὲν ἡ πιστῶς τοὺς οἰκέτας μαγίστρισσα στείλασα, ηὐχαρίστει μέχρι τῆς τελευτῆς τῶν τοιούτων θαυμάτων χάριν καὶ Θεῷ καὶ τῇ θεομήτορι.

And together with the voice one of the monks came, asking those standing by whether they had waited at the temple for a long hour; and they assented; and the monk again inquired for what reason they had not entered from the court of the gateway: "Because," they answered, "a woman explained to us the inner entrance, which we also ask to be shown." And he, recognizing the marvel, answered the young men: "Women are not permitted to dwell in the places here; but to me, as I was walking in the court, a woman's voice came, just as to you, and urged me to reach the church to give holy water to those seeking it." When, then, having felt about, they did not find her who had spoken such things, they were astounded. And the magistrissa, who had faithfully sent the servants, having learned the wonder that had been worked, gave thanks until her death for such miracles both to God and to the Mother of God.

[24] to the son of Stylianus, Πρὸς in the margin κγ᾽. τούτοις ἐπὶ τῶν καιρῶν τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος Λέοντος τοῦ τῶν σωματοφυλάκων αὐτοῦ ἄρχοντος Στυλιανοῦ [He seems to be Ζαούτζης Στυλιανός, the father of Zoe, who was Leo's concubine. Cf., Zonaras, Epit. XVI, 12, 6, and elsewhere very often.] τῷ υἱῷ λίθος ἐνέφυ κατὰ τὸ γεννητικὸν μόριον, οὗ τομαῖς καὶ χειρουργίαις οἱ ἰατρεύοντες εὑρεῖν τὴν ἴασιν διετείνοντο. Ἀλλ᾽ ὁ πατὴρ τοῦ φιλτάτου τέκνου ὑπεραλγῶν καὶ ἅμα τῇ δυνάμει τῆς τὸν δυνατὸν ἐν ἰσχύι τεκούσης θαρρῶν τὸ σωστικώτατον ἰατρεῖον, τὸν ναόν φημι τῆς Πηγῆς, σὺν τῷ τέκνῳ κατέλαβεν συχνῶς τε πίνειν τοῦ ἁγιάσματος καὶ φόβου ἐκτὸς προτρεπόμενος τὸν νοσοῦντα, τὴν ὑγείαν αὐτῷ προεξένησε, λανθάνοντος τοῦ λίθου διαλυθέντος ὑπὸ θείας δυνάμεως καὶ ταῖς φυσικαῖς ἐκκρίσεσι προχωρήσαντος.

Besides these, in the times of the emperor Leo, to the son of Stylianus, the commander of his bodyguards, a stone grew in the genital part, for which those treating him insisted on finding healing by incisions and surgeries. But the father, grieving exceedingly for his dearest child, and at the same time trusting in the power of her who bore the One mighty in strength, reached with the child the most saving place of healing, I mean the temple of the Fountain, and urging the sick man to drink frequently of the holy water, and without fear, procured health for him, the stone being unnoticeably dissolved by divine power and having passed out with the natural excretions.

[25] Καὶ in the margin κδ᾽. Μαρία ἡ οὕτω ἐπονομαζομένη Σχίνιζα κακώσει καὶ διαρροίᾳ f. 199. κοιλίας ἐνοχλουμένη, ἀπέχεσθαι ὕδατος τὸ παράπαν παρὰ τῶν ἰατρευόντων τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τοῦ δεινοῦ κελευσθεῖσα τελευτᾶν ἔμελλεν· ἣ κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους ὁρᾷ γυναῖκά τινα ἐν σχήματι εὐπρεπεῖ εἰς λόγους ἐλθοῦσαν αὐτῇ καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπικαμπτομένην τῆς καμνούσης τῇ νόσῳ ἀνερωτᾶν ἐξεταστικώτερον· &ldquogr;Ποία, γύναι, to Mary Schiniza, σοι νόσος; οὐ δύνῃ ὕδωρ πιεῖν;&rdquogr; Ἡ δὲ ἀπεκρίνατο· &ldquogr;Δυνατόν μοι τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τῶν ἰατρῶν ἀπηγορευμένον.&rdquogr; Καὶ ἡ κοσμία ἐκείνη καὶ πολὺ τὸ χάριεν ἔχουσα ὑπετίθει τὸ τοῦ νοσήματος ἴαμα· &ldquogr;Λάβε, εἰποῦσα, ἀπὸ τῆς Πηγῆς μου ὕδωρ καὶ πίε καὶ τὰς ἐναντίας ἀπορρίψεις ἐλπίδας.&rdquogr; Καὶ ἕωθεν ὕδωρ ἐκεῖθεν μετακομίσασα καὶ πιοῦσα παραχρῆμα τῆς νόσου ἀνήνεγκε.

And Mary, the one so surnamed Schiniza, troubled by an ailment and diarrhoea of the belly, bidden by those treating her to abstain from water altogether because of the excess of the terrible thing, was about to die; and she in her sleep sees a certain woman in seemly form come to speak with her and, as if bending toward her who was suffering from the disease, ask more searchingly: "What disease, woman, do you have? Can you not drink water?" And she answered: "I can do this, but it has been forbidden by the physicians." And that decent woman, having much graciousness, proposed the healing of the disease: "Take," she said, "water from my Fountain and drink, and you will cast off the contrary hopes." And at dawn, having had water brought from there and drunk it, she at once recovered from the disease.

[26] to the Augusta Zoe, Καὶ in the margin κέ. ἡ Αὔγουστα Ζωὴ Zoe, called Καρβωνοψῖνα , the fourth wife of Leo VI. φεύγουσα τὸν τῆς ἀτεκνίας ὀνειδισμὸν καὶ περὶ γέννησιν τέκνων ἀγωνιῶσα ὑπόμνησιν ἔλαβε περὶ τῶν τῆς πανάγνου θαυμάτων καὶ πλέγμα τι ἐκ μετάξης ἰσόμηκες τῆς εἰκόνος τῆς θεομήτορος, τῆς ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Σωτῆρος εἰς τὴν Καταφυγήν, διαμετρήσασα καὶ περιζωσαμένη τοῦτο, τῇ προμηθείᾳ ταύτης Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν ἀοίδιμον βασιλέα συνέλαβεν f. 199v. Constantine VII, born in the year 905. · εἶθ᾽ οὕτως πυρετῷ φλογώδει φλογώσει MS. καταληφθεῖσα, τῷ ἐκεῖσε πηλῷ καὶ τῷ ἁγιάσματι τὴν ὑγείαν ἐπραγματεύσατο. Ἐφάνη οὖν καὶ ἀπαιδείας δεσμὰ ἡ Θεοτόκος εὐχερῶς διαλύουσα καὶ ἀπὸ γαστρὸς ἠτεκνωμένης παῖδας ἐπισήμους παράγουσα· τί γὰρ ἐν γῇ ἐγγῆ MS. βασιλέως ἐπισημότερον;

And the Augusta Zoe, fleeing the reproach of childlessness and in anguish about the begetting of children, received a reminder about the miracles of the all-pure one, and having measured a certain plait of silk of equal length to the icon of the Mother of God, the one at the right of the Saviour in the Refuge, and girded herself with it, by her foresight she conceived Constantine, the celebrated emperor; then, seized by a flaming fever, she obtained health by the clay and the holy water there. The Mother of God appeared, then, easily loosing the bonds of childlessness too, and bringing forth distinguished children from a childless womb; for what on earth is more distinguished than an emperor?

