Vitae Patrum Book Nine

7/29/2019 Vitae Patrum Book Nine

1/77

De Vitis Patrum, Book IXBy Theodoretus, bishop of CyrusTranslated into Latin by Gentianus Hervetus

PrologueIt is a beautiful thing indeed to read about the battles of those exemplary menwho famously strove to acquire virtues. Such feasts for the eyes are of great benefit to us, for to understand them is to realise they are worthy of emulation.They stand out as examples to be embraced and imitated, compelling the readers to measure up to them. Those who know the stories of such great and virtuous deeds can bring no greater gift than this to the ears of those who have never heardof them. Some say that these stories are for the ears of the faithful only, butfrom hearing comes faith, (Romans 10.17) as long as the narrators are trusted tobe telling the truth.Just as the tongue and the palate can be relied upon to make a judgment and forman opinion on bitterness or sweetness or other such qualities, so the power ofunderstanding speech is committed to the ear, which knows how to distinguish between things beneficial and things harmful. And as long as these useful narratives remain whole and incorrupt in the memory, and if a veil of darkness does not scatter them, causing them to vanish from the mind, it might seem to be superfluous to write them down, for whatever benefit there is in them can be conveyed toothers fairly easily. But it seems to me that in time, as the body declines towards old age and death, great and virtuous deeds fall into oblivion, and the memory of them is lost. So therefore, let no one rebuke us for being eager to write

down the way that devout men, lovers of God, lived their lives.Those to whom is entrusted the care of our bodies prepare medicines to fight against disease and bring help to those who are suffering - just so do those who busy themselves in writing these stories provide wholesome medicines, so that things which were threatened with oblivion may kept in mind. Poets and writers quitenormally celebrate the brave and famous things done in war, playwrights in their tragedies offer to the public calamitous events which would otherwise have remained hidden, some of the others produce works of comedy and suchlike trivial affairs, so should we then allow oblivion to be the fate of those men who in theirmortal passionate flesh achieved passionlessness by striving after a nature which was not of this world? What punishments should we not deservedly incur if instead of remembering those deeds worthy of admiration we neglect them as being ofnothing worth? If the memory of those who in old times strove after the highest

teachings of the saints has been preserved not in speech or writing but in lifelike pictures and statues which express all their virtues, what blame would deservedly be given to us if we did not pay due honour to their outstanding lives inwriting also? The athletes and contortionists who compete at the Olympics are honoured with statues, even the charioteers in the races are given the same distinction. Not only this, but there are men and women - as well as effeminate people whose gender is uncertain - who delight in making spectacles of themselves, who get themselves into the record books, forever striving to keep their fame alive for as long as possible, even though the memory of them is not beneficial to the soul but debilitating. So then, those worthy of admiration are honoured by one sort of picture, those who can only bring harm by another. And since death brings destruction to every mortal nature, they think that by producing judiciouslycoloured pictures of themselves their fame will last longer than a long life.

We, however, shall be writing about lives governed by a love of wisdom ['philosophia', and translated thus passim], ways of life directed towards the heavenly,worthy of imitation. We shall not be describing bodily features and faces, nor shall we be offering anything from anyone who speaks from ignorance, but we shallbe outlining the working of souls which is not normally open to view, and we shall lay bare hidden battles and conflicts which are not outwardly apparent.This was the armour with which Paul, the general of his army and leader in battle, clothed his troops: 'Put on', he said, 'the armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand.' And again, 'Stand therefore with your loins girded about with truth, wearing the breastplate of


2/77

justice, your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, at all times taking up the shield of faith, with which you may quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And put on the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.' (Ephesians 6.13-17). And having clothed them in this armour he sent them forth to battle. The nature of the enemy is incorporeal, difficult to discern, obscurely invasive, secretly insidious, suddenly attacking whenleast expected. Our general gave the same instructions to his troops, saying, 'Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world and the darkness of this age, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.' (Ibid. 12). This band of saints had a great number of enemies like that; each one of them was surrounded by many powerfulenemies (not that they all attacked at once - some of them attacked now one lot,now another), so their victory was all the more famous when their adversaries fled. And when they had been put to flight and scattered, the flag of victory could be raised without any possible objection from anybody.It was not mortal human nature, full of countless contradictions, which won themthat victory, but the divine grace which filled their souls. For they burned with love for the divine beauty, and were resolved to do all things and suffer allthings for the sake of him whom they loved. With a strong and generous spirit they bore the attacks of their own contradictions and agitations, they repulsed the violence of the devil with the sort of javelin which in apostolic terms consists of 'punishing the body and bringing it into subjection' (1 Corinthians 9.27). They quenched the fires of anger, they compelled raging greed to be still; byfasting and staying quietly at home they settled their troubled states of mind a

nd banished all exaggerated flights of fancy, and compelled their vile bodies into harmony with their souls, thus winning the battle against their inborn nature. Once peace had been established in all these things, they were able to expel the whole crowd of adversaries, for they had no inner thoughts of which the devils might take advantage. Deprived of any help which the human senses might give them the demons were unable to carry on their war. For the devil makes use of oursenses as his weapons; if we ignore the sights that dazzle and the tempting sounds we hear, if our sense of feeling is not titillated by luxurious softness, ifour minds give no admittance to depraved devices, then their labour is in vainwho prepare assaults against us.No enemy can capture a city built on a hill, fortified with strong defences andsurrounded by deep ditches, for as long as no one inside helps the enemy by opening the gates. Just so, it is not possible for the demons, who wage war from out

side us, to overcome a soul surrounded by divine grace, unless some slothfulnessof thought opens some window in our senses which allows the enemy to enter in.Those whose praises we are celebrating learned this from opening the divine scriptures to hear God saying through the Prophet. 'Death has come up through the windows' (Jeremiah 9.21). So for them the laws of God served as bolts and bars toprevent their senses from straying, and they entrusted the keys to the rationalmind; so that unless the mind gave the command, the tongue and lips did not open, nor was the eye permitted to range abroad; and the mind shut the door to all foolish and worthless voices as soon as they were heard approaching with threatening and vicious sounds. Only such voices as the mind approved of were allowed in. And thus they taught that the sense of smell should not hanker after sweet perfumes whose inbuilt nature was softening and relaxing. They taught that the stomach should not be fully satisfied but be fed of practical necessity not for plea

sure, and never given more than what was sufficient to keep them from death by starvation. Likewise they defeated the sweet tyranny of sleep; they escaped frombeing the slaves of their eyelids, and for servitude substituted domination, inthat they made use of sleep not when sleep overcame them but when they briefly summoned sleep in order to satisfy the needs of nature.So then, having taken care to guard the gates and walls and bring harmony to their inner thoughts, they could laugh at the invading adversaries outside, who were unable to get in by force because the grace of God overruled them, nor was anytraitor to be found who was willing to let them in. Even though these enemies were by nature hidden from sight, they still had no power over a visible body sub


3/77

ject to the needs of nature. For the mind, the governing charioteer of this body, skilfully and harmoniously holding the reins, directed the horses accurately and well; it continuously plucked the strings of the senses, producing elegant and agreeable harmony in every part; by its skill in handling the rudder it withstood the pounding of the waves and broke the force of the winds.These men therefore entered into life through countless labours, they subdued the body by hardships and sweat, they knew no laughter or relaxation, their wholelife was one of tears and mourning, they reckoned their fasts as Sybaritic delights, their protracted vigils as the sweetest of slumbers, the hard ground as thegentlest of bedding, a life of praying and singing psalms as the greatest and most inexhaustible of pleasures. Who can fail to admire these men who embraced every kind of virtue? Who will not praise and celebrate their worthiness? I know indeed that no speeches can adequately portray their virtues; nevertheless we canbut try.They had an eager longing for their love of true wisdom to be perfected, but itwould not nevertheless be right to neglect the praise of lesser lights. So I shall not assign one common measure of praise to all in what I write, for the giftsGod gave them were varied, as the blessed Paul taught: 'To some is given by theSpirit a word of wisdom, to others a word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to others faith by the same Spirit, to others gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to others the working of miracles, to others prophecy, to others the gift of tongues, to others the interpretation of tongues.' (1 Corinthians 12. 8-10). And inorder to show the origin of them all he adds, 'But at work in all these is one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one separately how he will' (Ibid. 11). Sin

