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adorned with faith! O maiden who with divine wisdom mocked the folly and madness of her father! O daughter, who with the firmness of her resolve recalled the foolishness and deceit of our foremother Eve. That one, receiving a mere assault from the enemy, was immediately overthrown; but this one not only sternly rejected his enticements, but also spat in his face through the idols. For she extended, and sent forth, and hurled the insult of her spittle against the author of evil who works and deceives through them. 9. When her father returned from his journey, and grew angry and indignant with the builders over the alteration of his arrangement, because of the addition of a third window, they shifted the blame to his daughter’s command. And when he learned from her the reason for the third window, the all-praised one, seizing the opportune pretext, clearly theologized the glory of the Trinity, urging the unbeliever toward saving faith. “Yes,” she said, “for the Trinity enlightens every man coming into the world. For this sensible light is a creature and creation, and a most faint and dim image and foreshadowing of the light that is understood and worshipped in three suns conjoined to one another.” But he, a nursling of impiety and an advocate of darkness, as if struck in the sight of his soul by the lightning of the thrice-shining divinity, through the clear and unveiled confession of the all-glorious maiden, and being rather blinded by the firmness of her brilliance, became filled with madness, and boiling over with anger, drew his sword, and the darkened one rushed to slay his only-begotten little daughter, having transgressed the bounds of both piety and nature, because she had shown him the path of life. Truly not only from a flowering plant does a beautiful and most fragrant rose grow, but also from an impious root the fruit of piety is often produced. And a witness is Abraham the patriarch, and for this reason called the father of nations who have emulated his faith, having first departed from his father's polytheism and godlessness. Truly in this also was fulfilled the divine prophecy of our Savior Jesus Christ, setting a daughter and daughter-in-law against a father, and mother, and mother-in-law, the new and recent things against the old and foolish; and dividing the worse from the better. 10. What then, did the all-glorious Barbara do? Seeing her father’s utterly abominable assault, or rather pitying him for the blood-guiltiness, through prayer she opened a great rock that was nearby, and through the midst of it she passed to the other part of the mountain. O the wonder! The rock, having been split, receives the lamb into its bosom, and her father and persecutor, more senseless than stones, was rather petrified by his callousness and was changed into a stony resistance. And not even the strangeness of the wonder was able to soften the hard and inhuman part of his soul, but crossing over the mountain, he sought her with questioning. And indeed 96.796 having found and scourged her, dragging her by the hair, and pulling her down from the mountain, he returned again and locked the blessed one in a small cell. And reporting the things concerning her to the governor, he handed her over to be tortured, making him swear by the gods to destroy her with bitter punishments. The governor therefore, taking his seat on the tribunal, ordered the martyr to be brought before him. And seeing the blooming comeliness of her face, he was astonished, and marveled at the radiance of her appearance; and he began to test her with caresses, trying to persuade her, and to win her over with flatteries. For this is the first bait of the devil. For he tries to charm and soften a person with pleasures and praises, or to frighten and terrify with threats and