[27] to the emperor Romanus Λοιπὸν in the margin κς᾽. εἶπωμεν ἐφεξῆς καὶ τὰ περὶ τὸν βασιλέα Ῥωμανὸν Romanus Lecapenus, emperor, 920 – 944. τὸν πάλαι συμβάντα καὶ εἰς τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ· οὐ μικρὰν γὰρ πίστιν καὶ οὗτος ἐπιδειξάμενος εἰς τὸν τῆς πανυμνήτου ναόν, μειζόνων κατὰ πολὺ πλῆθος ἀπείρων τῶν ἀμοιβῶν ἔτυχεν. Αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ νόσῳ ληφθεὶς σφοδροῦ πυρετοῦ καὶ βρωμάτων ἀποστροφῇ, τῶν ὀρεκτικῶν δυνάμεων ἀποκαμουσῶν πρὸς τὴν οἰκείαν ἐνέργειαν, οὐ μόνον τούτων ἀπηλλάγη τῷ κοινῷ φαρμάκῳ, τῷ ἁγιάσματι, ἀλλὰ καὶ γαστρὸς ἐποχῆς καὶ πάλιν ἀμέτρου φορᾶς· ὃ καὶ θαυμάτων πάντων πάντως MS. ἐπέκεινα καὶ παραδόξων παραδοξότερον, διάφορον δὲ τῇ δυνάμει· ἐπεχομένην τε τὴν γαστέρα ἀκωλύτως τὴν οἰκείαν ἐκπληροῦν ἐνέργειαν παρεσκεύαζεν καὶ φερομένην οὐ κατὰ φύσιν συνεῖλε K, συνεῖ τὲ MS. f. 200. καὶ συνέσφιγγεν.

Let us next tell, then, also the things that happened of old concerning the emperor Romanus and to his children; for he too, having shown no small faith toward the temple of the all-hymned one, obtained recompenses greater by far, a boundless multitude. For he himself, seized by a disease of violent fever and loathing of food, the appetitive powers having grown weary for their proper working, was freed not only from these by the common remedy, the holy water, but also from retention of the belly and again from immoderate flux; which is beyond all miracles and more marvellous than marvels, though different in power: when the belly was held back, it made it fulfil its proper working without hindrance, and when it was carried off unnaturally, it drew it together and bound it fast.

[28] and to his children Ἑλένη in the margin κζ᾽. δὲ βασιλὶς ἡ τούτου θυγάτηρ Helena, daughter of Romanus, wife of Constantine VII in the year 919. καὶ Στέφανος βασιλεὺς [Stephen, who with Constantine banished his father Romanus Lecapenus to the island of Prote in the year 944.] ὁ υἱὸς καὶ Ἄννα [In the year 934: Ἄγεται δὲ καὶ γυναῖκα Στεφάνῳ τῷ υἱῷ ὁ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμανὸς Ἄνναν τὴν θυγατέρα τοῦ Γαβαλᾶ. Cedrenus, Hist. comp., Bekker, vol. II, p. 315.] ἡ αὐτοῦ σύμβιος τῇ μὲν ἐν παραπλησίοις τῇ δὲ καὶ ἐν διαλλάττουσι νοσήμασιν ἐπικουρίας τῆς αὐτῆς ἔτυχον, ἡμιτριταἳκῶν περιόδων ἀπαλλαγέντες καὶ γαστρὸς ἐπὶ πολὺ φερομένης καὶ παθημάτων ἑτέρων ἀδήλων δυσδιάγνωστον ἐχόντων καὶ τὸ ἄλγημα καὶ τὸ ἴαμα καὶ χαλεπὰς ἐμποιούντων ὀδύνας καὶ τῇ ἀφανείᾳ καὶ τῇ ἀπορίᾳ τῆς ἰατρείας καὶ τῆς ἀπαλλαγῆς τῇ ἀνελπιστία, τὸ χαλεπώτερον· ὅθεν ὁ δηλωθεὶς Ῥωμανὸς πείρᾳ πείραν MS. γνοὺς τὴν δραστικὴν ἐνέργειαν τῆς θείας Πηγῆς, καθ᾽ ὅλον τὸν βίον ὁσημέραι τοῦ ταύτης μετελάμβανεν ἁγιάσματος.

And Helena the empress, his daughter, and Stephen the emperor, his son, and Anna, his consort, obtained the same help, the one in similar, the other in different diseases, being freed from semitertian periods, and from a belly much carried off, and from other unclear afflictions having both their pain and their cure hard to diagnose, and producing grievous pains, and, what is more grievous, by the obscurity and the perplexity of treatment and the hopelessness of release; whence the said Romanus, having known by experience the effective working of the divine Fountain, partook of its holy water daily throughout his whole life.

[29] to Gabriel the chamberlain, Γαβριήλ in the margin κη᾽, τε ὁ κοιτωνίτης ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἰδίου ἀνεψιοῦ τοῦ παρὰ τῶν Βουλγάρων κατασχεθέντος λυπούμενος καὶ διαπονούμενος, χάριν τῆς τούτου λυτρώσεως εὐαγγέλιον κατεσκεύασε· καὶ ἕωθεν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κυριακῇ ἐν τῷ ναῷ ἀνέθετο· καὶ περὶ δυσμὰς ἡλίου τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρας ἐπανῆκεν αὐτῷ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ὁ ἀνεψιὸς λέγων ὅτι· &ldquogr;Ἕως τὰ τείχη τῆς βασιλευούσης κατεῖδον, ἐν τῇ ἀλλοδαπῇ f. 200v. διατρίβειν ἐδόκουν. Ἐπιγνοὺς δὲ τὸ γεγονὸς ἐδόξασα τὴν ἐκ τῆς δουλείας λυτρωσαμένην με.&rdquogr; Ὃ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος ὁ κοιτωνίτης οὐκ ἐπαύσατο ὑπερθαυμάζων, τὴν ταχεῖαν ἀντίληψιν τῆς θεομήτορος διηγούμενος ἅπασι.

And Gabriel the chamberlain, grieving and toiling over his own nephew, who had been detained by the Bulgarians, had a Gospel book made for the sake of his ransoming; and at dawn on a Sunday he dedicated it in the temple; and about sunset of the same day his nephew came back to him from captivity, saying: "Until I saw the walls of the queen city, I seemed to be living in the foreign land. But having recognized what had happened, I glorified her who ransomed me from slavery." Which too that chamberlain himself did not cease exceedingly admiring, relating to all the swift succour of the Mother of God.

[30] to John the monk, Καί in the margin κθ᾽. τις μοναχὸς τοὔνομα Ἰωάννης, ᾧ Πέπερις ἡ ἐπίκλησις, τοῖς ἐνδοτέροις μέρεσι τῆς Χαλδίας [The capital of the theme of Chaldia was Trebizond. W. Fischer, Trapezus im elften und zwölften Jahrhundert, Mittheilungen des Instituts für oesterreichische Geschichtsforschung, vol. X (1889), p. 177.] οἰκῶν, ἀρρωστήσας, ἐπεὶ οἱ ἰατροὶ ἀπειρήκεσαν πρὸς τὸ βίαιον αὐτοῦ τοῦ νοσήματος, εἰς νοῦν ἔλαβε τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τὴν ἐν τῇ Πηγῇ· καὶ δάκρυσιν ἐπεβοᾶτο τὴν θεομήτορα· &ldquogr;Πάναγνε Θεοτόκε, λέγων, ἡ ἐν τῇ Πηγῇ κατοικοῦσα, τῷ κατακειμένῳ ἐπὶ κλίνης ὀδύνης βοήθει μοι.&rdquogr; Καὶ παραυτίκα ἐφάνη τις τούτῳ ὑπνώσαντι λέγουσα· &ldquogr;Ὀδύνη σύ, μοναχέ; καὶ τίνος χάριν βοᾷς καὶ ταύτας τὰς ἀνακλήσεις ποιῇ;&rdquogr; Ὁ δέ φησιν· &ldquogr;Ἐπιθυμίᾳ, δέσποινα, τῆς ζωῆς.&rdquogr; Καὶ πάλιν πρὸς τοῦτον ἡ Θεοτόκος ἐφθέγξατο· &ldquogr;Καί τί μοι παράσχῃς ἀντάξιον, πολὺν ἀναδεξαμένῃ πόνον καὶ διανυσάσῃ τὴν ἐκ τῆς Πηγῆς μέχρι τῶν ἐνταῦθα ὁδόν;&rdquogr; Κἀκεῖνος ἀντέφησεν ὡς· &ldquogr;Οὐκ εὐπορία μοι εἰ μὴ νομισμάτων τριῶν.&rdquogr; Ἡ δὲ εἰποῦσα ὡς· &ldquogr;Καὶ ταῦτα δεκτά μοι καὶ οὐκ ἀπόβλητα&rdquogr;, ἥψατο f. 201. τότε αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν νόσον ἀπήλασεν· καὶ ὃς ἰαθεὶς καὶ πιστεύσας τῷ νυκτερινῷ ῥήματι καὶ μηδὲν κακουργήσας πρὸς τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν σὺν τοῖς τρισὶν ἐκείνοις νομίσμασιν ἀπάρας οἶκοθεν κατέλαβε τὴν μονήν· καὶ τὸ τῆς θεομήτορος εἰς βοήθειαν πρόχειρον ἀνεκήρυττεν καὶ ὅπως αὐτὴν οὐκ ἔφθασεν ἐπικαλεσάμενος καὶ βοηθὸν ἑτοιμοτάτην εὕρετο.

