Theoctiste of Lesbos

ON ST. THEOCTISTE OF LESBOS, ON THE ISLAND OF PAROS,

9TH CENTURY

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY

Theoctiste, virgin on the island of Paros. (S.)

BY H. D.

[1] Summary of the Life of St. Theoctiste. A charming story is that which Nicetas the magister testifies that he received from a certain monk, when, sent by the emperor Leo († 911) to discharge an embassy to the Arabs of Crete, he had been compelled to turn aside for a little while to the island of Paros. As he was visiting the church of the Mother of God, conspicuous for its ornament and marble but laid waste by Nisiri, a leader of the Arabs, there came to meet him a hermit, raised to the priesthood, who had dwelt in the solitude more than thirty years. He, having blessed Nicetas and his companions, celebrated the most holy mysteries, and told very many things about Nisiri and the incursion of the Arabs and their defeat at Xylophagus, a promontory of Euboea, and finally those things which a few years before he had heard about St. Theoctiste from a hunter of Euboea. That man had come with companions to the island of Paros, which nourished a great abundance of deer and wild goats. After he had hunted a great deal, before he departed, he entered the church of the Mother of God. And seeing near the holy table some piece of woven stuff which was being stirred by the wind, and wishing to make out what it was, he heard a voice saying: "Do not come any further, for since I am a woman, I am ashamed to be seen by you naked." Astounded, he threw her his cloak. That woman came forward — Theoctiste was her name — who for thirty years had been leading the eremitical life on the island, living on herbs, and stripped of her clothing as it gradually wore away. For she had been captured with her family in her homeland, Lesbos, by the Arabs, and brought to Paros, where she had hidden in the woods until the raiders left the island. When she had disclosed these things: "When next year," she said, "you are about to sail to this island for the sake of hunting, I ask that you take for me in a clean vessel a particle of the undefiled gifts of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. For since I have inhabited this solitude I have never been deemed worthy of such a gift." He promised, and when a year had elapsed, he took the Eucharist with him in a pyx and delivered it to the pious woman. Then he went off to hunt. But before he returned to the ship, he went back to the church to bid farewell to Theoctiste; and he found that she had departed from the living in the very place in which he had first seen her. He at once committed her to burial, having first cut off one of her hands, which he took with him as a relic. Then he went aboard the ship and ordered it to set sail. But when day had dawned, the ship was seen to have remained motionless in the same harbour. The hunter understood that the pious theft had displeased God, and at once went back into the church and put back the hand with the body of the saint. When this was done, the ship set sail without any delay. Then the hunter disclosed to his companions what had been done. And they straightway turned the prow and all went back to Paros. They hurried to the church at a run, and the place indeed was seen in which the saint had been laid, preserving the shape of the body, but the body had vanished. And these things the hunter told to Symeon, who narrated the same to Nicetas and bound him by an oath to commit the life of the blessed woman to writing.

[2] By Nicetas the magister That Nicetas the Paphlagonian, a most celebrated hagiographer, flourished under the emperor Leo and prolonged his life into the times of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, has been said in what precedes Above, p. 13, n. 10.; that he is the very man who took down the history of Theoctiste from the mouth of the monk Symeon, and that he is no other than the one named Νικήτα τοῦ πανευφήμου πατρικίου καὶ κυέστορος who wrote the Life of St. Andrew of Crete, BHG. 113 So judged Chr. Loparev, in Vizantijskij Vremennik, vol. IV, p. 346., I would not dare to assert, although the reckoning of the times by no means stands in the way. Of the Life of Theoctiste, moreover, we have two little books, very similar in many things, and those who have not sufficiently distinguished them have fallen into the gravest errors. The Life was first written, The diversity of the codices is twofold: some of them, N, present the very little book which Nicetas is reported to have written, BHG. 1723 – 1724; others, M, of which there is none that is not Metaphrastic, an anonymous little book, BHG. 1725 – 26, which is a reworking of the other. Now Metaphrastes furnished the little book of Nicetas with a new prologue, changed the phrasing here and there, brought in some sentences from his own store, and expressed the last chapters somewhat more lengthily. But, what you may wonder at, he left untouched the things that were stated in the person of the writer, so that what had been done by Nicetas seemed to have been done by Metaphrastes. Hence Michael Psellus was deceived, who composed both a eulogy of Symeon Metaphrastes BHG. 1675. and an ecclesiastical office, whose words it is helpful to quote, from the sixth ode of the canon:

Τὸ πρῶτόν σου σύγγραμμα, ἐκ προνοίας θεἳκῆς, καὶ ὁμιλίας γέγονε τοῦ ἱεροῦ πρεσβύτου καὶ μοναστοῦ, Συμεὼν θεσπέσιε, ὃν ἐν Πάρῳ τῇ νήσῳ τεθεώρηκας. Ἀξίως ἐξύμνησας τῆς Λεσβίας τὰ λαμπρὰ καὶ θεῖα ἀγωνίσματα, Θεοκτίστης τῆς ὄντως ἀγγελικόν, μικροῦ καὶ ἀσώματον, τελεσάσης πανσόφως τὸ πολίτευμα L. Allatius, De Symeonum scriptis diatriba (Paris, 1664), p. 240.. but not by Symeon Metaphrastes. He understood, that is, that Symeon Metaphrastes himself had learned the deeds of St. Theoctiste from that monk of the same name and had been urged to write them down; and, thinking that the occasion of taking up the pen had been offered him by some divine nod, he pronounced the Life of Theoctiste the πρῶτον σύγγραμμα of Symeon [On these things we have spoken briefly: La Vie de S. Paul le Jeune et la chronologie de Métaphraste, in Revue des Questions historiques, July 1893, p. 49 – 85.]. From these things it also came about that the whole reckoning of the times was thrown into confusion, and most people, with Allatius, who had believed Psellus, placed Symeon Metaphrastes in the first decades of the tenth century and not, as they should, in the last On these things more fully in our Synopsis Metaphrastica, BHG, p. 269 – 73..

[3] Its codices N; We must come to the codices by which the Life of St. Theoctiste has been handed down. The principal of these are:

N 1 = The Venetian codex of the library of St. Mark, Greek 349. Of parchment, neatly written in the 11th/12th century Anal. Boll., vol. XXIV, p. 175.. Among the Lives of the Saints of the month of November, there is read, on the 10th day, fol. 116 – 123v: Βίος τῆσ ὁσίας μητρὸς ἡμῶν Θεοκτίστης τῆς Λεσβίας τῆς ἀσκησάσης καὶ κοιμηθείσης ἐν νήσῳ τῇ καλουμένῃ Πάρῳ συγγραφεὶς ὑπὸ Νικήτα τοῦ πανευκλεεστάτου μαγίστρου.

N 2 = Codex of the Vatican library, Greek 811. Of parchment, written in the eleventh century. Metaphrastes from the 1st to the 15th day of November Catal. Gr. Vatic., p. 59.. Fol. 112v – 123v: Βίος καὶ πολιτεία τῆς ὁσίας καὶ ἀειμνήστου Θεοκτίστης τῆς Λεσβίας.

N 3 = Codex of the Vatican library, Greek 1798. Of parchment, written in the twelfth century. Likewise Metaphrastes. Fol. 88 – 99: Life of St. Theoctiste.

N 4 = Venetian codex of St. Mark, Greek 361. Of parchment, written in the fourteenth century Anal. Boll., vol. XXIV, p. 194.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 76v – 84v: Life of St. Theoctiste.

N 5 = Paris codex of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Greek 1541. Of parchment, written in the thirteenth century Catal. Gr. Paris., p. 241.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 169 – 180v: Life of St. Theoctiste.

N 6 = Codex of the Angelica library, Greek 126. Of paper, written in the sixteenth century G. Muccio, Index codd. graecorum bibliothecae Angelicae, p. 168.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 68 – 74: Life of St. Theoctiste.

N 7 = Codex of the Escorial library y. II. 12. Of parchment, written in the thirteenth century Anal. Boll., vol. XXVIII, p. 380.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 52v – 63v: Life of St. Theoctiste.

N 8 = Codex of Chalki, of the library of the Theological School 35, written in the sixteenth century We shall publish the catalogue of this library in the Analecta Bollandiana.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 109v – 120: Life of St. Theoctiste.

N 9 = Moscow codex, of the library of the Holy Synod, 384. Of parchment, written in the eleventh century [Vladimir, Sistematičeskoe opisanie rukopisej Moskovskoj Sinodalnoj biblioteki, p. 577.]. Among various Lives of saints, fol. 266v – 274: Βίος μακαρίας Θεοκτίστης τῆς Λεσβίας. We have not inspected the codex.

The little book N, rendered into Latin, was first published by Al. Lippomano Tomus quintus Vitarum SS. Patrum (Venice, 1566), f. 56 – 60., from whom L. Surius borrowed it, on the 10th day of November, and he also added to the heading: from Simeon Metaphrastes. Baronius inserted the same into his Annals under the year 902.

[4] the Metaphrastic codices. Now receive the list of the Metaphrastic codices:

M 1 = Codex of the Vatican library, Greek 810. Of parchment, written in the eleventh century Catal. Gr. Vatic., p. 58.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 89 – 97v: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 3 = Venetian codex of the library of St. Mark, Greek 351. Of parchment, written in the 11th/12th century Anal. Boll., vol. XXIV, p. 180.. Fol. 106v – 116v: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 4 = London codex of the British Museum, add. 36636. Of parchment, written in the eleventh century Catal. Gr. Germ., p. 276.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 71v – 81v: Life of St. Theoctiste. In the first letter of the Life St. Theoctiste is seen elegantly painted.

M 5 = Milan codex of the Ambrosian library B. 25. inf. Of parchment, written in the 11th/12th century [Martini-Bassi, Catalogus codicum graecorum bibliothecae Ambrosianae, vol. II, p. 841.]. Metaphrastes. Fol. 170v – 175: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 6 = Milan codex of the Ambrosian library A. 180. sup. Of parchment, written in the thirteenth century Martini-Bassi, work cited, vol. I, p. 73.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 150v – 154v: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 7 = Florentine codex of the Laurentian library XI, 1. Of parchment, written in the fourteenth century [A. M. Bandini, Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum bibliothecae Mediceae-Laurentianae, vol. I, p. 497.]. Metaphrastes. Fol. 103 – 113: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 8 = Codex of the Vatican library Ottobon. 429. Of parchment, written in the 11th/12th century Catal. Gr. Vatic., p. 296.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 94 – 102: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 9 = Paris codex of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Greek 1020. Of parchment, written in the eleventh century Catal. Gr. Paris., p. 61.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 129v – 140v: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 11 = Paris codex of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Greek 1525. Of parchment, written in the thirteenth century Catal. Gr. Paris., p. 219.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 106 – 115v: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 13 = Paris codex of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Greek 1483. Of parchment, written in the twelfth century Catal. Gr. Paris., p. 164.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 37 – 43v: Life of St. Theoctiste, mutilated at the beginning and the end.

M 15 = Paris codex of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Greek 1522. Of parchment, written in the eleventh century Catal. Gr. Paris., p. 215.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 136 – 149v: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 16 = Paris codex of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Greek 1549. Of parchment, written in the twelfth century Catal. Gr. Paris., p. 250.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 38 – 44: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 17 = Paris codex of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Greek 1552. Of parchment, written in the twelfth century Catal. Gr. Paris., p. 255.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 106v – 118: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 18 = Paris codex of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Greek 174. Of paper, written in the 14th/15th century Catal. Gr. Paris., p. 39., Metaphrastes. Fol. 409 – 421: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 19 = Codex of the Vatican library Ottobon. 427. Of parchment, written in the twelfth century Catal. Gr. Vatic., p. 294.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 81v – 90: Life of St. Theoctiste.

M 20 = Codex of the Vallicelliana library B. 21. Of parchment, written in the twelfth century [E. Martini, Catalogo di manoscritti greci esistenti nelle biblioteche Italiane, vol. II, p. 7.]. Metaphrastes. Fol. 104 – 115: Life of St. Theoctiste.

Besides these, some M codices we have either read only in passing or know only from catalogues. They are: Munich Greek 143, 16th century, fol. 106 – 116; Munich Greek 364, 11th century, fol. 105 – 114v; Dresden A. 67 a, 12th century, fol. 58v – 64; Brussels 8450 – 51 (a Bollandist transcript), fol. 73, 51 – 61v; of Trinity College, Cambridge, B. 8, 3, fol. 56 – 68 Catal. Gr. Germ., pp. 106, 122, 176, 216, 284.; Messina 28, 11th century, fol. 58 – 65; Messina 48, 11th/12th century, fol. 37 – 44; Messina 61, 12th century, fol. 115 – 125; Messina 70, 12th century, fol. 77v – 85 Anal. Boll., vol. XXIII, pp. 32, 52, 58, 62.; Holkham 89. III, 14th/15th century, fol. 92 – 99v Anal. Boll., vol. XXV, p. 456.; Naples II. C. 29, 12th/13th century, fol. 109 – 119v Anal. Boll., vol. XXI, p. 392.; Chalki, of the monastery of the Mother of God 129, 17th century, fol. 105v – 116v Anal. Boll., vol. XX, p. 67.; Chalki, of the monastery of the Holy Trinity 81, 11th century, fol. 105 – 122 The catalogue will be published in the Analecta Bollandiana.; Jerusalem, of the patriarchal library 8, 11th century, fol. 118v – 126; Jerusalem, of St. Sabas 33, 11th century, fol. 117 – 126 A. Papadopoulos-Kerameus, Ἱεροσολυμιτικὴ Βιβλιοθήκη, vol. I, p. 33.; Jerusalem, of St. Sabas 170, 11th century, fol. 55v – 61 Papadopoulos-Kerameus, vol. II, pp. 74, 282.; Constantinople, of the Metochion of the Holy Sepulchre, 13, 11th century, fol. 68v – 80 Papadopoulos-Kerameus, vol. IV, p. 27.; Moscow, of the Holy Synod 361, 11th century, fol. 116 – 123; Moscow, of the Holy Synod 362, 11th century, fol. 104 – 114; Moscow, of the Holy Synod 363, 11th century, fol. 84 – 93; Moscow, of the Holy Synod 388, 11th century, fol. 131 – 139 [Vladimir, Sistematičeskoe opisanie rukopisej Moskovskoj Sinodolnoj biblioteki, pp. 549, 550, 551, 582.].

Q = Venetian codex of the library of St. Mark, Greek 584. Of parchment, written in the twelfth century Anal. Boll., vol. XXIV, p. 202.. Metaphrastes. Fol. 117 – 128: Life of St. Theoctiste, in which the two little books M and N have been mixed in such a way that it borrows the prologue (c. 1) and c. 2 from M, and follows N in the rest.

[5] Plan of the edition. Of the codices of which we have given the list, we have collated in full N 1 – 6, M 1 – 9, Q; the readings of all of these we have brought forward, a few of almost no importance being omitted, and those which for the most part concern the manner of spelling. Selected chapters of the codices M 10 – 20 were collated by us; but it seemed best to suppress the trifles which we gathered from them. The tradition of both little books is plain, and, as in almost all the other parts of the Metaphrastic menologion, the agreement of the M codices is remarkable. The others divide in two ways, so that N 1 not rarely dissents from N 2 – 6, Q, but in those same places for the most part agrees with M. The readings common to N 1 and M, therefore, we have considered to be preferred to the rest. It is worth noting that the little book N has been found in codices which are all Metaphrastic except N 1 and N 9. From which it follows, unless I am mistaken, that the Life of Theoctiste is not among those which Symeon reworked from the beginning of his work; and so far is the Life of Theoctiste from having been his πρῶτον σύγγραμμα — the words are those of Psellus — that he first inserted the little book of Nicetas untouched into his menologion, and afterwards subjected it to the Metaphrastic rules.

[6] The little book relates candidly What credit the Life of St. Theoctiste deserves must now be inquired. Nicetas, indeed, wrote in the rhetorical manner. Yet the things he brings out about himself and the affairs of his own time are not therefore to be held as uncertain, the more so because those principal matters concerning the commander Himerius and the expedition against the Arabs of Crete in the reign of the emperor Leo are confirmed by the best testimonies [Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Cerimon., II, 44; Zonaras, Epist., XVI, 14; Cedrenus, Hist., Bekker, vol. II, pp. 262, 277.], nor do I see by what right anyone would call into doubt those things concerning matters and men very well known in this age which he mixes into the narrative, such as those about the incursions and defeats of the Arabs in the islands of the Aegean Sea and about their leader Nisiri [Compare P. G. Zerlentes, Περὶ τοῦ ἀξιοπίστου τοῦ συναξαρίου Θεοκτίστησ τῆς ὁσίας, in Byzantinische Zeitschrift, vol. X, p. 159 – 65.]. It can also be held certain that Nicetas put in at Paros, visited the church of the Mother of God τῆς Καταπολιανῆς and met the monk Symeon, who disclosed to him the deeds of Theoctiste in order. Of these, however, that Symeon was not a witness, but a credulous hearer, who gathered from the mouth of an anonymous hunter whatever was handed down about that holy woman. And there are two things which move suspicion in the reader: one is that the hunter relates that the body of St. Theoctiste vanished; the other, that whatever he said of her is read in the Life of St. Mary of Egypt BHG. 1042.. That Zosimas of Jerusalem, by the custom of his monastery, crossed the Jordan every year to spend the days of the holy fast in the desert. By chance he came upon Mary, who had lived in those places for forty-seven years, sustaining herself on herbs, and bereft of her clothing, long since worn away and consumed. After Zosimas had thrown her his cloak, she set out her life and asked him to bring her in the following year the body and blood of Christ in a clean vessel. When a year had elapsed, at the beginning of the fasts, Zosimas returned, carrying the Eucharist in a pyx. Nor did he find the holy woman at once. When at last he caught sight of her, he wished to bow himself down, which she would not allow, saying: "What are you doing, abba, who are both a priest and are carrying the divine mysteries?" Then, having received the sacred mysteries, she exclaimed: "Now you dismiss your handmaid, O Lord." And when another year had passed, Zosimas returned to the same place and found Mary dead, whom he at once committed to burial. With only the names and times changed, this is the very history of Theoctiste. an empty fable. Now, who would believe that the marvels which were carried about concerning Mary κατὰ διαδοχὴν ἀγράφως BHG. 1042, n. 41. in the monasteries of Palestine were repeated, with nothing omitted, on the island of Paros five centuries later, and left no trace whatever? Certainly the little book of Nicetas is pleasant and elegant to read, and it greatly pleased the Greeks. Yet it does not relate things truly done, but a pious little fable made up by an idle man to delight a simple and religious one.

