2

to make human virtue better? Or shall we, by describing the mountain peaks of our neighbor, how they are above the clouds and stand high up in the air, deceive ourselves that by these things we are fulfilling the praise for the men? It is most ridiculous of all, when the whole world has been despised by the righteous, for us from the few things that were dishonored to fill their encomiums. Therefore, the memory is sufficient for perpetual benefit. For they do not need 31.493 any addition for their good reputation, but for us in this life, memory is necessary for imitation. For just as giving light automatically follows fire, and being fragrant follows myrrh; so too the beneficial necessarily follows good deeds. And yet this is no small thing, to attain accurately the truth of those times.

For a certain faint rumor has spread to us, preserving the man's brave deeds in the contests. And somehow our situation seems to resemble that of painters. For they too, when they copy images from images, as is likely, fall far short of the originals; and for us, deprived of the sight of the events themselves, there is no small danger of diminishing the truth. But since the day is here, bringing a memorial of a martyr who conspicuously contended in the testimonies for Christ, let us say what we know. This man was from this city, for which reason we love him all the more, because the ornament is our own. For just as fruitful plants, whatever fruits they nourish, offer them to their own land; so also this man, having sprung from our loins, and having risen to the greatest height of glory, has bestowed on the land that bore and nourished him the enjoyment of the proper fruits of piety. For fruits from abroad are also good, when they are both sweet and nourishing; yet much sweeter than the foreign ones are our native and local ones, bestowing on us, in addition to the enjoyment, a certain adornment through their being our own. And being enrolled in a distinguished military service, so as to be entrusted with the command of a hundred soldiers, and being eminent in the military rolls for the strength of his body and the courage of his soul. But when the tyrant of that time extended the bitterness and savagery of his soul to the point of war against the Church, and raised his god-fighting hand against piety, and there were proclamations everywhere, and decrees were spread in every marketplace and every public place, that Christ should not be worshipped, or that death would be the penalty for those who worship him; and there was a command for all to submit to idols, and to consider stones and pieces of wood formed by the graving of art as gods, or for those who did not obey to suffer incurable things; and there was confusion and turmoil throughout the whole city, and plunderings against the pious; possessions were plundered, the bodies of the Christ-loving were torn by blows, women were dragged through the middle of the city; youth was not pitied, nor was old age respected; 31.496 but those who did no wrong suffered the fate of criminals, the prisons were crowded, the prosperous were despoiled of their homes, and the desolate places were full of the exiled; and the crime for those suffering these things was piety, and a father would betray his child, and a son would inform against his father, brothers raged against each other, and slaves rose up against their own masters; and a certain terrible night had seized upon life, with everyone failing to recognize one another from the devil's madness; houses of prayer were thrown down by unholy hands, and altars were overturned, and there was no offering nor incense, no place to bring forth fruit, but a terrible gloom, like some cloud, held everything; the ministers of the divine were driven away, and every company of piety was terrified and scattered, and demons danced about, defiling everything with the smoke of sacrifice and with blood; then this noble man, anticipating the compulsion from the courts, cast off his belt, and was in exile, having despised power, having despised glory, all manner of wealth, kinship, friends,

2

ταῦτα τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν ἀρετὴν βελτίους ποιῆσαι; Ἦ που καὶ τὰς τοῦ γείτονος ὄρους κορυφὰς διηγούμενοι, ὡς ὑπερνεφεῖς τέ εἰσι καὶ ἐπὶ πολὺ τοῦ ἀέρος διαν εστήκασιν, ἑαυτοὺς ἀπατήσομεν ὡς τοῖς ἀνδράσι διὰ τούτων ἐκπληροῦντες τὸν ἔπαινον; Πάντων ἐστὶ καταγελαστότατον, ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου παρὰ τῶν δι καίων ὑπεροφθέντος, ἡμᾶς ἐξ ὀλίγων τῶν ἀτιμα σθέντων πληροῦν αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐγκώμια. Ἀρκεῖ τοίνυν ἡ μνήμη πρὸς ὠφέλειαν διηνεκῆ. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ ἐκείνοις 31.493 χρεία προσθήκης εἰς εὐδοκίμησιν, ἀλλ' ἡμῖν τοῖς ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἀναγκαία ἡ μνήμη διὰ τὴν μίμησιν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τῷ πυρὶ αὐτομάτως ἕπεται τὸ φωτίζειν, καὶ τῷ μύρῳ τὸ εὐωδεῖν· οὕτω καὶ ταῖς ἀγαθαῖς πράξεσιν ἀναγκαίως ἀκολουθεῖ τὸ ὠφέλιμον. Καίτοι οὐδὲ τοῦτο μικρὸν, ἀκριβῶς τυχεῖν τῆς ἀληθείας τῶν τότε.