And a certain monk, John by name, whose surname was Peperis, living in the inner parts of Chaldia, having fallen sick, when the physicians had given up before the violence of his disease, took to mind the church at the Fountain; and with tears he called upon the Mother of God: "All-pure Mother of God," he said, "who dwell at the Fountain, help me who lie on a bed of pain." And at once someone appeared to him as he slept, saying: "Are you in pain, monk? And for what reason do you cry out and make these invocations?" And he says: "From desire, Lady, of life." And again the Mother of God spoke to him: "And what worthy return will you give me, who have undertaken much toil and completed the road from the Fountain to the places here?" And he answered: "I have no means except three gold coins." And she, saying, "These too are acceptable to me and not to be cast away," then touched him and drove away the disease; and he, healed, and trusting the word of the night, and doing nothing wicked toward the promise, setting out from home with those three coins reached the monastery; and he proclaimed the readiness of the Mother of God to help, and how he had no sooner called upon her than he found her a most ready helper.

Καὶ μετά τινα χρόνον τοῦ φοιτητοῦ αὐτοῦ ταῖς πρὸς θάνατον ἀπαγούσαις ὀδύναις καὶ νόσοις ἀπαγορεύσαντος, ἐπεὶ οὐδεμία σωτηρίας ἐλπὶς αὐτῷ ὑπελείπετο, τῷ διδασκάλῳ corrected, formerly διασκάλω. διαπορουμένῳ καὶ δυσχεραίνοντι εἷς πόρος τῶν the MS. writes it twice. περιστάντων ἀπόρων ἐφαίνετο, ἡ χορηγὸς τῆς ὑγείας καὶ μήτηρ τῆς ἁπάντων ζωῆς· πρὸς ἣν καὶ τὸν νοῦν ἔτεινε καὶ τῷ μαθητῇ ἔφησεν· &ldquogr;Βούλει, τέκνον, εἰς ὑγείαν ἐπανελθεῖν;&rdquogr; Καὶ ὅς· &ldquogr;Ναί, πάτερ, ἔφησε· ἔφηκε MS. καὶ ὑπόσχου τι, ὁ διδάσκαλος ἔφη, τῇ Θεοτόκῳ τῇ κατοικούσῃ ἐν τῇ Πηγῇ· καὶ ἀναρρωσθήσῃ εὐθύς.&rdquogr; Καὶ ὁ ἀσθενῶν· &ldquogr;Πέντε ταύτῃ, ἔφη, νομίσματα δίδωμι, εἴ γε ἀναρρωσθῶ, ὥσπερ ἔλεξας.&rdquogr; Καὶ ὁ μοναχὸς Ἰωάννης προσπεσὼν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐδεῖτο τῆς Θεοτόκου συντετριμμένῃ καρδίᾳ ὑπὲρ τοῦ φοιτητοῦ· καὶ ἐξελθὼν τὸν νοσοῦντα ἐπήρετο· f. 201v. &ldquogr;Ἐθεάσω, τέκνον, τινά;&rdquogr; Ὁ

And after some time, when his pupil had been given up to pains and diseases leading to death, since no hope of safety was left him, to the teacher, perplexed and distressed, one way out of the surrounding perplexities appeared, the provider of health and mother of the life of all; to her he stretched his mind and said to the disciple: "Do you wish, child, to return to health?" And he: "Yes, father," he said. "Then promise something," the teacher said, "to the Mother of God who dwells at the Fountain; and you will at once be strengthened." And the sick man said: "Five coins I give her, if I am strengthened, as you have said." And the monk John, falling down in the church, besought the Mother of God with a contrite heart for the pupil; and going out he asked the sick man: "Did you see anyone, child?" He

δέ· &ldquogr;Οὐδένα, ἔφησεν, εἶδον, πλὴν φωνῆς λεγούσης ἀκήκοα ὅτι· γράψον καὶ σφράγισον.&rdquogr; Καὶ ὁ γηραιὸς πρὸς αὐτόν· &ldquogr;Ἐμοὶ δὲ, τέκνον, ἡ Θεοτόκος ἐλάλησεν ὡς· Σπεῦσον, ἄπελθε πρὸς τὸν σὸν φοιτητήν·&rdquogr; καὶ κατ᾽ αὐτὴν τὴν ὥραν ὑγιὴς γεγωνὼς τὰ μεγαλεῖα τῆς θεομήτορος ἐμεγάλυνεν· ἐξ ἐκείνου ἑκείνο MS. οὖν μέχρι καὶ σήμερον πέμπονται παρὰ τῶν μοναχῶν ἐξ ἄκρας Χαλδίας τὰ πέντε νομίσματα εἰς τὸν ἐν τῇ Πηγῇ ναὸν πρὸς ἀνάμνησιν τοῦ δηλωθέντος θαύματος ἀνεπίληστον·

said: "I saw no one, except that I heard a voice saying: Write and seal." And the old man to him: "And to me, child, the Mother of God spoke thus: Hasten, go to your pupil." And at that very hour, having become healthy, he magnified the great works of the Mother of God; from that time, then, even to this day, the five coins are sent by the monks from the extremity of Chaldia to the temple at the Fountain, for an unforgettable remembrance of the said miracle;

εἶδες κηδεμονίαν καὶ πρόνοιαν; πῶς οὐδὲν ἕτερον παρ᾽ ἡμῶν εἰ μὴ μόνον πίστιν ἡ Θεοτόκος ἐπιζητεῖ; ἡνίκα γὰρ ἀμφοτέρων, τοῦ διδασκάλου 〈καὶ K, omits MS. 〉 τοῦ φοιτητοῦ, τὴν προθυμίαν ἐπέγνω καὶ τὴν προαίρεσιν ἐδοκίμασεν, τῶν παρ᾽ αὐτῆς something seems to have fallen out. παραχρῆμα ἠξίωσε τούτους τῶν δυσχερῶν ἀπαλλάξασα· θάλασσαν τὸν ἑαυτῆς ναὸν ἀγαθῶν ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ πηγὴν εἰκότως ἄν τις καλέσειεν· ὥσπερ γὰρ οὐκ ἐκείνης ἡ ψάμμος ἀριθμητή, οὕτως οὐδὲ τῶν ἐν τῇ θείᾳ πηγῇ τελουμένων ἀριθμῷ τὸ πλῆθος ὑποβάλλεσθαι δύναται.

did you see her care and providence? How the Mother of God seeks nothing else from us but faith alone? For when she recognized the eagerness of both, the teacher and the pupil, and tested their purpose, she at once deemed them worthy of the things that come from her, having freed them from their difficulties; one might fitly call her temple a sea of good things and not a fountain; for as the sand of the sea is not to be numbered, so neither can the multitude of the things accomplished at the divine fountain be subjected to number.