[7] On the cult of St. Theoctiste. The cult shown to St. Theoctiste had its beginning from the discourse of Nicetas. The Parians venerate her as their patroness, and have set up a shrine to her in the church Παναγίας τῆς Καταπολιανῆς [Its structure and history have been illustrated by H. H. Jewell and F. W. Hasluck, The Church of Our Lady of the Hundred Gates (Byzantine Research Fund), London, 1920, in folio.], where the hunter asserted that he had first seen her, on the left as one enters; there her tomb too is visited. They keep her memory on the 9th day of November Synax. Eccl. CP., p. 206., on which she is also inscribed in the synaxaria and the menaia; but in the menologion of Metaphrastes the 10th day is assigned to her. On the 10th day also

is found in the Roman Martyrology. On the island of Naxos Theoctiste is venerated in the church of the Catholics. The people of Icaria boast that they have her body in a church situated near Mesaria. At what time or in what way they received it or carried it off by theft is not known On these things Zerlentes should be read, work cited, p. 164..

LIFE OF ST. THEOCTISTE

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

Theoctiste, virgin on the island of Paros. (S.)

From the codices of the library of St. Mark at Venice Greek 349 (= N 1), Vatican library Greek 811 (= N 2), of the same Greek 1789 (= N 3), library of St. Mark Greek 361 (= N 4), Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris Greek 1541 (= N 5), Angelica library Greek 126 (= N 6); Vatican library Greek 810 (= M 1), of the same Greek 2037 (= M 2), library of St. Mark Greek 351 (= M 3), British Museum add. 36636 (= M 4), Ambrosian library B. 25. inf. (= M 5), of the same A. 180. sup. (= M 6), Laurentian library XI. 1 (= M 7), Vatican library Ottobon. 429 (= M 8), Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris Greek 1020 (= M 9); library of St. Mark Greek 584 (= Q). Compare Preliminary Commentary, nos. 4 – 5.

Βίος καὶ πολιτεία adds N 2 – 6. τῆς ὁσίας μητρὸς ἡμῶν (μητρὸς ἡμ.) τῆς ὁσίας καὶ ἀειμνήστου N 2, 4, 5, 6; μακαρίας N 3. Θεοκτίστης τῆς Λεσβίας Λεσβείας N 6. τῆς ἀσκησάσης καὶ κοιμηθείσης ἐν νήσῳ τῇ καλουμένῃ Πάρῳ συγγραφεὶς ὑπὸ Νικήτα τοῦ πανευκλεεστάτου μαγίστρου (τῆς ἀσκ. - μαγίστρου) omits N 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

The Life of our holy mother Theoctiste of Lesbos, who practised asceticism and fell asleep on the island called Paros, written by Nicetas, the most glorious magister.

[1] Prologue. Ἐπαινεῖν μὲν τὰ χρηστὰ καὶ πρὸς ἀρετὴν καὶ εὐσέβειαν ἄγοντα μακάριον καὶ ἀνδρῶν ἐστιν ἀγαθῶν καὶ ὄντως ἀξίων ἐπαίνου· διανίστησι γὰρ τοὺς ἀκροατὰς τὰ ἐγκώμια καὶ ζηλοῦν μᾶλλον ποιεῖ τοὺς ἐπαίνους ὁ λόγος ἢ τοὺς ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσι καθημένους ὁ τῶν ἀθλητῶν ζῆλος· καὶ γὰρ αἱ ψυχαὶ τοῖς σπουδαίοις λόγοις εἰώθασιν αὔξεσθαι καὶ ῥυθμίζεσθαι ὥσπερ τὰ σώματα τοῖς συμμέτροις γυμνάσμασι. Διὸ τοὺς μέν παρασκευάζει πρὸς ἀνδρίαν ἀνδρείαν N 3, 4, 6. ἀναθορεῖν ἀναθαρρεῖν first ἀναθαρεῖν N 4. ὁ λόγος καὶ οἷα γινομένους ἐνθέους ἔνθους N 4, 5, 6. μετὰ χεῖρας ἔχειν τὰς πανοπλίας καὶ τοὺς ἀντιπάλους ζητεῖν, τοὺς δὲ δικαιοσύνην ἀσπάζεσθαι καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἴσου διανομὴν ἐπαινεῖν καὶ ὅλους τοῦ πράγματος γίνεσθαι κατατρέχοντας τῶν. ἀδίκων, ἑτέρους σωφροσύνην ἀγαπᾶν καὶ κρατεῖν ἡδονῶν καὶ τὸ ἐπιθυμητικὸν φιλονεικοῦντας καταστορέσαι. Ἔστι δ᾽ οὓς ἐπὶ δοὺς N 3. πρὸς φιλοσοφίαν ὁ ζῆλος (ὁ ζ.) omits N 4. ᾄττειν ποιεῖ καὶ τὴν πρακτικὴν μάλιστα μετιέναι, ἣ ῥυθμίζει τὰ ἤθη καὶ παιδεύει κατ᾽ εἰκόνα βαίνειν Θεοῦ καὶ ὁμοιοῦσθαι αὐτῷ, καθόσον ἐφικτὸν ἀνθρωπίνῃ καθέστηκε φύσει, καταφρονεῖν τῶν ῥεόντων, τοῦ σώματος ἀφειδεῖν ἀφιδεῖν corrected N 3; ἀφειδοῦν N 1. , γῆς ἀπανίστασθαι καὶ πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἀνατρέχειν, ἔνθα τὸ πολίτευμα ἡμῶν καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ παντὸς in the margin N 4. σώματός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός.

To praise what is good and leads to virtue and piety is a blessed thing and belongs to men who are good and truly worthy of praise; for encomia rouse the hearers, and speech makes them emulate the things praised more than the zeal of the athletes rouses those sitting at the contests; for souls are accustomed to grow and to be brought into good order by earnest words, just as bodies are by well-measured exercises. Therefore speech prepares some to leap up to courage and, as though they had become possessed by God, to have their panoplies in hand and to seek out their adversaries; others to embrace justice and to praise the distribution of what is equal and to become wholly given to the matter, running down the unjust; others to love temperance and to master pleasures and to strive eagerly to lay low the concupiscent part. And there are those whom zeal makes rush toward philosophy and pursue above all its practical part, which orders the character and teaches one to walk according to the image of God and to be made like him, so far as is attainable to human nature, to despise the things that flow away, to be unsparing of the body, to rise up from the earth and run up to heaven, where our citizenship is, and the head of the whole body is Christ.

Εὐσεβεῖν γὰρ κυριώτατα καὶ πρώτως ἐστὶ τὸ θεραπεύειν Θεὸν ὀρθῶς καὶ ἀμέμπτως βιοῦντας, τοῖς δόγμασι τῶν μακαρίων ἀποστόλων καὶ τῶν πατέρων ἑπομένους ἐπ᾽ ἐλπίδι τῆς ἀἳδίου ζωῆς καὶ βασιλείας. Οὕτω τοίνυν αἱ τῶν ἀγαθῶν εὐφημίαι καὶ τὰ ἐγκώμια τῶν γενναίων διανιστῶσι διανίστησι N 2 – 6. τοὺς ἀκροατὰς πρὸς ζῆλον τῶν ἐπαινουμένων, ὥσπερ αὖ τοὐναντίον τὰ φαῦλα διαφθείρουσι τὰς ἀκοάς, καθάπερ λύμη τις μετιοῦσα τὰ σώματα· φθείρουσι γάρ, φησίν omits N 4. , ἤθη χρηστὰ ὁμιλίαι κακαί. 1 Cor. 15, 33. Ταύτῃ τοι παρῆλθον καὐτός καὶ αὐτός N 4, 5. τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ παρόντος ὠφέλειαν κομίζων ὑμῖν ἡμῖν N 3, 4. διηγήματος, ὃ πολλοῖς ὀνήσει τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς καὶ ἄξιον ἔσται ἔστι N 6. μνήμης καὶ τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων γραφῆς· ὅ τε γὰρ Θεὸς δοξασθήσεται ὁ δοξάζων τοὺς δοξάζοντας αὐτόν, καθὼς τὰ ἱερά που γράφουσι λόγια, οἵ τε ἀκροαταὶ μακαρίσουσι τὸν ἐργάτην εὐεργέτην N 4, 5; εὑρετὴν corrected N 2, but in the margin γρ. ἐργάτην. τοῦ πράγματος καὶ ζηλοῦν ἐθελήσουσι. 2 Kings 2, 30.

For to be pious, most properly and primarily, is to serve God by living rightly and blamelessly, following the doctrines of the blessed apostles and of the fathers in hope of eternal life and of the kingdom. Thus, then, the eulogies of the good and the encomia of the noble rouse the hearers to emulation of those who are praised, just as, conversely, base things corrupt the ears, like some pestilence passing through bodies; for, he says, evil conversations corrupt good morals. For this reason I too have come forward, bringing you the benefit of the present narrative, which will profit many of the good and will be worthy of memory and of being written down in words; for God will be glorified, who glorifies those who glorify him, as the sacred oracles somewhere write, and the hearers will call blessed the worker of the deed and will wish to emulate him.

Μακάρισον γάρ τις τῶν μεγάλων τὸν μακαρισμοῦ φησιν ἄξιον, ἵνα γίνῃ γένη N 2 – 5. κατ᾽ αὐτὸν τῇ προθέσει καὶ adds N 1. , χωρὶς ἀγώνων καὶ σκαμμάτων μακάριος. Οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ οὓς ἐπαινοῦμεν ζηλοῦν πάντως omits N 2 – 6. σπουδάζομεν· ὃ γάρ τις ἐπαινεῖ δῆλον ὡς καὶ ποθεῖ, ὥσπερ τοὐναντίον, ὃ μισεῖ καὶ διασύρει. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ταῦθ᾽ οὕτως ταῦτα οὕτως N 2 – 6. καὶ ὁ λόγος ἀπέδειξεν πολλὴν τὴν ὠφέλειαν ἐν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς διηγήμασιν, ἀξιῶ τὴν ὑμῶν ἀγάπην πρὸς τὴν παροῦσαν τὰς ἀκοὰς ὑπόθεσιν ὑποκλίναντας ἀποκλίναντας N 1. καὶ βιωτικῶν μελεδώνων ἐκεχειρίαν ποιησαμένους ὑποδέξασθαι καθαρῶς τὸ τοῦ διηγήματος μέγεθος. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅπως ἐπιλελησμένος ἑαυτοῦ αὐτοῦ N 3 – 6. καὶ λόγῳ καὶ βίῳ μακρὰν ἀφεστὼς τῶν, λεγομένων καὶ ἄλλοις ἄλλοι N 6. εἰδὼς προσήκειν τὰ adds N 1. τοιαῦτα συγγράφειν, οἳ τοῖς εὐφημουμένοις ἐφαμίλλους καὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας ἔχουσι καὶ τοὺς βίους, πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην προήχθην γραφήν.

For one of the great ones says: Call blessed him who is worthy of being called blessed, that you may become like him in purpose, blessed without contests and wrestling-pits. Not only that, but those whom we praise we certainly strive to emulate; for what one praises, it is clear that he also longs for, just as, conversely, what he hates he also disparages. Since, then, these things are so, and the argument has shown the great benefit in good narratives, I ask your charity to incline your ears to the present subject and, having made a truce with the cares of life, to receive with purity the greatness of the narrative. But indeed, I know not how, forgetful of myself, and standing far, both in word and in life, from the things that are told, and knowing that it befits others to write such things, who have both contests and lives rivalling those who are eulogised, I was led forward to such a writing.

Πλὴν ἐπεὶ καὶ τῆς ὑπακοῆς ἔστι μισθὸς καὶ σωτήριον τὸ πράγμα καὶ μακαρίζεται, The merit of obedience. εἰκότως τῆς ἐνοχῆς τοῦ θράσους ἀπολυθήσομαι, πληρῶν ἐντολὴν ἀνδρός, παιδόθεν ἀφιερωμένου τῷ omits N 1. Θεῷ καὶ τὴν ἔρημον οἰκεῖν ἑλομένου κατὰ τὸν μέγαν Ἠλίου καὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας ὑπεράπαντας N 4. . Matt. 11, 11. Ἀρκτέον τοιγαροῦν τῆς ὑποθέσεως ἄνωθεν· καιρὸς γὰρ ἤδη ταύτην ὑμῖν ἀνειπεῖν ἐξειπεῖν N 1. , ἱκανῶς ὑμῶν παρασκευασαμένων τὰς ἀκοάς.

However, since there is also a reward for obedience, and the thing is salutary and is called blessed, I shall reasonably be released from the charge of boldness, fulfilling the command of a man dedicated to God from childhood, who chose to inhabit the desert after the manner of the great Elijah and of John, who is above all among those born of women. Let us begin, therefore, the subject from the beginning; for it is now time to tell it to you, since you have sufficiently prepared your ears.

Codd. M. Βίος καὶ πολιτεία τῆς ὁσίας καὶ ἀειμνήστου Θεοκτίστης τῆς Λεσβίας.

The Life and conduct of the holy and ever-memorable Theoctiste of Lesbos.

[1] Εἰκόνες καὶ στῆλαι καὶ ἀνδριάντες διὰ τοῦτο πάντως εἰς τὸν ἡμέτερον βίον εἰσήχθησαν παρεισήχθησαν M 6, 7. , ἅμα μὲν ὡς omits M 6. εἰς ἔπαινον τῶν μέγα τι καὶ κοινωφελὲς κατωρθωκότων, ὧν καὶ σῴζουσι τοὺς τύπους, γινόμενα, ἅμα δὲ καὶ εἰς τὸν τῶν ὁρώντων ζῆλον καὶ τὴν τῶν καλῶν καλλῶν M 8. ἐπιμέλειαν πολλὰ συντείνειν δυνάμενα. Codd. M. Οἶμαι δὲ ὅτι πολὺ μᾶλλον καὶ λόγος συντελέσειεν ἄν, εἰς μνήμην παρατιθεὶς ἀρετῆς ψίλον ἄνθρωπον, βίον τε καὶ πράξεις τὰς αὐτοῦ διηγούμενος διηγούμενον Q. · ὁπότε ὁπόταν M 6. γὰρ ἐκεῖνα τὰ κωφά τε καὶ ἄφωνα διὰ ψιλῆς μόνης τῆς θέας οὕτως ὠφελεῖν δύνανται δύναται M 2, 5, 9, Q. , οἱονεί τις τι M 8. ὑπόμνησις πρὸς ἀρετὴν γινόμενα, πόσῳ γε omits M 6. μᾶλλον λόγος ὀνήσειε, πατρίδα τε καὶ γένος διαλαμβάνων ἀγωγήν τε καὶ ἐπιτήδευμα, καὶ τὸ δὴ μεῖζον, αὐτὰ τὰ πράγματα διηγούμενος καὶ ὑπ᾽ ὄψιν τοῖς ἀκροαταῖς ἐκεῖνα καθὰ δὴ καὶ γεγόνασι παριστῶν; Ἐπεὶ οὖν οὕτω πρόδηλος ἐν τοῖς τῶν φιλαρέτων διηγήμασιν ἡ ὠφέλεια, προσέχειν ὑμᾶς ἀξιῶ· βίον γὰρ διηγήσομαι, οὐ τὸν τυχόντα, οὐδὲ ὃν πολλοὶ πολλάκις τῶν κατὰ Θεὸν ζῆν ἑλομένων διήνυσαν, ἀλλὰ καινόν τε καὶ σπανιώτατον καὶ ὃν εἷς, οὐκ οἶδα, ἢ δύο τῶν τοιαύτην εὐγενῆ καὶ φιλόνεικον ἐν τοῖς καλοῖς ἐσχηκότων ψυχὴν εἵλοντό τε καὶ εἰς πέρας διενεγκεῖν ἠδυνήθησαν. Ἀρκτέον οὖν μοι τῆς ὑποθέσεως, καὶ ὅπως ἔχει εἶχε M 6, 7. τὰ τοῦ θείου τούτου βίου διηγητέον.

Images and pillars and statues were surely introduced into our life for this reason: partly as being made for the praise of those who have achieved something great and of common benefit, whose likenesses they also preserve, and partly as able to contribute much to the emulation of those who see them and to the care for good things. And I think that speech would contribute still more, setting forth a bare man for the remembrance of virtue, and relating his life and his deeds; for whenever those deaf and voiceless things can profit so much by mere sight alone, becoming as it were a kind of reminder toward virtue, how much more would speech profit, embracing homeland and family, upbringing and pursuit, and, what is greater, relating the very deeds and setting them before the eyes of the hearers just as they happened? Since, then, the benefit in the narratives of lovers of virtue is so manifest, I ask you to attend; for I shall narrate a life, not an ordinary one, nor one which many of those who chose to live according to God have often completed, but new and most rare, and one which one, I know not, or two of those who have had such a noble soul, eager for rivalry in good things, chose and were able to carry through to the end. I must begin, then, the subject, and tell how the things of this divine life stand.

[2] Nicetas, sent to the Arabs in Crete, Γενομένῳ μοί ποτε κατὰ τὴν Πάρον, ἐγεγόνειν γέγονα M. δὲ καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ Κρήτην ἔπλεον διέπλεον M. ὑπὸ τοῦ μακαρίτου μακαρίου M 1. καὶ θεοσεβοῦς βασιλέως στελλόμενος (καὶ θ. β. στ.) Λέοντος ἐκεῖσε πεμφθεὶς Λέοντός φημι M. , τοῦ εὐτυχοῦς ὄντως βασιλέως adds M. καὶ τὴν εὐτυχίαν Ῥωμαίων τῷ τάφῳ συνθάψαντος συνθάψαντας N 6. Leo VI, emperor, 886 – 911. . Ἐστελλόμην δὲ τοῦτο μὲν συστρατευόμενος Ἰμερίῳ Ἠμερίω N, M 4, 7. τῷ πάνυ, τῷ στρατηγικωτάτῳ δηλαδὴ adds M. καὶ ἄρχοντι τοῦ τε δρόμου καὶ τοῦ στόλου παντός [On this expedition of Himerius, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Caerim., II 44: ἡ γενομένη ἐξόπλισις καὶ ἔξοδος καὶ τὸ ποσὸν τῆς ῥόγας καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ ἀποσταλέντος κατὰ τῆς θεολέστον Κρήτης μετὰ τοῦ πατρικίου Ἠμερίου καὶ λογοθέτου τοῦ δρόμου ἐπὶ Λέοντος τοῦ φιλοχρίστου δεσπότου. Bonn ed., vol. I, p. 651; Leo Grammaticus, Chronographia, Bekker, p. 280. Above, p. 223.] , ἀληθέστερον δὲ εἰπεῖν, καὶ αὐτῶν ἢ τόγε ἀληθέστερον καὶ αὐτῶν εἰπεῖν M. τῶν παθῶν· καὶ ἵνα μὴ τὸ τῶν M 7. πολλῶν ἐγκωμίων ἄξιον τῆς στρατηγίας τὴν στρατηγίαν N 4. ἐκείνου . ἐκείνω Q. πάρεργον ποιησάμενος καὶ adds M. , μικρὰ τούτου μνησθείς, ἀτιμάσω τὸν ἄνδρα, τὰ κρείττω λόγου σιωπῶν αὐτοῦ κατορθώματα (τὰ κρ. - κατορθ.) omits M. , ἐπὶ τὴν παροῦσαν τέως ὑπόθεσιν εἶμι, μνησθησόμενος εὐκαίρως ἐκείνου ἐκείνου κατὰ καιρὸν μνησθησόμενος M . Ἐστελλόμην τοιγαροῦν, τοῦτο μὲν ἐκείνῳ συστρατευόμενος συστρατευσάμενος Q. καὶ προβιβαζόμενος προβιαζόμενος N 6. εἰς τὸ πρακτικὸν τῆς στρατηγίας (τὸ-στρατηγίας) πεῖραν στρατηγικὴν M , οἷα πῶλος μητρὶ πρὸς τὰ γενναιότατα τῶν στρατηγημάτων συσκαίρων συγκαίρων N 6. — οὕτω γὰρ ἦν ὁ τοῦ μακαρίτου μου βασιλέως σκοπός, — τοῦτο δὲ πρεσβευσόμενος πρεσβευόμενος N 1. πρὸς omits N 4. τοὺς τὴν Κρήτην ἔχοντας Ἄραβας Compare G. Schlumberger, Nicéphore Phocas, nouvelle edit., p. 25 – 32. .

