5

sufficient, and the men, having spent sufficient time in repentance and having been healed, departed to their own homes.

16 Hear another strange and wondrous thing: a certain woman, being thirsty during the night, wished to drink water; and taking up the water pitcher, she drank along with the water a small snake, and being nourished in her belly it grew large, and her face became like the appearance of green grass, and many physicians came to heal her and were not able; but those in her house, knowing the wonders and the healings which the saint of God Symeon performed, taking her, they brought her to the saint and reported to him everything concerning her, and he commands them, saying: ‘Put in her mouth some of this water and from this spring.’ And having done so according to the command, the beast moved before everyone, and she throws herself to the ground, and it comes out and, placing its head between the railings, it expired, and all glorified God.

17 And they changed his pillar, making it forty cubits high, and he became famous throughout the whole world. Wherefore a multitude of Saracens came to him, burning with faith, and he moved them to the fear of God. The man-hating devil, therefore, having the custom of tempting the saints and being trampled by them, brought a plague upon his thigh in the same manner as that of the blessed Job, a pain of the so-called pestilence, and his thigh rotted, and he stood on one foot for a period of two years. And indescribable worms fell from his thigh to the ground, so that those nearest him had no other task than only to collect them and return them to the place from which they fell, with the saint saying: ‘Eat from where the Lord has given you.’

18 And by the will of God it happened that the king of the Saracens came to him for a prayer, and as soon as he came near the pillar to be blessed by the holy Symeon, the saint of God, seeing him, began to admonish him. And as they were speaking, a worm falls from his thigh, and the king takes notice, not knowing, however, what it was that had fallen, and running up, he seizes it. And he places it on his eyes and on his heart and goes out holding it in his hand. And the saint indicates to him, saying: ‘Come in, put back what you took up; you are bringing a burden to me, a sinner. It is a stinking worm from stinking flesh. Why do you defile your hands, being an honorable man?’ And when the righteous one had said these things, the Saracen comes in and says to him: ‘This will be a blessing for me and for the remission of sins.’ And stretching out his hand, there was a precious pearl in his hand. And seeing it, he began to glorify God and says to the righteous one: ‘Behold, what you said is a worm, is a priceless pearl, through which the Lord has enlightened me.’ And after this, the saint, having heard, says to him: ‘As you have believed, so be it done for you all the days of your life, and not only for you, but also for your children.’ And having been blessed, the king of the Saracens departed to his own home, rejoicing in peace.

19 Hear another mystery. In the mountain on which he stands, to the east, a great dragon dwelt. Wherefore no grass grew in that place. And it happened to that dragon, as it was coming out to cool itself, that a splinter entered its eye, and for a sufficient time, because of the pain, no one was able to bear its hissing. On one of the days, therefore, the dragon comes out from its lair, dragging itself, and it comes in the sight of all and places itself at the entrance of the enclosure. And suddenly its eye was opened and the splinter comes out from its eye, and it stayed there for three days, until it was restored to health. And thus it departed to its place in the sight of all

5

ἱκανόν, οἱ δὲ ἄνδρες ποιήσαντες χρόνον ἱκανὸν ἐν μετανοίᾳ καὶ θεραπευθέντες ἀνεχώρησαν εἰς τὰ ἴδια.

16 Ἄλλο ξένον καὶ θαυμαστὸν ἀκούσατε· γυνή τις διψῶσα διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς ἠθέλησεν πιεῖν ὕδωρ· ἐπιλαβομένη δὲ τὴν κάλπιν τοῦ ὕδατος συμπίνει ἅμα τοῦ ὕδατος ὄφιν μικρόν, καὶ τραφεὶς ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ αὐτῆς ἐγένετο μέγας, καὶ ἐγένετο τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῆς ὡς εἰδέα χόρτου χλωροῦ, καὶ πολλοὶ ἰατροὶ ἦλθον, ἵνα θεραπεύσωσιν αὐτὴν καὶ οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν· γνόντες δὲ οἱ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτῆς τὰ θαυμάσια καὶ τὰς ἰάσεις, ἃς ἐποίει ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ Συμεών, λαβόντες αὐτὴν ἀπήγαγον πρὸς τὸν ἅγιον καὶ ἀναγγέλλουσιν αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ περὶ αὐτὴν καὶ κελεύει αὐτοῖς λέγων· Βάλετε ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῆς ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος τούτου καὶ ἐκ τῆς πηγῆς ταύτης. καὶ ποιήσαντες οὕτως κατὰ τὸ προσταχθέν, ἐκινήθη τὸ θηρίον ἔμπροσθεν πάντων, καὶ ῥήσσει ἑαυτὴν χαμαί, καὶ ἐξέρχεται καὶ ἀποθέ μενον τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ ἀναμέσον τῶν καγκελλίων ἐψό φησεν, καὶ πάντες ἐδόξαζον τὸν θεόν.