[31] to John the protospatharius, Ἰωάννης in the margin λα᾽. γάρ τις πρωτοσπαθάριος τὸν τῆς Θεοτόκου ναὸν κατέλαβεν ἡμιθνὴς τῶν νόσων ταῖς ἐπιθέσεσι· καὶ ἐν τῷ αὐτὸν κατακεῖσθαι f. 202. ἐν τῷ ναῷ ἀφυπνώσας κατεῖδεν, ὡς ἔφη, τὴν θεομήτορα ἐπιτρέπουσαν τῷ μάρτυρι Παντελεήμονι· &ldquogr;Ἴδε, τί ἔχει ὁ ἀσθενῶν&rdquogr; ἵνα καὶ τῶν θείων ἐκείνων ῥημάτων, ὡς λέξεως εἶχον, ἐπιμνησθῶ. Καὶ ὁ μάρτυς· &ldquogr;Τὰ ἔνδον, ὦ δέσποινα, πάσχει δεινῶς.&rdquogr; Καὶ αὖθις ἡ Θεοτόκος ἔφη τῷ μάρτυρι· &ldquogr;Θεραπείας τοῦτον ἀξίωσον.&rdquogr; Και σὺν τῷ λόγῳ διυπνισθεὶς τελείως ἀπελαθεῖσαν ἔγνω τὴν νόσον, καὶ τὴν ἰατρεύσασαν φωναῖς εὐχαριστηρίοις ἠμείβετο.

For a certain John, a protospatharius, reached the temple of the Mother of God half-dead from the assaults of diseases; and while he lay in the temple, having fallen asleep, he saw, as he said, the Mother of God enjoining the martyr Panteleemon: "See what the sick man has" — that I may recall those divine words too, as they were word for word. And the martyr: "His inward parts, Lady, suffer terribly." And again the Mother of God said to the martyr: "Deem him worthy of healing." And with the word, waking, he knew the disease to have been completely driven away, and repaid her who had healed him with voices of thanksgiving.

[32] to Theophilus the protospatharius, Ἀλλὰ in the margin λβ᾽. καὶ Θεόφιλός τις πρωτοσπαθάριος μακρᾷ καὶ δυσαπαλλάκτῳ νόσῳ καμὼν τοῖς διακονουμένοις ἐπέτρεψεν ἀπαγαγεῖν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν τῆς δεσποίνης ναόν· καὶ &ldquogr;εἴπερ, ἔφη, ἐκλίπω τὸν βίον ἐκεῖ, ἐκεῖ καὶ τὸ σῶμα κατάθετε.&rdquogr; Πληροῦσιν ἐκεῖνοι τὸ προσταχθὲν καὶ τὸν δεσπότην διακομίζουσιν, ἔνθα καὶ προσετάχθησαν· καὶ ὃς κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους ἐν μιᾷ τῶν νυκτῶν ἐν τῇ Καταφυγῇ ἐδόκει ἑστάναι καὶ ὁρᾶν γυναῖκά τινα ἐκ τοῦ ἁγίου ἐπιδοῦσαν νάματος πᾶσι τοῖς προσιοῦσιν· αὐτῷ δὲ προσελθόντι οὐκ ἐπένευσεν τὴν ἐπίδοσιν. Ὡς οὖν οὐδὲν ἤνυτεν ἤνυττεν MS. πολλάκις πειρώμενος, ὅρκῳ πείθειν αὐτὴν διαναβαλλομένην ἐσπούδαζεν, τὸ φρικτὸν προφέρων τοῦ Θεοῦ ὄνομα. Ἡ δὲ τὴν f. 202v. πίστιν ὡς ἔοικεν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τῇ ἀναβολῇ ὑποτρέφουσα ἀπεκρίνατο ὡς· &ldquogr;Βράδιον ἐλθόντι οὐ δικαιῶ παραχρῆμα πιεῖν ἐπιδοῦναί σοι.&rdquogr; Καὶ τί δεῖ λέγειν λοιπόν; εὐαριθμήτων διελθουσῶν ἡμερῶν, ὁ ἀνίατα ἰάθη νοσῶν καὶ ποσὶν ἰδίοις τὴν πρὸς τὸν οἶκον ἐβάδισεν.

But also a certain Theophilus, a protospatharius, worn by a long disease hard to be rid of, enjoined his attendants to carry him off to the temple of the Lady; and "if," he said, "I leave life there, lay down the body there too." They fulfil what was enjoined and carry their master where they had been enjoined; and he in his sleep, on one of the nights, seemed to be standing in the Refuge and to see a certain woman giving from the holy stream to all who came; but to him, when he came, she did not consent to the giving. When, then, he accomplished nothing though trying many times, he was eager to persuade her by an oath, as she put it off, bringing forward the dread name of God. And she, as it seems nourishing the man's faith by the delay, answered: "To one who came rather late I do not deem it right to give you to drink at once." And what need to say the rest? A few days having passed, the one sick incurably was healed, and walked on his own feet the way to his house.

[33] to Meletius the monk, Καιρὸς in the margin λγ᾽. δὲ λοιπὸν καὶ τὸ γεγονὸς εἴς τινα μοναχὸν τῆς αὐτῆς μονῆς κατὰ πάροδον διηγήσασθαι καὶ παραστῆσαι, ὅπως τε τῶν ἐξ ἀλλοδαπῶν χωρῶν καταλαμβανόντων ἱκετῶν αὐτῆς οὐκ ἀφροντιστεῖ καὶ τῶν ἐγγυτάτω καὶ ταύτῃ ὑπηρετουμένων τὰ μάλιστα ὑπερμαχεῖ, ὡς ἔστιν ἐντεῦθεν ἰδεῖν. Ὁ μοναχὸς ἐκεῖνος Μελέτιος, εἷς τυγχάνων τῶν τῆς μονῆς καὶ ἐν τοῖς ταύτης διατρίβων ἀγροῖς, διεβλήθη πρὸς τὸν κρατοῦντα ἐπί τισιν ἀτοπήμασι παρὰ ἀνθρώπων ἐπισκοτεῖν ἐθελόντων τῷ τῆς ἀληθείας φωτί· καὶ ὃς μετάπεμπτον ὡς αὐτὸν γενέσθαι δεσμώτην διεκελεύσατο. Καὶ ὁ μοναχὸς παρά τινι πανδοχείῳ ποιησάμενος τὴν καταγωγήν, ἐπεὶ σιδήρῳ τοὺς πόδας ἠσφάλιστο, οὐδὲν μαλακὸν ἐνδιδόντος οὐδέ τι δεικνύντος οὐδ᾽ ἔτι δεικνῦντος MS. φιλάνθρωπον τοῦ παραπέμποντος τὸν μονάζοντα — μανδάτορας μανδότορας MS. τοὺς ὑπηρετουμένους ἐν τούτοις f. 203. καλοῦμεν — εἰς ἀνάμνησιν ἦλθε τῆς θεομήτορος καὶ δάκρυσιν ταύτην ἐπεβοᾶτο· &ldquogr;Πάναγνε Θεοτόκε, λέγων, ἣ κατοικεῖς μὲν ἐν πόλῳ πόλλω MS. , διέρχῃ δὲ καὶ τὴν γῆν, ἁπάντων δὲ πανταχοῦ προνοεῖς τῷ τῆς προνοίας διήκοντι, βοήθει μοι τῷ οἰκέτῃ σου· κἀγὼ γὰρ τῆς σῆς ποίμνης πρόβατον ἕν· καὶ ὥσπερ ἀξίαν κρίνεις καταγωγὴν τὸ τῆς σῆς Πηγῆς τέμενος, οὕτω φροντίζεις καὶ τῶν ὑπ᾽ αὐτήν, μάλιστα δὲ ἐν καιρῶι πειρασμοῦ.&rdquogr;

It is time, then, to relate in passing also what happened to a certain monk of the same monastery, and to show both how she is not careless of the suppliants who come from foreign lands, and how she champions especially those nearest and serving her, as one can see from this. That monk Meletius, being one of those of the monastery and living in its fields, was slandered to the ruler for certain misdeeds by men wishing to darken the light of the truth; and he ordered him to be fetched to him as a prisoner. And the monk, having made his lodging at a certain inn, since his feet had been secured with iron, while he who escorted the monk yielded nothing soft nor showed anything humane — mandatores we call those who serve in these things — came to remembrance of the Mother of God and with tears called upon her: "All-pure Mother of God," he said, "who dwell in the heavens and pass through the earth also, and provide for all everywhere by the pervading of providence, help me your servant; for I too am one sheep of your flock; and as you judge the precinct of your Fountain a worthy lodging, so you care also for those under it, and especially in a time of temptation."