Once when I was at Paros — for I had come there, since I was sailing to Crete, sent by the late and God-fearing emperor, truly fortunate, who buried the good fortune of the Romans with himself in the tomb. I was being sent, on the one hand, as fellow-campaigner with the excellent Himerius, most skilled in generalship and commander of the Course and of the whole fleet, or, to speak more truly, of the passions themselves as well; and lest, by making a side-issue of his generalship, which is worthy of many encomia, and mentioning it briefly, I should dishonour the man by keeping silent about his achievements, which are beyond speech, I shall go meanwhile to the present subject, intending to mention him at a fitting time. I was being sent, then, on the one hand to campaign with him and to be advanced into the practice of generalship, like a colt skipping beside its mother toward the noblest of stratagems — for such was the aim of my late emperor — and on the other to go as ambassador to the Arabs who held Crete.

Ἐπεὶ δὲ κατὰ τὴν Ἴον ἐγεγόνειν γεγόνειν M 9. τὴν νῆσον καὶ τοῦ πρόσω φορά τις εἶρξεν ἐναντίων ἀσυμφόρων M. ἀνέμων ἡμᾶς, puts in at Paros; προσεπλεύσαμεν τῇ Πάρῳ, τῆς τε νήσου τὴν Θέσιν ἐν παρέργῳ καθιστορήσοντες [τήν τε νῆσον κατὰ πάρεργον ἱστορήσοντες (ἱστορήσαντες M 6 and before correction M 7) M.] καὶ τὸν αὐτόθι τῆς δεσποίνης ἡμῶν ὀψόμενοι τῆς Θεοτόκου νεών [ἐντεῦθεν δὲ καὶ συνέβη τὸ πάρεργον μεῖζον ἡμῖν κομιδῆ (omits M 7) τοῦ ἔργου γενέσθαι adds M.] [On the church of the Mother of God in the city of Paros, now Παροικίᾳ, above, p. 221, note 3.] . Ὡς δὲ κατὰ τὸν λιμένα τὸν τὸ N 1. πρὸς τὴν Ναξίαν ἀφορῶντα

And when I had come to the island of Ios and a certain rush of contrary winds barred us from going forward, we sailed to Paros, intending to observe in passing the situation of the island and to see the church of our Lady the Mother of God there. And when, at the harbour that looks toward Naxos,

κατήχθημεν On these things let Zerlentes be read in Byzantinische Zeitschrift, p. 162. , ὁ δὲ ἔστι πως ἠρέμα καὶ omits N 6. κατὰ μικρὸν βαθυνόμενος καὶ ἀναχωρῶν ἐκ τοῦ ἀναχορῶν τε τοῦ M. κλύδωνος εὐφυῶς, ὥσπερ ὡς N 4. ἐπὶ τοῦτο κατεσκευασμένος, καὶ τῇ κοιλότητι τοῦ ὄρους κλειόμενος, ὡς ἂν καὶ χειμάζοιεν εὐμαρῶς καὶ θερίζοι θερίζοιεν M 1. τὰ πλοῖα, ἐκβεβήκαμεν καὶ μικρὸν προβάντες πρὸς τὸν ναὸν ἀνεδράμομεν.

we put in, which somehow deepens gently and little by little and withdraws aptly from the surge, as if constructed for this very purpose, and is enclosed by the hollow of the mountain, so that ships may winter and summer there with ease, we disembarked, and going forward a little we ran up to the church.

Θυμιάσαντες οὖν καὶ τὰς συνήθεις εὐχὰς ποιησάμενοι, περιήειμεν περίειμεν Q; περιήμεν M 2. τοῦτον ἀγάμενοι ἀγόμενοι M 2. . the church of the Mother of God Ὁ δὲ ἦν ἄρα τις καὶ M. ἀξιοθέατος καὶ ὀφθαλμῶν ἀτέχνων (omits M 5) τρυφὴ adds M. λείψανα σῴζων ἔτι τῆς παλαιᾶς ὡραιότητος· σύμμετρος τε adds N 1, 5. γὰρ ἐδεδόμητο ἐδέδμητο N 1. πάντοθεν καὶ κίοσι βίοσι N 6. συχνοῖς τοῖς τῆς N 1 – 6. ἐκ βασιλικοῦ ἠρήρειστο λίθου, πριστῷ τε λίθῳ πάντα τοῖχον ἠμφίεστο ἠμφίαστο M 2, 4, 5, 8, 9. παραπλησίως παραπλησίω N 4, 5. τοῖς κίοσιν. Εἰς τοσοῦτον δὲ τὸν λίθον λεπτύνας ἐξύφανεν ὁ τεχνίτης, ὡς δοκεῖν ἐξ ὑφασμάτων τὸν τοῖχον ἐνδεδύσθαι βυσσίνων· τὸ δὲ μαρμαῖρον τοῦ λίθου (τὸ - λίθου) ὁ δὲ λίθος M. τοσαύτην ἐνέφαινε ὑπέφαινεν M 1, 2, 4 – 9; ἐπέφαινεν M 3. τὴν ὑγρότητα καὶ μαρμαρυγήν, ὡς καὶ μαργάρων μαρμάρων M 6. στιλβηδόνα στιλβηδόνων N 1. νικᾶν ἐν τούτω νικᾶσθαι τὸ στίλβον M. · τοσοῦτον τὸ περιὸν ὑπῆρχε τοῦ λίθου (τοσοῦτον - λίθου) οὕτω τις ὑπερφυὴς καὶ ξενίζουσα ἡ τοῦ λίθου ἦν ἀρετὴ M. , μᾶλλον δὲ ἡ σπουδὴ τοῦ τεχνίτου ἡ τ. τ. σπουδὴ M. , ὃς καὶ τὸ κάλλος ἐφιλονείκησε τῇ φύσει προσνεῖμαι.

Having offered incense, then, and made the customary prayers, we went round it admiring it. It was, indeed, something worth seeing, and it still preserved remnants of its ancient beauty; for it had been built well proportioned on every side, and was supported on numerous columns of royal stone, and every wall was clad with sawn stone like the columns. And the craftsman had thinned the stone to such a degree and so woven it, that the wall seemed to be clothed in fabrics of fine linen; and the gleam of the stone showed such moistness and sparkle as to surpass even the glitter of pearls; so great was the excellence of the stone, or rather the zeal of the craftsman, who strove eagerly to add beauty to nature as well.

[4] and especially admires the ciborium. Ὡς δὲ καὶ τῆς σεβαστῆς καὶ θείας τραπέζης τὸ ὑπερκείμενον ὀρόφιον ὃ κιβώριον καλεῖν σύνηθες adds M. εἴσω τῆς πύλης ἑωράκαμεν καὶ adds N 2, 6. κατεπλάγημεν αὐτὸ adds M. τῆς τερπνότητος· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐῴκει λίθου φύσιν ἔχειν τὸ τόρευμα οὐδὲ σιδήρῳ καὶ τέχνῃ λελαξεῦσθαι καὶ χείρεσιν καὶ χερσὶ λελαξ. M. , ἀλλ᾽ οἷά τινι γάλακτι ὀπῷ φυραθέντι καὶ πρὸς τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ στέγους τέγους N 4, M (except M 2 and M 8 corrected). μεμηχανημένου μεμηχανευμένου N 2 – 5, M 1, 3, 5, 8. τοῦ χεύματος σχήματος N 4; τῶ χεύματι M. · τοιούτῳ ποτὲ ἐγὼ λίθῳ τεθέαμαι διφρηλατοῦσαν ἐπὶ ταύροις Σελήνην. Τὸ μὲν οὖν ἔκειτο τεθραυσμένον, ἡμεῖς δὲ συνεθέομεν πρὸς τὴν ὄψιν adds M. καὶ παριστάμεθα καταρώμενοι ἐπαρώμενοι M. καὶ παντοίως πάση γλώττη (γλώσση) M. τὸν συντρίψαντα λοιδορούμενοι διαλοιδορούμενοι M. · καὶ γὰρ ἦν τι χρῆμα καὶ ἄξιον οἴκῳ οἴκου M. Θεοῦ κειμήλιον καὶ ἀνάθημα.

And when we had seen inside the gate also the roof that lies over the venerable and divine table, we were struck with amazement at its delightfulness; for the carving did not seem to have the nature of stone, nor to have been chiselled with iron and art and hands, but to be as it were of milk curdled with rennet, the casting having been contrived to the shape of the roof; in such stone I once beheld Selene driving her chariot drawn by bulls. It lay, then, shattered, and we ran together and stood by, cursing and in every way reviling him who had shattered it; for it was a thing of price, a treasure and a votive offering worthy of the house of God.

[5] A hermit coming forth from the grove, Παρισταμένων παριστάμενοι N 5, M. τοίνυν ἡμῶν ὡς εἰκὸς N 5; οὕτω M. καὶ θαυμαζόντων θαυμάζοντες N 5, M. καὶ καταβοώντων τοῦ κατεάξαντος [καταβοῶντες τοῦ κατα///ξαντος N 5; ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶ πάθει τοῦ λίθου καὶ αὐτοὶ τὰς ψυχὰς πάσχοντες M.] , ὁρῶμεν ἐξαπίνης μοναχὸν ὑπερκύψαντα τῆς ἐρήμου καὶ τοῦ ἄλσους προβαίνοντα καὶ ὡς ἡμᾶς ἀφικόμενον, ὠχρὸν τὸ πρόσωπον, σεσηρυίας σεσηρύας N 1; διατετηκότα M. τὰς παρείας ἀκοὰς N 4, 5. , γυμνὸν τὼ πόδε, αὐχμηρὸν ὅλον· χιτῶνα τρίχινον ἐνδεδυμένον adds M. , ἐπωμίδα τε adds M. καὶ τὸ τῆς adds M. κεφαλῆς κάλυμμα τῷ χιτῶνι παρόμοια, τὴν ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφῦν (τὴν ζ. - ὀσφῦν) omits M. , ὡς θῆρα δασύν, ὡς ἄγγελον εὐμενῆ. Οὐδὲ οὐ N 1, M. γὰρ ἐῴκει ἐδόκει Q, M 5, 8. ἀνδρί γε om. M. σιτοφάγῳ ἀλλ᾽ ἀσάρκῳ μικροῦ καὶ ἀναίμονι, καὶ συνελόντι συνελόντα N 4, M. φάναι, ἀρετῶν ἢ καὶ αὐτοῦ Θεοῦ καταγώγιον [(ἀρετῶν - καταγ.) θαῦμα ἦν καὶ (η. κ. omits M 6) ἰδεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς ὄψεως καὶ καταμαθεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς M.] .

As we stood by, then, marvelling and crying out against him who had broken it, we suddenly see a monk who had peered out from the desert, coming forward from the grove and making his way to us, pale of face, with drawn cheeks, bare of both feet, squalid all over; a tunic of hair, a shoulder-cloak and the covering of his head like the tunic, the girdle of leather about his loins, like a shaggy beast, like a kindly angel. For he did not seem like a man who eats bread, but well-nigh fleshless and bloodless, and, to put it briefly, a lodging of the virtues or even of God himself.

[6] named Symeon, Προσελθὼν οὖν ἠσπάζετο ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἡμεῖς αὖθις ἐκεῖνον· καὶ ὅστις εἴη λέγειν καὶ πατρίδα καὶ γένος καὶ εἰ μόνος ἐνταῦθα ζῴη διάγοι M; ζώοι N, Q. προὐτρέπομεν προετρεπόμεθα M. . Ὁ δέ· “Πατρίδα μὲν καὶ γένος (εἶπε om. M. ) καὶ τἆλλα τὰ ἄλλα N 3 – 6, Q. , οἷς οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὰς πόλεις ἄνθρωποι σεμνύνονται, λέγειν οὐκ ἔχω (φησίν)· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐμοὶ τῶν ἐν γῇ μέλει μέλλει M 2, 5, 6. τινὸς οὐδὲ τοῖς ῥέουσιν τούτοις adds M. ἥδομαι πῶς γὰρ ὧν ἡδέως μᾶλλον ἐξίσταμαι adds M. , πατὴρ δέ μοι καὶ δεσπότης ὁ Θεός, ᾧ μόνῳ omits N 3, Q, M 3. ζῶ καὶ πολιτεύομαι (κ. π.) omits M 1, 2, 4 – 6, 7, 9. , δι᾽ ὃν καὶ μόνος ἀλώμενος κατὰ omits M 6. τὴν ἔρημον ταύτην χρόνους τῶν omits N 3 – 6, Q; ἤδη M. τριάκοντα πλέον ἐγκαρτερῶ πλείους (πλείονας M 6; πλέον M 3) ἢ τριάκοντα καρτερῶ M. · ὄνομα δέ μοι Συμεών, τὸ δὲ ἀξίωμα ὁ ταπεινὸς (ὁ ταπ.) καὶ M. μοναχός, ἱερεὺς καὶ λειτουργὸς καὶ μυσταγωγὸς (κ. λ. κ. μ.) omits M. τῆς ζωοθύτου καὶ ἀναιμάκτου φημι adds M 1 – 5, 7 – 9. θυσίας.” Ἡμεῖς δὲ τὴν ἀρετὴν αἰδεσθέντες τοῦ ἀνδρὸς (αἰδ. τ. ἀνδρὸς) ἐκείνου δυσωπηθέντες M. ἀπό τε τῶν λόγων ἀπό τε τῆς θέας καὶ τοῦ ἐνδύματος, ἔτι δὲ om. M. καὶ omits N 3, 4, 5, M 5. τῆς ἐπιφαινομένης adds M. ἀσκήσεως καὶ μάλισθ᾽ μᾶλλον M. ὅτι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἱερεὺς ἐχρημάτιζε, τοῖς ποσὶ προσπεσόντες ᾐτοῦμεν εὐχὴν καὶ συγγνώμην τῆς διαγνώσεως (τ. δ.) omits M; διαγν//// N 5. . Ὁ δὲ καὶ ηὔξατο καὶ παρακλήσεως προὔτεινε προέτεινε M. λόγους καὶ προσέχειν ἐκέλευσεν ἐκέλευεν N 5, 6. ἑαυτοῖς καὶ μὴ ἀθυμεῖν. “Συμπαθής τε γάρ ἐστι (φησίν (ἐ. φ.) omits M. ) ὁ Θεὸς καὶ μακρόθυμος καὶ τοὺς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπιστρέφοντας ἀγκάλαις ὡς οἷα M. τὸν ἄσωτον δέχεται. Luke 15. ”

Coming up, then, he greeted us, and we him in turn; and we urged him to tell who he was, and his homeland and family, and whether he lived here alone. And he: "Homeland and family (he said) and the other things in which men who dwell in cities take pride, I cannot tell (he says); for I care for none of the things on earth, nor do I take pleasure in the things that flow away; but my father and master is God, for whom alone I live and order my life, for whose sake also, wandering alone in this desert, I have persevered for more than thirty years; my name is Symeon, and my rank the humble monk, priest and minister and mystagogue of the life-offering and bloodless sacrifice." And we, revering the virtue of the man from his words and from his look and his clothing, and further from his asceticism, and above all because he bore the title of priest of God, fell at his feet and asked for a prayer and for pardon for our questioning. And he both prayed and held out words of exhortation, and bade us attend to ourselves and not lose heart. "For God (he says) is compassionate and long-suffering, and receives with open arms those who turn to him, as he did the prodigal."

