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sleeping on the ground and austerities surpassing description, poverty and humility driven to the extreme, compassion raising him above human nature itself, godly zeal against those who rave against piety; and, to speak simply, everything that is known to characterize a man according to God.

With such praises our Father is adorned, and he knows what is said, and he understands his own virtues, and he cherishes these words as producers of benefit, not for himself, but for us; since even the mere mention of his name becomes a foundation of virtue for the zealous. For we have not learned these things from any other source than from what he himself sowed in words concerning himself. From these we, like the praiseworthy bee, having gathered what is useful from many flowers, have fashioned this spiritual honeycomb. And he is by no means angry with us for the attempt, because he no longer fears the evil demon, since at the very end of his struggles he tripped up many, once he reached the waveless harbors of the bodiless ones, he is outside both the storm and the surge. Come then, let us linger a little in our discourse on each of the enumerated points, and show to those gathered what a wonderful man he became, and to what measure of spiritual ascent he attained. For he held his faith very rightly, not leaning far from piety; as we have received both from his writings and from the opinion held of him by the Church. For he equally detested the irrational confusion of Sabellius and the maniacal division of Arius. He stood within the boundaries of piety: dividing by number, but uniting in substance the one and unconfused and all-holy Trinity; so that he might neither be reproached in a Jewish manner for a poverty of divinity, nor be driven to Bacchic frenzy in a Hellenic manner by a multitude of Gods; which those who have behaved outrageously concerning the incomprehensible Trinity are convicted of having suffered. And he so rejected the irrational dogma of Apollinarius, as to make every effort to expel it from every Christian soul. But indeed, also of the Anomoeans, through many demonstrative and Scriptural arguments, he shut their un-gated mouths, leaving for us the greatest security in his divinely-taught sayings. And if anyone should wish to see the defeat of the most audacious Novatus, let him behold the fall of the adversary in the wrestling match through the words of Ephrem, in which he will find the superiority of our Teacher's power in the presentation of the argument to be as great as that between a pancratiast and a child who is not strong because of his tenderness.

And not only did he refute with the right word of faith the tares-like heresies that had sprung up at that time or even before, sown by the sower of wickedness; but also those that were destined to sprout up wickedly later 46.828, seeing them with a prophetic gaze, he reaped them beforehand. And of these proofs every writing and poem of his is full. Thus the son of truth never thought things contrary to the truth; and his only hope was in God, from whom graces are laid up as hopes for the worthy. For throughout his life, meditating on the psalmic word in both word and deed, he would say, In him my heart has hoped, and I was helped. Because he so hoped in the Lord, mercy will surround him. And his trust in him makes him like Mount Zion; but it also places the one who possesses it within the highest beatitude, as it is possible to learn from the prophets themselves, with David saying: Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord. And Jeremiah: Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord will be his hope; and he will be like a thriving tree by the waters, and will send forth its root toward moisture. And Isaiah: The Lord is our King, the Lord is our Savior, he himself will save us. Behold, God is my Savior, the Lord, I will trust in him and I will be confident. And of the blessed Paul exhorting and saying: Let us hold fast the confession of our hope; for he is faithful who promised us.

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χαμευνία καὶ σκληραγωγία λόγον ὑπερβαίνου σαι, ἀκτημοσύνη καὶ ταπείνωσις εἰς ἄκρον ἐλάσασαι, ἐλεημοσύνη τῆς φύσεως αὐτὸν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἐξαί ρουσα, ζῆλος ἔνθεος τῶν κατὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας λυτ τώντων· καὶ, ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, πᾶν ὅ τι κατὰ Θεὸν οἶδε χαρακτηρίζειν ἄνθρωπον.

Τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐπαίνοις ὁ ἡμέτερος Πατὴρ ὡραΐζεται, καὶ γινώσκει τὰ λεγό μενα, καὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα ἐπίσταται προτερήματα, καὶ στέργει τοὺς λόγους, ὡς ὠφελείας προξένους, οὐκ αὐτῷ, ἀλλ' ἡμῖν· ἐπεὶ καὶ ψιλὴ τούτου προσηγορία, ὑπόθεσις ἀρετῆς τοῖς σπουδαίοις καθίσταται. Οὐ γὰρ ἄλλοθεν δεδιδάγμεθα ταῦτα, ἢ ἐξ ὧν αὐτὸς τὰ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ λόγοις κατέσπειρεν. Ἀφ' ὧν ἡμεῖς ὡς ἡ ἐπαι νετὴ μέλισσα, ἐκ πολλῶν ἀνθέων συλλέξαντες τὰ χρήσιμα, τὸ πνευματικὸν τοῦτο κηρίον κατειργασά μεθα. Καὶ οὐ χολανεῖ πάντως ἡμῖν διὰ τὴν ἐγχείρη σιν, ὅτι μὴ δέδιεν ἔτι τὸν πονηρὸν δαίμονα, διὰ τὸ καὶ πρὸς αὐτῷ τῶν ἀγώνων τῷ τέλει πολλοὺς ὑπο σκελίσαι, ἅπαξ καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἀκυμάντους τῶν ἀσωμά των φθάσας λιμένας, ἔξω τυγχάνει καὶ ζάλης καὶ κλύδωνος. ∆εῦρο δὴ οὖν, καθ' ἕνα τῶν ἀπηριθμημέ νων μικρὸν ἐνδιατρίψαντες τῷ λόγῳ, οἷος γέγονεν ὁ θαυμάσιος, καὶ εἰς ὅσον μέτρον πνευματικῆς ἔφθασεν ἀναβάσεως, τοῖς συνειλεγμένοις καθυποδείξωμεν. Πίστεως μὲν γὰρ εἶχε λίαν ὀρθῶς, οὐ πόῤῥω που νεύων τῆς εὐσεβείας· καθὼς ἔκ τε τῶν αὐτοῦ συγ γραμμάτων, ἔκ τε τῆς περὶ αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῆς Ἐκκλη σίας παρειλήφαμεν δόξης· ἐξ ἴσου γὰρ ἐμυσάττετο τὴν τοῦ Σαβελλίου παράλογον σύγχυσιν, καὶ τὴν Ἀρείου μανιώδη διαίρεσιν. Ἵστατο δὲ τῶν τῆς εὐσε-βείας ὅρων ἐντός· διαιρῶν μὲν τῷ ἀριθμῷ, συνάπτων δὲ τῇ οὐσίᾳ τὴν μίαν καὶ ἀσύγχυτον καὶ παναγίαν Τριάδα· ὡς ἂν μήτε πενίαν θεότητος Ἰουδαϊκῶς ὀνει-δίζοιτο, μήτε δήμῳ Θεῶν Ἑλληνικῶς ἐκβακχεύοιτο· ἃ παθεῖν οἱ περὶ τὴν ἀκατάληπτον Τριάδα παροινή σαντες ἐξελέγχονται. Ἀπολιναρίου δὲ τοσοῦτον τὸ ἄλογον ἀπεπέμπετο δόγμα, ὡς πᾶσαν θέσθαι σπου δὴν ἐκ πάσης αὐτὸ Χριστιανικῆς ἐξεῶσαι ψυχῆς. Ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ τῶν Ἀνομοίων διὰ πολλῶν ἀπο δεικτικῶν τε καὶ Γραφικῶν λόγων, τὰ ἀπύλωτα ἐν έφραξε στόματα, μεγίστην ἀσφάλειαν ἡμῖν τὰ αὐτοῦ θεοδίδακτα λιπὼν λόγια. Νουάτου δὲ εἰ βούλοιτό τις τοῦ θρασυτάτου ἥττημα κατιδεῖν, ἐν τῇ διὰ τῶν λό γων τοῦ Ἐφραῒμ πάλῃ τὸ τοῦ ἐναντίου πτῶμα βλε πέτω, ἐν ᾗ τοσοῦτον εὑρήσει τὸ περιὸν τῆς δυνά μεως τοῦ ἡμετέρου ∆ιδασκάλου ἐν τῇ τοῦ λόγου παραστάσει, ὅσην ἀνδρὸς παγκρατιαστοῦ καὶ παιδὸς οὐκ εὐσθενοῦς δι' ἁπαλότητα.

Οὐ μόνον δὲ τὰς κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ ἢ καὶ πρόσθεν ἀναφυείσας ὑπὸ τοῦ τῆς κακίας σπορέως ζιζανιώδεις αἱρέσεις, τῷ ὀρθῷ τῆς πίστεως ἐξήλεγξε λόγῳ· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς εἰς ὕστερον 46.828 κακῶς ἀναθαλῆσαι μελλούσας προφητικῷ βλέμματι κατιδὼν, προεξεθέρισεν. Καὶ τούτων πλήρης τῶν ἀποδείξεων πᾶσα τούτου συγγραφή τε καὶ ποίησις. Οὕτως οὐ πώποτε τῆς ἀληθείας ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας υἱὸς ἐξεφρόνησεν· ἐλπὶς δὲ τούτῳ ἡ εἰς Θεὸν μόνη, ἐξ ὅτου ἂν ἀποκειμένων ἐλπίδων τοῖς ἀξίοις αἱ χάριτες. Τὸ γὰρ ψαλμικὸν διὰ βίου λόγῳ τε καὶ πράξει μελετῶν ἔφασκεν Ἐπ' αὐτῷ ἤλπισεν ἡ καρδία μου, καὶ ἐβοηθήθην. ∆ιὰ τοιοῦτον ἐλπίσαντος αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ Κύριον, ἔλεος αὐτὸν κυκλώσει. Καὶ ἡ εἰς αὐτὸν πεποίθησις, ὄρει τοῦτον Σιὼν ἀπεικάζει· ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑψηλοτάτου μακαρισμοῦ ἐντὸς τὸν κεκτημένον καθ ίστησι, ὡς ἔστιν ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν προφητῶν καταμα θεῖν, ∆αβὶδ μὲν λέγοντος· Μακάριος ἀνὴρ, οὗ ἐστι τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου ἐλπὶς αὐτοῦ. Ἱερεμίου δέ· Εὐλο γημένος ἄνθρωπος, ὅστις πέποιθεν ἐπὶ τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ ἔσται Κύριος ἐλπὶς αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἔσται ὡς τὸ ξύλον εὐθηνοῦν παρ' ὕδατα, καὶ ἐπὶ ἰκμάδα βα λεῖ ῥίζαν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ Ἡσαΐου· Κύριος Βασιλεὺς ἡμῶν, Κύριος Σωτὴρ ἡμῶν, αὐτὸς σώσει ἡμᾶς. Ἰδοὺ ὁ Θεὸς ὁ Σωτήρ μου Κύριος, πεποιθὼς ἔσο μαι ἐπ' αὐτῷ καὶ θαρσήσομαι. Τοῦ μακαρίου δὲ Παύλου παραινοῦντος καὶ λέγοντος· Κατέχομεν τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος· πιστὸς γὰρ ὁ ἐπαγγει λάμενος ἡμῖν.