Καὶ εὐθὺς ὁρᾷ γυναῖκα κατὰ τὴν νύκταν ἐκείνην πορφυρᾶν περιβεβλημένην ἐσθῆτα μεθ᾽ ἑτέρων δύο ἐρυθρὰς τὸ χρῶμα ἐνδεδυμένων περιβολάς· καὶ πλησιέστερον ἀφικομένην τὴν πρότερον ὁραθεῖσαν παραθαρσύνειν τὸν δεσμώτην ἐκεῖνον καὶ πυνθάνεσθαι, τίς καὶ εἴη συμφορά, καὶ κατὰ τῶν δεσμῶν σημειώσεις ἐπιβάλλειν σταυροῦ· καὶ τὸ ἐντεῦθεν ἄνετος ὁ μοναχὸς εὑρεθεὶς τὴν μεγάλην τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκκλησίαν κατέφυγε καὶ τῆς τε διαβολῆς ἐλευθερωθεὶς καὶ οἴκτου παρὰ τοῦ κρατοῦντος τυχὼν ἔχαιρε διπλῇ, ἐπί τε τῷ συκοφαντίας ἀπαλλαγῆναι καὶ τοιαύτης βοηθείας ταχείας ἀξιωθῆναι παρὰ τῆς θεομήτορος.

And at once he sees on that night a woman clothed in a purple garment, with two others clad in garments red in colour; and that the one first seen, coming nearer, encouraged that prisoner and inquired what the misfortune might be, and put signs of the cross upon the bonds; and from that moment the monk, found loosed, fled for refuge to the great church of God, and, being freed from the slander and obtaining pity from the ruler, he rejoiced doubly, both at being rid of the false accusation and at being deemed worthy of such swift help from the Mother of God.

[34] Εἴπωμεν in the margin λδ᾽. δὲ καὶ τὰς ἐπὶ τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς f. 203v. χρόνων γεγονυίας ἰάσεις πρός τινας τῶν ἐπὶ περιφανείᾳ συγκλητικῶν καὶ ὅπως μετὰ πίστεως ἀδιστάκτου τῷ ταύτης προσιόντες τεμένει οὐχ ἡμάρτανον τοῦ σκοποῦ οὐδέ γε τῶν ἐλπισθέvτων κενοὶ ἐπανῄεσαν. to John the magistros, Καὶ γὰρ ὁ κατὰ τὸν Κουρκούαν. [John Kurkuas, a general under the emperor Romanus I. Georgius Hamartolus, Chronicon, V, 35, Muralt, p. 834. Others of the same surname in M. Gedeon, Βυζαντινὸν ἑορτολόγιον, p. 126.] μάγιστρος Ἰωάννης ὁ κατοιχόμενος, ᾧ καὶ ἡ τῶν στρατιωτικῶν ταγμάτων ἐν τῇ ἕῳ ἐπιστεύθη ἀρχή, καὶ ἅμα τούτῳ Μαρία ἡ σύζυγος κοιλιακῷ παραπεπτωκότες νοσήματι καὶ τὴν δύναμιν ἐπιγνόντες τῆς ἐπηρείας ἐλάττονα, to Mary his wife ἀνωδύνῳ φαρμάκῳ τῷ ἁγιάσματι τὴν ἄσχετον ἐπέσχον φορὰν τῆς γαστρός, πεδηθείσης αὐτῆς ὥσπερ φυγάδος ἱμάντι τῷ ἐπισχετικῷ νάματι.

Let us tell also the healings that have happened in our times to some of the senators of eminence, and how, approaching her precinct with undoubting faith, they did not miss their aim nor go back empty of what they had hoped. For the late John the magistros, the one of the Kourkouas, to whom also the command of the military regiments in the east was entrusted, and together with him Mary his consort, having fallen into an abdominal disease and having recognized that their strength was less than the injury, checked the unrestrained flux of the belly by the painless remedy, the holy water, the belly being bound, like a fugitive with a thong, by the retentive stream.

[35] and to Romanus their son, Παραπλησίως in the margin λε᾽. τούτοις καὶ Ῥωμανὸς ὁ τούτων υἱὸς λοιμικοῦ πάθους πάθος MS. καὶ διακαεστάτου φλέγοντος πυρετοῦ πολλάκις ἀπαλλαγεὶς τὴν δεποτάτων [Δεποτᾶτος a deputatus, one exercising a ministry in the church. Cf. Ducange, under the word.] ἀνεπλήρου χρείαν ἐν τῷ τῆς Θεοτόκου ναῷ, τῶν γεννητόρων βουληθέντων τοῦτο· καὶ οὐ διέλιπε μέχρι τοῦ ἀφικέσθαι εἰς ἄνδρα ἐν τῷ τῆς λειτουργίας καιρῷ τῆς ἱερᾶς θυσίας προπορευόμενος.

Similarly to these, Romanus too, their son, having been many times freed from a pestilential affliction and a most burning, inflaming fever, fulfilled the office of deputatos in the temple of the Mother of God, his parents having wished it; and he did not cease, until he reached manhood, going before the sacred sacrifice at the time of the liturgy.

[36] to Theophylact the magistros, Ἀλλὰ in the margin λς᾽. καὶ Θεοφύλακτος μάγιστρος τὰς ἐπελθούσας αὐτῷ διαφόρους νόσους φυγά f. 204. δας τῇ αὐτῇ μάστιγι τοῦ ἁγιάσματος ἔδειξε, τὰς ἐξ ἰατρῶν βοηθείας ἀπεγνωκώς· καὶ σὺν τούτῳ ἡ σύζυγος, περιωδυνίᾳ κοιλίας κινδυνεύουσα, τοῦ κοινοῦ μεταλαβοῦσα καὶ φίλου τοῖς κάμνουσιν ἁγιάσματος, εἰς τὴν προτέραν ἐπανῆλθεν ὑγείαν ὑγίαν, in the margin ὑγείαν MS. .

But also Theophylact the magistros showed the various diseases that came upon him to be fugitives by the same scourge of the holy water, having despaired of the help from physicians; and with him his consort, in danger from violent pain of the belly, having partaken of the common holy water, dear to the sick, returned to her former health.

[37] to Theophylact, Ταὐτὸν in the margin λζ᾽. καὶ τῷ πατρικίῳ Θεοφυλάκτῳ — Ἀβάστακτος [The name of the father of Romanus Lecapenus was Ἀβάστακτος Θεοφύλακτος. Zonaras, Epit. XVI, 8, 15. I wonder that this is not noted by our writer.] τούτῳ ἐπώνυμον — τῆς γαστρὸς συνήντησε νόσημα καὶ παραπλήσιον ἐπηνέχθη τὸ ἴαμα παρὰ τῆς χωρησάσης ἐν γαστρὶ τὸν ἀχώρητον. Ἓν μὲν οὖν τοῦτο τοιοῦτον· ἔτερον δ᾽ ἀκούσατε.

The same disease of the belly also befell the patrician Theophylact — Abastactus is his surname — and a like healing was brought him by her who held in her womb Him whom nothing holds. This, then, is one such thing; but hear another.