[7] to Nicetas, who inquires, Ταῦτα τε adds N 4. καὶ ἄλλ᾽ ἄττα τούτοις τε (δὲ M 1, 7) καὶ ἄλλοις τισι M; ἄλλα τε Q. παρακαλέσας ἡσύχασεν ἡμᾶς ἐσιώπα M. . Ἐγὼ δὲ περιεργότερος ὢν καὶ συνιέναι δεινὸς ἦθος ἀνδρός, παρεκάλουν ἠξίουν M. τὸν μέγαν καὶ διδάξαι τι τῶν ἡμῖν om. M. ἀπορρήτων ἐξελιπάρουν om. M. · οὐ οὐδὲ N 2 – 4, 6, Q. γὰρ ἀμοιρεῖν ὁμιλίας ἐῴκει ἐδόκει N 2 – 6, Q. μοι θεἳκῆς. Ὁ δέ· “Τούτων μὲν (ἔλεγεν) ἅλις· οὔπω οὐδὲ M 1 – 5, 8, 9; οὐδέπω M 6, 7. γὰρ ἐγὼ adds M. τοιούτων ἠξίωμαι. Τἀμαυτοῦ τὰ ἐμαυτοῦ M. γὰρ ἐξῆλθον ἐνταῦθα πενθεῖν, οὐ οὐχὶ M. τὰ ὑπὲρ ἐμὲ ζητεῖν.” Ταῦτα δὲ omits M 6; δ᾽ N 1, M 3. ἔλεγεν, εἴτε πλαττόμενος εἴτε εἴτ᾽ N 1; (εἴτε - εἴτε) οὐκ M. ἀληθεύων, λέγειν οὐκ ἔχω (λ. ο. ἔχω) ἀλλὰ μετριάζων μᾶλλον καὶ ταπεινούμενος ὡς τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα δείξει M. . Λαβόμενος οὖν μου μοι M 8. τῆς δεξιᾶς καὶ καταψήσας καταψήξας N 1. ὥσπερ συνήθης ἤδη· καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸν οὕτως οὕτω γὰρ αὐτὸν M. διέθηκε omits M 9. τὸ ἁπλοῦν. Αἱ γὰρ ψυχαὶ τῶν μεγάλων θείων M. ἀνδρῶν, ἐπειδὰν ἐν μετοχῇ τοῦ κρείττονος ὦσι γένωνται M. , πρὸς αὐτὸ αὐτὸν N 2 – 6. φιλονεικοῦσι καὶ adds M. μεταγίνεσθαι, καὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ αὐτῆ M 1 – 6, 8, 9. τοῦ πρώτου ἀγαθοῦ μετουσίᾳ ἀγαθοὶ πάντῃ γίνονται καθίστανται M. , ἀκέραιοι, ἁπλοῖ, πάντων ἐξῃρημένοι τῶν (ἐξ. τῶν) omits N 6. ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν, ὥσπερ (τῶν - ὥσπερ) τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ὥσπερ δὴ M. καὶ omits N 1. οὗτος ὁ μέγας (ὁ μ.) omits M. , χαρίεις τε ὢν καὶ ἀγαθός, ἐδόκει λοιπὸν τῷ ἀπλάστῳ εἷς ὢν ἐξ ἡμῶν. Εἶτα ἐπ᾽ αὐτοσχεδίου καθίζειν καθέζειν N 4. ἐκέλευεν (κ. ἐ.) που καθίζεσθαι (καθέζεσθαι M 5, 7) διεκελεύετο (διεκελεύσατο M 1) M. · ἦσαν δέ που καὶ λίθοι καὶ κίονες τοῦ συμπτώματος καὶ πόα συχνὴ καὶ χλοάζουσα καὶ om. M. 4,9. πηγὴ νάματος, ἡδὺ ποτὸν ἀποβλύζουσα ἀναβλύζουσα N 4, 5; (καὶ πηγὴ - ἀποβ.) omits M 5, 7. καὶ ὁ χῶρος (κ. ὁ. χ.) omits M 5. ὅλος ἅπας N 2 – 6, Q. ἡσυχίας ἀνάπλεως καὶ διηγημάτων θείων ἐπάξιος (καὶ δ. θ. ἐ.) ἦν M. .

Having exhorted us with these and some other things, he fell silent. But I, being rather curious and clever at understanding the character of a man, besought the great man and entreated him to teach us something of the things not spoken of; for he did not seem to me to lack divine converse. And he said: "Enough of these things; for I have not yet been deemed worthy of such things. For I came out here to mourn my own sins, not to seek the things above me." Whether he said this dissembling or speaking the truth, I cannot say. Taking my right hand, then, he stroked it as one already familiar; for his simplicity disposed him so. For the souls of great men, when they are in participation of the better, strive to be changed into it, and by their participation in the first good itself become good in every way, pure, simple, set apart from all the things that concern us, just as this great man too, being gracious and good, seemed thenceforth by his unaffectedness to be one of us. Then he bade us sit down on the spot; and there were there stones and columns from the collapse, and abundant green grass, and a spring of water gushing out a sweet drink, and the whole place was full of quiet and worthy of divine narratives.

[8] He relates the sacrileges of the Arabs. Καθίσας καὶ καθίσας M 6. οὖν ἐπὶ τῆς πόας καὶ αὐτόν με παρακαθισάμενος, ἐῴκει γεγηθέναι, ὅτι περ ἡμῖν περιέτυχεν. Ἀτενίσας ἀπιδὼν M. δὲ εἰς πρὸς M. αὐτόν· “Ὥρα σοι (ἔφην), ὦ πάτερ, εἴ τι καλὸν καὶ ἱστορίᾳ πρέπον δεῦρο (καὶ ἱ. π. δ.) ἐνταῦθα M. τεθέασαι, διηγήσασθαι καλὸν διηγήσασθαι τῶν ὧν ἐνταῦθα τεθέασαι M 5. · πλὴν ἀλλ᾽ ἄρχε λόγων καὶ ἀλλὰ λόγου ἀρξάμενος M. τέως κατάλεξον, τίς ὁ συντρίψας ὁ διαθεὶς οὕτω M. τῆς θείας τραπέζης τουτὶ adds M. τὸ κάλυμμα καὶ ποία om. M. τις ἡ θηριώδης ἀφιλόκαλος M. ἐκείνη καὶ θηριώδης adds M 1, 2, 5 – 9. ψυχή τε καὶ χεὶρ ἡ adds M. , τοσοῦτον ἔργον ἡ omits N 2 – 6, Q. συνθλάσαι τολμήσασα (ἡ σ. τ.) ἀμερίμνως συντρίψασα M. .” Καὶ γὰρ κατὰ βραχὺ διενοούμην αὐτὸν ἐπαγαγέσθαι πρὸς τελεώτερα. Ὁ δ᾽ ἔλεγεν τοῖα ὁ δὲ ἤρξατο λέγειν N 2 – 6, Q; ὁ δὲ M. · “Τὸν Νίσιριν ἐκεῖνον ἀκούεις ἔφη adds N. τὸν τοῦ ναυτικοῦ τῆς Κρήτης κατάρξαντα; Οὗτος ἐκεῖνος αὖθι ἐνταῦθα N 4; ὧδε M 2 – 9. γενόμενος καὶ θαυμάσας αὐτοῦ τὸ τερπνόν (καὶ - τερπνόν) ἐν θαύματί τε τὸ ἔργον τοῦ κάλλους θέμενος M. , μεμελέτηκε πρὸς

Having sat down, then, on the grass, and having seated me beside him, he seemed to rejoice that he had met with us. And gazing at him, I said: "It is time for you, father, if you have seen here anything fine and fitting for history, to relate it; but begin your words, and meanwhile tell who it was that shattered the covering of the divine table, and what kind of beastly soul that was, which dared to crush so great a work." For I intended to lead him on little by little to more perfect things. And he spoke thus: "You hear of that Nisiri, who commanded the fleet of Crete? He, having come here and marvelled at its delightfulness, set his mind on

τὴν (π. τ.) εἰς M. Κρήτην omits N 6. διαπορθμεῦσαι μετακομίσαι M. . Ὡς δὲ τὰς πύλας ἐμέτρησεν διεμέτρησε πρότερον M. εἶτα τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦτο καὶ θεῖον ὀρόφιον ἔδοξέ τε καλῶς ἔχειν καὶ adds M. , καθῆκεν εἰς γῆν τὴν γῆν M 2; (εἰς γῆν) omits M 1. καὶ πρὸς τὰς πύλας εἷλκεν ἐξάγων ἐξάξων N 1; (καὶ - ἐξ.) ἕλκειν ἐπεχείρει τῶν πυλῶν ἔξω M. · τὸ δ᾽ δὲ N 3, M. εὐθὺς omits N 4. ἐγίνετο μεῖζον writes twice N 6. · καὶ αὐτὸς τὸν τοῖχον διώρυττεν, εἶτα μετρήσας ἐξάγειν ἐσπούδαζεν· τὸ δ᾽ αὖθις ἐγίνετο μεῖζον [τὸ δὲ καὶ (omits N 4) εὐθὺς (αὖθις N 5) μεῖζον ἐγίνετο N 2 – 6, Q; τὸ δὲ καὶ αὖθις μεῖζον ἐγίνετο M.] , καὶ ἤδη μειζότερον καὶ μᾶλλον μεῖζον N 2 – 6, M. , καὶ τοῦτο πολλάκις, ἕως ὁ Ἄραψ ἐνέδωκεν τοῦ βιάζεσθαι ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τοῦ φθονεῖν adds M. . Ὡς δ᾽ ἀπετύγχανε καμὼν τοῦ σκοποῦ (οὐ γὰρ ἠξίου τὸ θεῖον, ὡς ἔοικε, κοινωθῆναι καὶ μιαραῖς δουλεύειν θυσίαις· καὶ γὰρ ἔσπευδεν [(δ᾽-ἐσπ.) γὰρ κάμνων διημάρτανε τοῦ σκοποῦ, καὶ γὰρ ὡς ἔοικεν οὐκ ἠξίου τὸ θεῖον μιαρὸν γενέσθαι τὸ ἱερὸν ἔσπευδε γὰρ M.] , ὡς λέγεται τῇ συναγωγῇ τῆ μυσαγωγῆ N 3, but a later corrector μυσαρᾶ συναγωγῆ. , τοῦτο τῶν τῆς Ἄγαρ ἀνάθημα ἀναθημάτων N 2 – 6, Q. καταθέσθαι), ἐκμανεὶς διενοήθη συνθλᾶν [(ἐκμ. δ. σ.) συνθλάττει τὸ καλὸν ἐκεῖνο ἔργον (omits M 9) ὁ βδελυρὸς βασκήνας τοῦ κόσμου τῶ τῆς θεοτόκου νεῶ M.] .”

carrying it across to Crete. And when he had measured the gates, and then this sacred and divine canopy, and it seemed to him to answer well, he let it down to the ground and dragged it toward the gates, bringing it out; but at once it became bigger; and he dug through the wall, then, having measured, he was eager to bring it out; but again it became bigger, and now bigger still, and this many times, until the Arab gave up. And when, after toiling, he failed of his aim (for the divine power, as it seems, did not deem it fitting to be profaned and to serve abominable sacrifices; for he was hastening, as it is said, to set this up as a votive offering of the children of Hagar in their synagogue), in a frenzy he resolved to smash it."

[9] Vengeance upon them. Ταῦτ᾽ ταῦτα M. οὖν ἀκούσας, ἐλοιδορούμην αὐθις adds M. τὸν μιαιφόνον ἐκεῖνον καὶ τρισκατάρατον (ἐκ. κ. τ.) omits M. . Ὁ δέ φησιν· “Ἀμέλησον, ἔδωκε γοῦν γὰρ M. τῆς παροινίας οὐ μετὰ πολὺ δίκην, πρὸς τῷ τῆς Εὐβοίης Εὐβοίας N 4 – 6, and Q in an erasure;; κατ᾽ Εὔβοιαν θαλάσσης M. συντριβεὶς ἄκρῳ ἄκρων N 4. , ὃ omits N 1, 6, Q. Ξυλοφάγος καλεῖται ὠνόμασται M. , καὶ γέγονεν ὑποβρύχιος [Ξυλοφάγος now ὁ Καφηρεύς. On the shipwreck of the Saracens the other writers are silent. Zerlentes, volume cited, p. 163.] .” Ἐδυσώπησα ἠξίουν M. τοιγαροῦν, τὸν θεῖον ἑκεῖνον μετασχεῖν τροφῆς καὶ τὴν τὸ M. ἡμῶν ὀλιγωρίαν ψυχαγωγῆσαι (ὀλ. ψ.) παρακαλέσαι μικρόψυχον M; (τὸ ἡμ. παρ.) omits M 7. τοῦ πλοῦ καὶ τῆς πρόσω omits M 7. φορᾶς ἕνεκα· καὶ γὰρ χρονοτριβεῖν τρίβειν M. ἐδοκοῦμεν τὸν χρόνον adds M. , ἀντιπνεόντων ἡμῖν ἀποτροπαίων τῶν ἀνέμων. Ὁ δὲ καὶ μετέλαβε καὶ μηδὲν ἀποκρύπτων ἀνεῖπεν, He foretells to Nicetas all things favourable. ὡς· “Διαπλεύσεις μὲν εἰς Ναξίαν κἀκεῖσε μίαν ναυλοχησάμενος ἡμέραν καὶ τὴν δευτέραν πλεύσας, τριταῖος εἰς τὴν Κρήτην πορεύσῃς ἀφίξη M. , μηδεμίαν ὑφορώμενος ὑποστὰς M. κάκωσιν· διαθήσῃ διαθήσεις M, and corrected N 5. τε τὰ τῆς κατὰ σαυτὸν ὑποθέσεως omits M. , ὡς ἂν ἐθελήσῃς καὶ καθὼς ἔχει τὰ τῆς βασιλικῆς διατάξεως· αὐθίς τε παλινοστήσας εὖ adds M. ἀποδεχθήσῃ καλῶς παρὰ τοῦ πέμψαντος.” Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὕστερον, ὡς ἐκεῖνος ἔφη, γέγονεν τε adds M. , καὶ πέρας ἀπείληφεν

Having heard these things, then, I reviled that bloodthirsty and thrice-accursed man. But he says: "Never mind; he paid the penalty for his drunken outrage not long after, being shattered at the headland of Euboea which is called Xylophagus, and he went under the sea." I besought, therefore, that divine man to share our food and to cheer our despondency over the voyage and the onward passage; for we seemed to be wasting time, the averting winds blowing against us. And he both partook and, hiding nothing, declared: "You will sail across to Naxos, and having lain in harbour there one day and sailed on the second, on the third you will make your way to Crete, suspecting no harm; and you will settle the matters of the commission that concerns you as you wish and as the terms of the imperial ordinance stand; and returning again you will be well received by him who sent you." These things, then, afterwards happened as he said, and came to fulfilment.

[εἴληφεν αὐτός τε φανερὸς (φανερῶν M 5) ἐντεῦθεν (omits M 8) ὑπῆρξεν (ὑπῆρχεν M 5) ὅτι τὴν ἄγνοιαν ἣν πρότερον ἔλεγεν ἔχειν οὐκ ἀληθεύοντος ἦν ἀλλὰ διὰ πολλὴν μετριότητα προσποιουμένου τὸν ἀγνοοῦντα M, which have also been added in the margin of N 5.] .

[10] He celebrates the sacred mysteries. Εὐξάμενοι οὖν γοῦν M 3 – 9. καὶ ὑμνήσαντες ἐν τῷ ναῷ κατέβημεν εἰς τὰς ναῦς ἅμα τῷ μεγάλῳ γέροντι (ἅμα - γέροντι) omits N 1, M. · ἕωθεν δὲ διεπορθμεύθημεν διεπορεύθημεν M 6. εἰς Ναξίαν, δέκα σχεδὸν σταδίους ἔχοντος τοῦ πορθμοῦ Read what Zerlentes has on these things, volume cited, p. 163. · καὶ αὐτὸς τῷ Θεῷ λειτουργήσας καὶ τῶν θείων ἡμῖν μεταδοὺς μυστηρίων, μετέλαβεν μετάλαβε M 9. τροφῆς σὺν ἡμῖν, εἶτα λέγειν ἤρξατο πρός με· “Σὺ μὲν ἴσως προφασίσῃ περὶ ὧν παρακαλεῖν ἀξιοῦν M. ἐθέλω σου τὴν ἀγάπην, ἀπορίαν λόγων λέγων N 2 – 6. ἢ δουλειῶν δοκεῖ M 6. ἀφορμὰς ἢ γυναικὸς καὶ τέκνων καὶ τέκνων καὶ γυν. Q. καὶ οἴκου φροντίδας ἤ τινας ἄλλας αἰτίας, Exhortation. διακρουόμενος ἡμῶν ἡμῖν M 7. τὴν παράκλησιν ἀξίωσιν M. · ἐγὼ δέ σοι καὶ εὐημερίαν καὶ εὐετηρίαν καὶ (εὐετ. καὶ) omits M. εὐπορίαν πάντων πᾶσαν N 4. ἐπαγγέλλομαι καὶ πολλὴν ἐκεχειρίαν ἐγκεχειρίαν N 4. εὑρεῖν. Καὶ δυσωπῶ δέομαι M. τηνικαῦτα τῶν ἐμῶν λόγων ἐν μνήμῃ γενόμενον ἐν μνήμη γενομένων λόγων N 2 – 6, Q. τὸ τῇδε γεγονὸς συγγράψαι, μνήμης ὄν adds M. καὶ διηγήματος ἄξιον, ἵν᾽ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν καὶ adds N 4. παρὰ τῶν ἀκουόντων θαυμάζηται καὶ δοξάζηται (καὶ δ.) omits M 5. . Psalm. 67, 35. Θαυμαστὸς γάρ, φησίν, ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ. Οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ζηλωταὶ πολλοὶ τῶν δι᾽ ἀρετὴν ἀρετῆς Q, M. δοξασθέντων γενόμενοι ὑψωθέντων γενόμενοι M. τῶν ἴσων τυγχάνωσιν τυγχάνουσι Q. καὶ αὐτὸς κερδανεῖς τὸν ἐκ τούτων τούτου M. μισθόν.”

Having prayed, then, and sung hymns in the church, we went down to the ships together with the great old man; and at dawn we crossed over to Naxos, the strait being of nearly ten stades; and he, having celebrated the liturgy to God and having given us a share of the divine mysteries, partook of food with us, then began to say to me: "You perhaps will plead excuses regarding the things about which I wish to beseech your charity — lack of words, or the occasions of your duties, or the cares of wife and children and household, or some other causes — pushing aside our entreaty; but I promise you prosperity and good years and plenty of all things, and that you will find much leisure. And I beseech you then, when you have called my words to memory, to write down what happened here, as worthy of memory and of narration, that our God may be marvelled at and glorified by those who hear. For God, it says, is wonderful in his saints. Not only so, but many, becoming emulators of those who have been glorified for virtue, may attain the same things, and you yourself will gain the reward that comes from them."

[11] Symeon relates what he had heard Ταῦτα παραινέσας ὧδε λέγειν adds M. ἀπήρξατο [πρᾶγμα ἐμοὶ παραδοὺς φιλοθέοις ἀκοαῖς τὰ μάλιστα χαριζόμενος (χαριζόμενον M 6) M.] · “Κυνηγοί τινες ἐξ Εὐβοίης Εὐβοίας N 3, 5, M 5, 8, 7 (in an erasure). δεῦρο πρὸ χρόνων ἦλθον ὀλίγων· ἔχει γὰρ ἡ νῆσος ἐλάφων τε adds M. καὶ ἀγρίων αἰγῶν θήραν ὅτι adds M. πολλήν πολὺν M 9. . Τούτων εἷς θεοσεβὴς καὶ προσέχων ἑαυτῷ αὐτῶ M 6. μάλιστα, διήγημα διηγήσατο μάλιστα διηγή////σατο M 8. , τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ μεγαλοπρεπείας οὐχ ἥκιστα σύνηθες ἄξιον M; σύνηθες and above the line ἄξιον N 4. , ὃς κατὰ καιροὺς θαυμαστὰ ποιεῖ οἶδε θ. ποιεῖν M. καὶ παράδοξα

Having exhorted us thus, he began: "Some hunters from Euboea came here a few years ago; for the island has much hunting of deer and wild goats. One of these, a God-fearing man and one especially attentive to himself, related a narrative not at all unaccustomed to the magnificence of God, who at times works wonderful and unexpected things.

