5

For neither day, nor night, nor midnight, nor hour, nor the briefest moment, was his sleepless eye ever seen dry; bewailing, as he said, at one time common, at another his private, failings; and wisely he channeled the streams from his eyes with groans; or rather, with floods of tears from his eyes he called forth his groans. And the progression of both was strange, the one appearing to be the cause of the other; for in him tears brought forth groans, 46.832 and groans in turn tears; and the cause was unknown to the many. For since time did not separate these, but tears always followed groans, and then in turn groans followed these, and a kind of cycle was occurring, the beginning was unclear, as was the cause of the other. And one will observe this by conversing with his writings. For one will find him lamenting not only in his discourses on repentance and character and a virtuous life, but also in his very panegyrics, where most people are accustomed to show great joy in their discourses. But he was everywhere the same, and was continually rich in the gift of compunction. Whence even now he calls back nearly all the hearers of his words to the true life. Such strength does his divinely-inspired word possess, mingled with tears. For what unmerciful or stony-hearted person, having heard his words, will not be softened, and casting off the hardness of his character, will not be grieved by his own evils? What person of savage character or beastly manner, having hearkened to his soul-profiting teaching, will not immediately become good and gentle, and in his ways become a lover of good? What person who makes a practice of delighting in the pleasures of life, and who turns away from weeping, having heard a few of that man's words, will not lament and weep, and come to the remembrance of what he has lived through and of the coming recompense?

"You are boiling a stone," the proverb of the outsiders has used for impossible things. But to us experience has clearly shown this. For this divine elder persuaded unyielding and stubborn souls both to be on guard and to obey. Who, upon encountering his discourse on humility, will not immediately hate all conceit, and will not even proclaim himself more humble than anyone? Who, upon taking up his writings on love, will not hasten to risk danger for the sake of love? Who, upon conversing with his writings on virginity, will not strive to present himself pure in soul and body to God? Who, having looked into his writings on judgment, that is, the second coming of Christ, will not think he is standing before the tribunal there, and becoming full of trembling, will not imagine that the final decision is already being pronounced against him? For so did this celebrated and most prophetic man present the future tribunal of God, that nothing else was left for knowledge, but only to learn by this deed and by experience. Always being possessed by such visions concerning the judgment, the blessed one fled the world and the things in the world; and he went far off, wandering, as the Scripture says, and lodged in the wilderness, attending only to himself and to God, and from there receiving the increase of virtues. For he knew precisely that a life in the desert frees one who so wishes from worldly disturbances, and by its quiet makes him a companion to the angels, and elevates 46.833 the mind to the contemplations of God as much as is possible. But to move from place to place, when the Spirit that moved him ordained it for the edification of the many, he did not disobey, nor did he resist. For he was obedient to divine commands, if ever anyone was. Hence, like that divine Abraham when he was commanded, he left his native land and took up residence in the city of the Edessenes; for it was not right for the sun to be hidden under the earth for a long time. For two reasons: both to embrace the holy things there, and before this, to meet with a learned man, and either to receive or to impart the fruit of knowledge.

In which circumstances, as is recorded, having arrived at the city and passing through the city, he met a certain prostitute instead of the learned man he had prayed to encounter; and as his expectation

