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twenty-second year and having given proofs of his own labors for the public hearing, so that the entire theater of listeners was shaken by him, by some divine providence, disdaining all things at hand, he departed for the solitary and possessionless life with a great impulse of mind, bringing nothing with him except himself. And one of his servants, Chrysaphius by name, followed him, both because he was well-disposed toward him and because he had adopted the same choice concerning life. Therefore, he lived by himself, having occupied a remote place near the Iris. The Iris is a river flowing through the middle of Pontus, which, having its sources in Armenia itself, discharges its stream through our regions into the Euxine Sea. Near it the young man found a certain place, abounding in deep wood and hidden in a hollow of the overarching mountain ridge, and he lived in it, having become far from the city's noises and the occupations of military service and of rhetoric in the courts. And having freed himself from all the things of life that echo around human existence, he tended with his own hands certain old men living with poverty and sickness, having judged it fitting for his own life to have such an occupation as a care. Therefore, hunting, because he was skilled in every sort of hunting device, he provided food for the old men and at the same time subdued his youth with such labors. But also readily serving his mother's wishes, if ever anything were commanded by her, he perfected his life through both, by his labors mastering his youth and by his devotion to his mother being prospered toward God through the divine commandments.

9 For a fifth year he lived philosophizing in this way and making his mother blessed by his own life, by which he both adorned his own life through moderation and offered all his strength to the will of she who bore him. Then some grave and tragic misfortune, from the plot, I think, of the adversary, befell his mother, which was sufficient for misfortune and mourning for the whole family. For he is suddenly snatched from life, not with a disease having prepared one to anticipate the suffering, nor with any other such customary and familiar thing having brought death upon the young man. But having set out on a hunt, by which he provided the necessities for those cared for in old age, he himself is brought back dead to his house, both he and Chrysaphius, his companion in life. But the mother was far from what was happening, being a three days' journey away from the disaster, and someone came to her reporting the calamity. And she was indeed perfect in all things according to virtue, yet nature equally overcame her; for collapsing in soul, she immediately became breathless and speechless, her reason having given way to the suffering, and she lay there at the assault of the evil news, like some noble athlete struck down by an unexpected blow.

10 In this the virtue of the great Macrina shone forth, how, by setting her reason against the suffering, she both kept herself from falling and, having become a support for her mother's weakness, she drew her up again from the depth of grief, with her own firmness and unyieldingness training her mother's soul to fortitude. Therefore the mother was not carried away by the suffering, nor did she suffer anything ignoble or womanish, so as to cry out at the evil or tear her garment or wail over the calamity or stir up dirges with mournful melodies. But quietly she endured, pushing away the assaults of nature with reason, both her own and those brought to her by her daughter for the healing of the evil. For then especially the lofty and exalted soul of the virgin shone forth, because in her too nature was suffering its own part; for he who was snatched away by such a manner of death was a brother, and a favored one among brothers. Nevertheless, having become higher than nature, she raised up her mother with her own reasonings and set her above the suffering, by her own example training her toward patience and fortitude. And otherwise also her life was always through

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ἔτος καὶ εἰκοστὸν καὶ δοὺς τῶν οἰκείων πόνων ἐπὶ δημοσίας ἀκοῆς τὰς ἀποδείξεις, ὥστε ἅπαν ἐπ' αὐτῷ σεισθῆναι τῶν ἀκουόντων τὸ θέατρον, θείᾳ τινὶ προμηθείᾳ τῶν ἐν χερσὶν ἁπάντων ὑπεριδὼν πρὸς τὸν μονήρη καὶ ἀκτήμονα βίον ἀπῆλθεν ἐν μεγάλῃ τινὶ τῆς διανοίας ὁρμῇ, οὐδὲν ἐπαγόμενος μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ πλὴν ἑαυτόν· εἵπετο δέ τις αὐτῷ καὶ τῶν οἰκετῶν Χρυσάφιος τοὔνομα, τῷ τε πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔχειν ἐκεῖνον ἐπιτηδείως καὶ τῷ τὴν αὐτὴν προαί ρεσιν περὶ τὸν βίον ἐνστήσασθαι. ∆ιῆγε τοίνυν καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἐσχατιάν τινα καταλαβὼν πρὸς τῷ Ἴριδι. Ποταμὸς δὲ ὁ Ἶρίς ἐστι μέσον διαρρέων τὸν Πόντον, ὃς ἀπ' αὐτῆς τῆς Ἀρμενίας τὰς ἀρχὰς ἔχων διὰ τῶν ἡμετέρων τόπων ἐπὶ τὸν Εὔξεινον Πόντον τὸ ῥεῖθρον ἐκδίδωσι. Περὶ τοῦτον εὑρών τινα τόπον ὁ νεανίας ὕλῃ βαθείᾳ κομῶντα καὶ λαγόνι τινὶ τῆς ὑπερτεταμένης τοῦ ὄρους ῥαχίας ἐγκε κρυμμένον ἐν αὐτῷ διῆγε, τῶν ἀστικῶν θορύβων καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ στρατείας τε καὶ τῆς ἐν δικαστηρίοις ῥητορικῆς ἀσχολημάτων πόρρω γενόμενος. Καὶ πάντων τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον περιηχούντων τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ζωὴν ἑαυτὸν ἐλευθερώσας πρεσβύτας τινὰς πενίᾳ καὶ ἀρρωστίᾳ συζῶν τας ταῖς ἰδίαις χερσὶν ἐθεράπευε, πρέπειν δοκιμάσας τῷ ἰδίῳ βίῳ τὴν τοιαύτην ἀσχολίαν διὰ φροντίδος ἔχειν. Θηρεύων τοίνυν διὰ τὸ πρὸς πᾶν εἶδος θηρευτικῆς ἐπινοίας ἐπιτηδείως ἔχειν ἐπόριζε τοῖς γέρουσι τὴν τροφὴν καὶ τὴν νεότητα τοῖς τοιούτοις ἅμα κατεδάμαζε πόνοις· ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς μητρῴοις θελήμασιν, εἴ ποτέ τι παρ' αὐτῆς προσταχ θείη, προθύμως ὑπηρετῶν δι' ἀμφοτέρων κατώρθου τὸν βίον, τοῖς τε πόνοις κατακρατῶν τῆς νεότητος τῇ τε περὶ τὴν μητέρα σπουδῇ διὰ τῶν θείων ἐντολῶν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν εὐοδούμενος.