ce therefore the gifts they have been given are all different, it is right thatI should make a separate story out of each one of them. I shall not itemise every single thing that they did, for a whole lifetime would be needed to do that, but to illustrate their manner of life I shall tell of a few things that each onehas done. Having outlined just a few things illustrating the character and shape of the life of each one, I shall then go on to the next.I shall not try to put into writing the history of every holy person who ever existed, and not even those whose fame we know to have been universally acknowledged, for it is not possible that one man could write about everyone. I shall describe only the lives of those who were like lights shining in the East sending out their rays to the ends of the earth. But let my storytelling issue in prayer;judge it not by the laws of eulogising, but gather from it a few things that aretrue. This is a religious history, or description of monastic discipline (call

it what you will, as long as you do not give less credence to the stories because you read of things which are beyond your own capabilities). And I beg whosoever lights upon it not to weigh its virtues up against what they themselves are capable of, but to recognise clearly that it is God from on high who measures outthe gifts of the most holy Spirit on the souls of the devout, and more abundantly to those who are closer to perfection. I say this for the benefit of those whoare not yet fully initiated into the mysteries of divine things. It is the priests of the inner sanctum of the Spirit who know the glory of the Spirit and recognise the miracles which he performs among human beings through the ministrations of human beings, drawing the unbelieving towards the knowledge of God. It is clear that whoever does not believe the things which I am about to relate would not believe what Moses did either, or what Joshua did, or Elijah or Elisha, and holds as fables the deeds of the holy apostles. But if they do accept those thing

s to be true let them also give credence to these things. For the grace that worked in them is the same grace which enabled these others to do what they did. Grace is eternal, and chooses those who are worthy of it, passing over some, but pouring out over others the fulness of its working.I witnessed myself many of the things I shall tell about, and what I did not witness myself I heard from those who did, men who loved virtue and were found worthy to be their witnesses and profit from their teachings. Matthew and John are first and foremost among the Evangelists, for they actually saw the Lord's miracles, but Luke and Mark are also trustworthy gospel writers. They were taught by those who were from the beginning 'witnesses and ministers of the Word', (Luke 1.


4/77

2) passing on accurate knowledge of what the Lord suffered and did, and what heconstantly taught. And so although the blessed Luke did not actually see the Lord, he made it quite clear in the beginning of his gospel that he was telling ofthose things which had been delivered unto him (Ibid). So then we also, if we have listened to someone who did not actually see what he is talking about but learnt about it from someone else, are able to give no less credence to him and toMark than we do to Matthew and John. The narrative of one as well as the other is worthy of belief for they learned from those who were there.We therefore shall tell of some things which we actually saw, and other things trusting in the stories of those who did see, and who emulated them in their ownlives. But I shall go into a bit more detail when I want to be convincing aboutthe truth of what I am saying. And so, here I begin my story.

Chapter IJACOBUS of NisibisMoses the divine lawgiver, who laid bare the bottom of the sea, caused water toflow in the barren desert and did many other miracles, wrote down the deeds of those saints who were of old. He was not prompted by the wisdom of the Egyptians,but by the splendour of grace given him from above. For unless he had been inspired by the all-knowing divine Spirit, how could he have learned about the virtues of Abel, Enoch's love of righteousness, the devout priesthood of Melchisedech, the calling of Abraham, and his faith, his courage, his meticulous attention to the duties of hospitality, the sacrifice of his son for the benefit of the world, and the whole catalogue of all the other deeds which he performed? I likewis

e need help in this present work, trying as I am to describe the lives of thoseholy people who shone both in our own times and in the times a little before us,and whom I would wish to portray as examples for those who would wish to emulate them. I beg your prayers for this, and so I begin my tale.Nisibis is a state on the borders between the Romans and the Persians. At one time it was subject to the Romans and paid taxes to them. This is where the greatJacobus came from to embrace the quietness of a solitary life. He chose the peaks of the highest mountains as his abode. In summer and autumn he frequented thewoods, with only the sky for a roof over his head; in the winter he made use ofa cave, which gave him some sort of shelter. His food was not such as is laboriously sown and cultivated, but what grew naturally; he gathered the fruits whichgrew of their own accord on the trees of the woods, and edible herbs which served him as vegetables. He ate them raw, providing his body with sufficient to pres

erve life. He found it quite unnecessary for his clothing to be of wool; he usedinstead the prickly hair of goatskins, from which he made a tunic and simple cloak.By afflicting his body thus, he was able to feed his body with spiritual food, by contemplation he purified the faculty of thought, wherein as in a clear mirrorof the divine Spirit, with open face looking to the glory of God, he was transformed into the same image from glory unto glory, as by the spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3.18). Hence, his trust in God which came from God increased daily, and asking from God only what it was right to ask he immediately received whathe asked for. As a result he was able to see the future prophetically, and by the grace of the most holy Spirit received the power of doing miracles. I shall tell of some of them, and make known the brightness of his apostolic splendour tothose who were previously unaware.

An insane attraction to idols was flourishing among people at that time, the cult of worshipping inanimate statues was being promoted, and many neglected the worship of God. Anyone who did not wish to join in their drunkenness was held in contempt, but those given above all to the pursuit of virtue saw things as they really were, and mocked the senselessness of idols while worshipping the maker ofthe universe.He had travelled into Persia at that time in order to see the new signs of truereligion there, and what was equally important, to bring them some pastoral care. He happened to be passing by a pond where some girls were washing clothes by pounding them with their feet. Far from showing the respect due to him not only a


5/77

s a stranger but as one wearing the habit with modesty and dignity, the girls shamelessly cast burning looks and impudent glances at the holy man, nor did theycover their heads or let fall the garments which they had tucked up round theirwaists.This made the man of God angry, and he called down a curse upon the pond, choosing this opportune moment to make manifest the power of God, and by performing amiracle to drive out wickedness. The pond immediately dried up. He also cursed the girls and punished their youthful impudence by turning their hair prematurelygrey. The lesson he drew from this was that the changed colour of their hair was like what had recently happened to the trees, which were now crowned with autumn leaves. The girls watched the waters drying up and stared at each other's heads. They knew these sudden changes were their punishment, and they fled back tothe town to tell of what had happened. The townspeople ran out and soon met up with the great Jacobus, whom they begged to restrain his anger and remove the punishment. Jacobus did not keep them waiting long, but prayed to God and commandedthe waters to flow once more. They immediately began to gush up out of the depths again, obedient to the holy man's command. Having made that request they thenbegged that the colour of the girls' hair should be restored. He granted this even though the girls had not returned, for he sought them out and lifted the punishment from them. This was a lesson to them that they should in future be temperate and well disciplined, and remember always how divine power had been shown forth on them.Such was the miracle of this latter-day Moses, performed not by striking with arod, but by making the sign of the cross. Quite apart from the miracle I am asto

nished at his gentleness. For unlike the great Elisha he did not hand those impudent girls into the power of savage bears, (2 Kings 2.24), but shamed them by means of a fairly harmless punishment, and at the same time taught them to be respectful and restrained. I say this, not to condemn the prophet for savagery (farbe it from me to be so presumptuous!), but to demonstrate how Jacobus possessedthe same sort of power, but used it in a manner compatible with the New Testament and the greatness of Christ.On another occasion he was present when a Persian judge handed down a judgment which was manifestly unjust, so Jacobus laid a curse on a large rock nearby, ordering it to be broken into fragments, showing by this how worthless the judgmentwas. All those present were terrified at seeing the stone shattered into a thousand pieces, and it was such a shock to the judge himself that he overturned hisprevious judgment and issued a just one. In this likewise Jacobus was imitating

the Lord, who when wishing to show that he was going cheerfully to his passion of his own free will, refrained from punishing his persecutors but showed that hehad power to do so by withering the fig tree (Matthew 21.19). In imitation of such clemency Jacobus did not punish the judge, but by destroying the rock induced him to judge justly.His deeds became known, and made him so loved and respected by all that he was elevated to the bishopric of his own country. So through no desire of his own hewas thrust into a very exalted way of life and social position. But he did not wear any different clothing or change his diet; his circumstances may have changed but his rule of life was not modified in the slightest. His labours increased,and were much greater than they were before. He was already fasting, sleeping on the ground and wearing rough clothing; to these labours were added the care ofthe poor, the widows and the orphans, and he also opposed those who dealt unjus

tly while supporting those who had suffered injustice. But what a task it wouldbe to enlighten all those who are unaware of the benefits received by those he cared for! His great distinction is that he went about his work as one who aboveall feared and loved him who was the master of his sheep.The greater his acts of kindness grew in number, so much the greater was the grace given to him by the most holy Spirit. On one occasion he was travelling through some village or town (I'm not quite sure where), when some poor people approached him carrying one of their number who they said was dead. They humbly beggedhim for money to pay for his burial, but he simply prayed to God to forgive himthe sins he had committed in life and count him worthy to be admitted into the