17 Ἤλλαξαν δὲ τὸν στύλον αὐτοῦ ποιήσαντες αὐτὸν πηχῶν τεσσαράκοντα, καὶ διεφημίσθη εἰς ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην. ὅθεν τὸ πλῆθος τῶν Σαρακηνῶν παρεγένοντο πρὸς αὐτὸν τῇ πίστει φλεγόμενοι, καὶ κατένυξεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν φόβον τοῦ θεοῦ. ὁ οὖν μισάνθρωπος διάβολος ἔχων ἔθος πειράζειν τοὺς ἁγίους καὶ καταπατεῖσθαι ὑπ' αὐτῶν ἐπήγαγεν πληγὴν ἐπὶ τὸν μηρὸν αὐτοῦ καθ' ὃν τρόπον τοῦ μακαρίου Ἰώβ, ἄλγος τῆς λεγομένης πανούκλας, καὶ συνεσάπη ὁ μηρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς ἕνα πόδα λοιπὸν ἵστατο ἐπὶ διετεῖ χρόνῳ. σκώληκες δὲ ἀνείκαστοι ἐκ τοῦ μηροῦ αὐτοῦ ἔπιπτον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅθεν ἄλλο οὐκ εἶχον ἔργον οἱ ἔγγιστα αὐτοῦ εἰ μὴ μόνον συλλέγειν αὐτὰ καὶ ἀναφέρειν εἰς τὸν τόπον ὅθεν ἀπέπιπτον, τοῦ ἁγίου λέγοντος· Φάγετε, ὅθεν ἔδωκεν ὑμῖν ὁ κύριος.

18 Κατὰ δὲ βούλησιν θεοῦ γίνεται τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Σαρακηνῶν ἐλθεῖν εἰς εὐχὴν πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ ἅμα εἰσῆλθεν ἔγγιστα τοῦ στύλου εὐλογηθῆναι παρ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἁγίου Συ μεὼν ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ ἤρξατο αὐτὸν νουθετεῖν. καὶ ὁμιλούντων αὐτῶν πίπτει σκώληξ ἐκ τοῦ μηροῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τίθησιν τὸν νοῦν ὁ βασιλεὺς, οὐ μέντοι εἰδώς, τί ἦν τὸ πεσόν, καὶ δραμὼν ἁρπάζει αὐτό. καὶ τίθησιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς τὴν καρδίαν καὶ ἐξέρχεται ἔξω κατ έχων αὐτὸ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ. καὶ ὁ ἅγιος δηλοῖ αὐτῷ λέ γων· Εἴσελθε ἀπόθες ὃ ἐπῆρες, βάρος ἐμοὶ τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ προσφέρεις. σκώληξ ἐστὶν ὄζων ἐκ σαρκὸς ὀζομένης. τί τὰς χεῖράς σου ἀφανίζεις τίμιος ἀνὴρ ὑπάρχων; καὶ ταῦτα εἰπόν τος τοῦ δικαίου εἰσέρχεται ὁ Σαρακηνὸς καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Τοῦτό μοι ἔσται εἰς εὐλογίαν καὶ εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν. καὶ ἁπλώσας αὐτοῦ τὴν χεῖρα ἦν μαργαρίτης τίμιος ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ. καὶ θεασάμενος αὐτὸν ἤρξατο δοξάζειν τὸν θεὸν καὶ λέγει τῷ δικαίῳ· Ἰδοὺ ὃν εἶπες ὅτι σκώληξ ἐστίν, μαργαρίτης ὑπάρχει εἴ τις τιμὴν οὐκ ἔχει, δι' οὗ ἐφώτισέν με ὁ κύριος. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ ἅγιος λέγει αὐτῷ· Ὡς ἐπίστευσας γενηθήτω σοι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου οὐ μόνον δὲ σοί, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις σου. καὶ εὐλογηθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Σαρακηνῶν ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὰ ἴδια χαίρων ἐν εἰρήνῃ.

19 Ἄλλο μυστήριον ἀκούσατε. ἐν τῷ ὄρει, ἐν ᾧ ἵσταται, τῷ ἐξ ἀνατολῶν δράκων παρέμενεν μέγας. ὅθεν οὔτε βοτάνη ἀνήρχετο ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ἐκείνῳ. καὶ συνέβη τῷ δράκοντι ἐκείνῳ ἐν τῷ ἐκβαίνειν αὐτὸν τοῦ καταψύξαι, ξύλον εἰσελθεῖν ἐν τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπὶ χρόνον ἱκανὸν ἐκ τοῦ πόνου τὸν συρισμὸν αὐτοῦ οὐδεὶς ἠδύνατο ὑποφέρειν. ἐν μιᾷ τῶν ἡμε ρῶν οὖν ἐξέρχεται ὁ δράκων ἐκ τοῦ φωλεοῦ αὐτοῦ συρόμενος καὶ ἔρχεται πάντων ὁρώντων καὶ τίθησιν ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὰ πρό θυρα τῆς μάνδρας. καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἀνεῴχθη αὐτοῦ ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς καὶ ἐξέρχεται τὸ ξύλον ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐποίησεν ἐκεῖ ἡμέρας τρεῖς, ἕως οὗ ἀπεκατεστάθη ὑγιής. καὶ οὕτως ἀπῆλθεν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ αὐτοῦ πάντων ὁρώντων