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of souls that had recognized each other through the medium of the body; thus, at any rate, they came together with each other from the same likeness into an equal harmony. Now, each of the ages is not suitable for every matter, but the incomplete for play, and the prime for life, and the mature for better pursuits, and again, one is more suited for this, another for that, and of the ways of life divided into both action and reason, one is most practical, while another inclines to the other. But for my mother these things had no division, and all inclined together and at the same time, and this when she already had the flower of her age, both "prudence" was present and "understanding," both the order toward reason and the reason for action, and to be divided towards opposites and not to be divided, and to hold to each, but to seem to hold to the other, so as neither ever to be left behind by God, nor by strict housekeeping, but approaching God, or rather, being always with Him, she thought it necessary to remember nothing of worldly matters, but she attended to these in no other way than with God. She herself, at any rate, was growing and made the house grow, using what she had skillfully and adding what she did not have diligently. To my father, then, his family from of old had reached consuls and patricians, but his own affairs were not so prosperous, but if one were to place him on one scale of a balance with my mother, and the rest of his family on the other, he would win by far because of the weight of my mother, though falling short of them in other respects. Now, the woman praised by the wise man seems to me to have taken up her tasks sparingly and in a simple manner, inasmuch as to handle a spindle and to make "double cloaks for her husband," as if not wishing for more, or not even being able to do other such things. But my mother, much more magnificent than she, not only "turning a spindle," but also handling any other instrument fitting for the women's quarters. She did not make "cloaks for her husband," for he was not so unfortunate, but she wove together for herself and her maidservants and for many of her relatives and for most of the otherwise unfortunate, most of which happened to be of "extraordinary beauty." And when she also bore a child, and the child born was a little daughter like no other, if one were to exclude her who bore her, and this "statement is no boast"; for her beauty is still a cause of wonder to most, about which "the account as it proceeds" will make more clearly known. Therefore, when she was seen to be a mother and the first-fruit of childbirth was worthy of God who gave it, she was even more collected in herself and more ordered in her life, not like most women from that point on neglecting the disciplined life and becoming lax in her living, but strengthened more than weakened and more robustly disposed in both her nature and her mind. Now nature, as if having loved and admired herself that she had produced such beauty, I mean my mother, then indeed, as if reasoning that she could not show such a thing unless from her, from there she images forth my sister, as best she could, and with the prototype having flowed away, a most similar image. So nature did this, but God indeed makes the matter otherwise, and the account will say this at the proper time. A second birth again, and again the child born was female, and this was not at all to the pleasure of either the parents or the rest of the family, but just as childless women desire even any chance birth, so she desired the other more, the male. But the birth-pangs were held back for both kinds, as if nature were preparing herself and needing some time for the childbirth. And when it was necessary for the Divine "to become" at some time "attentive" to her prayers, the womb was hastened in its formation and the time for labor was at hand, and the author broke forth from nature, with many prayers and many hopes having gone before, and with a great and divine paean sung at the birth, even if the birth was not such as indeed were the causes of the generation.

