I was a witness to the man's virtue, having lived with him and sailed with him and suffered hardships with him until the last day of his life here. And from here let the beginning of my narrative account be.

4 Gaza is a city of Palestine, being on the border of Egypt, and it is not an insignificant city, but both populous and one of the notable cities; and at that time the people's madness concerning idols flourished in it. Porphyry, who is praised by us, accepted the priesthood of this city, having as his homeland the heavenly Jerusalem (for in this he was also enrolled), and as his earthly one, that of the Thessalonians. And his family was distinguished. A divine love entered this man to leave behind his homeland and the splendor of his family and infinite wealth and to embrace the solitary life, and sailing from the city of the Thessalonians, he reached Egypt. And immediately he set out for Scetis and after a few days is deemed worthy of the venerable habit. And having spent a period of five years there with the holy fathers, again another divine love entered him to venerate the holy and august places of God, and having gone there and venerated them, he went away to the regions of the Jordan and dwelt in a cave, likewise spending five years there with much hardship. And from the great dryness and ruggedness of those places he fell into a great sickness. And seeing himself in extreme danger, by providence he asked one of his acquaintances to take him to Jerusalem; and the affliction was a hardening of the liver with a constant, very subtle fever. So with such an affliction prevailing and unceasingly piercing his inwards and his body wasting away, he himself did not cease day by day from going around the holy places, stooped over and not being able to straighten his stature, but leaning on a staff.

5 And at that time, it happened that I too sailed from Asia for the sake of venerating the august places, and having arrived in them I spent a long time, supporting myself by the work of my hands; for I had the skill of a calligrapher. And seeing the holy man going continually to the Anastasis of Christ and to the other oratories, I marveled that in such great bodily weakness he did not hesitate to trouble himself so. Therefore on one of the days, having met him on the steps of the martyrium built by the most blessed emperor Constantine, as he was unable to climb with his foot, I ran and offered him my hand, urging him to lean on it and climb the steps. But he was unwilling, saying: "It is not right for me, who am proceeding to ask for forgiveness of sins, to lean on the hands of another; but allow, brother, God to see my labor, so that according to his ineffable compassion he might have mercy on me also." So he would go and would listen to the divine oracles, lending his ears to the teachers, and always partaking of the mystical table, he would return to his own lodging. What sort of life he lived was clear. For he so despised the affliction as to think that he had the sickness in another's body; for hope in God unburdened it from him.

6 But this alone grieved and vexed him: that his property remained and had not, according to the word of the Gospel, been sold and distributed to the poor. And the cause of this impediment was that his brothers happened to be children when he departed from his own homeland. Being distressed, therefore, at this, he asked me, being now familiar to him (for I was serving him on account of his weakness), to sail to Thessalonica and to distribute the property with his brothers, and giving me a letter of commission and having commended me to the Lord, he sent me away, providing very little for expenses; for he was not well-off then. And immediately going down to Ascalon and finding a ship, I set sail, and after sailing favorably for thirteen days, we arrived at

ἀρετῆς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐγενόμην, συνοικήσας καὶ συμπλεύσας καὶ συγκακουχηθεὶς αὐτῷ ἕως τῆς τελευταίας ἡμέρας τῆς ἐνθάδε αὐτοῦ ζωῆς. Ἔνθεν δὲ ἀρχή μοι γένηται τοῦ τῆς διηγήσεως λόγου.

4 Γάζα πόλις ἐστὶν τῆς Παλαιστίνης ἐν μεθορίῳ τῆς Αἰγύπτου ὑπάρχουσα, οὐκ ἄσημος δὲ αὕτη τυγχάνουσα, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολύανδρος καὶ τῶν ἐμφανῶν πόλεων οὖσα· ἤκμαζεν δὲ ἐν αὐτῇ κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ ἡ περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα τῶν ἀνθρώπων μανία. Ταύτης τὴν ἱερωσύνην ἀπεδέξατο ὁ παρ' ἡμῶν εὐφημούμενος Πορφύριος, πατρίδα μὲν ἐσχηκὼς τὴν ἐπουράνιον Ἱερουσαλήμ (εἰς ταύτην γὰρ καὶ ἀπεγράψατο), τὴν δὲ ἐπίγειον τὴν Θεσσαλονικέων. Γένος δὲ ἦν αὐτοῦ ἐπίσημον. Τούτῳ θεῖος ἔρως ὑπεισῆλθεν καταλεῖψαι πατρίδα καὶ λαμπρότητα γένους καὶ πλοῦτον ἄπειρον καὶ ἀσπάσασθαι τὸν μονήρη βίον, καὶ πλεύσας ἐκ τῆς Θεσσαλονικέων, καταλαμβάνει τὴν Αἴγυπτον. Εὐθέως δὲ ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τὴν Σκήτην καὶ ἀξιοῦται μετ' ὀλίγας ἡμέρας τοῦ τιμίου προσχήματος. Καὶ συνδιατρίψας ἐκεῖ τοῖς ἁγίοις πατράσι πενταετῆ χρόνον, πάλιν ἄλλος θεῖος ἔρως αὐτῷ ὑπεισῆλθεν προσκυνῆσαι τοὺς ἁγίους καὶ σεβασμίους τοῦ θεοῦ τόπους, καὶ γενόμενος ἐκεῖσε καὶ προσκυνήσας, ἀπελθὼν εἰς τὰ μέρη τοῦ Ἰορδάνου οἴκησεν ἐν σπηλαίῳ, ὁμοίως κἀκεῖ διατρίψας ἔτη πέντε μετὰ πολλῆς κακουχίας. Ἐκ δὲ τῆς πολλῆς ξηρότητος καὶ ἀνωμαλίας τῶν τόπων ἐκείνων περιέπεσεν μεγάλῃ νόσῳ. Ὁρῶν δὲ ἑαυτὸν ἐν ἐσχάτῳ κινδύνῳ, κατ' οἰκονομίαν παρακαλεῖ τινα τῶν γνωρίμων ἀναλαβεῖν αὐτὸν εἰς τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα· τὸ δὲ πάθος ἦν ἥπατος σκίρωμα μετὰ πυρετοῦ συνεχοῦς λεπτοτάτου. Τοῦ γοῦν τοιούτου πάθους ἐπικρατοῦντος καὶ νύττοντος ἀπαύστως τὰ ἐνδόσθια καὶ τοῦ σώματος τηκομένου, αὐτὸς οὐκ ἐπαύετο καθ' ἡμέραν περιερχόμενος τοὺς ἁγίους τόπους κεκυφὼς καὶ μὴ ἰσχύων ἀνορθῶσαι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἡλικίαν, ἀλλὰ ῥάβδῳ ἐπερειδόμενος.

