2

A temperate grace of spring came forth, neither flaming nor fiery like summer, nor shuddering nor icy like the cold, but evenly and beautifully blended from both. But you were burned by the fierce summer of fevers, and were crystallized by the cold of paroxysms, and you had no toil-releasing spring in between, or rather, that I may speak more accurately, you had autumn in between these, terribly wasting away all your little flesh.

And for others who are completely dead, the body thus both gapes open and dissolves; but you, while breathing and present in life, were consigning your dust to its kindred earth. O all-great mind, angelic heart, you saw your whole body wasting away and you yourself were burying most of your limbs, and no womanly word was sent forth by you, nor indeed did the sickness soften you, nor, having your reason overcome by suffering, did you let go of your thanksgiving to God, but you nobly and all-wisely set against the fevers your hope in him, which happened to be for you another dew of Hermon, and against the shivers, in turn, your longing for him, which you nourished warm as a flame of fire. One was the thing that grieved, one the thing that stung and afflicted and that prostrated and turned your great mind, that your sweet bedfellow was not present, nor indeed to be seen and to see for the last time, and a kindred flow of kindred tears to run down as from kindred springs. Wherefore you earnestly implored the divinity to grant such an extension of days, to award such an addition to your life, until you might see the sight of your bedfellow, so that you might lay down your breath for him alone, for whom you breathed the air more than for yourself.

And things turned out for you according to your prayer; for you saw him and sweetly you embraced him, not with fingers, but with the forms of fingers, nor with hands, but with the bones of hands, nor with flesh, but with the remains of flesh; you wept, he wept in return, he wailed back at you, clinging to you he filled your neck with tears, with tearing he rent his golden hair and scratched your beautiful cheek, and as for himself, he had already died before you. And these things are mortal and the laws of mortals, but the things thereafter are as an imitation of the angels themselves; you ask for the holy habit of the solitary ones; you long for the thing and longing you receive it, my goodness, with what warmth of heart and with how great a burning torch of desire; and having lit a bright lamp of the soul you are led as a bride with the wise virgins and bursting forth from the earthly bridegroom you are joined to the spiritual bridegroom himself in a new union of mystical communion. Shall I say what is greater? You do not even go to see that lower bedfellow, so that you might keep undefiled to the end both the carnal and the divine marriage; and the awe-inspiring thing: amidst sacred psalms you give your spirit to God and bridegroom, you yourself closing the folds of your eyes, you yourself arranging your hands in a holy manner; or rather, first you give up your breath, and then your mouth falls silent from speaking. O most blessed and venerable end! like the angels you lived in this present life, like the angels you departed from this present life, with angels you now bear your dwelling. O royal, all-renowned hearth, in which was long ago the philanthropic head, another may call you a fortunate house, but I shall declare you a place of weeping; for you (but I am silent for now about the long labors, and speak of the greatest and chiefest) first you boast the royal dust of the all-great, all-powerful Alexios and of the greatest empress Eirene, of the myriad-sprouting branch of the Doukas line, and the wise dust of the all-wise Caesar (if any dust is wise, and not dust alone?) and now the dust of the beautiful empress who was eponymously the gift of God, even if she was renamed near her end, fittingly called Aikaterina. You are a ground of Hades and a place for bearing the dead and a cold guardian of royal bones. But O woman renowned for beauty, but more adorned by your virtues and simply the dwelling place of every good thing, all-holy bride of God, all-beautiful bride, ask earnestly and beseech the divine one to extinguish the embers of labors for your bedfellow, and of his

2

ἐαρινὴ προῆλθεν εὔκρατος χάρις, οὔτε φλογώδης καὶ πυρώδης ὡς θέρος, οὔτε φρικώδης καὶ παγώδης ὡς κρύος, ἀμφοῖν δ' ὁμαλῶς καὶ καλῶς κεκραμένη· σὺ δ' ἐφλέγου μὲν πυρετῶν λάβρῳ θέρει, ἐκρυσταλοῦ δὲ καὶ παροξυσμῶν κρύει, ἔαρ δὲ λυσίμοχθον οὐκ εἶχες μέσον, μᾶλλον δ' ὅπως ἂν ἀκριβέστερον φράσω, τὸ φθινόπωρον εἶχες ἐν τούτοις μέσον, δεινῶς ἀποφθίνουσα πᾶν τὸ σαρκίον.

Καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις παντελῶς τεθνηκόσιν οὕτω τὸ σῶμα καὶ χαοῦται καὶ ῥέει· σὺ δ' ἐμπνέουσα καὶ παροῦσα τῷ βίῳ τῇ συγγενεῖ γῇ σὴν προσεκλήρου κόνιν. Ὦ παμμέγας νοῦς, ἀγγελικὴ καρδία, τὸ σῶμά σοι πᾶν ἔβλεπες διαρρέον καὶ τῶν μελῶν ἔθαπτες αὐτὴ τὰ πλέω, καὶ θῆλυς οὐδεὶς ἐξεπέμφθη σοι λόγος, οὐδ' ἡ νόσος γοῦν ἐξεμαλθάκισέ σε, οὐδὲ σχεθεῖσα τὸν λογισμὸν τῷ πάθει τὴν εἰς Θεὸν μεθῆκας εὐχαριστίαν, ἀλλ' ἀντετίθεις εὐγενῶς καὶ πανσόφως τοῖς πυρετοῖς μὲν τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλπίδα, ἄλλην Ἀερμὼν τυγχάνουσάν σοι δρόσον, ταῖς δὲ φρίκαις ἔμπαλιν αὐτοῦ τὸν πόθον, ὃν θερμὸν ἐξέθρεψας ὡς πυρὸς φλόγα. Ἓν ἦν τὸ λυποῦν, ἓν τὸ δάκνον καὶ θλίβον καὶ τὸν μέγαν νοῦν ὑπτιάζον καὶ τρέπον, τὸ μὴ παρεῖναι τὸν γλυκὺν ξυνευνέτην, μητ' οὖν τὰ λοῖσθα καὶ βλέπεσθαι καὶ βλέπειν, καὶ συγγενῆ ῥοῦν συγγενῶν τῶν δακρύων ὡς ἀπὸ πηγῶν συγγενῶν ἀπορρέειν. Ὅθεν τὸ θεῖον ἐκτενῶς ἐλιπάρεις τόσην παρασχεῖν ἡμερῶν προθεσμίαν, τόσην βραβεῦσαι πρόσθεσίν σοι τοῦ βίου, ἕως ἂν ὄψει τοῦ ξυνεύνου τὴν θέαν, ὡς ἂν παράθῃ τὴν πνοὴν τούτῳ μόνῳ, ὃν ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν ἀνέπνεις τὸν ἀέρα.

