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to have the second place of praises after this one alone; rich, young, living abroad, having his way of life in a populous city, in which, because the young lived with pleasures according to their own will, the purity of the temperate was a reproach to the foolish; with no mother 46.905 meddling in his life, no father guiding his daily existence; to such an extent did he lift himself up through dispassion towards virtue, as to make the overseer of all things a witness of his life, who refuted the slander of the woman with a wicked plague. And what greater thing could one devise as a subject for encomiums? How could one admire him according to his worth? Who, having wrestled down nature with reason and having yoked his youth to reason like some subservient animal, and having become superior to all the natural passions that were stirred up, and having incited against himself the envy that fastens onto all that is good, he became superior to this as well, neither rousing himself to defense against the plot of his companions, and having done good to her who served them for their blame, delivering her through prayer from the passion according to the demon. Such a one we have known Joseph to be through the story, for whom transgression concerning his master's wife was set before him with full opportunity, as she herself was maddened by the youth's beauty; and there was no human witness of the things being dared; but he too, looking to the divine eye, chose to seem evil before becoming so, enduring the fate of evildoers rather than becoming an evildoer. But perhaps there is something for this man to boast of, even more than the story; for the curse of adultery is not equal in averting defilement to that which seems to have its blame in a lesser offense. He, therefore, in a case in which there was no danger from the laws, judging that pleasure from sin is in itself more to be feared than punishment, either surpassed Joseph in the greatness of the marvel, or will by no means be judged in second place. But the prelude of his life was such. But what was his life itself? Since, having run through all the education of outside wisdom, he met a certain Firmilianus, a Cappadocian of noble birth, of like manner in character, as that man showed by his later life, having become an ornament of the Church of the Caesareans, and he made the purpose of his mind and of his own life clear to his friend, that it was to look to God, and he learned that his friend's zeal converged on the same desire, leaving all zeal for outside philosophy, he went with him to the one who at that time was the leader of the philosophy of the Christians (and this was Origen, of whose writings there is much talk), showing through this, not only his love of learning and love of labor, but also the disciplined and moderate quality in his character; for being full of so much wisdom, he did not disdain to use another teacher for the divine subjects, and having spent with the teacher a time commensurate with the studies, though there were many who urged and detained him in the foreign land, and thought him worthy to remain with them, holding his native land more precious than all, he returns again to his fatherland, bringing with him the manifold wealth of wisdom and of knowledge, which like some merchant 46.908 he had acquired in his outside studies by conversing with all the men of repute. And yet to one who judges matters justly, this too will by no means seem a small thing for praise: to have overlooked such a great public supplication of a city, and the zeal of all its leading men for the man to remain, and to accept the eagerness of the rulers visiting them for this very purpose; for all of whom the goal was for that great man to remain with them, as a founder of virtue and a future lawgiver of life; but fleeing from every quarter the materials for arrogance, knowing that the passion of pride is for the most part the beginning of a life of vice, he pursues, like some harbor, the quiet life in his fatherland.