6/77

company of the just. At the very moment when these words were being spoken, thesoul departed from the man pretending to be dead, while Jacobus gave them moneyfor a shroud.As soon as this admirable man had gone a little further on his way the perpetrators of this deed told the recumbent form to get up. Receiving no response they suddenly realised that what they had been pretending had come true, the playacting had become real. They rushed back to Jacobus and threw themselves at his feet,protesting that it was poverty which had driven them to do what they had rashlydone. They humbly begged him to pardon their transgression and restore the deadman to life. And in imitation of the mercy of the Lord he did offer prayers andperform a miracle, so that as life had been taken through prayer even so life through prayer was restored.This all seems to have certain similarities to the miracle performed by the great Peter, who handed over to death those thieves and liars, Ananias and Saphiras(Acts 5,1-10), for Jacobus also brought death to him who murdered truth and traded in lies. But whereas Peter inflicted the punishment having become aware of the theft by the Spirit, Jacobus knew nothing of what those men were trying to achieve, but simply offered the prayers which brought about the pretender's death.The divine Apostle did nothing to snatch back the dead from their fate, becausehe needed to inculcate some fear before could begin to preach salvation. Jacobus, overflowing with apostolic grace, brought about an opportune punishment, but also later remitted the punishment, for the need here was to bring enlightenmentto the offenders.

Chapter I, Jacobus (continued) Book IX (Julianus Sabas begins further down page)

But we need to move on to other matters which should be briefly mentioned. AfterArius created uproar and confusion in Egypt, the great Emperor Constantine gathered all the leaders of the churches together at Nicaea. Arius was the father and instigator of curse and blasphemy against the only begotten Son and the most h

oly Spirit, whereas Constantine was like a Zorobabel to our flock (Zorobabel brought the universal captivity of the righteous back from exile and rebuilt the holy temple which had been razed to the ground [Ezra 3.2].) The great Jacobus wasalso among those who came to Nicaea, determined to stand up for revealed truth like the brave army-leader he was, for Nisibis at that time was a Roman dependency. When the gathering was over and everyone returned home, he too came back likea brave man who had won a victory, rejoicing that true devotion had prevailed.Some time after this, that great and highly regarded Emperor departed this lifeacknowledged by all to be a saint [lit. with crowns of piety], and his sons inherited the rulership of the world. But Sapores, the king of the Persians, had norespect for Constantine's sons, deeming them to be nowhere near as powerful as their father, and he sent a great army of cavalry and infantry, together with a great number of elephants, to war against Nisibis.

He deployed his army to besiege the city and completely surrounded it. He brought his siege engines forward, built towers and dug ditches, barricaded the spacebetween them with hurdles built out of branches, and ordered his soldiers to build mounds so that his towers would rival those of the city. He then placed his archers in them, ordering them to direct their fire on those manning the battlements. He ordered others to dig below and undermine the walls. But all these planswere of no effect and a waste of time, for they were all brought to naught by the prayers of Jacobus, that divine man. At last, however, Sapores came to a bolddecision [lit. forbade weakness] and, confident that the numbers of his men were like a river in flood, built earthworks and constructed retaining barriers so


7/77

that he was able to divert a real river of great quantity which he directed against the fortifications. It proved to be a most mighty device, for the walls wereunable to withstand this attack and were struck with such force that at that point they began to crumble from beneath. A great shout went up from the besiegingarmy, for now the city was on the point of being taken. They did not fully realise, however, the wall of defence which the citizens of that city still possessed.For a time they deferred entering the city, unable to approach it because of thewaters. They moved back some distance and thinking that their labours were almost over, they relaxed and took thought for their horses. But those who lived inthe city turned to prayer, with the great Jacobus as their intercessor. Every able-bodied person worked as hard as they possibly could to rebuild, not worryingabout whether the structure would be pretty and pleasing, but piling everythingup at random, stones and bricks and whatever anyone could carry, to such effectthat in the space of one night they had built high enough to prevent an attack by cavalry, and by infantry unless using ladders. They then all begged the man ofGod to show himself on the walls and hurl the weapon of cursing at the enemy. In response to their request he went up, and as he looked out over the multitudeof them he begged God to send a cloud of mosquitoes and gnats upon them. Even ashe spoke God responded, answering the prayer of Jacobus as he did the prayer ofMoses. Men were pierced by these spears from God, horses and elephants broke their chains, bolted and scattered hither and thither, unable to bear the stings.The wicked king realised that all his stratagems had failed; the flooding with water had achieved nothing, for the wall which had been destroyed had been rebuil

t. His whole army was worn out by their labours and was under the curse of God,plagued by the snares of God. He saw the man of God walking upon the walls and thought it must have been the Emperor who had been in charge of all the work, forJacobus seemed to be dressed in purple and crowned with a diadem. He was therefore enraged with those who had urged him into this battle, deceiving him by telling him that the Emperor would not be there. He condemned them to execution, dismissed the army and returned to his own kingdom as quickly as possible.These miracles are in no way inferior to those which God performed through Hezekiah (2 Kings 19.35) - even greater, it seems to me, in that the city was not taken even though the walls had been undermined. But what I admire even more than that is that when he had recourse to cursing he did not call down thunder and lightning from heaven as the great Elijah did when each captain of fifty with his fifty men advanced towards him (2 Kings I.14). For Jacobus had understood what th

e Lord said to James and John when they wanted to do this: 'You do not know whatmanner of spirit you are of' (Luke 9. 55). So he did not ask for the earth to swallow them up, or that they should be consumed by fire, but just that they should be plagued by insects. Knowing the power of God he understood that discipleship had to be developed into the true way of worshipping God. Great indeed was the trust which this divine man had in God, great was the grace given him from above. His face was ever turned heavenwards, and having grown daily in the knowledge of God he at last laid down his life with great glory and departed from our midst.Some time later, this city was handed over from its then rulers to the kingdom of Persia. Those who used to live there had to leave, but they took with them thebody of their prince and defender, grieving and scarcely able to bear having tobe exiled, yet singing and celebrating the power of this great conqueror. For i

f he had lived they would have had but a small chance of falling into the handsof the barbarians.I have now come to the end of my account of this divine man, and so move on to another story, praying that his blessing may follow me.

Chapter IIJULIANUS SABAS

Julianus lived in the region formerly known as the land of the Persians, but latterly of the Ofroeni, where he set up a little dwelling-place in which to follow


8/77

the monastic life. The local people honoured him with the name Sabas, which means presbyter in Greek, or senis in Latin [or 'old man' or 'elder' in English]. On one side, to the West, his cell was bounded by the banks of the River Euphrates; on the other, towards the rising sun, lay the border of the Roman Empire. Assyria conquered the Persians, and the western border of the kingdom of the Persians was called Adiabenis by those who came after. In this country there were many great and populous cities, and a great part of the country was inhabited. Butthere was also a great deal of uninhabited desert.This divine man went to the furthest parts of this solitary place and found a naturally formed cave, which although not very beautiful or commodious, nevertheless provided some barely sufficient shelter for those who came to him. He was perfectly happy to live here, reckoning it to be more magnificent than kingdoms glittering with gold and silver. He settled in there, eating only once a week, hisfood, bread made from barley, and that of the bran only, his only relish salt, his drink the purest water which flowed from a natural spring [lit. drink howeverthe most pure, waters of floods by themselves natural], which he did not use toexcess but only according to a predetermined measure.But he enjoyed the unmeasured delights of an unlimited banquet in the shape of singing the psalms of David, and having constant converse with God. He made use of them constantly, he could never get enough of them, he was always full of them, he was forever crying, 'How sweet are your words to my tongue, more than honeyand honeycomb to my mouth' (Psalms 119.103). And again he heard these words ofthe blessed David, 'The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves,more to be desired than gold and many precious stones, sweeter than honey and t

he honeycomb' (Psalms 19.10-11). And again, 'Delight in the Lord and he will give you your heart's desire,' (ibid. 37.4). And again, 'Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord' (ibid. 105.3). And 'Let my heart rejoice that it might fear your name' (ibid.86.11). And 'Taste and see how gracious the Lord is' (ibid.34.8). And 'My soul thirsts for the living God' (ibid.42.2). And 'My soul longsafter you' (ibid. 42.1) And he grafted into himself the love which inspired thewriter of all these words.This is how the great David by his songs taught him that he would build up manycompanions who would rival him in the love they showed for God. His hope for this was not in vain. For not this man only but countless others were thus piercedby the love of God. He was consumed by such a great fire of love, he was so intoxicated by desire, that he ceased to have any care for anything of this earth. He dreamed only of his beloved by night and sought only the sight of him by day.

