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those who are praised by us, having been instructed in divine scripture and having heard God saying through the prophet, 'death has come up through the windows,' having closed their senses with the divine laws as with certain bars and locks, they entrusted their keys to the mind; and the tongue did not open the lips unless the mind commanded, nor did the pupil, not being permitted, endure to look out from the eyelids; and hearing, being unable to wall up its entrance with eyelids or lips, pushed away unprofitable words, and received only those in which the mind delighted. Thus they trained the sense of smell not to long for fragrant things, since these are by nature relaxing and slackening. Thus they drove out the satiety of the stomach and taught it to take such things as fulfilled not pleasure, but need, and these things in such quantity as could prevent death from starvation. Thus they overthrew the sweet tyranny of sleep and, having freed their eyelids from its slavery, they taught them to rule instead of being enslaved and to receive its service, not when it itself came on, but when they themselves called upon it for a brief assistance of nature. Thus, therefore, having taken care for the guarding of the walls and gates and having administered harmony to their inner thoughts, they laughed at the adversaries coming from without, since they were unable to enter by force because of the security of divine grace, and finding no traitor choosing to admit the enemy; and the enemies, having an invisible nature, were not able to overcome a body that was visible and subject to the necessities of nature. For its charioteer, and musician, and pilot, holding the reins most excellently, persuaded the horses to be borne in order; and striking the chords of the senses in rhythm, he prepared them to produce the all-harmonious sound; and moving the rudders with skill, he broke both the assault of the waves and the attack of the winds. p.7 These men, therefore, who journeyed through life by means of countless labors, and subdued the body with sweat and hardships, and were ignorant of the passion of laughter, but spent their whole life in weeping and tears, and considered fasting a Sybaritic meal, and laborious vigil the sweetest sleep, and the hardness of the ground a soft bed, and the time spent in prayers and psalmody a pleasure both immeasurable and insatiable, who would not rightly admire these men who possessed every form of virtue? or rather, who could praise them according to their worth? I myself know clearly that no speech could reach their virtue; yet I must try; for it would not be right if, because they became perfect men and lovers of the true philosophy, for this reason they should not receive even lesser praises. p.8 But we will not write one encomium common to all; p.8 for different gifts were given to them from God, and teaching this the blessed Paul said: 'To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing in the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues'. And showing the source of all these, he added: 'All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as he wills.' Since, therefore, they have received different gifts, it is right that we shall make the narrative of each one individually, not going through all their deeds-for a whole lifetime would not suffice for such a writing-but by narrating a few of the things lived or done by each, and through the few showing the character of the whole life, we shall proceed to another. p.9 Nor shall we try to commit to history the way of life of all the saints who have distinguished themselves everywhere; for we neither know those who have shone everywhere, nor is it possible for all to be by one