5

Οὐ γὰρ ἡμέρα, οὐ νὺξ, οὐ μεσονύκτιον, οὐχ ὥρα, οὐ στιγμῆς τὸ λεπτότατον, ὅτε ξηρὸς ὁ τούτου ἀνύστακτος ὀφθαλμὸς καθωρᾶτο· πῆ μὲν τὰ κοινῇ, πῆ δὲ τὰ ἰδίως ἀποκλαιόμενος, ὡς ἔλεγεν, ἀτοπήματα· στεναγμοῖς δὲ τὰ τῶν ὀμμάτων σοφῶς ἐποχετεύει ῥεῖθρα· μᾶλλον δὲ χεύμασιν ὀφθαλ μῶν τοὺς στεναγμοὺς ἐξεκαλεῖτο. Καὶ ἦν παράδοξος ἀμφοτέρων ἡ πρόοδος, τοῦ ἑτέρου αἰτία τοῦ ἑτέρου φαινομένου· ἔτικτον γὰρ ἐπ' αὐτῷ δάκρυα μὲν, στενα 46.832 γμοὺς, στεναγμοὶ δὲ πάλιν δάκρυα· καὶ τὸ αἴτιον τοῖς πολλοῖς ἀγνοούμενον. Χρόνου γὰρ ταῦτα μὴ διαιροῦν τος, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ τῶν στεναγμῶν δάκρυα διαδεχομένων, εἶτα πάλιν τούτων στεναγμοὺς, καὶ κύκλου τινὸς γιγνομέ νου, ἄδηλος ἦν ἡ ἀρχὴ, καὶ θατέρου τὸ αἴτιον. Καὶ τοῦτό τις κατόψεται τοῖς αὐτοῦ πρασομιλήσας συγ γράμμασιν. Οὐ μόνον γὰρ ἀποκλαιόμενον αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς περὶ μετανοίας καὶ ἤθους καὶ πολιτείας χρη στῆς εὑρήσει λόγοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς παν ηγυρικοῖς αὐτοῦ λόγοις, ἔνθα πολλὴν εἰώθασιν οἱ πλεῖστοι περιχάρειαν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις δείκνυσθαι. Ὁ δὲ πανταχοῦ ταὐτὸς ἦν, καὶ τῆς κατανύξεως διηνε κῶς ἐπλούτει τὸ χάρισμα. Ἔνθεν καὶ νῦν σχεδὸν πάντας αὐτοῦ τοὺς τῶν λόγων ἀκροατὰς πρὸς τὴν ὄντως ἀνακαλεῖται ζωήν. Τοσαύτην ἰσχὺν ὁ τούτου κέκτηται θεόπνευστος λόγος δάκρυσι συγκεκραμένος. Ποῖος γὰρ ἀμείλικτος, ἢ τῇ καρδίᾳ λιθώδης, τῶν τούτου ῥημάτων ἐπακούσας, οὐ μαλαχθήσεται, καὶ τὸ σκληρὸν τοῦ ἤθους ἀποβαλὼν, ταῖς ἑαυτοῦ κακίαις ἐπιστυγνάσει; Ποῖος ἄγριος τὸ ἦθος, ἢ θηριώδης τὸν τρόπον τὴν ψυχωφελῆ διδασκαλίαν αὐτοῦ ἐνωτι σθεὶς, οὐκ εὐθὺς χρηστὸς καὶ ἐπιεικὴς, καὶ τοῖς τρό ποις ἔσται φιλάγαθος; Ποῖος χαίρειν ἐμμελετῶν ταῖς τοῦ βίου ἡδυπαθείαις, καὶ τὸ δακρύειν ἀποστρεφόμε νος, ὀλίγων ἀκούσας ἐκείνου ῥημάτων, οὐ θρηνήσει καὶ κλαύσεται, καὶ εἰς ὑπόμνησιν ἔλθῃ τῶν βεβιω μένων μελλούσης ἀνταποδόσεως;