And many people heard about his exceptional quest for wisdom [philosophia], andcame to him from far and near. As his fame spread everywhere abroad, so they ranto him begging to benefit from his training. The came to him as to a master trainer, to be a family of children who would live on after him. Just as singing birds are used in hunting to call others of the same breed in order to catch themin nets, so do human beings chase after other human beings, sometimes for the purpose of destroying them, but sometimes in order to be saved. So very soon therewere ten others with him, then twice and even three times more than that. Although there were so many of them the cave accommodated them all. They learned fromthe old man how to care little for the comfort of the body, they dressed alikeas children of the same family, sustained by barley bread and salt.Later on they collected wild herbs and mixed them in dolia [i.e. large globularwater jars] with a sufficient amount of salt brine, to be used as remedies for

those who were ill. The place where these herbs were stored was extremely damp and it eventually happened that they followed their natural inclination to develop mould and rot, for the cave was very damp in every part of it. So the brothersasked the old man if he would let them build a little shelter big enough to take the vessels containing these remedies. At first he was very unwilling to accede to their request, but was eventually persuaded by St Paul not to seek his own(1 Corinthians 13.5) but to make concessions and accommodate himself to the humble. He therefore specified the measurements to which a small shelter might be built and left the cave to offer up his usual prayers to God. (For he was accustomed to go off into the desert, often for 50 stadia [= 5.7 miles approx] but somet


9/77

imes for twice as far, to cut himself off from all human company, retire into himself and there to meet and converse with God and gaze upon his divine and ineffable beauty.)As soon as they had time, the men whom the old man had considered capable of seeing to this matter began to build a little shed of a size compatible with what it was to be used for, but bigger than they had been told. And on the tenth day,like Moses coming down from the mountain and from such contemplation as cannot be expressed in words, the old man saw this building, much bigger than he had allowed."I fear," he said, "that you men may be so attached to earthly buildings that you lose the heavenly. For the earthly are but for a time and are of use to us forbut a moment, whereas the heavenly are for ever and cannot come to an end." Andthis he said to lead his group of people into a knowledge of the more perfect way, while yet bearing in mind the voice of the apostle saying, 'I seek not afterwhat is profitable for myself but for many, that they may be saved.' (1 Corinthians 10.33)He also taught them how to offer heartfelt hymnody to God in common. Two of themshould go off together into the desert at dawn; one of them should prostrate himself to give the Lord due adoration, the other should stand and sing fifteen ofthe psalms of David. This done they should change places; one of them to get upand sing, the other to prostrate himself and adore. And they should continue doing this attentively from morning till the evening. Before sunset they should rest for a little while in the cave, some here, some there, but all should then come together from wherever they are in the cave to offer the vespertide hymns to

God together. The old man was accustomed to choose one of the juniors to share the duties of leading the prayers.One of his more assiduous followers was a man of Persia, a big man with a beautiful body, but whose soul was even more beautiful still. His name was Jacobus, who continued to shine with every virtue after Julianus' death. He was famous andrespected not only in Persia but also in the Syrian monasteries or schools of philosophy, where he ended his life at the age, it is said, of a hundred and four. He often accompanied Julianus, that great old man, into the desert, but was always kept at a distance. The master did not allow anyone to come too close to him lest some possible occasion of disagreement arise between them, for conversation takes the mind away from the contemplation of God.One day as Jacobus was following on behind him he saw an enormous wild beast [draco] in the path ahead. He looked at it wondering whether he dared go on any fur

ther. At first fear urged him to avoid the beast, but then he summoned up his courage. He bent down and picked up a stone, which he threw, but found that the beast stayed still, unable to move at all. He realised that the beast was dead andwondered whether that was not the old man's doing. They continued on their routine, and when they had finished their routine of prayer and singing the old mansat down for a time of quiet, telling Jacobus also to be silent for a little while, which he did until the old man with a smile began some gentle conversation.Jacob then asked for enlightenment upon a point about which he was ignorant."You may ask, if you wish," the old man said."As I was coming along the path," said Jacobus, "I saw an enormous wild beast lying there. I was very frightened at first, thinking it was alive, but then I sawthat it was dead, and I was able to keep on going in safety. Tell me, father, who killed it? You had been ahead of me, and no one else had passed by."

"Stop being inquisitive about such things. You won't be any the better off for knowing the answer."But Jacobus is to be admired for abating not one whit in his desire to know thetruth. The old man tried for quite a while to keep his counsel but in the end could not bear to keep his companion in suspense any longer."Well, I will tell you, if you really want to know," he said at last, "but onlyon one condition, that you tell nobody else as long as I am alive. For anythingwhich might encourage pride and arrogance should always be kept secret. But after I have departed this life I shall be free from such spiritual temptations, soI would not entirely forbid you to reveal it, at least as a proof of the power o


10/77

f divine grace. So then you should know that this beast met me as I walked alongthe path, looking as if it was going to devour me, but I called upon Jesus andmade the sign of the cross at him, completely free from fear. Immediately I sawthe beast fall to the ground, and with a commonly used prayer of praise for theSaviour I jumped over him." And having spoken thus he returned to the cave.On another occasion there was a nobly born young man, rather delicately broughtup, whose confidence in his own willing eagerness of spirit was not matched by his physical strength, for he begged the old man to let him be his companion as he journeyed into the desert, not merely for the one-day visit that everyone did,but for the longer journey which often lasted for eight to ten days. This man was the famous Asterius. The divine old man discouraged the youth, pointing out that the desert was scorching hot and waterless, but he persisted in begging forhis request to be granted.His pleadings eventually persuaded the old man, and he did indeed follow the oldman out. He was quite vigorous at first, but when the first day, the second dayand then the third day had passed, he began to feel dried up by the rays of thesun, and to suffer continually from thirst. (It was summertime, and of course the flames of the sun are even stronger at the height of summer.) At first he felt ashamed to admit to suffering any discomfort, turning over in his mind what the old man had said to him beforehand. At last however he gave in, and in a stateof near collapse begged the old man to have pity on him. But the old man simplyreminded him of what he had already said, and told him to go back home."But I don't know the way back to the cave," said the youth. "And even if I didI couldn't manage it. My strength has almost vanished because of thirst."

The old man then took pity on the young man's condition, realising how weak hisbody was. He prostrated himself and prayed to the Lord. He watered the ground with hot tears and begged for the young man's safety. And he who answers the prayers and fulfils the desires of those who fear him took the teardrops falling on the sand and turned them into a fountain of water. The young man was revived by this flowing water and the old man urged him to keep on going. The spring is still there to this day, a witness to the Mosaic power of the old man's prayer. Forjust as Moses of old struck the bare rock with his rod and produced an abundantflow of water sufficient to satisfy the thirst of thousands of people (Exodus 17.6), so did this man produce a flowing fountain by watering the driest of sand with his tears, not for the sake of many thousands, but to satisfy the thirst ofone single youth. Inspired by divine grace he foresaw the future perfection of this youth, who many years later, spurred on by divine grace to lead many others

into the same state of grace, built a monastic school of excellence near Gendarum, the city next in size to Antioch. Here, he attracted to himself many other athletic lovers of wisdom.One of those drawn to him was the great Acacius, an outstanding man in my view,and justly famous. He was exceptional in his monastic life, and shone with suchsplendid virtues that he was held worthy to be made a bishop and given pastoralcare of Berhoea. During the fifty-eight years he cared for his flock he never relaxed his monastic routine, but combined the best qualities both monastic and secular. In his monasticism he continued in the search for perfection, in his civil life he administered the affairs of a large household, thus combining things which in themselves were very different from each other.Asterius also strove to practise this kind of virtue. He had such a great affection for the great old man Julianus that he would visit him sometimes twice a yea

r sometimes thrice. He would come with three or four beasts of burden laden withdried figs for the community (sodalibus), and put together two measures of themwhich he carried on his own shoulders, enough to last the old man a year. He called himself a camel-driver, and so he was. And he carried this load not just for a mile or two, but for a seven day's journey. Once when the old man saw him struggling along, loaded up with dried figs on his shoulders he said that he should stop bringing this food to him."It is not right that you should undergo all this labour," Julianus said, "so that I can profit in luxury from your sweat.""I won't unload anything at all," said Asterius, "unless you agree to take a sha