[38] who was also Abastactus, Περὶ in the margin λη᾽. τὴν ζωὴν ὑπό τινος κινδυνεύων πάθους καὶ τὸν περὶ ψυχῆς τρέχων A proverb. Leutsch — Schneidewin, vol. II, p. 686. ἔπνει τὰ τελευταῖα, κατὰ τὸν ναὸν τῆς Πηγῆς ἄφωνος κείμενος· καὶ καθ᾽ ὃν καιρὸν ἔμελλεν ὑπαναγνωσθῆναι τὰ θεῖα τοῦ εὐαγγελίου λόγια, τοῦ περιεστηκότος ὄχλου τό· &ldquogr;Δόξα σοι&rdquogr; ἀναβοήσαντος, &ldquogr;κύριε&rdquogr;, παντάπασιν ἀφεῖναι τὴν ψυχὴν ἔδοξεν, ὡς καὶ τὴν σύμβιον παροῦσαν τελευταίαις τελευταίας MS. αὐτὸν οἰμωγαῖς καὶ θρηνήμασιν ἀποδύρεσθαι καί· &ldquogr;Ὁ κύριός μου τέθνηκεν&rdquogr; ἀναφθέγξασθαι. Καί πως τῶν παρατυχόντων παρηγορούντων καὶ τὴν συμφορὰν ἀνθρώπινον οὖσαν παραινούντων μετρίως ὑ f. 204v. πενεγκεῖν, παρ᾽ ἐλπίδα ὁ πατρίκιος ἀνανεύσας ἁγίασμα ἐπεζήτησεν· οὗ καὶ γευσάμενος παραχρῆμα ἰάθη καὶ σὺν ἡδονῇ ὅσῃ πρὸς τὴν οἰκίαν ὑπέστρεψεν τὰ εἰκότα εὐχαριστήσας τῇ θεομήτορι. Τῆς δὲ αὐτῆς προμηθείας ἐφ᾽ ὁμοίαις ταῖς περιστάσεσι καὶ ἡ σύζυγος τούτου ἠξίωται, καὶ περιόντος ἐκείνου καὶ τελευτήσαντος.

Being in danger of his life from a certain affliction, and running for his soul, he was breathing his last, lying speechless at the temple of the Fountain; and at the time when the divine words of the Gospel were about to be read, as the surrounding crowd cried out "Glory to you, Lord," he seemed to give up his soul altogether, so that his consort who was present bewailed him with last groans and laments and cried out: "My lord has died." And as somehow those present were consoling her and exhorting her to bear moderately the misfortune, which was human, beyond hope the patrician, looking up, asked for holy water; and having tasted it he was at once healed, and with how great pleasure he returned to his house, having given fitting thanks to the Mother of God. And his consort too was deemed worthy of the same foresight in like circumstances, both while he was alive and after he had died.

[39] to a certain patrician, Περιττὸν in the margin λθ᾽. δὲ λοιπὸν διελθεῖν καὶ περὶ τοῦ διαρραγέντος καὶ ἰαθέντος ἀποστήματος πατρικίῳ τινὶ ἐκ τῆς ἰσχύος τοῦ ἁγιάσματος καὶ τοῦ ἐπὶ τοῖς πρώτοις τῶν σωματοφυλάκων ἠριθμημένου Ἰωάννου· ὅς χαλεπῶς τὴν ἔξοδον τῶν οὔρων νοσῶν καὶ εἰς τὴν ὄντως Καταφυγὴν καταπεφευγώς, τῇ πίστει κατάλληλον εὗρε τὴν ἴασιν· ἀλλὰ προσήκει τέως ἔvια τῶν ἀπείρων ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς εἰπόντα θαυμάτων, μείζω τῶν ἄλλων τυγχάνοντα καὶ παραδοξότερα, καταπαῦσαι τὸν λόγον.

It is superfluous, then, to go through also the account of the abscess that burst and was healed for a certain patrician by the strength of the holy water, and of John, numbered among the first of the bodyguards; who, sick grievously in the passing of urine and having fled for refuge into the Refuge that truly is, found healing suited to his faith; but it is fitting meanwhile, having told cursorily a few of the boundless miracles, those that happen to be greater than the others and more marvellous, to end the discourse.

[40] of Nicholas the protospatharius Τὸν in the margin μ᾽. πρωτοσπαθάριον Νικόλαον τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ βασιλικοῦ τῆς σακέλλης ταμείου ποτέ — τοῦ Μεθοδίου καλεῖται· οἱ πλείους οἶδ᾽ ὅτι τὸν ἄνδρα γινώσκετε — οὐ πολὺς χρόνος λόγος ἀξιωθῆναι τῆς πανάγνου χάριτος οὐ μικρᾶς· τούτῳ f. 205. γὰρ υἱὸς Εὐθύμιος ἦν τὴν ἡλικίαν νέος, ἐλπὶς γονεῦσιν ἡδεῖα ὁρώμενος 〈καὶ omits MS. 〉 εὐφροσύνη καὶ διὰ ταῦτα τὸ πατρικὸν φίλτρον ἐπισπᾶσθαι δυνάμεvος. Τούτῳ λίθος κατὰ τὴν κύστιν ἐνέφυ καὶ προεξένει — τί γὰρ δεῖ περιπλέκειν; — ἄωρον θάνατον.

The protospatharius Nicholas, once over the imperial treasury of the sakelle — he is called "of Methodius"; most of you, I know, know the man — no long time ago, the account goes, was deemed worthy of no small grace of the all-pure one; for he had a son Euthymius, young in age, seen as a sweet hope for his parents and a gladness, and for these reasons able to draw his father's love. In him a stone grew in the bladder and was bringing about — for why must I entangle it? — an untimely death.

Ἐπεὶ δὲ δ τῆς νόσου καιρὸς αὐτῷ παρετείvετο καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὑπηρετούμενος ταλαιπωρῶν κατετείνετο καὶ οἱ γονεῖς οὐκ εἶχον ὅτι καὶ γένωνται, to his son Euthymius, τὸν γηροτρόφον, τὸν κληρονόμον ἀνακαλούμενοι καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ᾗπερ ἐκεῖνος ταῖς ἀλγηδόσι νυττόμενοι, τέχνη μὲν ἐξητόνει καὶ χεὶρ ἰατρῶν καὶ πᾶν φάρμακον ἄχρηστον κατεφαίνετο καὶ τέμενος ἅπαν θεῖον ἀπέκλειε τούτῳ τὴν ἴασιν, διακομίζεται εἰς τὸν τῆς Θεοτόκου ναόν· καὶ καθ᾽ ὃν καιρὸν αἱ συνεχεῖς ὀδύναι καὶ δριμεῖαι προσέβαλλον, οὐ συγλωροῦσαι καθῆσθαι, οὐκ ἀνακλίνεσθαι, τὸν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐπιμελόμενον καθικέτευεν ἐπιδοῦναι τῷ νοσοῦντι σκεῦος πλῆρες τοῦ τὰ πάντα δυνατοῦ ἁγιάσματος· καὶ ὃς ἐδίδου· ὁ δὲ πίστει πιὼν παραχρῆμα ἐν οὐροδόχῳ ἀγγείῳ τὸν λίθον ἐξέκρινεν ἕλκει συμπεφυρμένον καὶ αἵματι· καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τῷ τῶν ἰλλου f. 205v. στρίων τιμηθεὶς ἀξιώματι περιιὼν περιὼν MS. ἀνακηρύττει τὸ τῆς συμφορᾶς εὐεργέτημα.

And since the time of the disease was being prolonged for him, and every attendant was stretched with hardship, and the parents did not know what to do, calling on the nurse of their old age, the heir, and pricked in soul even as he was by the pains, art failed, and the hand of physicians, and every remedy appeared useless, and every divine precinct shut healing off from him, he is carried to the temple of the Mother of God; and at the time when the continual and sharp pains assailed him, not allowing him to sit, nor to lie down, he besought the one who had care of the church to give the sick man a vessel full of the all-powerful holy water; and he gave it; and he, having drunk with faith, at once excreted the stone into a urinal vessel, mingled with pus and blood; and afterwards, honoured with the dignity of the illustrioi, going about he proclaims the benefaction of his misfortune.