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ψυχῶν ἐπεγνωκυιῶν ἀλλήλας διὰ μέσου τοῦ σώματος· οὕτω γοῦν συνηλθέτην ἀλλήλοιν ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς ὁμοιότητος εἰς τὴν ἴσην ὁμόνοιαν. ἑκάστη μὲν οὖν τῶν ἡλικιῶν οὐ παντὶ κατάλληλός ἐστι πράγματι, ἀλλ' ἡ μὲν ἀτελὴς παιδιᾷ, καὶ ἡ ἀκμάζουσα βίῳ, καὶ ἡ τελεία κρείττοσιν ὑποθέσεσι, καὶ αὖθις ἡ μέν τις πρὸς τόδε μᾶλλόν ἐστιν ἐπιτήδειος, ἡ δὲ πρὸς ἕτερον, καὶ τῶν βίων διῃρημένων εἴς τε πρᾶξιν καὶ λόγον, ἡ μέν τις πρακτικωτάτη ἐστίν, ἡ δέ τις θατέρῳ προσνένευκε. τῇ δὲ ἐμῇ μητρὶ οὔτε διαίρεσιν ταῦτα ἔσχηκε καὶ ὁμοῦ πάντα συννένευκε καὶ ἐν ταὐτῷ καιρῷ, καὶ ταῦτα ἤδη τῆς ὥρας τὸ ἄνθος ἔχοντι, ἥ τε «φρόνησις» παρῆν καὶ ἡ «σύνεσις», ἥ τε πρὸς τὸν λόγον τάξις καὶ ὁ πρὸς τὴν πρᾶξιν λόγος, καὶ τὸ διῃρῆσθαι πρὸς τἀναντία καὶ μὴ διῃρῆσθαι, καὶ ἑκατέρου μὲν ἔχεσθαι, δοκεῖν δὲ θατέρου, ὡς μήτε Θεοῦ ἀπολελεῖφθαι ποτέ, μήτε τῆς ἀκριβοῦς οἰκουρίας, ἀλλὰ Θεῷ μὲν προσιοῦσα, μᾶλλον δὲ προσοῦσα ἀεί, οὐδὲν ᾤετο δεῖν μεμνῆσθαι πραγμάτων, τούτοις δὲ οὐκ ἄλλως προσῆν ἢ μετὰ Θεοῦ. αὐτή τε γοῦν ηὐξάνετο καὶ τὸν οἶκον ἐπηύξανε, τοῖς τε οὖσι δεξιῶς χρωμένη καὶ τὰ οὐκ ὄντα προστιθεῖσα ἐπιμελῶς. Τῷ τοίνυν ἐμῷ πατρί, τὸ μὲν ἄνωθεν γένος ἐς ὑπάτους ἀνῆκτο καὶ πατρικίους, τὰ δὲ κατ' ἐκεῖνον πράγματα οὐκ οὕτω δεξιῶς εἶχεν, ἀλλ' εἴ τις ὥσπερ ἐπὶ ζυγοῦ αὐτὸν μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς μιᾶς πλάστιγγος μετὰ τῆς ἐμῆς θείη μητρός, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν γένος ἐπὶ τῆς ἑτέρας, νικῴη δ' ἂν οὗτος παρὰ πολὺ τῷ σταθμῷ τῆς μητρός, τἆλλα ἐκείνων ἐλλελειμμένος. ἡ μὲν οὖν παρὰ τοῦ σοφοῦ ἐπαινουμένη γυνὴ γλίσχρως μοι δοκεῖ καὶ ἰδιωτικῶς ἧφθαι τῶν πράξεων, ὅσον ἄτρακτον μεταχειρίσασθαι καὶ «δισσὰς τῷ ἀνδρὶ χλαίνας» ἐργάσασθαι, ὡς μὴ βούλεσθαι πλέον, ἢ μηδὲ δύνασθαι καὶ τἆλλα τοιαῦτα ποιεῖν. ἡ δὲ ἐμὴ μήτηρ μεγαλοπρεπεστέρα ἐκείνης πολλῷ οὐκ «ἄτρακτον» μόνον «στρέφουσα», ἀλλὰ καὶ εἴ τι ἕτερον ὄργανον μεταχειριζομένη προσῆκον γυναικωνίτιδι. «χλαίνας δὲ τῷ ἀνδρὶ» μὲν οὐκ ἐποίει, οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἀτυχῶς εἶχεν ἐκεῖνος, ἑαυτῇ δὲ καὶ ταῖς θεραπαινίσι καὶ τῶν ἐκ γένους πολλοῖς καὶ τῶν ἄλλως ἀτυχησάντων τοῖς πλείοσι συνεξύφαινεν, ὧν αἱ πλείους μετὰ τοῦ «περιττοῦ κάλλους» οὖσαι ἐτύγχανον. Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ παῖδα ἔτεκε, θυγάτριον δὲ τὸ τεχθὲν ἦν οἷον οὐκ ἄλλο, εἴ τις τὴν τεκοῦσαν ἐξέλοι, καὶ οὐ «κόμπος ὁ λόγος»· διὰ θάμβους γὰρ ἔτι τοῖς πλείοσιν ἡ ἐκείνης ὥρα, περὶ ἧς «ὁ λόγος προϊὼν» τρανότερον γνωριεῖ. ἐπεὶ τοιγαροῦν μήτηρ ὤφθη καὶ ἡ ἀπαρχὴ τοῦ τόκου πρέπουσα τῷ δόντι Θεῷ, ἔτι μᾶλλον πρὸς ἑαυτὴν συνείλεκτο καὶ πλέον τῷ βίῳ συντέτατο, οὐχ ὡς αἱ πλείους τῶν γυναικῶν ἐντεῦθεν πρὸς τὸν σύντονον βίον ὀλιγωρήσασα καὶ καταρρᾳθυμήσασα τὴν ζωήν, ἀλλὰ ῥωσθεῖσα πλέον ἢ ἀτονήσασα καὶ ῥωμαλεώτερον διατεθεῖσα καὶ τὴν φύσιν ὁμοῦ καὶ τὴν γνώμην. ἡ μὲν οὖν φύσις ὥσπερ ἑαυτὴν ἀγαπήσασα καὶ θαυμάσασα ὅτι τοιοῦτον κάλλος ἐξήνεγκε, τὴν ἐμὴν μητέρα φημί, εἶτα δὴ καθαπερεὶ λογισαμένη ὡς οὐκ ἂν τοιοῦτον ἐνδείξηται, εἰ μὴ παρ' ἐκείνης, ἐκεῖθεν ἐξεικονίζει τὴν ἐμὴν ἀδελφήν, ὡς ἂν ἔχοι, καὶ τοῦ πρωτοτύπου διαρρυέντος, ὁμοιότατον τὸ εἰκόνισμα. ἡ μὲν οὖν φύσις οὕτως, ὁ δέ γε Θεὸς ἑτέρως τὸ πρᾶγμα ποιεῖ, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἐρεῖ τοῦτο κατὰ καιρόν. ∆εύτερος αὖθις τόκος, καὶ πάλιν τὸ τεχθὲν θῆλυ, καὶ οὐ πάνυ τοῦτο πρὸς ἡδονὴν οὔτε τοῖς τεκοῦσιν οὔτε τῷ λοιπῷ γένει, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ αἱ ἄτοκοι καὶ τοῦ τυχόντος τόκου ἱμείρουσιν, οὕτως ἐκείνη θατέρου πλέον τοῦ ἄρρενος. ἀλλ' αἱ ὠδῖνες ἐπ' ἀμφοῖν τοῖν γενοῖν ἐπεσχέθησαν, ὥσπερ τῆς φύσεως παρασκευαζομένης καὶ χρόνου τινὸς πρὸς τὸν τοκετὸν δεομένης. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἔδει «ἐπήκοόν» ποτε τὸ Θεῖον τῶν ἐκείνης «γενέσθαι» δεήσεων, ἥ τε νηδὺς ἐπετάχθη τὴν πλάσιν καὶ ὁ τῆς ὠδῖνος παρῆν καιρός, καὶ ὁ συγγραφεὺς ἐξερράγη τῆς φύσεως, πολλῶν μὲν εὐχῶν πολλῶν δὲ ἐλπίδων προηγησαμένων, μεγάλου δὲ παιᾶνος καὶ θείου ἐπὶ τῷ τόκῳ ᾀσθέντος, εἰ καὶ μὴ τοιοῦτος ὁ τόκος οἷα δὴ τὰ αἴτια τῆς γεννήσεως.