Καί σοι κατ' εὐχὴν ἐξέβη τὰ πράγματα· εἶδες γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ γλυκὺ προσεπλάκης, οὐ δακτύλοις μέν, τοῖς δὲ δακτύλων τύποις, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ χερσί, τοῖς δὲ χειρῶν ὀστέοις, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ σαρξί, τοῖς δὲ σαρκῶν λειψάνοις· ἔκλαυσας, ἀντέκλαυσεν, ἀντῴμωξέ σοι, ἔπλησεν ἐμφὺς δακρύων τὸν αὐχένα, τιλμῷ κατεσπάραξε τὴν χρυσῆν κόμην καὶ τὴν παρειὰν τὴν καλὴν ἤμυξέ σοι, τὸ καθ' ἑαυτὸν καὶ προεκτέθνηκέ σου. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν βρότεια καὶ θνητῶν νόμοι, τὰ δ' ἔνθεν ὡς μίμησις αὐτῶν ἀγγέλων· αἰτεῖς τὸ σεπτὸν σχῆμα τῶν μονοτρόπων· ποθεῖς τὸ χρῆμα καὶ ποθοῦσα λαμβάνεις, βαβαί, σὺν οἵᾳ θερμότητι καρδίας καὶ σὺν ὅσῳ φλέγοντι δαλῷ τοῦ πόθου· καὶ ψυχικὴν ἅψασα λαμπρὰν λαμπάδα συννυμφαγωγῇ ταῖς φρονίμοις παρθένοις καὶ τοῦ γεώδους ἐκραγεῖσα νυμφίου αὐτῷ ξυνάπτῃ τῷ νοητῷ νυμφίῳ καινὴν συναφὴν μυστικῆς κοινωνίας. Εἴπω τὸ μεῖζον; Οὐδὲ μέχρι γοῦν θέας ἔρχῃ πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸν κάτω ξυνευνέτην, ὡς ἂν φυλάξῃς ἀμιάντους εἰς τέλος τὸν σαρκικόν τε καὶ τὸν ἐν Θεῷ γάμον· καὶ τὸ φρικῶδες· ἱερῶν ψαλμῶν μέσον τὸ πνεῦμα δίδως τῷ Θεῷ καὶ νυμφίῳ, αὐτὴ μύσασα τὰς πτύχας τῶν ὀμμάτων, αὐτὴ περιστείλασα σεμνῶς τὰς χέρας· μᾶλλον δέ, πρῶτα τὴν πνοὴν ἐρυγγάνεις, σιγᾷ δ' ἔπειτα τοῦ λαλεῖν σοι τὸ στόμα. Ὢ μακαριστοῦ καὶ σεβασμίου τέλους· κατ' ἀγγέλους ἔζησας ἐν τῷ νῦν βίῳ, κατ' ἀγγέλους ἐξῆλθες ἐκ τοῦ νῦν βίου, σὺν ἀγγέλοις νῦν τὴν κατοίκησιν φέρεις. Ὦ βασιλικὴ παμβόητος ἑστία, ἐν ᾗ τὸ φιλάνθρωπον ἦν πάλαι κάρα, ἄλλος μὲν εὐτυχῆ σε καλείτω δόμον, ἐγὼ δέ σε κλαυθμῶνος ἐξείπω τόπον· σὺ γὰρ (σιγῶ δὲ τοῦς μακροὺς τανῦν πόνους καὶ τοὺς μεγίστους καὶ κορυφαίους λέγω) πρῶτον μὲν αὐχεῖς τὴν βασίλειον κόνιν τοῦ παμμεγίστου παγκρατοῦς Ἀλεξίου καὶ τῆς ἀνάσσης τῆς μεγίστης Εἰρήνης, τοῦ ∆ουκοφυοῦς μυριοβλαστοῦ κλάδου, καὶ τὸν σοφὸν χοῦν καίσαρος τοῦ πανσόφου (εἴ τις σοφὸς χοῦς, ἀλλὰ μὴ χοῦς καὶ μόνον;) καὶ τὴν κόνιν νῦν τῆς καλῆς βασιλίδος τῆς δῶρον οὔσης τοῦ Θεοῦ φερωνύμως, εἰ καὶ μετωνόμαστο τοῦ τέλους πέλας, Αἰκατερίνα προσφυῶς κεκλημένη. Ἅδου πέδον σὺ καὶ νεκροστόλος τόπος καὶ βασιλικῶν ὀστέων ψυχρὸς φύλαξ. Ἀλλ' ὦ περιθρύλλητε τῷ κάλλει γύναι, ταῖς ἀρεταῖς δὲ κοσμιωτέρα πλέον καὶ παντὸς ἁπλῶς ἀγαθοῦ κατοικία, νύμφη Θεοῦ πάνσεμνε, νύμφη παγκάλη, αἴτει τὸν θεῖον ἐκτενῶς καὶ λιπάρει τοὺς ἄνθρακας μὲν τῶν πόνων ἀποσβέσαι τῷ σῷ ξυνεύνῳ, τῆς δὲ τούτου