[41] to Stephen, called Catzator, Ἐφ᾽ ἅπασι in the margin μα᾽. τούτοις καὶ Στέφανος ὁ Κατζάτωρ, μὴ δυνατῶς ἔχων ἐπηρείᾳ τῆς τοῦ ἰσχίου νόσου νόσω MS. καὶ τῇ τῆς κοτύλης παρέσει τὰ εἰωθότα μεταχειρίζεσθαι, ἰατροῖς προσελθὼν καὶ χρήματα ἀναλώσας καὶ μή τινα σωτηρίαν εὑρὼν ἐδυσχέραινεν, ἠθύμει τὴν ψυχήν, κατὰ τὸν ἐν τῇ Νινευῇ προφήτην ἀπελέγετο · ἀφέμενος δὲ τῶν πολλῶν τῷ τῆς Παρθένου προσῆλθε ναῷ· καὶ ἀωρὶ νυκτὸς ὑπνώττων ἐδόκει ὁρᾶν Καλοκύριν τινὰ ἰατρὸν ἀνερωτῶντα τοῦτον περὶ τοῦ πάθους καὶ τὸν τρόπον διερμηνεύοντα τῆς ἰάσεως ὡς · &ldquogr; Ἅπελθε εἰς τὸν τῆς Θεοτόκου ναὸν τὸν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως

Upon all these too Stephen the Katzator, not being able, through the injury of the disease of the hip and the paralysis of the socket, to handle his accustomed affairs, having gone to physicians and spent money and found no safety, was distressed, was despondent in soul, renounced life like the prophet in Nineveh; but leaving the many, he came to the temple of the Virgin; and in the dead of night, sleeping, he seemed to see a certain Kalokyris, a physician, asking him about the affliction and explaining the manner of the healing: "Go away to the temple of the Mother of God outside the city

καὶ ἔσῃ ὑγιὴς πιὼν ἐκ τοῦ ἁγιάσματος.&rdquogr; Καὶ δόξας μετὰ τὸ διυπνισθῆναι ὁ ἀρρωστῶν περὶ τοῦ ἐν τῷ Μαδαρῷ ἁγιάσματος εἶναι τὸν ὄνειρον, διεμελέτα, πῶς ἂν ἐκεῖσε ἀφίκηται. Καὶ μόλις ποτὲ εἰς νοῦν βαλόμενος βαλλόμενος MS. τὸν ἐν τῇ Πηγῇ τῆς Θεοτόκου ναόν, κατέλαβε τοῦτον σπουδῇ · καὶ τοῦ ἁγιάσματος ἀπορροφήσας συχνὸν τὴν ὑγείαν προσέλαβε · καὶ τὸ εἶναι δοῦλος τῆς Θεοτόκου διὰ γραφῆς πιστωσάμενος, νῦν καὶ πρῶτος τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῆς πρεσβείας f. 206. ἐστίν, ἀπηλλαγμένος τῆς νόσου καὶ μετερχόμενος τὰ κατὰ συνήθειαν.

and you will be healthy, having drunk of the holy water." And the sick man, after waking, thinking the dream to be about the holy water at Madaros, pondered how he might get there. And at last, having at some time cast in his mind the temple of the Mother of God at the Fountain, he reached it with zeal; and, having sipped the holy water frequently, he received his health; and, having pledged himself in writing to be a servant of the Mother of God, he is now also first of the brethren of the procession, freed from the disease and pursuing his customary affairs.

[42] Τοσαῦτα καὶ τοιαῦτα τῆς ἐμῆς δεσποίνης τυγχάνουσι τὰ θαύματα, πᾶσαν ἰσκὺν ἀνθρωπίνην καὶ διάνοιαν ὑπερβαίνοντα, ἃ κατὰ καιροὺς μὲν ἐνήργηται, τῇ δὲ περιφανείᾳ τῶν ἰαθέντων περιᾳδόμενα ἔχει τὸ γνώριμον. to many others Τὰ δέ γε εἰς τοὺς ἀγνῶτας καὶ ἀφανείᾳ τοῦ βίου σεσιγημένους καὶ ἀπὸ τόπων διεστηκότων ἀφικνουμένους καθ᾽ ἑκάστην τελούμενα ποῖος μὲν ἀνθρώπινος καταλήψεται νοῦς, ποία δὲ γλῶσσα τρανώσει καὶ διὰ στόματος ἀγάγῃ καὶ παραστήσει τὰ μήτε λόγῳ ῥητὰ διὰ μέγεθος μήτε πάλιν ἀριθμητὰ διὰ πλήθους ὑπερβολήν; δικτύῳ γὰρ κατασχεῖν πειράσεται ἄνεμον · καὶ ψάμμον θαλάσσης καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἀστέρας καὶ γένη καὶ πλήθη ἀριθμῆσαι φυτῶν πρότερον δυνηθῇ ἢ τὰ τῆς θεομήτορος διελθεῖν.

So many and such are the miracles of my Lady, surpassing all human strength and understanding, which were worked at various times, but, being sung about through the eminence of those healed, have their notoriety. But the things accomplished each day for the unknown, and for those silenced in the obscurity of their life, and for those arriving from distant places, what human mind will comprehend, what tongue will make clear and bring through the mouth and set forth things neither expressible in word for their greatness, nor again numerable for the excess of their multitude? For one will try to hold the wind with a net; and one could sooner number the sand of the sea and the stars of heaven and the kinds and multitudes of plants than go through the things of the Mother of God.

Οὐ μόνον γὰρ πάμπληθες ὧν ἂν εἴποι τις ὑπερέχουριν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς παραδοξοποιΐαν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐναντίων θαυμάζονται· καὶ &ldquogr; ὡς ἐμεγαλύνθη, Κύριε, τὰ ἔργα σου&rdquogr; ἐνταῦθα μακρῷ εἰπεῖν οἰκειότερον καὶ τὸ· &ldquogr;Πάντα δυνατὰ τοῖς πιστεύουσι.” Ps. 91, 5, Marc. 9, 23. Πῶς γὰρ οὐ φρικτὸν καὶ πλῆρες ἐκπλήξεως τὸ ἀνθρώπους δυσουριῶντας ψυχρῷ ὑγιάζεσθαι ὕδατι καὶ διαλύεσθαι πόρους δυσώδεις καὶ ὀδύνας οὐ φορητὰς καταπαύεσθαι; καὶ τόσῳ μά f.206. λιστα θαυμαστόν, ὅσῳπερ καὶ τοῖς θερμοτέροις καὶ βοηθήμασι καὶ ἀντλήμασι πᾶς τις γινώσκει τοὺς τῶν ἰατρῶν παῖδας πρὸς τοιαῦτα πάθη ἀνταγωνίζεσθαι, οὐχὶ τοῖς ψυχοτέροις καὶ πλήττουσι · τὸ δὲ καὶ νεκροὺς ἀναστῆσαι καὶ πάθη ἐνδομυχοῦντα καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς νοσοῦντας λανθάνοντα, in the temple at the Fountain οἷα δὴ καί τινα τυγχάνουσιν, εὐχερῶς ὑγιάσαι καὶ δαίμονας ἀπελάσαι καὶ ἀβλαβεῖς συντηρῆαι ἀφ᾽ ὕψους κατενεχθέντας πολλούς, ὥστε τοὺς ἐν τῷ ναῷ καταληφθέντας ὑπὸ τοῦ σεισμοῦ τῇ τῶν κλιμάκων περιωπῇ, ταῦτα καὶ θαυμάτων θαυμασιώτερα καὶ δυνατὰ μόνῃ τῇ τὸν ἰσχυρὸν τεκούσῃ δεσπότην καὶ Κύριον. PROCOP. Aedif. I, 3.

For not only do they exceed in great multitude whatever one might tell, but they are wondered at also for their working of marvels from contraries; and "how magnified are your works, O Lord" is here by far more fittingly said, and: "All things are possible to those who believe." For how is it not dread and full of amazement that men suffering from dysuria are healed by cold water, and that foul-smelling passages are loosened and unbearable pains stopped? And this is wonderful all the more, inasmuch as everyone knows that the sons of physicians contend against such afflictions with warmer helps and draughts, not with colder and striking ones; and to raise the dead, and easily to heal afflictions lurking within and hidden from the sick themselves, such as indeed some are, and to drive away demons, and to keep unharmed many brought down from a height, such as those caught in the temple by the earthquake and those at the top of the ladders — these are more wonderful than miracles, and possible only to her who bore the mighty Master and Lord.