Ἦλθον γὰρ adds M 6. , φησίν, αὖθι αὖθις N 4; αὐτόθι M. θηρεύσων ποτέ· καὶ πρὸς τὸν θεῖον τῆς Θεοτόκου σηκὸν νεὼν M 1 – 9. ἀνελθὼν προσεκύνησά τε καὶ προσηυξάμην, ὡς ὥσπερ M. ἔθος omits M 5. ἀεί μοι προσῆν. Περιβλεψάμενος δὲ μετὰ τὴν εὐχήν, εἶδον εἰς τοὔδαφος ὕδωρ ἐν βόθρῳ βραχὺ βραχεῖ M, Q. καὶ μικρὰ μικρά τε ἐν τούτω M. βρεχόμενα θέρμια θέρμια, in the margin χολώκουκα Q. Θέρμιον, θέρμος, lupine, a kind of legume. · καὶ γὰρ ὁ τόπος τρέφει ταῦτα, καθὼς αἱ λοιπαὶ νῆσοι βοτάνας ἀλλοίας ἑτέρας M. · ἡ μὲν γὰρ μαράθου μαράθρου M 1, 5 (2 ?); μαλάθρου M 4. Μάραθον, fennel. πολυχύτους ὅρπηκας εἰς πλῆθος βλαστάνει ἀναβλαστάνει N 2 – 6. , πήγανον Πήγανον, rue, a herb. δὲ μονομερῶς μόνως M (μόνω M 5). ἄλλη καὶ θύμβρον θύμον M; Q in the margin; θύμβρον λάχανον ὅπερ ἐστι δρυμὶ καὶ πικρόν. Θύμβρα, θυμβραία, savory, a fragrant herb. ἑτέρα ἢ θύμον (ἢ θ.) omits M. ἢ τῶν ἄλλων τινός τινα Q; τι βοτανῶν M (omits M 5). · ὃ δὲ φέρει (ὁ δ. φ.) omits M 5. πάντων ἐξαίρετον ἡ νῆσος, τοῦτο τῶν ἄλλων καὶ adds M. μᾶλλον τρέφει καὶ ποιεῖ εὐθαλέστατον εὐθαλέστερον N 2 – 6, Q. · ἑωράκειν οὖν, ὡς ἔφην, τὰ θέρμια οὕτως adds M. ἁπαλυνόμενα [N 1, M 1, 2, 5, 7 – 9; ἀποπλυνόμενα M 3, 4, 6, corrected N 2, 5; πλατυνόμενα N 3, 4, Q.] , καί με λογισμός τις ὑπῄει, ὡς πάντως εἴη τις ὁ ταῦτα καθεὶς κεκαθεικὼς N 2 – 6, Q. εἰς τὸν λάκκον καὶ θεῖος εἰκός ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὁ omits M 6. ταύτην τὴν ἔρημον κατοικῶν.

I came here once, he says, to hunt; and going up to the divine precinct of the Mother of God I did reverence and prayed, as was always my custom. And looking around after the prayer, I saw on the floor a little water in a pit, and small lupines soaking in it; for the place produces these, just as the other islands produce different plants; for one sprouts in abundance far-spreading shoots of fennel, another rue alone, and another savory, or thyme, or some other of the rest; but what the island bears as choicest of all, this it nourishes more than the others and makes most flourishing; I had seen, then, as I said, the lupines softening, and a certain thought came over me, that there must surely be someone who had put these down into the pit, and that it is likely that the man who inhabits this desert is a man of God.

[12] about the holy woman's Ταῦτ᾽ οὖν λογιζόμενος λογισάμενος Q. , ἔσπευδον τὴν ἑταιρείαν τὴν ἑταιρίαν ἔσπευδον M; ἑταιρίαν N 5, 6. φθάσαι πρὸς τὴν ὕλην ἤδη χωρήσασαν, τυχεῖν δὲ δ᾽ N 1, M 3, 4, 6, 8. ηὐχόμην τοῦ μεγάλου τούτου θηράματος· ἤλπιζον γὰρ κερδάναι τι μέγιστον παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ. Θηρεύσαντες θηράσαντες N 2 – 5, Q. οὖν θήραν πολλὴν ἐχωροῦμεν ἐπὶ τὴν ναῦν· ἀλλ᾽ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν ἐβάδιζον πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν, ἐγὼ δὲ ἐτρεπόμην πρὸς τὴν εὐχήν. Εἰσελθὼν οὖν εἰς τὸ τῆς δεσποίνης ἡμῶν τοῦτο τέμενος, προσηυχόμην ///ηὐχόμην M 8. . Ὁρῶ δὲ κατὰ τὸ δεξιὸν τῆς ἁγίας τοῦ ναοῦ τραπέζης οἷά τινα κρόκην ὑπ᾽ ὑπὸ M 1, 2, 6, 9. ἀνέμου ῥιπιζομένην, αὖθίς τε τ᾽ N 1. ἔδοξα βλέπειν ἀράχνης omits M 6. ἱστόν. Ὡς δὲ προβὰς διαγνῶναι τὸ φαινόμενον ἠβουλήθην ἐβουλήθην N 2 – 4, Q. , ἤκουσα φωνῆς λεγούσης λεγ. φωνῆς N 2 – 6, Q. · “Στῆθι, μὴ προβῇς (στ. μ. π.) omits M 8. , ἄνθρωπε, πλέον μηδὲ πλησιάσῃς· αἰσχύνομαι γάρ, οὖσα γυνή, γυμνὴ θεαθῆναί σοι.”

Reckoning these things, then, I hastened to overtake the company, which had already gone off toward the woods, and I prayed to obtain this great quarry; for I hoped to gain something very great from him. Having taken much game, then, we were going to the ship; but they were walking toward the sea, while I turned to prayer. Entering, then, this precinct of our Lady, I prayed. And I see at the right of the holy table of the church something like a woof being fanned by the wind, and again I thought I saw a spider's web. And when I wished to go forward and make out what appeared, I heard a voice saying: "Stand, do not come further, man, nor draw near; for I am ashamed, being a woman, to be seen naked by you."

[13] on the island Ταῦτ᾽ οὖν ἀκούσας καὶ τῷ παραλόγῳ παραδόξω N 1 – 6, Q. καταπλαγεὶς ἡβουλόμην ἐβουλόμην N 2 – 5, Q. φυγεῖν· ἀνεπήδησαν ἀνωρθοῦντο M (ἀνωθοῦντο M 9). γάρ μου μοι M 6. τῆς σαρκὸς αἱ τρίχες, καὶ γέγοναν γεγόνασιν N 2 – 6, Q. ἀκάνθης καὶ ἀκ. (ἀκάνθων M 1, 2) ἦσαν M. ὀξύτεραι. Τὸ γὰρ ἀπροσδόκητον ἐξαπίνης φανὲν ὀφθὲν M. δουλοῖ δηλοῖ N 1. τὰ φρονήματα [Thucydides, II, 61: δουλοῖ γὰρ φρόνημα τὸ αἰφνίδιον καὶ ἀπροσδόκητον καὶ τὸ πλείστῳ παραλόγῳ ξυμβαῖνον.] , κἂν θρασύς τις omits M 1, 2, 5 – 9. εἶναι δόξῃ· καταπλαγεὶς ἕστηκε ἕστηκα Q. κεχηνώς. Εἰς ἑαυτὸν οὖν γενόμενος καὶ θαρρήσας θαρσήσας Q. ἠρώτων, ὅστις τίς τε M. εἴη καὶ πῶς ταύτην κατοικεῖ τὴν ἔρημον τὴν ἔρ. κατ. M. . Καὶ πάλιν ἐξικνεῖτο φωνή· “Ῥίψον μοι χιτῶνα τι χιτώνιον M. , δέομαι, λέγουσα καὶ καλυψαμένη, ὅσον μοι τὸ θεῖον βούλημα κελεύει, λέγειν οὐκ ἀποκνήσω.” Περιελόμενος οὖν εὐθὺς τὸν

Having heard this, then, and astounded at the unaccountable thing, I wished to flee; for the hairs of my flesh sprang up and became sharper than thorns. For the unexpected, appearing suddenly, enslaves the mind, even if one seems to be bold; astounded, one stands gaping. Coming to myself, then, and taking courage, I asked who she was and how she inhabited this desert. And again the voice reached me: "Throw me a tunic, I beg you," it said, "and when I have covered myself, I will not shrink from telling as much as the divine will bids me." Taking off at once, then, the

ἐπενδύτην ἀφῆκα, καὶ τῆς πύλης ἐξέδραμον· ἡ δὲ λαβοῦσα περιεβάλετο περιεβάλλετο M 6. Μετὰ μικρὸν δὲ δ᾽ N 1. ὑποστρέψας ὁρῶ ταύτην ἔνθα καὶ πρὶν ἱσταμένην. Καὶ ἦν ἄρα τὸ μὲν σχῆμα εἶδος M. γυνή, τὸ δὲ φαινόμενον ὑπεράνθρωπον· θρὶξ λευκή, πρόσωπον μέλαν, μικρὰν μικρὸν N 3, and corrected N 4, M. ὑποφαῖνον τὴν adds N 3, Q. λευκότητα λευκότητος M 1. , δερματὶς δέρματι M. συνέχουσα συνέχουσαν M. τὴν ὀστῶν τῶν ὀστῶν M; τῶν μελῶν N 3 – 6, Q. ἁρμονίαν ἁρμογὴν M. , ἥκιστα σαρκὸς ἐμπεφυκυίας ἐμπεφυίας N 3, Q. , σκιᾷ παραπλήσιος, εἶδος μόνον τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην σῷζον ἐμφέρειαν (σκιᾷ - ἐμφ.) ἐώκει δὲ τὸ ὅλον σκία M. .

I let go my outer garment and ran out of the door; and she took it and put it on. And after a little, turning back, I see her standing where she had stood before. And she was, then, in form a woman, but in appearance more than human; white hair, a dark face showing a little whiteness, a skin holding together the framework of the bones, with hardly any flesh grown upon it, like a shadow, an appearance that preserved only the human likeness.

[14] by long exile. Ταῦτ᾽ ταῦτα M. οὖν ἰδὼν (φησίν) ἐδεδοίκειν, ἔτρεμον, ἐλοιδορούμην ἑαυτόν ἐμαυτῶ N 2 – 6, Q; ἑαυτῶ M 1, 2. , τῆς ἀκαιρίας ἐμεμφόμην ἐμ. τ. ἀκ. M. , ὅτι μου τῆς ἑταιρείας N 3, 6, M 8; the rest ἑταιρίας. περιττὸς ὢν ἀπελείφθην ἀπολειφθεὶς τοιούτω ἐνέτυχον M. · σύντρομος ὅμως πρηνὴς πεσών, ἐδεόμην εὐχῆς εὐλογηθῆναί τε παρ᾽ αὐτῆς ἐλιπάρουν. Ἡ δὲ πρῶτον μὲν ἐπιστραφεῖσα ἀποβλέψασα M. πρὸς ἀνατολάς, τάχα βουλομένη omits N 4. θεραπεῦσαί μου τὸν νοῦν τὴν διάνοιαν M. τοῦ μὴ δοκεῖν εἶναι φάντασμα, τὰς χεῖρας πετάσασα προσηύχετο, μικρὸν omits Q. ὑποψιθυρίζουσα εἶτα adds M. , στραφεῖσα δὲ omits M. πρὸς μέ φησιν· “Ὁ Θεός ὁ Θ. φησιν M. , ἄνθρωπε, ἐλεήσαι σε· πλὴν ἀλλὰ adds M. τίνος χάριν πρὸς τὴν ἔρημον ταύτην ἀφῖξαι; καὶ τίνος ὅτου M. δεόμενος πρὸς ἄοικον ἐλήλυθας νῆσον; ἀλλ᾽ omits M. ἐπεί σε ἐπεὶ δέ σε M. δεῦρο τὸ θεῖον ἤγαγε βούλημα (δοκῶ μοι τῆς ἐμῆς ἕνεκα ταπεινώσεως ταπ. ἕνεκα N 2 – 6, Q. ), πάντα τὰ κατ᾽ ἐμαυτὴν ἐμὲ M. ὡς ἠρώτησας ἠθέλησας N 2 – 6, Q. , ἀναδιδάξω ὅπως ἔσχε διδάξω M; σε adds M 6. .” Ἐμοῦ δὲ καὶ πάλιν εἰς γῆν ἑαυτὸν καταρρίψαντος καταβεβληκότος M. καὶ λέγειν παρακαλοῦντος δεομένου M; (καὶ λ. π.) omits N 2 – 6, Q. , τοιῶνδέ που λόγων ἀπήρχετο

Seeing these things, then (he says), I was afraid, I trembled, I reviled myself, I blamed my untimeliness, that I had been left behind by my company as one superfluous; trembling all the same, I fell on my face, begged a prayer, and entreated to be blessed by her. And she, first turning toward the east, perhaps wishing to heal my mind so that she should not seem to be a phantom, spread out her hands and prayed, whispering a little, and, turning to me, she says: "May God have mercy on you, man; but for what reason have you come to this desert? And needing what have you come to an uninhabited island? But since the divine will has brought you here (I think on account of my lowliness), I will teach you all that concerns me, as you have asked." And when I had again thrown myself down to the ground and besought her to speak, she began with words something like these.

[που ἤρχετο λόγων, λόγων τινῶν σειρήνων, ποίων ἠρινῶν ἀηδόνων οὐκ ἀποκρυπτόντων τὴν ἡδονὴν M; ἀπήρχετο λόγῶν τινῶν σειρήνων κ. τ. λ. N 4.] .

[15] Theoctiste tells her story. “Ἐμοί φησιν Λέσβος πατρίς, Μήθυμνα Μίθυμνα N 1. πόλις, ὄνομα Θεοκτίστη, τὸ πολίτευμα μοναχή. Ἔτι νηπία δ᾽ ὀρφανισθεῖσα ἐπὶ νηπία δέ μοι τῆ ἡλικία τῶν γεννητόρων κατοιχομένων M , παρὰ τῶν συγγενῶν (π. τ. σ.) omits M 2. ἐδόθην εἰς παρθενῶνα καὶ τὸ omits N 3. μοναχικὸν ἠμφίεσμαι σχῆμα. Γεγονυῖα δὲ χρόνων ἐγγὺς ὀκτωκαίδεκα, κατὰ τὰς Πασχαλίους (γεγ. - πασχαλίους) ἔτη δὲ ἐγγύς που ὀκτωκαίδεκα γενομένη περὶ τὰς τοῦ Πάσχα M. ἡμέρας εἰς τὴν πλησίον τῆς omits Q. πόλεως ἐξέδραμον κώμην, ἀσπασομένη ἀσπασαμένη N 3, 4; ἀσπασαμένης M 6. τὴν ἀδελφήν· ἦν γάρ μοι κατοικοῦσα πρὸς τῇ κώμῃ πόλει M 5. μετὰ συμβίου. Νυκτὶ νυκτὸς M. δὲ ἐπιδραμόντες Ἄραβες Κρῆτες, ὧν ἀρχηγὸς ὑπῆρχεν omits M. ὁ Νίσιρις ἦν adds M. ἐκεῖνος, ᾐχμαλώτισαν ἅπαντας πάντας ἡμᾶς αἱροῦσιν M. [Of the irruption of the Cretan Arabs into the island of Lesbos in the first decades of the ninth century, and of their leader Nisiri, there is no record in the Chronicles.] . Ἕωθεν οὖν παιανισάμενοι παιανίσαντες M. ἀπέπλευσαν καὶ τῇ νήσῳ ταύτῃ προσώρμισαν πρ. τ. M (προσώρμισαν omits M 5). · προαγαγόντες προσάγοντες M 6; προσαγαγόντες M 1 – 15, 8. δὲ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους, ἠργυρολόγουν καὶ (ἠργ. καὶ) omits M. τὰ τιμήματα διετίθεντο· ἐγὼ δὲ σκηψαμένη σκεψαμένη N 4, M 7. πρόφασιν καὶ πρὸς τὴν ὕλην χωρήσασα, δρόμῳ πρὸς τὸ δρόμου τοῦ M. πρόσω καὶ πρὸς adds M. τὸ ἐνδότερον ἐχώρουν τῆς νήσου. Καὶ λοιπὸν (κ. λ.) εἶτα M. οὐκ ἐνέδωκα φεύγουσα ἕως ταῖς πέτραις καὶ τοῖς ὀξέσι τῶν ξύλων περιπείρασα τοὺς πόδας κατέκοψα τοῖς τε αἵμασι τὴν γῆν κατεμίανα πόδας ἐξαίμους διέθηκα καὶ τὴν γῆν τοῖς αἵμασι κατεμόλυνα M. · καὶ τέλος ἐξατονήσασα ἀτονήσασα M. κατέπεσον ἡμιθνής ἡμιθανής N 4, M 1, 2, 6, 9. . Καὶ τὴν μὲν πᾶσαν νύκτα τὰς ὀδύνας τῶν τραυμάτων οὐ φέρουσα οὐ φ. τ. τραυμ. M. πικρῶς διετέλουν.

"My homeland," she says, "is Lesbos, my city Methymna, my name Theoctiste, my way of life that of a nun. Orphaned while still an infant, I was given by my kinsfolk into a house of virgins, and was clothed in the monastic habit. And when I was nearly eighteen years old, in the days of Easter I went out to the village near the city to greet my sister; for she lived at the village with her husband. And by night the Arabs of Crete made an incursion, whose leader was that Nisiri, and took everyone captive. At dawn, then, having raised their paean, they sailed off and came to anchor at this island; and bringing forward the captives, they were collecting money and settling the prices; and I, having made up a pretext and gone off toward the woods, went at a run forward and into the interior of the island. And thereafter I did not give up fleeing until, having pierced my feet on the rocks and the sharp points of the wood, I cut them to pieces and stained the earth with blood; and at last, exhausted, I fell down half-dead. And the whole night I passed bitterly, not bearing the pains of my wounds.

[16] Ἕωθεν δὲ τοὺς ἀλιτηρίους ἀλάστορας ἐκείνους M. ἀποπλέοντας ἰδοῦσα, πάσης ἀπηλλάγην ὀδύνης θυμηδίας τε ὅσης (θ. τ.ὅ.) ἡδονῆς τε ὁπόσης (ὅσης M 1, 2, 5, 9) M. ἐνεπιμπλάμην ἀπέλαυον M, ἐνεπιπλάμην N 6. , οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν [ἡ γὰρ τοῦ λίαν φοβοῦντος ἐλευθερία παντὸς ἄλλου λυποῦντος ἐμπαρεῖχέ μοι λήθην adds M.] · καὶ νῦν ἤδη πέντε καὶ πρὸς (omits M 6) τοῖς adds M. τριάκοντα χρόνους χρόνοις M 8. καὶ μικρόν τι πρὸς ἐνταῦθα τοῖς θερμίοις καὶ ταῖς ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου τρεφομένη βοτάναις, μᾶλλον δὲ τῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγῳ διατελῶ, μεμνημένη τῶν θείων λογίων, ὡς οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἐπὶ N 4, 5, Q, M 4. παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ ἐκπορευόμενον N 6. διὰ στόματος Θεοῦ.Matt. 4, 4.