5 Κατ' ἐκεῖνον δὲ τὸν καιρόν, συνέβη κἀμὲ ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας καταπλεῦσαι χάριν τοῦ προσκυνῆσαι τοὺς σεβασμίους τόπους, καὶ γενόμενος ἐν αὐτοῖς διέτριψα πολὺν χρόνον, τρεφόμενος ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ ἐργοχείρου· εἶχον γὰρ τὴν τοῦ καλλιγράφου τέχνην. Θεωρῶν δὲ τὸν ὅσιον πορευόμενον συνεχῶς εἰς τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἀνάστασιν καὶ εἰς τὰ ἄλλα εὐκτήρια, ἐθαύμαζον ὅτι ἐν τοσαύτῃ ἀσθενείᾳ σώματος οὐκ ὀκνεῖ οὕτως σκύλλεσθαι. Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν συναντήσας αὐτῷ ἐν τοῖς ἀναβαθμοῖς τοῦ μαρτυρίου τοῦ κτισθέντος ὑπὸ τοῦ μακαριωτάτου Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ βασιλέως, μὴ δυνάμενον τῷ ποδὶ προσβῆναι, δραμὼν δὲ καὶ προτείνας αὐτῷ τὴν ἐμὴν χεῖρα, παρεκάλουν αὐτὸν ταύτῃ ἐπερείδεσθαι καὶ ἀναβαίνειν τοὺς ἀναβαθμούς. Ὃ δὲ οὐκ ἤθελεν λέγων· Οὐκ ἔστιν δίκαιον ἐμὲ τὸν πορευόμενον αἰτῆσαι συγχώρησιν ἁμαρτιῶν ἐπερείδεσθαι ταῖς χερσὶν ἄλλου· ἀλλ' ἔασον, ἀδελφέ, τὸν θεὸν ἰδεῖν τὸν κόπον μου, ἵνα κατὰ τὴν ἄφατον αὐτοῦ εὐσπλαγχνίαν κἀμὲ ἐλεήσῃ. Ἐπορεύετο οὖν καὶ τῶν θείων λογίων ἠκροᾶτο τοῖς διδασκάλοις ὑποτιθεὶς τὰ ὦτα, καὶ τῆς μυστικῆς τραπέζης ἀεὶ μεταλαμβάνων, ἐπανήρχετο εἰς τὸ καταγώγιον τὸ ἑαυτοῦ. Ὁποῖον μὲν βίον ἔζη δῆλον ἦν. Τοῦ γὰρ πάθους τοσοῦτον κατεφρόνει ὡς νομίζειν αὐτὸν ἐν ἀλλοτρίῳ σώματι τὴν νόσον ἔχειν· ἡ γὰρ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐλπὶς ταύτην ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀπεφόρτου.

6 Τοῦτο δὲ μόνον αὐτὸν ἐλύπει καὶ ἔδακνεν τὸ διαμεῖναι τὴν περιουσίαν καὶ μὴ κατὰ τὸν εὐαγγελικὸν λόγον διαπραθῆναι καὶ διανεμηθῆναι τοῖς πτωχοῖς. Αἴτιον δὲ τούτου τοῦ ἐμποδισμοῦ γέγονεν τὸ εἶναι τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ παῖδας τυγχάνοντας ἡνίκα ἐξεδήμησεν τῆς ἰδίας πατρίδος. Ἀνιώμενος οὖν ἐπὶ τούτῳ, αἰτεῖ με ἤδη συνήθη αὐτῷ ὄντα (ἐξυπηρετούμην γὰρ αὐτῷ διὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀσθένειαν) πλεῦσαι εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην καὶ διανεῖμαι τὴν οὐσίαν μετὰ τῶν αὐτοῦ ἀδελφῶν, καὶ δούς μοι βιβλίον ἐντολῆς καὶ παραθέμενός με τῷ κυρίῳ ἀπέλυσεν, παρασχὼν ἐλάχιστα δαπανήματα· οὔτε γὰρ ηὐπόρει τότε. Εὐθέως δὲ κατελθὼν εἰς Ἀσκάλωνα καὶ εὑρὼν πλοῖον ἀνήχθην, καὶ δι' ἡμερῶν δέκα τριῶν εὐπλοήσαντες, ἐγενόμεθα εἰς