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τούτου μόνου τὰ δευτερεῖα τῶν ἐπαίνων ἔχειν· πλούσιος, νέος, ἐν ὑπερορίοις διάγων, ἐν πολυανδρούσῃ πόλει τὴν διαγωγὴν ἔχων, ἐν ᾗ διὰ τὸ κατ' ἐξουσίαν ταῖς ἡδο ναῖς συζῇν τοὺς νέους, ὄνειδος ἦν ἡ καθαρότης τῶν σωφρονούντων τοῖς ἄφροσιν· οὐ μητρὸς πολυ 46.905 πραγμονούσης τὸν βίον, οὐ πατρὸς παιδαγωγοῦντος τὴν καθ' ἡμέραν ζωήν· εἰς τοσοῦτον ἐπῆρεν ἑαυτὸν δι' ἀπαθείας πρὸς ἀρετὴν, ὡς τὸν τοῦ παντὸς ἔφορον, μάρτυρα τῶν βεβιωμένων ποιήσασθαι, τὸν τῇ πο νηρᾷ πληγῇ τὴν συκοφαντίαν τῆς γυναικὸς ἀπελέγ ξαντα. Καὶ τί ἄν τις ἐπινοήσειε μεῖζον εἰς ἐγκωμίων ὑπόθεσιν; πῶς δ' ἄν τις κατ' ἀξίαν αὐτὸν θαυμάσειεν; Ὃς τῷ λόγῳ καταπαλαίσας τὴν φύσιν καὶ καθάπερ τι τῶν ὑποχειρίων ζώων ὑποζεύξας τῷ λο γισμῷ τὴν νεότητα, καὶ πάντων τῶν φυσικῶν ἐπ εγειρομένων παθημάτων κρείττων γενόμενος, καὶ τὸν πᾶσι τοῖς καλοῖς ἐπιφυόμενον φθόνον καθ' ἑαυτοῦ κινήσας, καὶ τούτου κρείττων ἐγένετο, μήτε πρὸς τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν τῶν ἑταίρων ἑαυτὸν διαναστήσας πρὸς ἄμυναν, καὶ τὴν ὑπηρετησαμένην ἐκείνοις πρὸς τὸν μῶμον εὐεργετήσας, τοῦ κατὰ τὸν δαίμονα πάθους διὰ προσευχῆς ἐξελόμενος. Τοιοῦτον ἔγνωμεν διὰ τῆς ἱστορίας τὸν Ἰωσὴφ, ᾧ προὔκειτο μὲν κατ' ἐξουσίαν ἡ περὶ τὴν γυναίκα τοῦ δεσπότου παρανομία, αὐτῆς ἐκείνης ἐπιμανείσης τῇ ὥρᾳ τοῦ νέου· καὶ μάρτυς τῶν τολμωμένων ἦν ἀνθρώπων οὐδείς· ἀλλὰ κἀκεῖ νος πρὸς τὸν θεῖον ὀφθαλμὸν βλέπων, τὸ δόξαι κακὸς πρὸ τοῦ γενέσθαι προείλετο, τὰ τῶν κακούργων ὑπο στὰς μᾶλλον, ἢ κακοῦργος γενόμενος. Ἀλλ' ἔστι τι τάχα τούτῳ, καὶ πλέον τῆς ἱστορίας καυχήσασθαι· οὐ γὰρ ἴσον ἐστὶν εἰς ἀποτροπὴν τοῦ μιάσματος, τό τε τῆς μοιχείας ἄγος, καὶ τὸ δοκοῦν ἐν ἐλάττονι πλημ μελήματι τὸν μῶμον ἔχειν. Ὁ τοίνυν ἐν ᾧ κίνδυνός τις ἐκ τῶν νόμων οὐκ ἦν φοβερωτέραν μᾶλλον τῆς τιμωρίας αὐτὴν ἐξ ἁμαρτίας ἡδονὴν καθ' ἑαυτὴν εἶ ναι κρίνας, ἢ παρήλασε τὸν Ἰωσὴφ τῇ μεγαλοφυΐᾳ τοῦ θαύματος, ἢ πάντως οὐκ ἐν δευτέροις κριθήσε. Ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν προοίμιον τοῦ βίου, τοιοῦτον. Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ βίος τίς; Ἐπειδὴ πᾶσαν παίδευσιν τῆς ἔξω σοφίας ἐπιδραμὼν, ἐνέτυχε Φιρμιλιανῷ τινι τῶν εὐ πατριδῶν Καππαδόκῃ, ὁμοιοτρόπῳ κατὰ τὸ ἦθος, ὡς ἔδειξεν ἐκεῖνος τῷ μετὰ ταῦτα βίῳ, κόσμος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῶν Καισαρέων γενόμενος, καὶ τόν τε σκοπὸν τοῦ φρονήματος καὶ ἰδίου βίου φανερὸν τῷ φίλῳ ἐποίησεν, ὡς εἴη πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν βλέπων, καὶ τὴν ἐκείνου σπουδὴν ἔγνω περὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπιθυμίαν συμβαίνουσαν, καταλιπὼν πᾶσαν τὴν περὶ τῆς ἔξω φιλοσοφίας σπουδὴν, προσφοιτᾷ μετ' ἐκείνου τῷ κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ἐκεῖνον τῆς τῶν Χριστιανῶν φιλοσοφίας καθηγουμένῳ (Ὠριγένης δὲ οὗτος ἦν, οὗ πολὺς ἐπὶ τοῖς συγγράμμασι λόγος), δεικνὺς καὶ διὰ τούτου, οὐ μόνον τὸ φιλομαθὲς καὶ φιλόπονον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ κατεσταλμένον ἐν τῷ ἤθει καὶ μέτριον· τοσαύτης γὰρ σοφίας ἀνάπλεος ὢν ἑτέρῳ χρήσασθαι διδασκάλῳ πρὸς τὰ θεῖα τῶν μαθημάτων, οὐκ ἀπηξίωσεν, καὶ διαγαγὼν παρὰ τῷ διδασκάλῳ χρόνον τοῖς μαθήμασι σύμμετρον, πολλῶν ὄντων τῶν παρακαλούντων καὶ κατεχόντων αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀλλοδαπῆς, καὶ παρ' αὐ τοῖς ἀξιούντων μένειν, πάντων προτιμοτέραν τὴν ἐνεγκοῦσαν αὐτὸν ποιησάμενος, ἐπὶ τὴν πατρίδα πάλιν ἐπάνεισιν, τὸν παντοδαπὸν πλοῦτον τῆς σοφίας τε καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἐπαγόμενος, ὃν καθάπερ τις ἔμπορος 46.908 ἐν ταῖς ἔξω σπουδαῖς πᾶσι καθομιλῶν τοῖς εὐ δοκίμοις ἐνεπορεύσατο. Καίτοι γε τῷ δικαίως τὰ πράγματα κρίνοντι οὐδὲ τοῦτο μικρὸν πάντως εἰς εὐφημίαν δόξει, τὸ πόλεως τοσαύτην ἱκετηρίαν ἐκ κοινοῦ γενομένην ὑπεριδεῖν, καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ λογάδων τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ κατα μεῖναι τὸν ἄνδρα σπουδὴν, τῶν τε ἐπιδημούντων αὐτοῖς ἀρχόντων τὴν εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο προθυμίαν παρα δέξασθαι· οἷς πᾶσι σκοπὸς ἦν, μεῖναι παρ' αὐτοῖς τὸν μέγαν ἐκεῖνον, καθάπερ οἰκιστὴν ἀρετῆς, καὶ βίου νομοθέτην ἐσόμενον· ἀλλὰ φεύγων πανταχόθεν τὰς πρὸς τὸν τύφον ὕλας, εἰδὼς ἀρχηγὸν ὡς τὰ πολλὰ τοῦ κατὰ κακίαν βίου τὸ καθ' ὑπερηφανίαν πάθος γινόμενον, ὥσπερ τινὰ λιμένα, τὸν ἡσύχιον ἐπὶ τῆς πατρίδος μέτεισι βίον.