At dawn, seeing the wicked men sailing away, I was freed from all pain, and with how much joy I was filled it is impossible to say; and now already for thirty-five years and a little more I have continued here, fed on the lupines and on the herbs of the desert, or rather on the word of God, remembering the divine oracles, that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Ἐγυμνώθην δέ, τῶν ῥακίων μοι μου Q, M; ἤδη adds M. διερρωγότων, οἷς οἷσπερ δὴ καὶ M. συνῃχμαλώτισμαι, ἐνδύομαι δὲ omits M 5. καὶ σκέπομαι θείᾳ χειρί χάριτι M 5. , τῇ omits M 2; τὸ πᾶν adds M. συνεχούσῃ τὰ σύμπαντα (τ. σ.) omits M. ” Ταῦτ᾽ οὖν ταῦτα M. εἰποῦσα καὶ πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἀνατείνασα τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ηὐχαρίστησε· διασχοῦσα καὶ τὸ ὄμμα εἰς οὐρανοὺς τείνασα (ἀνατείνασα M 5) ηὐχαρίστησε διαλιποῦσα M. δὲ μικρόν, ἐπεί με πρὸς γῆν ἑωράκει σὺν ἡσυχίᾳ πολλῇ πολὺ N 4. νεύοντα καὶ μηδὲ corrected M 8. πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀτενίσαι τολμῶντα αἰδὼς γάρ μου κατεῖχε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἣν ἔτικτε μέγεθος ἀρετῆς adds M. , λέγει πάλιν ἀρξαμένη λέγειν (λέγει M 4 – 6) ἀρξαμένη πάλιν M. · “Τὰ μὲν κατ᾽ ἐμαυτήν εἶπεν adds M; ὦ adds N 3 – 6, Q. , She asks that the Eucharist be brought to her; ἄνθρωπε, διηγησάμην, αἰτῶ δέ σε μίαν ταύτην adds M. ἀποτῖσαί μοι χάριν διὰ τὸν Κύριον. Ἡνίκα τοιγαροῦν μετὰ ταῦτα M. μέλλεις omits M 1, 2, 5, 8. εἰς νέωτα (εἰς ν.) omits M. πρὸς τὴν νῆσον ταύτην ἕνεκα θήρας (ἕν, θ.) θήρας χάριν M; μέλλεις adds M 1, 2. ἐκπλεῖν — οἶδα γὰρ ὡς ἥξεις πάντως, εὐδοκοῦντος εὐδοκιμοῦντος M 6. Θεοῦ — ἐν σκεύει σελεύκει M. 6. λαβεῖν μοι καθαρῷ μίαν τῶν ἀχράντων δωρεῶν μερίδων M. , τοῦ σώματος τοῦ omits M 5. Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ (Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ) omits M. Χριστοῦ· καὶ γὰρ ἐξ οὗ ὅτου N 2 – 6, Q. τὴν ἔρημον ταύτην κατῲκησα ὤκησα M. , τῆς omits N 2 – 6, Q. τοιαύτης οὐκ ἠξίωμαι δωρεᾶς·”

And I became naked, the rags in which I was taken captive with the others having been torn to pieces, but I am clothed and covered by the divine hand that holds all things together." Having said these things, then, and lifting her eyes to heaven, she gave thanks; and after pausing a little, since she saw me bowing toward the earth in great quiet and not daring even to gaze at her, she says, beginning again: "The things concerning myself, man, I have related, and I ask you to render me one favour for the Lord's sake. When, therefore, you are about to sail out next year to this island for the sake of hunting — for I know that you will come in any case, if God is well pleased — take for me in a clean vessel one of the undefiled gifts, of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ; for since I have dwelt in this desert I have not been deemed worthy of such a gift."

[17] Ταῦτ᾽ ταῦτα M. οὖν εἰρηκυῖα καὶ μηδενὶ τὸ παράπαν περὶ τούτων εἰπεῖν εἰπεῖν π. τ. M. ἐντειλαμένη, σὺν εὐχῇ με πρὸς τοὺς ἑταίρους ἀπέστειλεν ἀφῆκεν M. . Ἐγὼ δὲ πάντα πληρώσειν συνθέμενος, χαίρων χαίρειν M 8. ἐξῄειν ὅτι μου τὴν ἔφεσιν ὁ Θεὸς (ὁ Θ.)omits N 3; in the margin corrected N 4; μου Θεὸς τὴν ἔφεσιν Q. ἐξεπλήρωσεν, ὅτι με τοιούτου τυχεῖν ἠξίωσε θησαυροῦ [ὅτι τοιούτου ἠξίωμαι τυχεῖν (τ. ἠ. M 7) θησαυροῦ καὶ ζώων ἀγρίων θηρευτὴς ὢν ἀνθρώπων γέγονα εἰ μὴ προσήκει μᾶλλον ἀγγέλων καλεῖν M.] . Κατὰ γοῦν τὸ πρόσταγμα τῆς ὁσίας, ἡνίκα πάλιν μετὰ τῶν ἑταίρων ἔμελλον ἐξιέναι πρὸς θήραν ἐλάφων τε adds M. καὶ ἀγρίων omits M 2. αἰγῶν, οὓς ἧ τοιαύτη νῆσος πολλοὺς καὶ omits Q. μεγίστους μεγάλους M 6. τῶν ἄλλων μᾶλλον μάλιστα M. τρέφει, θαῦμα καὶ ἰδέσθαι ἰδεῖν τεM. καὶ διηγήσασθαι· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἐλάφοις τὴν χροιάν χρείαν M 7. εἰσι παραπλήσιοι, μείζους δ᾽ ἐλάφων τὸ μέγεθος δὲ τὸ μέγεθος ἢ κατ᾽ ἔλαφον M. , τὸ δὲ κέρας δολιχὸν in the margin notes Q: τὸ μακρὸν. ὅσον ἑκκαιδεκάδωρον, οὐχ ὡς τῶν ἐλάφων ὄζοις in the margin notes Q: κλάδοις. καὶ παραφυάσι κοσμούμενον κοσμούμενος M 3, 5. , ἀλλ᾽ ἰθυτενὲς ὅλον καὶ μίαν τὴν κεραίαν καιρίαν Q. προτεινόμενον καὶ διὰ μιᾶς τῆς κεραίας περαινόμενον M. . which, after a year, Ὡς ἦς N 2; ἐπεὶ M. οὖν ἔμελλον omits M. 9. , ὡς εἴρηται, πρὸς θήραν ἐκπλεῖν, λαβόμενος μερίδα τῆς θείας τοῦ Κυρίου σαρκὸς ἐν πυξίῳ, πρὸς τὴν μακαρίαν ἐκόμιζον· ἐλθὼν δ᾽ ἐν τῇ νήσῳ ἐν (omits M 7) τῆ νήσω δὲ γενόμενος M. καὶ πρὸς τὸν οἶκον τῆς Θεομήτορος ἐκκλίνας, ταύτης ταύτην M 5. διήμαρτον, εἴτε παρούσης καὶ λανθανούσης, ἐπεὶ δήπουθεν (ἐπ. δ.) ὅτι μοι καὶ M. συνανῆλθον καὶ omits M; μοι N 1. τῶν ἑταίρων τινές, εἴτ᾽ εἴτεN 2, 5, 6, Q, M; καὶ adds M. ἀπούσης, λέγειν οὐκ ἔχω, πλὴν ὅτι διήμαρτον.

Having said these things, then, and having charged me to say nothing whatever about them to anyone, she sent me with a prayer to my companions. And I, having agreed to fulfil everything, went out rejoicing that God had fulfilled my desire, that he had deemed me worthy to obtain such a treasure. According, then, to the command of the holy woman, when I was again about to go out with my companions to hunt deer and wild goats, which this island nourishes in great numbers and very large, more than the others — a marvel both to see and to tell; for in colour they are like deer, but larger than deer in size, and the horn is long, about sixteen palms, not adorned like those of deer with branches and offshoots, but wholly straight and stretching out a single point. When, then, I was about to sail out, as has been said, to hunt, taking a portion of the divine flesh of the Lord in a pyx, I was bringing it to the blessed woman; and having come to the island and turned aside to the house of the Mother of God, I missed her — whether she was present and hidden, since evidently some of my companions too had come up with me, or absent, I cannot say, except that I missed her.

[18] reverently received, Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἄλλοι πρὸς τὴν ὕλην θηρεύσοντες θηρεύοντες N 3. ὥρμησαν, ἐγὼ δὲ διαλαθὼν λαθὼν Q. πρὸς τὸν ναὸν ὑπενόστουν in the margin notes Q: ὑπανεχόρουν. . καὶ δὴ παρευθὺ παραχρῆμα M. τὸ ἱερὸν ἀνέφανε ἀνεφάνη M (ἐφάνη M 2). γύναιον, τὸ χιτώνιον περιβεβλημένον, ὅπερ πρότερον εἰλήφει παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἡμῶν M. . Εἰς γῆν δέ μου ῥίψαντος καταβαλόντος M (καταβαλλόντος M 5). ἑαυτόν ἐμαυτὸν M 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9. , ἔδραμε καὶ σὺν δάκρυσι πόρρωθεν ἔλεγε· “Μηδαμῶς μηδαμῶς ἔλ. M. , ἄνθρωπε, μὴ omits N 3. τοῦτο ποίει, τὸ θεῖον δῶρον ἐπιφερόμενος· μὴ καὶ adds M. φλέξῃς με τὴν ἀθλίαν, ἀτιμάζων ἀτιμάζω N 6. τὰ θεῖα.” Λαβομένη λαβομένου N 6. γοῦν μου μοι N 6; (γ. μ.) οὖν M. τοῦ χιτῶνος, ἀνέστησεν· ἐγὼ δ᾽ δὲ M. ἐξήγαγον τοῦ κόλπου

The others, then, set off toward the woods to hunt, while I, escaping notice, went back to the church. And indeed straightway the holy little woman appeared, clad in the tunic which she had earlier received from me. And when I threw myself to the ground, she ran up and said from afar with tears: "By no means, man, do not do this, carrying the divine gift; do not burn me, wretched woman that I am, by dishonouring the divine things." Taking hold of my tunic, then, she raised me up; and I brought out of my bosom

μου omits N 6. τὸ πυξίον σὺν τῇ δεσποτικῇ σαρκί. Πεσοῦσα δ᾽ δὲ N 2 – 6, Q; (π. δ.) κἀκείνη πεσοῦσα M. εἰς γῆν ἐκείνη omits M. , τὸ θεῖον ἀπέλαβε καὶ θρήνοις καὶ δάκρυσι τὴν γῆν καταβρέχουσα βρέχουσα M 3, 4, 6 – 9. ἔλεγε [φέρει γὰρ οὐ λύπη μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡδονὴ δάκρυον οἱονεὶ τὸ ταπεινὸν καὶ πολυπενθὲς δηλοῦσα τῆς ἡμῶν φύσεως M, and N 5 in the margin.] . “Νῦν ἀπολύεις ἔλεγε adds M. τὴν δούλην σου, δέσποτα, ὅτι εἶδον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου τὸ σωτήριόν σου, ὅτι μου τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ἔλαβον· νῦν, ὅπου κελεύει σου τὸ (σ.τ.) τὸ σὸν M. κράτος οἰχήσομαι.” Luke 2, 29.

my pyx with the Lord's flesh. And she, falling to the earth, received the divine thing, and, drenching the earth with lamentations and tears, said: "Now you dismiss your handmaid, Master, for my eyes have seen your salvation, for I have received in my hands the remission of my sins; now I shall depart wherever your might commands."

[19] she passes to the Lord; Ταῦτ᾽ οὖν ταῦτα M. εἰποῦσα καὶ τὰς χεῖρας πρὸς οὐρανὸν πρὸς οὐρ. τ. χ N 3, Q. ἐπὶ πολὺ ἐπὶ π. εἰς οὐρανοὺς M. διατείνασα, μετ᾽ εὐχῆς με πρὸς τοὺς ἑταίρους ἀπέστειλεν. Ὀλίγας δὲ τινας adds M. θηρεύσαντες ἡμέρας καὶ δαψιλῆ τὴν adds M. θήραν ἀγρεύσαντες ἀγ. θ. Q. ὑπεστρέφομεν (ἀγ. ὑπ.) συσχόντες ἐπανηρχόμεθα M. . κἀκεῖνοι κἀκείνους M. μὲν omits M 6. ὥρμησαν πρὸς τὸ πλοιάριον, ἐγὼ δ᾽ δὲ N 2 – 6, M. ἔτρεχον, τῆς μακαρίας τὴν εὐχὴν [(ὥρμησαν-εὐχὴν) ἡ πρὸς τὸ πλοῖον εἶχεν ὁδὸς ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸς τὸ μέγα θήραμα τὸ ἐμὸν ἔθεον τὴν εὐχὴν ταύτης ἐθέλων (omits M 6) M.] συνοδοιπόρον λαβεῖν. Γενόμενος δὲ κατὰ τὸν ναὸν νεὼν N 2 – 6, Q. εἶτα περιβλεπόμενος [περιβλεψάμενος M 3, 5; ὡς ἴδοιμι ταύτην ὢ ἄξιον ἐκείνης χαρᾶς ὅραμα ἐμοῦ δὲ δακρύων adds M.] θεάσασθαι ταύτην, ὁρῶ κατὰ τὸν τόπον, ἔνθα καὶ πρὶν ἑωράκειν αὐτήν, μεταλλάξασαν. κειμένην οἴμοι νεκράν M, and in another hand N 5 in place of μεταλλ. πεσὼν.. . Πεσὼν οὖν καὶ ἀσπασάμενος τοὺς τιμίους αὐτῆς τοὺς ὡραίους ὄντως (omits M 1, 5, 8) φιλήσας M. πόδας, καὶ δάκρυσι δάκρ. τε M. καταβρέξας αὐτοὺς adds M. , ἐνεὸς ἐννεὸς N 1, 5 and 4 corrected, M 6. εἱστήκειν ἐπὶ πολὺ διαπορούμενος, ὅ, τι καὶ διαπράξομαι πράξαιμι M 1, 2, 4 – 9; διαπράξαιμι M 3. . Σῶφρον σοφὸν M. μὲν above the line Q. οὖν ἦν omits M 5, 8. καὶ συμφέρον ἄρα συμφ. ἄρα καὶ N 4, 6; συμφ. καὶ N 3; ἄρα καὶ συμφέρειν Q; ἄρα///// N 5. δάκρυσιν ἱκετεύσαντα ἐξιλεωσάμενον M. τὸν Θεὸν καὶ δυσωπήσαντα τὴν ὁσίαν, αἰτῆσαι (δυσ.-αἰτῆσαι) δεηθέντα τῆς μακαρίας αὐτῆ ἐπιτρέψαι M. τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ πράγματος καὶ καθὼς ὥσπερ M. ἔδοξεν ἔδειξεν N 2 – 6. ὑπουργῆσαι τῷ θείῳ προστάγματι (τ. θ. π.) ταύτη θελήματι (omits M 9) θείω M. . εἰ δὲ τούτου ταύτης M 2, 5, 6, 7, 9; αὐτῆς M 1; ταύτη M 3. διήμαρτον, δεύτερον ἐχρῆν (τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον) μετιέναι πλοῦν [A proverb. Apostolius, Cent. V, 98: Δεύτερος πλοῦς· ὅτε ἀποτυχών τις οὐπίου κώπαις πλεῖ. Leutsch-Schneidewin, Corpus Paroem. graec., vol. II, p. 362.] , she is buried by the hunter, τοῖς ἑταίροις τὸ δρᾶμα κοινώσασθαι, τάφῳ καταθεῖναι σὺν αὐτοῖς τῆς μακαρίας [(δεύτερον-μακαρίας) κατὰ δεύτερον τὸ ἀδόμενον πλοῦν τοῖς ἑταίροις ἐχρῆν τὸ δρᾶμα κοινώσασθαι καὶ τάφω σὺν αὐτοῖς καταθεῖναι τῆς ὁσίας M.] τὸ λείψανον, ὑμνήσαντας ὑμνήσαντες N 2 – 4, 6. ὅση δύναμις· ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἔοικε, δυσθήρατον χρῆμα τὸ σωφρονεῖν (τ. σ.) ἡ τοῦ εὖ ἔχοντος ἐν πολλοῖς γνῶσις M. . Ὅθεν καὐτὸς καὶ αὐτὸς corrected N 5; αὐτὸς M. τοῦ καλοῦ διημάρτηκα καὶ τοῦ πρέποντος καλοῦ τε καὶ πρέποντος διημάρτανον. .

Having said these things, then, and having stretched out her hands toward heaven for a long time, she sent me with a prayer to my companions. And having hunted for a few days and taken abundant game, we were returning. And they set off for the boat, while I was running to take the prayer of the blessed woman as companion of my journey. And having come to the church and then looking around to behold her, I see her, in the place where I had seen her before, departed from this life. Falling down, then, and kissing her precious feet and wetting them with tears, I stood speechless for a long time, at a loss what I should do. It would have been prudent, then, and expedient to entreat God with tears and to beseech the holy woman, and to ask for the ordering of the matter, and to serve the divine command as it seemed good; and if I failed in this, I ought (as the saying goes) to have taken the second voyage, to share the event with my companions, and with them to lay the remains of the blessed woman in a tomb, having sung hymns as far as we could; but, as it seems, prudence is a thing hard to hunt down. Whence I too missed what was good and what was fitting.

ἀγροικίᾳ δὲ omits Q. καὶ φρενῶν ἐλαφρίᾳ κουφότητι N 2 – 6, Q. (τί γὰρ ἂν κυνηγὸς καὶ ἰδιώτης διενοήθην καινότερον [ὅμως adds Q; (κυν.-καινότερον) καὶ μέγα (omits M 6) διενοήθην ἰδιώτης καὶ ἐπὶ (περὶ M 4, 6, 7, 8) θήραν ἐπτοημένος ἀνὴρ M.] ;) τολμηρόν τι πεποίηκα, πίστει μὲν ὡς ἐδόκουν, πλὴν ὡς ἔοικεν (ὡς ἔ.) omits M. οὐκ ἀρέσκον Θεῷ [καθὼς αὐτὸ τὸ πέρας ἔδειξεν· ἐπεὶ μηδὲ καλόν φασι (φησὶ M 6) τὸ καλὸν οὐ καλῶς γινόμενον adds M. Compare Gregory Nazianzen, Or. XXXIII, P. G., vol. XXXVI, p. 531 C.] . who cuts off her hand. Τὴν γὰρ ταύτης αὐτῆς M. ἀποτεμόμενος χεῖρα καὶ λινῷ ὀθόνη M. περιειλήσας ὑφάσματι omits M. , κατῆλθον κατέρχομαι M. εἰς τὴν ναῦν.