Ἀμυδρὰ γάρ τις φήμη πρὸς ἡμᾶς διεδόθη, τὰς ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγώνων ἀνδραγαθίας τοῦ ἀνδρὸς διασώζου σα. Καί πως δοκεῖ τὸ καθ' ἡμᾶς τῷ τῶν ζωγρά φων προσεοικέναι. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι, ἐπειδὰν ἐξ εἰκό νων μεταγράφωσι τὰς εἰκόνας, πλεῖστον, ὡς εἰκὸς, τῶν ἀρχετύπων ἀπολιμπάνονται· καὶ ἡμᾶς, αὐτῆς τῆς θέας τῶν πραγμάτων ἀπολειφθέντας, κίνδυνος οὐ μικρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐλαττῶσαι. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐνέστηκεν ἡ ἡμέρα ὑπόμνησιν φέρουσα μάρτυρος, ἐπιφανῶς τοῖς ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ μαρτυρίοις ἐναθλήσαν τος, εἴπωμεν ὅσα οἴδαμεν. Οὗτος ἔφυ μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως ταύτης, ὅθεν καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτὸν ἀγαπῶμεν, διότι οἰκεῖος ἡμῖν ὁ κόσμος ἐστίν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ εὔκαρπα τῶν φυτῶν, οὓς ἂν ἐκθρέψῃ καρποὺς, τῇ οἰκείᾳ γῇ παρατίθεται· οὕτω καὶ οὗτος ἐκ τῶν λα γόνων τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀναδραμὼν, καὶ πρὸς μήκιστον ὕψος τῆς δόξης διαναστὰς, τῇ ἐνεγκούσῃ καὶ θρε ψαμένῃ τῶν οἰκείων τῆς εὐσεβείας καρπῶν τὴν ἀπό λαυσιν ἐχαρίσατο. Καλοὶ μὲν γὰρ καὶ οἱ ἐκ τῆς ὑπερ ορίας καρποὶ, ὅταν ἡδεῖς τε ὦσι καὶ τρόφιμοι· πολλῷ μέντοι ἡδίους τῶν ἐπηλύδων οἱ ἡμεδαποὶ καὶ ἐγχώριοι, πρὸς τῇ ἀπολαύσει ἔτι καὶ καλλωπισμόν τινα ἡμῖν διὰ τῆς οἰκειότητος χαριζόμενοι. Ἐγκατ ειλεγμένος δὲ στρατείᾳ ἐπιφανεῖ, ὡς ἑκατὸν στρατιωτῶν ἀρχὴν πιστευθῆναι, καὶ σώματος ῥώμῃ καὶ ψυχῆς ἀνδρίᾳ τοῖς στρατιωτικοῖς καταλόγοις ἐμπρέπων. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ τότε τύραννος τὸ πικρὸν καὶ ἀνήμερον τῆς ψυχῆς μέχρι τοῦ πολέμου τῆς Ἐκ κλησίας ἐξέτεινε, καὶ ἦρε χεῖρα θεομάχον κατὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας, κηρύγματα δὲ ἦν πανταχοῦ, καὶ διαγράμ ματα ἥπλωτο κατὰ πᾶσαν ἀγορὰν καὶ πάντα τόπον ἐπίσημον, μὴ προσκυνεῖσθαι Χριστὸν, ἢ θάνατον εἶ ναι τὴν ζημίαν τοῖς προσκυνοῦσι· καὶ πρόσταγμα ἦν ὑποκύπτειν εἰδώλοις ἅπαντας, καὶ λίθους καὶ ξύλα χαράγματι τέχνης μεμορφωμένα θεοὺς ἡγεῖ σθαι, ἢ τοὺς μὴ πειθομένους πάσχειν ἀνήκεστα· σύγχυσις δὲ ἦν καὶ ταραχὴ διὰ πάσης τῆς πόλεως, καὶ λεηλασίαι κατὰ τῶν εὐσεβούντων· χρήματα διηρπάζετο, πληγαῖς τὰ τῶν φιλοχρίστων σώματα κατεξαίνετο, γυναῖκες εἵλκοντο διὰ μέσης τῆς πόλεως· οὐ νεότης ἐλεεινὴ, οὐ γῆρας αἰδέσιμον ἦν· 31.496 ἀλλ' οἱ μηδὲν ἀδικοῦντες τὰ τῶν κακούργων ὑπέμε νον, ἐστενοχωρεῖτο τὰ δεσμωτήρια, ἔρημοι ἦσαν οἱ εὐθηνούμενοι τῶν οἴκων, αἱ δὲ ἐρημίαι πλήρεις τῶν φυγαδευομένων· ἔγκλημα δὲ ἦν τοῖς ταῦτα πάσχου σιν ἡ εὐσέβεια, καὶ πατὴρ παρεδίδου παῖδα, καὶ πατέρα υἱὸς κατεμήνυεν, ἀδελφοὶ κατ' ἀλλήλων ἐμαί νοντο, καὶ δοῦλοι δεσπόταις ἑαυτῶν ἐπανίσταντο· δεινὴ δέ τις νὺξ κατειλήφει τὸν βίον, πάντων ἀγνοησάντων ἀλλήλους ἐκ τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου φρενοβλαβείας· κατεβάλλοντο μὲν οἶκοι προσευχῆς ὑπὸ χειρῶν ἀν οσίων, ἀνετρέπετο δὲ θυσιαστήρια, καὶ οὐκ ἦν προσ φορὰ οὐδὲ θυμίαμα, οὐ τόπος τοῦ καρπῶσαι, ἀλλὰ κατήφεια δεινὴ, ὥσπερ τις νεφέλη, τὰ πάντα κατεῖχεν· ἀπελήλαντο μὲν οἱ τοῦ θείου θεραπευταὶ, διεπτόητο δὲ πᾶς τῆς εὐσεβείας θίασος, δαίμονες δὲ κατεχόρευον, κνίσσαις καὶ αἵμασι τὰ πάντα κατα μιαίνοντες· τότε ὁ γενναῖος οὗτος προλαβὼν τὴν ἐκ τῶν δικαστηρίων ἀνάγκην, ῥίψας τὴν ζώνην, ὑπερόριος ἦν, ὑπεριδὼν δυναστείας, ὑπεριδὼν δό ξης, πλούτου παντοδαποῦ, συγγενείας, φίλων,