11/77

re in this food that I have brought.""I'll do as you ask," he said. "Only please put that burden down as soon as possible."In this he was like the chief of the apostles who demurred at first when the Lord offered to wash his feet, loudly asserting that that would never happen (John13.8). But then as soon as he was told that unless he agreed he would be partedfrom fellowship with the Lord, he begged that the Lord would wash not only his feet but also his hands and his head. Likewise, this divine man was worried thathe should enjoy the fruit of someone else's labour, but recognizing the burningeagerness of his disciple's soul, he abandoned his objections in favour of accepting his ministry.People who take pleasure in other people being blamed, and who have learned onlyhow to laugh at all things honest, may well say that this story was not worth remembering. But I think it is a profitable story, and have included it in the account of this man's miracles not only to show how his piety was typical of all great men, but also to demonstrate what an attractive and reasonable man he was.For his great virtues were of such a kind that he considered himself to be unworthy of even the slightest honour, so he therefore rebuffed [Asterius' offering]as being quite inappropriate. But later he accepted him, to signify his supportfor those who do such things.It was obvious that the more he tried to distance himself from everyone, the more his reputation attracted people who were lovers of all things wholesome and honest. So he escaped with some of his closer companions to Mt Sinai, without going into any of the towns or villages, but by journeying through the trackless des

ert. They carried their food with them on their shoulders, bread and salt in fact, and also a flask, a wooden ladle, and a sponge on the end of a line, so thatif they came to deep well they would be able to lower the sponge, and squeeze itout into the ladle from which they drank. After many days' journeying they cameat last to the long looked-for mountain, where they praised the Lord and remained for quite a long time, taking pleasure in the solitude and enjoying great peace of mind. On that rocky place where Moses, chief of prophets, was found worthyto see God (in so far as it is possible for anyone to see God), he built a church and consecrated a holy altar, which remain to this day. This done, he returned to his own place.At this time his namesake, the wicked Emperor Julian, was threatening to destroythe Christians root and branch. He came into Persia, and those who thought as he did confidently expected to witness his return [in safety], but Julianus began

to pray to God with great zeal and burning desire, which he kept up for ten days, until he heard a voice saying that that accursed and filthy pig had been removed. But he did not stop praying; he joyfully continued by turning his prayer into a song of thanksgiving to the gentle Saviour of his own people who were opposed to this powerful enemy. He had long been gentle and forbearing towards this wicked man, but at last his gentleness and tolerance of his crimes turned to anger, and brought down upon him the punishment he deserved.When he had finished his prayer he returned to his companions, and it was obvious to them that he was in a tranquil and happy frame of mind, for the cheerfulness of his heart showed in the happiness of his face. They who knew him so well were astonished at this unwonted sight, for whereas he was usually solemn of countenance now he was seen to be smiling. They asked him what he was so happy aboutand he replied, "The present time, my brothers, is one of joy, for the wicked ha

s been cast down, as Isaiah says (Isaiah 24.21), and the aggression he began hasmet with its just reward. He who defied the God who made and preserved him hasbeen justly destroyed by the power of him who is the source of power. So I am gladdened to see the churches rejoicing which he had oppressed, and to know that the demons now infest him who used to seek their help, and no help now can he find." This was how he foresaw the fall of the wicked.


12/77

Chapter II, Julianus Sabas (continued), Book IX(Marcianus begins further down page)

Valens took up the reins of Roman power after Julian, departed from the truth ofthe gospel and decided to impose the erroneous teaching of Arius. A great campaign against the Church began, the leaders were everywhere driven into exile, andreplaced by hostile plunderers. I won't go into the whole course of that tragedy at present, but omit everything except just one event which plainly shows howthe grace of the divine Spirit flourished in that old man.Now the great Meletius had been driven out of the church of Antioch, the pastoral care of which it was believed had been given him by the God of all. People ofthe same opinion as himself, professing belief in the one essence of the Trinity, together with some of the clergy, were also expelled from the holy churches. They came to a hollow in the mountains to celebrate the holy mysteries. They madethe river bank an oratory, which at one time had been an army training ground in front of the northern gate. But the enemy would not permit these pious peopleto gather together all in one place, and infiltrated them with lying adherents of theirs who spread rumours among them that Julianus himself was in communion with those who held to this false teaching.Now Flavianus and Diodorus, those blessed divine men, had the honour of being the priestly leaders of the people [at that time]. Together with Aphraates, whose

life I intend to give you an account of, if God wills [see chapter VIII], they persuaded the great Acacius (whom I have already mentioned) to make an approach to the illustrious Asterius, his teacher and, of course, the disciple of Julianus. Their aim was to go as quickly as possible to Julianus, that splendid exampleof devotion and upholder of gospel teaching, to beg him to put aside his predilection for solitude and come to the aid of the thousands of people in danger fromfalse teaching, in the hope that his arrival would be the means of extinguishing the flames of Arianism. Acacius hastened on his way, taking with him as requested the great Asterius, and came to Julianus."Tell me, father," he said after greeting him, "what are your reasons for all these great labours that you gladly undergo?""The worship of God," he replied, "is more precious to me than body and soul andlife itself, than everything to do with life. So I try, as far as I am able, to

serve him free from all stain and please him in all things.""Let me put it to you," said Acacius, "that there is a way in which you can serve him even more greatly than you do at present. I shall not be giving you any logical argument, but simply put to you what I learn from the Lord's own teaching.For he asked Peter if he loved him more than the others (John.21.15), and thenheard Peter say (what he knew already): 'Lord, you know that I love you.' The Lord then showed him what he must do to serve him even more. 'If you love me then'he said, 'feed my sheep, feed my lambs.' This also is what you must do, father.For the sheep are in great danger from the wolves, and he whom you love so greatly also loves the sheep. It is right for lovers to do things which, when done,are pleasing to the beloved. Moreover, if you by your silence negligently allowthe truth to be vigorously attacked, and do nothing to prevent the followers oftruth being led astray, there is a great danger that all their many great achiev

ements will be brought to naught. Your great name should be brought to the support of them in their persecution. For the leaders of the Arian abominations boastfully assert that you are on their side."On hearing this, the old man cautioned them that although silence was to be cherished in its due context, nevertheless he would not steer clear of the noise ofthe city. And he set off to Antioch. After journeying through the desert for twoor three days they came at nightfall to a farmhouse belonging to a rich woman.When she heard this holy band of people coming she ran out to ask their blessing, fell at their feet and begged that they should refresh themselves at her house. The old man agreed, even though he had not enjoyed such accommodation for the


13/77

previous forty years. While this admirable woman was emulating the hospitality of Sarah (Genesis 18.6), and ministering to the needs of these holy men, her onlyson aged seven fell into the well in the darkness of the evening. As might be expected he cried out loudly, but when his mother heard she bade everyone not toworry about it but put a lid on the well while she carried on with her ministrations. She put the meal before the holy men, and the old man bade her to bring her son to receive a blessing. She said he was not feeling well, but the old man persisted that he should be brought in. At last the woman told him what had happened. The old man immediately left the table, ran to the well and lifted the lid.Having called for a light to be brought he could see the boy sitting on the surface of the water and splashing the water about childishly with his hand, thinking that it was all a game, when really he ought to have been dead. Ropes were brought and let down to him so that he could be lifted up out of the well, and atonce he ran to the feet of the old man."I could see you below me in the water," he said, "lifting me up and preventingme from sinking."What a reward the woman received from the blessed man for her hospitality!I won't say any more about what happened on their journey, but when they arrivedat Antioch, people came running towards him from everywhere wanting to see theman of God, each of them seeking a cure for their ills. He was living in a caveon the side of the mountain where the divine apostle Paul is said to have livedin hiding. But no sooner had they realised that he was the man they were lookingfor than he was struck down by a violent fever. When the great Acacius saw howill he was and then looked at the vast crowd of people who had gathered, he wond

ered whether they would all be worried about catching a disease from one who they hoped would be able to heal them."Don't worry," the old man said, "God will give me health if health is what is necessary."Having said this, he straightaway turned to prayer, according to his custom, kneeling and touching the ground with his forehead. He begged God to restore him tohealth if that would be of benefit to those who had gathered there. He had barely finished his prayer when he began to sweat profusely, which extinguished theflames of his fever.When he had freed many people from all kinds of diseases, he then went to a convent of religious, and as he was going through the gate a beggar who could only walk by dragging himself along on his buttocks stretched out his hand and touchedthe old man's cloak. By faith his illness left him, and he jumped up and ran ab

out just as well as he could before he was disabled, imitating the lame man whomPeter and John had healed. (Acts 3.8). This deed caused the whole population to gather together; the army training ground was crowded out. The liars and deceivers were covered in shame, while the followers of truth rejoiced with tranquilminds. And from here, those who had come seeking healing carried the light of truth back to their own homes. A man who held one of the most important public offices, that of signalling the beginning of each day, then sent Julianus a messageasking him to come and heal him urgently of an illness. He went without delay,poured out his prayers to God and with a courteous word delivered him from his illness, adjuring him to give all his thanks to God.After doing this and other such deeds he decided to go back to the monastic observances of his cell. As he was travelling through Cyrus (about two days' journeyfrom Antioch), he turned aside to the church of the blessed martyr Dionysius. T

he people there were outstanding in the true and proper religion and worship ofGod, and they begged for protection from a calamity which had been foretold andwhich they were daily expecting. The people there were well known to be of the orthodox [recta] religion and true worship of God, but they could foresee that adisaster was about to come upon them and they were asking him to help them avertit. For they said that Asterius, who had joined the heretical faction, had succeeded in becoming bishop. He was well versed in the art of clever but false argument, was a vigorous advocate for erroneous teaching and was mounting vicious attacks on the truth."We fear," they said, "that many of the more simple among us may be deceived by