And through boorishness and lightness of mind (for what more novel thing could I, a hunter and a layman, have thought of?) I did a daring thing, in faith, as I thought, but, as it seems, not pleasing to God. For having cut off her hand and wrapped it in a linen cloth, I went down to the ship.

[20] The ship by a miracle sticks fast in the harbour, Βαθείας γοῦν οὖν N 2, 4 – 6. ἑσπέρας ἀναχθέντες ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ τὴν ὀθόνην πετάσαντες ἐφερόμεθα· αἰσίων τε τῶν ἀνέμων πνεόντων ἐξ οὐρίας ὥσπερ ἱπτάμενοι προσεδοκῶμεν προσεδοκοῦμεν N 1. πρωΐθεν ἥξειν εἰς Εὔβοιαν. Ὡς δὲ διέφαυσεν ἔφθασεν N 2, 4; ἔφαυσεν Q. ἡμέρα, πάλιν εὑρέθημεν εἰς τὸν αὐτὸν ἑστῶτες λιμένα, καθάπερ ὑπ᾽ ἀγκύρας ἤ τινος ἰχθύος ναυκράτου τῆς νηὸς ἐχομένης. Φόβος οὖν ἔλαβεν ἅπαντας καὶ δέος καὶ ἀλλήλους περισκοποῦντες σύντρομοι τὴν αἰτίαν ἐζητοῦμεν τοῦ πράγματος, διερευνώμενοι καὶ ἀνακρίνοντες, μήπου τι τῶν ἀνηκέστων ἡμῖν πεπραγμάτευται, δι᾽ ὅπερ εἰργόμεθα. Ὡς δὲ δὴ adds N 6. ἄλλος ἄλλο διαπορούμενος ἔλεγε, συνεὶς ἐγὼ τὸ τολμηθέν, λαθὼν ἅπαντας (λ. ἀπ.) omits Q. ἀνῆλθον εἰς τὸν ναὸν καὶ θέμενος τὴν χεῖρα πρὸς τῷ τῆς ἁγίας σώματι, κατῆλθον εἰς τὸ πλοιάριον· διακελευσάμενος δὲ τοῖς σὺν ἐμοὶ τῆς πορείας ἠρχόμην ἐρχόμην N 5. .

Late in the evening, then, having put out from the land and spread the sail, we were borne along; and with favourable winds blowing astern, as if flying, we expected to reach Euboea by morning. But when day dawned, we found ourselves again standing in the same harbour, as though the ship were held by an anchor or by some fish, a ship-holder. Fear, then, seized everyone, and dread, and looking round at one another, trembling, we sought the cause of the matter, searching and examining whether perhaps something past remedy had been committed by us, on account of which we were held back. And while one said one thing and another another in perplexity, I, understanding the daring deed, unnoticed by all, went up to the church, and having placed the hand by the body of the saint, went down to the boat; and having given orders to those with me, I began the voyage.

[21] until that hand was put back. Ὡς δὲ ἐξήλθομεν ἐπὶ πολύ, πτηνή τις ἦν ἡ σκάφη λοιπόν τῆς ὀθόνης, πληρουμένης τοῦ πνεύματος, καὶ ἀκώλυτος ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ εὐθεῖα· καὶ τότ᾽ τότε N 4. ἐγὼ διεξῄειν τοῖς ἑταίροις τὸ δρᾶμα καὶ ὡς εὗρον τὴν μακαρίαν καὶ ὡς τὰ κατ᾽ αὐτὴν ἀνήγγειλεν ἀνήγγειλα N 2 – 6, Q. καὶ τὸ τῆς θείας δωρεᾶς καὶ τὴν αὐτῆς κοίμησιν καὶ ὅτι τὴν χεῖρα ταύτης ταύτην Q. ἔχων εἰσῄειν ἑσπέρας καὶ δι᾽ αὐτὴν ἐκρατούμεθα τάχα κἂν καὶ N 2 – 4, 6. ἠλπίζομεν πλεῖν, καὶ νῦν ὅτι περ εἰκότως omits N 2, 3, 5, 6, Q. εὐθυποροῦμεν, ἐπείπερ ἀπεθέμην ἀποθέμην N 6. τὸ λείψανον. Ταῦτ᾽ οὖν ἀκούσαντες ἐκεῖνοι καὶ πολλὰ μετὰ τῆς σιωπῆς adds N 5. καταμεμψάμενοι, πρύμναν τε εὐθέως ἐκρούσαντο καὶ σπουδῇ πολλῇ omits N 3. πρὸς τὴν. Πάρον ἀνέστρεφον· καὶ πάντες ὁμοῦ δρόμῳ πρὸς τὸν ναὸν ἐχωροῦμεν, διορρωδοῦντες μὲν καὶ τρέμοντες, πίστει δὲ θαρροῦντες ὅμως προσῇμεν πρόσειμεν N 1; πρόσιμεν N 2 – 6, Q. . καὶ τὸν μὲν τόπον εὕρομεν ἤδη ἔτι corrected N 5. τῆς θέσεως ὥσπερ τὸν τύπον τοῦ σώματος διασῴζοντα, γέγονε δ᾽ ὁ νεκρὸς ἀφανής.

And when we had gone out a long way, the vessel thereafter was winged, the sail being filled with the wind, and the way unhindered and straight; and then I recounted to my companions the event, how I found the blessed woman, and how she told me the things concerning her, and the matter of the divine gift, and her falling asleep, and that I had gone aboard in the evening having her hand, and that on its account we were held fast when we perhaps hoped to sail, and that now, rightly, we were making a straight course, since I had put away the relic. Having heard these things, then, they, after much reproach, straightway backed water astern and with great haste returned to Paros; and all together we went at a run to the church, terrified and trembling, but nevertheless approaching with confidence through faith. And we found the place still preserving, as it were, the imprint of the body from its laying, but the dead body had disappeared.

Θάμβος οὖν ἔλαβεν ἅπαντας καὶ τρόμος καὶ τῇδε κἀκεῖσε διεθέομεν, The body of the saint vanishes. περισκοποῦντες, περιβλεπόμενοι, μήπου μετέπεσεν, ἢ ἀνεβίω, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ὕλην καὶ τὰ ἄλση περιεθέομεν ἐξιχνεύοντες, εἴ που τὸ θεῖον ἐκεῖνο κειμήλιον κρύπτεται κέκρυπται N 3, Q. , δείλαιοι καὶ ἀνόητοι καὶ παχύδερμοι ἄνθρωποι καὶ ὄντως ἀκίχητα Ἀκίχητα, things which we cannot overtake. Iliad, P, 75. διώκοντες καὶ adds N 2 – 6, Q. , τῶν θείων ὄντες θαυμάτων ἀμύητοι, μηδὲ τῷ τοῦ Ἐλισσαίου δυσωπούμενοι θαύματι, ὃς τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ omits N 2 – 6, Q. τῶν Σύρων βασιλέως συλλαβεῖν τοῦτον ἐκπεμφθέντας μέσον αὐτῶν ἐλάνθανεν ὤν, ἀορασίᾳ τε περιβαλὼν τούτους εἰς Σαμάρειαν ἦγεν καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ παρεδίδου. 4, Kings 6, 18. Ἐῶ γὰρ λέγειν τὸ omits N 3 – 6, Q. τοῦ μεγάλου θαυματουργοῦ, ὃς τοὺς ἀνιχνεύοντας αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸ συλλαβεῖν ἐν τῷ ὄρει προσευχόμενος ἐλάνθανε δενδρωθείς Life of St. Gregory the Wonderworker, BHG. 715, P. G., vol. XLVI, p. 948. . Διαμαρτήσαντες οὖν κἀν τούτῳ τοῦ τιμίου τῆς μακαρίας λειψάνου (φησί) κατήλθομεν εἰς τὴν ναῦν καὶ ἀναχθέντες ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἀπῄειμεν οἴκαδε, δοξάζοντες καὶ ὑμνοῦντες τὸν adds N 3, 4. Θεὸν τὸν ἑκάστοτε ποιοῦντα παράδοξα καὶ ἐξαίσια.”

Amazement, then, seized all, and trembling, and we ran this way and that, looking round, gazing about, lest perhaps it had fallen elsewhere, or come back to life, and we ran round all the woods and the groves, tracking whether somewhere that divine treasure was hidden, wretched and foolish and thick-skinned men, truly pursuing what cannot be overtaken, being uninitiated in the divine wonders, not even shamed by the wonder of Elisha, who escaped the notice of those sent by the king of the Syrians to seize him while he was in their midst, and, striking them with blindness, led them to Samaria and handed them over to the king. For I forbear to tell the deed of the great wonderworker, who, praying on the mountain, escaped the notice of those tracking him to seize him, having become a tree. Having failed in this, then, to find the precious relic of the blessed woman (he says), we went down to the ship, and having put out from the land we went off home, glorifying and hymning God, who at every time works wondrous and extraordinary things."

[22] Symeon adjures Nicetas Ταῦτα, ὡς ἀνωτέρω μοι λέλεκται, διηγησάμενος ὁ μακάριος ἐκεῖνος καὶ μέγιστος ἄνθρωπος, ὅρκῳ ὅρκοις N 2 – 6, Q. προησφαλίσατο, μήποτε λήθης βυθῷ βυθοῖς N 2, 3, 5, 6, Q. παραπέμψαι τὴν παροῦσαν ὑπόθεσιν μηδὲ προφάσεις προφασισάμενον προφασισάμενος M 6. σιγῆσαι τὸ θαῦμα, τήν τε θείαν νέμεσιν in the margin notes Q: νέμεσις ὕβρις μέμψις. καὶ τῆς ὁσίας τὴν ἀγανάκτησιν ὑφορώμενον. Πυνθανομένῳ δέ μοι τὸν χρόνον καὶ τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς αὐτῆς τελευτῆς, ἵνα καὶ συγγραφῇ πάντως τῷ θαύματι καὶ τελῆται τὸ ταύτῆς μνημόσυνον, ὁ ἱερὸς ἐκεῖνος ἔλεγεν ἄνθρωπος· “Πολλά μὲν ὡς ὁρᾷς, ἀγαπητέ, τοῦ διηγήματος παραλέλειπται· καὶ γὰρ ἐχρῆν καὶ τὸ γένος καὶ τὴν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ πᾶσαν αὐτῆς διεξεγθεῖν ἄσκησίν τε καὶ κάκωσιν καὶ ὅπως πρὸς τὰς τῶν άντικειμένων ἐχθρῶν διηγώνισται πυκτεύουσα omits N 2 – 6, Q. προσβολάς. Ἀλλὰ twice scribit Q. τί πάθω, τοῦ προστυχόντος τῇ μεγάλῇ μὴ κατὰ τὸν μέγαν ὄντος Ζωσιμᾶν Zosimas, the monk who met St. Mary of Egypt in the desert. BHG. 1042. , ὃς ἠπίστατο βίους καὶ ἀγῶνας ἀνιχνεύειν N 2 – 6, Q, M; ἀνιχνεύων N 1. καὶ κατορθώματα, τοὐναντίον μὲν οὖν ὀρεσίτροφος καὶ παχύς καὶ adds N 4, 5. , τῶν τοιούτων ἀνήκοος. Πλὴν ἓν omits N 2, 6. τοῦτο τούτου N 2. διὰ μνήμης εἶχεν, ὡς ἔλεγεν, ὅτι ὅτ᾽ N 1. εἴη ἦν N 5. φθινοπώρου καιρὸς καὶ πρὸς τὸν νοέμβριον. Πλὴν ἀγαπητὸν τὸ καὶ γραφῇ τὸν βίον τῆς μακαρίας παραδοθῆναι καὶ μὴ λήθης καταχωσθῆναι βυθῷ· τὴν δὲ μνήμην σπουδαῖοι πάντως ἄνδρες καὶ ζηλωταὶ ταύτης εὐκαίρως ἐν ἡμέρᾳ, καθὼς ἀρέσκει, to commit that history to writing. τάξωσιν τάξουσιν N 3 – 6, Q. ἑορτῆς. Τίνα γὰρ εὔκλειαν προσθήσει προυθήσω Q. καὶ δόξαν ἐγκώμια καὶ πανηγύρεις, οἷς τῶν οὐρανῶν ἡ ἡ τ. οὐρ. N 2 – 6, Q. βασιλεία καὶ τὰ ἀΐδια κεκλήρωται ἀγαθά εἰς ἃ ποθοῦσι καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων

Having related these things, as has been told by me above, that blessed and very great man secured me beforehand by oath never to consign the present subject to the depth of forgetfulness, nor, by pleading pretexts, to keep the wonder in silence, fearing the divine retribution and the indignation of the holy woman. And when I inquired of him the time and the day of her death, so that it might in any case be written along with the miracle and her memorial be celebrated, that sacred man said: "Much of the narrative, as you see, beloved, has been left out; for one ought to have recounted her family and her whole asceticism and affliction on the island, and how she contended, boxing, against the assaults of the opposing enemies. But what am I to do, since he who met the great woman was not like the great Zosimas, who knew how to track down lives and contests and achievements, but on the contrary was mountain-bred and dull, unacquainted with such things. Only this one thing he kept in memory, as he said, that it was the season of autumn and toward November. Yet it is a thing to be welcomed that the life of the blessed woman should be handed down in writing and not buried in the depth of forgetfulness; and earnest men, surely, and her emulators will appoint her memory in due season on a feast day, as they please. For what renown and glory will encomia and festivals add to those to whom the kingdom of heaven and the eternal goods have been allotted, into which even of the angels

τὰ τάγματα παρακύψαι παρακ. τ. τ. N 2 – 6, Q. ; πλὴν εἰ μὴ ζῆλον ἄρα τοῖς συνιοῦσι συνοῦσι N 6. καὶ δόξαν Θεῷ καὶ μακαρισμὸν αὐτῶν τῶν μνημονευομένων· οὓς γὰρ ὁ βίος ἐδόξασεν, εἰκότως καὶ μακαρίζει (κ. μ.) omits N 4. καὶ σεμνύνει διαγγελλόμενος.” 1 Pet. 1, 12.

the orders long to look? Except indeed emulation for those who understand, and glory to God, and the blessing of those very persons who are commemorated; for those whom their life glorified, it reasonably also, being proclaimed, calls blessed and dignifies."

[23] Nicetas sets out for Crete. Ταῦτα ὁ μέγας ἄνθρωπος έκεῖνος ἡμῖν παραθέμενος καὶ παρακαλέσας ἐπιεικῶς ἐξαπέστειλεν. Αἰσίων δὲ τῶν ἀνέμων πνευσάντων, τῇ ἐπαύριον κατήχθημεν κατηχήθημεν N 3. εἰς τὴν Δίαν Δίον Q. Δία, which is also Νάξος. Above, n. 9. . Τοῦτο τῆς ἐν Πάρῳ καταγωγῆς ἡμῶν τὸ περίβλεπτον κέρδος, τοῦτο τῆς ἐπὶ Κρήτην πορείας παρ᾽ ἐλπίδας ἐμπόρευμα· οὗτος ὁ βίος τῆς μακαρίας Θεοκτίστης, αὕτη ἡ ἄσκησις καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας καὶ τὸν κοσμοκράτορα τοῦ σκότους τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου πάλη καὶ ἀντιπαράταξις. Eph. 6, 12. Ἐγὼ δὲ παρῆλθον ὑπακοὴν πληρῶν καὶ τὸ χρέος ἀφασιούμενος· ἐξ οὗ τί ἂν γίνοιτο γένοιτο N 2 – 4, 6. ; Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν omits N 2 – 6. καὶ ἄλλα, τρία δὲ ταῦτα καὶ μέγιστα· αὐτῷ μὲν τῷ τούτων τούτω N 2, 6. χορηγῷ τε καὶ πρυτάνει Θεῷ ὕμνος, ἐξομολόγησις καὶ δόξα· τῇ ὁσίᾳ δὲ μακαρισμὸς παρὰ τοῦ λόγου καὶ τὸ ἐτήσιον σὺν εὐφημίᾳ μνημόσυνον· καὶ τοῖς γράψασιν ἡμῖν ὁ μεγαλόδωρος καὶ μέγας ἡμῶν Θεὸς Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς τῆς προθυμίας δαψιλεύσοι τὴν άμοιβήν διατριβὴν N 6. , πρεσβείαις τῆς παναχράντου αὐτοῦ μητρὸς τῆς Θεοτόκου, τῶν θεοειδῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ πάντων τῶν adds N 2 – 4, 6, Q. ἁγίων ὅτι αὐτοῦ αὐτῶ corrected N 2. ἐστιν ἡ δόξα σὺν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ τῷ παναγίῳ πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἀπεράντους αἰῶνας [εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων N 2; δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας N 3; νῦν καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας N 4; νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων N 5, 6; δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας Q.] · ἀμήν.

Having entrusted these things to us and exhorted us, that great man courteously sent us off. And with favourable winds blowing, on the next day we put in at Dia. This was the conspicuous gain of our putting in at Paros, this the merchandise, beyond our hopes, of the journey to Crete; this is the life of the blessed Theoctiste, this her asceticism and her wrestling and battle-array against the principalities and the powers and the world-ruler of the darkness of this age. And I have come forward fulfilling obedience and discharging the debt; and what would come of it? Many other things indeed, but these three the greatest: to God himself, the provider and president of these things, hymn, thanksgiving and glory; to the holy woman, blessing from the discourse and the yearly memorial with praise; and to us who have written, may our munificent and great God Jesus Christ lavish the reward of our zeal, by the intercessions of his all-immaculate mother the Mother of God, of the godlike angels and of all the saints; for his is the glory with the Father and the all-holy Spirit, now and unto the endless ages. Amen.

[20] Codd. M. Βαθείας γοῦν οὖν M 6. ἑσπέρας ἀναχθέντες ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ τὸ ἱστίον πετάσαντες ἐφερόμεθα. Αἰσίως corrected in an erasure M 3; αἰσίων M 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. δὲ τῶν ἀνέμων πνεόντων, ὥσπερ τῆς νηὸς ἱπταμένης, ἅμα φωτὶ τὴν Εὔβοιαν καταλαβεῖν ᾢήθημεν. Τὸ δὲ ἦν ἀτεχνῶς μάταιον· ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἡμέρα ἦν, ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ ὄντες λιμένι πάλιν εὑρέθημεν καὶ ἡ ναῦς ἐῴκει πεπεδῆσθαι, πάσαις τε κώπαις καὶ ἀνέμοις ἦν ἀπειθής. Δέος οὖν ἔλαβε πάντα καὶ εἰς ἀλλήλους ὡρῶμεν, τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ πράγματος οὐκ ἔχοντες συμβαλεῖν. Ὀψὲ δέ μοι τὸ corrected in an erasure M 3; αἰσίων M 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. τῆς θείας χειρὸς ἐπὶ νοῦν ἐλθὸν καὶ διανοηθείς, μήποτε τοῦτο εἴη ὃ ἀνθέλκει τὴν ναῦν λαβὼν ταύτην καὶ λαθὼν ἀνῆλθον εἰς τὸν ναὸν (λαβών-ναὸν) omits M 3, 4. καὶ παραθεὶς αὐτὴν τῷ λοιπῷ σώματι, κατῆλθον εἰς τὸ πλοῖον καὶ εὐθὺς ἐλυόμεθα.