Λίθον ἑψεῖς, ἡ τῶν ἔξω παροιμία ἐπὶ τῶν ἀδυνά των παρείληφεν. Ἡμῖν δὲ τοῦτο ἐναργῶς ἡ πεῖρα παρέστησε. Τὰς γὰρ ἀτέγκτους καὶ ἀνυπείκτους ψυχὰς, καὶ φυλάττεσθαι καὶ ὑπήκειν ὁ θεῖος οὗτος πρεσβύτης παρέπειθεν. Τίς ἐντυχὼν αὐτοῦ τῷ περὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης λόγῳ, οὐ πᾶσαν μὲν εὐθὺς οἴησιν ἐκμισήσει, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ παντὸς ταπεινότερον ἑαυτὸν ἐκκηρύξει; Τίς τοῖς περὶ ἀγάπης ἐπιβαλὼν, οὐχ ὑπὲρ ἀγάπης προκινδυνεῦσαι σπουδάσει; Τίς τοῖς περὶ παρθενίας προσομιλήσας, οὐχ ἁγνὸν ἑαυτὸν ψυχῇ τε καὶ σώματι Θεῷ ἀγωνίσεται παραστῆσαι; Τίς τοῖς περὶ κρίσεως, ἤτοι δευτέρας Χριστοῦ ἐλεύ σεως ἐγκύψας. οὐ παρίστασθαι τῷ ἐκεῖθεν κριτηρίῳ νομίσει, καὶ σύντρομος γενόμενος, τὴν τελευταίαν ἤδη ἀπόφασιν κατ' αὐτοῦ ἐξενεχθήσεσθαι δοκήσει; Οὕτως γὰρ παρέστησε τὸ μέλλον τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαστή ριον ὁ ἀοίδιμος καὶ προφητικώτατος οὗτος ἀνὴρ, ὡς μηδὲν μὲν ἕτερον ὑπολείπεσθαι γνώσεως, μόνον δὲ τῷ ἔργῳ τούτῳ καὶ τῇ πείρᾳ καταμαθεῖν. Ταῖς τοιαύταις ἀεὶ περὶ κρίσεως ὁ μακάριος συν εχόμενος φαντασίαις, ἔφευγε μὲν τὸν κόσμον καὶ τὰ ἐν κόσμῳ· ἐμάκρυνε δὲ φυγαδεύων, ᾗ φησι τὰ λό για, καὶ ηὐλίζετο ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ἑαυτῷ μόνῳ καὶ Θεῷ προσέχων, κἀκεῖθεν τῶν ἀρετῶν τὰς ἐπιδόσεις δεχό μενος. Ἤδει γὰρ ἀκριβῶς ὡς ἐρημικὴ διαβίωσις τῶν κοσμικῶν μὲν ἐλευθεροῖ τὸν βουλόμενον θορύβων, τῇ ἡσυχίᾳ δὲ συνόμιλον τοῖς ἀγγέλοις ποιεῖ, καὶ ταῖς 46.833 περὶ Θεοῦ θεωρίαις τὸν νοῦν ὅσον ἐστὶν ἐφικτὸν ἀν υψοῖ. Ἐκ τόπων δὲ τόπους ἀμείβειν, ὅτε κινοῦν αὐτὸν Πνεῦμα πρὸς οἰκοδομὴν τῶν πολλῶν ᾠκονόμει, οὐκ ἠπείθει, οὐδ' ἀντέτεινεν. Ἦν γὰρ κελεύσεσι θείαις πειθήνιος, εἰ καί τις ἄλλος. Ἐντεῦθεν τὴν ἐνεγκαμέ νην, ὡς ὁ Θεῖος ἐκεῖνος κελευσθεὶς Ἀβραὰμ, τὴν Ἐδεσινῶν κατέλαβε πόλιν· δίκαιον γὰρ οὐκ ἦν ὑπὸ γῆν μέχρι πολλοῦ τὸν ἥλιον κατακρύπτεσθαι. ∆ύο δὲ χάριν αἰτιῶν, τοῦ τε τὰ ἐκεῖσε περιπτύξασθαι ἅγια, καὶ πρό γε τούτου λογίῳ περιτυχεῖν, καὶ καρπὸν γνώσεως ἢ λαβεῖν, ἢ μεταδοῦναι.

Ἐν οἷς, ὡς ἱστόρηται, τῇ πόλει παραβαλὼν, τήν τε πόλιν ὑπερχόμενος, πόρνῃ τινὶ συναπήντηκεν ἀνθ' οὗ φιλολόγου ἐπηύχετο προστυχεῖν· ὡς δὲ τῆς προσδοκίας