14/77

the way he hides his lies beneath many layers of eloquence, and throws out a webof syllogisms like a net. This is the reason why those opposed to him have called for help.""Don't worry," said the old man. "Join with us in beseeching God, and mingle some bodily mortification and eloquence into your prayers."They all engaged in prayer, and on the eve of a popular feast day when that enemy of truth and defender of falsehood was planning to make a speech, he suffereda stroke, sent by God. Over the course of the day his condition worsened till hedeparted this life, doubtless hearing a voice saying, 'You fool, this day yourlife is required of you (Luke 12.20), and you will be ensnared in the coils andtraps that you have prepared for others.' A similar tale is told of Balaam, whowhen summoned by the wicked Balak to utter curses against the people of God prophesied that he would instead be killed by the right hand of Israel (Numbers 24.17). So likewise Asterius, thinking to propagate his deceitful opinions among thepeople of God, by the God of the people was deprived of his life. This deliverance was granted to Cyrus through prayer.It was the great Acacius who told me all these events which I have related, to my mind a truly divine story. He was acutely aware of everything that Julianus did.He went away from there and returned to his companions, living among them for some time before moving on gladly and willingly to a trouble-free life of old age.As one who had prayed for passionlessness in this life he was looking forward to immortality of the body. But I shall now turn from him to someone else, standing in prayer and begging that all who read this tale will by their prayers obtai

n for me a blessing from heaven.

Chapter IIIMARCIANUS

So glorious was his life, how can I possibly have enough time to do justice to that celebrated Marcianus? For he along with Elijah and John and the like are tobe reckoned among those who wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being inwant, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts, in mountains, in caves and in hidden places of the earth (Hebrews 11.37).His native land was that Cyrus which we were writing about earlier. Later he lived in the desert. He has now departed from both native land and desert and has his dwelling in heaven. His native land gave birth to him, the desert nourished h

im and gave him the victory, and heaven accepted him as a crowned king who had held as naught his exalted family rank. For he came from a noble family of royalsplendour, among whom he prospered, nature's handiwork having given him a magnificent bodily appearance and a mind adorned with the marks of genius. But he transferred all his love towards God and everything to do with him.He cherished all God's commandments, he laid hold on the lifeline offered by solitude, and built himself a little shelter, barely big enough for his bodily needs, which he surrounded with a wall. There he purposefully shut himself up, cut off from all human intercourse, conversing however with the God of all, and listening for his sweet voice. For as he practised divine eloquence so he reckoned tohear the divine voice. He conversed with God in prayer and supplications, and although always enjoying great delights was always thirsting for more [lit. neveraccepted satiety]. For he listened to what the great David sang about in his ps

alms: 'He who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night is like a tree planted by the waterside, which shall bring forth its fruit in due season and its leaves shall not wither' (Psalms 1.3). He longed for this fruit and joyfully embraced the work. His psalmody led on to prayer, and prayer led on to psalmody, andboth led on to reading the wisdom of the divines. He ate nothing but bread, which he measured out exactly; and the amount he allowed himself would scarcely havesatisfied a newly-weaned child. They say that he divided a pound of bread intofour portions which he shared out over four days, one part to each day. His daily meal was at eventide. He never fully satisfied either his hunger or his thirst; he allowed his body only sufficient to support life. He used to say that to ta


15/77

ke food only after many days fasting meant that the work of God could not be properly performed during the time of fasting, and that when the time came to eat,a greater amount than usual was taken, weighing down the stomach, and making themind less vigilant. So that it was better to eat daily, but never to satisfy the appetite fully. True fasting consists in perpetual deprivation. This divine man always kept to this regimen, and although he had a large body, and was the tallest and most handsome of all the men of his time, he survived on that small ration of food.After some time he accepted two attendants, Eusebius who inherited his holy shelter, and Agapetus who introduced all these angelic rules into Apamea. There is alarge and densely populated town there called Nicerte, where he established twoschools of wisdom [gymnasia philosophiae], one of which is named after him, theother after the greatly admired Simeon who was a shining light of wisdom therefor a space of fifty years. At the present day there are more than forty men living there, athletes striving after virtue, and lovers of the religion and worship of the one true God, and who are scaling the heights of heaven by their labours. Agapetus and Simeon were the legislators of this republic, establishing the laws which they had learnt from the great Marcianus. It would be difficult to enumerate the many settlements, founded in pursuit of the virtues, and governed bythese same laws and institutions, which these two founded. But the founder of all these later ones was that divine Marcianus, for he who sows the goodliest seedmay rightly be recognised as the author of the good fruits that spring from it.

Chapter III, Marcianus (continued) Book IX(Eusebius begins further down page)

At first, as I have said, he willingly lived alone in his prison, and when he admitted those other two they did not live in the same cell, for it was hardly bigenough for him alone, it was so small. It needed a great effort for him both tostand up and lie down, for when he stood his head and neck touched the roof, and he could not stretch out his legs when lying down because the length of the ce

ll did not match the length of his body. So he let them build another shelter and told them to live there and pray and sing hymns and read the wisdom of the divines by themselves. When even more wanted to share in this profitable way of life he ordered another dwelling to be erected further off and bade those live in it who would. Eusebius was their leader, handing on the teaching of the great Marcianus. But when the divine Agapetus had become well trained and established, hewent back home, as I have said, and sowed the seed which he had been given by that divine Marcianus. However, he became so well known and famous that he was held to be worthy of pontifical honour. Pastoral care was committed to his charge,the care of his native land was entrusted to his faithfulness.Eusebius however, that admirable man, leader of a gathered flock, undertook therole of teacher, and alone was allowed the honour of visiting Marcianus as oftenas he wished, to consult him on whatever he wanted. One night he was bold enoug

h to approach Marcianus' window, because he wanted to know what he was doing, and as he bent down to peer in, he saw a light of supernal beauty shining round the head of his guide, a light not caused by human hand but by God, teaching him how to understand the divine eloquence of the sacred Scriptures. For he was holding a book in his hand, searching for the most holy treasures of the will of God.This sight filled the admirable Eusebius with enormous awe and fear as he was being taught how grace was poured out upon this minister of God, and witnessed the good will of God towards his servants.Once while the great Marcianus was praying just outside his door, a reptile [draco] crawled over the eastern wall and looked down from the top of the wall on Ma