Late in the evening, then, having put out from the land and spread the sail, we were borne along. And with the winds blowing favourably, as though the ship were flying, we thought to reach Euboea with the daylight. But this was utterly vain; for when it was day, we found ourselves again in the same harbour, and the ship seemed to be fettered, and was disobedient to all oars and winds. Dread therefore seized all, and we looked at one another, unable to guess the cause of the matter. But at last the matter of the divine hand came to my mind, and, thinking that perhaps this was what was dragging the ship back, I took it and, unnoticed, went up to the church, and placing it by the rest of the body, I came down to the ship, and at once we were loosed.

[21] Codd. M. Ὡς γὰρ τοῖς ἑταίροις πλεῖν διεκελευσάμην, ἥλατο θᾶττον ἡ ναῦς καὶ πτηνή τις εἶναι παραδόξως ἐδόκει, τῆς ὀθόνης τοῦ omits M 1 – 6. πνεύματος ὑποπιμπλαμένης, ὁδοῦ ἰδοὺ M 5. τε ἀληθῶς εἰχόμεθα· καὶ τότε διεξῄειν ἐγὼ τοῖς ἑταίροις τὸ δρᾶμα καὶ adds M 3. , ὡς εὗρον τὴν μακαρίαν, ὡς τὰ κατ᾽ αὐτήν μοι πάντα ἀνήγγειλεν, ὡς τῆς θείας δωρεᾶς μετέσχεν, εἶτα καὶ ὅπως κοιμηθεῖσαν εὕροιμι· καὶ τελευταῖον τὸ μέγα τόλμημα, ὡς τὴν χεῖρα ταύτης ἀφέλοιμι, δι᾽ ἣν καὶ ἡ ἐπίσχεσις τῆς νηὸς ἦν, καὶ ὅπως ἀποδοθεῖσα πάλιν καὶ τὴν ναῦν εὐθὺς ἔλυσε. Ταῦτα ἐκεῖνοι ἀκούσαντες, πολλά τε ἡμᾶς τῆς σιωπῆς ἐμέμφοντο καὶ πρύμναν εὐθὺς ἐκρούσαντο, σπουδῇ τε πολλῇ πρὸς τὴν Πάρον ἀνεστρέφομεν καὶ πάντες ὁμοῦ δρόμω adds M 8, 9, N. πρὸς τὸν ναὸν ἐχωροῦμεν, δέει τε κατεχόμενοι καὶ πίστει παρακροτούμενοι. Ἐγγίσαντες οὖν τὸν μὲν τόπον εὕρομεν ἔτι τῆς τοῦ σώματος θέσεως ἀποσῴζοντα τύπον, γέγονε δὲ ὁ νεκρὸς ἀφανής. Ἔκπληξις οὖν ἔλαβεν πάντας καὶ τῇδε κἀκεῖσε περιεθέομεν, περισκοποῦντες, περιβλεπόμενοι, αὐτὸ τὸ τῶν κυνῶν ποιοῦντες ἡμεῖς omits M 2. οἱ θηρευταί θηραταὶ M 6. , ῥινηλατοῦντες τὴν μακαρίαν, μή που μετέπεσεν ἢ ἀνεβίω.

For when I bade my companions sail, the ship leapt forward more swiftly and seemed, wonderfully, to be winged, the sail being filled by the wind, and we truly held our course; and then I recounted to my companions the event: how I found the blessed woman, how she told me everything concerning her, how she partook of the divine gift, then also how I found her fallen asleep; and lastly the great daring deed, how I took away her hand, on account of which the holding back of the ship had also come about, and how, when given back again, it at once loosed the ship. Having heard these things, they reproached us much for our silence and at once backed water astern, and with great haste we returned to Paros, and all together we went to the church, held fast by dread and cheered on by faith. Drawing near, then, we found the place still preserving the imprint of the laying of the body, but the dead body had disappeared. Astonishment then seized all, and we ran round this way and that, looking about, gazing round, we hunters doing the very thing that dogs do, tracking the blessed woman by scent, lest perhaps she had fallen elsewhere or come back to life.

Καὶ omits M 5. τοῦτο γὰρ οὐκ ἀνέλπιστον ἦν ἐπὶ βίου τοιαύτῃ καινοτομίᾳ καὶ ἀπετῆς θαύματι· ἄλση τε καὶ ὕλας ἐξιχνεύοντες, εἴ που τὸ θεῖον ἐκεῖνο κειμήλιον κρύπτεται κέκρυπται M 7; θεῖον ἐπ////ται M 8. , οὐδὲν τὸ παράπαν εὑρεῖν εἴχομεν. Οὔκ οἶδα, εἴτε οὔτε M 6. τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ ἱερὸν ἐκεῖνο μεταθέντος σῶμα, ἔνθα φίλον αὐτῷ, εἴτε μένοντος μὲν omits M 2. ὅπου καὶ ἦν, ἡμῶν δὲ ἰδεῖν κωλυθέντων, ἵνα καὶ μείζων ὁ μισθὸς γένοιτο τῇ διαμαρτίᾳ τοῦ ποθουμένου. Οὕτως οὖν τοῦ τιμίου φημὶ φησὶ M 4, 8. λειψάνου τῆς μακαρίας ἀποτυχόντες κατήλθομεν κατήλθαμεν M 6. εἰς τὴν ναῦν καὶ ἀναχθέντες ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἀπῄειμεν οἴκαδε, δοξάζοντες τὸν Θεὸν τὸν ἑκάστοτε ποιοῦντα παράδοξά τε καὶ ἐξαίσια.

For this too was not beyond hope in such a novelty of life and wonder of virtue; and tracking through groves and woods, whether somewhere that divine treasure was hidden, we could find nothing at all. I do not know whether God had moved that sacred body to where it was dear to him, or whether it remained where it was, but we were prevented from seeing it, so that the reward might be the greater through failing of what was longed for. Thus, then, having failed, I say, to find the precious relic of the blessed woman, we went down to the ship and, putting out from the land, went off home, glorifying God, who at every time works wondrous and extraordinary things.

[22] Ταῦτα, ὡς ἀνωτέρω μοι adds M 4, 6 – 9. λέλεκται διηγησάμενος ἐκεῖνος ὁ μακάριος omits M 1, 2, 5; ὁ μακ. ἐκεῖνος M 9. τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ὅρκῳ προσησφαλίσατο μὴ λήθης βυθῷ παραπέμψαι τὴν παροῦσαν ὑπόθεσιν μηδὲ κατὰ πρόφασιν ἡντιναοῦν σιωπῇ τὸ θαῦμα καλύψαι καὶ μὴ omits M 8. ἀνάγραπτον αὐτὸ τῷ αἰῶνι παντὶ δωρήσασθαι, τήν τε θείαν νέμεσιν καὶ τῆς ὁσίας ἁγίας M 7. τὴν ἀγανάκτησιν ὑφορώμενος ὑφορομένους M 4, 7 – 9; ὑφορόμενον M 6. . Ἐμοῦ δὲ πυνθανομένου τόν τε χρόνον καὶ τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς τελευτῆς, ἵνα καὶ συγγραφῇ πάντως τῷ θαύματι καὶ ἡ μνήμη δι᾽ ἔτους τελῆται, ὁ ἱερὸς ἐκεῖνος ἄνθρωπος· “Πολλά, εἶπεν, ὡς ὁρᾷς, ἀγαπητέ, τοῦ διηγήματος παρααλέλειπται. Codd. M. Καὶ γὰρ ἐχρῆν καὶ τὸ γένος καὶ τὴν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ νόσω M 5. πᾶσαν αὐτῆς ἄσκησιν ὅπως τε πρὸς τὰς τῶν ἀντικειμένων ἐχθρῶν omits M 1, 7. ἠγώνισται προσβολάς, ταυτὶ πάντα γνώριμα εἶναι ἔδει. Ἀλλὰ τί πάθω, τοῦ τῇ μεγάλῃ (φησίν) ἐντυχόντος μὴ κατὰ τὸν μέγαν ὄντος Ζωσιμᾶν, ὃς ἠπίστατο βίους καὶ ἀγῶνας ἀνιχνεύειν καὶ κατορθώματα; τοὐναντίον μὲν οὖν ὀρειφοίτης ἐκεῖνος καὶ παχὺς ἄνθρωπος καὶ τῶν omits M 7. τοιούτων ἀνήκοος.

Having related these things, as has been told above, that blessed man of God also secured me by oath not to consign the present subject to the depth of forgetfulness, nor on any pretext whatever to cover the wonder with silence and fail to bestow it in writing upon all time, fearing the divine retribution and the indignation of the holy woman. And when I inquired the time and the day of her death, so that it might in any case be written along with the miracle and her memory be celebrated every year, that sacred man said: "Much of the narrative, as you see, beloved, has been left out. For one ought to have — both her family and her whole asceticism on the island, and how she contended against the assaults of the opposing enemies — all these things ought to have been known. But what am I to do, since he who met the great woman (he says) was not like the great Zosimas, who knew how to track down lives and contests and achievements? On the contrary, that man was a mountain-roamer, and a dull man, and unacquainted with such things.

Πλὴν ἓν τοῦτο διὰ μνήμης εἶχεν, ὡς ἔλεγεν, ὅτι φθινούσης ὀπώρας ὁ καιρὸς ἦν καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸν νοέμβριον νοέβριον M 1, 3, 5. . Ἀλλ᾽ ἀγαπητὸν πάντως τὸ καὶ ἁπλῶς οὕτω γραφῇ τὸν βίον τῆς μακαρίας παραδοθῆναι εἰς πολλῶν ψυχῶν τῶν ἐντευξομένων ὠφέλειαν· τὴν δὲ μνήμην οἱ σπουδαῖοι καὶ ἐντευξόμενοι οἱ φιλ. M 2. φιλέορτοι corrected M 8, first φιλεόρτων. τῶν ἀνδρῶν καθ᾽ ὃ βούλονται καὶ φίλον αὐτοῖς τοῦ χρόνου τάξουσιν. Οὐδὲν γάρ, ὅσα γε εἰς τὴν τὸ M 4. μνημονευομένην, τὸ κατὰ τήνδε τὴν ἡμέραν τὴν αὐτῆς ἑαυτῆς M 7. μνήμην ἑορτάζεσθαι, ὁπόταν οὐδὲ αὐτὸ τὸ πανηγυρίζειν ὅλως· τίνα γὰρ εὔκλειαν προσθήσει καὶ δόξαν ἐγκώμια καὶ πανηγύρεις, οἷς τῶν οὐρανῶν ἡ βασιλεία καὶ τὰ ἀΐδια κεκλήρωται ἀγαθά, εἰς ἃ ποθοῦσι καὶ αὐτὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἀγαθῶν M 6. τὰ τάγματα παρακύψαι; πλὴν εἰ μὴ ζῆλον ἄρα τοῖς συνοῦσι συνιοῦσι M 1, 2, 5, 8, 9. καὶ κέντρον εἰς ἀρετὴν αὐτοῖς τε τοῖς πανηγυρίζουσι μισθὸν προξενήσει.”

Only this one thing he kept in memory, as he said, that the time was of waning autumn and toward November itself. But it is altogether to be welcomed that, even thus simply, the life of the blessed woman should be handed down in writing for the benefit of the many souls who will read it; and the earnest and festival-loving among men will appoint her memory at whatever time of the year they wish and is dear to them. For it is nothing, so far as concerns the one commemorated, that her memory should be kept as a feast on this particular day, when not even the very keeping of festivals is anything at all to her; for what renown and glory will encomia and festivals add to those to whom the kingdom of heaven and the eternal goods have been allotted, into which even the very orders of the angels long to look? Except perhaps that it will procure emulation for those who are with us, and a goad to virtue, and a reward for those who keep the festival."

[23] Ταῦτα ὁ μέγας ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ἡμῖν παραθέμενος καὶ ἄλλα προσθεὶς τὰ πρὸς σωτηρίαν συντείνοντα ἐξαπέστειλεν. Ἐπιφόρων δὲ ἀνέμων πνευσάντων, τῇ ἐπιούσῃ κατήχθημεν εἰς τὴν Δίαν, ἐξ ἧς εἰς Κρήτην. Ταῦτα δὲ πάντως τῆς ποικίλης ἦν καὶ πανσόφου προνοίας ἔργον Θεοῦ, τὸ τὸν μοναχὸν ἐκεῖνον ἡμᾶς ἰδεῖν, τὸ ἐντυχεῖν αὐτῷ καὶ εἰς λόγους ἐλθεῖν ἀκοῦσαί τε παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ, ὅσα ἐκεῖνος πάλιν παρὰ τοῦ θηρατοῦ μάθοι, ἃ καὶ μᾶλλον σοφὴν ἔχει καὶ παράδοξον τὴν οἰκονομίαν, τὸ τὴν ὁσίαν ἰδεῖν καὶ ἐν καιρῷ τοιούτῳ ἰδεῖν (καὶ-ἰδεῖν) omits M 1. ὅτε καὶ τὰ τοῦ τέλους ἐγγίζοντα ἦν ὥστε μὴ λαθεῖν τηλικούτου βίου κοινωφελὲς διήγημα, τὸ λειτουργῆσαι αὐτὸν λειτούργημα τοιοῦτον, τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φημι δωρεᾶς, τῇ ταύτης ἀξίᾳ, τὸ θανοῦσαν ἰδεῖν καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ τῇ χειρὶ δρᾶσαι τόλμης ἔργον ὁμοῦ καὶ πίστεως κ. π. ὁμοῦ M 6, 7. καὶ δι᾽ αὐτὴν πάλιν ἄλλον προβῆναι τρόπον οἰκονομίας θαυμασιώτατον, καθ᾽ ὃν ἥ τε τῆς μακαρίας οἰκείωσις πρὸς Θεὸν δήλη γέγονε, ναῦν τε ἐπέχουσα κλαπείσῃ χειρὶ καὶ πάλιν ἀποδοθείσῃ λύουσα, γνώμης τε δοκιμασία τῶν συνθηρατῶν καὶ συμπλόων καὶ ψυχῶν εὐγενῶν δήλωσις, οἳ κρείττους τοὺς adds M 1, 2, 5. ὄκνου παντὸς ὀφθέντες ἑκούσιόν τε πάλιν ὑποστροφὴν προτιμήσαντες διὰ μόνην περιουσίαν πίστεως, αὐτοὶ μὲν ταύτης ἀπηρτισμένον τὸν μισθὸν ἀπεῖχον εἶχον M 7. , τὸ δὲ μεῖζον πάντων ἡ θεία πρόνοια στρέφουσά τε καὶ ποικίλλουσα ἦν, τὸ τὴν ἁγίαν ὀφθῆναι καὶ κρείττω ταφῆς, ἅτε ὅλως ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον ζήσασαν, μᾶλλον δὲ λόγοις οἷς αὐτὴ οἦδεν ἡ πάντα τὰ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς βαθέως οἰκονομοῦσα καὶ διεξάγουσα.

Having entrusted these things to us and added other things conducive to salvation, that great man sent us off. And with favourable winds blowing, on the following day we put in at Dia, and from there went to Crete. And all this was surely the work of the manifold and all-wise providence of God: that we saw that monk, that we met him and came into conversation with him and heard from him all that he in turn had learned from the hunter; and, what has a still more wise and wonderful ordering, that the hunter saw the holy woman, and saw her at such a time, when the things of the end were drawing near, so that the narrative of so great a life, profitable to all, might not be hidden; that he ministered such a ministry, I mean of the gift of God, worthily of her; that he saw her dead, and did the deed concerning the hand, a deed at once of daring and of faith; and that through it in turn another most wonderful mode of the divine ordering came forth, by which the intimacy of the blessed woman with God became manifest, as she held back the ship with the stolen hand and loosed it again when the hand was given back; and a testing of the mind of the fellow-hunters and fellow-voyagers and a revelation of noble souls, who, being seen to be superior to all hesitation and preferring a voluntary return through sheer abundance of faith, themselves received the perfected reward of it; but greatest of all was the divine providence, turning and varying all things, that the saint was seen to be superior even to burial, as one who had lived wholly above man, or rather for reasons which she herself knows, who deeply orders and conducts all our affairs.

Τοῦτο τῆς ἐν Πάρῳ καταγωγῆς ἡμῶν καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ Κρήτην πορείας τὸ μέγα καὶ omits M 1, παρ᾽ ἐλπίδας ἐμπόρευμα. Οὗτος ὁ βίος τῆς μακαρίας Θεοκτίστης. Αὕτη ἡ ἄσκησις οὐ γυναιξὶ μόνον μόνοις M 7. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνδράσιν αὐτοῖς μιμήσασθαι χαλεπή. Οὕτως ἡ άσθενὴς φύσις, τὸ εὐτελὲς γύναιον, οὐδὲν πλέον εἰδὸς ἱστοῦ καὶ ἠλακάτης, πρὸς τὰς ἀρχάς τε καὶ τῆς adds M 1, 2, 5, 8. ἐξουσίας διηγωνίσατο καὶ τὸν παλαιὸν ἐνίκησε πτερνιστήν, ἐνδυναμωθὲν καὶ αὐτό (καὶ αὐτὸ) omits M 1, 2, 5, 8. ἀπο ἀσθενείας (τὸ τοῦ Παύλου καθ᾽ ὥραν εἰπεῖν) καὶ ἰσχυρὸν γενόμενον ἐν πολέμῳ εἰς δόξαν καὶ αἴνεσιν Χριστοῦ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ omits M 2. Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, ὅτι αὐτῷ πρέπει τιμὴ καὶ προσκύνησις συν τῷ ἀνάρχῳ πατρὶ καὶ τῶ adds M 6. ζωοποιῷ πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.

This was the great merchandise, beyond our hopes, of our putting in at Paros and of our journey to Crete. This is the life of the blessed Theoctiste. This is the asceticism hard to imitate not only for women but even for men themselves. Thus the weak nature, the paltry little woman, knowing nothing more than the loom and the distaff, contended against the principalities and the powers and conquered the ancient supplanter, being itself also strengthened out of weakness (to speak Paul's phrase in season) and made strong in war, to the glory and praise of Christ our true God, for to him belong honour and worship with the beginningless Father and the life-giving Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.