9 Πέμπτον διήγαγεν ἔτος τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον φιλοσο φῶν καὶ μακαριστὴν ποιῶν τὴν μητέρα τῇ ἰδίᾳ ζωῇ, οἷς τε κατεκόσμει διὰ σωφροσύνης τὴν οἰκείαν ζωὴν οἷς τε παρεῖχε πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν ἑαυτοῦ τῷ θελήματι τῆς γεννησαμένης. Εἶτα βαρύ τι καὶ τραγικὸν πάθος ἐξ ἐπι βουλῆς, οἶμαι, τοῦ ἀντικειμένου τῇ μητρὶ συνηνέχθη, ὃ παντὶ τῷ γένει πρὸς συμφοράν τε καὶ πένθος ἐπήρκεσεν. Αἰφνίδιον γὰρ ἐκ τῆς ζωῆς ἀναρπάζεται, οὐ νοσήματος προελπισθῆναι τὸ πάθος παρασκευάσαντος, οὐκ ἄλλου τοιούτου τινὸς τῶν συνήθων καὶ γνωρίμων ἐπαγαγόντος τῷ νέῳ τὸν θάνατον· ἀλλ' ἐπὶ θήραν ὁρμήσας, δι' ἧς παρεῖχε τοῖς γηρωκομουμένοις τὰ ἐπιτήδεια, νεκρὸς τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ ἐπανάγεται αὐτός τε ἐκεῖνος καὶ ὁ κοινωνὸς αὐτῷ τοῦ βίου Χρυσάφιος. Πόρρω δὲ ἦν τῶν γινομένων ἡ μήτηρ, τριῶν ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν ἀφεστῶσα τῆς συμφορᾶς, καί τις ἀφίκετο παρ' αὐτὴν μηνύων τὸ πάθος. Ἡ δὲ τελεία μὲν τοῖς κατ' ἀρετὴν ἅπασιν ἦν, πλὴν ἐκράτει κἀκείνης κατὰ τὸ ἴσον ἡ φύσις· ὀκλάσασα γὰρ τὴν ψυχὴν ἄπνους τε καὶ ἄφθογγος παραχρῆμα ἐγένετο, τοῦ λογισμοῦ τῷ πάθει παραχωρήσαντος, καὶ ἔκειτο ὁμοῦ τῇ προσβολῇ τῆς πονηρᾶς ἀκοῆς καθάπερ τις ἀθλητὴς γενναῖος ἀπροσδο κήτῳ κατασεισθεῖσα πληγῇ.

10 Ἐν τούτῳ διεφάνη τῆς μεγάλης Μακρίνης ἡ ἀρετή, ὅπως τῷ πάθει τὸν λογισμὸν ἀντιστήσασα ἑαυτήν τε ἄπτωτον διεφύλαξε καὶ τῆς μητρικῆς ἀσθενείας ἔρεισμα γενομένη πάλιν ἐκ τοῦ βυθοῦ τῆς λύπης αὐτὴν ἀνιμήσατο, τῷ καθ' ἑαυτὴν στερρῷ τε καὶ ἀνενδότῳ καὶ τὴν τῆς μητρὸς ψυχὴν πρὸς ἀνδρείαν παιδοτριβήσασα. Οὐκοῦν οὐ παρεσύρη πρὸς τὸ πάθος ἡ μήτηρ οὐδὲ ἔπαθε δυσ γενές τι καὶ γυναικεῖον, ὥστε βοῆσαι πρὸς τὸ κακὸν ἢ περιρρήξασθαι τὸ ἱμάτιον ἢ ἐπικωκῦσαι τῷ πάθει ἢ ταῖς γοεραῖς μελῳδίαις ἀνακινῆσαι τοὺς θρήνους. Ἀλλὰ ἡσυχῆ διεκαρτέρει τὰς τῆς φύσεως προσβολὰς ἀπωθουμένη λογισ μοῖς τοῖς τε ἰδίοις καὶ τοῖς παρὰ τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτῇ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ κακοῦ θεραπείαν προσαγομένοις. Τότε γὰρ δὴ μάλιστα ἡ ὑψηλή τε καὶ ἐπηρμένη τῆς παρθένου ψυχὴ διεφάνη, ὅτι καὶ ἐν ἐκείνῃ ἡ μὲν φύσις τὸ ἴδιον ἔπασχεν· ἀδελφὸς γὰρ ἦν καὶ ἀδελφῶν ὁ κεχαρισμένος ὁ τῷ τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ τοῦ θανάτου ἀναρπασθείς· ὅμως ὑψηλοτέρα γενομένη τῆς φύσεως συνεπῆρε τοῖς ἰδίοις λογισμοῖς τὴν μητέρα καὶ ὑπεράνω τοῦ πάθους ἔστησε, τῷ καθ' ἑαυτὴν ὑποδείγματι πρὸς ὑπομονήν τε καὶ ἀνδρείαν παιδαγωγήσασα. Ἄλλως δὲ καὶ ὁ βίος αὐτῆς ἀεὶ δι'