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θείας πεπαιδευμένοι γραφῆς οἱ παρ' ἡμῶν εὐφημούμενοι καὶ ἀκούσαντες τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος ὡς "ἀνέβη θάνατος διὰ τῶν θυρίδων", οἷόν τισι μοχλοῖς καὶ κλείθροις, τοῖς θείοις νόμοις τὰ αἰσθητήρια κλείσαντες, τῷ νῷ τὰς τούτων ἐνεχείρισαν κλεῖς· καὶ οὔτε γλῶττα ἀνεῴγνυ τὰ χείλη, τοῦ νοῦ μὴ κελεύοντος, οὔτε κόρη μὴ ἐπιτρεπομένη προ κύπτειν τῶν βλεφάρων ἠνείχετο· ἀκοὴ δὲ βλεφάροις ἢ χείλεσιν ἀποτειχίσαι μὴ δυναμένη τὴν εἴσοδον, τοὺς ἀνονή τους ἀπεωθεῖτο τῶν λόγων, κἀκείνους μόνους ἐδέχετο, οἷς ὁ νοῦς ἐπετέρπετο. Οὕτω τὴν ὄσφρησιν ἐπαίδευσαν μὴ τὰ εὐώδη ποθεῖν, ἅτε δὴ χαυνοῦν καὶ χαλᾶν πεφυκότα. Οὕτω τῆς γαστρὸς τὸν κόρον ἐξήλασαν καὶ τοιαῦτα λαμβάνειν ἐδίδαξαν οἷα οὐχ ἡδονήν, ἀλλὰ χρείαν ἐπλήρου, καὶ ταῦτα τοσαῦτα ὅσα τὸν ἐκ λιμοῦ κωλύειν ἠδύνατο θάνατον. Οὕτω τὴν γλυκεῖαν τοῦ ὕπνου τυραννίδα κατέλυσαν καί, τὰ βλέφαρα τῆς τούτου δουλείας ἐλευθερώσαντες, κρατεῖν ἀντὶ τοῦ δουλεύειν ἐπαίδευσαν καὶ δέχεσθαι τὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ χρείαν, οὐχ ὅταν αὐτὸς ἐπίῃ, ἀλλ' ὅταν αὐτοὶ καλῶσιν εἰς βραχεῖαν ἐπικουρίαν τῆς φύσεως. Οὕτω τοιγαροῦν τῆς τῶν τειχῶν καὶ τῶν πυλῶν φρον τίσαντες φυλακῆς καὶ τοῖς ἔνδον λογισμοῖς τὴν ὁμόνοιαν πρυτανεύσαντες, τοὺς ἔξωθεν ἐπιόντας ἀντιπάλους ἐγέλων, ἐπεισιέναι μὲν βίᾳ διὰ τὴν τῆς θείας χάριτος οὐ δυναμένους ἀσφάλειαν, οὐδένα δὲ προδότην εὑρίσκοντας εἰσδέχεσθαι τοὺς δυσμενεῖς προαιρούμενον· καὶ τὴν φύσιν ἀόρατον ἔχοντες οἱ πολέμιοι, σώματος ὁρωμένου καὶ ταῖς τῆς φύσεως ἀνάγκαις ὑποκειμένου, κρατεῖν οὐκ ἠδύναντο. Ὁ γὰρ ἡνίοχος τούτου, καὶ μουσικὸς, καὶ κυβερνήτης, ἄριστα μὲν κατέχων τὰς ἡνίας ἐν τάξει φέρεσθαι τοὺς ἵππους ἀνέπεισε· ἐν ῥυθμῷ δὲ τὰς τῶν αἰσθητηρίων πλήττων χορδὰς τὴν παναρμόνιον ἠχὴν ἀποτελεῖν παρεσκεύασεν· ἐπιστημόνως δὲ κινῶν τὰ πηδάλια, καὶ τῶν κυμάτων τὴν προσβολὴν καὶ τὴν τῶν πνευμάτων διέλυσεν ἐμβολήν. p.7 Τούτους τοίνυν τοὺς διὰ πόνων μυρίων τὸν βίον ὁδεύσαντας, ἱδρῶσι δὲ καὶ ταλαιπωρίαις τὸ σῶμα δαμάσαντας, καὶ γέλωτος μὲν τὸ πάθος ἀγνοήσαντας, ἐν κλαυθμῷ δὲ καὶ δάκρυσιν ἅπαντα τὸν βίον δαπανήσαντας, καὶ τροφὴν μὲν συβαριτικὴν τὴν ἀσιτίαν νομίσαντας, ὕπνον δὲ ἥδιστον τὴν ἐπίπονον ἀγρυπνίαν, στρωμνὴν δὲ μαλακὴν τὴν τοῦ ἐδάφους ἀντιτυπίαν, ἡδονὴν δὲ ἄμετρόν τε καὶ ἄπληστον, τὴν ἐν προσευχαῖς καὶ ψαλμῳδίαις διατριβήν, τούτους τοὺς πᾶν εἶδος ἀρετῆς συνειληχότας τίς οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως θαυμάσειεν; μᾶλλον δὲ τίς ἂν πρὸς ἀξίαν εὐφημήσειεν; Οἶδα μὲν οὖν κἀγὼ σαφῶς ὡς τῆς τούτων ἀρετῆς οὐδεὶς ἂν ἐφίκοιτο λόγος· ἐγχειρητέον δὲ ὅμως· οὐ γὰρ ἂν καλῶς ἔχοι, εἰ ὅτι τελέως ἄνδρες ἐγένοντο φιλοσοφίας τῆς ἀληθοῦς ἐρασταὶ διὰ τοῦτο μηδὲ μειόνων τύχοιεν ἐπαίνων. p.8 Γράψομεν δὲ τὴν εὐφημίαν οὐ κοινῇ πᾶσι μίαν· p.8 διάφορα γὰρ αὐτοῖς θεόθεν ἐδόθη χαρίσματα, καὶ τοῦτο διδάσκων ὁ μακάριος ἔλεγε Παῦλος· "Ὧι μὲν διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος δίδοται λόγος σοφίας, ἄλλῳ δὲ λόγος γνώσεως κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα, ἄλλῳ δὲ χαρίσματα ἰαμάτων ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ πνεύματι, ἄλλῳ δὲ ἐνεργήματα δυνάμεων, ἄλλῳ δὲ προφητεία, ἄλλῳ δὲ γένη γλωττῶν, ἄλλῳ δὲ ἑρμηνεία γλωττῶν". Καὶ δεικνὺς τὴν τούτων ἁπάντων πηγὴν ἐπήγαγεν· "Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα ἐνεργεῖ τὸ ἓν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα, διαιροῦν ἰδίᾳ ἑκάστῳ καθὼς βούλεται." Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν διαφόρων τετυχήκασι δωρεῶν, εἰκότως ἰδίᾳ ἑκάστου ποιησόμεθα τὸ διήγημα, οὐχ ἅπαντα διεξιόντες τὰ πεπολιτευμένα-εἰς γὰρ τὴν τοιαύτην συγγραφὴν οὐδὲ ἅπας ἂν ὁ βίος ἀρκέσειεν-, ἀλλ' ὀλίγα τῶν ἑκάστῳ βεβιωμένων ἢ πεπραγμένων διηγησάμενοι, καὶ διὰ τῶν ὀλίγων τοῦ παντὸς βίου τὸν χαρακτῆρα παραδείξαντες, ἐφ' ἕτερον βαδιούμεθα. p.9 Οὐδὲ πάντων δὲ τῶν πανταχοῦ διαπρεψάντων ἁγίων τὴν πολιτείαν ἱστορίᾳ παραδοῦναι πειρασόμεθα· οὔτε γὰρ ἴσμεν τοὺς πανταχοῦ διαλάμψαντας, οὔτε δυνατὸν ἅπαντας ὑφ' ἑνὸς