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πίστει κεκοσμημένης! Ὢ κόρης συνέσει θείᾳ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς μυκτηρισάσης ἀφροσύνην τε καὶ παράνοιαν! Ὢ θυγατρὸς, τὴν τῆς προμήτορος Εὔας εὐήθειαν καὶ ἀπάτην, τῷ στεῤῥῷ τοῦ φρονήματος ἀνακαλεσαμένης. Ἐκείνη προσβολὴν ψιλὴν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ δεξαμένη, εὐθὺς ἀνετρέπετο· αὕτη δὲ, οὐ μόνον τὰ τούτου θελκτήρια αὐστηρῶς ἀπεκρούσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοῦ τῷ προσώπῳ διὰ τῶν εἰδώλων ἐνέπτυσεν. Πρὸς γὰρ τὸν δι' αὐτῶν ἐνεργοῦντα καὶ ἀπατῶντα ἀρχέκακον τοῦ ἐμπτύματος τὴν ὕβριν ἐξέτεινεν, καὶ ἐξέπεμψεν, καὶ κατηκόντικεν. θʹ. Ἐπαναζεύξαντος δὲ τῆς ἐπιδημίας τοῦ ταύτης γεννήτορος, καὶ ἐπὶ παραλλάξει τῆς ἑαυτοῦ διατάξεως τοῖς οἰκοδόμοις χαλεπῄναντος καὶ ἀγανακτήσαντος διὰ τὴν τριττῆς θυρίδος πρόσθεσιν, ἐπὶ τὴν τούτου θυγατρὸς κέλευσιν τὴν αἰτίαν μετήγαγον. Ὁ δὲ παρ' αὐτῆς τὴν τῆς τριπλῆς ἀφορμὴν θυρίδος πυθόμενος, εὐκαίρου ἡ πανεύφημος δραξαμένη προφάσεως, τῆς Τριάδος διαῤῥήδην τὴν δόξαν ἐθεολόγει, εἰς πίστιν τὸν ἄπιστον προτρεπομένη σωτήριον. «Ναὶ, φησὶν, καὶ γὰρ ἡ Τριὰς φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον. Τὸ γὰρ αἰσθητὸν τοῦτο φῶς, τοῦ ἐν τρισὶν ἡλίοις ἐχομένοις ἀλλήλων νοουμένου καὶ προσκυνουμένου φωτὸς, τυγχάνει κτίσμα καὶ δημιούργημα, καὶ ἀμυδρότατον καὶ ἀμαυρὸν ἐξεικόνισμα καὶ ἀποσκίασμα.» Ὁ δὲ τῆς ἀσεβείας τεθραμμένος, καὶ τοῦ σκότους συνήγορος, ὥσπερ τῇ ἀστραπῇ τῆς τρισσοφώτου θεότητος, διὰ τῆς τρανῆς καὶ ἀπαρακαλύπτου τῆς πανενδόξου κόρης ὁμολογίας, τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ὄψιν πληγεὶς, καὶ τῷ στεῤῥῷ τοῦ ἀμαρύγματος μᾶλλον ἀμαυρωθεὶς, μανίας γενόμενος ἔμπλεως, καὶ τῷ θυμῷ ὑπερζέσας, τὸ ξίφος σπασάμενος, ὥρμησεν ὁ ἐσκοτισμένος τὸ μονογενὲς κατασφάξαι θυγάτριον, τῆς εὐσεβείας ὁμοῦ καὶ τῆς φύσεως τοὺς ὅρους ἐκβεβηκὼς, ὅτι αὐτῷ τὴν τῆς ζωῆς τρίβον ὑπέδειξεν. Ὄντως οὐ μόνον ἐξ ἀνθώδους φυτοῦ, ῥόδον ὡραῖον καὶ εὐωδέστατον φύεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ δυσσεβοῦς ῥίζης καρπὸς πολλάκις εὐσεβείας ἀναδίδοται. Παὶ μάρτυς Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατριάρχης, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῶν ἐθνῶν πατὴρ, τῶν τὴν αὐτοῦ πίστιν ἐζηλωκότων κληθεὶς, πρῶτος πατρικῆς ἀποφοιτήσας πολυθεΐας, καὶ ἀθεότητος. Ὄντως πεπλήρωται καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ θεία πρόῤῥησις, θυγατέρα καὶ νύμφην κατὰ πατρὸς, καὶ μητρὸς, καὶ πενθερᾶς ἐξανιστᾶσα, τὰ νέα καὶ πρόσφατα, τοῖς παλαιοῖς καὶ ληρώδεσι· καὶ διχοτομοῦσα τὸ χεῖρον ἀπὸ τοῦ κρείττονος. ιʹ. Τί οὖν, ἡ πανευκλεὴς Βαρβάρα; τοῦ πατρὸς ὁρῶσα τὸ παμμίαρον ὅρμημα, μᾶλλον δὲ τῆς μιαιφονίας τοῦτον οἰκτείρασα, δι' εὐχῆς παρακειμένην μεγίστην πέτραν διοίξασα, διὰ μέσης ταύτης πρὸς τὸ ἕτερον μέρος τοῦ ὄρους μεθώρμησεν. Ὢ τοῦ θαύματος! πέτρα σχισθεῖσα, ἐγκόλπιον τὴν ἀμνάδα εἰσδέχεται, καὶ ὁ λίθων ἀναισθητότερος ταύτης πατὴρ καὶ διώκτης, μᾶλλον τῇ πωρώσει ἀπελιθοῦτο, καὶ εἰς πετρώδη ἀντιτυπίαν μετήγετο. Καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦ θαύματος τὸ παράδοξον μαλάξαι τούτου δεδύνηται τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ σκληρὸν καὶ ἀπάνθρωπον, ἀλλ' ὑπερβὰς τὸ ὄρος, ταύτην ἐζήτει δι' ἐρωτήσεως. Καὶ δὴ 96.796 εὑρὼν καὶ μαστίξας, τῆς κόμης αὐτὴν ἕλκων, καὶ σύρων ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους, αὖθις ἐπάνεισι, καὶ ἐν μικρῷ τὴν μακαρίαν οἰκίσκῳ κατέκλεισεν. Καὶ τῷ ἡγεμόνι τὰ κατ' αὐτὴν μηνύσας, βασανίζεσθαι παραδίδωσιν, ὁρκώσας αὐτὸν κατὰ τῶν θεῶν, πικραῖς αὐτὴν καταναλῶσαι κολάσεσιν. Προκαθίσας οὖν ὁ ἡγεμὼν ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος, ἐκέλευσεν παραστῆναι τὴν μάρτυρα. Θεασάμενος δὲ τὴν ἐπανθοῦσαν αὐτῆς τοῦ προσώπου εὐπρέπειαν, ἐξέστη, καὶ τὸ φαιδρὸν τῆς ὁράσεως ἐθαύμασεν· καὶ ἤρξατο θωπείαις αὐτὴν πειρᾷν, πείθειν βιαζόμενος, καὶ κολακείαις προσάγεσθαι. Τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ πρῶτον τοῦ διαβόλου δέλεαρ. Ἢ γὰρ ἡδοναῖς καὶ ἐπαίνοις θέλγειν, καὶ καταμαλακίζεσθαι δοκιμάζει τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἢ ἐκφοβεῖν καὶ καταπτοεῖν ἀπειλαῖς καὶ