16/77

rcianus. It was hissing, and looked most horrible as it threatened to attack. Eusebius was standing some way off, terrified by this sight. Suspecting that his teacher was not aware of the beast he shouted out a warning, and begged him to flee. But Marcianus rebuked him and told him not to be afraid, (for to be afraid was a most injurious defect). Then he made the sign of the cross with his finger,and blew with his mouth at the beast, and poured out upon it all the enmity ofthe ages. It sizzled up immediately at Marcianus' breath as if scorched by fire,and was blown into fragments like sparks among the stubble. See now how this servant of goodwill was imitating the Lord. For when the Lord was at sea in the disciples' boat he saw how anxious and troubled they were, and did not still the tempest before he had rebuked the disciples for their little faith (Matthew 8.26). Following this example, the admirable Marcianus first quelled his disciple's fear, then punished the beast. Such was the wisdom of the great Marcianus, and his performing of miracles and faithfulness towards God. But although he was honoured with such grace as to be able to perform great miracles, he tried always toconceal his power, ever wary of the tricks of that plunderer of virtue who mightsubtly sow the vice of arrogance in an endeavour to snatch away the harvest gathered with so much labour. But although he wanted to hide the graces given him,miracles flowed forth from him unbidden; the splendour of his deeds rightly shone out, and laid bare his hidden powers.Sometimes, something like this happened:There was a man of honourable estate, a military commander, whose daughter had for a long time been raving in her speech, driven mad by the attack of an evil demon. This man had already had some contact with the great Marcianus, and came ou

t into the desert hoping that in view of his former acquaintance he would be permitted to meet him and ask for help. But it was a false hope. He was prevented from getting an interview by the old man who at that time had been given the taskof serving Marcianus. So he asked this servant if he would just take a small flask of oil and put it outside the door of Marcianus' little cell. The servant repeatedly said he would not do it, and the request was just as often repeated, until at last he gave way. But when the great Marcianus heard a little noise outside he asked who it was, where did he come from and what did he want. And the servant suppressed the truth, and simply said he had come to see whether Marcianuswanted anything. He had scarcely uttered the words before Marcianus sent him away.Next morning the girl's father asked if he could have the flask of oil back. Insome trepidation the servant went as quietly as possible, and tried to reach out

his hand and pick up the flask without being heard. But Marcianus once again asked him what he wanted. But when he gave the same reply as he had given the evening before, the man of God would not accept it, seeing that it was quite unusualfor him to come as often as that. He demanded to be told the truth. Realising that it was impossible to deceive someone so full of grace, the servant in fear and trembling told him who it was who had been seeking help because of this tragic disease, and showed him the flask. Marcianus was angry, because it stood to reason that he was unwilling to display his power."If I hear of anything like this again," he threatened, "going against my usualcustoms as you are, I shall take your ministry away from you." (For anyone who knew how to make money out of it, that would be a great loss.) He then dismissedhim, telling him to return the flask to the owner. And he also issued commands:and the demon who was four days' journey away bellowed because of the power of t

hose commands. For Marcianus was acting like a judge in Berhoea, and using someof his lictors against the demon. That wicked wretch was expelled, and the girldelivered completely from what was possessing her. The girl's father was informed about this as he returned. For while still a few miles from the city, a servant sent from the girl's mother came running towards him and told him that a miracle had occurred about four days earlier. Taking account of the time, he calculated that that was exactly when the old man had given him back the flask. It occurs to me to wonder what this great man might not have done if he had really sethis mind to doing miracles. If such glory shone out when he was trying to conceal the powers that he had been given, what miracles might he not have done if rea


17/77

lly tried!When he finally allowed people to visit him, on the day after celebrating the sacred passion and resurrection of the Lord, all were very eager to see him. The leading bishops gathered around him, the great Flavianus, whose faith was believed to have saved Antioch, the divine Acacius whom we mentioned earlier, Eusebiusthe bishop of Chalcedon, and Isodorus who at that time had charge of Cyrus, allof whom were men of great renown. Theodotus also joined them, he who held the reins of the church of Hierapolis, famous for his monastic discipline and gentleness. Many from among the judiciary also came, burning with faithful zeal. As theywere all sitting around silently, waiting to hear his sacred voice, he also satthere for quite some time without saying anything, 'slow to speak, but swift tohear' (James 1.19). At last one of those sitting around spoke up. Marcianus knew him well for he had come to Marcianus for spiritual guidance, and was well known in other ways for his authority and worthiness."Father," he said, "all these divine fathers are hopefully thirsting for the sweet streams of your teaching. Please do not dam up the rivers of your kindness, but favour all those here with something of benefit to us."He sighed deeply and then spoke."The God of all", he said, "speaks to us daily through his creation, and throughthe divine Scriptures he teaches what we need, and forewarns us; he alarms withthreats of punishment, and encourages us by his promises; and yet we do not profit by them."What was the purpose of Marcianus speaking like this, not only forbearing to beof use to others but also losing the benefits that others could have given him?

He did it to encourage the other fathers to speak; but I feel it would be superfluous to bring what they said into my narrative. When they had all stood up to pray, they wanted to lay hands on Marcianus to ordain him to the priesthood, butthey were apprehensive of doing so. They all urged each other to do it, but noneof them was willing. And so they all departed.I would like to add another story to the above, as an illustration of his divineprudence. A certain Avitus had gone into the desert earlier than Marcianus, andbuilt a hut in which to carry out his monastic exercises. He had begun his labours at an earlier time than the great Marcianus, a lover of wisdom, and well trained in a hard ascetic life. When he heard of the virtues of Marcianus who was being talked about everywhere, he thought that such an example was very beneficial in the cause of silence and restfulness and set out to visit this attractive man. When the great Marcianus knew he had come he opened his door and welcomed hi

m in, giving instructions to the admirable Eusebius to prepare some lentils andvegetables for him to eat. After they had satisfied their desire to have a conversation and learned about each other's virtues they said the office of Nones together. Eusebius then brought in some bread for their meal."Come now, my most dear friend," the great Marcianus said to the divine Avitus," Let us share this meal together.""Indeed," said Avitus, "I don't know whether I have ever eaten before Vespers, and sometimes I go two or three days without eating at all.""But for my sake," said the great Marcianus, "let your custom be relaxed today,for I have rather a weak body and I cannot wait until Vespers." But these wordshad no effect whatsoever on the admirable Avitus. Marcianus sighed and went on to say:"I am vexed in spirit and take it very hard that you have gone to such trouble t

o come and see a man whom you thought to be such a hard worker and lover of wisdom only to be disappointed of your hope and find a petty innkeeper living in delicate luxury."Avitus was cut to the quick."I would rather eat flesh," he said, "than to hear you say such things.""Well, my friend," said the great Marcianus, "I too follow the same life as youdo, and embrace the same code of behaviour, and prefer work to idleness, and fasting to feasting, and do not usually eat till nightfall, but we know that charity is more important than fasting. Charity is prescribed by divine law, fasting is for us to make our own decision about. We must hold that the divine laws are m


18/77

ore important for us."And so they discussed these things among themselves, and took a little food, andpraised God, and spent three days together before taking their leave of each other, knowing that they were united in spirit. How can anyone not admire the wisdom that governed everything this man did? He knew when it was a time for fastingand when for fraternal charity, he understood how one virtue differed from another, and which one should give way to the other and gain the victory in any given set of circumstances.There is something else I can tell you to illustrate his perfect grasp of thingsdivine. His sister came to visit him from their native land, bringing her son with her who was a leading citizen of the city of Cyrus. They brought an abundance of gifts for him to enjoy. He refused to see his sister, but seeing that it was at the time which he had definitely set aside for meeting people, he did admitthe son, who begged him to accept the gifts they had brought."How many monasteries have you visited on the way," he asked, "and how much of what you bring have you shared out with them?""Nothing," he replied."Well, you can go, and take your gifts with you. I have no need of any of them,and even if I did need them I would not accept them, for you are doing this kindness simply because I am a relation of yours, and not with any intention of godly piety and service. You would not have singled me out for these gifts had you not had no care whatsoever for the general need."And so he sent away his sister and her son, having given instructions that nothing which they had brought should be accepted from them. To act thus is of course

contrary to nature, but he had been completely converted to a heavenly style ofliving. What more convincing evidence could there be brought that he was a worthy follower of God, conformed to the voice of God himself, who said 'For whosoever does not renounce father and mother, and sisters and brothers and wife and children is not worthy of me.' (Matthew 10.37)? If someone who renounces not is unworthy, someone who does renounce, especially in such exact and demanding terms,must obviously be considered worthy indeed.Even more than this I admire how completely perfected he was in the matter of divine teaching. For he abhorred the infamies of Arius, who at that time was in the ascendant because of the power of the Emperor. He detested also the madness ofApollinaris and strenuously opposed those who agreed with Sabellius that the three persons or hypostases were not individually distinct. He brought strong arguments to bear on the people called 'Euchitae', who, wearing monastic habits, wer

e infected with Manichaeism. And he was so zealous for ecclesiastical regulations that he could undertake a justifiable dispute even against a man who was a greatly respected divine. For there was a certain Abraham in that desert, with silvered hair but even more silvery in prudence, well known for every virtue, and continually pouring forth fruitful tears of compunction. Endowed with a certain simplicity he had from the beginning kept up the earlier celebration of Easter. Unaware, it seems, of what the Nicaean fathers had decreed on this matter, he washappily keeping to the old custom. There were many others at that time who wereunwittingly doing the same. But the great Marcianus brought many arguments to bear as he attempted to persuade Abraham (for so he was called by those who livedin that region) to come into agreement with the Church. When he continued to bedisobedient, Marcianus excommunicated him. But as time went on that divine man threw off that stain on his character, and fell into line with the customs of the