Ὄντως λειμὼν καὶ παράδεισος ὁ ταύτης ναός, ἔγκαρπα καὶ πολυειδῆ παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων αὐτῆς κεκτημένος φυτά, οὐχὶ καρπὸν αὔξοντά τεογενῆ καὶ εὔκαρπα, ψυχὰς ἀθανάτου ἐμπιπλῶντα χρηστότητος· ἐμπίπλαται γάρ πως ἡδονῆς καὶ διαχεῖται παντῶς ἑτέρου ψυχὴ καὶ πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἐπιδίδωσιν, ὅταν ἴδῃ τινὰ τῇ δυνάμει τῆς θεομήτορος ἐλευθερούμενον δαίμονος καί τινος ἄλλου νοσήματος· ἐπεὶ καὶ οἰκέται τοὺς συνδούλους μετὰ δουλείας βαρύτητα πρὸς ἐλευθερίαν ἀναγομένους βλέποντες παρὰ τῶν f. 207. κυρίων ἢ κατά τινα τρόπον εὐεργετουμένους, in various ways οὐ μόνον τῆς ἀπαλλαγῆς ἕνεκα τῶν δεινῶν χαίρουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ τῶν δεσποτῶν εὐνοίᾳ μᾶλλον ἐμφύονται, ἐλπίδων χρηστοτέρων γινόμενοι καὶ τῆς ἐκείνων ἑαυτοὺς προμηθείας ἀναπτοντες· καὶ οὐχ οὗτοι μόνοι διὰ τὸ κηδεμονικὸν καὶ φιλάνθρωπον προσκαρτεροῦσιν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐμένουσιν, ἀλὰ καὶ ἑτέροις τῆς καρτερίας καὶ προσελεύσεως παρέχουσιν ὑποδείγματα, ὡς ἔνεστιν ἐνταυθοῖ κατιδεῖν· θεραπευομένων γὰρ εὐχερῶς τῶν προσερχομένων τῷ ταύτης ναῷ ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλίδος τῶν πόλεων, οὐκ ἀνέχεταί τις καταλειφθῆναι ἐξ ἁπάσης χώρας καὶ πόλεως μὴ πρὸς τοῦτον φοιτῆσαι καὶ τυχεῖν ἐκείνων ὧν καὶ διὰ σπουδῆς τίθεται.

Truly her temple is a meadow and a paradise, possessing fruitful and manifold plants beside the outgoings of her waters, not growing fruit, but things god-born and fruitful that fill souls with immortal goodness; for in some way the soul of another is filled with pleasure and altogether melts and advances toward virtue, when it sees someone freed by the power of the Mother of God from a demon and from some other disease; since servants too, seeing their fellow servants, after the heaviness of slavery, being led up to freedom by their masters, or benefited in some way, not only rejoice for the release from terrible things, but cling the more to the goodwill of their masters, becoming of better hopes and fastening themselves to their foresight; and not only do these persevere with them and remain, on account of their care and humanity, but they also give examples to others of perseverance and approach, as one can see here; for, since those who come to her temple from the queen of cities are easily healed, no one from any land and city bears to be left behind without visiting it and obtaining those things which he sets his zeal upon.

Ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ βασιλεῖς καὶ ἄρχοντες καὶ ἰδιῶται καὶ πένητες καὶ παλαιὰ καὶ νέα καὶ στρατεύσιμος ἡλικία καὶ ἄχρηστος τῶν τῆς Θεοτόκου θαυμάτων ἠξίωνται καὶ οἱ μὲν τραυμάτων καὶ νοσημάτων, the Mother of God gives help. οἱ δὲ δαιμονίων καὶ πειρασμῶν καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἐπιτιθεμένων ἐρρύσθησαν, οἱ δὲ διεσώθησαν παρ᾽ ἐλπίδα ἀφύκτων 〈νόσων〉 καὶ πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἐχουσῶν τὸν θάνατον, προσδράμωμεν οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς τῷ ταύτης τεμένει καὶ τοῦ σωστικοῦ μετάσχωμεν ἁγιάσματος, ἵνα τῇ ἐπισκιαζούσῃ τούτῳ δυνάμει τῆς θεομήτορος καὶ σωματικῶν ἀλγηδόνων ῥυσθῶμεν καὶ νοσημάτων f. 207v. καὶ τῶν ἐπιτιθεμένων ἡμῖν πειρατηρίων καὶ περιστάσεων λυτρωθείημεν, διαφύγωμεν δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖθεν δικαιωτήρια καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἄνω θυσιαστήριον ἀπαντήσωμεν καὶ καθαροὶ ὀφθῶμεν τῷ καθαρῷ καὶ τῷ ἀκραιφνεστάτῳ ἐλλαμφθῶμεν φωτί. Οἴδαμεν γάρ, ὦ φωτὸς δοχεῖον, Θεοῦ χωρίον, ἰαμάτων πηγή, νοσούντων καταφυγή, ἰατρεῖον κοινόν, χειμαζομένων λιμήν, καταπιπτόντων ἀναστάσεως χείρ, καταπονουμένων μεγάλη ῥοπή, ἐπιλελησμένων ἀνάκλησις, ἀθυμούντων παράκλησις, πολεμουμένων σκέπη, βέλεσι διαβολῆς βαλλομένων τεῖχος, πενομένων ἀκένωτε θησαυρέ, ὡς ταῖς σαῖς πρεσβείαις φυλαττόμενοί τε καὶ βοηθούμενοι τῶν μὲν ἀγαθῶν τύχωμεν, τὰ δὲ λυποῦντα διαφευξόμεθα καὶ τὸ ἄχθος τῶν καθελκόντων ἡμᾶς ἀποσκευασάμενοί τε καὶ ἀπορρίψαντες καθ᾽ ὅσον ἐστὶν ἐφικτὸν θεασόμεθα τῶν παραπετασμάτων καὶ προκαλυμμάτων χωρὶς τὸν σὸν υἱὸν καὶ Θεόν, τὸ ἄχρονον φῶς, σὺν τῷ ἀνάρχῳ πατρὶ καὶ τῷ ζωοποιῷ πνεύματι, τὴν θείαν Τριάδα καὶ ὑπερούσιον, ᾗ πρέπει τιμὴ καὶ προσκύνησις νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν.

Since, then, emperors and rulers and private persons and poor, old and young, and the age fit for military service and the useless, have been deemed worthy of the miracles of the Mother of God, and some were delivered from wounds and diseases, others from demons and temptations and men attacking them, and others were saved beyond hope from inescapable diseases that had death before their eyes, let us too, then, run to her precinct and partake of the saving holy water, so that by the power of the Mother of God overshadowing it we may be delivered from bodily pains and diseases, and be ransomed from the trials and circumstances that attack us, and escape the tribunals of the world beyond, and meet the altar above, and appear pure to the Pure One, and be illumined by the most unmixed light. For we know, O receptacle of light, place of God, fountain of healings, refuge of the sick, common place of healing, harbour of the storm-tossed, hand of raising for the fallen, great support of the oppressed, recall of the forgotten, consolation of the despondent, shelter of those warred upon, wall of those struck by the darts of slander, inexhaustible treasure of the poor, that, guarded and helped by your intercessions, we may obtain the good things and shall escape the grievous ones, and, having packed off and cast away the burden of what drags us down, we shall behold, as far as is attainable, without veils and coverings, your Son and God, the timeless light, with the Father without beginning and the life-giving Spirit, the divine and super-essential Trinity, to whom befit honour and worship, now and always and to the ages of ages, amen.

Note * Καταφυγή.

ON ST. EUPHROSYNE THE YOUNGER, VIRGIN, AT CONSTANTINOPLE,

IN THE 10TH CENTURY

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY

BY H. D.

LIFE OF ST. EUPHROSYNE

APPENDIX ON THE SACRED BUILDINGS AND ON THE MIRACLES OF THE MOTHER OF GOD AT THE FOUNTAIN

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