Church in celebrating this feast, singing 'Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord' (Psalms 119.1). Such was the effect of the great Marcianus' teaching.There were many people building oratories in various places: Alypius, his sister's son, in Cyrus, Zenobia, a famous one in Chalcedon, which was noted for its power and very rich. And there were quite a few others who were competing with each other in making plans to snatch that illustrious athlete's body, once he had obtained the victory [i.e. 'died']. When the man of God got to know about that hemade the admirable Eusebius swear a terrifying oath that he would bury him in aplace where nobody except the two companions who were living with him would dis


19/77

cover where his grave was until many years later. The admirable Eusebius fulfilled this oath to the letter. For when the end of this remarkable, victorious lifecame at last, and the chorus of Angels had translated his divine and sacred soul to the heavenly regions, Eusebius did not announce his death until with two companions he had dug a grave, put the body in it, and smoothed out the earth above it. For more than fifty years many people came searching for his body, but hisgrave remained undiscovered.Now one of the oratories which I just mentioned, dedicated to the apostles, received the relics of some other martyrs, thereby signifying that they were inheritors of the teaching and worship of those martyrs. The sole survivor of the threewho buried Marcianus then revealed the place where he was buried, and the members of the oratory placed the remains of his precious body in a stone coffin which they had prepared two years earlier.The admirable Eusebius had long been emulating the virtues of Marcianus, and never ceased disciplining his body. He carried around on his body a hundred and twenty Roman pounds of iron, then added on first another fifty which belonged to the divine Agapetus, then eighty belonging to the great Marcianus. He had an oratory in a hollow, from which the waters of a lake had been drained. He carried onthis way of life for three years.I have digressed into talking about these things because I wanted to show how great and how many were the deeds meticulously and virtuously carried out, of which Marcianus was the instigator and inspiration. The fruit resulting from his love of wisdom was also recognised by that splendid man Basil, who much later builta monastery at Seleucobelum, a city in Syria. He was famous for all kinds of vi

rtues, but especially for those things most pleasing to God, namely the possession of charity and the godly work of hospitality. But who could count up, withoutboasting, how many workmen there were who 'handled rightly the word of truth',as the apostle puts it? (2 Timothy 2.15). For the moment I shall pass over manywho were worthy of praise, lest they make this story too long. I shall just makemention of one only:There was one whom they called Sabinus who used to come to Marcianus regularly.He used to subject his body to many labours. He never ate bread, nor anything which usually went with it; his sole food was flour mixed with water. His custom was to mix enough for a month, and it became mouldy and stank. By this diet he wanted to weaken the desires of the flesh, and make sure that the stench of the food saved him from taking any pleasure in it. [lit. enjoyment grew weaker throughthe stench of the food). This was his regime when on his own, but when any of h

is companions visited him he would with complete simplicity and lack of fuss eatwhatever it was they brought with them.As an example of how blessed he was by God's grace, a certain woman of Antioch,very influential because of her wealth and family, came to him begging his helpfor her daughter who was vexed with a demon."I saw in a dream," she said, "someone telling me to come here so that the prayers of the top person of the monastery might heal my child.""The top person of the monastery," said the gatekeeper, "is not in the habit oftalking with women."But the woman persisted, weeping and howling and making a very loud noise untilthe prior [praefectus] came out."This is not the man," she said. "It was someone else that was shown to me in mydream, someone with a ruddy face and hard patches of skin on his knees."

Then they knew who it was she was looking for, and they persuaded him to come out and see the woman. No sooner had she recognised his face than the evil demon went out of the girl with a loud cry. Such were the marvellous deeds done by thedisciples of Marcianus' disciples; so many flowers did this best of gardeners propagate everywhere.But here I must bring this story to an end, and I beg and pray that all these disciples may plead for me, and bring me help from heaven.

Chapter IVEUSEBIUS


20/77

In the tales that I have written so far I have shown how the sterile desert hasbrought forth fruits unto God, fruits ripe and beautiful, pleasing to him who made them grow, splendid and greatly to be sought after by people who are wise. Lest anyone should think that such virtue is circumscribed by place and that onlythe desert is suitable for bringing forth such a harvest, let us now go on to treat prayerfully of places which are inhabited and show that such places provideno impediment to developing a love of wisdom.There is a high mountain to the east of Antioch and to the west of Berhoea, which is higher than all the other mountains nearby. The very top of it is shaped like a crown [uncertain text here], called thus because of its height. People living nearby call it korufhn, that is, vertex [= 'whirlpool, summit or crown']. Atthe highest point there was once a temple to the demons, held in greatest honour by the local people. But underneath it, to the South, a plain opens up, or rather, a valley, bounded on each side by gentle slopes. These slopes which are cutthrough on each side from south to North to provide footpaths, spread out to aroad which can be ridden along on horseback. Country houses both large and smallhave been built here, near the mountains on each side. Hard by the edge of thehighest part of the mountain there is a large, well populated village. The localpeople call it Teleda. Higher up still on the side of the mountain is a mountain valley, not very steep but gently sloping, facing the plain and the south wind.Here a certain Ammianus built a school for lovers of wisdom [i.e, a monastery].He was a man well known for his many virtues and surpassed all others in modesty

, and sufficient proof of that lies in that he often had recourse to the great Eusebius in order to provide satisfactory teaching material not only for his fellows but for twice as many others as well. He begged and prayed that Eusebius would consent to be helper, trainer and schoolmaster for this establishment which he had founded.Now Eusebius lived twenty-five miles away, shut up in his tiny little dwelling which did not even have any windows. It was Marcianus who had inspired him to this pitch of endeavour, Marcianus who had nurtured him, Marcianus the faithful servant of God, given the same name (1 Chronicles 6.49) as the Lord honoured the great Moses with. And once Marcianus had tasted for himself the divine love, he did not want to be the only one to enjoy such good things but caused many others to become his companions in this love. He attracted Eusebius to him and also hisbrother who accompanied him. For he thought it would be unreasonable to encourag

e people to be virtuous who were not related, if he did not treat brothers the same. He drew both of them into his little household, and trained them in livingaccording to the gospel. But their training was interrupted when the brother fell ill, and death followed soon after. A few days after his brother had departedthe great Eusebius came completely to terms with the fact that his life had ended, and remained with Marcianus throughout his life, speaking to no one, hidden from public view, totally enclosed. He continued to embrace this life after Marcianus' death, until the admirable Ammianus came to him with many persuasive arguments."Tell me, O best of men," said Ammianus, "Whom do you think you are pleasing byfollowing this laborious, mean and squalid lifestyle?""God," replied Eusebius, speaking to him as an equal, "for God is the lawgiver and guide to all virtue."

Chapter IV, Eusebius (continued), Book IX(Publius begins further down page)

"If you love God," said Ammianus, "I will show you a way whereby you may burn wi


21/77

th love even more, and serve him whom you love. For it seems to me that all yourcare and industry is directed towards yourself, and lays you open to the chargeof too great a self-love. But the divine law bids us love our neighbour. This is the essence of the true gift of charity, however many works you undertake to perform (Romans 13.9-10). And Paul calls this the fulfilment of the law (Galatians 5.14). Indeed the Lord himself in the sacred Gospel urged Peter, who professed to love him more than the others, to feed his sheep (John 21.15). And he rebukes those who do not do this, saying through the Prophet, 'You shepherds, is it not yourselves you are feeding, not the sheep?' (Ezekiel 34.2). It was on that account that he commanded the great Elijah to turn from the life of solitude and go among the ungodly (1 Kings 18.1), and following Elijah, he sent John, famous for so many works, to the banks of the Jordan, where he baptised and preached (Matthew 3.1). So then seeing that you too are an ardent lover of God who made you,bring on many others to be lovers of God along with you, for this would be greatly pleasing to the family of God. Moreover he also called Ezekiel to be a watchman and to testify to the wicked (Ezekiel 3.17); Jonah he commanded to hasten toNineveh, and when he refused took him there under duress."This and similar arguments softened the divine man's resistance. He abandoned his prison of his own accord, and Ammianus led him out and took him away and entrusted to him the care of his fellow-monks. I don't know which to admire more, theself effacing nature of the one, or the obedience of the other and the fact that he was willing to be persuaded. The one forbore the leadership, preferring rather to be among those who obeyed, avoiding the dangers of high position; the great Eusebius, who had turned away from mixing with the multitude, gave that up, a

nd, conquered by the demands of charity, accepted the oversight of the flock andguided their co

Documents

Vitae Patrum Book Nine